Saturday, October 17, 2009

Answer of the Day
Would you jump off a bridge just because everyone else was doing it? Maybe, if it was a BASE jump. BASE is an acronym for buildings, antennas, spans (bridges) and earth (cliffs). In the extreme sport of BASE jumping, participants leap — with a parachute — from heights of up to about 1,000 ft/305 m. It's like skydiving, but without the plane. The sport is fraught with perils. There is only a short amount of time for the parachute to open and it can take several seconds for the jumper to stabilize in the air. BASE jumpers usually use a specially designed parachute. Today is the 30th annual Bridge Day in Fayetteville, WV, commemorating the 1977 completion of the New River Gorge Bridge, America's longest single-span bridge. Hundreds of BASE jumpers will take the leap from the span, at a height of 876 ft/267 m.

Quote
"All of my activities are so pedestrian. The extreme sport I play is ping pong. And we play it hard. If any of you suckers want to step up to the table, be ready." — Seth Green

Word of the day
lethiferous

Deadly; bringing death or destruction.

(© Webster's 1913 Dictionary)

Today's History

Al 'Scarface' Capone

• Battle of Saratoga: key battle of the American Revolutionary War ended with a major British surrender (1777)
• Al Capone: mobster called Scarface who ruled much of Chicago was finally convicted — of income tax evasion; he served eight years of an 11-year sentence (1931)
• 1973 Oil Crisis: was sparked when OPEC cut oil supplies to nations that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War

Today's Birthdays

Mae C. Jemison

• John Paul I (1912-1978): the 263rd pope; he served for just 33 days
• Jerry Siegel (1914-1996): writer who was one of the creators of Superman; authors Nathanael West (1903-1940) and Arthur Miller (1915-2005) share this birth date
• Evel Knievel (1938-2007): daredevil
• Mae C. Jemison (53): the first black woman in space
• Eminem (37): rapper, The Slim Shady LP; also, musicians Jim Seals (68), Gary Puckett (67), Ziggy Marley (41), Chris Kirkpatrick (38) and Wyclef Jean (37)
• Matthew Macfadyen (35): actor, Spooks, Pride and Prejudice; plus, actors Rita Hayworth (1918-1987), Montgomery Clift (1920-1966), Michael McKean (62), George Wendt and Margot Kidder (both 61) and Norm Macdonald (46)