How did the Arizona town of Show Low get its name?
Show Low was named after a marathon poker game played between two early settlers. They decided there wasn't enough room for both of them in the community and agreed to let a game of cards decide who was to get the 100,000 acre ranch and who was to move on. According to the story, one of them said, "If you can show low, you win." The other one turned up the deuce of clubs and replied, "show low it is." Show Low got its name from that card game and Show Low's main street is named "Deuce of Clubs" in remembrance.
https://www.showlowaz.gov/page/history/ (pehinhota)
1 answer
Nov 19 25 by unclerick
Is Niue considered an independent country and is it a member of the U.N.?
Niue's political situation is quite interesting, but not without precedent (see the Cook Islands, for example). It is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, an arrangement set up back in 1974. Although it has full constitutional independence and manages its own domestic affairs, it maintains close ties with New Zealand, which provides assistance with foreign affairs and defence, but only when Niue asks for it. More importantly, all Niueans are automatically New Zealand citizens. While this free association exists, Niue operates like an independent country internationally, even establishing diplomatic relations with various sovereign nations like the United States (being the latest in a growing list).
However, despite functioning independently, Niue is definitely not a full member of the United Nations. Nevertheless, the UN organizations treat Niue's status as equivalent to independence under international law, and it is a full member of several key UN specialized agencies, such as UNESCO and the World Health Organization. The reason Niue hasn't pursued full UN membership is largely practical since achieving full status might risk the crucial automatic right for all Niueans to hold New Zealand citizenship, which grants them essential freedom of movement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niue
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_status_of_the_Cook_Islands_and_Niue (LeoDaVinci)
1 answer
Nov 19 25 by chabenao1
Why was 'Van Diemen's Land' renamed 'Tasmania'?
Link for above: [quote]The name "Van Diemen's Land" was changed to "Tasmania" in 1856. The change was initiated by the British colonial authorities and ultimately approved by Queen Victoria. The name change was brought about through an act of the British Parliament known as the "Van Diemen's Land Name Act 1856." The act received royal assent on 1st January 1856, and that's when the name officially changed. However, the usage of the new name took some time to become widespread. The initiative for the name change came from the colonial authorities in Van Diemen's Land. The decision was likely influenced by various political, social, and economic factors of the time.
The name change was primarily motivated by a desire to disassociate the island from the stigma of its convict past. Van Diemen's Land had been established as a British penal colony in 1803, and its name had become synonymous with convict transportation and harsh penal conditions. By renaming the island to Tasmania, the authorities aimed to create a fresh identity for the colony.[/quote] https://dutchaustralianculturalcentre.com.au/archive/dutch-australian-history/van-diemens-land-became-tasmania-1642-1856/
(gtho4)
2 answers
Nov 12 25 by odo5435
Why was 'Van Diemen's Land' renamed 'Tasmania'?
It used to be called Van Diemen's Land after a Dutch governor named Anthony van Diemen, because the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman named it that in 1642 to honour his boss.
But later, when the British took over, the name got a bad reputation because the island became known for its harsh convict prisons. So in 1856, they decided to change the name to Tasmania, after Abel Tasman himself, the guy who first spotted it, to give the place a fresh start and a better image.
Basically: same island, new name, less baggage. (Hesting_horts)
2 answers
Nov 12 25 by odo5435
What is the difference between Richter and Mercalli scales?
The Richter Scale, the more widely known of the two, is a measure of the earthquake's size at its source, determined objectively by instruments. It tells you how big the earthquake was. It uses a logarithmic scale to measure. It was developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter and Beno Gutenberg at Caltech to measure the magnitude of shallow, local earthquakes in Southern California based on the maximum amplitude recorded by a specific type of seismometer. It is now pretty obsolete, having been replaced by the Moment Magnitude Scale, though this is erroneously quoted in its measurements as "Richter".
The Mercalli Scale, on the other hand, is a measure of the earthquake's effect at a specific location, determined by observations. It tells you how strong the shaking was and how much damage it caused there. It's rated using Roman numerals (I to XII). It originated in the late 19th century with Italian volcanologist Giuseppe Mercalli, who created a simple ten-degree intensity scale based purely on observations of ground shaking effects. This scale was later expanded, notably by Harry O. Wood and Frank Neumann in the United States, to become the twelve-level Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modified_Mercalli_intensity_scale
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richter_scale (LeoDaVinci)
1 answer
Nov 10 25 by chabenao1
Which part of the human body contains the most sweat glands?
Eccrine sweat glands cover the entire body but are the densest in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
[quote]Eccrine glands are the main sweat glands responsible for cooling you down when you get too hot. They make sweat and send it to your skin's surface, where it evaporates to disperse heat and lower your body temperature. Common conditions affecting these glands include hyperhidrosis (sweating too much) and anhidrosis (not sweating enough).
Eccrine glands are located in your skin, and are spread out all across your body. Some eccrine glands are in dense clusters, while others are farther apart. They're most tightly packed together on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. In these areas, you have anywhere from 250 to 500 glands per square centimeter (smaller than a postage stamp).[/quote]
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/eccrine-glands (elburcher)
1 answer
Nov 09 25 by odo5435
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