Calendar Reform, Sweet Sound of Drunk Speakers, Confounding Chemistry

Calendar reform

According to a Johns Hopkins press release of Dec. 17, 2004, Henry used "computer programs and complex mathematical formulas" to design a calendar in which "each new 12-month period is identical to the one that came before"--in most cases. The exception is that, instead of leap years, there is a one-week mini-month between June and July every five or six years.

"Newton Week," as Henry calls the mini-month, would occur in 2009, 2015, 2020, and 2026, for example. Henry says, "If I had my way, everyone would get Newton Week off as a paid vacation and could spend the time doing physics, or other activities of their choice."

At http://henry.pha.jhu.edu/calendar.html, Henry says his calendar, called "Common-Civil-Calendar-and-Time" (C&T), is an adaptation of one proposed by Bob McClenon in 1996. All months would have 30 or 31 days. C&T includes the worldwide adoption of a 24-hour, universal timescale (called Universal Time and formerly known as Greenwich Mean Time).

One of the FAQs on the website reads, "Doesn't your innovation mean that, for some folks, the date changes when the sun is overhead?" Henry answers, "Yes ... but those folks live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean." He then explains that they would benefit because the International Date Line would disappear.

Officially starting the new calendar on Jan. 1, 2006, would be ideal, according to Henry, "because New Year's Day 2006 falls on a Sunday in both the old and the proposed calendars, facilitating a seamless transition." He says C&T would save people time and businesses money because the calendar would not need to be redesigned every 12 months. However, he doesn't say whether the swimsuit calendars would still come out each year.

Sweet sound of drunk speakers

Allen A. Denio of Eau Claire, Wis., pointed out a December 2004 Consumer Reports review of the JVC (Victor Co. of Japan) EX-A1 micro system, which uses speaker cones made of "birch wood that has been saturated with sake, a Japanese alcoholic drink made from rice." According to JVC, the sake allows the wood to be shaped without cracking or breaking, which makes the system's sound quality similar to that of live music.

Consumer Reports used "lab instruments and experts" to determine how accurately the speakers reproduce sounds from deep bass to treble, as well as testing other elements of the system. Their conclusion: "The JVC is among the best micro or mini systems we've tested. (And it's really micro: The whole system could fit on some bedside tables.)" The review says the system costs $500.

Confounding chemistry

The text of a recipe in the San Jose Mercury News of Nov. 21, 2004, reads, "Keep covered when not serving, because many of the vitamins in yams and sweet potatoes are lost through evaporation." (Submitted by Gary T. Marshall of San Jose, Calif.)

The Dec. 10, 2004, Idaho Falls Post Register, in a report of apparent sabotage at a wastewater treatment plant, says: "Someone opened the natural-gas line on purpose. The heavy nature of the gas pulled all the oxygen from the building, which prevented a blast." (Submitted by Chuck Edinborough of Pocatello, Idaho.)

North Korea's state-run Pyongyang television recently warned that long hair " 'consumes a great deal of nutrition' and could thus rob the brain of energy," according to the BBC.

This week's column was written by Deanna Miller . Please send comments and suggestions to newscripts@acs.org.