These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Tuesday, no, Wednesday, Whatever Trivia

OMG, I'm so bad! I totally spaced out that yesterday was Tuesday. No trivia? What is Tuesday without trivia!?? Why didn't someone remind me? Alright, enough of that. On with the delayed broadcast .....


ABOUT TV:
  • Kids ages 6 and under spend as much time in front of a TV or computer screen as they do outside.
  • The average American child sees about 200,000 acts of violence on TV by age 18.
  • On average, girls ages 12 to 17 watch 19 hours, 49 minutes of TV each week. Boys watch 20 hours, 14 minutes.
  • The average household has 2.4 TV sets. 98% of all U.S. households own at least one set. 79% have more than one TV set.
  • 56% of children ages 8 to 16 have a TV in their bedroom; 36% of kids ages 6 and under do.
  • 40% of Americans always or often watch television while eating dinner.
~~~~
  • 1948 - Television takes off in Canada, one year before the first Emmy Awards are presented and four years before the CBC debuts.
  • 1962 - First satellite TV transmission takes place between France and the U.S.
  • 1965 - Sony introduces Betamax, a small home video recorder, which later loses out to the VHS machine.
  • 1966 - Color television signals are transmitted by Canadian stations for the first time. Two years later, the 200 millionth TV is sold worldwide.
  • 1980 - CNN, the Cable News Network, is born. It's followed by MTV (and then MuchMusic in Canada).
  • 1999 - TiVo surfaces in the U.S.; personal video recorders change the way people watch television.

CRIMES OF THE 20TH CENTURY
Charles Lindberg, the 20-month-old son of American aviator Charles Lindberg, was kidnapped and murdered. The baby's remains were found on the side of the road near the Lindberg home. An autopsy revealed that baby Charles had died from a blow to the head shortly after being taken from his home.

In 1924, University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb murdered a 14-year-old boy because they were bored and wanted to see if they could get away with the perfect crime. The two were convicted and served several years in prison together. In 1936, Loeb was murdered by his cell mate. Leopold was released on parole in 1958, after 33 years in prison.

In 1947, a nude female corpse severed at the waist was discovered. The 22-year-old victim, Elizabeth Short, was nicknamed "Black Dahlia" for her habit of wearing black clothing.

In 1969, actress Sharon Tate and several others were murdered in Tate's home. Tate was killed by Charles Manson's followers despite being eight and a half months pregnant. Her unborn son also died.

In the 1970s, Chicago businessman John Wayne Gacy, Jr. raped, tortured, and killed at least 33 men and boys. The remains of most of his victims were found in the crawl space under his house. After his arrest, police pulled the remains of 27 bodies from beneath Gacy's house.

In 1997, Andrew Cunanan, 27, went on a cross-country killing spree that left people dead. One of his victims was billionaire clothing designer Gianni Versace. Versace was shot by Cunanan in front of his Miami Beach mansion!


And if you put those two together, you get .....

CRIMINAL TV SHOWS
The word forensics derives from the Latin forensis meaning "of the forum, or public" because the law is a matter of public interest. In Ancient Rome, the Forum was where the law courts were located. The modern meaning of the word "forensic" pertains to the law or justice system.

Locard's Principle states that when two objects touch, there is a transfer of material from one to the other, and this trace evidence is the basis of forensic science. Dr. Edmond Locard opened the world's first police crime laboratory in 1910 in Lyon, France.

The first application of forensic entomology (the study of insects) dates back to 1235 in China in a book entitled The Washing Away of Wrongs. Following a murder in a rural village by slashing with a sickle, the local death investigator assembled the farmers and laid their sickles out in the sun. Flies began settling on only one sickle, due to minute traces of blood and tissue still present,
despite it having been washed. The owner of that sickle then confessed.

In 1984, Sir Alec Jeffreys developed the first DNA profiling (genetic fingerprinting) test. In 1987, it was first used to identify Colin Pitchfork as the murderer of two young girls in Narborough in the English Midlands. Also in 1987, DNA profiling was used for the first time in an American criminal court to convict Tommy Lee Andrews of a series of sexual assaults in Orlando, Florida.

Britain's experience with DNA databases has provided some interesting statistics. The UK DNA data base averages about 300 successful hits per week. About 30 percent of these are 'cold hits', demonstrating probable links between the crime scene and a suspect where the police had no prior indication of a connection.

When identifying victims of disasters, such as plane and train crashes, approximately 93 percent of identifications are made on the basis of dental records. Teeth can withstand extreme temperatures (up to 1600 degrees Celcius), and therefore can still be used even when bodies are destroyed beyond recognition.


Whew!

3 comments:

  1. Slacker... :)

    OK, I will go read the post now.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very interesting facts about television. I don't ever remember sitting around during the day watching TV, but we would watch it in the evenings and during dinner.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My kids dont have time to watch tv at least J doesnt and S usually has her nose in a book. I have to admit I love crime shows real or not.

    ReplyDelete

If you have something to say about it, just stick out your thumb, and I'll slow down so you can hop aboard! But hang on, 'cause I'm movin' on down the road!!! No time to waste!!!