Fourth Of July Holiday—Some Trivia And A Fireworks Safety Quiz

July 4, American Independence Day holiday—on this date in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. The U.S. Constitution, the document that emerged from the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, is the oldest national constitution in the world.

This most American of holidays is normally marked by fireworks, parades, and backyard barbecues. Fireworks displays are common throughout the world and are the focal point of many cultural and religious celebrations. Fireworks were invented in ancient China to scare away evil spirits, as a natural extension of the Chinese invention of gunpowder.

With 4^th of July fireworks comes the concern for safety. A reality for the holiday is that fireworks cause thousands of injuries, and even some deaths, in addition to enough fires to make July 4 the day with the most reported fires across the United States according to the National Fire Protection Association.

So…how much do you know about fireworks safety? Here's a 9 question quiz to test your knowledge. Correct answers are at the end.

1)  How hot does a sparkler burn?

            a:  212 degrees

            b:  600 degrees

            c:  950 degrees

            d:  1200 degrees

2)  What portion of 4^th of July fires are caused by fireworks?

            a:  10 percent

            b:  35 percent

            c:  50 percent

            d:  90 percent

3)  Which age group has the most injuries reported from fireworks?

            a:  under 20

            b:  20 – 40

            c:  40 – 60

            d:  60+

4)  You should skip buying fireworks in brown paper packaging as that could be a sign that they're made for professionals, not consumers.

            a:  true

            b:  false

5)  If a pack of fireworks has not fully functioned, you should cautiously relight it.

            a:  true

            b:  false

6)  What's the best way to dispose of used fireworks?

            a:  throw in trash

            b:  use hose or bucket of water to soak them then throw away

            c:  bury them

7)  What are the most common fireworks injury?

            a:  fractures and sprains

            b:  contusions and lacerations

            c:  ear injuries

            d:  burns

            e:  eye injuries

8)  According to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission investigation, which of these were common reasons for fireworks injuries?

            a:  holding fireworks in the hand

            b:  mischief

            c:  debris or smoke from a malfunction

            d:  errant flight path from a malfunction

            e:  early or late ignition from a malfunction

            f:   all of the above

9)  Never light more than how many fireworks at a time?

            a:  1

            b:  2

            c:  3

And now, for those of you who want to see how well you did on the quiz—

1)         the correct answer is d…1200F degrees, hot enough to burn certain metals and ignite clothing.

2)         the correct answer is c…50 percent, when shooting fireworks keep a bucket of water or sand available.

3)         the correct answer is a…under 20, children 10 – 14 are more than twice as much at risk for fireworks injuries.

4)         the correct answer is a…true.

5)         the correct answer is b…false, any malfunctioning fireworks should be soaked in water and then thrown away

6)         the correct answer is b…use hose or bucket of water to soak them and then throw them away

7)         the correct answer is d…burns

8)         the correct answer is f…all of the above

9)         the correct answer is a…light just 1 at a time.

A happy and safe holiday to everyone.

Salt Mine Tours

Taking a tour of a salt mine? On the surface, it seems like a strange way to spend a day. What could be so interesting about seeing miners dig salt out of the ground? After all, it's not like taking a tour of a location steeped in history such as the Alamo or the Tower of London. Or a famous government building such as the White House. Or a tour of an interesting city such as San Francisco or Paris.

But a salt mine? You'll be surprised…

WIELICZKA SALT MINE IN KRAKOW, POLAND.  I saw a segment on the Travel Channel about this unusual tourist attraction. The mine consists of a lot more than just the tunnels and pits where they have been extracting salt for approximately 700 years (one of Europe's oldest salt mines). It was opened in the 13th century with commercial mining discontinued in 1996 but it continued to produce table salt until 2007. This is a unique tourist attraction and is listed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list.

The tour is spread out over the three upper levels of the mine complex, ranging from 64 to 135 meters (208 to 439 feet) below ground. You'll need to take nearly 400 steps down to the mine but there is an elevator that returns visitors to the surface. Tourists can walk the 3 kilometers (1.8 mile) trail through a collection of objects related to the mine and mining industry over the centuries. You'll see underground lakes. But perhaps the most surprising and fascinating feature of this salt mine is all the works of art made by the miners themselves over the centuries, hand hewn entirely of solid salt—statues, frescos, beautifully adorned chapels including one very large chapel with chandeliers and staircases made entirely of salt along with other hidden treasures. In addition to the spectacular works of art, the complex has a reception room used for private functions including weddings.

The salt mine reaches a depth of 327 meters (1065 feet) and is over 287 kilometers long (172 miles) with the tour covering only a small portion of this total area.

STRATACA IN HUTCHINSON, KANSAS, USA.  Interactive dinner theater below ground in a salt mine? Scout campouts below ground in a salt mine? A large Hollywood film storage/vault facility underground in a salt mine? An event center underground in a salt mine? Yes to all of these…and more.

This salt deposit was formed approximately 275 million years ago when the Permian Sea dried up. This is one of the largest salt deposits in the world covering 27,000 square miles in central and south central Kansas. Adjacent salt deposits extend the entire area to include parts of Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle and south eastern New Mexico for a total overall of 100,000 square miles. The purest portion of the main salt vein is 650 feet underground and is still being mined. Strataca (when first opened for tours was called the Kansas Underground Salt Museum) has access to about 300,000 square feet of the mined out area.

Salt was discovered southwest of Hutchinson in 1887 by a land developer who was drilling for oil as a means of increasing land sales. Instead of oil, he struck salt. Strataca is located in the original Carey rock salt mine.

Even though the mine tour existed earlier and a large storage facility had been there since the 1940s, in 1999 the Reno County Historical Society recognized the importance of preserving and presenting to the public the Hutchinson salt story. Today's museum is the result of a collaboration of the Historical Society and two businesses that already existed in the mine—the Hutchinson Salt Company and the Underground Vaults and Storage. In addition to storing a vast number of original Hollywood movies (such as the master prints of Gone With The Wind and The Wizard Of Oz), it also stores millions of documents and items from around the world in a secure and environmentally conducive atmosphere.

The newly revamped and renamed Strataca was opened to the general public May 1, 2007. Their first Murder In The Mine interactive dinner theater was held in 2007 as was their first underground scout campout. The Visitor Center opened in July 2008. And in 2013, they launched The Salt Safari Adventure Hike.

The English Language part 2 of 2

As pointed out in last week's blog, the English language (or at least the American branch of the language) is often confusing even to those who were born here and this being the only language they speak.

Here is a list of 20 common errors. Some are spelling/using wrong spelling of words with the same pronunciation, some are different pronunciations of words spelled the same way, and others relate to literally using the wrong words in popular phrases.

1)  It didn't phase me, should be: It didn't faze me.

2)  For all intensive purposes, should be: For all intents and purposes.

3)  He has another thing coming, should be: He has another think coming.

4)  Escape goat, should be: Scape goat.

5)  One in the same, should be: One and the same.

6)  Given free reign, should be: Given free rein.

7)  Low and behold, should be: Lo and behold.

8)  Case and point, should be: Case in point.

9)  Peak your interest, should be: Pique your interest.

10)  Hunger pains, should be: Hunger pangs.

11)  Suppose to, should be: Supposed to.

12)  Should of, should be: Should have.

13)  Nipped that problem in the butt, should be:  Nipped that problem in the bud.

14)  Mute point, should be: Moot point.

15)  Piece of mind, should be: Peace of mind (unless you are giving someone a piece of your mind as in venting your anger).

16)  Beck on call, should be: Beck and call.

17)  On accident, should be: By accident.

18)  Expresso, should be: Espresso.

and tied for most commonly misused:

19)  I could care less, should be: I couldn't care less.

20)  Irregardless, should be: Regardless.

The English Language—part 1 of 2

The English language (or at least the American branch of the language) is often confusing even to those who were born here.  I can't imagine trying to learn it as a second language.  Where other languages seem to have set rules, English has rules that are filled with exceptions and sometimes even those exceptions have exceptions.

A good example is the spelling rule for the order of i and e within a word. i before e is the rule. Except after c (exception to rule), or when sounded as a, as in weigh (exception to the exception).

We'll begin with a box and the plural is boxes, but the plural of ox is oxen, not oxes.

One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice, yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men, why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet, and I give you a boot, should a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth, why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

One may be that and three would be those, yet hat in the plural would never be hose. And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother and also of brethren, but though we say mother, we never say methren.

The masculine pronouns are he, his and him, but imagine the feminine as she, shis and shim.

Some reasons to be grateful if you grew up speaking English rather than learning it as a second (or even third) language. Imagine needing to figure out the differences in pronunciation and meaning of these identically spelled words:

1)         The bandage was wound around the wound.

2)         The farm was used to produce produce.

3)         The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4)         We must polish the Polish furniture.

5)         He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6)         The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7)         Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8)         At the army base, a bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9)         When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10)       I did not object to the object.

11)       The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12)       There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13)       They were too close to the door to close it.

14)       The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15)       The seamstress and the sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16)       To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17)       The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18)       After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.

19)       Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

20)       I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

21)       How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

22)       I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.

How many of you had to go back and read any of those 22 examples a second time to get it right?  :)

Let's face it—English is a crazy language.  There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.  English muffins weren't invented in England.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.  And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not just one amend?

If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it, an odd or an end?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?  Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?  Have noses that run and feet that smell?  How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

If dad is pop, how come mom isn't mop?

Are you totally confused yet?  Check back next week when I continue with the eccentricities of the English language in part 2.

CHANGING THE PAST—A Conversation With Meg And Blaine

This week on my blog, I'm welcoming Meg Wainwright and Blaine Reeves, the main characters of Changing The Past, my newly released contemporary romance published by The Wild Rose Press.

Welcome Meg and Blaine. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedules to be here with us today.

Meg:  It's our pleasure.

Blaine:  Thanks for inviting us to participate in your blog. What would you like to know?

Let's start with this. How did the two of you meet?

Blaine:  We met at work. I was the art director for a magazine based out of Los Angeles. Even though we had a staff photographer, part of my job included hiring freelancers for specific assignments when we needed them. Meg had submitted a resume and samples of her work to our company. I had never met her, but I was very impressed with her photographs so I called her in for an interview then contracted her for an assignment.

Meg:  I had been concentrating on establishing my career, both as a photographer and a writer. In my mind, I saw my future as being on staff at National Geographic as a photojournalist. When Blaine called me in to talk with me about a possible assignment, I was both thrilled and apprehensive. I knew this could be the big break I had been looking for—an assignment with an international magazine.

Blaine: The moment we shook hands, I knew she was someone very special. Company policy frowned on management dating freelancers, especially ones they hire for assignments. Once the assignment was completed, I asked her out to dinner. We started dating steadily after that and it soon became an exclusive relationship.

Meg:  The second I walked into his office and he rose from his chair, I knew he was the one I wanted to spend my life with. For a year everything was perfect, or at least I thought it was. I found out differently on that fateful day. He broke my heart, betrayed my love, and destroyed my trust. I was devastated.

[Blaine reaches over and takes her hand in a show of support and comfort]

Blaine, you said you regretted those actions every day of the ten years that elapsed from the time you walked out Meg's door in Los Angeles and out of her life. If that's the case, why did you wait ten years to put a plan into action to win her back? To bring her to London where you lived? And why did you trick her into coming to you rather than you going to Los Angeles?

Meg:  I think I can help you with part of the answer, the part about tricking me into going to London rather than Blaine coming to Los Angeles. It wouldn't have mattered if it was a week later or ten years later, if he had suddenly appeared at my door, I would have slammed it in his face.

Blaine:  It was fear of how close we had become that initially drove me to break off the relationship. But that was something I couldn't say at the time, inner deep feelings I was afraid to divulge, to express out loud.

Meg [frowns]:  And don't forget that other contributing factor.

Blaine:  There's no way I can forget that. Even though admitting it ten years later was extremely painful for me, I knew I had to tell Meg the truth about everything if we were to have a future together.

What was this additional information?

Blaine:  Sorry…you'll need to read the book for that. [furrows his brow in a moment of concentration then continues with what he had started to say] I couldn't try to win her back until I was able to provide her a future. That's what took ten years. I worked hard establishing myself with my own publishing company. I was finally in a position to lure her with a lucrative job offer, a freelance assignment. Having followed her career for the entire ten years, I knew she was totally qualified for the task, and it would enhance her list of major job credits.

Meg [chuckles]:  He made me an offer I couldn't refuse, although I didn't know Pendragon Publishing was Blaine's company. I knew it only as a dynamic young company rapidly making its mark in the publishing industry. And an opportunity to both photograph and write a series of travel books was an incredible opportunity. And the money offered was very generous.

So what happened when you arrived in London and discovered the truth?

Meg:  I felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. My first thought was to take the next flight back to Los Angeles, but Blaine reminded me that I had signed a contract and cashed the sizable advance check. That legally obligated me to finish the assignment, at least the first book covering England. It also meant I would have constant in-person contact with Blaine, and the temptation of being in physical proximity to him truly frightened me—not physically but definitely emotionally.

As I understand it, Blaine, there were several seemingly unrelated situations interfering with your plan to win Meg back. Let's start with Dennis Mallory. Tell me about him.

Blaine:  Dennis…he came to work for me as my managing editor in the early days while I was still building Pendragon. He just wandered into my office one day and said he heard I was looking for someone to head my editing staff. I certainly knew him by reputation. He was considered the best in the business. I was shocked when he agreed to work for me at a salary much less than he could command anywhere. He's an important part in making Pendragon the success it is in such a short time. Dennis was also well-known as a womanizer, but I have to admit that he never allowed his social life to interfere with his job.

What is behind Dennis? What motivates him?

Blaine (laughs): That's too complex to tackle here. You'll have to read the book to find out.

What about your older sister, Crista?

Blaine:  Crista and Dennis have been friends for eight years, from the time they first met. They genuinely enjoy each other's company on a platonic level, a situation very unusual for Dennis.

Meg:  Let me interrupt here. I've known Crista for years. We met one week after Blaine and I started dating. Crista and I became good friends. She's smart, level-headed, outgoing, and has more than her share of common sense.

How did Crista fit in with Dennis and his relationship with Blaine? And how did she fit in with his plan to win you back?

Meg:  I'm afraid I have to agree with Blaine's statement—you'll need to read the book for those answers.

What can you tell me about how Blaine was able to finally win you back?

Meg:  All I can tell you is that you'll—

Blaine:  —need to read the book for the details of that rocky road to happiness.

So…what you're saying is that's all the information I'm getting from you?

Blaine:  [laughs] Yes, that's about it.

Meg:  [joins Blaine's laugh] Everything else you want to know is in the book including an unexpected change in Crista and Dennis' relationship.

I guess the only thing I have left to say is thanks for being here today. I'm going to immediately order the book so I can find the answers to my questions.

CHANGING THE PAST, a contemporary romance published by The Wild Rose Press. Ten years ago, Blaine betrayed Meg's trust, love, and broke her heart. Desperate to win back the only woman he ever loved, he lures her to London with a lucrative job offer without revealing his involvement. Seeing him again has her confused and upset. Her emotions vacillate between anger and longing.

Blurb: 

Successful freelance photojournalist Meg Wainwright is offered the assignment of her dreams—photographing and writing a new line of travel books for a publisher in the UK. But when she arrives, she learns she’ll be working for the man who walked out on her ten years ago without an explanation and left her heartbroken.

Blaine Reeves regrets leaving the only woman he ever loved. Luring her to London without revealing his involvement might not be his best plan. He can only hope it’s not too late to change the past.

G-Excerpt #1:

Meg sat across the desk from Dennis as they engaged in casual conversation. He suddenly diverted his gaze toward his office door behind her. “Ah, here comes our intrepid publisher now.”

She turned in her chair, anxious to meet the man responsible for the success of this young but very dynamic company.

Meg’s heart skipped a beat and her breath froze in her lungs as Blaine Reeves strode confidently into the office. It had been ten years. An uncontrollable surge of a too long pent-up desire raced through her body. A barely audible gasp escaped her throat. A feeling of joy danced inside her ever so briefly before being quickly replaced by ten years of pain, anger, and emotional turmoil. She narrowed her eyes on him.

Blaine halted in mid stride, struck breathless by the sight of her. It had been ten years. The beautiful twenty-two-year-old he once knew had blossomed into a stunning, sophisticated woman. He had difficulty comprehending how she could be even more beautiful than the memory he had carried for all these years.

It took all his control to keep from reaching out to touch her, pulling her into his arms, and smothering her with kisses. It took all his willpower to maintain his ground as the scent of her perfume wafted across his nostrils, causing them to flare slightly while evoking memories more profound than any others in his life. It had been a time of blissful contentment and a happiness he thought would never end.

Then he had totally destroyed the best thing that had ever happened to him. Every day since then had been just one more day to endure. And now he had a chance to recapture what he should never have walked away from. Something momentarily flickered in her eyes, but it became lost to her anger before he could read it.

“Meg, luv,” Dennis’ voice intruded into the moment. “I’d like to introduce our publisher—”

“I already know Mr. Reeves.” Her sharp tone cut through the air like a knife. The muscles in her face tightened as her body stiffened.

Her voice contained a hard, cold edge as she hurled angry words at Blaine. “Is this your idea of a joke? Because if it is, it’s definitely a sick one.”

Buy Links:

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Past-Shawna-Delacorte-ebook/dp/B0CTHSZFST

Barnes and Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/changing-the-past-shawna-delacorte/1145014722?ean=9781509254798

and other online vendors.

Excerpts and other information available on my website   www.shawnadelacorte.com