by Erin Blakemore National Geographic What do Liberia, Myanmar, and the United States have in common? They use imperial measurements—feet, pounds, and miles—instead of meters, grams, and kilometers. Critics call this shameful. The truth however, is more complicated: Though imperial units are commonly used in the U.S., the metric system is actually the …
Category Archives: England
Blind Architect Designs Accessible Spaces
by Lauren Beavis South West News Service Emily Annakin has lost most of her sight through Stargardt disease – a form of juvenile macular degeneration which means she has no central vision. She is now a UWE Bristol Architecture and Planning student and as part of her final degree course redesigned part of …
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Happy Birthday To Sir Paul McCartney, 82
by Kevin Burton When Paul McCartney was 14 he wrote a whimsical song called “When I’m Sixty-Four.” As of today he’s 82. Can you believe that? On that pivotal night, Feb. 9, 1964, when the Fab Four Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show, their collective age was 86. A …
A Female Version Of The Beatles? Who Knew?
by Kevin Burton I have read maybe two dozen books about the Beatles on talking book. But I didn’t know this. In books by and about other contemporary artists, the Beatles emerge, as a yardstick, a cultural happening, a turning point. But not so much as a syllable about this. Until very …
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Far From Being Obsolete, Braille Is Essential
by Tracy Conly (Tracy Conly is a longtime friend from our days at the Ohio State School for the Blind, a great Braille reader and advocate for the blind. This is her reaction to our March 15 story “A New Tool In The Fight For Braille Literacy.”) “Braille changes lives. It gives thousands …
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Little-Known Facts About McDonald’s
by Kevin Burton I used to think I liked McDonalds chicken nuggets – until the time I forgot to ask for barbecue sauce. Oops! McNuggets are my choice at McDonalds because I hate everything else. McDonalds in not our restaurant rotation. When we travel to beep baseball tournaments this summer we …
Gerry Rafferty Was Born 77 Years Ago Today
by Kevin Burton The headline to an article in The Independent called Gerry Rafferty a “bipolar alcoholic industry misfit.” His biographers including his daughter Martha dispute none of that. The article was printed on the occasion of the 2021 release of “Rest In Blue” an album of Rafferty demos polished and completed by …
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Brewing A Big Pot Of Knowledge About Tea
by Kevin Burton Somebody, either me or my wife Jeannette, went a little crazy buying tea in a discount store some years ago. Guess which one. We had visited her parents in the county west of us. On the way home we stopped at one of those discount stores. I found tea …
More Genius Phrasing From Shakespeare
by Kevin Burton Shakespeare’s genius influenced many phrases and idioms we unknowingly use every day. That’s why Dictionary Scoop put together a list of common expressions that were either created or made famous by Shakespeare and his characters. We listed five of them yesterday on Page 7. Today, five more. “American literary critic …
Some Phrases We Got From Shakespeare
by Kevin Burton I feel bad that I haven’t read anything by Shakespeare all the way through. Don’t know why I feel that way. The next person who asks me if I have read Shakespeare, will be the first. So it doesn’t really matter. Ask me in public, “Shakespeare or Steely Dan” …
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