Massachusetts Facts and Trivia

1. 552 original documents pertaining to the Salem witch trials of 1692 have been preserved and are still stored by the Peabody Essex Museum.
2. Boston built the first subway system in the United States in 1897.
3. Although over 30 communities in the colonies eventually renamed themselves to honor Benjamin Franklin. The Massachusetts Town of Franklin was the first and changed its name in 1778.
4. Norfolk County is the birthplace of four United States presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and George Herbert Walker Bush.
5. In Holyoke, William G. Morgan, created a new game called "Mintonette" in 1895. After a demonstration given at the YMCA in nearby Springfield, the name "Mintonette" was replaced with the now familiar name "Volleyball."
6. There is a house in Rockport built entirely of newspaper.
7. Hingham's Derby Academy founded in 1784 is the oldest co-educational school in the United States. Hingham's First Parish Old Ship Church is the oldest church structure in the United States in continuous use as a place of worship.
8. The Fig Newton was named after Newton, Massachusetts.
9. The visible portion of Plymouth Rock is a lumpy fragment of glacial moraine about the size of a coffee table, with the date 1620 cut into its surface. After being broken, dragged about the town of Plymouth by ox teams used to inspire Revolution-aries, and reverently gouged and scraped by 19th-century souvenir hunters, it is now at rest near the head of Plymouth Harbor.
10. The Basketball Hall Of Fame is located in Springfield.
11. James Michael Curley was the first mayor of Boston to have an automobile. The plate number was "576" - the number of letters in "James Michael Curley." The mayor of Boston's official car still uses the same number on its plate.
12. The American industrial revolution began in Lowell. Lowell was America's first planned industrial city.
13. On October 1, 1998, "Say Hello To Someone From Massachusetts" by Lenny Gomulka, was approved as the official polka of the Commonwealth.
14. 1634: Boston Common became the first public park in America.
15. 1891: The first basketball game was played in Springfield.
16. Massachusetts holds the two largest cites in New England, Boston, the largest, and Worcester.
17. The creation of the Cape Cod National Seashore, which was formerly private town and state owned land, marked the first time the federal government purchased land for a park.
18. Robert Goddard, inventor of the first liquid fueled rocket, was born and lived much of his life in Worcester and launched the first rocket fueled with liquid fuel from the neighboring town of Auburn
19. Quincy boasts the first Dunkin Donuts on Hancock Street and the first Howard Johnson's on Newport Ave
20. Glaciers formed the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard during the ice age.
21. The first U.S.Postal zip code in Massachusetts is 01001 at Agawam.
22. Brewster has become the de facto "Wedding Capital of Cape Cod" because of its many small and larger inns that cater to weddings.
23. The signs along the Massachusetts Turnpike reading "x miles to Boston" refer to the distance from that point to the gold dome of the state house.
24. Harvard was the first college established in North America. Harvard was founded in 1636. Because of Harvard's size there is no universal mailing address that will work for every office at the University.
25. The Boston University Bridge on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston is the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving under an airplane.
26. The Mather school was founded in Dorchester in 1639. It is the first public elementary school in America.
27. John Adams and John Quincy Adams are buried in the crypt at the United First Parish Church in Quincy.
28. The Children's Museum in Boston displays a giant milk bottle on the museum's wharf. If it were real it would hold 50,000 gallons of milk and 8,620 gallons of cream.
29. Princeton was named after the Reverend Thomas Prince, Pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, and one of the first proprietors of the town. Princeton was incorporated in 1759.
30. The Pilgrim National Wax Museum in Plymouth is the only wax museum devoted entirely to the Pilgrim's story.
31. The Boston Tea Party reenactment takes place in Boston Harbor every December 16th
32. Massachusetts first began issuing drivers licenses and registration plates in June of 1903.
33. The 3rd Monday in April is a legal holiday in Massachusetts called Patriot's Day.
34. William Hill Brown published The Power of Sympathy in Worcester in 1789. An imitation of Goethe's Sorrows of Young Werther it is regarded as the first American novel.
35. The fourteen counties in Massachusetts are made up of 43 cities and 308 towns.
36. Elias Howe of Boston invented the first sewing machine in 1845.
37. The first nuclear-powered surface vessel, USS Long Beach CG (N) 9, was launched at Quincy in 1961.
38. The USS Constitution 'Old Ironsides', the oldest fully commissioned vessel in the US Navy is permanently berthed at Charlestown Navy Yard. Since 1897 the ship has been overhauled several times in Dry Dock 1.
39. Revere Beach was the first public beach in the United States and is host to Suffolk Downs horse racing track, Wonderland dog racing track and a 14-screen cinema complex.
40. The official state dessert of Massachusetts is Boston cream pie.
41. Milford is known the world over for its unique pink granite, discovered in the 1870's and quarried for many years to grace the exteriors of museums, government buildings, monuments and railroad stations.
    
    

Thanks to: Sandy Kreutter, David C. Weiler, Peg, Ethel Duggan, Mary Ferrara, Wakelings, MATD27
source: http://www.50states.com/facts/mass.htm

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Keep your old clunker or buy a new car?

It may clang and bang, but your despised old car may be the best bargain around.

by Des Toups

Let's divide the car-buying universe into two camps: those who keep a car until it drops, and those who think a new car will change their lives.
To the first, a round of applause. There's nothing short of the bus that's cheaper than keeping a car until it crumbles into a pile of rust. Almost any car can be nursed to 200,000 miles without endangering your life, and even a new engine is cheaper than all but the cheapest used cars.

To the second, another round of applause, because the millions of new cars they buy every year instantly become used cars soon available at a considerable discount to those in Camp 1. And a moment of silence, because a new car will change their lives in ways they never foresaw on the dealer's lot.
If you're in a drive-until-the-muffler-is-dragging wannabe, read on. We'll look at ways to keep your car on the road longer and realistically weigh the costs of upgrading. I'd love to keep my old car, but …

It no longer fits my life.

You may have taken up gardening in a big way but still own a Corvette. You may feel nervous about taking your '78 Ford on a trip to Colorado. Your little Accord may be a tight squeeze when family comes to town. The answer to all: Rent. Why buy a gas-sucking pickup because you visit Home Depot twice a year or a $40,000 sport-utility because you take the kids skiing for a week at Easter? Even at $180 a weekend, renting is far cheaper than a car payment. Plus you get to drive the very latest without worrying about insurance, license tags, maintenance or depreciation. Or try swapping cars with a friend, returning it gassed-up and clean (with the oil changed, too, if the loan was more than a day or two. You want to be able to ask again next year.).Those repair bills are really adding up. Then do the math. Does the cost of repairs exceed the cost of a new car? A typical new car is around $28,000; that's about $475 a month for five years after 20% down. A rebuilt transmission might run $1,800, a huge outlay in one chunk, but far less than the $5,700 a year you'd spend on new-car payments alone. If you can't afford repairs twice a year, it's unlikely you can afford a new car payment every month. In any case, anybody with a car older than three years should be tucking aside $50 a month for repairs and maintenance. If the gods smile, you'll never use most of it and you'll have a tidy sum to blow on your next car.

I'm nervous driving an older car.

Maybe little things are beginning to go: a new thermostat one month, a starter the next. You might simply spend $56 on a AAA Basic membership and carry a cell phone, reminding yourself that even new cars aren't immune to mechanical failure. The upside of frequent breakdowns is that you'll get to know mechanics quite well. Find one you like. Flatter him. Pay your bills on time. And the next time he fixes your car, ask him to take a few minutes to see what else will need repair soon.
The repair costs more than the car is worth. A $1,500 engine rebuild that keeps your '83 Toyota on the road still makes good financial sense. It's at this point, however, that all but the flintiest drivers begin to think about upgrading.

Which brings us to our next question:

Am I ready for a newer car?
Your first step is to do nothing except write a check to yourself in the amount you're thinking you can afford every month. Put aside a car payment every month for three months (long enough for at least one of life's little emergencies to crop up).

To pass the time, make three phone calls: one to your bank, to find out what kind of rates they charge on loans to people with your credit history; one to your insurer, to ask the rates for comprehensive insurance on a model you think you'd like to buy; and one to your local DMV, to see what registration and licensing would cost.

At the end of three months, ask yourself these questions:

• How much did it hurt? If you skimped at all on other bills or shorted the amount of the payment, you're not ready.


• Would I have enough left over to pay for insurance and licensing fees each year?


• Would I pay this much every month for the car that's in my driveway already? Sooner or later, every new car becomes an old car, and you'll feel about the next car just the way you do about your old clunker.


• Would I rather have the cash? Our typical car payment, $475, adds up to more than $1,400 in just three short months. Perhaps you'd prefer to get a tan in Mexico and limp along with ol' Betsy another year.


• Could I continue to save for another year and simply pay cash? Six grand would buy any of hundreds of reliable used models. Save for two years and you're approaching new-car territory, if your old car will fetch a few thousand.
  If the craving for a shinier car hasn't passed in three months, at least you begin the shopping process with a few months' worth of car payments and a more realistic idea of the hit your wallet will take.
  

Side note: Never skimp on maintenance

Pay special attention to the things that will cost you a fortune if they break. That means making regular oil changes, tire rotations and transmission tune-ups, even if the car is running fine. Timing belts, for example, are spendy at $600 or more, and replacing one for no other reason than that the odometer has turned 90,000 miles might seem wasteful. But let one break and you'll find that repairing bent valves could cost you three times that. Replacing torn CV boots, those plastic housings that keep grime and grit out of the car's constant-velocity joints, costs about a third as much as a CV joint repair.

(If your owner's manual is long gone, MSN Autos has a free online service,

My Car, that tracks your car's service schedule. [click on the link]http://autos.msn.com/everyday/everyday.aspx?src=LeftNav)

[article source] Des Toups is senior editor at MSN Money in Seattle.
Updated Nov. 18, 2009

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/KeepYourOldClunkerOrBuyANewCar.aspx

Holiday Madness Driving

Every year during the holiday season TV, radio, newspapers and others talk a lot about the hazards of drunk driving and remind us to be careful. Extra police are on the streets and many cities set up sobriety checkpoints to catch drunk drivers on nights when there are likely to be more parties.

This extra focus reduces the number of alcohol-related traffic accidents and makes all of us safer on the road during the holidays. Drunk drivers aren't the only hazard on the road during the holidays, though. While most of us would never dream of getting behind the wheel drunk, we could still be creating serious dangers without thinking about it.

Holiday Madness Juggling normal responsibilities with shopping, parties, and extra school events can make a normally safe driver a literal wreck. Even if you are always calm and collected, remember that other drivers may be more on edge than usual and take these precautions:

• Be extra patient and make allowances for other people and the mistakes they make. Don't forget to watch out for pedestrians as well as other drivers.


• Try to keep your attention on what you are doing. Not only could they cause you to make a mistake, but cell phones, eating and other distractions keep you from paying attention to other people and the silly errors they can make
  
• Be especially careful in parking lots crammed with cars and pedestrians at this time of year. Take it a little slower than normal to avoid fender benders or worse.


• Take note of your emotions and consider taking a break if you get too stressed out, irritated or emotional. Get a cup of coffee or tea and relax for 10 minutes before you dive back in to the frenzy.
  

Holiday Fatigue

• Another danger that is often forgotten, but also a huge problem during this hectic time of year, is driving while drowsy. Falling asleep at the wheel is obviously the most dangerous result, but tired drivers also tend to be more irritable and impatient.
  This year like normal there will no doubt be many people who leave work on Friday and start out on long-distance trips to be with family or friends. College students whose holiday break begin after classes on Friday may be headed home as well.
  Here are some recommendations you should consider and pass along to family members and friends who may be traveling by car during the holidays:



• Don't start your journey tired. Be aware of the risks if you get up unusually early to start your trip or leave directly from work or school when you are tired.


• Plan your trip to include a 15-minute break every two hours.


• Make sure that you and everyone on your trip is carrying emergency contact information and valid identification.


• Share the driving if possible. Safety experts recommend switching off every three hours.


• You're too tired to drive if you start drifting from your lane, hitting rumble strips, yawning repeatedly, having difficulty focusing or keeping your eyes open, missing road signs or tailgating. Pull over to a safe place as soon as possible, drink a high caffeine drink and take a 15-minute nap.
  
  Valerie Nay is the founder of http://www.EmergencyContacts.com and writes a free monthly newsletter full of valuable information to help you and your family stay safe.
  

Great Websites to check:

http://www.mass-vacation.com/getAround/travel-tips.php

http://weather.fox.com/

Do you agree that rushing around in this Holiday shopping season is time consuming, expensive (to some extent) and hard work? If you want to purchase unique Holidays gifts for your friends and famaily is even harder.

Finding some gifts that are unique is a little difficult task. But, have you realized that Holiday shopping can be a lot of fun?

It's not so easy in the run up for the Holiday, and it is wise to spend your time on a little planning ahead of the time.

It's very important that making a shopping plan of course is something that probably should be done as early as possible, one thing you should also be noticed that whether you prepare early or lately, the planning process is identical and involves your shopping list. So make a shopping list of all friends you'll purchase gifts for and then set the budget and divide the total budget amount by the number of friends on your shopping list and you'll know exactly how much you could spend on each friend, the last thing is making a list of the gifts in your price range and budget. Bear in mind that everyone is different with his/her tastes so the extra thought is needed when choosing a gift for him/her. Starting writing your Christmas gifts shopping list today!

Here are some selected Holiday gifts shopping ideas for 2009:

1. Buying Lovely Electronic Pets For Your Friends,

Especially For The Children Electronic pets toys have some great features such as their squeaks a variety of amazing sound effects as well as the movements that simulate real animals and these features have made them very popular among the children. Owing to the high consumer demand, the electronic pets toys sell like crazy during this Christmas shopping season. Losts of accessories are also can be offered along with the electronic pets. Different kinds of habitats for the electronic animals can be created by assembling the accessories. Another interesting thing is the electronic pets toys have been programmed to behave aptly in various habitats by making use of their great artificial intelligence.

2. Amazing Personalized Photo Blanket Will Be A Good Choice

In this hot gift shopping season, personalized gifts are in high demand and designer photo blankets offer a great way to do this through the addition of amazing pre-designed borders. These photo blankets designs can be specially created for this Christmas and your friends. This great feature provides another way to find that perfect gift for your family and friends. Let's say an example, when a family welcomes a new addition, this can demand a special type of congratulatory gift. You can just purchase and create such gift in this Christmas shoppping season!

3. Gadgets Are Your Perfect Gifts For Your Friends

Gadgets are the great possible gifts you can purchase for your friends and family. Saying that no one can understand this, better than a gadgets geek. Going for gagets is a wise shopping tip that makes it a little easier for you. It's no doubt that one cool gadget such as xposed xray bag, roman candles and funny party cups can be an item of your unique Christmas gifts shopping list for your family and friends this year.

Before the shopping list planning, please be in mind that you can purchase most of your gifts through online stores. CouponSmarter.com provides lots of amazing coupons and promotional offers from over 3000 online stores. You can use the online coupons to get instant savings for your shopping and you can save up to 65% off! Dont's miss out, grab the coupon codes and get your savings!

Here we picked out some great offers for your Chirstmas gifs shopping 2009:

Apple Store Promotion Offers: Price drops in the US & Canada on Apple-Certified Refurbished iPod classic 120G models!-

KOHL's Christmas Coupons Offers: Receive $10 in Kohl's Cash for every $50 you spend in store or online on all sale-, regular- and clearance-priced merchandise!-

Newegg Online Coupon Offers: Get 10% Off Nikon D3000 DSLR Camera with PayPal, You need enter promo code at checkout to get this instant savings.-

Old Navy Gifs Guide & Coupons: Shop great gifts by price: $5, $10, $15, $20, only at Old Navy for your gifts guide.- DrugStore Coupons Offers: Great Gift with Purchase + Awesome Offers! Spend $25 on Nexcare, Buf-Puf or Titrilac and get a free Nexcare cream ($15.99 value)! Get all your first aid, skin care, and antacid products right here and then get a free gift too!

taken from [http://www.couponsmarter.com/article/christmas-gifts-shopping-tips-2009-electronic-pets-personalized-photo-blanket-and-gadgets-article-5.html]

No cellphone while driving!

How many times do we catch ourselves texting and driving. Many states have created laws to prevent people from using their mobiles phones while driving. People who use their phones while driving are not responsible drivers and they end up causing accidents on the road.
Take a look at ten accidents in recent history that were caused by the use of a mobile phone while driving:

OC man faces trial in text-messaging

There is just no getting around it: text messaging while driving can never result in anything good. (A friend once joked that people who drive and text message are stupid – phones these days are capable of Internet and so much more.) Martin Kuehl, 41, of Costa Mesa, California is now facing potentially up to nine years in prison if he is convicted for gross vehicular manslaughter. On August 28, 2009, Kuehl hit and killed Martha Ovalle, 32, as she was crossing the street. The prosecution in the case contends that Kuehl was text messaging while driving and became inattentive resulting in the accident.
It was determined somehow that Kuehl did not send or receive a text message at the exact moment of the accident, but he’s still facing felony charges (requests to lower the charge to a misdemeanor, which is unthinkable, were denied). Why? For several miles prior to the accident, he had been text messaging back and forth with someone else. Perhaps he was anticipating the next message or looking at his phone at the time of the incident – we’ll never know. One thing is for certain: cell phone use while driving is absolutely illegal in California and has been proven time and again that it is unsafe. Why take that chance?

[source]http://trueslant.com/marcflores/2009/09/30/oc-man-faces-trial-in-text-messaging-manslaughter-case/

Man texting while driving when he hit Taunton teen with SUV, prosecutor says
December 28, 2007 By Anna Badkhen, Globe Staff

The man accused of killing a 13-year-old boy in a hit-and-run in Taunton told police he was behind the wheel typing a text message on his cellphone when he lost control of the sport utility vehicle and hit what he thought was a mailbox, a prosecutor said today in court. Craig P. Bigos, 31, told investigators that he did not realize the SUV had struck the boy on the bicycle until he drove back down Poole Street hours later on his way to work at a restaurant, said Bristol County prosecutor Aaron T. Strojny.The boy, Earman Machado, was sleeping over at a friend's house Thursday night. The teens had gone out at 12:30 a.m. to meet two girls, Strojny said today in Taunton District Court. Machado was riding a bicycle and his friend was walking on the soft shoulder of the road. Police said the friend, also 13, attempted to call 911, but was unable to get through on his cellphone. Bigos hung his head in court today and was released on $5,000 bail. He was arraigned on charges that included motor vehicle homicide, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and driving without a license. He is scheduled to return to court Jan. 23. His lawyer, Daniel R. Igo, said in court that Bigos has never been convicted of a crime and has four children with his girlfriend of 12 years. He was driving from his mother’s in New Bedford to the home he shares with his girlfriend on Williams Street. Eight of his relatives came today to court. Police said Bigos's 1995 Ford Explorer was found parked at his home. After driving back by the crash scene, Bigos waited several hours before turning himself in Thursday afternoon, said Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney. Taunton's schools superintendent, Arthur Stellar, said Thursday that the boy who was killed was a pupil at Friedman Middle School who has at least one school-age sibling, a brother who attends Taunton High School. This morning a boy who said he was Machado's brother sat with on a bench at the back of the courtroom with another young man. They both wept

[source] http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2007/12/man_texting_whi.html

Click here for cell phone driving laws as of December 2009

http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html

Please click on the link below to see a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I54mlK0kVw
[Not recommended for children under 18]

Theses are just two of many cases that you can find in the internet about texting while driving.
If driving, concentrate on the road instead of picking up messages or even making phone calls, there are many lives involved, parents, children could get hurt by reckless drivers.

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