Thursday, April 21, 2005

 

Spotlight: ZZZzzzzzz... Americans don't get enough sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults average 6.9 hours of sleep a night, even though many experts believe they need between 7 and 9 hours. In our increasingly 24-hour-a-day world, people stay up later, running errands, watching television, playing computer games, and working. The resulting sleep deprivation can result in reduced productivity at work, irritability, diminished capacity in driving, less intimacy and a variety of health problems.

Quote: "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." -- Robert Frost, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"

Word of the day: REM: the lightest form of sleep, the stage during which the most vivid dreams occur (© )

Today's News:

• Pope Benedict XVI: reactions are mixed (story)
• new USDA food pyramids: Internet connection required (story)
• Matisyahu: Hasidic reggae artist in Brooklyn, New York (story)

Today's History:

• Rome: founded by twins Romulus and Remus, sons of the god Mars (753 BCE)
• Elvis Presley: had first No. 1 hit, "Heartbreak Hotel" (1956)
• Tiananmen Square: anti-communist protest began with gathering of 100,000 students in Beijing(1989)

Today's Birthdays:

• Charlotte Brontë: author of Jane Eyre (1816-1855)
• Queen Elizabeth II: monarch of Great Britain (79)
• actors: Anthony Quinn (1915-2001), Tony Danza (54), Andie McDowell (47)