"I used to toss a baton when I was a kid."
Baton twirling started in Eastern Europe and Asia. It is thought it started at dance festivals where the goers used knives, rifles, torches and sticks to twirl with and toss. The sport progressed into the armies of some countries which twirled with rifles during marches. When the army was parading, they added a rifle twirler to the front of the marchers. The rifle was then switched for a "mace". The mace was much larger than the batons of today and imbalanced. They are still used by some marching bands at parades nowadays. The mace barer or "drum major" twirled the baton whilst leading the army or band. The maces were altered for easier twirling and now resemble the batons. They were given smaller ends of light rubber, made from hollow light metal and balanced to give accuracy to the twirler. It is thought it was the involvement of females ("drum majorettes") and the progression of twirling that prompted the lightening and balancing of the baton. The sport came to North America when Major Millsap’s created baton twirling when he established Millsap’s College in Mississippi after the Civil War.
While many member countries have their own national organizations, at the world level, three governing bodies are recognized: the World Baton Twirling Federation (WBTF)/, the World Twirling Association (WTA)/, and The Global Alliance of National Baton Twirling & Majorette Associations (NBTA)/. The WBTF and NBTA host World Championships and International Cup (WBTF), while the WTA continues to honor the origins of the sport with additional events that WBTF does not include.
"Bet you're hell in a horseshoe pit."
Established in 1977, the World Baton Twirling Federation was formed to develop, encourage, and standardize the sport. In October 1979, the Federation representatives met in Paris, France to finalize all plans for the first World Championships, bringing together teams of twirlers from ten countries to compete in a spirit of healthy, athletic competition. The United States Twirling Association, Inc. hosted the first World Championships in Seattle, Washington in 1980. Each successive year, one member country has hosts the championships in Augus
Horseshoes is an outdoor game played between two people (or two teams of two people) using four horseshoes and two throwing targets (stakes) set in a sandbox area. The game is played by the players alternating turns tossing horseshoes at stakes in the ground, which are traditionally placed 40 feet apart. Modern games use a more stylized U-shaped bar, about twice the size of an actual horseshoe.
Wikipedia has no history of horseshoes, but it's probably as old as horseshoes themselves (2000 years). What else is there to do out on a windy prairie with no books to read or TV to watch?
Since the early history of domestication of the horse, working animals were found to be exposed to many conditions that created breakage or excessive hoof wear. Ancient people recognized the need for the walls (and sometimes the sole) of domestic horses' hooves to have additional protection over and above any natural hardness. An early form of hoof protection was seen in ancient Asia, where horses' hooves were wrapped in rawhide, leather or other materials for both therapeutic purposes and protection from wear.
The nailed shoe was a relatively late invention. The ancient Greek horse trainer Xenophon mentioned nothing about horseshoes in his treatise on the care of military cavalry, nor did the Digesta Artis Mulomedicinae by Vegetius Renatus, written in the 4th or 5th century AD, mention nailed-on shoes, though he accurately enumerated everything connected with an army forge in the time. Similarly, in an edict of the Emperor Diocletian from AD 303, which set maximum prices of goods and services, the price of saddles, halters, and bridles are enumerated, as well as the price of a veterinarian for "cutting the hair and hoof of each animal." Horseshoes are not enumerated in the edict.
There are early literary references in the Quran, circa AD 632, to "war-horses… which strike fire, by dashing their hoofs against the stones…" which, if taken literally, is an effect that would have been obtained by shod horses, as barefoot hooves striking stone do not create sparks.
"Flash-bang grenade."
Because iron was a valuable commodity, and any worn out items were generally melted down and reused, it is difficult to locate clear archaeological evidence of the earliest horseshoes.From archaeological finds in Great Britain, the Romans appeared to have attempted to protect their horses' feet with a strap-on, solid-bottomed "hipposandal" that has a slight resemblance to the modern hoof boot
A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade or flashbang, is a non-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. It is designed to produce a blinding flash of light and loud noise without causing permanent injury. It was first developed by the British SAS in the 1960s.
The flash produced momentarily activates all light sensitive cells in the eye, making vision impossible for approximately five seconds, until the eye restores itself to its normal, unstimulated state. The loud blast causes temporary loss of hearing, and also disturbs the fluid in the ear, causing loss of balance.
The concussive blast of the detonation can still injure, and the heat created can ignite flammable materials such as fuel.
(These grenades can be lethal... if they're thrown into the home of an elderly couple whose sole crime is that someone is playing a prank on them - they can cause heart attacks...and have even been known to start fires.)
"Discovery Channel."
Discovery Channel (formerly The Discovery Channel) is an American satellite and cable specialty channel (also delivered via IPTV, terrestrial television and internet television in other parts of the world), founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. It provides documentary television programming focused primarily on popular science, technology, and history. In the U.S., the programming for the main Discovery network is primarily focused on reality television themes, such as speculative investigation (with shows such as MythBusters, Unsolved History, and Best Evidence), automobiles, and occupations (Dirty Jobs and Deadliest Catch); it also features documentaries specifically aimed at families and younger audiences. A popular annual feature is Shark Week.
No comments:
Post a Comment