September
Day 24
Meanwhile in Texas, Elmer Doolin was trying to sell chips made from corn dough. This was an old Mexican recipe, which Doolin had found in San Antonio, Texas. At first, these Fritos corn chips were made in Mr. Doolin's mother's kitchen.
In 1945, he granted the H. W. Lay Co. the rights to make Fritos corn chip for the American southeast. In 1961, the two companies merged to become Frito-Lay Inc. In 1965, Frito-Lay merged with Pepsi to become PepsiCo. Inc., one of the largest snack food and beverage companies in the world.
Potato chips can be thick or thin, ridged or flat, spicy or bland. Chips can be made from many things besides potatoes. There is corn dough and tortilla dough, of course. But chips can also be made from sweet potatoes, parsnips, taro root, peppers and other vegetables.
One caution about potato chips is that they are not a good source of nutrition. Because snack chips usually contain a lot of fat, they can also lead to weight gain. It is better not to eat snack chips too often, and not to eat them instead of healthier foods.
Day 23
The slaves were mainly used to pick crops like cotton and tobacco. Harriet Tubman was illiterate. Later in life, when she was in danger of being captured, she picked up a book and pretended to read it. This fooled the bounty hunters.
The overseer was so angry with her that he hit her over the head with an iron weight. Harriet was knocked unconscious for many days. All the rest of her life she suffered from headaches and sudden sleeping spells. Harriet escaped from the plantation to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
These people, both white and black, used the language of the railroad. Escaped slaves were called passengers, safe houses were called stations, and the guides were called conductors.
In 1850, the American government passed a second Fugitive Slave Act. This put more pressure on Northern States to return escaped slaves to the South.
In 1793, Upper Canada (Ontario) had passed a law, bringing a gradual stop to slavery. In 1834, slavery was abolished in the whole British Empire. A lot of escaped slaves had come to Canada before 1850, but now nearly all escaped slaves tried to go there. This provided a shelter for new arrivals.
Black slaves knew Harriet as "Moses". The Bible tells the story of how Moses led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt.
Day 22
Florence's father ensured that she had a good education. But she was frustrated because girls and women were always under parental supervision. She felt called to a life of action, but her family insisted that she divide her time between being with her family and attending social functions.
Nightingale became more angry and rebellious. She offended her family and friends by refusing to marry several prominent men who wanted to marry her.
At that time, the profession didn't seem promising. The only respectable nurses were those women in religious orders that ministered to the patient's spiritual health, but were not trained in medicine. The majority of nurses were poor, untrained women who were suspected of being too fond of men or alcohol, or both.
In fact, one hospital preferred to hire unwed mothers as nurses because they had no reputations to lose.
In 1853, she was appointed superintendent of a women's nursing home in London. In 1855, the Times of London was printing reports from the Crimean War. France and England were fighting Russia in the Crimean Peninsula. After one allied victory, the wounded French soldiers were well taken care of, but the wounded English soldiers were left to die.
Scutari, Turkey, was the hospital where the British wounded were brought. This so-called hospital was a death pit, where 42 out of every 100 men died.
The death rate dropped to 22 out of every 1,000. Although her efforts in the Crimean War injured her health, she continued her work back in London. She published a 1,000-page report on medical conditions in the British Army, several books on nursing and her own proposals and suggestions.
Long before her death in 1910, she had seen nursing become a well-established profession. Almost single-handedly she had helped to bring about proper treatment of the sick and injured.
Day 19
Some were businessmen who saw economic opportunities overseas. Soldiers wanted fame and a chance to enlarge the British Empire. Big-game hunters wanted to be the first to shoot strange animals and bring back trophies to England. Scientists intended to study unknown animals and plants. Missionaries planned to be the first to introduce Christianity to faraway people.
Livingstone intended to become a medical missionary. This means that he would be a doctor, as well as a preacher and teacher. However, unlike some missionaries, he was also interested in science, geography and exploring.
He had planned to go to China in 1839, but because of the Opium Wars no missionaries were being sent there. Instead, he asked to go to South Africa. Europeans had traveled around the coasts of Africa for hundreds of years. But very few white people had traveled inland. Livingstone arrived in Kuruman in 1841. This was the farthest outpost of white settlement, and no one seemed to want to go further inland.
With a fellow missionary he set out. When they came to an African tribe, they would talk to the chief and ask permission to preach to his people. There were many diseases, including malaria and sleeping sickness. Livingstone suffered much of his life from river fever. He was also so weak that he rode on the back of an ox.
Livingstone was being criticized for neglecting missionary work in order to explore. Livingstone replied that he was opening up the continent for missionaries.
Nowadays, the countries that Livingstone visited are nearly all Christian, just as he had hoped they would be.
Day 18
Occasionally, school officials will try to shut down or censor student papers, if they find their writing embarrassing or offensive. But usually these disagreements are resolved by discussion.
At some colleges, the student newspaper is connected to a professional program in journalism. But, most of the time, the idea behind the paper is to get students to research the facts, debate the issues, and learn how to get their opinions expressed.
You might wonder whether enough things happen at a college to fill out a weekly paper. There are often problems with the budget and cuts to programs. New buildings go up, or are torn down. Policies change; tuition goes up; classrooms become crowded; and personnel come and go.
University morale and funding often reflect government policies and social attitudes. These tie the college to the larger world.
Should the university pay attention to student activities off-campus? Committees meet, with student representation, to set guidelines for these matters.
Student newspapers are an important training group for democracy. They are also very interesting to read.
Most universities offer programs in the Humanities, Social Sciences and pure Sciences. Many have additional faculties such as Education and Physical Education. Many programs that lead directly to a position in the workplace are given at community colleges. Community colleges differ from universities because their programs involve job training and practical experience. Their programs are considered to be less abstract and academic than university programs. However, a university degree may be less likely to lead directly to a job.
Universities, however, were founded mainly as liberal arts institutions. This means that their original intent was to prepare people to be well-rounded human beings and knowledgeable citizens. So nearly all universities have programs in literature, languages, philosophy, culture, music, history and politics, as well as studies that are more job-related.
A pass B.A. or B.Sc. degree in Canada is normally three full years of study after secondary school. A bachelor degree with honors includes one more year of study. A Master's degree is a further one or two years. A doctorate usually requires four or more years. This is similar to the United States, except that their bachelor degree is normally three years, and their master's degree may be up to three years.
As long as you keep up with your readings and assignments, you should be able to avoid major difficulties. Facilities for athletics, student radio and newspapers, pubs and lounges and generally pleasant surroundings make campus life agreeable.
Day 16
Before the Queen Victoria Park Commission began to buy up land besides the Falls, tourists had to pay for everything. There were no public washrooms, no drinking fountains, and no safety barriers around the Falls. As a result, it was not uncommon for tourists crowding close to the Falls, or hypnotized by the flow of the river, to step too close and fall in.
Each section of the 56-kilometer stretch of Niagara Parks has its own places of interest. These are joined by the Niagara Parkway, a road that runs the whole length of the river.
The Niagara Parks Commission operates restaurants, parks and gardens, rides, museums and historic houses, golf courses, native sites and gift shops. The Commission also operates a School of Horticulture, with large gardens.
The Commission shows how governments can work to make visits to natural wonders like Niagara Falls a good experience for the general public.
Before railways and automobiles became common, transporting goods over long distances was a difficult chore. In early North America, roads were often bad or non-existent.
Fur traders carried their furs and other supplies in canoes. But even large canoes were not big enough to hold a shipment of wheat.
Without a canal to move their farm produce, crops were sometimes left to rot.
This creek runs towards Lake Ontario. It rises above the Escarpment, which stands from 150 to 300 feet high.
Nearly all the work was done with shovels, pickaxes, horses and wagons. In places, the ground was soft and landslides occurred. In other places, the men had to dig through solid granite rock.
After sinking all the money that he, his family and friends had into the canal, more was needed.
The problem of getting the boats to climb the escarpment was solved by a series of 35 wooden locks. These carried a ship 327 feet upwards. The ship would enter a lock with a small amount of water. More water would come into the lock, lifting the boat another ten or fifteen feet. Then the ship would move into the next lock, and be lifted up again. Boats going in the opposite direction were lowered instead of lifted.
Now large sea-going and lake vessels cross the Niagara Peninsula from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. They carry grain, coal, iron ore, oil and many other bulk products.
Sam Walton opened his Walton's Five and Dime in Bentonville, Arkansas, in 1950. Twelve years later he opened the first Walmart in Bentonville. His business philosophy was simple good prices, great selection and a friendly greeting.
He emphasized that it is important to speak to people before they speak to you. Walton also believed that good deals from suppliers should be passed along to customers. The combination of low prices and friendly service is basic to Walmart's success.
So, what's not to like about Walmart? The main complaint is that their business style is extremely aggressive. Walmart's attitudes towards manufacturers and suppliers are: "You do it our way, or we won't do business with you". This puts Walmart at an advantage over smaller retails who don't have the same retailing power.
Walmart has been known to demand that its suppliers provide products at discount for Walmart store openings; levy fines for shipment errors; tell manufacturers what products, styles and colors to make, etc.
Any company, which so dominates one area of the market, will have a lot of power. So far, Walmart has been successful in getting what it wants, and providing customers with what they want.
Day 13
Nowadays, the telephone has become a very complex instrument; it rivals the computer as to the number of possible uses.
Answering machines have been around for several decades, but they are now being replaced by voicemail. Voicemail does away with the need for an answering machine.
It is very useful for business discussions where different people need to talk about the same thing. It also speeds up the process of consensus, and allows everybody to be in on the decision or discussion.
If you want to hang up without putting the receiver down, press "goodbye". Newer phones will indicate when you have voicemail messages. You can designate your message to go to the top of the recipient's voicemail list. You can also program it so that the recipient cannot forward it.
Enjoy the telecommunications revolution!
Day 12
There were many tribes of Plains Indians, for the Northern American prairies or plains stretch from the northern forest of western Canada down to the States of Oklahoma and Texas in southern U.S.A.
There was always the danger that the herd would stampede and trample the hunters. Another method was to drive the buffalo over a steep cliff. The hunters carried their bullets in their mouths so they could shoot faster. They could ride right into the herd, shooting at close quarters.
They would drop an article of clothes on the slain buffalo to mark it for themselves. After the hunt, the Indians would skin the animals, and the women would dry the meat and store it in fat.
They also used the buffalo skins for clothing, blankets, and the covering of their teepees. These teepees were cone-shaped tents, which were easy to put up and take down. They developed complex religions and social rituals, as well as specialized societies or clubs.
Smith pressured the colonists to build huts, a storehouse, and a church. He made daring trips to Indian villages, demanding that they give the settlers food in return for beads and copper. On one of his trips to the interior, Indians attacked John Smith. They killed his two companions but captured him alive. This chief was impressed by Smith's compass and spared his life. His captors dragged Smith from village to village.
Pocahontas warned Smith about the plot against his life. Smith had to fight off several attempts to kill him. Pocahontas had believed that Smith was dead. The following year she died and was buried in England. Pocahontas' love for Smith, and Smith's determination to fight for the colony,
Day 11
For a long time, newspapers were not very common. Governments didn't want public discussion of their policies and decisions. The "Stamp Tax" on newspapers and pamphlets was one of the causes of the American Revolution.
The Times was one of the first papers to include illustrations. It was the first newspaper to use a steam engine to turn the presses.
The Times made its greatest reputation during the Crimean War between Britain and Russia. British armies, fighting in Russia's Crimean Peninsula, were not only unsuccessful in the war, but were suffering severely from illnesses. The Times sent out the world's first war correspondent, William Howard Russell, in 1854.
Meanwhile in America, a more popular approach to newspapers had developed. The newspaper had spread west with the pioneers, and nearly every little settlement had its own paper.
Hearst, especially, employed sensational and emotional writing, which aimed at stirring up the public to action. Hearst is sometimes accused of starting the Spanish-American War of 1898 with his over-heated editorials. Nonetheless, his methods were successful in raising circulation and were widely imitated.
The modern newspaper contains more than hard news. In fact, news may be a fairly small part of it. Advertisements, gossip, show business, photos of celebrities, sports, stock market prices, horoscopes, comic strips, weather reports and much more are found in its pages.
Since Christopher Columbus first met American Indians in 1492, many Europeans had been fascinated by Indian life and culture. As a result, there was a demand in Europe for drawings and paintings of Native Americans. European artists who had never seen an Indian supplied most of this demand. But in the nineteenth century, several painters traveled into Indian Territory to make an authentic record of native life.
At that time, there were still Indians living in wigwams in the Toronto area. Young Paul liked visiting the Indian village instead of going to school.
American Indians were dying so rapidly from European diseases, such as measles and smallpox, that many people believed they would soon vanish as a race. His plan was to sketch Indian life before it disappeared forever.
As white settlers demanded more land, Indians were being herded into small pieces of land called "reservations".
In May 1846, Kane joined the annual canoe fleet of fur traders going west. Kane would travel all through the wilderness areas of western Canada and northwestern U.S.A. During this time, he made hundreds of sketches of Indian life. Although Kane faced incredible hardships during his travels, he was able to see what he wanted to see.
He was able to take part in one of the last great Buffalo hunts and killed two large bison himself. He shot a grizzly bear at close range and killed several wolves that attacked his horses. Finally, he arrived at the Pacific coast, where he made some fine drawings of the west coast Indians.
One wealthy chief had ruled 1,000 warriors
On his return trip, he encountered a large war party of 1,500 braves on the warpath against their traditional enemies.
When he arrived back in Toronto, Kane gave an exhibit of his sketches and watercolors. Most of the rest of his life was spent turning these drawings into finished paintings.
Day 10
For much of its history, it has been an advantage to Ireland to be far from the mainland. It was the remoteness of Ireland that helped preserve much of Christian and classical culture.
The Catholic Irish were not allowed to vote until 1829. Since Irish Catholics were not allowed to own land, they were poor tenant farmers. The main food crop in the 1840s was potatoes. When these became infected by blight, thousands of Irishmen starved. Many others were evicted from their dwellings because they couldn't pay the rent.
A rebellion against England in 1916 began a struggle that resulted in independence for most of Ireland. Some Protestant areas in Northern Ireland preferred to stay with England.
The Irish differ from other people because the vast majority of Irishmen live away from their homeland. However, this exodus from Ireland has helped to spread Irish music, culture and products around the world.
New England in the early and middle years of the nineteenth century had a flourishing culture.
"Little Women" and its sequel opened up a new kind of writing for children.
Day 09
George W. Bush Jr. was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States on January 20 2001. Many republicans thought that the democrats could be defeated in 2000. But they themselves lacked a candidate with strong appeal. As the election approached, leading republicans worried about whom to support.
In November 1998, Bush was re-elected as Governor by an impressive margin. Of course, one advantage that Governor Bush had was a familiar name.
George W. attended the same prestigious eastern colleges as his father. Then he came back to Texas and was a fighter pilot with the Texas Air National Guard. During the early '70s he wandered from place to place, trying different jobs.
He became closely involved in his father's campaign for president in 1988. Here he developed a lot of the political skills he was later able to use to run for office himself.
In 1994, he surprised the political world by defeating the incumbent Governor of Texas. As Governor, he pushed ahead with an energetic program, which reflected neo-conservative values.
Since operas used full stage settings with costumes, scenery and props, they were expensive to produce. Handel decided to produce oratorios in which the parts were simply sung without actions.
Handel began to work on his oratorio "The Messiah". The text was made up of passages from the Bible relating to the birth, life and death of Jesus. Handel worked on it feverishly, missing meals and going without sleep. In the fall of 1741, Handel received an invitation from the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to present operas and concerts there.
Day 08
Niagara Falls is one of the world's leading tourist attractions. When the first Europeans came to Niagara, the Falls were surrounded by forest. The noise of the Falls could be heard miles away, before they were actually seen. The first visitors were filled with horror at the sight. Later, fear ceased to be the main emotion inspired by the Falls. Visitors were impressed by the beauty and grandeur of the Falls, which overwhelmed them with wonder.
As more and more people came, the tourist industry developed. Early tourism was not well regulated, and there were many complaints about cheats and swindles. Today, there are similar complaints about tourist junk and high prices.
Newly married couples began coming to Niagara Falls when it was still a secluded, peaceful and romantic spot. It is still popular with newly-weds as a relatively inexpensive and convenient place to spend their honeymoon.
Their falling water is the power behind several of the largest hydroelectric stations in the world. Much of the electric power used in this part of North America comes from Niagara Falls.
Daredevils have come to make a name for themselves. Some have gone over the falls in a barrel, while others have walked above the falls on a tightrope. Poets and artists have visited here to capture its beauty. Lovers have come to gaze on its romantic scenery.
The Golden Age of the American cowboy was short lived. It began in the 1860s with the great cattle drives from Texas north to Kansas.
The Spanish conqueror of Mexico, Hernan Cortes, brought cattle with him in 1521. Cortes also branded his cattle with a three cross design. The Spanish sharp-horned cattle roamed the deserts and prairies freely. American settlers in Texas interbred their animals with the Spanish breed, the Texas longhorn cow was the result!
Cowboys and cattle followed the Chisholm Trail north to Abilene, Kansas. This cattle trail became the most famous route for driving cattle, until it was barred with barbed wire in 1884.
In 1871, 350 cowboys driving 60,000 cattle waited two weeks for the water level in the Red River to go down. Food for men and animals was also difficult to find at times. An early cattleman developed the chuck wagon, which were both a supply wagon and a portable kitchen.
Day 05
When the United States and Canada were organized, they were divided into small units called counties. Larger units were called states or provinces. Many of the best-known fairs are county fairs or state fairs.
Since these fairs are usually annual events, many have developed permanent buildings over the years. Most of these are large barn-like structures.
Ploughing contests test the strength and steadiness of horses, and so do pulling contests.
Every kind of grain, fruit, vegetable, berry and animal is tested, and only the best win a ribbon.
Fall fairs have taken over the idea of the midway from the circus. The midway has rides like Ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds, and roller coasters. It also has games of chance and skill, such as trying to throw a small hoop over a large bottle.
Even those who were not seriously injured in the explosion later became very ill. They became very sick from radiation poisoning. Many developed leukemia - a disease of the blood and bone marrow.
World War II was a long and bitter war. The rules of war, which said not to kill civilians, were forgotten. Hitler bombed London, hoping to break the spirit of the English. Then England bombed Germany to destroy the factories and kill the people who worked in them. Americans wanted revenge for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S. government had spent $6 billion developing the A-bomb and wanted to use it.
Day 04
The result of ParticipAction was impressive. Canadians became more active in the years following the program's inception.
ParticipAction was seen as a positive program because it got Canadians active while reducing health care costs caused by inactivity and poor physical conditioning.
The professional career of tennis player Bjorn Borg was one of the most interesting ones in recent sports history. By the time he was 26, and in the prime of his career, Borg inexplicably retired from professional tennis.
Probably his greatest achievement was a winning streak at Wimbledon that spanned five years. Borg enjoyed almost complete dominance in competitive tennis. His retirement in 1983, then, was a bit of a puzzle. Although his tennis skills waned somewhat in the previous year, he was still one of the top players on the tour, and only 26 years old.
Five years after his retirement, an emergency hospital procedure saved his life. While Borg claimed he had food poisoning, it was suspected he had a barbiturate overdose. In 1991, Borg attempted to make a comeback on the professional tennis tour, only to fail miserably. His insistence on using a wooden racket at the time, when all of the world's top players were using synthetic fiber rackets, didn't help matters. Eventually, Borg disappeared into obscurity, and there is little news of his life today.
Borg was an important figure in modern tennis history. He was the sport's first modern media star and icon. Teenage girls conferred upon him a status comparable to a rock star. His face adorned t-shirts and other merchandise, making him the most marketable tennis player in history. Borg's career was a catalyst for Swedish tennis players.
Perhaps most important of all, Borg gave to the sport of tennis a degree of showmanship, visibility, and marketability that was used as a role model for the sport in future decades.
Day 03
As long as it effectively manages problems such as funding, Sport Canada will continue to provide the Canadian public with international-caliber athletes who compete with the very best in the world.
The National Hockey League (or NHL) is the largest and most successful North American professional hockey league.
Leagues competed vigorously for the best players in order to be successful and attract spectators and fans. While this was beneficial to players because they could command higher salaries, it was bad for business because owners' expenses skyrocketed.
By the 1930s, however, the NHL remained as the only major professional league in North America. This effectively kept players' salaries down and reduced expenses.
The NHL's team owners realized that in order for the league to be a successful commercial business, they would have to stop competing against each other off the ice. This was best accomplished by ensuring that only one major league existed, so that competition was reduced.
The NHL owners generated very high profits because, having a monopoly in the hockey market, they could limit the sale and trade of players. When players signed on to a team, they generally did so for life, and at the pay rate determined by the owner.
Day 02
Banff National Park is Canada's oldest and most famous national park. It was founded in 1885 after the discovery of the Cave and Basin Hot Springs. From humble beginnings as a 26 square kilometer hot springs reserve, Banff National Park now consists of 6,641 square kilometers of unparalleled mountain scenery nestled in the heart of the magnificent Canadian Rockies.
Each year, millions of visitors come to Banff to marvel at the emerald waters of Lake Louise, walk amongst the flower-filled heavens at Sunshine Meadows, and drive beneath the towering jagged peaks lining the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper.
Nearly ten millennia later, a struggling nation forged a crazy dream of connecting itself from sea to sea with steel rails, and from this railway venture was born Canada's most famous park, Banff National Park.
Banff National Park contains some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world. Snow-capped peaks, glistening glaciers, icefields, alpine meadows, blue cold crystal clear lakes, raging rivers, mineral hot springs, deep canyons, hoodoos and sweeping vistas are just one part of the allure of Banff National Park.
Lake Louise, with its blue-green water set against the stark backdrop of Victoria Glacier, is the highest permanent settlement in Canada at 1,536 meters (5,039 feet) above the sea level and probably the most beloved and most photographed scene in the Canadian Rockies.
Banff National Park is part of the UNESCO Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site.
UNESCO(United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization)
Day 01
The First World War began when the archduke of Austria-Hungary was assassinated.
This led to a serious dispute, and soon other countries were involved. Within a few weeks, a war had begun.
The people in these countries at first welcomed the news of a war. Many people were intensely patriotic, and supported the war effort without thinking carefully about the reasons for the war.
In the western part of Europe, the opposing sides fought many bloody battles. Soldiers on both sides lived in filthy trenches that had been dug out of the ground.
The Great Lakes are bordered by the Canadian province of Ontario and by eight U.S. states including (from west to east) Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Large cities like Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Toronto lie on the shores of the Great Lakes system.
Lake Michigan is deeper than Lake Huron, but the latter is larger in area, at 59,600 square kilometers.