ALL THE REST —  July 3 & 4
  

Pyrotechnics

The explosive mixture of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), sulfur, and charcoal was known in China at least by 850 A.D. The mixture was probably discovered by Chinese alchemists in their search for making artificial gold. This early mixture was too lean in saltpeter to be truly explosive. It contained only about 50% saltpeter, while 75% is the minimum for a good detonation. The first use of this mixture was for the creation of fireworks.

Fireworks were being made in the 9th century A.D. by the Chinese. The saltpeter mixture was used for some dazzling effects. Later the Chinese used the mixture to make incendiary-like weapons for warfare. As time went by the Chinese increased the nitrate concentration and developed more explosive gunpowder used for rockets and "bamboo bullets."

It was not until the 13th century that the Europeans had the formula for gunpowder. Roger Bacon and perhaps the German monk Berthold had a formula for gunpowder. Its first European use depended on the development of firearms in the 14th century. It was not until the 17th century that the Europeans began to use gunpowder for peacetime. At that time the explosive powder was used in mining and civil engineering applications.

Today fireworks are still enjoyed by all. Gunpowder is still the major ingredient of the fireworks today. Magnesium is added to burn with a brilliant white light. Various other colors can tint the flame. Scarlet is formed by strontium compounds. Barium compounds tint the flame yellowish-green. Borax produces green . Lithium compounds will tint the flame purple.

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A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22 (NIV)

"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable."

Joseph Addison

 

 

John and Mary - married for a few years, live in a high rise apartment, on the 23rd floor.

One particular afternoon, these two were returning for their weekly grocery shopping. After unloading their car - each carrying two arm loads of groceries - they discovered the elevator out of order. Of course, they had to take the stairs.

To amuse themselves and to make their task a bit easier, they told jokes to each on the way up.

As they reached the 23rd floor, John turns to Mary and says: "Honey, I have the best joke of all! I left thekeys in the car!"

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A couple came upon a wishing well. The husband leaned over, made a wish and threw in a penny. The wife decided to make a wish, too. But she leaned over too much, fell into the well, and drowned.

The husband was stunned for a while but then smiled and said, "It really works."

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A man who thinks he's George Washington has been seeing a psychiatrist. He finishes up one session by telling him, "Tomorrow, we'll cross the Delaware and surprise them when they least expect it."

As soon as he's gone, the psychiatrist picks up the phone and says, "King George, this is Benedict Arnold. I have the plans."

AdamsCathy@aol.com

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Two country fellows met on a back road one afternoon.

One was going down the road with a possum-hunting dog and the other said to him, "How much will you take for the dog?"

The owner quoted a price of $100-- and declared the dog was an excellent hunter. The other fellow accepted the price and wrote out a check on the spot and handed it over. The owner shook his head and gave the check back.

"The check's good," the buyer said. "I'm a trustee in the Methodist Church."

So the owner took the check and handed over the dog. A little bit later he met his uncle and asked him. "Uncle Josh, what does it mean to be a trustee in the Methodist Church?"

Uncle Josh replied, "I'm not sure, but I think it's something like being a deacon in the Baptist Church."

"Oh, shucks," the man said, "there goes my dog."

AdamsCathy@aol.com

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Dieter's Psalm

My appetite is my shepherd,
I shall not want It maketh me to sit down and stuff myself.
It leadeth me to my refrigerator repeatedly.
It leadeth me in the path of Burger King for a Whopper.
It destroyeth my shape.
Yea, though I knoweth I gaineth, I will not stop eating For the food tasteth so good.
The ice cream and cookies, they comfort me.
When the table is spread before me, it exciteth me,
For I knoweth that soon I shall dig in.
As I filleth my plate continuously, my clothes runneth smaller.
Surely, bulges and excess weight shall follow me all the days of my life
And I shall be fat forever.

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TRUE FACT ...

Humans begin laughing at two to three months of age. Six year olds laugh about 300 times per day, while adults laugh from 15 to 100 times per day.

SOURCE: NYT, Dr. William F. Fry, Stanford University

One good thing about being wrong is the joy it brings to others. 

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~ I AM The Flag ~

I am the Flag

by Ruth Apperson Rous

I am the flag of the United States of America.

I was born on June 14, 1777, in Philadelphia.

There the Continental Congress adopted my stars and stripes as the national flag.

My thirteen stripes alternating red and white, with a union of thirteen white stars in a field of blue, represented a new constellation, a new nation dedicated to the personal and religious liberty of mankind.

Today fifty stars signal from my union, one for each of the fifty sovereign states in the greatest constitutional republic the world has ever known.

My colors symbolize the patriotic ideals and spiritual qualities of the citizens of my country.

My red stripes proclaim the fearless courage and integrity of American men and boys and the self-sacrifice and devotion of American mothers and daughters.

My white stripes stand for liberty and equality for all.

My blue is the blue of heaven, loyalty, and faith.

I represent these eternal principles: liberty, justice, and humanity.

I embody American freedom: freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the sanctity of the home.

I typify that indomitable spirit of determination brought to my land by Christopher Columbus and by all my forefathers - the Pilgrims, Puritans, settlers at James town and Plymouth.

I am as old as my nation.

I am a living symbol of my nation's law: the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

I voice Abraham Lincoln's philosophy: "A government of the people, by the people, for the people."

I stand guard over my nation's schools, the seedbed of good citizenship and true patriotism.

I am displayed in every schoolroom throughout my nation; every schoolyard has a flag pole for my display.

Daily thousands upon thousands of boys and girls pledge their allegiance to me and my country.

I have my own law, Public Law 829, "The Flag Code" - which definitely states my correct use and display for all occasions and situations.

I have my special day, Flag Day. June 14 is set aside to honor my birth.

Americans, I am the sacred emblem of your country. I symbolize your birthright, your heritage of liberty purchased with blood and sorrow.

I am your title deed of freedom, which is yours to enjoy and hold in trust for posterity.

If you fail to keep this sacred trust inviolate, if I am nullified and destroyed, you and your children will become slaves to dictators and despots.

Eternal vigilance is your price of freedom.

As you see me silhouetted against the peaceful skies of my country, remind yourself that I am the flag of your country, that I stand for what you are - no more, no less.

Guard me well, lest your freedom perish from the earth.

Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand: "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

I was created in freedom. I made my first appearance in a battle for human liberty.

God grant that I may spend eternity in my "land of the free and the home of the brave"
and that I shall ever be known as "Old Glory," the flag of the United States of America.