Guns

July 11, 2008 at 4:48 pm · Filed under Culture, Statistics

A Harvard Study1 found that banning firearms does not reduce murder or suicide rates. “Nations with stringent anti-gun laws generally have substantially higher murder rates than those that do not. ” The study found that the nine European nations with the lowest rates of gun ownership (5,000 or fewer guns per 100,000 population) have a combined murder rate three times higher than that of the nine nations with the highest rates of gun ownership (at least 15,000 guns per 100,000 population).

The National Academy of Sciences and the Justice Department2 performed two separate, in depth studies which found no link between restrictions on gun ownership and lower rates of crime, firearms violence or even accidents with guns. The studies noted the number of criminals who obtained guns from retail outlets was dwarfed by the number of those who picked up their arms through means other than legal purchases.

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Mail

July 11, 2008 at 4:43 pm · Filed under History, Religion

Until 1912, the U.S. mail was delivered 7 days a week. As the postal service grew in popularity and usage in the 1800s, local religious leaders were noticing a decline in Sunday morning church attendance due to local post offices doubling as gathering places. These leaders appealed to the government to intervene and close post offices on Sundays.

Source.

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College students

July 11, 2008 at 4:10 pm · Filed under Education, People

20% of U.S. college students completing 4-year degrees have only basic quantative literacy skills, meaning they are unable to estimate if their car has enough gasoline to get to the next gas station or calculate the cost of a sandwich and a salad from a menu.

More than 50% of college students do not score at the proficient level of literacy. This means that they lack the skills to perform complex literacy tasks, such as comparing credit card offers with different interest rates or summarizing the arguments of a newspaper editorial.

25% of the general adult population read at the lowest, rock-bottom level of literacy. Examples of Level 1 literacy include being able to locate one piece of information in a sports article, locating the time of a meeting on a form, and totaling a bank deposit entry.

Another 25% function at Level 2 literacy, examples of which are: locating two features of information in a sports article, locating an intersection on a street map, or determining the difference in price between tickets for two shows.

One-half our adult population is unable to function at full Level 3 literacy, which includes such abilities as writing a brief letter explaining an error made on a credit card bill; using a sign-out sheet to respond to a call about a resident; or using a calculator to calculate the difference between the regular and sale price from an advertisement.

In sum, a college education does not appear to raise literacy performance, and at least half our adult population cannot comprehend the contents of a voter pamphlet.

Source 1 and Source 2

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Americans vs. Bible

July 11, 2008 at 12:53 pm · Filed under People, Religion, Statistics

According to the book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — and Doesn’t, many Americans don’t know much about the Bible.

10% of people said Joan of Arc was the wife of Noah from the Book of Genesis.

50% of high school seniors believe Sodom and Gomorrah were married.

Only one in three Americans can name the four Gospels, while less than half can even name one of them.

A majority couldn’t identify the preacher of the “Sermon on the Mount.”

They also found that Evangelical Christians were only slightly more knowledgable than their non-evangelical counterparts.

Source.

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The Spanish Flu

September 27, 2007 at 5:24 pm · Filed under History, Statistics

The Spanish Flu lasted from 1918-1919 and killed from 40 to 50 million people, ~2.5-5% of the population.

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Buried Alive in Blues

September 27, 2007 at 5:18 pm · Filed under Music, People

Janis Joplin’s song Buried Alive in Blues is her only instrumental song. It is instrumental because she was due to record the vocals for it the morning that she was found dead in her apartment.

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They came to tell your faults to me,

September 11, 2007 at 9:08 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

They came to tell your faults to me,
They named them over one by one;
I laughed aloud when they were done,
I knew them all so well before, –
Oh, they were blind, too blind to see
Your faults had made me love you more.

- Sara Teasdale

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Snow White

August 30, 2007 at 12:41 am · Filed under Culture

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the highest-grossing film ever until the release of Gone with the Wind. The worldwide gross for Snow White was $8.5 million – in an era when a child’s ticket cost 10 cents.

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Kim Jong Il

August 4, 2007 at 1:36 am · Filed under People

Kim Jong Il is a hardcore Daffy Duck fan and owner of the largest collection of Daffy Duck memorabilia in the world.

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Wise words from Oprah

July 24, 2007 at 1:39 am · Filed under Quotes

“What I know for sure is that you have the right to choose what is best for yourself now – not four years ago or even yesterday. And changing your mind does not mean acting irresponsibly; it’s just the opposite. When you honor what you know your spirit is telling you to do, you are making the most conscientious decision, one for which you are willing to accept all the consequences.
You understand that when you know better, you ought to do better — and doing better sometimes means changing your mind; and you realize that letting go of what others think you should do is the only way to reach your full potential.”

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