SWISS ARMY KNIFE
By: Stan Jordan
The term Swiss Army Knife was coined by the American soldiers in WWII due to the difficulty they had in pronouncing “offiziersmesser”, the German name for the officer knife. I got the information from Wikipedia:
The Swiss Army knife generally has a main spearpoint blade, as well as various tools, such as screwdrivers, a can opener, and many others. These attachment are stowed inside the handle of the knife through a pivot point mechanism. The handle is usually in its stereotypical red color, and features a Victorinox or Wenger “cross” logo or, for Swiss military issue knives, the coat of arms of Switzerland.
Originating in Ibach, Switzerland, the Swiss Army knife was first produced in 1891 after the company, Karl Elsener, which later became Victorinox, won the contract to produce the Swiss Army’s Modell 1890 knife from the previous German manufacturer. In 1893, the Swiss cutlery company Paul Boéchat & Cie, which later became Wenger, received its first contract from the Swiss military to produce model 1890 knives; the two companies split the contract for provision of the knives from 1908 until Victorinox acquired Wenger in 2005. A cultural icon of Switzerland, the design of the knife and its versatility have both led to worldwide recognition.
The Soldier Knife 08 was first issued to the Swiss Armed Forces beginning with the first basic training sessions of 2009.
The Soldier Knife 08 features an 111 mm (4.4 in) long ergonomic handle with poylmer-textured non-slip inlays incorporated in the nylon grip shells and a double liner locking system, one-hand 86 mm (3.4 in) long locking partly serrated chisel ground drop point blade, wood saw, can opener with small 3 mm (0.12 in) slotted screwdriver, locking bottle opener with large 7 mm (0.28 in) slotted screwdriver and 12 mm (0.47 in) diameter split keyring.
The armed forces of more than 20 different nations have issued or approved the use of various versions of Swiss army knives made by Victorinox.
WHITE BREAD
By: Stan Jordan
For the past few years all the medical people stated that wheat bread is the best for you and white bread would shorten your life maybe.
Well, I don’t know about that, as I am 94 years old and I have never ate brown bread or anything else but white bread or white buns. I just never like the taste of brown bread.
When I was a youngster, mom always baked our bread. She used Gold Medal Flour. We liked the bread but was always glad to get some bakery bread and it was straight. I understand they started to slice bakery bread in 1929.
The flour used in white bread may be bleached, that is lightened further by the use of chemicals or even chlorine dioxide gas to remove any slight yellow shade and make its baking properties more predictable. This is banned in the European Union and some other countries. White bread contains ½ of the magnesium found in whole wheat bread.
I like it best.
See ya!
WILD LIFE
By: Stan Jordan
I haven’t gotten many reports on the wildlife. I suppose because of the leaves and all the crops in the fields.
The other day, I was traveling south on SR 49 and just as I crossed the bridge over the Maumee River on top of the first telephone pole on the right was a big Horned Owl. All the traffic going by didn’t seem to bother him. He was big, but I don’t think they are as big as the Snowy Owl.
Jarrison, my co-worker, lives over in the Harlan area and on his travels to work he has seen a number of eagles and wild turkeys pretty regularly. I was talking with Mike Jones and he had a photo of a group of five deer.
This summer I saw a small deer just north of the Riverside Hardware in the edge of that thicket. I’m sure we will see more action after the crops are harvested.
See ya!
THE CLEVELAND INDIANS
By: Stan Jordan
Well, our team is out of the running for the World Series and we are not too surprised.
The Indians did win their division, but lets admit it, that was sort of a weak division. They had a 91-71 won/lost record and that was pretty good.
The pitching was pretty good, sometimes the bull pen let them down. They have some darn good players, but for the last few weeks, it seems they all went on a batting slump. When that happens, there is not much you can do. They lost out to Houston in the playoffs, but I don’t think they could have gone much farther anyhow, those last four teams are all very good. Good pitching and good hitting.
The Indians can be good next year, but they need a little help all over.
See ya!
