Et Cetera
By Staff
GOOD MORNING FRANKLIN COUNTY
Today is Friday, March 18, 2005. Expect partly cloudy skies today with a high of around 58 degrees. On this day in history:
1925: The Tri-State Tornado kills 695 people in Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois.
1931: Schick introduces the first electric razor in the US.
1949: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is ratified and put in operation.
1961: Pillsbury introduces a new advertising character, the Pillsbury Dough Boy.
1966: The first paper dress is sold in the U.S. for one dollar.
1987: The Gerber Company announces the results of the first survey of the most popular baby names for the year, Jessica and Matthew.
1992: Hotel queen Leona Helmsley is sentenced to four years in jail for tax evasion.
BAD ODDS
The NCAA basketball tournament started this week and many of you have filled out your brackets just for the fun of it. Here is a look at your odds of correctly picking all the games in each round by strictly guessing.
FIRST ROUND: (32 games) 1 out of 4.3 billion
SECOND ROUND: (16 games) 1 out of 65,536
THIRD ROUND: (8 games) 1 out of 256
FOURTH ROUND: (4 games) 1 out of 16
FIFTH ROUND: (2 games) 1 out of 4
FINAL ROUND: (1 game) 1 out of 2
Just for some perspective, the odds of winning a state lottery are 1 in 10 billion!
SOUNDS HOT
Condominium owners near the airport in San Jose, California, complained about jet noise in their homes so airport authorities installed sound-muffling doors in each of the 79 housing units. Now there is another problem because the doors also magnify the sun's rays and cause some of the doors to heat up to 186 degrees. That SOUNDS awfully HOT to me.
STATE GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Back in 1994 South Carolina legislators voted a bill into law which required marijuana dealers to purchase a stamp which would force them to pay taxes up front on all pot sales. The law was put in place so the state could prosecute drug dealers as tax cheats. The bill has had little effect on drug trafficking in the state, but the 433 pot stamps have become hot items for collectors.
I'M SORRY
Former Bush family advisor Doug Wead recently wrote a book, "The Raising of a President" and released private phone conversations with then Governor George W. Bush, conversations which were taped without permission. In the Monday edition of USA Today, Mr. Wead wrote an open letter of apology to President Bush. He states that he has cancelled his book tour, assigned all book profits to charity, turned over all tapes to President Bush, and has started the process of healing all the broken relationships he has created. In a day when people are quick to point a finger at someone else, it is refreshing to see a person take personal responsibility for their actions.
AMAZING STORY
Ashley Smith, the woman who was held hostage by Atlanta courtroom murderer Brain Nichols, said that she survived by telling stories about her faith in God. Smith had been reading the book, "The Purpose Driven Life," by Rev. Rick Warren, and told Nichols that God still loved him and had a purpose for his life. Brian Nichols told Smith that he felt like he was already dead but she told him about her faith in God. Ashley Smith said that Nichols told her that he felt like his meeting with her was a divine appointment. After being held hostage for seven hours, Brian Nichols let his captive go and she quickly called 911. Nichols, who is accused of killing four people, surrendered to police without incident. Hopefully, he also found time to surrender his life to God.
Richard Parker is Minister of Students and Education at First Baptist Church in Russellville. You can e-mail him your comments at RParker@russellvilleFBC.org.
