THIS AIN"T ABOUT CABBAGES AND KINGS

IT'S ABOUT DARTS, CRICKET AND PETRIFIED BRAINS

No one knows if one person invented the dartboard
but it probably originated from growth rings in a tree
and was intended as a competition to have people throw
sticky things at a target to see who can get the closest.

The rules are said to be almost as complicated
as learning how to play cricket.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-BYR...ricket _1985/

The person who first came up with the scoring system
to penalize inaccuracy in darts in 1896 was Brian Gamlin
who was struck and killed by a Streetcar Named Desire
in New Orleans in 1947. He was 99.

Darts is -- are? -- a very dangerous game and nearsighted
people often shoot their eye out.

One who did so because of a poor throw was Robert Wagner
who later portrayed "No. 2" in the Austin Powers movies. His
name is also a slang term for defecation which has absolutely
nothing to do with this posting.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ertWagner3.jpg

The earliest incident occurred in the Old West when a New
York cowboy named John Wayne caught a dart in the eye
during a heated dispute in a poker game. He completely
recovered and later was one of six U.S. Marines to hoist
the flag atop Mount Surabachi on Iwo Jima.

http://www.filmdope.com/Gallery/ActorsW/18060-20088.gif

The conventional dartboard remained the same for
113 years -- a few minor changes here and there -- but
in late July 2009, the original bulls-eye was eliminated
and a substitution made by the Smithsonian Institution.

The bulls-eye was made much larger, a bit more challenging
and as lot more enjoyable for the participants, especially if
blessed with certain letters from Alphabet Soup behind their
names, i.e. BS for bullsh*t.

ODE TO THE PSEUDOSCIENTISTS
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/SaveTheWhale.jpg

All hail to those Scoundrels of Science
Denying truth with incredible defiance.
Their crap they just love.
But, of it, they can shove
They'll be in for a shock when they die once.

WHY, I'LL BE A MONKEY'S UNCLE
Human Remains Found Between Coal Veins

http://www.edconrad.com

http://www.edconrad.com/pics/FINGERSx.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/OldestHumanSkull.JPG
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/z11calv.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/skullb.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/oldascoal/cm...es/z8femur.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/images/z6femur.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/images/z7femur.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/HumanBrain.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/newtibia.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/zedjaw.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/HumanJaw3.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/Skullx.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/Skully,jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/SkullBoulderSide.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/TestResults.jpg

http://www.edconrad.com/canals/index_files/hooton.gif

http://www.edconrad.com/pics/FirstDiscovery.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/oldascoal/cm...les/1tooth.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/OldestTool.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/MoreFossils.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/InSlate3.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/InSlate2.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/InSlate11.jpg

http://www.edconrad.com/oldascoal/in.../quotesnew.gif

http://www.edconrad.com/pics/GallBladder1.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/GallBladder2.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/GallBladdery.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/Fetus8.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/Scorpion.jpg
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/PetrifiedPP.jpg

MORE ON THE NEW DARTBOARD
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...3fb6d8ff23382c

MORE ON THE SIMPLICITY OF CRICKET
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket


100 LARGEST U.S. NEWSPAPERS
USA Today (2,281,831; No Sunday edition)
The Wall Street Journal (2,070,498; None)
The New York Times (1,121,623; 1,680,582)
Los Angeles Times (907,997; 200,065)
Washington Post (740,947; 1,000,565)
The Daily News (708,773); 835,121)
New York Post (643,086; 427,039)
Chicago Tribune (565,679; 953,814)
Houston Chronicle (527,744; 720,711)
Dallas Morning News (477,493; 655,809)
San Francisco Chronicle (468,739; 510,844)
Newsday - New York (459,305; 521,498)
The Arizona Republic (452,016; 574,798)
Chicago Sun-Times (432,230; 359,123)
The Boston Globe (429,552; 672,882)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (396,888; 610,338)
The Star-Ledger - New Jersey (382,055; 591,272)
Star Tribune - Minneapolis (378,316; 655,198)
Detroit Free Press (370,875; 682,798)
Philadelphia Inquirer (364,974; 744,242)
The Plain Dealer - Cleveland (348,416; 463,482)
St. Petersburg Times - Florida (337,515; 432,231)
The Oregonian - Portland (332,829; 398,694)
The San Diego Union-Tribune (332,273; 363,907)
The Denver Post (321,405; 735,621)
Rocky Mountain News - Denver - (320,345; 735,621)
The Miami Herald (312,811; 429,697)
The Sacramento Bee (305,394; 341,157)
The Orange County Register - Calif. (300,972; 363,907)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (284,473; 445,713)
The Kansas City Star (278,937; 383,123)
San Jose Mercury News (276,166; 310,520)
The Detroit News (263,703; 682,798)
The Times-Picayune - New Orleans (261,573; 288,706)
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (260,316; 359,772)
The Indianapolis Star (254,437; 357,284)
The Orlando Sentinel (251,998; 368,562)
The Sun - Baltimore (246,584; 430,675)
San Antonio Express-News (245,034; 352,974)
The Columbus Dispatch (244,280; 357,839)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (241,556; 411,749)
Tampa Tribune (238,743; 315,407)
The Boston Herald (238,569; 150,352)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (237,867; 401,380)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (237,554; 333,933)
The Charlotte Observer (230,901; 282,990)
The Seattle Times (229,584; 457,010)
The Oklahoman (219,350; 294,686)
The Courier-Journal - Louisville (215,734; 276,032)
The Virginian-Pilot (198,273; 232,256)
The Cincinnati Enquirer (195,449; 296,989)
The Buffalo News (194,225; 277,921)
Omaha World-Herald (194,222; 240,026)
The Hartford Courant (190,572; 265,249)
Saint Paul Pioneer Press (190,374; 247,495)
Richmond Times-Dispatch (188,893; 226,134)
The Press-Enterprise - Riverside, CA (188,228; 185,060)
Contra Costa (CA) Times (187,042; 197,423)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Little Rock (184,659; 279,485)
Austin American-Statesman (184,398; 230,229)
The Palm Beach (FL) Post (181,626; 217,634)
The Record - Hackensack, NJ (179,538; 213,289)
Daily News - Woodland Hills, CA (176,548; 200,065)
The News & Observer - Raleigh, NC (176,025; 211,231)
The Tennessean- Nashville (175,834; 234,957)
The Commercial Appeal - Memphis, TN (172,195; 228,761)
The Florida Times-Union - Jacksonville (168,014; 227,391)
Democrat and Chronicle - Rochester, NY (167,696; 223,718)
Las Vegas Review-Journal (167,586; 220,723)
The Fresno Bee (166,554; 192,203)
The Providence Journal (164,980; 231,117)
Asbury Park Press - Neptune, NJ (153,557; 206,182)
The Birmingham News (153,378; 185,484)
The Des Moines Register (150,907; 239,367)
Daily Herald - Arlington Heights, IL (149,595; 149,179)
Tulsa World (148,000; 198,000)
The Honolulu Advertiser (145,197; 163,446)
The Akron Beacon Journal (143,799; 184,825)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (141,744; 457,010)
The Grand Rapids Press (139,100; 184,848)
The Journal News - White Plains, NY (138,539; 156,566)
Dayton Daily News (135,936; 180,944)
The Blade - Toledo, OH (134,037; 176,823)
The Salt Lake Tribune (130,351; 150,852)
The News Tribune - Tacoma, WA (128,937; 143,937)
Sarasota Herald-Tribune (123,231; 145,084)
The Knoxville News-Sentinel (121,917; 153,779)
La Opinion - Los Angeles, CA (119,735; 66,973)
Philadelphia Daily News (118,822; None)
Post-Standard - Syracuse, NY (118,605; 171,967)
Morning Call - Allentown, PA (117,717; 159,383)
The News Journal - New Castle, DE (117,389; 137,849)
Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader (116,894; 147,208)
The State Columbia, SC (116,254; 148,610)
The Arizona Daily Star - Tucson (113,296; 174,427)
The Daytona Beach News-Journal (112,278; 128,312)
East Valley Tribune - Mesa, AZ (109,637; 88,115)
Albuquerque Journal (108,177; 150,787)
The Patriot News - Harrisburg, PA (102,710; 151,583)
News-Press - Fort Myers, FL(100,770; 121,163)

100 LARGEST WORLD NEWSPAPERS
Rank Title Country Circulation (000)
1 Yomiuri Shimbun Japan 14,067,000
2 The Asahi Shimbun Japan 12,121,000
3 Mainichi Shimbun Japan 5,587,000
4 Nihon Keizai Shimbun Japan 4,635
5 Chunichi Shimbun Japan 4,512
6 Bild Germany 3,867
7 Sankei Shimbun Japan 2,757
8 Canako Xiaoxi (Beijing) China 2,627
9 People's Daily China 2,509
10 Tokyo Sports Japan 2,425
11 The Sun United Kingdom 2,419
12 The Chosun Ilbo South Korea 2,378
13 USA Today USA 2,310
14 The Wall Street Journal USA 2,107
15 Daily Mail UK 2,093
16 The Joongang Ilbo South Korea 2,084
17 The Dong-A Ilbo South Korea 2,052
18 Nikkan Sports Japan 1,965
19 Hokkaido Shimbun Japan 1,922
20 Dainik Jagran India 1,911
21 Yangtse Evening Post China 1,715
22 Sports Nippon Japan 1,711
23 The Nikkan Gendai Japan 1,686
24 Times of India India 1,680
25 Guangzhou Daily China 1,650
26 The Mirror UK 1,597
27 Yukan Fuji Japan 1,559
28 Shizuoka Shimbun Japan 1,479
29 Nanfang City News (Guangzhou) China 1,410
30 Dainik Bhaskar India 1,405
31 Sankei Sports Japan 1,368
32 Hochi Shimbun Japan 1,354
33 Yangcheng Evening News (Guangzhou) China 1,320
34 Malayala Manorama India 1,309
35 Liberty Times Taiwan 1,300
36 Thai Rath Thailand 1,200
37 New York Times USA 1,121
38 Hindustan Times India 1,108
39 Chutian Metro Daily (Wuhan) China 1,084
40 Gujarat Samachar India 1,051
41 Ananda Bazar Patrika India 1,046
42 Xinmin Evening News (Shanghai) China 1,045
43 Eenadu India 1,039
44 Nishi-Nippon Shimbun Japan 1,025
45 Kronen Zeitung Austria 1,009
46 WAZ Mediengruppe Germany 1,001
47 United Daily News Taiwan 1,000
48 China Times Taiwan 1,000
49 Daily Sports Japan 999
50 The Hindu India 989
51 Hindustan India 957
52 Beijing Evening News China 950
53 Mathrubhumi India 904
54 Los Angeles Times USA 902
55 Information Times China 900
56 Daily News Thailand 900
57 Al-Ahram Egypt 900
58 Peninsula City News China 860
59 Kom Chad Luek Thailand 850
60 Kyoto Shimbun Japan 825
61 Kobe Shimbun Japan 821
62 Punjab Kesari India 817
63 Komsomolskaya Pravda Russia 817
64 Rajasthan Patrika India 804
65 Dahe Newspaper China 796
66 Chugoku Shimbun Japan 789
67 Ouest France France 783
68 Daily Sakai India 783
69 Jang Pakistan 775
70 AJ India 759
71 De Telegraaf The Netherlands 753
72 Qianjiang Evening News China 750
73 Qilu Evening News China 750
74 Nanfang Daily China 750
75 Daily Thanthi India 750
76 Moskovskiy Komsomolets Russia 750
77 Sandesh India 743
78 Daily Express UK 720
79 New York Daily News USA 715
80 The Washington Post USA 708
81 Daily Star UK 705
82 Today Evening News China 699
83 New York Post USA 686
84 Corriere della Sera Italy 677
85 Wuhan Evening News China 660
86 Modern Express China 651
87 Yanzhao Metro Daily China 650
88 Metro Express China 650
89 Zeitungsgruppe Koln Germany 628
90 Kahoku Shimpo Japan 622
91 La Repubblica Italy 622
92 Trud Russia 613
93 Beijing Youth Daily China 606
94 Chicago Tribune USA 601
95 New Express China 600
96 Daily Sunshine China 600
97 Matichon Thailand 600
98 Khao Sod Thailand 600
99 Apple Daily Taiwan 600
100 Min Sheng Pao Taiwan 600

WORLD'S TOP-RANKED UNIVERSITIES
(Study Real Hard So You Can Be Almost As Smart As Me)

Rank Name of University Country
1 Harvard University USA
2 University of Oxford UK
3 University of Cambridge UK
4 Stanford University USA
5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA
6 University of California, Berkeley USA
7 California Institute of Technology USA
8 Princeton University USA
9 Yale University USA
10 University of Chicago USA
11 Columbia University USA
12 University of California, San Diego USA
13 Cornell University USA
14 University of California, Los Angeles USA
15 University Pennsylvania USA
16 University of Wisconsin, Madison USA
17 University of Washington, Seattle USA
18 Tokyo University Japan
19 University of California, San Francisco USA
20 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor USA
21 Kyoto University Japan
22 Imperial College London UK
23 Johns Hopkins University USA
24 University of Toronto Canada
25 University College London UK
26 University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign USA
27 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich Switzerland
28 Washington University, St. Louis USA
29 New York University USA
30 Duke University USA
31 University of Minnesota, Twin Cities USA
32 Northwestern University USA
33 Rockefeller University USA
34 University of Colorado, Boulder USA
35 University of California, Santa Barbara USA
36 University of British Columbia Canada
37 University of Maryland, College Park USA
38 Utrecht University Netherlands
39 University of Texas, Austin USA
40 University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center USA
41 Pennsylvania State University, University Park USA
42 University of California, Davis USA
43 Vanderbilt University USA
44 University of California, Irvine USA
45 University of Paris 06 France
46 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh USA
47 University of Southern California USA
48 Rutgers State University, New Brunswick USA
49 University of Manchester UK
50 Karolinska Institute, Stockholm Sweden
51 University of Munich Germany
52 Technical University of Munich Germany
53 University of Florida USA
54 University of Edinburgh UK
55 Australian National University Australia
56 Carnegie Mellon University USA
57 University of Copenhagen Denmark
58 University of Zurich Switzerland
59 Hebrew University, Jerusalem Israel
60 Osaka University Japan
61 McGill University Canada
62 University of Bristol UK
63 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill USA
64 Uppsala University Sweden
65 Ohio State University, Columbus USA
66 University of Paris 11 France
67 University of Sheffield UK
68 University of Heidelberg Germany
69 University of Oslo Norway
70 Case Western Reserve University USA
71 Moscow State University Russia
72 University of Leiden Netherlands
73 Purdue University, West Lafayette USA
74 University of Helsinki Finland
75 University of Rochester USA
76 University of Melbourne Australia
77 Tohoku University Japan
78 University of Nottingham UK
79 University of Arizona USA
80 Michigan State University USA
81 King's College London UK
82 Boston University USA
83 University of Basel Switzerland
84 Stockholm University Sweden
85 Brown University USA
86 University of Goettingen Germany
87 Rice University USA
88 Texas A&M University, College Station USA
89 Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan
90 University of Birmingham UK
91 University of Utah USA
92 University of Freiburg Germany
93 McMaster University Canada
94 Nagoya University Japan
95 University of Iowa USA
96 University of Strasbourg 1 France
97 Ecole Normale Super Paris France
98 Indiana University, Bloomington USA
99 Arizona State University, Tempe USA
100 University of Rome La Sapienza Italy