Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The Internet and False Information

TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010

There is a week left in the month of August.  Before it draws to a close, I'd like to share with you some quirky trivia about August 2010.  Take a look at your calendar.  August of 2010 has 5 SUNDAYS, 5 MONDAYS and 5 TUESDAYS, all in the same month.  I'd like to point out that there is some incorrect information circulating on the Internet that this occurs every 823 years.  That simply is not true.  It's not such a rare occurrence.  In fact, the next time we get five Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays in August will be August 2021.  Your intrepid researcher has checked and double checked.  If you want to see for yourself, look at the perpetual calendar for the year 2021.  Just click on the following link.
http://www.accuracyproject.org/2010calendar.html

I want all you Sixteeners to know that I will continue my battle against false or misleading information on the Internet.  This is a reminder that inaccurate information does not just appear on one particular site on the web.   Don't believe something just because it appears on hundreds of Internet sites.


FOCUS ON HISTORY

On this day in 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted. The Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum (near modern day Naples) were destroyed. These flourishing towns were buried in ashes and never rebuilt. Thousands died.  I visited the ruins of Pompeii in 1996 and was struck by the expressions on the faces of the mummified victims.


SPORTS

The Blue Jays are back in the win column again.  The defeated the Yankees at the Bronx Zoo last night by a score of 3-2.  It's great to win those games by one run, especially against the Yanks.  The best news of all is that Jose Bautista hit his 39th and 40th home runs of the season.  This guy is having a season to remember.

- Joanne