The Good, the bad and the most unfortunate

This article talks about history's unforgettable moments - and those not worth remembering. Since today is Obama's inauguration, there was an interesting article about other American inauguration that were memorable in its own way.

5 inaugurations you would have wanted to attend... :

• (George Washington, 1789) The reason was to see what he was wearing on that day. He was wearing tights with silver shoe buckles and he carried a steel-hilted sword. 


• (Thomas Jefferson, 1801) The reason was to shake Jefferson's hand. He broke precedent by mingling among bystanders instead of riding a carrige to his inauguration.


• (James Madison, 1809) The reason was to get really cheap tickets to the inauguration. His inauguration cost $4, but these days, it would cost A LOT.


• (Andrew Jackson, 1829) The reason was to get good gossip. After a very harsh and brutal campaign, outgoing John Quincy Adams spitefully skipped out on the festivities.


• (Franklin Pierce, 1853) To witness a presedential spurning. He was the first out of two presidents to "affirm" the oath instead of "swear" it and he placed his hand, NOT on a bible, but a law book instead.

5 inagurations you're glad you missed... :

• (Usysses S. Grant, 1873) His inauguration was on the coldest March 4 on record. The building where the ball was held had no heat system, so the food there froze.


• (William H. Taft, 1909) The inauguartion was forced to be held indoors because the blizzard toppled trees and telephone poles, trains stalled and streets were shut down. Crews had to clear about 58 000 tons of slush and snow.


• (Woodrow Wilson, 1913) Wilson was greiving over the death of his son, so he felt that the inauguaration should be more of a solemn ceremony in respec of his son.


• (Herbert Hoover, 1929) On the brink of the Great Depression, officials changed the inagural ball to a more proper and modest charity ball.


• (Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963) After the assasination of John Kennedy, Johnson was sworn into office on an airplane. There were no ceremonies until he was officially elected in 1965.

Dumbest president? :

William H. Harrison wore no winter gear at his inaguration in 1841. Not only was he missing his proper winter clothing, his speech was tremendously long as well. So, Harrison, on his inaguration day was freezing while giving his long speech. Guess what happened a month later... He died of pneumonia. Doctors believe that the death was caused by his carelessness to put on proper clothes for the weather. In my opinion, that was a waste of time for him but also the American citizens as well. He probably spent many, many months trying to get people to vote for him, and suddenly he dies of pneumonia because he didn't have the proper clothes on for winter. That is just repulsive.

Those were some of the parts of this long newspaper article. To sum it up in a way that I felt was the whole point of this article, I believe this article was meant to be a fresh start for our new American president, Barack Obama, and it was a fun article to read, because it was meant to be humorous but also ironic in some ways. It was a well organized article and full of pictures. The article mentioned some of the things that has happened in the American inaugurations so far. The article is a great way to learn interesting facts about the American government history and also a great way to start your day off (since it is pretty funny)... Anyways, with the small descriptions, those were some of the general things that I got out of this article, and you should really try to get this article and read it. NOTE: The top part of this article, I summarized what was on the actual newspaper article, so it is NOT a duplicate of what was on the article.

Childhood diet alters horomones 

Researchers at the University of Calgary used rats for their newest experiment. Finding out all about the things that a child's diet causes. The researchers fed baby rats in three different styles. One group with high-protein meals, another with high-fibre meals, and lastly another group with balanced meals. Then, when the rats reached adulthood, they were all fed high-fat, high-sugar meals, mirroring the common North American eating habits, Then they let the rats from all three groups have access to an unlimited supply of junk food. The rat group who consumed high-protein meals in their early stages of life wanted a lot more and therefore gained much more weight and body fat than the rats that were fed the high-fibre meals. The rats that ate balanced meals everyday were almost as slim as the rats who were fed the high-fibre meals and did not gain as much weight as the rat group that consumed the high-protein meals. Also, even if two kids were born with the same genetic bases, but one was fed better than the other, the chances are, the kid who was fed well would be taller. So, what you and I can get out of this article is that the genes that you get from your parents are not as influencial as your diet and how you balance it. So, when you are eating your dinner tonight, try to have a well-balanced meal, for it will effect your fitness and health greatly.

Riding the wave of public approval a heavy burden to bear

As Barack Obama takes the oath of office today, he is also pressured. Americans expect a lot of changes in their government system that they believe are flaws in the American government. For Barack Obama to successfully change those flaws, he needs time. It will take a while for him to settle down the American debt business, the American health care system, and other problems. However, the nation's expectations of Barack Obama is tremendously big, and everyone crosses their fingers that Barack Obama will be able to reach to the level that the citizens expect. One of the changes the Americans are looking for is creating a new condition that will allow Americans to find a job. According to the statistics, 78% of the population viewed him favourably and by comparison, only 17% of the population viewed George Bush favourably when he was leaving office. So, as you can see, everyone in America is depending on him to make a change. All the Americans can do is see what ideas he proposes and weigh the factors to find out the best solution for their country.