ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 24, 1996 TAG: 9611250052
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: COX NEWS SERVICE
Q: The Weather Channel frequently refers to ``lake-effect snow.'' What is that?
A: Weather Channel meteorologists explain that it typically occurs early in winter when cold air (say 20 degrees) rushes over the relatively warmer water (say 40 degrees) of the Great Lakes, picking up moisture. On the downwind side, a lifting effect pushes the moisture-laden air high into the atmosphere, where it is colder and colder, turning it into snow. The wind direction determines where the heavy, wet snow falls.
Q: Are there any regulations about how much time can be devoted to commercials in a 30-minute or 60-minute TV program? I watch a show that has moved to NBC from another network, and it seems to have more commercials than before. Is that possible?
A: There are no federal regulations governing the amount of advertising time on prime-time programming. Only children's television shows have such regulations, said Atlanta Journal-Constitution TV writer Phil Kloer. The number and amount of ads vary from show to show and depend on several factors, he added. In general, there are about 10 minutes of commercials on every hour of prime time, but that figure could be higher or lower on any given night or network. So it's possible, but not probable, that a show moving from one network to another would be altered for more commercial time.
Q: Exactly what is a ``snail's pace''?
A: The phrase conjures a mental picture of being as slow as you possibly could get. Just how slow? Consider that a snail can travel at about two feet an hour, or one mile every three months or so. That's a snail's pace. Natural History Magazine reports a maximum speed for a garden snail of .03 mph over a ``small distance.'' .
Q: How did London's Big Ben get its name?
A: The bell in the famous clock tower in the Parliament building was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, chief commissioner of works when the bell was cast in 1856- 58. But that wasn't its originally intended name (or nickname). The clock that most people call Big Ben was designed by lawyer and architect Edmund Grimthorpe for St. Stephen's Tower. St. Stephen's was to be the name of the bell, too, but newspapers and members of Parliament took to calling it Big Ben after the commissioner, who was tall and stout.
Q: What is the average life expectancy of a person in the United States? What is it at various ages, say 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70?
A: At birth, the life expectancy in the United States for all people is 75.4 years (for males, 72.3 years; for females, 79.1 years), according to the National Center for Health Statistics. For those 10 years old now, the average person will live to be 76.6; the average male will live to be 73.2, the average female 79.8. At 20, the averages at death will be 76.8 for everyone, 73.7 for men and 80.1 for women; at 30, 77.5, 74.5 and 80.4; at 40, 78.3, 75.5 and 80.9; at 50, 79.3, 76.8 and 81.6; at 60, 81.1, 78.9 and 83.1; and at 70, 84.2, 82.4 and 85.5.
Q: How can we send donations to aid in the food crisis in Zaire?
A: The International Committee of the American Red Cross said humanitarian aid is urgently needed and suggests several ways to help. It is working to provide medical assistance, food, water, sanitation material, shelter supplies and trained personnel to assist more than half a million people fleeing the fighting in eastern Zaire. Make your check out to American Red Cross International Response Fund and send to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013. To charge a donation to Visa, MasterCard or American Express, donors should call 800-435-7669 (English) or 800-257-7575 (Spanish).
Q: What are Freemasons? What do they stand for, what are their origins, and how does a person become one?
A: Freemasonry is another name for Masonry, one of the oldest and largest fraternal organizations in the world; members are Freemasons or Masons. The organization's official name is Free and Accepted Masons, which explains the ``F&M'' used as part of the name of many membership units.
Masonry is dedicated to the ideals of charity, equality, morality and service to God, with members donating millions of dollars annually to charitable projects such as hospitals; homes for widows, orphans and the elderly; and relief for people in distress. Many of the ideas and rituals of Masonry originated in the period of cathedral building from the 900s to the 1600s. With the decline of cathedral building, many masons' organizations became social societies and began accepting members who had never been stoneworkers. In the 1700s, these speculative masons created the complicated Masonic system of rituals and symbols that is still in use today.
A member must be at least 21 and have lived in the vicinity of a lodge for at least a year. A prospective member must be sponsored by a Mason. His petition for membership is read and investigated by a committee, which reports favorably or unfavorably.
Q: How can I write to Bob Dole?
A: The best address is his residence at the Watergate complex in Washington, said a spokesman for the Republican National Committee. Write: Bob Dole, The Watergate, 2650 Virginia Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037.
Q: Where can fans send congratulations to boxer Evander Holyfield?
A: Send mail to: Evander Holyfield, 794 Highway 279, Fairburn, Ga. 30213.
Q: What has become of conspiracy theorist Mark Lane? I haven't heard anything about him lately.
A: The man who became famous in the mid-1960s for arguing that President John F. Kennedy's assassination was the work of conspirators - and not a lone gunman - is still active. Last summer, the 69-year-old lawyer was in Columbus, Ohio, defending a client against an eight-count tax-evasion indictment. He lost the case, and the accused was sent to jail. Lane was considering writing a book about the case.
Q: What can you tell me about the Farsi language? Who speaks it, and what is it derived from, if anything?
A: Farsi is a member of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian language family and is the official language of Iran. All Iranian schools use Farsi, and Iranian literature is written in Farsi. It's often referred to as ``modern Persian'' because it is closely related to the Old Persian language, spoken until the 3rd century B.C., and Middle Persian, used between the 3rd century B.C. and the 9th century A.D., in what is now central and south-central Iran.
Q: In ads before the election, a candidate claimed that the cost of executing an inmate is prohibitive. What is the actual cost of the execution procedure?
A: When opponents of the death penalty talk about cost, it's not just the physical act of execution. Legal costs of appeals, which can drag on indefinitely, are the biggest factor. Taxpayers often wind up paying for the defense, as well as the prosecution, because most defendants in death penalty cases are indigent. But you asked the actual cost of the execution procedure. Stephen Trombley, author of ``The Execution Protocol,'' reports: It takes 31 cents of electricity for someone to be electrocuted in a Leuchter chair; $250 for the cyanide required for a gas chamber execution; and $600-$700 for the chemicals used in a lethal injection.
LENGTH: Long : 132 linesby CNB