What On Earth?-Column #47, April 2006

Well, here we are in April. Spring has indeed sprung, and this month is all about Easter (last year it was in March). While many of us are all excited about decorating Easter eggs and hiding them in hunts for others to pick up, and buying Easter candy and all that stuff, there's more to Easter than you might think.

For starters like myself, there's a Holy Week for Christians. It's the week before Easter, and it starts on Palm Sunday. On that day, many churchgoers receive branches or leaves of palm tress. The palms remind Christians of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. There, a few days before he died, he was hailed as a king. The crowd who greeted him decorated his path to Jersualem with palms. The first 3 days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) have no significant meanings, nor are they special. Thursday is called Maundy (or Holy) Thursday, and the word Maundy comes from a Latin word used in a hymn often sung on that Thursday. It keeps the memory of the Last Supper when Jesus introduced Holy Communion. He and his disciples (his closest followers) were all Jews and celebrated Passover, and they ate the Last Supper as a Passover meal. Good Friday, the day after Maundy Thursday, is the saddest day of the year for Christians. On this day, Christians remember the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. However, it's called Good Friday for a reason (while the Greeks celebrate it as Great Friday): Christians celebrate the holiday for all the good Jesus brough to the world. And then, the day before Easter is known as Holy (or Low) Saturday, where churches have no services that day (but they do have them on Easter Sunday). On Holy Saturday, some churches drape their doors in black cloth to represent the time Jesus spent in his tomb. And then on Easter Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus (he "rose" from the dead) on the 3rd day following his crucifixion (his "death" on the cross). The word Easter comes from Eostre, who was a goddess who had a festival during the Spring (which explains why Easter is always a spring holiday).

Now, at the top of the column, you will see that I put that Easter Sunday was in March of last year and April of this year. This is because Easter Sunday was first celebrated according to the ancient Jewish calendar as opposed to the Roman calendar we use now. It can come as early as March 22 (it was on March 27 last year) and as late as April 25 (it's on April 16 this year). For a long time, Christians observed Easter at the same time Jews observed Passover (which can begin on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday). The Christians wanted Easter on Sunday since they believed Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week (which they believe to be Sunday). This came as the Christians gave up the Jewish calendar to use the Roman calendar. In the year 325, the Christians set up a formula: Easter would be the first Sunday following the first full moon in the spring.

There are 2 symbols of Easter: An egg and a rabbit. Now, while many of you kiddies out there get excited about Easter bunnies delivering eggs to your baskets, not to mention the parents to boot; there's more to both than meets the eye: They both represent new life. The egg reminds Christians about the resurrection of Jesus, while a German legend says that a poor woman hid colored eggs in a nest as an Easter gift for her children. Just as the children saw the nest, a hare hopped by, and thus led us to believe the hare (as the rabbit is often called) brought the eggs. A custom that occurs the day after is the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. It was started by Dolly Madison (wife of James, who served from 1808-1816), and the custom involves children rolling hard-boiled eggs as far as possible without breaking them. About 50,000 people, including the President, get to watch.

There are other April holidays, too. April 1 is April Fools' Day. While nobody knows how it began, we know it's a day where we get to play tricks on each other. Some say that it began in India, where the people celebrate a spring holiday called Holi. On that day, people fill a bamboo pipe with colored powder and blow the powder at people (while children use water in place of the powder).

The other April holiday is Arbor Day, which began on April 10, 1872, in Nebraska. The day celebrates the lives of the one thing that makes this country flourish: TREES. We plant a lot of them, no matter when it comes (as there's no set date); but during that first Arbor Day, a million trees were planted. While other holidays celebrate the past, Arbor Day celebrates the future. And rightfully so, since the trees ARE our future.

And finally, there's Earth Day, celebrated on April 22. This holiday is about celebrating the Earth, as much as it is celebrating its future (like Arbor Day). And the trees and waters that make up this planet are ever flourishing as we speak!

Alright. Enough of this month. Let's start the column, and we'll start with NEWS as our first category. This month marks the anniversaries of a few events. The most notable one is the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO. There, 2 seniors named Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold took the lives of 12 students and 1 teacher, injured 24 more people, and then ended the massacre by taking their own lives. A few weeks after, classes were held at nearby Chatfield High School. 4 years after the shooting, the old library where the massacre began was demolished and a new one stood as a memorial to the victims.

The next event I'd like to talk about is the end of the Waco Siege at the Branch Davidian Compound. In 1992, a UPS delivery driver alerted the local deputy sheriff that empty grenade casings had been delivered to the Davidians at Mount Carmel. The sheriff notified the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) and requested their help. This led to an investigation of the Davidians that lasted several months, and ultimately resulted in allegations of weapons violations committed by the Davidians. In addition, former Davidians told ATF that Koresh had taught his followers to be prepared for a government assault. The ATF began planning its raid, and search and arrest warrants were issued in early 1993. Prior to the raid, the Davidians were made aware of the ATF raid. In the aftermath, the ATF drew heavy criticism for proceeding, despite knowing that the Davidians knew of the offensive. Some groups have questioned the ATF motives behind planning a raid of such massive proportions, claiming that the Davidians had committed (at worst) only minor procedural violations, for which the February 28 raid seemed unwarranted. Under Federal law firearms and explosives charges are very serious. Evidence collected by the Texas Rangers confimed that the Davidians were manufacturing illegal weapons. On July 30, 1992, after having learned he was under investigation, David Koresh invited the ATF to Mount Carmel to inspect his firearms, but the ATF did not follow up on the offer. Agents approached the compound on Sunday morning, February 28, 1993, in cattle trailers pulled by pickup trucks owned by individual ATF agents. The advantage of surprise was gone, due to reporters asking for directions from one of the Branch Davidians. Helicopters had been obtained from the Texas National Guard on the false pretext that there was a drug lab at Mt. Carmel. During the telephone calls between the FBI and David Koresh throughout the siege, the government admitted armed agents shot at Davidians from the helicopter. The first shots during the raid are reported to have occurred near the front door; ATF agents near the front door claimed to hear the first shots come from within the building, to their left. Branch Davidian survivors claimed that the first shots came from the ATF agents outside. During the raid, a Davidian called 911 pleading for them to stop shooting. The resident asked for a cease-fire, and audiotapes clearly caught him saying "Here they come again!" in reference to the helicopters, and "That's them shooting, that's not us!" The sheriff, in audiotapes broadcast after the incident, said he was not apprised of the raid and did not know how to contact the ATF agents involved. They shouted to television news crews to use their cellular phones to call for ambulances. The raid itself ended when the ATF ran out of ammunition and called off their attack. But that didn't stop there. During the assualt, a few fires started in the back, and just grew from there. Rumor has it that the Davidians started those fires, and after those died out, the result was 76 people killed (including a few ATF agents), including Koresh.

This month also marks one year since the death of Pope John Paul II, the first and only non-Italian Pope to serve in the Vatican since the 16th century (he was Polish). He was a conservative type, speaking out against gay rights and abortion, and other pro-choice stuff associated with Democrats like myself. However, one good thing about him was that it was his opposition to Communism that brought about the party's fall. About a few weeks after his death, his successor was chosen in Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger), who is also conservative. Unlike John Paul, Benedict was of German citizenship.

This month also marks 11 years since the OKC bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which killed 168 people. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the two co-conspirators involved, were convicted and severely punished (McVeigh was executed in June 2001, while Nichols is currently serving a life sentence). Terry's brother James was originally charged, but those charges were later dropped. In November of '95, the building was imploded, and in its place stands a gold memorial with "9:01" on it (the time the attack happened), including names of the 168 victims.

Next category is POLITICS. If you've been watching the news lately, Illegal Immigration has been something to talk about. The Republicans want to make it illegal to do that, the Democrats want to make it legal (provided that they earn their citizenship by getting a job, something I think will solve the problem once and for all.) But, before we could go there, we watched as Tom DeLay announced he would not run for a 12th term in Congress (he already stepped down as Majority Leader in January, and is still facing criminal charges of money laundering). I'm looking forward to Democrats regaining Congress this year (and the Presidency in '08).

And as you well know, this year marks 3 months since the fall of Saddam (hence the fall of his statue in Baghdad). While the new government is still working to get in place, the violence continues to grow ever so quickly (as the death toll continues to go past 2,000). The debate continues well into this year's elections, on whether or not we should pull out. Bush says that if we pull out, he'll say that we war critics are sending "mixed signals to the enemy." Well, Bush, I think you're sending mixed signals to us, because we've already gotten rid of Saddam (even though there are no WMD's, and no link to Saddam and 9-11), and you're keeping our troops there for years to come. I can't wait to see you leave (and if we have to, we'll get Trump to tell you and your administration "YOU'RE FIRED!").

Next category is SPORTS. Baseball season is underway, and while many of us are excited, some of us are still thinking about the steroid controversy that has plagued this sport ever since last year (and some say that stars like Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro used them!). And this is the 3rd season of the Texas Rangers playing at the newly renamed Ameriquest Field (the original name was the Ballpark In Arlington, which debuted in 1994). And, for you hockey fans, well, rejoice! We'll see the Stanley Cup this year! And about time, too; that lockout was something to talk about. But the players agreed to a new salary cap, which involved a small paycut. But then again, who cares? That lockout is behind us, so let's go for the CUP!

Next category is ENTERTAINMENT. The Apprentice is back, and this time, it gets rid of the Men-Women format that we all have come to know. Expect more clashes, more drama, and of course, more of YOU'RE FIRED. We all saw what happened during one week of the previous season, where the Donald fired 4 candidates of the losing team on the spot. Now, many of us may or may not have seen that coming. Let me tell you about the task: The two teams were to create an interactive sporting event that centered on raising sales. One team chose golf, the other baseball. The golf team rose their sales by 74%, but the baseball team's sales dropped by 34% (through the use of a batting cage which took up most of the store, and made it impossible to sell any products). In the Boardroom, the losing 4 went at each others' throats, but Trump had had enough. He just flat out told them, "You're all fired. ALL FOUR ARE FIRED." and booted them with "Go Home. Go Home." (And rightfully so, they all went home, humiliated!) And believe it or not, the 4 of them had to suffer the cabride home in one taxi.

"Deal Or No Deal" is back, as you also may have expected. After a successful run in December, the show returned. During its first week, Trump HIMSELF made a guest appearance, and he got to help contestants decide whether to take offers or keep opening cases. This was on top of the Apprentice 5 premiere! But that wasn't all, Nooo. That week, The show upped the ante by adding another $500K to the $1M each time it wasn't claimed, so the show could've given away $3 MILLION DOLLARS! Unfortunately, that didn't happen, so it was back to square one, and the current rules.

Final category is GAME SHOWS. I profiled some of Jeopardy!'s best in the last column. I'll profile some more right now; starting with Brian Weikle, a project manager from Minneapolis, MN. 3 years ago THIS MONTH, he won $149,200 in 5 days, but on his 3rd day, he broke the winnings' record of $102,597 set by NY cop Frank Spangenburg in 1990 (he got up to $104,800 after the first 3 days), and he did so with a new one-day record of $52,000 (shattering a previous record of $50K set by 2-day champ Myron Meyer earlier in the season). If you're a loyal Jeopardy! fan, you realized that that mark would stand for at least a few more months, because as the Ken Jennings phenomenon set in, so did a new record! (Those who don't know, you'll find out later in the year.) Brian would later come back the following month for the $250K TOC (You'll find out more in the next column!).

Speaking of records, Chuck Forrest became a hit in the show's second season. A student from Grand Rapids, MI when he won $72,800 in his 5 days on the show, he had a real good strategy when it came to winning: He jumped around the game board a lot, making sure that his opponents ended up with clues with categories they knew little about (and in doing so, he knew A LOT). He then would go on to win the $100K TOC the following season. That second season was also the year where the Jeopardy! $100K TOC begins, with the 2-week format invented by Alex, and the 15 undefeated (5-day) champs from the inaugural season, a record that still holds true to this date (one of those champs in Jerry Frankel of Venice, CA; was the first to win the $100K; however, he died a year later).

Another competitor is Tom Cubbage, who won the show's first $25K College Championship in 1989. A student at SMU in Dallas at the time, he actually won $26,600 (the rules say that if the 2-day final scores exceed the tournament prize limits, then the higher of the cash prizes is awarded).

I will now wrap up this column, with the history of Jeopardy. Many of you are familiar with the current version hosted by Alex Trebek. But, for those who don't/didn't know, "Jeopardy!" actually began on March 30, 1964 on NBC. Creator Merv Griffin and his wife Julann came up with the idea while TV viewers were still reeling from the quiz show scandals of the 50's with such shows as 21 and the $64K Question, where the contestants were secretly given assistance by the producers to arrange the outcome of a supposed competition (see below). On an airplane flight home, Julann suggested that Merv come up with a quiz show where the contestants were given the answers, and he mentioned the scandals to her. But she was quick to put him at ease, and she said "No, no, no, no. I mean like, '5,280'." And he said, "Well, how many feet are in a mile." That led to the creation of the show, initially titled "What's The Question?" (and they quickly changed it to "Jeopardy!", when the NBC daytime network executives kept telling Merv that the show "doesn't have enough jeopardies. It doesn't get you on the edge of your chair, when the contestants are playing. It should have more jeopardies."). To quote original host Art Fleming, who hosted the show from 1964-1975, "This is a very unusual Q&A show. You see, we give the contestants the answers and all they have to do is come up with the questions."

The show, of course, had 3 rounds (Jeopardy!, Double Jeopardy!, and Final Jeopardy!), with 6 categories each with clues from $10-$50 in the first round, and $20-$100 in the second.As with today's version, those with money got to play FJ (to which Merv wrote the show's signature "Think Music" that is played in that round, while the players wrote down their questions). Unlike today's version, however, all players got to keep their cash winnings (and of course, whoever won the most got to come back and play again).

Now, for the scandals themselves. In the 1950s, it was common practice for game shows and other shows to be sponsored solely by one company, even to the extent of having the company's name in the title of the show. Examples included Sylvania's Beat the Clock, or Geritol's Twenty-One. It was empirically determined by show sponsors and the networks that influencing the outcome of a game show could increase the dramatic value, and therefore its attraction to viewers. More viewers naturally increased the advertising exposure a sponsored company would receive. Outcome influence came in many forms, some relatively benign. For example, contestants would be given stage directions on how to act while on camera. On The $64,000 Question, contestants were placed in an "isolation booth" when answering questions, presumably to prevent them from receiving any help from the audience. To heighten the drama, the ventilating fans in the isolation booth were turned off after the question was asked. Under the hot stage lights, the temperature rose quickly, causing the contestant to sweat visibly. This would lead contestants to mop their brows before answering the question. Other forms of influence were less benign. More popular contestants would be asked questions within their areas of expertise, or even provided the answers to upcoming questions. Less popular contestants would be given more difficult questions in areas outside their expected knowledge.

Sponsor interference wasn't foolproof. Though Dr. Joyce Brothers was disliked by Charles Revson, whose Revlon cosmetics firm was the sponsor of Question, and was therefore given difficult questions about boxing, she managed to answer without help and won legitimately against her coached opponent. The most notorious participants in this deception were Charles Van Doren and Herb Stempel, leading competitors on Twenty-One. Both were heavily coached by the show's producers. The 1994 movie Quiz Show talks about this particular part of the scandal.

After Stempel's scripted loss to the more-popular Van Doren on December 5, 1956, he blew the whistle on the operation. Initially, he was dismissed as a sore loser. It wasn't until August 1958 that his credibility was bolstered. Ed Hilgemeyer, a contestant on Dotto, announced that he had found a notebook containing the very answers contestant Marie Winn was delivering on stage. But the final stroke came from Twenty-One contestant James Snodgrass, who sent registered letters to himself containing the advance answers. Such evidence was irrefutable. By October, the story was everywhere, and the quiz shows' ratings were dropping. The networks denied everything and canceled the now-suspicious shows. Meanwhile, New York prosecutor Joseph Stone convened a grand jury to investigate the charges. Many of the coached contestants, who had become celebrities due to their quiz show success, were afraid of the social repercussions. They were unwilling to confess, even to the point of committing perjury. The judge sealed the grand jury report.

Congress saw the political opportunity; in October, 1959, the Oren Harris-led House Committee on Legislative Oversight began to hold hearings investigating the scandal. Child actress Patty Duke testified to having been coached, as did Stempel, Snodgrass, and Hilgemeyer. But the bombshell dropped on November 2 when Van Doren said to the Committee "I was involved, deeply involved, in a deception. The fact that I too was very much deceived cannot keep me from being the principal victim of that deception, because I was its principal symbol." President Dwight D. Eisenhower called the scandals "a terrible thing to do to the American people", and Congress quickly passed a law prohibiting the "fixing" of quiz shows. You can read more about the scandals, by clicking HERE.

That's all for now. You just learned a huge lesson on the quiz show scandals, if you're new! Expect a really huge column next month. Until then, this is John Lee saying "Go HOME!"