For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. <\/i><\/p>\n
\u2014II Timothy 4:3<\/i><\/p>\n
6811<\/b> Ivy League Trivia Contest<\/b><\/p>\n
Over 1,000 college-age students poured into Columbia University\u2019s Macmillan Theater to watch the Second Annual Ivy League Trivia Contest. <\/p>\n
The Ivy League contest is the biggest of many contests in which thousands of players compete to see who knows the most about things which matter the least. <\/p>\n
Pennsylvania remembered the 1946 song: \u201cUse Ajax, bumm, bumm, the foaming cleanser.\u201d Yale recalled that Harpo Marx sold \u201ctootsi- footsi\u201d ice cream. But Princeton won the contest by naming Rosemary Clooney as the singer of \u201cCome On-a My House\u201d and identifying El Fago Baca as the Walt Disney character with nine lives. The winning trophy was a green 49\u00a2 mixing bowl. <\/p>\n
6812<\/b> Waiting Three Decades For Orders<\/b><\/p>\n
United Nations (AP)\u2014A group of uniformed American, Russian, Chinese, British and French generals, admirals and colonels met in the basement of U.N. headquarters to learn if their orders had arrived\u2014orders they\u2019ve been awaiting for 30 years. <\/p>\n
The orders hadn\u2019t come so they broke up after barely five minutes seated at a long table. <\/p>\n
It was the 739th official meeting of the U.N. security council\u2019s military staff committee and the first since war broke out in the Middle East. <\/p>\n
But the Arab-Israeli conflict wasn\u2019t even mentioned. All the big five brass did was approve the minutes of their five-minute meeting two weeks earlier and set their next session for Nov. 1. <\/p>\n
The sterile scenario is repeated at two-week intervals. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople wonder why this goes on, but the answer is relatively simple,\u201d an American member, Navy Vice Adm. Harry L. Harty told a reporter. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re part of the U.N. charter,\u201d he said, indicating Article 47, where he had underlined in red that the military staff committee remains a paper command. <\/p>\n
U.N. troops that have been fielded, as in Korea, Cyprus, the Mideast and other trouble spots, have been organized on an emergency basis outside the Security Council\u2019s military staff committee. <\/p>\n
6813<\/b> Typing To 1,000,000<\/b><\/p>\n
Between 1988 and 1974, Mrs. Marva Drew of Waterloo, Iowa, typed from 1 to 1,000,000 words on a manual typewriter. When asked why, she replied, \u201cBut I love to type.\u201d She used 2,473 pages for that feat of triviality. <\/p>\n
6814<\/b> Studying Cabbage\u2019s Sex Habits<\/b><\/p>\n
The sex habits of cabbage are under study at the Ithaca, New York State College of Agriculture. Tax money funded the study through the National Science Foundation in the amount of $32,000. <\/p>\n
Congressman John B. Conlan of Arizona, listed some wasteful programs, such as $121,000 to try to find out why so many people say \u201cain\u2019t,\u201d and $203,000 for the city of Los Angeles to extend traveler\u2019s aid to people lost on freeways. Also $19,800 to try and find out why children fall off tricycles. <\/p>\n
Senator William Proxmire introduced a resolution that an article written by Mrs. James D. Davidson, be recorded in the Congressional Record. Here are some examples taken from the Congressional Record: $35,000 for rounding up wild boars in Pakistan; $117,000 to support a board of tea tasters; $70,000 for a study of the history of comic books; $70,000 went to the study of the smell of perspiration given off by the Australian aborigines;$159,000 to teach mothers how to play with their babies. <\/p>\n
All this nonsense increases taxes as well as inflation. <\/p>\n
\u2014Christian Victory<\/i><\/p>\n
6815<\/b> Two Russian Guards On Lawn<\/b><\/p>\n
This is a story about Russia in the days of the Czars. In the park of St. Petersburg\u2019s Winter Palace there was a beautiful lawn, on that lawn a bench, and next to that bench, two guards. Every three hours the guards were changed. No one knew why. One day an ambitious young lieutenant was put in charge of the Palace Guard. He started wondering, and asking questions. In the end, he found a cobwebby, little, old man, the Palace historian. <\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d the old man said, \u201cI remember. During the reign of Peter the Great, 200 years ago, the bench got a fresh coat of paint. The Czar was afraid that the ladies-in-waiting might get paint on their dresses. So he ordered one guard to watch the bench. The order was never rescinded. Then in 1908, all the guards of the Palace were doubled for fear of a revolution. So the bench has had two guards ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n
6816<\/b> Halt To Climbing-Fish Tax<\/b><\/p>\n
The strangest tax ever levied was that assessed by an Indian emperor in the sixteenth century. The taxpayer was the town of Dubalhati, District of Rajshabi. The town was so poor that even the most heartless tax collector could find nothing to squeeze from its inhabitants by way of a contribution. When this state of affairs was brought to the attention of Emperor Akbar, he inquired if there was anything\u2014no matter how worthless\u2014the locality might have in profusion. <\/p>\n
One of the town fathers recalled that the only commodity that abounded locally was a species of walking and climbing fish. The monarch was intrigued. He was told that the river of Dubalhati swarmed with climbing perch, about 6 inches long, useless and inedible but endowed with the curious capacity of taking long hikes on dry land and even climbing trees. Thereupon the emperor decreed that the town be required to furnish 20,000 of these wonder fish to the imperial treasury annually. <\/p>\n
For the next 200 years around tax time the whole town was busy assembling the tax. A wiggling, writhing, slithering mass was then transported to the tax collector. They were then shipped either to Agra or to Delhi under escort. After 200 years of much ado about nothing, the fiscal official of the emperor yelled \u201cenough.\u201d<\/p>\n
This climbing perch of East India (Anabas scandens) hikes on dryland with the aid of an air-breathing chamber above the gills. It climbs trees assisted by a spinous arrangement of its gill covers. <\/p>\n
6817<\/b> The Do-Nothing Committee<\/b><\/p>\n
Washington (UPI)\u2014Senate investigators said they have discovered an agency that did almost nothing for seven years at a cost of $70,000 a year. <\/p>\n
The investigators said the Federal Fire Council, which is supposed to meet periodically to discuss ways of preventing fires in federal buildings, held no more than two meetings between 1968 and 1974. Throughout the period, it continued to receive congressional approval of its annual operating funds. <\/p>\n
The agency was established in 1936 to coordinate federal fire prevention regulations in government buildings. <\/p>\n
The council\u2019s executive director, William Hanbury, said the members \u201csometimes \u2026 get together on a Sunday and the navy will hold a fire-fighting demonstration for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
6818<\/b> The Outdated Office<\/b><\/p>\n
Pierre De Gaulle, mayor of Paris, examining the huge Paris City Hall in search of space, found a sign reading \u201cBureau of Claims Payments for the Flood of 1910.\u201d Two white-bearded octogenarians looked like startled Rip Van Winkles when the officials walked in. A little questioning produced the fact that the claims were all paid. In fact the last claim was paid in 1913. <\/p>\n
But no one had ever come and told them to stop work, so they had been spending the intervening 36 years drawing their pay and tidying things up before submitting their final report to the city elders. <\/p>\n
\u2014The Christian Science Monitor<\/i><\/p>\n
6819<\/b> Ancient Theological Debates<\/b><\/p>\n
A French journal reports the discovery of a book of theological discussions written by some monks of early days, on questions such as these: \u201cWhat was the shape of the wings of the Archangel Gabriel?\u201d \u201cDid Pilate use soap when he washed his hands?\u201d \u201cHow much wine did they drink at the marriage in Cana?\u201d \u201cAre there any angels with baritone voices?\u201d \u201cCould Christ have changed himself into a Devil or into a pumpkin?\u201d If a priest should be interrupted during the baptism at a moment when about to pronounce the name of the child, and should pronounce \u201cSapristi,\u201d should the child bear through life the name of Sapristi? and is the baptism valid?\u201d<\/p>\n
6820<\/b> The Rabbis\u2019 Squabble<\/b><\/p>\n
Jewish rabbis wrote learned dissertations about such ordinary things as \u201cwhether an egg, laid on a festival day, may be eaten.\u201d As foolish as their leaders, the people often arrayed themselves on opposite sides of such \u201cgreat controversies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Swift\u2019s satire was not too farfetched when he represented two great nations\u2014the Big Endians and the Little Endians\u2014as separating beyond reconciliation over the question whether, in eating eggs, one should crack them upon the big or the little end. <\/p>\n
6821<\/b> King Was Molecatcher<\/b><\/p>\n
You will have read, in Todd\u2019s Student\u2019s Manual<\/i>, that Harcatius, King of Persia, was a notable molecatcher; and Briantes, King of Lydia, was equally adept at filling needles, but these trivialities by no means prove them to have been great kings. <\/p>\n
\u2014Walter Baxendale <\/p>\n
6822<\/b> Dying For Lobster Sauce<\/b><\/p>\n
The saying \u201cto die for want of lobster sauce\u201d means to die from pique, wounded vanity, or at some trifling disappointment. The background:<\/p>\n
A grand banquet was given for Louis XIV at Chantilly. Vatel was told that the lobsters for the turbot sauce had not arrived. Whereupon this chef of the kitchen went to his private room and, leaning on his sword, ran it through his body. He was unable to survive such a disgrace as serving turbot without lobster sauce. <\/p>\n
6823<\/b> The Frog\u2019s Eye<\/b><\/p>\n
Scientists have built a computer, patterned after a frog\u2019s eye, that may lead to a new family of thinking machines for man\u2019s benefit. <\/p>\n
Explained an R.C.A. engineer, \u201cThe frog\u2019s eye is a natural computer because it makes life-and-death decisions for the frog without bothering his very limited brain. It screens out everything not important to the frog, and transmits to the brain only those things which directly concern him.\u201d For instance, the frog\u2019s eye sees the fly moving away but doesn\u2019t worry the brain, because the frog\u2019s tongue couldn\u2019t catch the fly anyway. <\/p>\n
The \u201cfrog\u2019s eye\u201d computer, scientists think, can lead to new ways of interpreting information, even to helping men make decisions. A radar screen using the \u201ceye\u201d would see only targets moving at selected speeds or directions. It would screen out targets considered unimportant. <\/p>\n
6824<\/b> Dog\u2019s Citizenship<\/b><\/p>\n
In Dallas, the Delta Air Lines reservations office received a call from a troubled dog-owner. \u201cCan I take my dog on the same plane with me?\u201d the woman asked timidly. The agent assured her that she could. Then he asked, \u201cWhere do you plan to go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d came the worried reply, \u201cI\u2019m thinking about going to Mexico City. What I really want to know is this: if I take my dog with me and she has puppies while we\u2019re down there, will they be American citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Air Travel<\/i><\/p>\n
6825<\/b> Of Onions And Presidents<\/b><\/p>\n
Here are a few items from historical records that may surprise you:<\/p>\n
In the early days of the United States, onions were hung over doors in the belief that they would counteract diseases which might be brought in by visitors. <\/p>\n
President William Henry Harrison, with a basket on his arm, did his own shopping for the White House. <\/p>\n
The initial \u201cS\u201d in former President Harry S Truman\u2019s name does not stand for a name. It is merely an alphabetical addition. <\/p>\n
\u2014Sunshine Magazine<\/i><\/p>\n
6826<\/b> Chasing The Wind<\/b><\/p>\n
You\u2019ve heard of the dog that chased a freight train, and when he caught it, didn\u2019t know what to do with it. I guess he had a dog\u2019s day while he was on the run; but all his effort ended in disappointment. It would have been a tale with a different ending if he had gone after a cat or a rabbit; but he spent his precious energy chasing an iron horse that couldn\u2019t reward him with anything. <\/p>\n
\u2014The Bible Friend<\/i><\/p>\n
6827<\/b> Watching His Sweater<\/b><\/p>\n
Two friends landed in New York City with a nine-hour layover between planes. With that much time on their hands, they hired a taxi to drive around so that they could see some of the sights. The driver showed them various places of note, pointing out their significance. He noted that his young friend kept his eyes on the driver. Finally the youth nudged his friend and whispered, \u201cLook, he has his sweater on inside out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Carl C. Williams<\/p>\n
6828<\/b> Driver\u2019s Lost Cap<\/b><\/p>\n
London socialite Mrs. Michael Lewis apologized to her host when she arrived late for a party. \u201cMy chauffeur lost his cap,\u201d she explained, \u201cand I had to come by taxi.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Dallas Morning News<\/i><\/p>\n
6829<\/b> Horse\u2019s Traditional Position<\/b><\/p>\n
Years ago Thomas A. Edison used to try to instill the rudiments of science into the head of his young son, and never overlooked an opportunity to use some everyday happening to illustrate some principles of mechanics. On this particular occasion, chancing to spy a peddler pushing a handcart, the great inventor cried: \u201cNow there\u2019s a good example. I don\u2019t suppose you can tell me why he pushes the cart instead of pulls it. I don\u2019t know whether the man himself could answer. I ll ask him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy good man,\u201d said the inventor, turning to the peddler, \u201cwhy do you push the cart rather than pull it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCause I ain\u2019ta da hoss, you fool,\u201d was the unscientific, though disconcerting answer. <\/p>\n
6830<\/b> The Fast-Closed Bag<\/b><\/p>\n
Mrs. White was taken suddenly ill in the night, and a new doctor was called. After a look at the patient, the doctor stepped outside the sick room to ask Mr. White for corkscrew. Given the tool, he disappeared but several minutes later was back, demanding a pair of pliers. <\/p>\n
Again he disappeared into the room of the moaning patient, only to call out again, \u201cA chisel and a mallet, quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
White could stand it no longer. \u201cWhat is her trouble, doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t know yet,\u201d was the reply. \u201cCan\u2019t get my instrument bag open.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014School Activities<\/i><\/p>\n
6831<\/b> Epigram On Trivialities<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 A good memory is one trained to forget the trivial. <\/p>\n
\u2014Clifton Fadiman<\/p>\n
\u2022 The man who fiddles around seldom gets to lead the orchestra. <\/p>\n
\u2014E. C. Mckenzie<\/p>\n
\u2022 The secret of John Wesley\u2019s power was his kingly neglect of trifles as he mastered the important thing\u2014the preaching of the gospel. <\/p>\n
\u2014Bishop Gerald Kenedy<\/p>\n
See also:<\/b> Curiosity ; Small Things ; Vanities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. \u2014II Timothy 4:3 6811 Ivy League Trivia Contest Over 1,000 college-age students poured into Columbia University\u2019s Macmillan Theater to watch the Second Annual Ivy League Trivia Contest. The Ivy … Continue reading “TRIVIALITIES”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5349\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}