ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611050017
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Cox News Service
Q: A list of U.S. presidents who did not serve in the military omitted Ronald Reagan. Didn't he just make training films?
A: Current Biography traces Reagan's military history. He enlisted as a second lieutenant in the Army's cavalry reserve and was called to active duty in 1942. Disqualified from combat duty because of nearsightedness, he was assigned to make Air Force training films, and he also appeared in one Hollywood film, ``This Is the Army'' (1943). He was discharged with the rank of captain in 1945.
Q: A nutrition expert was quoted as saying she ``would expect'' espresso to have more caffeine than regular brewed coffee. Will you clarify that, and also the comparative caffeine levels in decaf, instant coffee and instant tea?
A: The Complete Beverage Dictionary and The American Dictionary of Food & Drink provide more complete information. Espresso (and cappuccino) actually have about one-third less caffeine than regular brewed coffee. Both drinks are made by pressing steam and water quickly through freshly ground beans, resulting in less caffeine than if the coffee grounds had been in contact with water longer (as in brewing). Cappuccino is simply espresso coffee served with a creamy head made from steamed or scalded milk or cream. It's the flavor, not the caffeine, that is concentrated. These are relative caffeine levels in milligrams for single cups of various beverages, as listed by Foods & Nutrition Encyclopedia: percolated roasted and ground coffee, 76-155 (depending on brewing time); instant coffee, 66; decaf, 2- 5; tea, 20-100; instant tea, 24-131.
Q: An interview with Ossie Davis in Parade magazine mentioned a fund- raising drive for the proposed Black Patriots' Memorial in Washington. Where can we send contributions?
A: The address: Black Patriots Foundation, 1612 K St. N.W., Suite 1104, Washington, D.C. 20006-2802. The foundation is seeking $9.5 million to build a monument on The Mall in Washington honoring more than 5,000 African-Americans who served during the Revolutionary War, said George Dumas, foundation president.
Q: When we were kids, we used to get something we called rabbit tobacco in the fields and smoke it. Is that really tobacco? By the way, I didn't inhale.
A: Rabbit tobacco is a slang term for balsamweed. At one time it was fairly common for youngsters in the South to use it for their first do-it-yourself cigarettes, despite its bad taste. Uncle Remus called it ``rabbit terbarker.'' The Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins says it's believed to take the name ``rabbit'' because it grows wild, often in fields where rabbits run.
Q: I understand that President Clinton didn't complete the Rhodes scholarship program or graduate with a degree. Is it still proper to refer to him as a Rhodes scholar?
A: Yes. He got the scholarship, so he's a Rhodes scholar. Appointment to a Rhodes scholarship at Oxford is made for two years with a possible third year if the scholar's record and plan of study warrant. The Oxford study does not necessarily lead to a degree, although the level of work expected by the end of the undergraduate degree is comparable to a master's program at a university in the United States. Clinton graduated from Georgetown University in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in international studies before beginning his two-year Oxford program. In 1970, he gave up a third year at Oxford to attend Yale University Law School. Clinton graduated from Yale with a law degree in 1973. Oxford awarded him an honorary doctorate in civil law in 1994.
Q: Archer Daniels Midland is paying a $100 million fine to the U.S. government for price fixing. Is that tax deductible?
A: No. Fines or penalties paid to a government unit for violating any law cannot be deducted, said IRS spokesman Eric Roberts.
Q: Does Amtrak operate any trains north and south in the middle part of the United States so a traveler can see mid-America top to bottom?
A: There are two: Chicago-San Antonio and Chicago-New Orleans. Southbound, the first one goes to Springfield, Ill.; St. Louis and Poplar Bluff, Mo.; Walnut Ridge, Newport, Little Rock, Malvern and Arkadelphia, Ark.; Texarkana, on the Texas-Arkansas border; and Marshall, Longview, Dallas, Fort Worth, Cleburne, McGregor, Temple, Taylor, Austin, San Marcos and San Antonio, Texas. Leaving Chicago, the other goes to Centralia and Carbondale, Ill.; Fulton, Ky.; Newbern-Dyersburg and Memphis, Tenn.; Greenwood, Yazoo City, Jackson, Hazlehurst, Brookhaven and McComb, Miss.; and Hammond and New Orleans, La. The routes are reversed northbound. Information: 800-872-7245.
LENGTH: Medium: 86 linesby CNB