THE ANGRY RED PLANET
or What's That Bright Light In The Sky
Keep a lookout for the closest appearance of Mars in over a hundred years. While Earth "laps" Mars once every two years, Mars' orbit is so elliptical that the opposition distance between the two planets varies considerably depending upon where they are in their respective orbits. Was that sentence long and confusing enough? Well, first of all the term "opposition" refers to the time when Earth is located in a straight line between the sun and the planet that is being referred to as "at opposition". Still not convinced? On June 21st, our orbits are aligned so that Mars is at opposition (directly opposite the sun in our sky). And it just so happens that this opposition is as close as they get with Mars coming within 67 thousand kilometres of us. This is actually closer than the distance from the Moon to the Earth.
Surprised? I'd be. The last time Mars and Earth were this close together was back in 1988 - when the Earth was still young (or at least I was). And the next time will be in August 2003 when the distance between Mars and us will be a mere 56 million kilometres - closer than it has been since at least 1924 and as close as it can ever get. So get outside around 11 pm, look south and enjoy the spectacle.
Recently I acquired a real gem of an item - a shrink-wrapped Accura 24B 2400 bps internal modem made by Hayes. This collector's item doesn't even have built-in fax capabilities and has never been opened. It comes with a 5-year warranty and I'll give it to the first person who e-mails me a cheque for $300 US. Or make me an offer...
I know some of you out there think that this web site is full of it a lot of the time, but I made some enquiries into what this modem is actually worth and this is the reply I got from Modem Express:
I have the Hayes Accura 2400 internal modems and the cost is $75.00 ea, please call me @ 800-736-4107 X21 if you have any other questions or if you would like to place an order, thanks.
- It's always about me
- ifidus unkilus itil macus stroncus (Latin)
- The Music of Life, or
- Where the fun never ends
The shirts come in a body-hugging extra small or a loose-fitting extra large and retail for $19 US plus applicable state taxes. If you order before July 1, 2001, I'll send you a $5 coupon that you can use for your next purchase. Click here to order.
And now introducing crang.com bikini briefs! One size fits all. Light blue in colour with the crang.com logo on the rear.
Due to the overwhelming response to the crang.com bikini briefs, plain Fruit of the Loom underwear will be substituted for the foreseeable future. All shirt orders will be shipped once stocks have been replenished in approximately 4 - 6 weeks. Thank you for your patience.
Short "Snappers"
- According to the Journal of American Medical Association, as of 1998, more than 100,000 Americans die annually from adverse reactions to prescription drugs.
- The 1997 Jack Nicholson film As Good As It Gets is known in China as "Mr. Cat Poop."
- The older a person gets the less sleep he/she requires. A child should get from 8 to 10 hours a night. An elderly adult can do well with 4 to 6 hours.
- The Jell-O company came out with a cola flavour gelatin for kids in 1942. It was discontinued the following year.
- The single-blade window cleaning squeegee was invented in 1936 by Ettore Sceccone, and is still the most common form of commercial window cleaning today. (And can earn you up to $200 per day! - ed. note)
- A hippopotamus can run faster than a man.
- At the height of its power, in 400 B.C., the Greek city of Sparta had 25,000 citizens and 500,000 slaves.
- Hitler was voted Time magazine's Man of the Year in 1938.
- Birds don't fly by flapping their wings up and down. The motion is more forward and backward, like a figure eight on its side.
As always, send me your suggestions for future columns on crang.com. Check back soon for a complete review of the survey findings of crang.com.
© June 23, 2001
posted by Crang at
11:23 AM
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