Cincinnati Chili

Cincinnati chili (or "Cincinnati-style chili") is a regional style of chili characteristically served over spaghetti or as a hot dog sauce. While served in many regular restaurants, it is most often associated with several fast-food chains in the Cincinnati area, including Skyline Chili, Gold Star, Empress, and Dixie. The chili is mostly served in restaurants in the Greater Cincinnati area, with locations in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. This type of chili is also served in some restaurants in the Cleveland, Ohio area. According to the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau, Cincinnatians consume more than two million pounds of chili each year, topped by 850,000 pounds of shredded cheddar cheese. Each September, the city celebrates "Chilifest" at Yeatman's Cove at the Ohio River, with food and entertainment.

Cincinnati chili seems to have originated with one or more immigrant restaurateurs from Greece

who were trying to broaden their customer base by moving beyond narrowly ethnic styles of cuisine.

Greek immigrants Tom and John Kiradjieff began serving the chili in 1922 at their hot dog stand, next to a burlesque theater called the Empress. Tom Kiradjieff invented the style by modifying a traditional stew and serving it over hot dogs and spaghetti. The style has since been copied and modified by many other restaurant proprietors.

When served on a coney-style hot dog, the chili is also topped with cheese. The default coney also includes mustard and a small amount of onion.

Holy Prepuce

The Holy Prepuce (or Holy Foreskin) is one of the various relics purported to be associated with Jesus Christ. Orthodox Christian belief has it that Jesus ascended bodily into Heaven at the end of his earthly life. This would mean that Jesus's foreskin (removed at his circumcision) would be one of the few physical remainders of Jesus left behind on Earth. At various points in history, a number of churches in Europe have claimed to possess it, sometimes concurrently. Various miraculous powers have been ascribed to it. The abbey of Charroux claimed to possess the Holy Foreskin during the Middle Ages. It was said to have been presented to the monks by none other than Charlemagne, who in turn is said to have claimed (per the legend) that it had been brought to him by an angel. Other claimants at various points in time have included (at least) the Cathedral of Le Puy en Velay, Santiago de Compostela, the city of Antwerp, and churches in Besançon, Metz, Hildesheim, and Calcata.

Turquoise

Turquoise is an opaque, hydrated, blue-to-green copper aluminium phosphate mineral. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been enjoyed as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue. In recent times turquoise—like most other opaque gems—has had its popularity undermined by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics onto the market, some difficult to detect even by experts. The word "turquoise" is very old and of uncertain origin, derived from the French pierre turquoise, meaning "Turkish stone." This is thought to have arisen from a misconception: turquoise does not occur in Turkey but was traded there, and the gem became associated with the country in the West.

MK-ULTRA

MK-ULTRA was the code name for a covert CIA mind-control and chemical interrogation research program, run by the Office of Scientific Intelligence. The program began in the early 1950s, continuing at least through the late 1960s, and it used United States citizens as its test subjects. The published evidence indicates that Project MK-ULTRA involved the surreptitious use of many types of drugs, as well as other methods, to manipulate individual mental states and to alter brain function.

Experiments included administering LSD to CIA employees, military personnel, doctors, other government agents, prostitutes, mentally ill patients, and members of the general public in order to study their reactions. LSD and other drugs were usually administered without the subject's knowledge or informed consent, a violation of the Nuremberg Code that the U.S. agreed to follow after World War II.

Efforts to "recruit" subjects were often illegal, even discounting the fact that drugs were being administered (though actual use of LSD, for example, was legal in the United States until October 6, 1966). In Operation Midnight Climax, the CIA set up several brothels to obtain a selection of men who would be too embarrassed to talk about the events. The men were dosed with LSD, the brothels were equipped with one-way mirrors, and the sessions were filmed for later viewing and study.

Project MK-ULTRA was first brought to wide public attention in 1975 by the U.S. Congress, through investigations by the Church Committee, and by a presidential commission known as the Rockefeller Commission. Investigative efforts were hampered by the fact that CIA Director Richard Helms ordered all MK-ULTRA files destroyed in 1973; the Church Committee and Rockefeller Commission investigations relied on the sworn testimony of direct participants and on the relatively small number of documents that survived Helms' destruction order.

Although the CIA insists that MK-ULTRA-type experiments have been abandoned, 14-year CIA veteran Victor Marchetti has stated in various interviews that the CIA routinely conducts disinformation campaigns and that CIA mind control research continued. In a 1977 interview, Marchetti specifically called the CIA claim that MK-ULTRA was abandoned a "cover story."

On the Senate floor in 1977, Senator Ted Kennedy said:

"The Deputy Director of the CIA revealed that over thirty universities and institutions were involved in an "extensive testing and experimentation" program which included covert drug tests on unwitting citizens "at all social levels, high and low, native Americans and foreign." Several of these tests involved the administration of LSD to 'unwitting subjects in social situations.' At least one death, that of Dr. Olson, resulted from these activities. The Agency itself acknowledged that these tests made little scientific sense. The agents doing the monitoring were not qualified scientific observers."

To this day most specific information regarding Project MKULTRA remains highly classified.

Ayds

Ayds (pronounced as "aids") was an appetite-suppressant candy which enjoyed strong sales in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was available in chocolate, chocolate mint, butterscotch or caramel flavors, and later a peanut butter flavor was introduced. The original packaging used the phrase "Ayds Reducing Plan vitamin and mineral Candy"; a later version used the phrase "appetite suppressant candy". The active ingredient was originally benzocaine later changed in the candy as reported by The New York Times to phenylpropanolamine, presumably to reduce the sense of taste to reduce eating.

However, public awareness of the disease AIDS beginning around mid-1981 caused problems for the brand due to the phonetic similarity of names. [could not have happened in mid-1981 as the disease did not bear the name AIDS until 1984] Initially sales were not affected, but by 1988 the chairman of Dep Corporation announced that the company was seeking a new name because sales had dropped as much as 50 percent due to publicity about the disease. The product's name was changed to Diet Ayds (Aydslim in Britain), but eventually it was withdrawn from the market.

Scatman Crothers

Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986) was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980. He was also a prolific voiceover artist, and provided the voices of Meadowlark Lemon in the animated TV version of The Harlem Globetrotters, Jazz the Autobot in Transformers and the title character in Hong Kong Phooey.

Crothers was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. He got the name Scatman when he auditioned for a radio show in 1932 at the former WSMK (now WING) in Dayton, Ohio. The director didn't think his given name was catchy enough, so Crothers quickly concocted the handle Scat Man, although this talent, scat singing, would later develop. He continued to enjoy this talent throughout his career, even teaching scat singing to college students. Later, the nickname was condensed to Scatman by Arthur Godfrey.

Crothers started his musical career as a 15-year-old drummer in a speakeasy band in his home town of Terre Haute. He played a variety of instruments, including drums and guitar, on jazz club band circuits in his early days as an entertainer. Among the people he performed for was notorious gangster, Al Capone. Crothers formed his own band in the 1930s and traveled to California with the band in 1948.

Crothers made his official film debut in the movie Meet Me At The Fair (1953). He worked in both the movies and television, often taking bit parts. He also made musical shorts and played drums with Slim Gaillard in the mid 1940s. Good friends with Jack Nicholson, he appeared in four of his films: The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), The Fortune (1975), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), and The Shining (1980). His later film appearances included the role of a train conductor in Silver Streak (1976), in the The Shootist (1976) as liveryman, as a ringmaster of a struggling wild west show in Bronco Billy (1980) and finally, as an angel in Two of a Kind (1983) and Mr. Bloom, a magician in the guise of an old man in the "Kick the Can" segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie

Even though Crothers worked in television at the beginning of his career, he really came into his own in the medium doing voiceover work on several animated series, beginning with his voicework in Disney's The Aristocats. In the 70s, fans recognized his voice as Hong Kong Phooey, and the voice of Meadowlark Lemon in the Harlem Globetrotters cartoon series. He made guest appearances on many popular shows, including Dragnet in 1967, Bewitched in 1971, Ironside in 1973, Kolchak: The Night Stalker and Sanford and Son in 1974, Charlie's Angels in 1978 and Magnum P.I. in 1980. In the 80s, he gained a new fanbase, providing the voice of the Autobot Jazz on the Transformers television series.

During his appearance on Sanford and Son he joined Redd Foxx for two musical numbers. One of which was a memorable version of the standard "All of Me", where he accompanied Foxx on ukulele. Crothers starred in three short-lived 1980s television series: One of the Boys (1982), Casablanca (1983), and Morningstar/Eveningstar (1986).

Though of all television characters that he played, he was most noted for his supporting role Louie Wilson (the garbage man) on the sitcom Chico and the Man.

Crothers married Helen Sullivan in 1937 and had one daughter, Donna, in 1949. In 1985, he developed a malignant tumor behind his left lung. He tried to work through the illness, but the inoperable tumor spread to his esophagus in 1986. He died of pneumonia brought on by the lung cancer on November 22, 1986 in Van Nuys, California.

He is buried next to his wife Helen (1918–1997) in Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery.

Maddox Brothers and Rose

The Maddox Brothers and Rose, known as America’s Most Colorful Hillbilly Band from the 1930s to the 1950s, consisted of four brothers, Fred, Cal, Cliff and Don Maddox, along with their sister Rose.

The family hailed from Boaz, Alabama, but rode the rails and hitch hiked to California in 1933 when the band members were still children, following the failed efforts of their sharecropper parents during the early part of the Depression. They were a little in advance of the flood of Okies who were to flood the state in the 30s. They struggled to make a living as intinerant fruit and vegetable pickers following the harvest as far north as Washington state, and as far east as Arizona, as well as in the San Joaquin Valley. They often worked from dawn to dusk, sleeping and eating on the ground.

Having settled in Modesto, the family developed their musical ability and, in 1937 performed on the radio, sponsored by a local furniture store. From 1946-1951 the group recorded for 4 Star Records (Hollywood), then for Columbia Records. Some 4 Star masters were leased and released by US.-Decca Records at the beginning of the 1950s. The following quotes are from Rose Maddox. "We were called hillbilly singers - not country - then. No, none of this country music then. People just called us hillbilly... People tell me that I was one of the first women to sing what I sang - country boogie. I guess I was. There was no rock 'n' roll in those early days, before 1955. Only country boogie. My brothers also played that way. We called it country then."

The Maddox's material ranged from the country standards of Hank Williams and Merle Travis, cowboy songs, to the Western swing of Bob Wills, to old-time, folk, and church singing, to jazz, swing, boogie woogie and even a taste of early rock and roll.

Fred Maddox played upright bass using the "slap bass" technique as early as 1937. This trademark backbeat, a slapping bass style, helped drive a broad change in popular music, sporting a faster, immediately discernible rhythm that came to be known as rockabilly.

Fred Maddox's bass is displayed at the Experience Music Project in Seattle. "They wanted his bass because they believe he might have hit the first note of rock 'n' roll on it."

Laika

Laika (from the Russian: literally meaning "Barker" or "Howler") was a Soviet space dog (c. 1954 – November 3, 1957) who became the first animal to orbit the Earth and the first orbital death. Little was known about the impact of space flight on living things at the time Laika's mission was launched. Some scientists believed humans would be unable to survive the launch or the conditions of outer space, so engineers viewed flights by non-human animals as a necessary precursor to human missions. The United States used chimpanzees; the Soviet program elected to use dogs. Laika, a stray, originally named Kudryavka (Russian: кудрявка Little Curly-Haired One), underwent training with two other dogs, and was eventually chosen as the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 that was launched into outer space on November 3, 1957. Sputnik 2 was not designed to be retrievable, and Laika had always been intended to die.

Laika died a few hours after launch, presumably from stress and overheating, probably due to a malfunction in the thermal control system. The true cause and time of her death was not made public until 2002; instead, it was widely reported that she lived for several days. However, the experiment proved that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure weightlessness. It paved the way for human spaceflight and provided scientists with some of the first data on how living organisms react to spaceflight environments. On April 11, 2008, Russian officials unveiled a monument to Laika. A small monument in her honor was built near the military research facility in Moscow which prepared Laika's flight to space. It features a dog standing on top of a rocket.

Ian Curtis

Ian Curtis was the vocalist and lyricist, as well as occasional guitarist and keyboardist, of the band Joy Division, which he joined in 1976 after meeting with Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook at a Sex Pistols gig.

Curtis was born at the Memorial Hospital in Old Trafford, Manchester. He grew up in Hurdsfield, an area of Macclesfield, and from a young age he exhibited talent as a poet. Although awarded a scholarship to attend The King's School, Macclesfield, at the age of 11, Curtis never pursued academic success. As he grew older, his ambitions and hopes became focused on a pursuit of art and literature and, ultimately, music. Curtis was employed as a civil servant in Manchester and later in Macclesfield.

He was influenced by the writers William S. Burroughs, J. G. Ballard and Joseph Conrad (the song titles "Interzone", "Atrocity Exhibition", and "Colony" coming from the three authors, respectively), and by the musicians David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and Jim Morrison.

In 1976, Curtis met two young musicians, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, at a Sex Pistols gig, who told him they were trying to form a band; he immediately put himself forward as a vocalist and lyricist. The three of them recruited, and sacked, a number of drummers before settling on Stephen Morris as their final member. Initially, the band was called Warsaw before changing its name to Joy Division in 1978, due to conflicts with the name of another band, Warsaw Pakt.

After starting Factory Records with Alan Erasmus, Tony Wilson "signed" the band to his label (although no contracts were ever signed, despite the story of Wilson signing a contract in his own blood).

While performing for Joy Division, Curtis became known for his quiet and awkward demeanour, as well as a unique dancing style reminiscent of the epileptic seizures he experienced, sometimes even on stage. There were several incidents where he collapsed and had to be helped off stage.

Curtis's last live performance was on 2 May 1980 at Birmingham University, a show that included Joy Division's first and only performance of the song "Ceremony", later recorded by New Order and released as their first single. The last song Curtis performed on stage was "Digital". The recording of this performance can be found on the compilation album Still.

In the early hours of 18 May 1980, Curtis hanged himself in the kitchen of his house in Macclesfield. He had just viewed Werner Herzog's film Stroszek and listened to Iggy Pop's The Idiot.

Enigma Machine

In the history of cryptography, the Enigma machine was a portable cipher machine used to encrypt and decrypt secret messages. More precisely, Enigma was a family of related electro-mechanical rotor machines — there are a variety of different models.The Enigma was used commercially from the early 1920s on, and was also adopted by military and governmental services of a number of nations — most famously, by Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The German military model, the Wehrmacht Enigma, is the version most commonly discussed. Allied codebreakers were, in many cases, able to decrypt messages protected by the machine (see cryptanalysis of the Enigma). The intelligence gained through this source — codenamed ULTRA — was a significant aid to the Allied war effort. Some historians have suggested that the end of the European war was hastened by up to a year or more because of the decryption of German ciphers.