Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504220011
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: G-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: cox news service
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A: In the past, some taxpayers have received something in return for their claimed donations of $250 or more, and that is against IRS regulations, according to spokesman Eric Roberts at the Atlanta IRS office. As an example, he cited a charitable organization's ad for a raffle with a car as the prize. You could get one ticket for $150 or five for $500. ``Let's say a person wrote a check for $500 for the tickets, and then claimed that $500 as a donation,'' he said. ``That is against IRS rules for two reasons. The person received something - the tickets - in return. Additionally, IRS doesn't allow deductions for raffle tickets.'' You can claim a deduction of a legitimate donation of $250 or more, Roberts said, but you need a statement from the recipient that you received nothing in return.
Q: During President Clinton's recent visit to Atlanta, one of his cars was stolen. Has it been recovered? Who did it?
A: It wasn't one of President Clinton's cars; it was in the Secret Service's Atlanta fleet. It was stolen while agents were preparing for the arrival of Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in late March. The 1987 Ford Crown Victoria was taken from a parking lot next to the agency's offices in downtown Atlanta. City police recovered it the next day at a public housing development. The steering column and a window had been broken and the car appeared to have been hot- wired, according to police. It had been stripped of its battery, air compressor, radio, antenna and spare tire. No arrests have been made.
Q: I've always understood that President Franklin D. Roosevelt's papers were to be kept secret until 50 years after his death. Are there any plans to release them now?
A: His papers have been available for many years at the Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, N.Y. ``There may be a few records that are classified, but in general the papers have been open for research since the late 1940s,'' said archivist Nancy Snedeker.
Q: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt spoke during the 50th anniversary observance of FDR's death in Warm Springs. She is FDR's granddaughter. Who is her father?
A: She's the daughter of James Roosevelt and his second wife, Romelle Schneider Roosevelt, according to archivist Nancy Snedeker at the Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, N.Y.
Q: What is the origin of the expression ``I'll give you a rain check''?
A: The literal term may have been coined by the Detroit Base Ball Association in 1890, when the ticket stub or separate check was issued for later use when inclement weather forced an interrupted or postponed game. It came to mean a promised, but usually indefinite, repeat invitation, according to ``Picturesque Expressions: A Thematic Dictionary.''
Q: After seeing ``The Sound of Music'' again, I'm wondering: What happened to the real Trapp family?
A: The real life Maria Augusta von Trapp, who founded the Trapp Family Singers, was born Jan. 26, 1905, in Vienna, Austria; she died March 28, 1987, in Morrisville, Vt.
After the family fled from Nazi-occupied Austria, they settled in Stowe, Vt., where they built their first lodge. It was rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire.
But you shouldn't confuse the cast of the enormously popular play and film with the actual family members. The producers took generous artistic license, according to Jane Weaver, spokeswoman for the Trapp Family Lodge.
For example, you remember Liesl, the eldest daughter, portrayed in the film by Charmain Carr? Well, the oldest child actually was Rupert. He died in 1992. Siblings Martina and Hedwick also died; all three, along with the Baron and Baroness von Trapp, are buried on the lodge property.
Another child, Johanna, who lived in Vienna, died recently.
Of the remaining children, Maria and Rosmarie still live in Stowe. Agathe, a retired teacher, lives in Baltimore. Werner, also retired, lives on a dairy farm in Waitsfield, Vt. Eleonore lives with her husband in Waitsfield.
Johannes, the youngest, is president and general manager of the Trapp Family Lodge. .
Q: Britain had the death penalty, but abolished it. What method was used there? Also, how many states use the electric chair?
A: Until 1973, when the death penalty was abolished, hanging was the method in Britain. That country's last execution was in 1964. These states provide for electrocution: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia (if sentence was imposed before lethal injection was approved in the state).
Q: The closing credits for a TV sitcom often say: ``This program was taped in front of a live audience.'' What is the point of that?
A: Most situation comedies are taped in front of a live audience. Most one-hour dramas are filmed with no audience. There's no actual requirement for such a statement, but the intent is to inform viewers that the laughter came from real people watching the show's taping, not from a so-called ``laugh track.'' The audience's real laughter is ``sweetened,'' meaning prerecorded laughs (the laugh track) are mixed in to the audio track to make it appear more pervasive.
Q: What does ``none of your beeswax'' mean?
A: Profound it's not: ``None of your business'' is the meaning. Dating it to circa 1920s, the Dictionary of American Slang says it's common in children's speech.
Q: What are the years of the baby boomers? When did World War II end? Are they related?
A: The baby boom is the generation of people born between 1946 and 1964. World War II ended with Japan's surrender Aug. 14, 1945. Returning service personnel started families, hence the baby boom's beginning.
Q: What happened to the comic strip ``Outland''?
A: Several months ago, Berkeley Breathed said ``Outland'' would breathe its last on March 26. In a prepared statement, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Breathed said : ``It is with much reluctance and some sadness that I finally bring Opus' newspaper story to its inevitable conclusion.''
Q: A co-worker leaves a frozen meal in the refrigerator - not the freezer - for several days before heating and eating it. Is this dangerous?
A: The package's instructions to keep the contents frozen are there for a reason, said Judy Harrison, food safety specialist at the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. It may not be dangerous to eat it after it's partially thawed, but it could be. It's definitely going to make it poorer quality. ``If the box says to keep it frozen, then do so,'' Harrison said.
Q: Where can I get a copy of the Carnegie Foundation report on schools? I'm a teacher and would like to have it.
A: The study of the nation's elementary schools, released by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, will be available to the public in May or June. You can order copies by mail or, with a credit card, by phone. The cost is $10 a copy, plus $3 shipping and handling for the first copy and 75 cents for additional copies. To order with a Visa or MasterCard, call 800-777-4726. To pay by check or money order, send to California/Princeton Fulfillment Services, P.O. Box 10769, Newark, N.J. 07193-0769. Orders can be submitted now.
Q: How can I contact the producers of ``The Simpsons''? The April 9 show depicted some really bad cruelty to animals. A guy with a gun stole some puppies and said he was going to make a vest out of them. There's enough cruelty to animals without showing it in cartoons.
A: Some viewers interpreted the episode to be a satire on the Disney film ``101 Dalmations.'' But if you want to write, here's the address: ``The Simpsons,'' Twentieth Television, P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills, Calif. 90213.
Q: How many people turned out for President Clinton's recent fund-raiser at Steven Spielberg's mansion in Los Angeles?
A: A ``hundred or so'' guests attended the fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee, The Associated Press reported. The menu: Southern fried chicken. The entertainment: songs by k.d. lang, comedy by Robin Williams. Guests paid $50,000 a couple. Although it was a private event and reporters weren't present, the event didn't go unnoticed.
Q: Do most countries use the Celsius or Fahrenheit temperature scale, and is there an easy formula to transcribe one to the other?
A: Most countries use the Celsius scale, and when it's 20 degrees there, it's 68 here. Here's how to figure the difference: From Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 30 from the temperature and divide it by two. Reverse the procedure to convert the other way. A less accurate but simpler way to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit is to double the Celsius figure and add 30; it's roughly equivalent.
Q: What are load and no-load mutual funds?
A: A ``load'' is a sales charge.
Q: What was the very first flag flown in America?
A: The first flag flown in the British colonies in America was a square of white bunting or silk adorned with a large red cross of St. George. It was carried by John Cabot when he reached the North American continent in 1497. The ships that brought colonists to Jamestown, Va., in 1607 and to Plymouth, Mass., in 1620 displayed it from the foretop as the English flag. Most colonies adopted their own flags of differing designs, and in the days before the Revolution each colony adopted a flag of its own.
Q: I've heard there is something different about 1995 pennies minted in Philadelphia. What is it, and what should we look for?
A: A 1995 penny was found in Evansville, Ind., with a double strike on the front, creating a shadow effect, said a Philadelphia Mint spokeswoman. She added that she didn't know whether any others like that exist.
by CNB