Friday, June 30, 2017

14.5

This is the sign in the development where my friend is staying.



Monday, March 20, 2017

191


What’s in a flight number? Most flight numbers are assigned based on one of two factors; the route of the flight, such as short haul and long haul, or based on the operator of the flight, for example “American Eagle operated by Republic Airways.” However, there is one, slightly ominous flight number that appears to have a higher than normal amount of crashes, and it is flight 191. There have been four commercial flights with the flight number 191 that have crashed, as well as one flight that had an onboard incident resulting in a diversion. The stigma of flight 191 has lead many airlines to not schedule a flight 191.

The curse of flight 191 began in Puerto Rico in 1972. Prinair was the flag carrier for Puerto Rico, and operated numerous flights around the island and beyond. On the night of June 24th, 1972, a Prinair de Havilland Heron was operating flight 191 between Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan and Mercedita Airport in Ponce on the South end of the island. Due to the flight’s poor punctuality, the control tower at Mercedita was closed, and the pilots had to declare their intentions on the uncontrolled frequency. As the airplane was approaching the airport, the pilots believed they saw an airport vehicle on the runway. The pilots then executed a missed approach and ended up stalling the aircraft above the runway. The flight proceeded to drop and suddenly crashed into the runway.  Of the 20 people onboard, five were killed including the two crewmembers.  The NTSB initially ruled that the presence of an unauthorized vehicle on the runway caused the pilots to go around and stall. However, three years after the accident, the NTSB reopened the investigation when it was revealed the person believed to be the driver of the vehicle had left the airport 15 minutes before the crash. The investigation could not conclude on what had caused the pilots to abort the landing and go around.

The next flight to fall victim to the curse was one of the most publicized aircraft crashes of the time. In 1979, on a clear May day at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, an American Airlines Douglas DC-10 pushed back from gate K5. The DC-10 was operating flight 191 with nonstop service to Los Angeles International Airport. The flight taxied out to runway 32R and begun its takeoff roll shortly after reaching the runway. However, during the takeoff roll things began to go wrong; as the airplane reached V1, the pilots in the cockpit heard a loud thump. As they scanned their instruments, they saw that the number one engine on the left hand side had failed. They also saw that hydraulic pressure in system number one, powered by the number one engine had also failed. To the passengers sitting along the left-hand side of the aircraft, and to the people on the ground, the sight was much more terrifying. The number one engine had not just failed; it completely separated from the aircraft. Both the engine and the pylon assembly attaching the engine to the wing had flipped over the top of the wing. The assembly also ripped off a 3 ft. section of the leading edge of the wing.
The pilots were able to still get the aircraft off the ground and up to a height of 325 feet. Unaware the engine had physically separated from the aircraft, they followed standard engine failure procedure that called for a reduction in speed. However because of the failure of the hydraulic system, the slats retracted on the wing, raising the stall speed of the wing. The plane was unable to maintain lift and crashed into a trailer park 4,600 feet from the end of the runway. All 271 passengers and crew onboard, as well as two people on the ground, were killed when the aircraft crashed. The NTSB investigation was immediately launched in Chicago to begin their discovery process. One of the major clues the NTSB had was a photograph taken by amateur photographer and pilot Michael Laughlin. He had taken an infamous photo showing the DC-10 on its side and the number 1 engine missing.  Through their investigation, the NTSB determined that the pylon separated because of improper maintenance practices by American. The improper maintenance resulted in a small crack between the pylon and the wing that grew with the number of cycles the aircraft performed. Although the crash was caused by improper maintenance, Douglas took full responsibility for the crash to help protect their prominent customer, American. The decision severely affected Douglas’ reputation with flyers, and bookings on flights with DC-10s dropped significantly.

The third victim to the flight 191 stigma occurred in 1985 in Dallas. Delta Air Lines flight 191 was flying from Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to LAX with a stop in Dallas. A Lockheed L-1011 operated the flight with an experienced flight crew at the helm. While halfway to Dallas over Louisiana, thunderstorms began to form in the path of flight 191. These storms were common for the hot Dallas summers and pilots were experienced with their strength.  The flight proceeded normally to Dallas and they begun their descent into DFW in the late afternoon, just as the storms were hitting their peak. They descended through the thunderstorms surrounding the Dallas area and lined up for landing on runway 17L (which is now 17C). As they were on approach, a severe thunderstorm lay between them and the runway. As the flight entered the storm, they experienced a microburst. A microburst is a weather phenomenon that causes an increase in headwind, slowing an aircraft down, severe downdraft, which pushes the aircraft towards the ground, then, a strong tailwind pushing the aircraft forward. The L-1011 hit the ground in a field short of the runway and bounced back up in the air. It then crossed a Texas highway on the end of the runway, where an engine hit a car, killing its sole occupant. The aircraft then bounced into the air again before veering out of control into water tanks on the airport’s perimeter. At this time the tail section spun off and ended up in the grass next to the runway. The entire forward section of the aircraft from row 34 to the nose was destroyed in the collision. In total, 137 people of the 163 onboard died in this tragedy. The NTSB was dispatched to investigate the crash. With so much of the aircraft destroyed in the collision with the water tanks and the post-crash fire, the investigators were left with very little to base their investigation.  Furthermore, the stormy weather in the area gave the investigators their first clue. Using radar images from the time of the crash, they were able to see that at the moment that the airplane began its final descent, they passed through a severe thunderstorm with strong varying winds creating rough wind shear conditions. This created the strong microburst conditions that caused the flight to lose lift and slam into the ground. Although the flight ended in tragedy, a lot was learned from this crash. Shortly after, NASA had begun research on technology to detect wind shear and microburst, and in 1994, the first wind shear detection device was installed on aircraft and made mandatory by the FAA.

The final victim to the flight 191 curse was a Delta Connection flight from Lexington, Kentucky to Delta’s hub in Atlanta, in late August of 2006. Delta Connection flight 5191 was operated by Comair as flight 191. The flight was an early morning flight to bring passengers to connections in Atlanta. The flight, operated by a CRJ-200, was nearly fully loaded for the early morning departure with only 3 empty seats. The light traffic at Lexington that morning meant flight 191 was quick to start up and taxi to the runway. Once lined up on the runway,the pilots began their takeoff roll and noticed an oddity in front of them as the runway lights were not on. The pilots dismissed this and continued with their takeoff. Just as the pilots called for rotation, the aircraft ran off the end of the runway. The flight became momentarily airborne before slamming into the ground 1000 ft. from the end of the runway. The impact separated the tail from the rest of the aircraft: killing 49 of the 50 people on board. As the sun rose over the Kentucky bluegrass, the reason for the crash was quite obvious; Comair 191 had taken off from the wrong runway. Lexington has two runways; runway 22, used by most commercial traffic, and runway 26, used mostly by general aviation aircraft. The pilots had accidentally taxied onto the significantly shorter runway 26. The shorter runway meant that there was not enough room for flight 191 to takeoff.  The NTSB descended on northern Kentucky, and was able to quickly recover the CVR and FDR. Using these black boxes, the NTSB was able to determine the cause of the accident was pilot error. There was also unnecessary talk between the pilots, violting the FAA’s “sterile cockpit” procedure. Secondary blame was placed on the FAA for only having one air traffic controller on duty, as well as Lexington Airport for having poor signage and runway markings. The only survivor, the first officer, was left with severe injuries including losing a leg and being bound to a wheelchair.





191 is a number that is specifically considered unlucky in U.S. aviation. Five separate flights with the flight number 191 have all crashed with different degrees of notoriety. The largest of which was the 1979 American Airlines Flight 191 that crashed at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport killing all 258 passengers on board, the 13 crew members on the plane, and two people on the ground. It is the deadliest aviation accident to occur in the U.S.
Then, in 1985, Delta Airlines Flight 191 crashed outside of Dallas/Fort Worth International and killed 136 of the 152 passengers, 11 crew members, and one person on the ground. Most airlines retire flight numbers because of crashed planes, which is why to this day, there are no Delta or American Airlines flights numbered 191. So be sure to check your boarding passes from now until the end of time.
191 is a number that is specifically considered unlucky in U.S. aviation. Five separate flights with the flight number 191 have all crashed with different degrees of notoriety. The largest of which was the 1979 American Airlines Flight 191 that crashed at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport killing all 258 passengers on board, the 13 crew members on the plane, and two people on the ground. It is the deadliest aviation accident to occur in the U.S.
Then, in 1985, Delta Airlines Flight 191 crashed outside of Dallas/Fort Worth International and killed 136 of the 152 passengers, 11 crew members, and one person on the ground. Most airlines retire flight numbers because of crashed planes, which is why to this day, there are no Delta or American Airlines flights numbered 191. So be sure to check your boarding passes from now until the end of time.
191 is a number that is specifically considered unlucky in U.S. aviation. Five separate flights with the flight number 191 have all crashed with different degrees of notoriety. The largest of which was the 1979 American Airlines Flight 191 that crashed at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport killing all 258 passengers on board, the 13 crew members on the plane, and two people on the ground. It is the deadliest aviation accident to occur in the U.S.
Then, in 1985, Delta Airlines Flight 191 crashed outside of Dallas/Fort Worth International and killed 136 of the 152 passengers, 11 crew members, and one person on the ground. Most airlines retire flight numbers because of crashed planes, which is why to this day, there are no Delta or American Airlines flights numbered 191. So be sure to check your boarding passes from now until the end of time.
191 is a number that is specifically considered unlucky in U.S. aviation. Five separate flights with the flight number 191 have all crashed with different degrees of notoriety. The largest of which was the 1979 American Airlines Flight 191 that crashed at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport killing all 258 passengers on board, the 13 crew members on the plane, and two people on the ground. It is the deadliest aviation accident to occur in the U.S.
Then, in 1985, Delta Airlines Flight 191 crashed outside of Dallas/Fort Worth International and killed 136 of the 152 passengers, 11 crew members, and one person on the ground. Most airlines retire flight numbers because of crashed planes, which is why to this day, there are no Delta or American Airlines flights numbered 191. So be sure to check your boarding passes from now until the end of time.

Monday, April 11, 2016

469

Most tricks known by a single dog:  469.

Owned and trained by Sharon Robinson of Ontario, Canada, the pooch’s diverse talents included playing the piano, knowing her three, four and five times table, painting, and riding a skateboard. She even cleared away her toys when she'd finished playing. 



See a video here:  http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2016/1/classics-dog-with-largest-repertoire-of-tricks-412137

Sunday, January 24, 2016

7.1

Earthquake in Alaska




Earthquake had a magnitude of somewhere between 6.4 and 7.3, depending on the source. It was located 86 km WSW of Anchor Point. 127 km deep. The ADN said it lasted about 30 seconds, though it sure seemed longer than that. No tsunamis expected. Some people lost power.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

2 ^ 74,207,281 - 1




A team at the University of Central Missouri has announced that they have found the largest prime number ever.

It is 22,838,618 digits long, beating the previous largest known prime by about 5 million digits.


Monday, January 18, 2016

12910



The Russian government has proposed a giant, 12,910 mile roadway to be connected, linking New York City and London and effectively uniting most of the countries of the world by land.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Thursday, December 17, 2015

7

Today "The Force Awakens", the 7th Star Wars movie comes out.


Monday, December 14, 2015

28

Here are some facts about 28:

28 is a PERFECT NUMBER. A perfect number is a number that is equal to the sum of its proper factors. A proper factor is any number that divides evenly into another number other than the number itself. What numbers divide evenly into 28 other than 28 itself? 1, 2, 4, 7, 14. And if you add them up, what do you get? 28!! The first five perfect numbers are 6, 28, 496, 8128, and 33550336.

28 is a HAPPY NUMBER in base 10. A happy number means that if you square each digit and add the squares, then do the same with the sum, eventually you will get to 1. 2 squared + 8 squared = 68. 6 squared + 8 squared = 100. 1 squared + 0 squared + 0 squared = 1.

People think the moon's cycle is 28 days long, but it is really about 29.5 days.

In Hebrew numerology, the word כח, which means "strength" has a numerical value of 28.

There are 28 letters in the Esperanto alphabet.

Jewish tradition holds that the sun moves in a 28 year cycle. The prayer Birchat HaChama is said one day every 28 years when the sun returns to it's starting point from creation.

And it was 28 years ago today that I gave birth to my daughter. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIDDO!!


Monday, December 7, 2015

52

Today is my 52nd birthday.

There is NO number whose sum of it's proper factors is 52.

There are 52 cards in a deck, not counting jokers.




Wednesday, October 7, 2015

1908

A.  The Cubs won in overtime.

B.  I have no idea who the guy is.

C.  I was going to put this under 107 + 1908, but that gives me 2015 which is just the year it happens to be.

Friday, September 11, 2015

144

144 wedding rings were found among the remains of the World Trade Center.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

31213

The average amount spent on a wedding in the US is $31,213.  (This does not include the honeymoon.)



Saturday, September 5, 2015

11

This is the 43rd anniversary of the murder of 11v members of the Israeli Olympic team in Munich in 1972.




Tuesday, September 1, 2015

190,116 x 3003 x 10^5120 (5129 digits)

190,116 x 3003 x 10^5120 - 1 and 190,116 x 3003 x 10^5120 + 1 [each 5129 digits] is the largest known pair of twin primes, found by Harvey Dubner on October 5, 1995, after a one day search.

Since every pair of twin primes has 1 number between them, the number of the day (in title) is the number between these.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

19

On this day in 1920, the 19th amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote.


Saturday, August 1, 2015

2.75

The cost of a ride on the NYC subway is now $2.75.  This does not include the $1 charge whenever you get a new MetroCard.  However, if you put more than some amount (I'm not sure what) on a card, you get a 10% bonus.


Friday, July 31, 2015

3

3 is the only prime number that is 1 less than a perfect square.


Saturday, July 18, 2015

13

Why is a baker’s dozen 13 and not 12?

There are three main theories for why a baker’s dozen is 13 instead of 12, but most think it has its origins in the fact that many societies throughout history have had extremely strict laws concerning baker’s wares, due to the fact that it is fairly easy for bakers to cheat patrons and sell them less than what they think they are getting.
These societies took this very seriously as bread was a primary food source for many people.  For example, in ancient Egypt, should a baker be found to cheat someone, they would have their ear nailed to the door of their bakery. In Babylon, if a baker was found to have sold a “light loaf” to someone, the baker would have his hand chopped off.
Another example was in Britain in the mid-13th century with the establishment of the Assize of Bread and Ale statute, which was in effect all the way up to the 19th century before being repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act of 1863.  The Assize of Bread and Ale statute set the price of ale and what weight a farthing loaf of bread should be.   Specifically it stated:
By the consent of the whole realm of England, the measure of the king was made; that is to say: that an English penny, called a sterling round, and without any clipping, shall weigh thirty-two wheat corns in the midst of the ear, and twenty-pence do make an ounce, and twelve ounces one pound, and eight pounds do make a gallon of wine, and eight gallons of wine do make a London bushel, which is the eighth part of a quarter.
So basically, in terms of bread, setting the relationship between the price of wheat and what the subsequent price of a loaf of bread from a certain quantity of wheat should be.
Even though this statute was enacted at the request of bakers, it still posed a problem for them.  If they happened to accidentally cheat a customer by giving them less than what they were supposed to as outlined by the statute, they were subject to extremely severe fines and punishment, which varied depending on where the lawbreaker lived, but could include, like the Babylonians’ punishment, losing a hand.
As it wasn’t that hard to accidentally cheat a customer, given making a loaf of bread with exacting attributes is nearly impossible by hand without modern day tools, bakers began giving more than what the statute outlined to make sure they went over and never under.  Specifically, in terms of the “baker’s dozen”, if a vendor or other customer were to order a dozen or several dozen loaves of bread from a baker, the baker would give them 13 for every dozen they ordered.  Likewise, when selling quantities of anything, they’d give 13 measures when only 12 were purchased.
This practice eventually made its way into the Worshipful Company of Bakers (London) guild code.  This guild was actually started in the 12th century and had a large part in formulating the rules on the Assize of Bread and Ale statute.
Though the above is generally thought to be the correct origins for a baker’s dozen, there are two alternate theories put forth that are somewhat plausible, though lacking in hard historical evidence and visible progression.  The first is that bakers would sell 13 loaves to vendors, while only charging them for 12 which allowed the vendor to then sell all 13 at full price; thus, they’d earn a 7.7% profit per loaf.  So in this case, vendors were being given a sort of wholesale price, but without breaking the laws outlined in the Assize of Bread and Ale which had no exceptions for allowing a cheaper price to vendors.  This theory has some holes in it, but is quite plausible on the whole.
Yet another theory is that it was simply a product of the way bakers bake bread.  Baking trays tend to have a 3:2 aspect ratio.  The most efficient two-dimensional arrangement then of loaves/biscuits/whatever on such a tray results in 13 items with a 4+5+4 hexagonal arrangement, which avoids corners.  It was important to avoid the corners because the corners of a baking tray will heat up and cool off faster than the edges and the interior, which would result in not cooking anything on the corner evenly with the rest.  This theory doesn’t explain why they’d sell them in batches 13 for the price of 12, but at least explains why they may have commonly made them in batches of 13 in the first place and is still a possible source, or at least contributor, to the “baker’s dozen” if it was fairly universal that baker’s baked things in groups of 13, as is suggested by the theory.


Friday, July 17, 2015

Thursday, July 16, 2015

350


Ashkenazi Jews descend from 350 people, study finds

‘Bottleneck’ dates back 600 to 800 years, genome analysis shows; researcher says among population ‘everyone is a 30th cousin’

The study, published in the Nature Communications journal Tuesday, was authored by Shai Carmi, a computer science professor at Columbia University, and more than 20 medical researchers from Yale, Columbia, Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and other institutions.

Researchers analyzed the genomes of 128 Ashkenazi Jews and compared them to those of non-Jewish Europeans in order to determine which genetic markers are unique to Ashkenazi Jews. They found that the Ashkenazi Jews’ genetic similarities were so acute that one of the study’s researchers, Columbia professor Itsik Pe’er, told the Live Science website that among Ashkenazi Jews, “everyone is a 30th cousin.”

for more information: 



Saturday, July 4, 2015

56


About the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence:

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants,
nine were farmers and large plantation owners;

men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton , Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, ThomasNelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.




Thursday, July 2, 2015

8

Samuel Reshevsky, age 8, defeating several chess masters at once in France, 1920



Wednesday, June 3, 2015

321

The area code for a section of Florida, which includes Cape Canaveral, is 321.  And that is the last 3 consecutive numbers read off for a countdown when rockets are fired there.


Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Monday, June 1, 2015

A number we are not sure about, but is over 180


Farhud (Arabic: الفرهود‎) refers to the pogrom or "violent dispossession" carried out against the Jewish population of Baghdad, Iraq, on June 1–2, 1941, immediately following the British victory in the Anglo-Iraqi War. The riots occurred in a power vacuum following the collapse of the pro-Nazi government of Rashid Ali while the city was in a state of instability. Over 180 Jews were killed and 1,000 injured, and up to 300-400 non-Jewish rioters were killed in the attempt to quell the violence. Looting of Jewish property took place and 900 Jewish homes were destroyed. The violence came immediately after the rapid defeat by the British of Rashid Ali, whose earlier coup had generated a short period of national euphoria, and was charged by allegations that Iraqi Jews had aided the British.

The Farhud took place during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. It has been referred to as a pogrom which was part of the Holocaust, although such comparison has been disputed. It has also been called "the beginning of the end of the Jewish community of Iraq", although a direct connection to the Jewish exodus from Iraq is disputed since many Jews who left Iraq following the Farhud returned to the country shortly thereafter and permanent emigration did not accelerate significantly until 1950-51. According to Hayyim Cohen, the Farhud "was the only [such event] known to the Jews of Iraq, at least during their last hundred years of life there".

For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhud


Sunday, May 31, 2015

129

Napoleon and Hitler were born 129 years apart, came to power 129 years apart, declared war on Russia 129 years apart, and were defeated 129 years apart.


Friday, May 29, 2015

55

As of 2010, 55% of the Starbucks in Manhattan (68 out of 124) were within 2 blocks of another Starbucks.


Thursday, May 28, 2015

5

Here are some books with the number 5 in the title:










I didn't want to include any that were from a series where the books all had consecutive numbers in the titles, or anything like "5 stories".


Friday, May 15, 2015

25.1

This past winter, Anchorage received 25.1 inches of snow, This is the lowest amount since they've been keeping records.  The start of the Iditarod had to be moved further north because there was not enough snow in southern Alaska.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

177,147

According to Swedish mathematicians there are 177,147 different ways to tie a tie.





Wednesday, May 13, 2015

937


Today is the anniversary of the day the SS St. Louis set sail from Germany in 1939, with 937 passengers aboard. I will give a synopsis here, but for the whole story, see the movie "Voyage of the Damned".

****

The St. Louis set sail from Hamburg to Cuba on May 13, 1939 under command of Captain Gustav Schröder. Upon the ship's arrival in Cuba, the Cuban government, headed by President Federico Laredo Brú, refused to accept the foreign refugees. Passengers had previously purchased legal visas, but on May 5, 1939, four months before World War II began, Havana abandoned its former pragmatic immigration policy and visas issued before May 5 were invalidated retroactively. None of the passengers were aware that the Cuban government had retroactively invalidated their landing permits.

The journey to Cuba was a joyous affair. Crew members treated the passengers well—Captain Schröder insisted on this. Elegantly clad stewards served foods that by 1939 had been rationed in Germany; there was a full-time nursemaid to care for small children when their parents sat to eat. There were dances and concerts, and the captain allowed passengers to hold Friday evening religious services in the dining room and even permitted them to throw a tablecloth over a plaster bust of Hitler that sat there. Children were given swimming lessons in the on-deck pool.

The ship dropped anchor at 4 A.M. on May 27 at the far end of the Havana harbor and was denied entry to the usual docking areas. The next six days on the harbor were tumultuous times. It was finally announced that passengers arriving on the ship would only be allowed to enter if they had official Cuban visas. Thus, only 22 non-Jewish passengers were allowed to disembark on Cuban shores. After long negotiations, the remaining 915 passengers (mostly Jewish) were forced to return to Europe.

Prohibited from landing in Cuba, Captain Schröder took the ship and its passengers to Florida. America not only refused their entry but even fired a warning shot to keep them away from Florida's shores. ]Legally the refugees could not enter the United States on tourist visas, as they had no return addresses. The U.S. had passed the Immigration Act of 1924 that restricted numbers of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe.

As the St. Louis was turned away from the United States, a group of academics and clergy in Canada tried to persuade the nation's Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, to provide sanctuary to the ship's passengers, as it was only two days from Halifax, Nova Scotia. But, Canadian immigration officials and cabinet ministers hostile to Jewish immigration persuaded the Prime Minister on June 9 not to intervene.

As the situation of the vessel deteriorated, Captain Schröder personally negotiated and schemed to find them a safe haven. At one point he formulated plans to wreck the ship on the British coast to force the passengers to be taken as refugees. He refused to return the ship to Germany until all the passengers had been given entry to some other country. US officials worked with Britain and European nations to find refuge for the travelers in Europe. The ship returned to Europe, docking at Antwerp, Belgium, on June 17, 1939.

The United Kingdom agreed to take 288 of the passengers, who disembarked and traveled to the UK by other steamers. After much negotiation by Schröder, the remaining 619 passengers were allowed to disembark at Antwerp; 224 were accepted by France, 214 by Belgium, and 181 by the Netherlands. Without any passengers, the ship returned to Hamburg. The following year, after the Nazi German invasions of Belgium and France in May 1940, all the Jews in those countries were again at risk.

Research estimates that 254 of them were killed.


Tuesday, May 12, 2015

11.4

The average age of the cars on the road in the US today is 11.4 years old.

Monday, May 11, 2015

83

In Barrow, Alaska, the sun rises this morning (May 11) at 2:36 am, and will set at 2:13 am on August 2nd, 83 days later.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

11593

SEXY PRIMES are prime numbers that vary by 6. The lowest pair is 5 & 11. A few other pairs are 7 & 13, 11 & 17, 101 & 107, 311 & 317.... There are 26 pairs below 200, and 46 pairs below 500. The largest known pair, as of 2008, have 11,593 digits each.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

9650

Sheriff's office rug with 'In Dog We Trust' typo sells for nearly $10,000



A Florida sheriff's office has turned a $500 mistake into a $9,650 windfall for charity.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's office ordered a new rug,which turned up last week with a typo. The large green rug with the black and yellow Pinellas County Sheriff's Office logo included the phrase "In Dog We Trust" within one of its crests.

It was supposed to read "In God We Trust."

The Sheriff's Office said rug manufacturer, American Floor Mats, would replace it

That could have been the end of the story except Sheriff Bob Gualtieri had an idea.

He decided to auction off the unique item -- the "doggone rug," as he called it -- and donate the proceeds to a local rescue.

"The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office will not sweep anything under the rug," the department said when it put up the item.

Jane Sidwell is the founder of Canine Estates Inc. She figured her shelter would net a few hundred bucks from the sale.

"I knew that the sheriff's office paid $500 for it," she told CNN affiliate Bay News 9 . "So I thought well, that's great. We'll get $500. But we had no idea it would escalate into what it has."

Eighty three bids later, the rug was sold -- for a whopping $9,650!

The money will go mainly toward vet bills, Sidwell said. Last year, the shelter adopted out 186 dogs.

"A lot of these dogs just come in in absolute terrible shape," she told the affiliate.