ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 17, 1996 TAG: 9611190049
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: COX NEWS SERVICE
Q: Have any presidents other than Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy died while in office?
A: Five others: William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, James Garfield, William McKinley and Warren Harding.
Q: Did the Communist Party have candidates for president and vice president this year?
A: No. But in a statement posted on its Internet site before the election, the Communist Party USA outlined its position. ``No one knows better than we that we need a third party, led by labor,'' wrote Gus Hall, the party's national chair. He went on to endorse the ``lesser-evil tactic,'' applying it specifically to this election and stating that the ``main evil'' is the ``ultra-right policies and aims pursued by the Congressional right wing.''
For information about the Communist Party USA on the Internet, and to read Hall's lengthy report, try: http://www.hartford- hwp.com/cp-usa/
Q: A recent TV report said potassium is helpful for cardiovascular problems. What foods are rich in potassium and not fattening?
A: Fruits and vegetables - fresh or minimally processed - are the least fattening and handiest food sources for potassium. ``Getting your five a day, meaning the five servings recommended on the food pyramid, is the first step,'' said Connie Crawley of the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. Most protein-rich foods are excellent sources, she added, but they tend to be higher in calories. Specifically recommended: blackstrap molasses, defatted soybean flour, uncooked dried apricots and dehydrated peaches, wheat bran and germ, fried potatoes, bananas, uncooked and dehydrated apples, raw avocados, dates, lima beans, raw Swiss chard, veal, roasted turkey, raw spinach, winter squash and lean cuts of pork and beef.
Q: My 6-year-old asked me the other night why the moon appeared to be a rich orange color. I don't know. Do you?
A: Astronomer David Dundee at Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta explained that the phenomenon is caused by a combination of factors: light, air, dust, pollution, and the position of the moon relative to the horizon. It's the same when the sun, at sunrise or sunset, looks particularly red. Light is normally blue, Dundee said, which is why the sky usually looks blue. When the sun or moon gets low on the horizon, the light is passing through more air, dust and pollution, which tends to ``scatter away'' the blue and green colors, the shorter wavelengths of light. ``The only colors left over are orange and red,'' Dundee said. The more polluted the air is - the more dust, such as after a volcanic eruption - the redder the sun at sunrise and sunset, and the moon when it rises and sets, he added. .
Q: What are the rules regarding handicapped parking for churches or public property?
A: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires that public buildings and mass transportation be accessible to disabled people. Michael Oestreicher, president of Challenges Unlimited of Hadley, Conn., and an authority on accessibility issues, said city, state and federal laws apply in various locations.
The federal law: If a lot has between one and 25 parking spaces, one is designated for disabled; 26 to 50 spaces, two; 51 to 75, three; 76 to 100, four; 101 to 150, five; 151 to 200, six; 201 to 300, seven; 301 to 400, eight; 401 to 500, nine; 501 to 1,000, 2 percent; 1,001 or more, 20 plus 1 percent for each 100 over 1,000.
Q: A new U.S. postage stamp will honor Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first black to reach the rank of brigadier general in the Army. What can you tell us about him?
A: This is how the Postal Service describes the honoree and the creation of the stamp: ``While serving in the U.S. Army, Gen. Davis was the first African-American to reach the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. military. In 1944, Gen. Davis actively advocated a racially integrated Army, which was partially implemented in the final stages of World War II. In the image of Gen. Davis, the second photo used in the Postal Service's Black Heritage series, designer Dick Sheaff depicted Davis at the height of his career on an inspection tour near the American front in France in August 1944.''
Q: Where is the oil from the Alaska pipeline going, and who is using it? I haven't heard anything about it in years.
A: Until this year, the oil from the Alaska pipeline was required by law to be used only in the United States, said American Petroleum Institute spokesman Joe Lastelic. Most of the oil goes to the Western states, but some is put in a pipeline next to the Panama Canal and brought up to Texas, Louisiana and East Coast refineries by commercial tankers. Congress recently lifted the ban on selling Alaskan oil to other countries, and parts of Asia have expressed interest, but the details have yet to be worked out, Lastelic said.
Q: What is the official government definition of poverty?
A: The Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economics Statistics Division tracks the numbers. The latest ``poverty thresholds'' are for 1995 and are based on a household's gross income. For one person younger than 65, $7,929; one person 65 or older, $7,309. Two people with a householder younger than 65, $10,259; two people with a householder 65 or older, $9,221. Three people, $12,156. Four people, $15,570. Five people, $18,407. Six people, $20,808. Seven people, $23,573. Eight people, $26,148. Nine or more, people, $31,159.
Q: A recent sports article mentioned a ``flexbone option'' in football. What is that?
A: It's a variant of the wishbone formation. In the wishbone, the quarterback is close behind the center, the fullback is about 5 yards behind the quarterback, and the halfbacks are behind and to the sides of the fullback. The flexbone variation is so named because it features the flexibility of a back at the line of scrimmage or outside as a receiver.
Q: What is the difference between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority? I thought that the PLO would have gone out of existence after the Palestinian self-rule organization was created, but I continue to see references to both.
A: The Palestine Liberation Organization is the highest form of government for the Palestinian people, according to Khalil Foutah, deputy PLO chief representative in Washington. The Palestine Authority, also called the Palestine National Authority, is the interim government for the Palestine-occupied West Bank and Gaza. The Palestine National Authority's power is limited to these occupied territories and is delegated by the PLO's executive branch, the Palestine National Council. If an independent Palestinian state is formed within the five years allotted by Israeli-Palestinian agreements, then the PLO will be dissolved, Foutah said.
Q: This past election has been referred to as the last one in the 20th century. But wouldn't the last one this century be in 2000? What's the story?
A: It's a common mistake, but you're correct. The 20th century started Jan. 1, 1901, and ends Dec. 31, 2000. The 21st century will begin Jan. 1, 2001. So the election in November 2000 - not the one Nov. 6, 1996 - will be the last of the 20th century. But try and convince people of that, right?
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