How did popcorn become a popular snack at movie theaters?

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Dear Yahoo!:
How did popcorn become a popular snack at movie theaters?

RoxannNorth Braddock, Pennsylvania

Dear Roxann:
No trip to the movies is complete without an overpriced tub of popcorn covered in goo. Good thing, 'cause popcorn sales are responsible for a substantial portion of theater profits.
To learn how the tradition began, we first consulted the Encyclopedia Popcornica. According to this industry-supported site, the salty snack was very popular "from the 1890s until the Great Depression." Even during the Depression, popcorn remained "one of the few luxuries down-and-out families could afford."
Kidz World writes that popcorn first became available at movie theaters way back in 1912. They don't explain why, but Buzzle.com came through with many kernels of truth (none of which remained unpopped).
Apparently back in the old days, popcorn vendors would "set up shop" outside theaters. The theater managers didn't like this, thinking it was a distraction. But moviegoers disagreed, frequently ducking out to buy popcorn and then ducking back in to see the movie.
As Buzzle further notes, "it wasn't long until the theatre owners realized they could set up their own popcorn popper." That's exactly what they did, and popcorn's been associated with movies ever since. Kind of like Cracker Jacks and baseball games or gruel and orphanages.

iamscruelty.com

For nearly 10 months in 2002 and early 2003, a PETA investigator went undercover at an Iams contract testing laboratory and discovered a dark and sordid secret beneath the wholesome image of the dog- and cat-food manufacturer: dogs gone crazy from intense confinement to barren steel cages and cement cells, dogs left piled on a filthy paint-chipped floor after having chunks of muscle hacked from their thighs; dogs surgically debarked; horribly sick dogs and cats languishing in their cages, neglected and left to suffer with no veterinary care.

Iams lied to PETA with promises to improve the conditions for animals in its contract laboratories, even assuring us that enrichment programs were already in place, but our undercover investigator saw otherwise. She fought for six months to have a single cheap, rubber toy placed in each cold, lonely kennel. This is Iams’ idea of enrichment.

Our video footage shows Iams representatives touring the facility and witnessing dogs’ endless circling in barren cells, sweltering in the summer heat. Iams knew the truth yet did nothing to protect the animals.

The dogs and cats in Iams’ tests are no different from our dogs and cats at home when it comes to deserving companionship, play, a stimulating environment, and the right not to be tormented in painful experiments.

Luckily, caring consumers know that advances in nutrition don’t have to come at the expense of animals in labs. Help PETA force Iams to end these painful and unnecessary tests, as many compassionate companies have already done.

你的女友在你心中值多少钱

　　我们每个人平常坚守的很多理念、信仰，包括对爱情的忠贞，在金钱面前，到底会朝天平的哪一方倾斜呢？或许看了下面这个测试后，你会有所启迪。

　　女主持人气势咄咄的问一个男嘉宾，你为什么那么在乎钱，男嘉宾说：“钱能买到一切！”

　　现场的观众哗然了。

　　男嘉宾微笑的说：“我们做个测试吧。”

　　一个很简单的主题，你的一个仇人爱上了你的女友，现在想要你退出，你是一个正常的人，你爱自己的女友。那个男人愿意出一点钱来补偿你。

　　所有的观众都很不屑这种论调，男人缓缓的开出了第一个价格“五万!”

　　现场的观众松了口气，论点很集中：“五万，简直是瞧不起人，为了五万放弃了爱情？更主要的是放弃了自己的人格”所有的人都不约而同的否定了。

　　男人接着开出了第二个价格“五十万！”

　　现场的声音小了很多，一部分的人开始自己的计算了，在过了好大的一会儿，绝大多数的男人依然选择了否定，他身边的女友感动的看着他。只有少数的人接受了这五十万，其中的一个人说：“自己没有钱，父母苦了一辈子了，临老了生病没钱医治，为了父母，放弃了爱情吧。”

　　男人接着开出了第三个价格“五百万！”

　　现场更静了，男人的第一个动作都是看身边的女人，也许是在权衡什么。

　　一半的男人沉默了，另一半的男人怯生生的说:“我要爱情。”身边的女友也有点呆住了，一个女孩子站起来说：“如果一个男人肯出五百万，我想我没有理由拒绝他。”沉默的男人选择了金钱，五百万可以买一套房子，一部车子，全家过上好日子，甚至可以开始自己的事业。

　　一个男人说：“他是我的仇人，我有了这个五百万，我可以含辛茹苦，我可以报仇，我可以计划我所有的未来，当个真正主宰自己的男人。”一些女人看着身边的男人，若有所思。

　　男人接着开出了第四个价格“五千万！”

　　全场哗然了，对于大多数的人，一辈子也挣不了这许多。

　　女人说:“有肯为我一掷五千万的男人，他一定是爱我的，这样有钱又专一的男人，为什么不选择呢。”

　　一个男人举手：“他真的肯付五千万？”在得到肯定的回答后，男人说：“爱情是无价的，但是我没有这个能力去照顾爱人，别人有，我应该放弃，并且我有了这许多的钱，我可以做很多有意义的事情，我可以成就事业，我可以帮助别人，这样的人生才有意义。”所有的人都深以为然。

　　只有一个人依然选择了放弃，所有的人都用很奇怪的目光看他，他解释到：“我的爱情是无价的”，当问到他的女友是否感动的时候，女友说：“我虽然感动，但我更感动的是为了我付出自己五千万的人，而不是放弃别人的五千万，他的观点很可敬，但不现实。”

　　嘉宾笑了笑，你们所有的人都选择了金钱。

　　那个人还是以前的那个人，他的为人和评价只是因为钱？

　　钱多就高尚了。所有无价的都是都是跟钱比较的，博物馆里的国宝，有钱了可以买，买不到了可以雇人偷和抢，再不行的话，可以发动战争，只要你有足够的钱。

　　美国打伊拉克需要的是什么，钱；使用的是什么，还是钱，不过是一个以钱换钱的游戏罢了。

　　所有的观众愕然了，想起自己的生活。

　　想跳槽的时候，借口都不是钱，但都有一个理由：“我不在乎钱，但是我在乎工资，这代表我是否受尊重和我的价值。”是啊，相同的工作，一千块就侮辱了你，一万块就是尊重你，十次的侮辱等于尊重？

　　嘉宾说，我不想解释为量变导致质变，爱情的质变不是钱多钱少的问题，而是，在你们之间叫的爱情如果通过交换就不叫了爱情。所以他拿钱换走的不是爱情，而是你的所有权，爱情已经走了，它依然无价！变质的爱情怎么还能叫爱情？

　　所有的人性都有价格，而又无价，当你用金钱换取的时候，人性已经丢掉了，你售卖的价格已经和你原有的人性无关。

　　嘉宾最后说了一句，我相信爱情，相信所有的人性，所以我努力的挣钱、爱钱。我只是不希望我的爱情和人性受到别人的金钱的考验罢了。

　　看过别人的选择后，假想一下，如果你也遇到了同样的问题，也需要你做这样的选择，你会在第几步“卖掉”自己的女友呢？还是选择“无价”？

Mee Siam Mai Ham

Fitness, childhood IQ may affect old-age brain function

Oct. 9, 2006
Courtesy American Academy of Neurology and World Science staff

How well your mind works in old age de­pends more on your fit­ness than on your IQ as a child, ac­cord­ing to a study in the Oct. 10 is­sue of the re­search jour­nal Neu­rol­o­gy.

Cour­te­sy City of Se­at­tle Ag­ing & Dis­a­bil­i­ty Ser­vic­es

In the re­search, 460 adults took a cog­ni­tive test at age 79 iden­ti­cal to one they had tak­en de­c­ades ago, at age 11, in a study called the Scot­tish Men­tal Sur­vey.

Re­sults showed phys­i­cal fit­ness con­tri­bu­t­ed more than three per­cent of the dif­fer­en­ces in old-age cog­ni­tive abil­i­ty, af­ter ac­count­ing for child­hood test scores, said study au­thor Ian Dea­ry of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ed­in­burgh in Scot­land.

Fit­ness en­hanced old-age cog­ni­tive abil­i­ty more than child­hood IQ did, he added. “Thus, two peo­ple start­ing out with the same IQ at age 11, the fit­ter per­son at age 79 will, on av­er­age, have bet­ter cog­ni­tive func­tion.”

Fit­ness was de­fined by the time it took to walk six me­ters, grip strength and lung func­tion.

“The oth­er re­mark­a­ble re­sult,” said Dear­y, was that “par­tic­i­pants with a high IQ as a child were more like­ly to have bet­ter lung func­tion at age 79. This could be be­cause peo­ple with higher in­tel­li­gence might re­spond more fa­vor­a­bly to health mes­sages about stay­ing fit.”

Oc­cu­pa­tion and educa­tion were also as­so­ci­at­ed with old-age fit­ness, he added; bet­ter-ed­u­ca­ted peo­ple in more pro­fes­sion­al ca­reers had bet­ter fit­ness and higher men­tal test scores.

Recipes for Mango Lemonade and Cucumber Soup

The following two recipes appear in Vegan Meals for One or Two, http://www.vrg. org/catalog/ oneortwo. htm, by Chef Nancy Berkoff)



Mango Lemonade

(Makes 4 servings)



2 peeled and cubed ripe mangoes or 2 cups thawed, frozen mango cubes

2 cups cold water

1 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar (sweeten to taste)



Place mango in a blender. Cover and process until pureed.

Pour into a pitcher. Add water, lemon juice, and sugar; stir. Allow

lemonade to cool before serving, or pour over ice.



Total Calories per Serving: 131 Total Fat as % of Daily Value: <1%

Protein: 1 gm Fat: <1 gm Carbohydrates: 35 gm Calcium: 15 mg

Iron: <1 mg Sodium: 3 mg Dietary Fiber: 2 gm



Cool-As-A-Cucumber Soup

(Makes 2 servings)



1 cup peeled, chopped cucumber

1/2 cup cold vegetable broth

1/4 cup silken tofu

white pepper to taste (about 1/2

teaspoon)

1/8 cup shredded carrots

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley



Place cucumber, broth, tofu and pepper in a blender. Process

until just smooth. Pour into serving bowls and top with carrots and

parsley. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.



Note: This cold soup is a great light summer entree and will last for

up to 2 days in the refrigerator.



Total Calories Per Serving: 36 Total Fat as % of Daily Value: 2%

Protein: 3 gm Fat: 1 gm Carbohydrates: 5 gm Calcium: 28 mg

Iron: 1 mg Sodium: 257 mg Dietary Fiber: 1 gm

Help save Jin Long Si Temple and the biggest and oldest Bodhi Tree in Singapore

Dear Friends,I have just read and signed the online petition:
"Help save Jin Long Si Temple and the biggest and oldest Bodhi Tree in Singapore"
hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petitionservice, at: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/bodhi3/
I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you mightagree, too.
If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself.

Did I Marry The Right Person?

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question. She said, "How do I know if I married the right person?" I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, "It depends. Is that your husband?" In all seriousness, she answered, "How do you know?"

Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind.

EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse. You anticipated his call, wanted his touch and liked his idiosyncrasies.

Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love.

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept off my feet." Think about the imagery of that _expression. It implies that you were just standing there, doing nothing. Then something came along and happened to you.

Falling is love is easy. It's a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria of love fades. It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship. Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens) and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts.

The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, "Did I marry the right person?" And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when marriages break down. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfillment.

Extra-marital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious. But sometimes people turn to work, church, a hobby, friendship, excessive TV or abusive substances. But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it. I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY, you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later. Because (listen carefully to this):

The Key To Succeeding In Marriage Is Not Finding The Right Person; It's Learning To Love The Person You Found .

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. It'll NEVER just happen to you. You can't "find" LASTING love. You have to "make" it day in and day out. That's why we have the _expression "the labour of love" … because it takes time, effort and energy. And most importantly, it takes WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.

Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage.

Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship WILL make your marriage stronger. It's a direct cause and effect. If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable... you can "make" love.

Love in marriage is indeed a "decision"... Not just a feeling.

Enjoy Where You Are

There is nothing which is intrinsically enjoyable.
What one person enjoys, another person will despise.
Enjoyment comes from your attitude toward a particular situation, not the situation itself.
Too many people search in vain for enjoyable activities, enjoyable relationships, enjoyable environments, enjoyable entertainment.
A much more successful strategy would be to stop searching and start enjoying.
The enjoyment is not in the activity. The enjoyment is in you. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, find a way to enjoy it.
Sure, it's great when you aspire to bigger and better things. But don't fool yourself into thinking that they'll come pre-packaged with their own enjoyment.

That is up to you.

Perhaps you didn't choose to be where you are, and it's great that you're committed to getting somewhere else.
Yet while you're here, accept it and enjoy it.
Enjoying where you are right now will take you a long way toward wherever else you wish to go.

relationship problems?

a fren has been talking to me abt relationships.
abt the background, income, education level and age differences.
my take was; true. these factors do play an important part.
the difference is how u weigh them towards your feelings for the other party and whether the other party feels the same way too.
if feelings for each other is affirmative, to me, these factors doesnt matter at all.
and so what if u do find one who match all ur requirements?
i still tink the chemistry plays a BIG part.
I'm a more feeling person. if theres no chemistry i heck care if u r the most beautiful person in the world. (haha)

So what if one party is unsure of his/her feelings? or is afraid to commit?
this will be tougher as one has to give assurance to the other.
nobody likes a brokenheart. so those who had been hurt badly are naturally more defensive.
Its very difficult to make another step out into the unknown (will I be hurt again? Is this person true to me?)
One has to do a lot to regain confidence in them. But I believe slowly and surely it can be done.
Also the hurt one must help themselves to 'stand up' again though its not easy.
Do not be afraid. reach out to the hand tats there to pull u.
even if the two are not meant to be together, so? still can be good frens.
feelings may get diluted over time. but if both stays committed to each other it will work. yes, committment plays an important role. there are many ways to rekindle love lost but it takes 2 hands to clap. If u really find someone worth staying with the rest of ur life with, stay committed.

there. theres my 2 cents worth. :)
something taken from the late Bruce Lee. its meaningful:
-Be like water.-
when u put water in a cup, it becomes the cup.
when u put water in the bottle, it becomes the bottle.
be like water my fren.