Vol. 19: #36 • Tidbits Looks at the Ups and Downs About Elevators • (9-3-2023) Tidbits of CV

by Janet Spencer

Because the word elevator and the Otis Company name are almost synonymous, many assume Elisha Otis was also the elevatorʼs inventor. But while he played an important role in its safety improvements and founded the world’s largest elevator company, Otis was just one among several contributors who added to its development. Here are a few stories of some whose gift for mechanics have also brought about the modern elevators we use today.

GROUND FLOOR

• Greek mathematician Archimedes is credited with inventing the world’s first elevator device. Around 236 B.C., he designed a primitive elevator that operated with hoist ropes wound around a large drum that was rotated by men, animals, or water to lift a platform. This device was the basic method of raising heavy loads for nearly 2,000 years.

• Excavations at the Coliseum of ancient Rome revealed a network of 24 hoists dating to around the year 80 A.D. These primitive elevators, pow-

(Answers on page 16)

ELISHA OTIS

• Born in Vermont in 1811, Elisha Otis grew up to become a ceaseless tinkerer whose creative mind made city skyscrapers possible by inventing the safety brake for elevators, preventing them from falling if their cables broke.

• As a young man, Otis built his own gristmill from the ground up. It did not earn enough profit, so he converted it into a sawmill. But the revenues were slim, so he began building quality wagons and carriages, which paid better but was time-consuming work.

• His wife died, leaving him with an infant and an eight-year-old son. At age 34, he remarried and moved to Albany, New York. He worked for a company that manufactured bedsteads, with the four corner posts consisting of nicely carved spindles. Otis invented an automatic spindleturner that carved bedsteads four times faster than by hand, turning out about 50 per day. For this he earned a tidy bonus.

• Later he moved to Yonkers, New York, where he was put in charge of turning an abandoned sawmill into a bedstead factory. There was quite a lot of equipment and debris that needed to be moved to the upper floors. The factory was outfitted with a hoist, but his workers refused to ride on it because it would often crash to the ground when the ropes broke.

• By now, his sons were grown, and they put their heads together to devise a mechanism that would prevent the hoist from falling if the lines lifting it broke. The result was a spring-loaded ratchet that would pop out like jaws opening whenever the tension on the line went slack. It engaged a notched metal track attached to the shaft wall, instantly securing the hoist in place and preventing it from falling.

1. ANATOMY: What are the small bones that make up the human backbone?

2. GEOGRAPHY: Which country is made up of about 7,000 islands?

3. MOVIES: What native language is spoken in the movie “Avatar”?

4. BUSINESS: When did the first Apple computer go on sale?

5. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a male swan called?

6. FOOD & DRINK: Which nut is used in a Waldorf salad?

7. PSYCHOLOGY: What fear is represented in arithmophobia?

8. TELEVISION: Who played the lead in the series “Buffy the Vampire Killer”?

9. AD SLOGANS: Which restaurant chain advertises itself as “no rules, just right”?

10. SCIENCE: Which science fiction author wrote the three laws of robotics? Answers

• It didnʼt occur to Otis to patent his invention, nor did he try to sell his idea. He didn’t even ask for a bonus from his employer.

• But that thought did come to mind when the World’s Fair came to New York City in 1853. By this time, the bedstead factory was in decline and Otis was looking for his next venture. He decided to perform a demonstration of his safety brake in front of the crowds attending the Fair.

• Standing on a platform loaded with heavy barrels and equipment, he ordered it to be hoisted up the track, raising him high above the crowd. He then called for the rope holding it in place to be cut. The crowd gasped as the platform jerked and droppped, but only for a few inches to stop abruptly, now held firmly in place. The safety locking mechanism was proven to work, and people soon lost their fear of riding in traction elevators. It was a breakthrough that suddenly made present-day skyscrapers possible.

• At this point, Otis set up his own elevator factory, calling it Union Elevator Works. His first elevator was installed in a department store in New York City in 1857. Orders began doubling every year. In his spare time, he tinkered with many other inventions, including a safety brake that could stop locomotives; an automatic bread-baking oven; a steam-powered plow; a rotary oven; and others.

• Elisha Otis died of diphtheria at the age of 49 in 1861. His two sons renamed the company Otis Brothers & Co. and turned it into what remains the largest elevator company in the world. In 1889, Otis installed elevators in the Eiffel Tower. The following year, they tackled the Washington Monument. In 1913, the company won the contract to provide elevators for the 60-story Woolworth Building in New York City, which was the tallest building at the time. As the years passed, the company added escalators, then moving sidewalks. By the middle of the 20th century, they diversified into forklifts, trucks, cranes, and hoists.

• Only once has an Otis elevator failed; when a plane crashed into the Empire State Building in 1945, severing the cables and sending the car plunging 75 floors to the basement. □

1. Vertebrae.

2. The Philippines.

3. Na’vi.

CLIP AND SAVE

ered by up to 200 slaves, used winches and counterweights to dramatically raise lions, tigers and gladiators up to the large stadium arena through hidden trap doors from the chambers below, to the thundering approval of the spectators. Each platform could lift about 600 pounds, the weight about equal to two lions.

• King Louis XV of France commissioned the construction of a counterweighted personal elevator similar to a dumbwaiter which was powered by his servants. Built at Versailles in 1743, its primary purpose was to ferry his mistress to his chambers from her room one floor above.

• As the Industrial Revolution picked up steam, factories increasingly needed to move large loads of materials and equipment. William Strutt, a textile mill owner in England, invented a steam-powered belt-driven lift in 1803 that used counterweights to raise and lower a container between floors. This was the basic design for freight elevators used worldwide for the next few decades.

• In 1846, Sir William Armstrong invented the first lifts powered by hydraulics, which uses pressure from water or oil in a piston, powered by pumps, to raise and lower a platform or container. However, hydraulic elevators had to have pits underneath the elevator shaft so the piston had enough room to completely draw back. The taller the building and the larger the elevator, the bigger the piston and the deeper the pit. This limited the height of any building it was installed in. By the 1870s, elevators powered by hydraulics were common in warehouses, factories, and mines.

• Still, elevators were rarely used to carry people because their cables, made first of hemp rope and later of iron wire, often snapped under the

weight, plunging the entire apparatus to the ground, making them unsafe.

• All that changed in 1853, when Elisha Otis demonstrated his new safety brake at the World’s Fair in New York City (see accompanying story page 2). In 1857, the first Otis Elevator designed to carry people was installed in the E.V. Haughwout Building in New York City. It was five stories tall and traveled at the rate of 40 feet per minute. Otis used this invention as the foundation for building the largest elevator company in the world.

• Manhattan’s Equitable Life Building, completed in 1870, was the first building where elevators were built into the design from the beginning. It was eight stories tall, and the elevator was installed by Otis & Company.

• The next innovation was the electrically-powered elevator, first designed by Werner von Siemens in Germany in 1880, but he never filed a patent. Seven years later, inventor Alexander Miles, decided to file his own patent for the system, and also added another new invention. It consisted of a mechanism that automatically opened and closed the elevator doors once the car was at the same level as the doors on each floor. The elevator could then resume its function only after the doors had completely closed.

Mirrors are commonly found in elevators not only because it gives people something to look at during the ride (i.e., themselves), but also because it makes the elevator car look larger, cutting down on claustrophobic responses. Elevator music first appeared in the 1920s to calm nervous and fearful passengers.

A NEW ERA BEGINS

• With all the elevator safety and mechanical functions now in place, a revolutionary era in the building industry was about to begin.

• Between 1860 and 1900, tenement houses added floors, and five- or six-story buildings became common. Originally, the top floors had the cheapest rent because tenants had to walk up the long flights of stairs. Once the elevator became common, it then became convenient and preferable to live on the highest floors that provided more light, a better view above the traffic noise and the dust of street-level living.

• By 1875, buildings regularly reached eleven stories in New York City, a height limit required by the masonry construction common to the era. Following the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, steel frame construction gradually became the norm,

allowing for the addition of many more stories.

Elevators (from page one) by

• Steel frame buildings could easily reach 50 stories, but the hydraulics system of the elevators could only reach a maximum of 20 floors. When electrically powered elevators were introduced, buildings could achieve much greater heights. In the 1890s, the tallest building in the world was the Masonic Temple in Chicago which stood 20 stories tall. By 1913, the tallest building in the world was the Woolworth Building in Manhattan, at 55 stories.

STREAMLINED ELEVATORS

• The Empire State Building opened in 1931 with 102 stories and was the world’s tallest skyscraper until 1970. It had 73 elevators, which was Otis Elevator’s largest order ever.

Elevators: Turn to page 15

QUIZ BITS

1. Of the 18 billion elevator passengers in the U.S. annually, how many will die in elevator accidents?

2. How many people are killed in the U.S. every year by falling down stairs?

(Answers page 16)

1.What’s

NUGGETS OF KNOWLEDGE

Despite inaccurate depictions in movies, the hatches at the top of elevator cars are almost almost always bolted shut from the top for safety reasons. It's far safer to remain inside the elevator than to climb out on top in an attempt to self-rescue. The hatch is there so emergency personnel can get into the elevator, not so people inside can get out.

2.What

1.VERNALEQUINOX

2.CROCUS

by Mary Hunt

By Lucie Winborne

* The dot over the lowercase versions of the letters i and j is known as a tittle.

* There are clocks to tell us the time, and then there’s the Shortlife clock, which tells us how long we have left to live. No, it’s not perfect, but it does estimate a person’s remaining longevity based on World Health Organization data.

* “The Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy was nominated for an astounding 800 awards, of which it received 475, making it the most-awarded series in cinema history.

* One of the most critical issues with AI is that even its creators can’t understand some of the decisions the software makes, or why.

* Do you like apples? Then you’ll likely appreciate the efforts of Tom Brown and his decades-long quest to track, collect and preserve forgotten varieties of the fruit. Brown has discovered more than 1,200 types, including some with rare flavors such as banana and pineapple.

* The Sinocyclocheilus longicornus fish, discovered in a remote cave system by Chinese scientists, has a unicorn-like horn.

* In 1924, Babe Ruth accidentally ran headlong into a concrete wall during a game between the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators, knocking himself out cold for a full five minutes. Upon regaining consciousness, he not only finished the game but scored two more hits and went on to play a second game afterward.

* More than 200 viruses can result in the common cold. Kerchoo!

* Camp Bonifas, near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, has a par-three, onehole golf course on it that is surrounded on three sides by landmines. As one might well expect, it has been dubbed “The Most Dangerous Hole in Golf.”

End-of-Life Preplanning Brings Joy and Peace of Mind

Everyday CHEAPSKATE®

Planning for their parents’ end-of-life expenses is about the last thing most adult children want to deal with. At least not right now.

by Mary Hunt

A traditional funeral with end-of-life services with extras like flowers, obituary notices, acknowledgment cards and limousines can bring the total to $15,000 or more. Families often overspend on a funeral or burial because they think of it as a reflection of their feelings of caring and respect for the deceased.

Recently, I heard from one of my EC readers, responding to a previous column. She brought up an important topic, one that is not an easy to address. So let’s gather into a huddle, wrap our arms around one another and take a collective deep breath.

DEAR CHEAPSKATE: My comment is in response to “Where to Keep Money for Mom?” and Bonita in South Dakota, who was looking for input on how to invest $10,000 for her 62-year-old mother who has no savings, no life insurance and lives on disability.

I would recommend they go to any funeral home and work with the person there who handles prepaid funerals. Essentially, you are purchasing an insurance policy to cover the funeral costs.

We did this for my dad before he moved into a long-term care facility, which was going to drain his remaining assets to $0. A prepaid funeral policy is excluded from the asset base, is protected once the assets are gone and a person goes on medical assistance.

With all the other drama that comes with aging parents, it is nice for my sister and me to know that the end is covered and won’t create another drain/strain on everything. -- Molly

Dear Molly: Thanks for this wise advice. In fact, many elder law attorneys advise prepayment as a way to invest in assets that will not be countable by Medicaid or SSI.

However, I want my readers to know that there are pitfalls on the road to prepaid endof-life arrangements, which they need to know about in order to avoid falling into them. Buyers beware.

Consumers lose millions of dollars every year when pre-need funeral funds are misspent or misappropriated. A funeral provider could mishandle, mismanage or embezzle the funds. Some go out of business before the need for the prepaid funeral arises. Others sell policies that are virtually worthless.

Consumers received some protection from unscrupulous funeral providers with the creation of the Funeral Rule in 1984. This rule, administered by the Federal Trade Commission, requires funeral providers to give consumers accurate, itemized price information and other specific disclosures about funeral goods and services. The problem is that many of these kinds of end-of-life contracts are governed by state laws and vary greatly from one state to another.

Following are some questions that the FTC recommends asking before signing up for a pre-need funeral arrangement. The questions are from the FTC’s booklet, “Shopping for Funeral Services.”

 What happens to the money you’ve prepaid? States have different requirements for handling funds paid for prearranged funeral services.

 What happens to the interest income on money that is prepaid and put into a trust account?

advertisers,

Tell them you saw their ad in Tidbits!

 Are you protected if the organization you dealt with goes out of business?

Thought for the Day: “Integrity is the only path where you will never get lost.”

-- Mike Maples

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

Jr.

You read it in tidbits!

 Can you cancel the contract and get a full refund if you change your mind?

 What happens if you move to a different area or die while away from home?

 Can your end-of-life prepaid funeral plans be transferred?

Remember:

DON’T FORGET!

Remember to TELL OUR ADVERTISERS

Tell the advertisers you saw their ad in Tidbits!

YOU SAW THEIR AD IN TIDBITS!

Sometimes it’s more convenient and less stressful to price shop funeral homes by phone. The Funeral Rule requires funeral directors to provide price information over the phone to any caller who asks for it.

Should you run into problems or have questions about your state’s laws, most states have a licensing board that regulates its funeral industry.

By the way, you will find links for the resources mentioned above at EverydayCheapskate.com/end-of-life

* * *

(You wouldn’t have Tidbits without them)

(Tidbits wouldn't be possible without them)

Mary invites you to visit her at EverydayCheapskate.com, where this column is archived complete with links and resources for all recommended products and services. Mary invites questions and comments at https:// www.everydaycheapskate.com/contact/, “Ask Mary.” This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of EverydayCheapskate.com, a frugal living blog, and the author of the book “Debt-Proof Living.”

• Each elevator carries an average of 20,000 passengers per year. The average number of people per elevator ride is five. The average length of a typical elevator rise is 40 feet, or four floors. In New York City, the average elevator trip takes 118 seconds, including stops along the way.

• When an elevator is overloaded beyond its designed capacity, it will not move. The doors remain open and a warning buzzer might go off alerting passengers that too many people are onboard, and some need to get off.

• It’s been estimated that Americans travel more miles yearly by elevators and escalators than all rail and air miles combined.

• One of the world’s most remarkable elevators is at AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng Gold Mine in South Africa. Not only is it the world’s longest

elevator, dropping 7,490 feet (1.4 miles) in a single plunge, which is 4.5 times further than those in the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. It’s also one of the world’s fastest, making the journey in just three minutes, vertically moving at 40 mph. Each car carries about 120 workers.

• The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China features the Bailong Elevator. This lift, whose name means “hundred dragons,” is the world’s tallest outdoor elevator. Each of the three glassencased elevator cars carries up to 50 tourists at a time, lifting them 1,070 feet up the side of a sheer cliff in less than two minutes. At the top, visitors get an impressive panoramic view.

Final

• In the running for the slowest elevator in the world would be the Rising Tide Elevator Bar. This elevator is located on the cruise ship Oasis of the Seas, with identical models installed on several of her sister ships, which are the world’s largest cruise ships. The large oval open elevator is shaped like a barge and rises very slowly from the ship’s Central Park deck to the Royal Promenade, taking nearly ten minutes to go the short distance. The reason is that the elevator doubles as a cocktail lounge which seats 35 people, enough time for a quick tonic enroute.

• Do the “close door” buttons on elevators really work? As you probably expected, the answer is “usually no.” Actually, they once did, but in 1990 the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed, which regulated certain things in elevators. The buttons needed to be marked in Braille; there needed to be audible tones indicating when the elevator was arriving and departing (one chime for up and two for down); and the doors were required to remain open long enough for a disabled person to board. Many “close door” buttons were deactivated at that time.

• The average lifespan of an elevator is about 25 years, and most have long since been replaced by elevators with fake “door close” buttons. However, if you’re in the U.K., the button probably does function.

• Pressing the “call” button repeatedly doesn’t do any good. Once the button is pressed the first time, the call is registered in the maintenence dept..

Final

• A popular TV show during the 1960s called “Candid Camera” confronted unwary citizens with odd situations while their reactions were filmed by hidden cameras. In 1962, one of the show’s pranks involved an elevator. In the stunt, an unwitting participant pressed the elevator button. When the doors opened, everyone inside the elevator (all actors in on the joke) were facing the rear of the elevator instead of the front. Almost all the people being pranked likewise turned to face the elevator’s back wall. Social psychologists often cite this scenario as a demonstration of how quickly social norms can

be reversed.

• An engineering firm calculated that for a lifelong city dweller who uses an elevator an average of eight times a day, the odds of being trapped in an elevator are one in 5,000 monthly. Over the course of 25 years, the odds work out to one in 17, meaning it's somwhat likely for a long-time city dweller to get trapped in an elevator at least once in their lifetime. □

by Dana Jackson

Q: Where have I seen the actor who plays the documentary filmmaker in the new season of “Only Murders in the Building”? It’s driving me crazy. -- U.S.

A: If you’re a “Grey’s Anatomy” fan, you’ll surely recognize Jesse Williams from his role as Dr. Jackson Avery, who he played from 2009-2022 and has since made subsequent returns. In the new season of the Hulu comedy whodunit “Only Murders in the Building,” he plays a documentarian who was filming Paul Rudd’s character, Ben, in his Broadway debut until Ben’s murder.

The season isn’t over yet, so you’ll just have to wait and see whether Williams is this season’s killer. In addition to Rudd and Williams, there’s another big star featured this season, threetime Oscar winner Meryl Streep. ***

Q: Are there any baseball movies that have won an Oscar? I thought maybe “The Natural” or “Field of Dreams” won, but I haven’t been able to find anywhere if they actually did. -- K.L.

A: Throughout film history, there have been several baseball-themed movies that have been nominated for Oscars in various categories, but none has taken home the last award of the eve-

ning: Best Picture. In 1942, “The Pride of the Yankees,” which is about Lou Gehrig, was nominated for Best Picture and ten other Academy Awards, but only took home one trophy for Best Editing.

In subsequent years, other notable baseball films included “Bang the Drum Slowly,” which came out in 1973. It starred Michael Moriarty and Robert De Niro, but the only nomination it received was for Vincent Gardenia in the Best Supporting Actor category.

A little over a decade later, “The Natural” wowed critics and audiences alike, but Robert Redford and Robert Duvall weren’t recognized by the Academy. Instead, Glenn Close was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. It became one of the eight Academy Award nominations Close would receive throughout her career, but she has yet to win.

“Bull Durham” and “Field of Dreams” are two other classic baseball films from the 1980s that were nominated in various categories by the Academy (including “Field” for Best Picture), but both went home empty-handed.

In 1995, “Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream” was nominated for Best Documentary, and in 2011,

“Moneyball” was recognized with six nominations. Alas, none of the nominees took home a gold statuette. ***

Q: Since “Reboot” was canceled, does Rachel Bloom have any other shows lined up? She was so talented in that show and in “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” She deserves another series. -- H.A.

A: I agree. Rachel Bloom showcased her fantastic musical and acting talents in “Crazy ExGirlfriend,” but then had the misfortune of her next exciting project, “Reboot,” getting canceled, despite it receiving critical acclaim. Next up, however, she’s turned to the stage. She’s bringing her onewoman musical comedy vehicle, “Death, Let Me Do My Show,” to Off Broadway this fall.

Bloom will also eventually grace our television screens in the second season of the Max series “Julia” whenever it returns. Fingers crossed it’s before the year is over!

Send me your questions at NewCelebrityExtra@gmail.com, or write me at KFWS, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.

2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

1. Split (PG-13)

James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy

1. Blue Beetle (PG-13) Xolo Maridueña, Bruna Marquezine

2. Rings ............................... (PG-13)

Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Alex Roe

3. A Dog’s Purpose ..................(PG)

2. Barbie (PG-13) Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling

Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid

3. Oppenheimer (R) Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt

4. Hidden Figures ....................(PG)

Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (PG) Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr.

5. La La Land .................... (PG-13) Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

6. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter ...................................... (R) Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen

5. Strays (R) Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx

6. Meg 2: The Trench (PG-13) Jason Statham, Jing Wu

7. Sing .......................................(PG) animated

7. Talk to Me (R) Ari McCarthy, Hamish Phillips

8. Haunted Mansion (PG13) LaKeith

8. Lion (PG-13) Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman

9. The Space Between Us (PG-13) Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield

9.

10. xXx: Return of Xander Cage .................................... (PG-13)

10.

Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen

© 2017 King Features Synd., Inc.

© 2023 King Features Synd.,

(c)

Stanfield, Rosario Dawson

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (PG-13) Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell

Sound of Freedom (PG13) Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino

Inc.

Good Recipes from

Unstuffed Cabbage

Cabbage wedges are microwaved, then topped with a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce -- a simplified version of the classic stuffed cabbage! Delicious served over quick-cooking brown rice.

1 (1 1/2 pounds) small head savoy cabbage, cut into 4 wedges

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 medium celery stalks, chopped

1 medium red pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed with garlic press

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced and peeled

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1. Place cabbage and 1/4 cup water in 3-quart microwave-safe baking dish; cover and cook in microwave oven on High 12 to 14 minutes or until cabbage is fork-tender.

2. Meanwhile, in nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add carrots, celery and pepper, and cook 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender and golden. Add garlic, green onions and ginger, and cook 2 minutes, stirring.

3. Add tomatoes with their juice, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar; heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Spoon tomato mixture over cabbage in baking dish; cover and cook in microwave on High 2 minutes to blend flavors. Makes 4 servings.

Note: It may be necessary to make adjustments in cooking times to reach desired doneness depending on your microwave oven.

* Each serving: About 145 calories, 4g total fat (1g saturated), 6g protein, 26g carbohydrates, 0mg cholesterol, 1,200mg sodium, 7g fiber.

Shrimp, Watermelon and Feta Salad

Get this fresh, protein-rich summer salad on the table in just 20 minutes.

4 tablespoons prepared lemon and chive dressing

1 pound large shelled and deveined shrimp

1 bag (5 to 6 ounces) mixed baby greens

3 cup diced (1-inch chunks) seedless watermelon

2 ounces crumbled feta cheese

1. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon dressing on medium 1 minute. Add shrimp and cook 6 to 8 minutes or until shrimp are opaque throughout, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, in large bowl, toss mixed greens, diced watermelon and remaining 3 tablespoons dressing until evenly coated. To serve, divide salad among 4 serving plates and top with shrimp and crumbled feta.

 Each serving: About 280 calories, 14g total fat (3g saturated), 185mg cholesterol,

415mg sodium, 12g total carbs, 1g dietary fiber, 27g protein.

* * * For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our Web site at www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/.

"Have you ever thought that perhaps this might not be your best line of work?"

Walt

By John Allen

Brett Koth

NEXT WEEK in TIDBITS REMEMBERS OUR FAVORITE

CARTOON CATS

Cody’s

Corner

Dog Talk with Uncle Matty

By Matthew Margolis

Low-Down Dirty Pet-Flippers

Creators News Service

According to the Bible, the love of money is the root of all evil. According to Mark Twain, the lack of money is the root of all evil. For love or lack, people concoct some low-down dirty schemes in the name of the almighty dollar. One of the latest involves flipping pets.

With not the slightest care for the anxiety and heartbreak that comes with a missing dog or cat -- a family member lost -- this particular brand of criminal steals beloved dogs off of neighborhood streets or right out of the dog’s own yard and sells them for a quick buck on sites such as Craigslist.

These crooks also scour “lost dog, found dog” sites, claiming a “found dog” as their own only to turn around and hock the pooch for anywhere from $50 to $1,500, depending on the popularity of the breed.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

-- Ronald Reagan

NBC’s Today.com produced a story about the surge in pet flipping. A cute little schnauzer named Rosie went missing in Indianapolis, and so her owner, Leisa Waggoner, launched a search. She posted missing dog fliers and hit the lost dog sites.

That’s where she found her Rosie -- already claimed by some poser. When Waggoner managed to locate and contact the con who had falsely claimed Rosie, the woman, Jennifer Dodd, attempted to extort a reward from Waggoner for Rosie’s return. Dodd was arrested and pleaded guilty to felony theft.

And here’s the part that would get a “told ya so” from Twain: Dodd said she did it for cash to buy diapers for her kids, telling Today, “I’m a single mom. I have fraternal twins on the way, and I have a one-year-old, and you know, the economy’s hard and stuff nowadays.”

“Hard and stuff” or not, the need to support your family doesn’t justify causing the pain and heartbreak of another family for your own relief.

Ultimately, Dodd got caught because she’s a dolt who delivered her extortion note via text message. Most criminals aren’t the inept Virgil Starkwells of Woody Allen’s “Take the Money and Run,” who flubbed his bank robbery arguing over the legibility of his “holdup” note to the teller. And most aren’t as easily reformed as the lovable Virgil, who swooned, “After fifteen minutes I wanted to

Cody's Corner: Turn to Page 10

3. The Weekly “Brain Breaker”

SENIOR NEWS LINE

by Matilda Charles

Classes From the Comfort of Home

The course catalog for the winter semester of the local senior college arrived in the mail, and I’ve already highlighted over a dozen classes, talks, lectures and seminars that I’d like to take.

Not that I’ll take all of them, of course. But I will likely sign up for a few that have especially piqued my interest.

Archaeology has become a special interest over the past several years, to the extent that I looked into going on a dig in a foreign country. Covid slammed shut that possibility (as well as the digs themselves), but if I’m not reading an archaeology magazine, I’m looking at archaeology YouTube videos online. This talk promises to be right along my favorite lines: the results of a dig in Ireland.

A four-week course on banned books also looks to be very interesting, as does the two-week seminar on the differences between northern and southern Italy, including cuisine, landscape, culture and customs. All the classes

will be filmed and available online afterward.

The best part of all three of these? They’ll be presented live online via Zoom, with viewing right from the comfort of home ... which is excellent timing and forward thinking on someone’s part because, of course, there's now talk trickling down that Covid or some other contageous bug is rearing its ugly head once again. I've heard we’re likely headed for another round of mask wearing, curbside shopping and more booster shots. To be able to safely take a few classes is going to be a highlight in what might otherwise be another dreary winter of forced confinement.

If you don’t have a senior college near you and you would like to take classes, fear not. Some of the best sources of online classes are found through Coursera (www.coursera.org), which range from business classes to humanities; through Harvard (pll.harvard.edu), with many free offerings; and through Class Central (www.classcentral.com/universities), with links to hundreds of colleges and universities.

However, beware of the supposedly free online colleges that offer degrees. Be sure to check the fine print for the actual costs and fees, which can add up to be considerable.

(c) KingFeaturesSyndicate

back and forth from the kitchen or serving station. If the dinner is served family style, serving platters and large serving utensils become part of the table decor.

marry her, and after half an hour I completely gave up the idea of stealing her purse.”

For love or lack, they carry on with their ruthless pursuit of the quick buck. And as in most things, the best defense is the best defense:

Your takeaway on this? Don’t leave your dog alone in your yard unless you have an insurmountable fence and locked gates. Even then, don’t leave him outside when you aren’t home. When your dog is inside, he’s safer and your home is safer. Crate him if he can’t yet be trusted alone in the house.

Walk your dog on a leash. Always. He’s less likely to get lost, or be hit by a car, or ingest some vile food source in an alleyway.

Microchip your dog. A chip can’t be removed like an ID tag, and it’s solid proof of ownership. Make sure the chip is registered and your information is current.

If your dog does go missing, check the “dogs for sale” section of Craigslist for his appearance. And if you do manage to hunt down the perp, try to establish contact via email or text to establish a traceable thread.

* * * Dog trainer Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis is the co-author of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and the host of the PBS series “WOOF! It’s a Dog’s Life!” Read all of Uncle Matty’s columns at www.creators.com, and visit him at www.unclematty.com.

COPYRIGHT 2012 CREATORS.COM

by Joseph Publillones

Tablescapes 101

Designing a tablescape for a special dinner should take into account the decor of the home, the occasion, the food to be served and even the guest list. The beauty of setting a table is that you can be as simple or as extravagant as you wish. Every table can tell a tale -- or set the theatrical background for tales to be made.

A tablecloth can be considered the foundation of a table. Some tables demand the use of a tablecloth; others don’t. Sometimes, tables with a beautiful wood or stone pattern, or an unusual base, are worthy of showing off a bit. In that case, it is preferable to use place mats in lieu of tablecloths. Some consider tablecloths to be traditional, but depending on the fabric and color, tablecloths can also be quite contemporary and even cutting-edge (I’m thinking of a fiber optic fabric where the lights come from the table itself).

Now, depending on the food to be served and the number of courses, you will have to choose your china, glassware and silverware. The more courses and accompanying beverages, the more utensils and dishes you will need.

Another factor that will affect your table decor will be whether or not you have hired help to clear the table between courses. Alternatively, you can serve the dinner all at once, family style. When the table is served one course at a time, dishes are expected to be cleared and brought

The china, glassware and silverware are the most noticeable decorative items at a table. The colors, shapes and even textures of materials add to the overall flavor of the tablescape. Regardless of what you read in antiquated etiquette books, which always profess the use of white tablecloths and gold-rimmed china, you definitely can mix and match patterns and styles for a more interesting table decor.

The centerpiece is the crowning jewel of the table. More often than not, beautiful vases and flowers are involved. But centerpieces can be almost anything you want. Candelabras, objets d’art and even collections make great centerpieces and often become the subject of conversation. Roses are usually the expected floral centerpiece at dinner parties, but why stop there? There are so many varieties of flowers and so many types of vases that can be used. There are some rules. Usually, you want to be able to see your dinner guests so conversation can flow even across the table. Another rule is not to use very fragrant flowers or candles; you don’t want their aroma to compete with that of the food. In addition, strong smells may be offensive to some of your guests.

Joseph

COPYRIGHT 2020 CREATORS.COM

* * *

Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into her column whenever possible. Send email to columnreply2@ gmail.com.

Cody’s Corner (from page 9)

The Art of DESIGN

Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida. To find out more about Joseph Pubillones, or to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

SOCIAL SECURITY

by Tom Margenau

Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice

Do any of you remember the movie: “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice?” It came out in 1969 and starred Robert Culp and Natalie Wood as a trendy West Coast couple who were trying to talk a not-sohip, straight-laced couple, played by Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon, into a wife-swapping arrangement.

So, what does wife-swapping have to do with Social Security? Well, nothing, of course. (Unless there are some parts of the law I’m still not familiar with!) But I’m using these two couples (sans their marital dalliances) to help explain a law that frustrates and upsets a lot of my readers.

I’m talking about the Government Pension Offset (GPO) law that affects teachers in several states as well as other public employees who spend the bulk of their careers in jobs not covered by Social Security.

In a nutshell, that law says if you will get a pension from a job not covered by Social Security, that pension will offset any benefits you might be due on your spouse’s Social Security record. The Social Security Administration must deduct an amount equal to two-thirds of your government pension from any wives’, husbands’, widows’ or widowers’ benefits you might be due from Social Security.

Note: This offset affects only the spouse’s benefit you might be due on your husband or wife’s Social Security record. It does not affect his or her benefit. In other words, even though you are due a teacher’s pension or government pension, your spouse will get his or her full Social Security retirement benefit. It is your potential spousal benefit on your husband or wife’s Social Security record that is affected by the Government Pension Offset.

So why is there an offset? Because benefits that Social Security pays to wives, husbands, widows and widowers are “dependents’” benefits. These benefits were established in the 1930s to compensate spouses who stayed home to raise a family and who were financially dependent on the working spouse. But as more and more couples both worked, they each earned their own Social Security retirement benefits.

The law has always required the SSA to offset a Social Security retirement benefit against any dependents’ benefits. In other words, if a woman worked and earned her own $1,800 monthly Social Security retirement benefit but was also due a $1,500 wife’s benefit on her husband’s Social Security record, the SSA could not pay that wife’s benefit, because her own Social Security benefit offsets it. But if that same woman was a teacher who did not pay into Social Security and who earned an $1,800 teacher’s pension, there was no offset, and

the SSA was required to pay her a full wife’s benefit in addition to her government pension.

The Government Pension Offset rule exists simply to ensure that everyone is treated fairly.

Many teachers and government employees affected by the government pension offset think the law is unfair. They believe they are being cheated out of Social Security benefits that everyone else gets. But they are wrong. And to explain that, let’s get back to Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice. Let’s say they are neighbors and live in a nice suburb of Dallas. And, so I don’t have to get into any messy calculations involving early retirement, let’s say they all are over full retirement age.

Bob and Carol both worked all their lives. And they worked at jobs that were covered by Social Security. In other words, Social Security taxes were deducted from both their paychecks.

Neighbor Ted also worked at a job covered by Social Security. But his wife, Alice, was a teacher in Dallas. Texas teachers pay into the Texas Teacher’s Retirement System, but they do not pay into Social Security.

Bob retired and is getting $3,200 per month in Social Security retirement benefits. Carol is getting a Social Security retirement pension of about $2,000 per month. Carol is technically due 50% of Bob’s rate, or $1,800 in spousal benefits. But she can’t get anything because her own retirement benefit offsets any wives’ benefits she might have been due on Bob’s record.

Across the street (and to keep my math simple), let’s say Ted is also getting $3,200 per month from Social Security. And let’s also say that Alice is getting a $2,000 per month retirement pension, but hers comes from the Texas teachers’ system, not Social Security. Before the GPO law was in place, Alice would have received a $1,800 dependent wife’s benefit from Social Security in addition to her full teacher’s pension. And even with the GPO law, only two-thirds of her teacher’s pension, or $1,320, must be used to offset her spousal benefit. That means that Alice, the teacher, will still get $480 in spousal

benefits from Ted’s record. ($1,800 minus $1,320 equals $480.) And remember, across the street, Social Security recipient Carol gets nothing.

And now let’s take things a step further. Let’s say that all the wife-swapping and other marital shenanigans caused both Bob and Ted to die from heart attacks. So now Carol and Alice are due widow’s benefits. Carol is going to get $1,200 in widow’s benefits because her own $2,000 retirement pension must be deducted from her potential $3,200 widow’s rate.

But Alice, the teacher, comes out a little better. Once again, only two-thirds of her teacher’s pension, or $1,320, is used to offset her widow’s rate. So, Alice will end up with $1,880 in widow’s benefits, compared to Carol’s $1,200 rate.

And yet, Alice is mysteriously upset because she thinks the Government Pension Offset law is cheating her out of some of her spousal or widow’s benefits. She thinks she and other teachers are being singled out for Social Security penalties that apply to no one else. What she doesn’t understand is that all retirement pensions offset spousal benefits and that the GPO law actually cuts her a deal with only the two-thirds offset.

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called “Social Security -- Simple and Smart: 10 Easyto-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security.” The other is “Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts.” You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Final Changes DUE:

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

1. The book of Amos is in the a) Old Testament b) New Testament c) Neither

2. From Exodus 16, what wilderness did the Israelites come unto between Elim and Sinai? a) Nod b) Lot c) Gilead d) Sin

3. In a letter to believers at Corinth, what did Paul say was the greatest? a) Faith b) Love c) Charity d) Hope

4. What king wrote a letter to Hezekiah concerning surrender? a) Sennacherib b) Artaxerxes c) Belshazzar d) Jabin

5. In Judges 1, who fed 70 kings at his table? a) David b) Saul c) Adonibezek d) Neco

6. Who were Nadab and Abihu the sons of? a) Joshua b) Aaron c) Moses d) Rodanabab

Sharpen your understanding of scripture with Wilson Casey's latest book, "Test Your Bible Knowledge," now available in stores and online.

(Answers on page 16)

For comments or more Bible Trivia go to www.TriviaGuy.com

"If you die in an elevator, be sure to push the up button."

-- Sam Levenson

Osteoporosis Screening for Men Remains Controversial

DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband and I are confused about the guidelines concerning when older men should be screened for osteoporosis. All the information seems to suggest that it is only needed for men over 70 who have had a fracture. In my husband’s case, he was only told to get a DEXA (dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry) scan after he had back pain and several compression fractures of the thoracic spine (up to 70%), at the age of 72. His T-score was -2.8 for his spine.

I can’t help feeling that because he is male, weighs 200 pounds, has an active lifestyle and was previously 6 feet, 2 inches tall, the issue of osteoporosis just never came up during his yearly primary care visits (even though his height had decreased since at least 2019, and he’s now only 6 feet tall).

This is a potentially life-threatening condition for older women and men, but the risks for women seem to get all the attention. What’s the reluctance to order a simple, fast, painless, not-too-expensive test to screen men earlier? -- B.W.

ANSWER: In general, screening tests (by definition, a test done on a person with no symptoms of the condition) are done when there is good evidence that the screening will lead to an improved outcome in the screened group compared to an unscreened group. The data in women is strong enough that all women over 65 and women younger than 65 with additional risks for osteoporosis should be screened with a DEXA scan, but there is not strong enough data to support screening in men.

Osteoporosis screening in men is controversial. While one of the most influential groups does not recommend screening in all men over 70, some groups do, despite an absence of proven benefit.

They base this recommendation on the fact that, as you say, it’s not a particularly dangerous test (the radiation dose is small), nor is it expensive (the average cost is $150, but can be higher in some states).

One major downside of testing in general is that no screening test is perfect. As such, an unexpected finding of osteoporosis in a man requires that the screening test be repeated to be

PonderBits

Today's three-year-olds can boot up a laptop and open their favorite apps. When I was three, I ate mud.

The fact that Arkansas and Kansas are pronounced differently bothers me way more than it should.

I went line dancing last night. Well, it was actually a roadside sobriety test -- sort of the same thing.

sure the test result is accurate. Even though men are not always recommended for screening, there are some medical findings that should prompt a test. One is a loss of height -- losing more than 1.5 inches of height should have prompted a DEXA scan. (Strictly speaking, this is no longer a screening; it’s an evaluation of the cause of an unexpected medical finding.)

A low testosterone level (either by itself -- hypogonadism -- or as a result of medical treatment for prostate cancer); primary hyperparathyroidism; inflammatory bowel disease; and long-term use of prednisone and similar drugs are all known risk factors for osteoporosis that should at least trigger a discussion of a DEXA scan. Similarly, the finding of osteoporosis in a man should prompt consideration of the underlying reason behind it, which could include any of the risk factors listed above.

* * *

Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu.

(c)

VETERANS POST  

by Freddie Groves

Mobile Medical Units Are

Coming

The Department of Veterans Affairs is sending a fleet of 25 mobile medical units across the country over the next six months, and the first ones are already out there, with the initial two having arrived in Orlando, Florida, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

These mobile medical units are intended to provide care and support to homeless veterans and those at risk. Veterans will be able to get primary care, lab work, telehealth services, audiology, women’s health and more from the Homeless Patient Aligned Care Teams (HPACT) that will move from place to place in the vehicles. They’ll be parked in a variety of VA medical centers, outpatient clinics and referral centers -- wherever there are VA services.

Whether you’re near San Diego, California; Chicago, Illinois; Bay Pines, Florida; or New Orleans, Louisiana, there is a van coming. To check the schedule of anticipated arrival dates and locations of the medical units, go to https://tinyurl. com/bdfzmzpa

If you can’t wait on the van, if you are a homeless veteran or at risk for becoming homeless, call 877-424-3838 any hour of the day or night. Don’t wait. Make the call as soon as you know what your situation is going to be.

Go online to www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ HPACT.asp for more information about the care teams and how they can help you.

The mobile medical unit vehicles will add to the 83 mobile vet centers the VA has scattered across the country that provide a place for confidential counseling and outreach. They’re able to access your records from those locations so your care can stay on track. You can talk to someone quickly by calling the Vet Center Call Center at 877927-8387.

Whether you’re the veteran or a veteran’s family, whether you want to talk about your military experiences, traumatic events or any other issue, veterans will be at the other end of the phone, day and night. See www.vetcenter.va.gov for more information. Click on “Locations” to find the vet center closest to you.

* * *

Freddy Groves regrets that he cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into his column whenever possible. Send email to columnreply2@gmail.com.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

-- by Jim Miller

How Seniors Can Save on Prescription Drug Costs

DEAR SAVVY SENIOR: I take several medications for multiple health conditions and the prices keep going up, even with my Medicare prescription drug insurance. Can you recommend any tips that can help cut my costs?

-- Tapped Out Tina

Dear Tina: The high cost of prescription drugs is an ongoing problem that stings everyone, but it usually affects seniors more severely for several reasons. First, they generally have a greater need for medications; second, because Medicare doesn’t cover all their drug costs; and third, because many seniors are limited on a fixed income.

While the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law last year, will help seniors save on their medications by negotiating lower drug prices and capping out-ofpocket spending at $2,000, it will still be a few years before the law is fully enacted. In the meantime, here are some different strat egies that can help reduce your costs so you can afford the prescriptions you need.

Talk to your doctor:

A good first step is to review your medications once a year with your doctor to find out if any of them can be stopped or reduced. If you’re taking any brand-name drugs check to see if they are available in a less expensive generic form. Also, for any drugs you’re taking long-term ask your doc tor for a cheaper three or six-month prescrip tion, versus the one month at a time supply. And find out if any of the pills you’re taking can be cut in half. Pill splitting allows you to get two months’ worth of medicine for the price of one.

Review your insurance:

Carefully review your drug coverage during the open enrollment period, which runs Oct. 15 – Dec. 7 for Medicare beneficiaries. Make sure all your regular medications are covered in the plan’s formulary, and that your current pharmacy is in the plan’s network. Also see whether your plan covers additional medication coverage in the gap. To shop and compare Medicare prescription drug plans go to Medicare.gov/plan-compare.

Pay cash:

Not using insurance for prescriptions seems counterintuitive, but in some cases, it may save you money. For example, many chain pharmacies and big-box stores like Walmart and Costco have their own prescription savings programs that may be lower than your insurance copayment. Or you can use coupons through GoodRx.com or RxSaver.com that can save you up to 80 percent off the list price of generic and some brand-name drugs in certain pharmacies.

Shop online: You can also save on regularly used medications by having them sent to you from a mail-order pharmacy. Check with your health insurer or regular pharmacy to see whether it will get you a better deal. If not, check online pharmacies like CostPlusDrugs.com or HoneybeeHealth.com. With these, you may spend less in some cases than you might with insurance.

Buy from Canada:

Because prescription drugs are often much cheaper north of the border, many Americans have for years chosen this option. While this is technically illegal in most states, the Food and Drug Administration generally does not step in and stop people from doing it. If you want to explore this option use PharmacyChecker.com, an online tool that will help you identify reputable Canadian and international online pharmacies.

Get more help:

If your income is limited, you may also be able to get help through Medicare’s Extra Help program (Medicare.gov/basics/costs/ help/drug-costs), your state pharmaceutical assistance program (Medicare.gov/plancompare/#/pharmaceutical-assistanceprogram/states) or patient assistance programs (Medicare.gov/pharmaceuticalassistance-program). Visit each website to

ANTIQUE -- OR -JUNQUE

by Anne McCollam Creators News Service

Talking Machine Cranks Up Sound

Q: While visiting our friend in New England, we observed a crank operated record player in the corner of her dining room. Attached is a picture of it. Our friend, a widow, said it had belonged to her husband and she did not know anything about it. It is in pristine condition and sounds great. It still has a complete set of records, both large and small.

Could you please tell us about it and what its approximate value is?

A: Victor Talking Machine Company was in business from 1906 to 1929. Your phonograph was made before many homes had electricity. The cabinet style was inspired by Queen Anne period of furniture and the Queen Anne cabriole legs are often called spider legs. Victor Talking Machine Company wanted their cabinets to look like a piece of furniture that would fit into family parlors. Many of the cabinets were made of oak or mahogany.

Your phonograph was made around 1920 and would probably be worth $700 to $1,100.

Q: I have an antique silver plated footed butter dish that has been in my family for generations. I plan to pass it along to my daughter and she would like to know more about its history and value.

I have enclosed the mark that is on the

Puzzle Solutions

When you drive on a certain Caribbean island and your car conks out, would you have a Nevis breakdown?

bottom of the dish.

The overall height with the ornate handle is about 12 inches, and there is a hook on the side for the butter knife, which we still have. There is a glass insert, and the lid revolves to open. It is decorated with engraved flowers and leaves and the silver plate is in perfect condition. Also, we are thinking of insuring it.

Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

* On Sept. 4, 1925, laws were enacted to ensure that farm wagons would be equipped with lights for traveling at night, due to an increase in the number of accidents the wagons were involved in during peak corn-packing season.

A: Meriden Britannia Company made your butter dish. They were established in Meriden, Conn. in 1852. In 1898, they merged with International Silver Company. Your dish is circa 1880 and was made of white metal that was triple plated with silver. Originally similar silver-plated butter dishes sold in the range of $10 to $15.

The current insurance value would probably be $625 to $775.

* * *

Antiques expert and columnist Anne McCollam has since retired and no longer receives inquiries nor answers reader letters. Due to the popularity of her column, this publication will continue to reprint previous columns of interest to our readers.

To find out more about Anne McCollam and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

* On Sept. 5, 1969, U.S. Army platoon leader Lt. William Calley was charged with premeditated murder in the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians at My Lai, where Calley had led his men in a massacre that included women and children. Though hushed up at first, the event was made public a year later.

* On Sept. 6, 1997, an estimated 2.5 billion people around the world watched the four-mile funeral procession of England’s beloved Princess Diana as her coffin was carried to Westminster Abbey. After the formal service there, a private ceremony was held in which she was laid to rest on an island in the heart of her family’s estate at Althorp.

* On Sept. 7, 1907, the RMS Lusitania set sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, setting a new trans-Atlantic record when she arrived in New York City a mere five days later.

* On Sept. 8, 2006, only a week after permission was granted for helicopter flights over the high-elevation ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, the country’s government declared the area a no-fly zone following protests by environmentalists who claimed such flights would adversely affect rare plants and animals in the area.

* On Sept. 9, 2007, the NFL discovered that the New England Patriots were illegally videotaping coaching signals from the New York Jets at an unauthorized location in a Week 1 game in East Rutherford, New Jersey. News media quickly dubbed the scandal “Spygate.”

* On Sept. 10, 1897, 25-year-old London taxi driver George Smith had the dubious honor of becoming the first person ever arrested for “being drunk when in charge of a motor car” after he slammed his cab into a building, breaking a water pipe and window. Smith later pleaded guilty and was fined 25 shillings.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc

SOLUTION

Unbeknownst to Clarence, his cart had broken down in the seedy and dangerous non-member area of the country club.

Victor Talking Machine Company was in business from 1906 to 1929.

Meriden Britannia Company merged with International Silver Company in 1898.

• The speed of elevators also increased, with hydraulic elevators moving at five feet per second, increasing to 16 feet per second when converted to electric motors. The electric elevators in the Empire State Building traveled at the speed of 20 feet per second.

• Today, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is now the tallest building in the world, with 163 floors, reaching an astounding 2,717 feet in height. Its 57 Otis elevators travel at 33 feet per second, which is definitely impressive, but not nearly the fastest.

• The world’s fastest elevator is the NexWay elevator in the Shanghai Tower in China, the second tallest building in the world. Installed in 2015 and opened in 2016, the elevator travels at 67 feet per second (46 mph/74 kph) covering 124 of the 127 floors.

• Standard elevators cannot rise more than about 1,700 feet, the point at which the sheer weight of the heavy cables is so great it causes them to fail. In super-skyscrapers, people must take two or more elevators in order to reach the top.

FINAL FACTS

• The push-button elevator, allowing passengers to select the floor they want, was established in the mid-1920s. This ended the careers of many elevator attendants, who had previously been responsible for operating all the elevatorʼs controls. By the early 1950s, the “lift boy” operator had become a thing of the past.

• The model of elevator car that allows the opening doors to automatically slide out of sight into the elevator's wall came on the scene shortly after World War II. Prior to that, doors were made of horizontal collapsible metal grates that had to be manually slid open and closed by the passenger.

• Today there are over 1.03 million elevators in the U.S., up from 900,000 in 2007. This works out to about one elevator for every 322 citizens. Elevators are the safest mode of transportation on the planet, thanks to people like Elisha Otis and the many innovators like him. □

One Leg, Two Arms

Golf alignments can be one of the more difficult aspects of playing good golf. Not only is aiming oneself appropriately to the target at hand crucial, but getting your body in alignments to itself is just as important. Having the hips, shoulders and arms “parallel” to one another can be a confusing and challenging task.

Mirrors and reflective windows offer a great opportunity to inspect your alignments whether you’re at home or on the course. The objective of viewing your body from the side is to create a posture and alignment where you’ll see one leg, but two arms.

The lower body should be positioned so that neither leg is pulled in front of the other. The upper body, on the other hand, allows for the shoulders and arms to be turned slightly rightward so that you’d see the right arm slightly below the left.

Many amateurs make the mistake of seeing the right arm significantly above the left at address, implying improper shoulder alignment or poor arm positioning. The other common mistake is to see two legs but only one arm. Use slight shoulder turns and right arm inward move

ments to achieve the proper look at address.

GO FIGURE!

tion author wrote the three laws of robotics? Answers

by Linda Thistle

TRIVIA TEST Answers Answers

1. Vertebrae.

2. The Philippines.

3. Na’vi.

4. 1976.

5. A cob.

6. Walnuts.

The idea of Go Figure is to arrive at the figures given at the bottom and right-hand columns of the diagram by following the arithmetic signs in the order they are given (that is, from left to right and top to bottom). Use only the numbers below the diagram to complete its blank squares and use each of the nine numbers only once.

7. Fear of numbers.

8. Sarah Michelle Gellar.

9. Outback Steakhouse.

10. Isaac Asimov.

2.