ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610210103
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: COX NEWS SERVICE
Q. A poll conducted by Scholastic News gave President Clinton a 58-38 percent victory over Bob Dole. I've always heard that polls in the Weekly Reader were historically accurate, having been wrong only once in 46 years. Was that poll not taken this year?
A: It's still in the works and results will be released Oct. 30, said Weekly Reader's Sandra Maccarone in Middletown, Conn. ``We're still collecting data,'' she said. ``We decided to let our poll get closer to the election.''
Q: Has a president ever been elected without a majority of the popular vote?
A: Yes, 16 times. And in three of those, the winner had fewer votes than his opponent. That happened in 1824, when Andrew Jackson got more popular and electoral votes, but because no candidate got the required number of electoral votes, the House chose John Quincy Adams (each state casts one vote). In 1876, Samuel Tilden got more popular votes than Rutherford B. Hayes, but Hayes had one more electoral vote; election returns in Florida, Louisiana, Oregon and South Carolina were disputed, so Congress, in joint session March 2, 1877, declared Hayes president and William Wheeler vice president. In 1888, Grover Cleveland had more popular votes, but the 233 electoral votes cast for Benjamin Harrison against Cleveland's 168 made Harrison president.
Q: What is the ``coffin corner,'' occasionally referred to by announcers during football games?
A: It's any of the four corners of the football field where the sidelines and goal lines intersect. A punter kicking the ball away to the other team aims for a ``coffin corner,'' hoping the ball will go out of bounds just short of the goal line. That would prevent a return run and force the team to start its offensive series deep in its own territory.
Q: What is the status of suits filed by Vietnam veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and got cancer?
A: In 1984, a class action suit filed by veterans and their families resulted in a $184 million settlement with the makers of Agent Orange. Veterans started receiving checks in 1989. As of late '94, $21 million had not been claimed. A federal judge set a application deadline of Dec. 31, 1994, because, he said, compensation should be available to those who had not yet gotten sick. At that time, disabled veterans were entitled to compensation ranging from $256 to $12,800. The families of veterans who had died could receive from $340 to $3,400.
Q: How much land does Atlanta media and sports mogul Ted Turner own, in total, in the United States?
A: He owns ``about 1.3 million acres,'' said Adrianne Proeller, his spokeswoman. That's about equivalent to the state of Delaware.
Q: Whatever became of Joseph Hazelwood, captain of the oil tanker that ran aground?
A: The Exxon Valdez ran aground March 24, 1989, in Alaska's Prince William Sound. Hazelwood was convicted of negligence, a misdemeanor carrying a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. On March 23, 1990, he was given an alternative sentence: 1,000 hours of community service in Alaska, helping to clean up the spill, and payment of a ``token'' restitution of $50,000. In 1992, he was hired by the Maritime University of the State University of New York to help teach cadets how to stand watch. Time magazine pointed out that Hazelwood had been acquitted of all major charges and evidence at the trial suggested that other people may have been responsible for the vessel's navigational error. He hasn't been in the news since then except for an item in Fortune in 1994 saying that he was a maritime consultant at an unnamed law firm. Hazelwood also gave permission to the producers of the movie ``Waterworld'' to use his name and likeness for the character portrayed by Dennis Hopper.
Q: A news item said President Clinton talked with Germany's Helmut Kohl on the phone. I thought Kohl speaks little or no English. Does Clinton speak German or other languages?
A: Clinton uses an interpreter to help with language interpretation when he speaks with foreign leaders, either in person or over the telephone, said White House spokeswoman Julie Green. ``I'm not aware that the president is fluent in any foreign languages,'' she said.
Q: Is there anyplace where airlines sell lost and unclaimed luggage and its contents?
A: There may be others, but there are four of them in Alabama. Owens Co. South operates three Unclaimed Baggage locations: 509 W. Willow St., Scottsboro 35768 (205-259-4930); 101 E. Bartlett St., Boaz 35957 (205-593-4393); and 1809 Sixth Ave. S.E., Decatur 35601 (205-350-0439). The fourth is T&W Unclaimed Baggage, 506 W. Willow St., Scottsboro 35768 (205-259-6370).
Q: How can I get on NASA's list of people who want to become astronauts?
A: There's no such list, said Teresa Gomez at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Astronaut Selection Center in Houston. Prospective astronauts must apply. Every two years, NASA reviews all the applicants and picks those who will go through the selection process, Gomez said. For an application, write: Johnson Space Center, Astronaut Selection Center, Mail Code AHX, Houston, Texas 77058.
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