Speaking of World Wonders...

Although many people may think that Hoover Dam is one of the great wonders of the world (although not one of the seven), as you can read in this TIME magazine article from March 23, 1931, those who would soon begin construction on this dam would say this about their job: "Now this dam is just a dam but it's a damn big dam. Otherwise it's no different than others we've thrown up in a dozen places."

Funny how we can either downplay or exaggerate things that we consider great.

From Time Magazine:
Because construction of Hoover (Boulder) Dam across the Colorado River at Black Canyon is the largest single engineering feat ever attempted in the U. S., individual contracting companies were hesitant about undertaking the job for the Government. Therefore a group of potent Western contractors got together, organized Six Companies, Inc. Pooling their resources they submitted a bid to the Interior Department. Last week in Washington, Secretary of the Interior Wilbur awarded the Hoover Dam contract to Six Companies as low bidder. Their price: $48,890,995.50. The U. S. is to supply concrete—20.000 freight cars of it—steel, other materials and machinery which will run the final bill for the dam and power plants up to $165,000,000. Under $5,000,000 bond, Six Companies must finish the job in 1938 or pay a penalty of $3,000 for every day they exceed the 2,565-day limit.

Six Companies which won this biggest single peacetime Government contract is composed of: Utah Construction Co.; Henry J. Kaiser and W. A. Bechtel & Co.; McDonald & Kahn Ltd.; Morrison-Knud-sen & Co.; J. F. Shea Co. and Pacific Bridge Co. Principal organizer of Six Companies and its president is William H. Wattis, 72, head of Utah Construction Co. With his older brother, Edmund Orson Wattis (Six Companies' vice president) he began work as a grader when the Union Pacific first pushed into Utah. Together the Wattis brothers built the Western Pacific from Salt Lake City to Oroville, Calif, (a $20,000,000 job), the Southern Pacific into Mexico, the American Falls Dam in Idaho, the Gibson Dam in Montana, the Guernsey Dam in Wyoming, the Hetch-Ketchy Dam in California.

Last week small, spry, white-haired William Wattis was in San Francisco's St. Francis Hospital taking the Coffey-Humber cancer treatment when word reached him that his company had won the contract to build Hoover Dam. His jolly blue eyes snapped with delight. Wrapped in his bathrobe, and puffing a big, black cigar he talked eagerly:

"Now this dam is just a dam but it's a damn big dam. Otherwise it's no different than others we've thrown up in a dozen places. It involves a lot of money—more money than any one contractor has a right to have. ... I don't know when I'll get out of here. I think I am improving but don't worry, I'll be on this job."

Meanwhile Frank T. Crowe, hard-rock engineer who will superintend the actual construction of Hoover Dam, opened a Six Companies office at Las Vegas, Nev., the rail junction for the job. Then he proceeded across the mountain wastes to Black Canyon. Before Superintendent Crowe could start actual dambuilding, he had to do these things: 1) complete the 20-mile railroad from Las Vegas to Black Canyon rim over which all material must be lowered. 2) Construct Boulder City to house 2,500 workers and their families. 3) Build an eightmile, double-track, standard-gauge rail line from Boulder City down to the canyon, to the dam site. 4) Blast out of solid rock in the canyon walls four tunnels 50 ft. in diameter to divert temporarily the Colorado's flow 4.000 ft. around the dam site. 5) Erect a temporary dam upstream to turn the river into the tunnels and another downstream to stop backwash. Only then will the bed of the Colorado be laid bare and dry to receive the foundation, 600 ft. thick, of Hoover Dam. Power to operate all machinery must be led in from 200 miles away in California.

When finished the dam will rise 727 ft. between the canyon walls, will back the river up into a reservoir 115 miles long, two miles wide. The U. S. already owns as part of the undistributed Public Domain the land in Nevada and Arizona on which the dam will rest.* Settlement will have to be made later for upstream private property to be inundated by the new lake. Most interesting to engineers in the construction will be an experiment to hasten the cooling process of concrete by means of a special ammonia refrigerator plant from which ice water will be piped through the 7,000,000-ton mass.

*In the Supreme Court of the U. S., Arizona, unwilling partner to Hoover Dam, has pending a suit to halt the construction as an infringement on its sovereign rights

The New Seven Wonders Of The World.

The Pyramid at Chichen Itza; Mexico
Chichen Itza once served as the political and economic center of Mayan civilization. The city housed masterpieces like the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand Pillars, the Playing Field of the Prisoners and the pyramid of Kukulkan, which was the last Mayan temple.


Christ Redeemer; Brazil
The 124-foot statue of Jesus stands atop the Corcovado Mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Built in 1931, it took five years to construct and symbolizes the warmth and welcoming spirit of the Brazilian people.


Colosseum; Rome
Almost every sports stadium today is created based on the design of the Colosseum, built between 70-82 A.D. Located in the center of Rome, the amphitheater could seat up to 50,000 spectators who watched public spectacles like the infamous gladiator fights.


Great Wall; China
The largest man—made monument ever built at about 4,000 miles in length, the wall was originally built to help create a united defense system and prevent invading Mongol tribes out of China. Construction began around the 8th century B.C. and efforts to revive it took place from 1368 — 1644 A.D.


Machu Picchu; Peru
Machu Picchu, which means "old settlement," is located halfway up the Andes Plateau—in the Amazon jungle and above the Urubamba River. Originally a 15th century Incan settlement, the magnificent city was "lost" for three centuries, then rediscovered in 1911.


Petra; Jordan
Petra, located on the edge of the Arabian desert, was home to Aretas IV, king of the Nabataeans, who were masters of water technology. The facade of a 138 ft.—high Hellenistic temple on the El-Deir Monastery—an example of traditional Middle Eastern culture—sits within the Palace Tombs of Petra.


Taj Mahal; India
The white marble mausoleum is believed by many to be the best representation of Muslim art in India. The Taj Mahal was built around 1630, an order from Muslim emperor Shah Jahan, to honor the memory of his beloved late wife.

Source: Time.com

Do you agree or disagree? As for me, I think number two shows this selection was really just a popularity contest for regions of the world. I read another article somewhere that said most of the voting on this was coming from certain regions of th world (i.e. South America). For now I'll stick to the old list.

The European Union Is Upset About This?

The European Commission launched its own channel on YouTube last week saying it wanted to spread messages about topics such as climate change and human rights. But the video clip scoring the most hits by a large margin features nudity, dim lighting and some heavy breathing.

EU officials said the 44-second clip of sex scenes showcases the strong emotions featured in European films, but the sexual content has raised concerns among some European Union lawmakers.

The clip — titled “Film Lovers Will Love This!” — has been viewed more than 280,000 times, while the next most popular video on the EUTube channel — a humanitarian aid clip called “Reaching out to lend a hand” — has fewer than 30,000 views.

Eighteen couples, both homosexual and heterosexual, are shown having sex in bedrooms, kitchens and restaurant bathrooms. As the groans build to a climatic finish, the phrase “Let's come together” flashes on the screen.

“Cheap, tawdry and tacky,” was the reaction of Godfrey Bloom of Britain's euro-skeptic U.K. Independence Party, who described the clip as “soft porn” and a potential waste of taxpayers' money.

The Commission's foray onto the popular video-sharing Web site, he said, “was like watching an elderly relative trying to be cool: very embarrassing.”

And EU lawmaker Maciej Giertych of Poland, from the conservative League of Polish Families, has accused the commission of using “immoral methods” of promotion, according to the British Broadcasting Corp.

But Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr said the shots in the clip — drawn from award-winning films such as “Amelie” and “Bad Education” — highlighted Europe's tradition of rich cinema.

Selmayr said Tuesday that he had not received any complaints about the video, which was presented at the Berlin Film Festival in February as part of a four-clip media campaign. The other three highlight joy, sadness and friendship.

All four short videos have been available since then on the Commission's Web site and YouTube.

The steamy clip, as well as the overall concept of EUTube, has generated heated exchanges on the channel's comment forum with opinions divided between outrage and admiration. The Commission has designated an official to service the Web site and respond online to the criticism.

The 46 videos posted so far are on topics such as road safety, integration of immigrants and reform of the common market for sugar. There are both English and German channels, and French is expected to be up and running in the next few weeks.
Sources: CBSNews.com and EUTube


Now I don't know about you, but I think someone is acting a little snooty.

The One With The Waggling Tail

Cute video I found on the internet of one dog pulling on another dog's tail.

Trash Can Murdered By Bomb At Downtown Disney

Orange County deputies found a "low-level crude device" resembling a pipe bomb in a trash can at a Downtown Disney parking lot early today.

"Our investigators found end caps, which usually indicate a pipe-bomb-like device," said Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary at a news conference this morning. "We believe this was not designed to cause significant property damage or injuries."

In an earlier version of this story, Sheriff Beary incorrectly reported that the homemade device blew the doors off a dumpster in the popular tourist spot at Walt Disney World. No doors were blown off and the receptacle was a trash can, said Orange County spokesman Capt. Mark Strobridge.

Beary said security has been increased county-wide not just because of the suspicious incident, but also because of the recent terrorist activity overseas.

"Once we saw things unfolding in the U.K. and Glasgow, and the fact that it's July 4th, we increased security," said Beary.

He added that "this is not connected to any sophisticated [terrorist] plot, either domestically or internationally."

A Disney security officer on bike patrol called deputies at about 12:30 a.m. he heard a noise and saw white smoke coming from a garbage can in a back lot at of Downtown Disney, said Disney spokeswoman Kim Prunty.

The garbage can is in the far lot behind the Cirque du Soleil theater, going toward the golf course at the Saratoga Springs Resort, Prunty said. There are no attractions or shops in that area.

When deputies arrived, they secured the area and later reported no damage or injuries.

"The only damage was to the garbage can," Prunty said.

Downtown Disney is a popular spot frequented by tourists and locals for its shopping and entertainment, but last week, some of its security policies came under fire.

Walt Disney World ejected four of Florida State University's top football prospects - including the son of a Disney manager and the son of a Philadelphia civil-rights lawyer - from Downtown Disney under its anti-gang, no-loitering policy and banned them from entering the theme parks for life.

After Disney officials were questioned about security and the use of racial profiling to target and drive out minority youth, they decided to revise the trespass warnings so that the four are banned only from Downtown Disney for one year.


Source: Orlando Sentinel

Don Knott's - Comedy Legend

Photos and audio. This is a rare recording of Don Knott's only comedy album