More than a half century ago, New England college students enjoyed pies from the Frisbie Pie Company.  And it wasn't long before tossing those empty pie pans became a fun and popular game. At the same time, Fred Morrison invented the Pluto Platter for the Wham-O company.  Thrown like an empty Frisbie pie pan, students […]

Did you know more than half our nation's apple production comes from Washington state?  This fall no matter the level of educations, bring your teacher an apple and share these facts with them! According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 25% of the nation's population (age 3 or above) goes to school – from nursery […]

October is National Reading Group Month.  Its goal is to celebrate the joy of sharing books and inspire individuals who do not belong to a reading group to join one or stare one of their own.  For more information, visit www.wnba-books.org.  Here are a few book facts to impress your friends with: According to the […]

In a historical twist, some of the world’s oldest, most fragile texts are finding a new life in the digital world.  Meet the British Library’s Turning the Pages Web site (www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html).  Here you can view some of the world’s greatest masterpieces:  William Blake’s sketchbook and poems, Leonardo da Vinci’s Scientific sketches and notes, Lewis Carroll’s […]

Need to manage your workload?  According to Robert Half International (www.roberthalf.com) you need to take the following steps to manage your work life: Organize and get ride of the clutter.  Make two piles – important and unimportant.  Deal with everything in the important pile that you can, and set aside some time to take the […]

Want to go green?  Well, here’s an easy why to be kind to the environment – receive and pay your bills electronically.  According to the Federal Reserve, nearly 50 percent of the checks written in the United States are written by consumers to businesses.  American businesses mail about 26 billion bills and statements per year, […]

When Spanish Artist Bartolome Esteban Murillo was asked to create a series of painting for a church in Seville, he formed a friendship with the monk who served as the cook in the refectory.  The cook waited on Murillo hand and foot while the artist worked on the commission.  When the artist’s work was accomplished, […]

Dental care is a common part of daily life in our age. But it wasn’t so long ago that those pearly whites weren’t so pearly. Toothpaste was invented only 100 years ago. Before that, after people figured out that brushing the teeth would preserve them longer, common tooth cleaners included ground-up charcoal, pulverized brick, lemon […]

– 91: approximate number of days in the summer season – 657 million: Approximate number of trips taken during the summer months in the U.S. – 7,91,2: Percent of trips taken by air, taken by car, taken by train or bus respectively. – 2.1: Average stay in nights. June 2008, Newsletter Page 2

If your job requires good judgment and quick thinking, you'll do it better if you exercised regularly.  Some people think regular exercise is for self-centered people who want to improve their appearance, but studies show that it increases brain function.  As a "side effect," exercise reduces anxiety and depression and helps to ward-off the mental […]