Source: www.toptenz.net
Feb 22, 2010
Top 10 People Who Became Famous after Death
Where there’s life, there’s death. Though a true statement, for some it seems that life and legacy continue on long after death. Many artists, poets, writers, and others have been able to continue to live on through their stories, theories, art, and ideas. Though not immortal, the works of certain people allow them to continue to be an important part of the world, despite no longer living.
The list below describes ten people, who after death, became famous and made a profound impact on society as well as culture that can still be felt today. Not all of these people wanted fame, but ultimately achieved it, just in an untimely manner. I guess posthumous fame isn’t all that bad.
10. El Greco
The Disrobing of Christ (El Espolio) is one of the most famous altarpieces of El Greco. El Greco's altarpieces are renowned for their dynamic compositions and startling innovations.
Doménikos Theotokópoulos, better known as El Greco due to his Greek background, was a painter, architect, and sculptor during the Spanish Renaissance who was born in 1541. He also studied the Classics and created his own library of 130 books. He moved to Rome in 1570 and opened a workshop in hopes of allowing his artistic career to flourish and lived within the artistic community. He eventually moved to Venice and began painting religious subjects, often focusing on elongated features and figures. He did this in hopes of leaving his own mark in history, using a new and original style for himself. El Greco continued to travel and create, but soon lost his place in society after lacking the king’s favor. In 1614 he died after falling ill.
The death effect
During his time, El Greco’s work was ignored, pushed to the side, and often criticized, simply because it was different. His expressionistic and dramatic style was not what people were used to, and his paintings were not appreciated much at all. In fact, many during his time called his work “ridiculous” and “worthy of scorn.” Even after his death, he was also scorned, as many saw his work as being too confusing and incomprehensible. However, when the 20th century came, his work was, and still is, highly appreciated. He is seen as a painter who was ahead of his time, using modern techniques as well as those from the contemporary realm. In essence, many don’t believe he fits into just one school of art; instead he seemed to create his own.
9. Alfred Wegener
Born on November 1, 1880, Alfred Wegener dedicated his life to being a prolific German scientist, geologist, and meteorologist. In 1905, he received his astronomy degree from the University of Berlin and then set out on a life of discovery and experimentation. He went on expeditions to Greenland in order to study the polar air circulation, which was done before there was ever a widely accepted existence of the Earth’s jet stream. Wegener, during his life, also focused his research heavily on continental drift, in which he believed the continents were very slowly moving around the earth. But, despite research and information that backed his theory, which was correct at the time, it was not accepted until later on in the 1950s. He died in 1931 on a trip to Greenland due to heart failure.
The death effect
Though he made his theories known during his lifetime, not many people believed him, and they often went on with their own experiments, disregarding Wegener’s findings. While he did discover the jet stream, continental drift, and the fact that the continents are connected, he was never credited with these ideas until there was concrete evidence proposed and accepted. After his death, J. Tuzo Wilson provided substantial evidence to prove the existence of tectonic plates and continental drift. Once proven, Wegener’s theories were brought to the forefront.
8. Galileo Galilei
Tomb of Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564 was a scientist, mathematician, and astronomer who contributed valuable information and astrological tools to the scientific world. He created a telescope that allowed him to look at the planets, including Jupiter and Saturn, in which he was able to discover the moons orbiting these planets. Though he didn’t discover the theory himself, he proved that Copernicus was correct in his heliocentric theory of our solar system. He was also one of the first to discover sunspots, moon craters, and even lunar mountains. While his discoveries and theories were correct, he was often criticized by those heavily involved in religion, which was a way of life during his time, as they believed that the world was geocentric and was in one fixated place and did not move to revolve around the sun. He was accused of heresy by Pope Urban VIII and was put on house arrest until his death.
The death effect
While Galileo did make himself known, his theories were hardly accepted during his lifetime. During his lifetime, there was still a strong focus on incorrect religious beliefs. People didn’t want to think outside of the Bible, and therefore anything that contradicted what the Bible claimed was ultimately thrown out and entirely disregarded. However; today, Galileo stands as the father of modern physics and his work is highly praised. Even though he didn’t know it, Galileo was studying and experimenting with scientific ideas that today are considered highly important parts of the scientific world, including kinematics and strength of materials.
7. Gregor Johann Mendel
Bust of Gregor Johann Mendel at Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno, the Czech Republic.
Born in 1822, Gregor Johann Mendel was an Augustinian priest, who today is known as the “father of modern genetics.” Even though his experiments didn’t seem of much value during his time, little did people know that he had experimented with genetic inheritance by examining pea plants. Despite the fact that he was extremely shy and quiet and often had psychological breakdowns, he was heavily devoted to plant hybridization, botany, meteorology, and learning more about natural science. One of his most famous experiments involved him cross-breeding two different types of pea plants. His experiments brought forth two generalizations, the Law of Segregation and the Law of Independent Assortment, which later became known as Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance. In 1884 Mendel died, but thankfully his discoveries did not.
The death effect
While he had made very significant findings, such as the fact that trait inheritance follows certain laws, Mendel’s theories and data were not recognized, used, and praised until the 20th century. Many disregarded his theories and information due to the fact that they just didn’t understand it. He was rediscovered in the 1900s and biologists over flocked to test out his experiments. Today, Mendel has two laws named after him, both dealing with genetics. One explains dominant and recessive genes, which he discovered after mixing a white and purple pea plant, and the product producing only purple flowers, and the other explains how alleles of different genes all assort independent of other alleles.
6. Henry Darger
Darger, a reclusive writer and artist, was born in 1892 and lived a very troubled life from early on, but used his experiences and life journey to create amazing art and literature. His mother died when he was four, and his father passed away soon after, and he was left to live at a Catholic mission home, where he was disciplined for making strange noises, which were said to be possibly caused by ADHD or Tourette Syndrome. In 1930, Darger moved into a second-floor room on Chicago’s North Side, in the Lincoln Park section of the city. It was in this room, more than four decades later, after his death in 1973, that Darger’s extraordinary secret life was discovered.
The death effect
Today, he is best known for being an artist whose work was portrayed as “outsider art,” meaning those who have little contact with society or those who never received any type of formal art or writing lessons. One of his most widely known pieces of literature is The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, along with several hundred drawings and watercolor paintings illustrating the story. The long name goes along with the length of the book, ending at 15,145 pages. Darger is also known for his watercolor paintings that illustrate the entire story.
Today, his work commands upward of $80,000 and his room has been re-created at a new permanent exhibition at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, a gallery in Chicago.
5. Henry David Thoreau
“The country knows not yet, or in the least part, how great a son it has lost”
Best known for his books Walden and Hoosiers, Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 and was able to truly emphasize the importance of natural living and being one with nature and the natural world. He is also well known for fighting for resistance against unfair laws and from morally unjust governments. Known as the individualist anarchist of asceticism, Thoreau was one of a kind, especially when it came to his writing, creating stanzas filled with symbolism and hidden meanings. He could not even find a publisher for his book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, and instead printed 1,000 copies at his own expense, though fewer than 300 were sold. Today, his literature has inspired many leaders, such as Ghandi and Leo Tolstoy. After studying and teaching, Thoreau wanted to do natural experimentation. To experience simple living, Thoreau built and moved into a small shack on land owned by his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here he claimed to become one with the earth.
The death effect
By the time of his death, Thoreau had only published two books, which were seen as obscure and weird by many, though he did have a few admirers, most notably Ralph Waldo Emerson. Before he died, Thoreau had boasted of his library, filled with about 900 books, but seemed to pick at the fact that 700 of them were his own. He paid for the publishing of his A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers out of his own pocket, and didn’t make much profit from them. Not until the late 1920s did Thoreau get the praise he deserved. Today, Thoreau is regarded as one of the most important American writers, both for the clarity of his style and for his views on nature and politics. His memory is honored by the international Thoreau Society.
4. Edgar Allan Poe
Born on January 19, 1809 in Massachusetts, Edgar Allan Poe flew under the radar his entire life. He is known as an American Romantic Movement writer who often focused on macabre, mystery, and is the first to write a detective-fiction short story. He had hoped to be become a successful writer and make a living by doing so, but his life went otherwise. He went to college for a short period of time and he even tried a military career which did not work out, so he then decided to leave his adopted family and start anew. He soon became interested in writing and publishing, doing both anonymously. While Poe was able to publish his prose as well as short stories, he wasn’t usually paid for them, and if he was, it was just a few dollars. His piece, The Raven sold for $9, which is a highly praised work of literature today. After his wife’s premature death, his life seemed to go downhill. He was moving from place to place to in order to keep publishing his work and attempting to stay out of legal trouble due to excessive drinking. However, in 1849, Poe died of what doctors say to be a combination of many possible things, ranging from suicide, to rabies, to heart disease.
The death effect
While Poe’s work was published, he never made much money, and never received the fame he has today. All over the world his work is celebrated for introducing a new type of writing style and theme into the literature world. Many are extremely fascinated by his death; others like to delve into his literature to see just what may have caused him to live such a short and seemingly unhappy life.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said, “Each [of Poe's detective stories] is a root from which a whole literature has developed…. Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?” High praise from someone who many feel is the most important detective novelist of all time.
3. Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson’s poetry is some of the best written by a female in the English language. She has become widely acknowledged as an innovative, pre-modernist poet. Born on December 10, 1830, Dickinson lived the life of a recluse, due to the fact that she was extremely shy and introverted. She was seen as eccentric in her Massachusetts town, which made her even more isolated from the town commoners. Many believe a love affair she had sparked some sort of psychotic episode, which then focused her writing style on being highly personal and related to her own life events. During the 1880s, many of Dickinson’s family members began to die one after the other, and she soon after died as well in 1886 from Bright’s disease.
The death effect
Before she died, only seven of Emily Dickinson’s poems were published publicly. The poems that were published were highly edited so that they fit the proper rules of poetry at the time. It is speculated she wrote over 1800 poems, most of which she wanted to keep hidden and away from the public eye. She was known for writing about immortality and death, and her other themes, including nature, also came to light when her poems were published. Despite her desire to keep her poetry as her own and wishing for her sister to burn them after her death, Lavinia and two friends edited and then published her work. In 1890 a collection of her poems were published.
Dickinson is taught in literature and poetry classes from middle school to college. Her poetry is frequently anthologized and used by many artists today. An 8-cent commemorative stamp in honor of Dickinson was issued by the United States Postal Service on August 28, 1971.
2. Franz Kafka
Born on July 3, 1883 in Prague, Franz Kafka was part of a middle-class Jewish family. He was the eldest of all of the children and was put under most pressure to help his family by his father. After attending school at the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague, he studied chemistry, then switched to law, and became extremely interested in writing and other literary elements. Though he found quality jobs, he quit them often due to conflicts with the time. Kafka wanted more time to himself in order to write, and later in life moved to Berlin in 1921 in order to get this time. But, in 1924 he died suddenly, apparently from starvation, due to the fact that he was suffering from tuberculosis and was no longer able to eat.
The death effect
“Dearest Max, my last request: Everything I leave behind me … in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters, sketches, and so on, [is] to be burned unread.”
While alive, Kafka only published a few pieces of his unfinished works. His writing didn’t get much attention until after he died, and that is when many began to discover his style of writing, which was highly existential and modern, and often reflected his own life in a dry, humorous way. Before dying, Kafka never really finished his works. The Metamorphosis stands as one piece of literature that was completed, but many see it as a short story, not a novel. His work wasn’t published until after he died, by a lifelong friend named Max Brod. Today, there is still a search for lost letters and manuscripts written by Kafka.
His fame lives on as Kafka has a museum dedicated to his work in Prague, Czech Republic. Possibly more notable is the fact that the term “Kafkaesque” is widely used today to describe bizarre concepts and ideas which are prevalent in his works, particularly The Trial and The Metamorphosis.
1. Vincent van Gogh
Born on March 30, 1853, Vincent van Gogh today stands as one of the most prolific and widely celebrated Dutch Post-Impressionist painter. He was a shy child with low self-esteem who at first did missionary work in order to become a priest, but later turned to drawing and painting, and then developed his artistic career during his 20s. While his paintings reflected the southern sun in France and often contained bright colors, his life was the complete opposite. He suffered from epilepsy and depression. Though mentally unstable, which ultimately lead to his suicide, van Gogh’s work is seen as some of the most influential and praised art ever created. After painting 900 pictures and about 1,100 drawings and sketches, his 2,000 pieces of art were never really discovered until after his death.
The death effect
Though having been a painter for decades, Vincent van Gogh didn’t become famous until the end of his life. He was so unknown that not many even knew of his death. Despite the fact he had painted large numbers of artwork, it only began to become popular around the late 1890s. His work started to spread from France and Belgium into Germany and the Netherlands with the help of his brother’s wife. Van Gogh’s fame peaked a little before WWI in Germany and Austria and was also popular in late 1918, as British and American collectors brought his paintings over. Today, van Gogh’s work is worth millions of dollars. His painting Portrait of Dr. Gachet sold for 82.5 million dollars in 1990 and is valued at 134 million today.
Feb 21, 2010
Top 10 Worst Olympic Mascots
This list was first published in 2008. Seems a good time to revisit it.
A good Mascot is a symbol of the spirit of the Olympics in general; while, at the same time, teaching the world something about the country where the event is taking place. I also feel that mascots should exude a positive and focused energy and enthusiasm for the games as well as the city, country and culture they represent.
10. MukMuk (2010, Vancouver Winter Games)
This character is supposed to be a Vancouver Island Marmot but it would be more accurate to describe him as an underdog. He is the ‘designated sidekick’ of the three official mascots for the Winter Games: Quatchi, Miga and Sumi. It’s like the real mascots are saying, “Okay MukMuk you can hang out with us but you’re not really one of us.” And pathetic little MukMuk says, “Gee, thanks guys! Woo hoo!”.
While the official mascots are out in the real world promoting the Olympics (okay, they are really just humans in costume) MukMuk the wannabe just exists on the internet and is not even important enough to include on the souvenir merchandise. Poor little guy.
You can read more about little MukMuk’s plight.
9. Hosuni (1988, Seoul Summer Games)
Who? Exactly. The Seoul Games actually had two mascots, Hodori and Hosuni, but for some reason Hodori was way more popular. When you look at a picture of them, it’s hard to see why since they look EXACTLY THE SAME. Being the unpopular one is bad enough, but how about being completely erased from everyone’s memory? If you look up information about mascots on the Official Website of the Beijing Olympic Games, Hosuni isn’t even mentioned. It’s like she never even existed.
8. Cobi (1992, Barcelona Summer Games)
I have to admit this character is really, really cute. But in what stretch of the imagination does a dog wearing a business suit symbolize the Olympics? Have they added ‘commuting’ to the Olympic events? Or possibly ‘handshaking’ or ‘powerpoint presenting’? I think not.
7. Hidy & Howdy (1988, Calgary Winter Games)
Okay we get it, Calgary’s nickname is Cowtown and they have a big rodeo every year (the Calgary Stampede) so the cowboy/cowgirl theme makes sense. But ‘Hidy’ and ‘Howdy’? Why not just call them ‘Hick’ and ‘Hillbilly’? To make things worse, they were touted as ‘inseparable brother and sister polar bears’. Kind of cute or just creepy in that whole Angelina Jolie and her brother kind of way?
6. Waldi (1972, Munich Summer Games)
When I picture dogs competing in the various Olympic Summer Events (and I do this all the time, of course) I see a greyhound jumping hurdles, a Labrador retriever swimming and a whippet running around a track. But I never, ever, picture a short-legged, long-haired dachshund named Waldi. And, for goodness sake – it’s the Summer Olympics, Waldi, you can take off the sweater!
Waldi would have appeared closer to the number one position but he is the very first Olympic mascot ever so I’ve decided to ‘throw Munich a bone’.
5. Rocky (1980, Lake Placid Winter Games)
The mascot for the Lake Placid Winter Games was going to be a real live raccoon named Rocky but unfortunately he passed away before the games even began. A dead raccoon is not very inspiring or cute. In fact, it’s right up there with roadkill. I looked all over the web and could not find out how Rocky died. The most obvious suspect would be Roni, the cartoon raccoon who replaced him, but apparently his neighbor Wiley Coyote backed up his alibi. Rest in peace Rocky.
4. Athena and Phevos (2004, Athens Summer Games)
Otherwise known as Two Penises Wearing Sweaters or Two **** Wearing Dickies…
3. Olly, Syd and Millie (2000, Sydney Summer Games)
These forgettable mascots were completely upstaged by the unofficial mascot of the Sydney Summer Games, Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat. Fatso even appeared on the winners’ podium with several gold medalists. Meanwhile, poor Olly, Syd and Millie were being referred to as “Syd, Ollie and Dickhead” by the popular Australian comic duo Roy and HG. The Olympic Committee tried to discourage Fatso’s popularity at first but he became so popular that he ended up on a commemorative stamp and there is a statue of him outside the Sydney Olympic stadium.
2. Izzy (1996, Atlanta Summer Games)
Arguably the least successful mascot of all and evidently controlled by the most indecisive people in the world. First of all, not even the creators seem to know what he is supposed to be: isn’t Izzy short for ‘Whatizit’ or ‘Whatizhee’? And no one seemed to be able to settle on what he should look like either because his nose, size and eyes changed over time.
An article on the BBC news website quotes Simpsons creator Matt Groenig as describing Izzy as “a bad marriage of the Pillsbury doughboy and the ugliest California Raisin”. It then goes on to say that the US press described “as anything from a ‘blue slug’ to a ‘sperm in sneakers’. Source: BBC News
As a parting shot, perhaps I still have Athena and Phevos on my mind, but I have to agree Izzy does kind of look like a big blue sperm?
1. The Fuwa (2008, Beijing)
I am rating the Fuwa the worst mascot because, while others have been unpopular, confusing or silly, these bad luck dolls of Beijing are becoming downright ominous. Fuwa translates to the ‘good-luck dolls’ but you be the judge. First, the famous Chinese artist, Han Meilin, had two heart attacks while he was designing them. And now, each of the five characters that make up the Fuwa have been linked to events which have led to the superstitious term ‘the Curse of the Fuwa’. Nini (swallow/kite/locust figure) is linked to the Weifang T195 (“kite city”) train accident in April 2008 and the locust infestation in Inner Mongolia in June 2008. Yingying (the Tibetan antelope) is an obvious choice for association with the Tibetan unrest. Huanhuan, representing the Olympic flame, is being linked to the torch relay protests. Also, the Sichuan area, which suffered a catastrophic earthquake on May 12, 2008 is well known for its pandas and the fourth mascot, Jing Jing, is a panda character. The fifth and final Fuwa mascot is Beibeig, a fish who is representing the element water in the group. He is being associated to the floods in South China as well as an algal bloom in the Olympic sailing course.
According to Wikipedia, some people are now calling the characters “Wuwa” (witch dolls) instead of Fuwa and “online criticism of the dolls has frequently been censored”.
Personally, I think they are cute but I wonder how souvenir sales are doing? Are people reluctant to bring the bad mojo of these Fuwa/Wuwa into their homes?
Favorite Unofficial Mascots
Feb 14, 2010
The Top 10 Greatest Female Athletes In Modern Olympian History
The first women to compete in the Olympic Games played a quiet croquet match in a cauldron of trees and grass in Paris in 1900. There was only one paying spectator, an unnamed “gentle Englishman,” as the official Olympic report recalls. Since then, the games have changed immensely. One of the biggest changes has been the support and addition of women’s sports. Today, these sports have placed women in the athletic spotlight making some of these competitions the most closely followed games in the Olympics. From these games, I have selected the top ten greatest female athletes in Olympian history.
In an effort to maintain objectivity in determining the top ten greatest female athletes in modern Olympian history, I used the Luchies Olympic Formula (LOF) for medals in which Gold = 5 Points; Silver = 3 Points; Bronze = 2 Points to obtain a point total for each athlete. In doing so, I was able to rank the top ten greatest female athletes according to the total scores on the LOF. While everyone may not agree with this methodology, I think most will agree that all these outstanding achievements should be celebrated.
10. Amy Van Dyken
Medals: 6 Gold = 30 points
When Amy Van Dyken was in high school, her swimming teammates teased her. They said she swam so slowly that they did not want her on their team anymore. Other students made fun of Van Dyken because she was so tall and acted like a “nerd.” In addition to the teasing, she also suffered from asthma, a disease that made it so hard for her to breathe that she could not even climb stairs. Despite all these obstacles, Van Dyken kept swimming. Soon she was so good that she became the star of her team. In July 1996, at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Van Dyken swam into the record books by becoming the first American woman to win four gold medals in one Olympic Games.
9. Natalie Coughlin
Medals: 3 Gold; 4 Silver; 4 Bronze = 35 points
Natalie Coughlin burst onto the international swim scene at the 2001 World Championships, winning a gold medal in the 100 backstroke and a bronze in the 50 backstroke. In 2002 at the Pan-Pacifics, she was more dominant, winning six medals, four gold with three individual championships in the 100-free, 100-fly, and 100-back. Coughlin was an early favorite for the 2004 Olympics, but her performance in 2003, and especially at the World Championships, was unimpressive. There she won only two relay medals, although it was later revealed that she was quite sick and had considered not competing. Although somewhat overshadowed by the media attention given Michael Phelps, Coughlin was the top female swimmer at the 2004 Olympic Games, winning five medals, including two gold. Individually, she won the 100 meter backstroke and finished third in the 100 freestyle. She won her second gold medal in the 800 meter freestyle relay and added two silvers as a member of the United States’ teams in the other relays.
Coughlin continued after 2004 and won a 4×200 freestyle relay gold medal at the 2005 World Championships. In 2007, she won the 100-backstroke and 200-freestyle at the Worlds, adding a gold medal in the 4×2 free relay. In Beijing, she was again eclipsed by the frenzy that surrounded American swimmers Michael Phelps and Dara Torres. But she competed in six events, winning a medal in all of them, highlighted by an individual gold medal in the 100 backstroke, becoming the first woman to defend that Olympic title. In two Olympics, she competed in 11 events and won 11 medals, three gold.
8. Polina Astakhova
Medals: 5 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze = 37 points
For number eight on our list, we have a tie between two great female athletes, Polina Astakhova and Raisa Smetanina. Polina Astakhova won team gold medals at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games, a feat that she shares with Larisa Latynina, making them the only gymnasts to be members of three gold-medal winning teams. Astakhova also won gold on the uneven parallel bars and placed third in the individual all-around in both 1960 and 1964. She added silver medals in both 1960 and 1964 in the floor exercises, and her final Olympic tally included 10 medals, five gold, three silver, and two bronze. At the world championships she was less successful, but was a member of the Soviet Union team that won the team title in both 1958 and 1962.
8. Raisa Smetanina
Medals: 4 Gold; 5 Silver; 1 Bronze = 37 points
Over a long career that encompassed five Olympics, Raisa Smetanina compiled one of the greatest records of any female cross-country skier. She grew up in an area near the Ural Mountains called Komi, where she learned to ski in the frigid winters. A loner, she grew up as an only child, and remained single throughout her long career, focusing almost exclusively on her skiing. She began skiing in 1967 and was first named to the Soviet national team in 1972. Smetanina first came to international attention at the 1974 World Championships where she finished first in the 5-kilometer and helped the Soviet Union relay team to win the championship. This led to her greatest Olympic performance at Innsbruck in 1976. She competed in three events, medaling in all three, with silver in 5 kilometers; and gold in the 10-kilometer and the relay.
Smetanina competed at the Olympic Winter Games in 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992, retiring after the Albertville Olympics. During that time, she won 10 Olympic medals, including four gold. Two of the gold medals came in 1976, and she added another individual gold in the 1980 5-kilometer.
Smetanina’s Olympic career ended when she helped the Soviet women’s relay team to a gold at the 1992 Winter Olympics. Her gold medal in the relay came only 12 days before her fortieth birthday, making her the oldest female gold medalist in Olympic Winter history.
Raisa Smetanina also won 13 medals at the World Championships. Of these, three were gold medals, including relay titles with the Soviet Union team in 1974 and 1985. Her only individual world title came in the 20-kilometer in 1982. In addition to her international triumphs, Smetanina was 21 times champion of the Soviet Union and was named an Emeritus Master of Sport of the USSR. Smetanina grew up skiing in the classical Nordic style, and never adjusted well to the skating technique which was popularized in the early 1980’s. She stubbornly refused to learn the skating style and thereafter her competition was confined to the shorter classical style races.
7. Agnes Keleti
Medals: 5 Gold; 3 Silver; 2 Bronze = 38 points
Agnes Keleti is the greatest gymnast ever produced by Hungary. She first became interested in gymnastics shortly before World War II and her training began at the well-known Jewish VAC Club of Budapest. She quickly became a top young gymnast, but her career was interrupted by World War II. During the war her father was removed to Auschwitz, where he was killed by the Nazis. Agnes Keleti and the rest of her family survived by finding refuge in a “Swedish House” administered by Raoul Wallenberg, who became quite famous for assisting Jews to escape from concentration camps.
After World War II, Keleti returned to gymnastics and won her first Hungarian championship in 1946, on the uneven parallel bars. In 1947, she made her first international impact when she dominated the Central European Gymnastics Championships. She initially earned her living as a fur worker, but she was later a demonstrator at the Faculty of Gymnastics of the Budapest School for Physical Culture. Keleti was also an accomplished professional musician playing the cello. After serving as an alternate in 1948, Keleti competed in the 1952 and 1956 Olympic Games, at which she won 10 medals, including five gold. At the 1954 World Gymnastics Championships she won the uneven parallel bars, for her only individual world title. She was also on the winning Hungarian team in the team portable apparatus event. Keleti won four medals at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, including gold on the floor exercises. Her greatest gymnastics feats came at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics when she won six medals, including four gold. In the individual apparatus finals she won the balance beam, floor exercises, and the uneven parallel bars. She had a poor performance on the vault where she placed twenty-third and the all-around individual gold finishing second to the Soviet Union’s Larisa Latynina. Keleti also won gold as part of the Hungarian team in the portable apparatus event.
Despite her success in Melbourne, politics again interceded in her career. In late October, Israel invaded Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and then shortly before the 1956 Olympics, on 4 November 1956, Soviet tanks entered Budapest to quell an uprising there. The two events led to a small boycott of the Olympics. Although Hungary competed, many of its athletes defected, and Keleti was among them. She stayed in Australia and then settled in Israel, where she taught physical education at the Orde Wingate Institute and later became the national women’s gymnastics coach.
6. Lyubov Yegorova
Medals: 6 Gold; 3 Silver = 39 points
Lyubov Yegorova is the most successful female Winter Olympian. Only one person has won more Olympic Winter titles than Yegorova and he was also a cross country skier named Bjorn Daehlie.
Yegorova dominated the women’s cross country events at both the 1992 and 1994 Olympics, medalling in nine of the 10 events held. She was also successful at the World Championships, winning two titles in 1991, and four medals overall including a relay title in 1993. In 1994 she also won the prestigious Holmenkollen medal.
After an absence in which she became a mother, she returned with her fourth world title in Trondheim at the 1997 World Championships. However, a few days after her victory, she was found to have used the illegal substance Bromantan and Yegorova was subsequently stripped of her title and banned from competition for two years. She returned to competition after two years, but was unable to reach her previous successes though she managed to place fifth in the Salt Lake 10-kilometer race.
5. Dara Torres
Medals: 4 Gold; 4 Silver; 4 Bronze = 40 points
Dara Torres has had the longest successful career of any Olympic swimmer, one which has seen her win 12 Olympic medals and four gold. Torres began her career in 1984, winning a gold medal in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay. She added a silver and bronze in relays in 1988, and seemingly ended her swimming career with another gold in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay in 1992. Tall and strikingly attractive, Torres then began a career as a model, becoming the first athlete to appear in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She also achieved notice as a commercial spokeswoman on an infomercial for a fitness training method, but in late 1998, she elected to return to competitive swimming. With little time to prepare, she returned to the Olympic pool at Sydney, and won five medals, including two gold in relays. She won three individual bronze medals at Sydney one in the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter freestyle, and the 100-meter fly.
Again retiring after the 2000 Olympics, Torres did not compete in Athens. But in 2006 she began training to make another Olympic team and made the US team for Beijing, winning the Olympic Trials in both the 50 and 100 meter freestyle. But she elected to compete in Beijing only in the 50 and the 4×100 freestyles and medley relays. Aged 41, the oldest ever female Olympic swimmer, Torres won a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle, a race in which she was lost the gold by only 1/100th of a second. She added silver medals in both relays. Torres finished her Olympic career lacking only an individual gold medal. She has won four medals of each color, one of only two Olympians to have won four or more medals of each type (Takashi Ono of Japan in gymnastics is the other).
4. Vera Cáslavská
Medals: 7 Gold; 4 Silver = 47 points
Attractive, vivacious and talented, Vera Cáslavská of Czechoslovakia was the outstanding gymnast at the 1964 and 1968 Games. In Tokyo she won three gold medals and a silver, winning the all-around on the balance beam and the horse vault, and finishing second in the team event. In 1968 at Mexico she dominated, winning four golds (one shared) and two silvers. Her 1968 golds came in the individual all-around, floor exercises, horse vault, and uneven parallel bars. Cáslavská also won a silver medal in the team event in 1960, giving her a total of 11 Olympic medals, which has only been accomplished by Larisa Latynina (USSR) among female gymnasts.
After winning her final gold medal in 1968 she married Czech Olympic silver medalist (1,500 meters in 1964) Josef Odložil (1938-1993), in Mexico. Her victories at Mexico City were dramatic, given the political tenor of the times. She defeated Soviet gymnasts shortly after Soviet tanks had invaded her homeland of Czechoslovakia. At the World Championships, Cáslavská won the 1966 all-around, and the vault in both 1962 and 1966. She was all-around European champion in 1965 and 1967, and in 1965, she won the title in all five individual events. In 1989, Cáslavská was appointed President of the Czech Olympic Committee, and in 1995 she was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee.
3. Jenny Thompson
Medals: 8 Gold; 3 Silver; 1 Bronze = 51 points
With 12 medals and eight gold medals, Jenny Thompson has won more swimming medals and gold medals than any woman in Olympic history. But all eight of her gold medals came in relays and this immensely talented swimmer was frustrated in her attempt to win an individual Olympic gold medal. Her only individual medals were a silver in the 1992 100-meter freestyle and a bronze in the same event in 2000.
While attending medical school, Thompson came out of retirement and made the 2004 Olympic team and won two silver for relays in Athens. Twenty-three times a national champion, she was more successful individually at the World Championships, winning the 100-meter free and 100-meter fly at the 1998 worlds. At another major international event, the Pan-Pacifics, Thompson also won the 50-meter freestyle four times (1989, 1991, 1993, 1999), the 100-meter freestyle four times (1993-99), and the 100-meter fly three times (1993, 1997-1999). Among all female Olympians, Thompson’s eight gold medals are surpassed only by Larisa Latynina’s nine in gymnastics, and equaled by Birgit Schmidt-Fischer in canoeing. Thompson has since become a physician.
2. Birgit Schmidt-Fischer
Medals: 8 Gold; 4 Silver = 52 points
Birgit Schmidt-Fischer of Germany (formerly East Germany) is considered the greatest female canoeist of all time. Her total of 37 medals (1979-2005) and 27 gold medals (1979-1998) at the World Championships has never been approached and her 12 Olympic medals and eight gold medals are also records. Representing East Germany (GDR) she won the Olympic K1 title in 1980 (as Miss Fischer) and the K2 and K4 in 1988. After a three-year break from competition, during which she gave birth to her second child, she won the K1 in 1992 as a member of the unified German team.
In 1996 at Atlanta, she paddled with the German K4 team to win her fifth gold medal, and at Sydney in 2000, she added two gold in both K2 and K4. Her husband, Jörg Schmidt, was a World Champion and Olympic silver medalist (in the C1-1,000 in 1988). Birgit Fischer initially retired after the 2000 Olympic Games, but returned in 2003 and competed in the 2004 Olympic Games, winning a gold and silver medal. She has now won gold medals at six different Olympic Games spanning 24 years. Schmidt-Fischer also won two medals at the 2005 World Championships.
1. Larisa Latynina
Medals: 9 Gold; 5 Silver; 4 Bronze = 88 points
The Soviet gymnast, Larisa Latynina, holds the distinction of having won the most medals of any athlete (male or female) in Olympic history. Between 1956 and 1964 she won medals in 18 gymnastics events, as follows: Gold (9) – 1956 all-around, 1956 floor exercises, 1956 vault, 1956 team, 1960 all-around, 1960 floor exercises, 1960 team, 1964 floor exercises, and 1964 team; Silver (5) – 1956 uneven parallel bars, 1960 balance beam, 1960 uneven parallel bars, 1964 all-around, and 1964 horse vault; and Bronze (4) – 1956 team portable apparatus, 1960 horse vault, 1964 balance beam, and 1964 uneven parallel bars.
She failed to medal only in the 1956 balance beam in which she finished with a tie for fourth. She also won six titles at the 1958 and 1962 World Championships in individual events. At the 1957 European Championships, Latynina won all five individual events – all-around and the four apparatus finals. After her retirement from competition she became the national gymnastics team coach.
by David Hurlbert
Top 10 Surprising Facts About Valentine’s Day
While most women consider Valentine’s Day to be a celebration of love and intimacy, many men consider it nothing more than an artificial holiday cooked up by the floral and greeting card industries. While the reality might rest somewhere in between, a few interesting statistics prove that February 14 is a significant day. However, exactly what makes it significant may surprise you.
10. Women Spend Half As Much As Men
Although women tend to make a bigger deal about Valentine’s Day than men, when it comes to money spent, they are only half as committed to the holiday as their masculine counterparts. Last year, on average, each American male spent over $150 dollars on his respective love interest. The average woman, on the other hand, dolled out only 85 bucks.
9. Condom Sales Are Highest on Valentine’s Day
According to condom giant Durex, prophylactic sales are about 25 percent higher than usual on Valentine’s Day. This interesting fact may help explain the statistics reported in fact ten. The reality is that men become awfully generous around February 14 and fact number nine seems to reveal why.
8. March and Pregnancy Tests go Hand in Hand
This interesting fact seems to follow naturally from number nine. Statistically, at-home pregnancy test sales reach their zenith in the month following Valentine’s Day as the consequences of all those romantic couplings are realized.
7. Florists Make A Killing Around Valentine’s Day
It may come as no surprise to learn that florists tend to jack up their prices around February 14. However, the actual dollar amounts are eye-popping. The cost of a dozen roses skyrockets as much as 30 percent around the romantic season reaching as high as $100 when individual stocks run low.
6. Millions Purchase Valentines for Their Pets
You may think the day of love is only for those in romantic relationships. However, single people need love too, and when a suitable human is not available, they turn to the next best thing. According to several surveys, as many as nine million people purchase Valentine’s Day presents for their pets each year.
5. Women Don’t Need Men on Valentine’s Day
If you’ve ever seen women comparing Valentine’s Day bouquets at the office, you know size does matter. However, as far as many women are concerned, anything is better than nothing. Surprisingly, as much as 15 percent of American women send themselves roses on February 14 to save face in front of their judging co-workers.
4. Romance is Only A Tiny Part Valentine’s Day
Although it may seem like the greeting card industry relies on the promise of sex for much of its sales, romantic encounters have nothing to do with the majority of their profits. Statistically, most Valentine money is spent on teachers, followed by children, moms and, finally, wives and girlfriends.
3. Women Prefer Cards to Flowers
When it comes to Valentines Day, women are relatively miserly compared to their free-spending husbands and boyfriends. However, they do appear to rank higher in sentimentality. Of the one billion valentines purchased every year, females are responsible for over 80 percent of all sales.
2. Flowers Are A Man’s Best Friend
While women prefer to express their romantic feelings through a carefully-selected greeting card, men seem to prefer the traditional means. Husbands and boyfriends buy over seventy percent of all the flowers bought on Valentine’s Day each year.
1. In Japan, Men Receive More Valentines
Just as mega-jeweler De Beers used clever marketing to cultivated the traditional presentation of a diamond as an engagement present in the U.S., Japanese companies have forged a similar campaign to encourage spending on Valentine’s Day. Except their marketing ploy is aimed at women. Thanks to a powerful campaign by the Japan’s chocolate industry, Japanese women are now traditionally expected to purchase chocolate for their men every Valentine’s Day.
by Ryan Lawrence
All / Top 10 Reasons The World Won’t End on December 21, 2012
No doubt about it, 2012 and doomsday prophecies are big nowadays. According to the Mayan calendar, the world as we know it will end sometime around December 21st, 2012. Of course, if it doesn’t, that won’t mean we’ll be out of the woods. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ may return at any moment to destroy the armies of the Antichrist and reestablish his throne in Jerusalem, thereby ushering in a thousand years of peace. And if that doesn’t occur, there’s always the chance that the Mahdi will arise to institute a kingdom of justice and, alongside the returned Isa Al-Maseeh (Jesus), will fight against the Dajjal, the Antichrist of Islam. Then, of course, there’s always the chance that—at least according to the Hopi Indians—a blue star will suddenly appear in the sky to signal the start of a great atomic war which will destroy the white man and other ancient races.
Sounds like there’s quite a few ways we might catch it, but what are the chances that any of these things might actually happen? Of course, there is no way to prove that something won’t happen, but below are the top ten reasons why one would be ill-advised to believe the end is coming in 2012 or any other time soon.
10. Because a reversal of the magnetic poles would not be catastrophic.
It seems that every few hundred thousand years or so, the Earth’s magnetic field dwindles to practically nothing and then gradually reappears with the north and south poles flipped. Now this flipping of the magnetic poles—which appears to have last happened about 780,000 years ago—isn’t particularly dangerous, but this brief period—about a century or so in duration—of decreased magnetic fields could threaten life on the planet, for without magnetic protection, particle storms and cosmic rays from the sun, as well as even more energetic subatomic particles from deep space, would strike Earth’s atmosphere, eroding the already beleaguered ozone layer and causing all sorts of problems to both man and beast (especially among those creatures that navigate by magnetic reckoning). Further, scientists estimate that we are overdue for such an event and have also noticed that the strength of our magnetic field has decreased about 5 percent in the past century, possibly signaling that such an event may be in our immediate future—within a few centuries if not sooner. However, in being so gradual, should scientists in the future discover that such a shift is in the works, there should be plenty of time to take the necessary precautions to avoid the most destructive effects by moving underground or off planet, or perhaps strengthening the planet’s atmospheric defenses through the use of exotic, futuristic technologies. In any case, it isn’t something we need to worry about in the short term—though it could be a concern for those living a few hundred or even thousands of years from now.
9. An increase in sunspot activity in 2012 will not have any particularly detrimental effect on the planet.
As every schoolchild knows, our sun is constantly shooting gaseous plumes of white hot plasma thousands of miles into space which our atmosphere generously shields us from. Sometimes these plumes are much larger than normal, however, and are what we refer to as solar flares (more properly known as coronal mass ejections). Fortunately, these enormous magnetic outbursts that bombard Earth with a torrent of high-speed subatomic particles are also largely negated by the planet’s atmosphere and magnetic field, so we seldom feel the effects of these plasmic bursts, beyond creating havoc for ham-radio users and increasing the luminosity of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. They are of concern mainly to space explorers, who really would have a problem if they are caught in orbit without suitable shelter when one of these things go off. The sun goes through a natural twenty-two year cycle when such storms increase significantly for a time before decreasing again. Such a period is scheduled to occur in 2012, which has some folks all atwitter. For those who are expecting the worst, it might be beneficial to realize that the sun reached similar period of solar activity in 1990, 1968, 1946, and it will again in 2034, 2056 and 2078. While these periods can produce large solar flares that can effect satellite communications and, in a worst-case scenario, adversely affect the flow of electrical energy through the power grids, it is unlikely to do more than produce some especially spectacular light shows in the northern skies and make people onboard the International Space Station a little nervous.
8. Because the poles cannot shift or the planet’s orbit be otherwise altered.
Some well-meaning but scientifically challenged individuals maintain that the planet’s physical poles are on the verge of reversing (that is, the planet is flipping over onto its top) or that gravitational forces from the other planets or from the galaxy itself could affect Earth’s orbit and, hence, dramatically alter its climate and environment. Fortunately, however, the gravitational forces that effect our planet and its place in the solar system are mandated by Newton’s laws of planetary mechanics and cannot be changed without some extremely rare (think one chance in ten billion over the next three billion years) and dramatic event taking place—such as a collision with a small moon or a massive black hole making its way through the solar system, both of which would be noted well in advance or whose effect would be so gradual as to take centuries to have any great impact. As far as we know, there are no such cosmic events known to be on the horizon—at least for the foreseeable future (and well beyond 2012).
7. Because Earth climate change is a gradual process and one easily adapted to.
Some take a more hand-on approach to the end, claiming that humanity will perish as a result of human-caused weather changes, which, it is claimed, will melt the polar ice caps, raise the ocean sea levels, and change weather patterns over large portions of the planet. Even if the science holds together, however—which many claim it does not—such a process would be felt over a period of years or even decades, giving human beings time to adapt to the changes (relocate, create shoreline reclamation technologies, etc.) It is even possible that a warmer planet might ultimately be beneficial by, for example, increasing arable land in Siberia and North America as the permafrost layer retreats northward. In any case, the year 2012 has no particular significance in regards to any Earth changes that may occur over the next few decades.
6. Because the people who suggest the end is coming don’t know what they’re talking about.
Unfortunately, human beings have a tendency to invest great authority in people who can convince them they are prophecy “experts” or have some sort of hidden knowledge others do not possess that allows them to read the future. Many of these people are sincere individuals who simply misinterpret ancient bible texts, while others are deluded crazies who only want to include others in their fantasy world. A few are even unscrupulous charlatans out to make a quick buck. The bottom line is, however, that nobody really knows what the future holds regardless of who they are or what methodology they use. There simply is no evidence that anyone has ever successfully prophesied some future event (beyond some short-term political or military events easily surmised by gauging current international trends) with anything approaching clarity or accuracy.
5. Because the Bible Code is a parlor trick.
Using a complex type of cryptographic code called Equidistant Letter Sequencing (ELS), journalist Michael Drosnin, author of The Bible Code, contends that one can find meaningful and related patterns of words and dates in close proximity to each other within the words of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament and the heart of the Jewish Torah) which would seem to go beyond mere chance. One of these, he says, suggests the planet will be struck by a comet in 2012, with all the unfortunate consequences that would entail. However, critics dismiss Drosnin’s methodology as little more than a parlor trick, demonstrating that meaningful words and phrases can be produced using his method on any similar sized manuscript. For example, Australian mathematician Brendan McKay, an ardent critic of Drosnin’s process, demonstrated that a computer search of Herman Melville’s nineteenth century classic Moby Dick found a number of meaningful phrases in close proximity to each other (specifically having to do with the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination in 1995), suggesting that just as the eyes can be tricked into seeing familiar faces in random patterns of light and shadow, so too can the mind be tricked into finding meaningful phrases in random collections of letters where none exists. And if that’s not enough, Drosnin has been proven wrong about other “significant events” he claims were contained in the Bible, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
4. Because the Earth isn’t that easy to destroy.
Sure, there are things that could do the planet in, but Earth is a lot hardier a place than many give it credit for. After all, it’s been here for four billion years now, had its clock repeated cleaned by asteroids and comets, endured climactic changes of biblical proportions, and even survived a collision with another planet that created our own moon, and yet it keeps on ticking. And you think a few melting ice caps and puny nuclear weapons are going to do it in? Please…
3. Because doomsday prophecies have consistently been proven wrong.
Literally hundreds of dates have been picked by various religious leaders and self-proclaimed prophets over the last two thousand years as being the end of the world and not a one of them has ever even come close to being accurate. So why do we believe these same people today when they tell us the end is coming in 2012 (or whenever they imagine it to be coming)? Listen, you wouldn’t believe your doctor if it has been repeatedly demonstrated that he has never once correctly diagnosed a patient, so why give these guys the benefit of a doubt?
2. Because Nostradamus never picked 2012 as the end date.
It has been popularly believed that Nostradamus, the famous sixteenth century French mystic, suggested the end would come in 2012, perfectly coinciding with the Mayan date, which, if true, would be very spooky indeed. However, in reading through Nostradamus’ many quatrains, nowhere does he specifically mention the year 2012 or even suggest that the end would come around that time. In fact, his predictions extend all the way to the year 3797, making it seem we have some time yet before the end is neigh. Additionally, his writings are so obscure as to make any interpretation little better than a guess. Most of them are likely referring to events that took place in his lifetime, with the rest being so vague that they can be made to fit any time frame the reader so desires.
1. Because the Mayans never claimed it would.
The Mayans had many calendars they used, one of which was known as the “long count” calendar, which measures very long periods of time. According to this calendar (which has been known to archeologists for decades, by the way) the Earth’s “fifth sun” would end at the Winter solstice, December 21, 2012, at which point a new, sixth 5,125-year cycle would begin. What significance this had to the Mayans is a source of some debate, but it is the general consensus that they did not attribute to it any catastrophic events. Most likely, they simply considered it a time for spiritual renewal or introspection, which doesn’t sound all that dangerous to me. The teaching that the Mayan’s believed it was the end of time, then, appears to be a largely westernized misreading (or deliberate misrepresentation) of the significance of the Mayan calendar and Mayan beliefs associated with it.
By J. Allan Danelek
J. Allan Danelek is a Lakewood, Colorado author who writes and talks extensively on subjects having to do with the paranormal and alternative science. His most recent book from Llewellyn Worldwide, 2012: Extinction or Utopia, deals in some detail with the entire 2012 controversy and the issue of doomsday prophecy in general, and is a must read for anyone desiring to get some sort of objective balance on the entire subject. His book can be ordered—and the author contacted—through his website at www.ourcuriousworld.com.
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