Curiosity

     

Tucson Weather Today

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We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
--Walt Disney

Over the last few weeks I have been asking a randomly selected group of people, some acquaintances and some strangers, a series of questions, not all at one time but just a single question here and  there. I wanted to see how much a scattering of individuals know about somewhat trivial things.

Here is one of those questions: "In what country is Lisbon located?"

Believe it or not, of the approximately twenty individuals queried, not one of them could name the country. Most guessed Spain.

Do you know?

Answer: Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal.

I have asked a few other question but don't yet have a large enough sampling of any one of them to write about.

As I travel through life I seem to grow curiouser and curiouser.

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Did You Know . . .?

Every year there are as few as two gun-related homicides in Japan. Almost all types of guns are illegal for personal use.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1966, Charles Whitman took a stockpile of guns and ammunition to the observatory platform atop a 300-foot tower at the University of Texas and proceeded to shoot 46 people, killing 14 and wounding 31. A fifteenth died in 2001 because of his injuries. Whitman, who had killed both his wife and mother the night before, was eventually shot to death after courageous Austin police officers, including Ramiro Martinez, charged up the stairs of the tower to subdue the attacker.

The University of Texas tower remained closed for 25 years before reopening in 1999.

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WORD FOR TODAY

trenchant  [TREN-chunt]
adjective
1. incisive or keen, as language or a person; caustic; cutting: trenchant wit.
2. vigorous; effective; energetic: a trenchant policy of political reform.
3. clearly or sharply defined; clear-cut; distinct.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Max Carver

(born August 1, 1988)

Max Caver is an American actor best known for his role as Preston Scavo in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives and was one of the stars of Teen Wolf on MTV along with his twin brother, Charlie Carver. Max and Charlie now both star on the new HBO series The Leftovers.

Tempestt Bledsoe

(born August 1, 1973)

Tempestt Bledsoe is an American actress. She is best known for her childhood role as Vanessa Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show.

Dominick "Dom" DeLuise

(Aug 1, 1933 - May 4, 2009)

Dom DeLuise was an American actor, comedian,, chef, and author. He starred in a number of movies directed by Mel Brooks, in a series of films with career-long best friend Burt Reynolds, and as a voice actor in various animated films by Don Bluth.

Valery Milagros Ortiz

(born August 1, 1984)

Valery Ortiz is a Puerto Rican actress, singer, songwriter & author who is known for her role as Madison Duarte on the television series South of Nowhere.

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I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.
--Eleanor Roosevelt

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