Air Pollution in North Korea

North Korea, with a population of 30 million people, has one of the worst air pollution problems in the world.  The photo below shows in the background the reason for the pollution - two large smokestacks emanating coal dust.

Coal dust accounts for most of North Korea's air pollution

Their air pollution is so bad that their quality of air is rated as unacceptable, by every country that measures air pollution.

There are several reasons for this. 


1. North Korea relies on coal for power which creates smog in their air.  


2. Their public transportation runs 24/7 and none of their vehicles are eco-friendly.


3. They have chopped down over half of their forests to use for food, firewood and paper products so there are very few trees left in their forests.  They have not replanted any trees in over 30 years to replace what they chopped down.


4.  The water in their lakes, rivers, and streams are polluted by waste.  


5. Their crops are tainted from smog, coal, and other pollutants making it barely edible.


The North Korean government promised to rebuild forests by planting millions of trees but they would have to get the trees from other countries. Asking for outside help is not their strong point.  


Because they know how bad it is, they don't allow photographs, even for research and any photos we see in publications or on the news were likely obtained illegally.



DEATH RATES IN NEARBY COUNTRIES

In South Korea, the air pollution problem has contributed to deaths of  23.2 of every 100,000 citizens compared to North Korea's 238 per 100,000 citizens.  


China and Japan are two neighboring countries with much higher populations and far more industrial areas. China attributes 161 deaths of every 100,000 citizens and Japan says there are 24 deaths of every 100,000 citizens.  



Why should other countries care about North Korea's air pollution problem? 

Because of the air quality and ground pollution, diseases like COPD, lung cancer and other respiratory diseases are killing North Korean citizens. Coal is cheap, but it is a dirty way to supply energy. 


Until they find new ways of getting their power and decent crops to feed their people, things aren't going to get better in their country.  


The reason why other countries should care about the country's problem is because sooner as opposed to later, North Korea citizens are going to need decades and decades of outside humanitarian, medical, and financial aid to put a dent in solving their problem, including both paid and volunteer help, and imported food, eco-friendly vehicles, paper products, and other items.  



Scientists and ecologists have estimated that since it took 30 years for North Korea to get into this mess,  that it will take double, if not triple that amount of time for them to recover from it.  

This conservative estimate takes into consideration the time to replant their forests, to create ways to provide clean fuel for use in homes and factories, to replace coal, and to plant and harvest crops which for the first few years will have to be destroyed because the ground won't produce safe edible food.



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Does Music Affects Your Heartbeat?

A new study says that music can alter your blood pressure, heart rate and respiration. 

Music is a healer

Participants in the study listened to five random selections of Beethoven, Bach, Puccini, and other classical artists as well as a two-minute segment of silence.  Monitors recorded physiological signals.

Music improves physical health

The researchers found that selections with crescendos, especially those with a series of them (like the ones you hear in Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody), made blood vessels constrict and increased blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. These measures decreased during decrescendos and silent periods.

Music can lift everyone's spirits

The study's results indicate that music goes beyond a patient's head. "It is not only the emotion that creates the cardiovascular changes," he notes, "but this study suggests that also the opposite might be possible." He believes the boosts in mood - including those pleasurable "chills" -triggered by music might also be a side effect of a physiological reaction.


A paper published earlier this year found that a developing fetus can distinguish changes in sound patterns, which is probably why mothers play music while the baby is still in utero.

Pregnant mothers play music hoping 
their babies can hear it

You can read more about this topic here:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/music-therapy-heart-cardiovascular/




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V Day, 1945

During World War II, the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth, along with the Queen Mary, were used as troop transports during the Second World War. 

Bringing troops home from the Second World War in 1945
aboard the Queen Elizabeth

The crowded Queen Elizabeth (pictured above) was bringing troops back to New York harbor from Europe, right after V-Day in 1945. The voyage took roughly five to seven days to go from the British Isles to the East Coast. 

The ship's high speed was able to outrun German U-boats, could carry over 15,000 troops and had over 900 crew members. During wartime, the troopship logged over 500,000 miles.


Source: Pinterest

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Proper Storage For Apples

Don't Store Apples In The Refrigerator

Don't Refrigerate Apples

Apples can get rather fibrous very quickly if they are stored in the refrigerator. Apples can also cause any other refrigerated fruits to ripen more quickly because of the natural gas that they emit.




You will be trapping all of that gas in your refrigerator with your other perishables.  Store apples at room temperature on the counter.



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Great Facts About Sylvester Stallone's Rocky

In the 1970s, Sylvester Stallone was relatively unknown and was getting very few acting jobs. He says he was so broke that he tried to sell (or re-home) his dog because he couldn't afford to feed or take care of him. 

Stallone with his dog, Butkus

 

1 - Desperation lead Stallone to write the movie script entitled Rocky, which he finished in just three days.

With Burgess Meredith

 

 

Trivia for above picture: Burgess Meredith got the part of Mickey,

 Rocky's trainer, because the other actors who were in consideration 

were insulted that Stallone wanted them to read for the part first.

2 - United Artists, the movie studio, wanted to buy Sylvester Stallone's script but they didn't want Stallone to star as Rocky Balboa.  Instead, they wanted an established actor to star in the movie: Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds or James Caan. 

Original Rocky Script

3 - Even though Stallone had very little acting experience, he refused to sell his script unless he was guaranteed to play the title role of Rocky Balboa.  

Sylvester Stallone, circa 1970s

4 - Stallone was offered six-figures for just the script, which in the 1970s was a really nice income. But he turned that down too.

Still photo from Rocky I

5 - Stallone held his ground and he eventually sold the script with himself to star as Rocky. And - he also got to keep his dog, Butkus, who guest starred as Rocky's dog.

Stallone and his dog Butkus

6 - The inspiration to write Rocky came to Stallone after witnessing the Chuck Wepner vs. Muhammad Ali fight on March 24, 1975, in which Wepner, a middling heavyweight, nearly went the distance with the great champion, Ali.

  Wepner vs Ali, March 24, 1975

7 - Rocky isn't Balboa's real first name; it is Robert Balboa, which was revealed in a draft copy of the second film's script.  The name Rocky was chosen in admiration of real-life boxing legend Rocky Marciano.

Rocky Marciano Poster

8 - Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker, was cast to play Apollo. While sparring during his audition, he accidentally punched Stallone in the chin. Weathers assured Director John G Avildsen that he would do better with "a real actor."  The director informed Weathers that Sylvester Stallone, the man he was sparring with, was the star of the movie. Weathers then replied, "Well, maybe he'll get better." Stallone offered him the role immediately. 

Carl Weathers, as Apollo 

9 - Most of the outdoor scenes of Rocky jogging through Philadelphia were shot with no permits, no equipment, and no extras. When the fruit guy throws Rocky an orange, that really happened. But the people watching "Rocky" run around were actually watching some weirdo running through Philly chasing a van with a camera guy inside the van.  

Running on Philadelphia's waterfront

  

  10 - The famous scene of Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum happened exactly the way it did. Many cities require permits to film outdoor scenes but in the case of the movie Rocky, the scenes were shot with permits, lots of equipment or extra actors.  Garrett Brown came up with a new way to film these kinds of scenes, called Steadicam. Brown was contacted by the movie's director who told the camera operator to chase Stallone up the steps. And that's how the now-famous shot was captured.

Rocky Balboa on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum

11 - While making the movie, Sylvester Stallone quit smoking cigarettes because he was getting out of breath. Stallone also ended up flattening his knuckles after punching many meat slabs. Even today, when he makes a fist, his knuckles lay flat.

  Stallone as Rocky Balboa

12 - The most expensive cost on the set of Rocky was doing the makeup.

Makeup artists did the movie proud 

13 - For the fight scene between Rocky and Apollo, the plan in place was for several former heavyweight champions to make an appearance at the beginning of the fight. But only Joe Frazier showed up on the day of the shoot. Stallone was the only one who wasn't disappointed. In fact, he was quite happy because of those scheduled to show up, only retired boxer Joe Frazier was from Philadelphia, lending some authenticity to the film.

Joe Frazier and Apollo

14 - Stallone and Weathers sustained some real injuries during the shooting of the final fight: Stallone had bruised his ribs and Weathers damaged his nose, which was the opposite of what their characters had suffered.


  

Rocky and Apollo

15 - Sylvester Stallone's father, Frank Sr., had a cameo playing the man who rings the opening bell of the championship fight.  Stallone's younger brother, Frank, also has a cameo as the lead singer of the street band.

Stallone's father Frank Sr. and his brother Frank Jr.

had parts in the movie

Rocky I - the first of seven Rocky movies - was shot in about 28 days.  It was a sleeper hit that earned $225 million in global box office receipts. It was the highest grossing film of 1976 and won three Oscars – Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Film Editing. 



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Ellis Island

Starting in the late 1800s, America was welcoming immigrants via Ellis Island. "Come on in, immigrants," said Ellis Island - which was the gateway to 2 million immigrants to the United States. 

An immigrant family gets their first look at New York City
standing on Ellis Island

For over 60 years, between 1892 until 1954, Ellis Island was the busiest immigrant inspection station in the U.S. Immigrating to the United States, and coming into Ellis Island was made extra special by the sight of the Statue of Liberty in the harbor. 


Sadly for New Yorkers, in 1998 the US Supreme Court decision found that most of the Ellis Island land is actually in New Jersey.


Ellis Island is now a 27.5-acre historical site located near Manhattan Island, New York. In its history, the island can take credit for welcoming more of the American population through the Port of New York than any other place.  Nearly half of the Americans living in the United States have entered this country by Ellis Island and it is still one of the most popular tourist spots in the United States.  Ellis Island is managed by the US Park Service. 

Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson declared Ellis Island part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Ellis Island was re-opened to the public on a limited basis between 1976 and 1984. 


In 1984, Ellis Island underwent a major restoration, the largest historic restoration in U.S. history. The $160 million project was funded by donations sent to the Statue of Liberty Restoration Fund.  On September 10, 1990, the Main Building was reopened to the public as the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. 

Processing center at Ellis Island before sorting

 On May 20, 2015, the entire story of American immigration was being re-told in the re-named Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. Today, the museum receives almost 2 million tourists annually.

Newly arrived immigrants await examination at the
Ellis Island between 1907 and 1921

Facts about Ellis Island (Click on picture to enlarge)

Do you know anyone who came to the United States through Ellis Island?  


Here are some links where you can have a little fun searching their names by year of entry.


To search for new arrivals from 1820 to 1891, use this link:

https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1849782?collectionNameFilter=false

Search screen for new arrivals (1820-1891)

To search for new arrivals from 1909, then 1925 to 1957, use this link:


https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1923888?collectionNameFilter=false

Search screen for new arrivals to Ellis Island 1909, 1925-1957

Try this searchable database:
https://aad.archives.gov/aad/

Database screen sorted by topics

Some history and other Links of interest: This is a little history about Ellis Island


https://graylinenewyork.com/things-nyc/history-ellis-island/

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January 1892 news article 

https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/annie-moore-article


-

History about the Statue of Liberty

https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/about-the-statue-of-liberty



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Black Death in 14th Century London

When London was hit by a combined attack of pneumonic and bubonic plague, it was called the Black Death. 

London lost nearly one-third of its population during
 the Black Death of the 14th century

Robert of Avesbury says: Those marked for death scarcely lived longer than three or four days. It (the plague) showed favor to no one, except a very few of the wealthy. On the same day, 20, 40 or 60 bodies, and sometimes many more, might be committed for burial together in the same pit.

Map of regions plagued with Black Death

Two ex-Chancellors and three Archbishops of Canterbury all died in quick succession. A large black slab in the southern cloister of Westminster Abbey covers the remains of the Abbot of Westminster and 27 of his monks who were also taken by the plague.


It raged in London until spring 1350, and is assumed to have killed between one third and one half of the populace.

Skeletons found in London

March 2013: Workers on The Crossrail project have discovered a mass grave thought to contain the bodies of Londoners who died from the Black Plague.

This isn't the first time a large number of skeletons has been discovered during building work in the capital.

In October 2012, construction of a multi-million-pound leisure center in Elephant and Castle was suspended after the discovery of 500 skeletons. They were in crypts, some of which dated back to before the Black Death in the 1300s.



Black Death facts

• The Black Death struck London in the autumn of 1348

• During the next 18 months, it killed half of all Londoners – perhaps 40,000 people

• Most experts believe that it was bubonic plague

• Symptoms included headaches, fever, vomiting, painful swellings on the neck, armpits and groin (buboes), blisters and bruises, coughing up blood

• There were so many dead that Londoners had to dig mass graves. In some of the trenches, the bodies were piled on top of each other, up to five deep. Children’s bodies were placed in the small spaces between adults

• Many people have heard of the Black Death of 1348 and the Great Plague of 1665. However, it is less well-known that these famous outbreaks are only two of nearly 40 that London suffered between 1348 and 1665

• A major outbreak of the disease struck roughly every 20-30 years, killing around 20% of London’s population each time. There were lesser outbreaks in-between the major ones and sometimes the disease could continue for several years in a less serious form

• The term ‘Black Death’ was first used in the 1800s. Medieval people called the disease the ‘Great Pestilence’

• The plague lingered until the last reported case in 1679

• The plague still exists today in countries like India and the United States

Click This Link To Learn More About The Black Death:

https://www.britainexpress.com/History/medieval/black-death.htm  

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