ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 14, 1996 TAG: 9601120079
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: COX NEWS SERVICE
Q: Has the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes grand prize ever been awarded to someone who has not ordered magazines?
A: The majority of the sweepstakes winners have not ordered magazines with their entries, according to David C. Sayer, the subscription agency's director of advertising. The agency is required by law to honor every sweepstakes entry equally, whether it's accompanied by an order or not, he said. Several years ago, Sayer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that 11 of the 15 people who had won $1 million or more up to that time weren't subscribers. He said he didn't have updated statistics.
Q: What's the difference between an ice storm, freezing rain and sleet? Weather forecasters seem to use them interchangeably.
A: Freezing rain or freezing drizzle occurs when surface temperatures are below freezing (32 degrees Fahrenheit). The moisture falls in liquid form but freezes on impact, resulting in a coating of ice glaze on exposed objects and surfaces. It's often called an ice storm when a substantial layer of glaze accumulates. Such layers of glaze often bring tree branches and power lines crashing down because of the added weight, compounded when moderate or high winds occur. Sleet is frozen rain drops, or ice pellets, that bounce when hitting the ground or other objects. It doesn't stick to trees and wires. Sleet is less than 0.2 inch in diameter. Hail is larger, from pea- size to orange-size.
Q: Doesn't George Burns have a contract with a Las Vegas hotel to perform for his 100th birthday, which I believe is coming up soon? What is the hotel, and what is the date?
A: He did, but he won't. Burns signed years ago to perform at Caesars Palace on his 100th birthday, Jan. 20, 1996. The resort sold out five performances, scheduled Jan. 17-20. In July 1994, the comedian cut his head when he fell in the bathtub. He later underwent brain surgery to drain fluid that had built up as a result. In September, his manager, Irving Fein, announced that Burns wouldn't be able to perform after all.
Q: I've heard passing mentions about a research group associated with the millennium. What is its purpose, and how I can contact it?
A: The Millennium Institute (1117 N. 19th St., Suite 900, Arlington, Va.; 703-841-0048) says it promotes ``long-term global thinking'' by focusing on ``the emotional energy of the new millennium toward a sustainable future for Earth.'' Founded in 1983, it has operated under the names Global Studies Center and Institute for 21st Century Studies.
Q: When was the microwave oven invented? When were they first available for purchase by homeowners?
A: The first domestic microwave oven, produced by the Tappan Co., went on the market in 1952 and retailed for $1,295. It was preceded in the 1940s by Raytheon's commercial microwave oven, the Radar Range, a refrigerator-sized contraption sold mainly to restaurants.
Q: The TV networks reported recently on an anti-depressant medication that also is useful to help people stop smoking. What is the name of the medicine?
A: A study of what is termed a ``promising smoking-cessation technique'' began in Los Angeles in September. The study involves nine weeks of treatment using two products: the anti-depressant Wellbutrin and the chemical lobeline, which is extracted from the lobelia flower. One experiment suggests that Wellbutrin may be twice as effective as nicotine patches for some smokers, and preliminary reports quoted a doctor who has tested anti-smoking drugs for more than 20 years as saying the study is ``truly exciting.'' A pharmacist for Burroughs-Wellcome, the company that manufactures Wellbutrin, was somewhat more cautious: ``We hope it will work better than the [nicotine] patch, but we have not answered that question.'' DynaGen Inc. is developing lobeline under the name NicErase. .
Q: What is the most commonly used letter in the English language? A co-worker thinks it's N.
A: It's the E.
Q: I remember movies from way back, and I recall seeing Will Rogers in ``State Fair'' in the '30s. People tell me I'm out of my tree. Am I?
A: Your memory serves you well. ``State Fair'' has been made into a movie three times. The 1933 film, with Rogers, Janet Gaynor and Lew Ayres, was the basis for the better-known Rodgers and Hammerstein musical version that followed in 1945, and was remade in 1962. The 1945 version featured Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes and Vivian Blaine. The 1962 version, directed by Jose Ferrer, had Pat Boone, Ann-Margret, Bobby Darin and Alice Faye.
Q: Where does the word Mach come from - like in the supersonic Concorde being able to fly at Mach 2?
A: It's from Ernst Mach (1838-1916), an Austrian physicist who contributed to the study of sound. An aircraft traveling at the speed of sound - about 762 mph - is said to be going Mach 1. Twice the speed of sound is Mach 2. The Concorde cruises at 1,550 mph. A typical passenger jet such as a DC-9 cruises at about 560 mph.
Q: How old is Dick Clark? He never seems to age. When was he born?
A: The eternal teen-ager, author of such works as ``Dick Clark's Guide to Good Grooming'' and, with Richard Robinson, ``Looking Great, Staying Young,'' was born Nov. 30, 1929.
Q: How does Time magazine choose its Man of the Year? I would have thought O.J. Simpson would have been selected, not Newt Gingrich.
A: The Man of the Year (not always a man and not always a human) is ``the person, people or thing that, for better or worse, has most significantly influenced the course of world events in the preceding 12 months.'' Time's editors make that decision.
Q: I know that people born between 1946 and the mid-1960s are baby boomers, and those born between the mid-'60s and the mid-'80s are members of Generation X. I was born in 1943, so what classification do I fall under?
A: You're a member of the ``war generation.'' An article by Roger Rosenblatt in Modern Maturity's January/February 1996 issue describes how the war generation and the boomers are likely to interact as the boomers reach 50. But if you prefer to think of yourself as a boomer, take heart. Writers Bill Strauss and Neil Howe made a case in USA Today recently for the boom generation's having started in 1943.
Q: Where does the word Yankee came from?
A: There are lots of theories, but the one most widely accepted is that Yankee comes from Jan Kee (``little John''), a Dutch expression the English applied contemptuously to Dutch seamen in the New World and then to New England sailors. These days, in much of the world it means any American; in the South, it means someone from the North; in the North, it means someone from New England. New Englanders usually are proud of the designation. .
Q: The recently deceased actress Butterfly McQueen's obituary said she was a member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. What is that, and how can I contact it?
A: The organization, based in Madison, Wis., works for separation of church and state. ``We are an organization for freethinkers, who can be atheists, like Ms. McQueen, or agnostics, secularists, humanists, rationalists or any of the other terms,'' a spokeswoman said. Membership is $35 and includes 10 issues of the organization's newspaper, Freethought Today. Information: Freedom From Religion Foundation, P.O. Box 750, Madison, Wis. 53701 (608-256-8900).
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