LightGramsAugust 28, 2025Volume 29, Number 27 A 60-year-old tradition was kept alive last week at the Minnesota State Fair. Malorie Thorson sat inside a glassed-in studio as Gerry Kulzer sculpted her likeness from the shoulders up. She wore a coat as the temperature was only 40 degrees inside. Outside it was double that temperature, but…
Posts by Tim Hall (Page 4)
LightGramsAugust 21, 2025Volume 29, Number 26 Did you know that every day on the calendar is a special day? I’m not referring to a saying from the Bible that many have made their mantra: “This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). That’s a…
LightGramsAugust 14, 2025Volume 29, Number 25 “The Oldest Newborn Ever” On July 26, 2025, Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born. “How much did he weigh?” we might have asked, or “How long was he?” Those are normal questions when hearing of a birth. In this child’s case we could also have asked, “How old was he?”…
LightGramsAugust 7, 2025Volume 29, Number 24 Seoul National University in South Korea recently offered scholarships of up to $540, and more than 1,400 students have applied for just 70 spots. These are not academic scholarships, nor ones based on sports. Instead, students must climb at least six mountains. There are about 100 mountains students can…
LightGramsJuly 31, 2025Volume 29, Number 23 Anyone who is a roller coaster enthusiast probably knows about Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. According to Wikipedia, it’s the second oldest continuously operating amusement park in the U.S., having first opened in 1870. Another of its claims to fame is that it now boasts 17 roller coasters. The…
LightGramsJuly 24, 2025Volume 29, Number 22 You might think that I dozed while typing the title of this installment, but it’s the title of a Facebook post entered July 21 by the Carlisle East Fire Station in Britain. Use a little deduction and it won’t be hard to guess the story they related. Four cows…
LightGramsJuly 10, 2025Volume 29, Number 21 Harvard University has collections of historical documents. One notable group is nearly 30 copies of the Magna Carta. One copy was purchased in 1946 for $27.50 from Sotheby’s in London. It was considered to be a “sheriff’s copy” of the document, interesting, but not nearly as valuable as an…
LightGramsJuly 3, 2025Volume 29, Number 20 Zara Lachlan was 21 years old when she announced her plan to row across the Atlantic Ocean. That announcement came on July 2, 2024, and on October 27 she put into sea at Lagos, Portugal. She completed her quest in 97 days, spending an average of 17 hours a…
LightGramsJune 19, 2025Volume 29, Number 19 Here’s a tip to file away: If you’re going to lose a diamond from your ring, be sure to make it happen at the Pittsburgh International Airport. Workers there have a track record in finding what’s valuable. April Schmitt was returning from a business trip this past Friday (Friday…
LightGramsJune 12, 2025Volume 29, Number 18 May 7, 2025 was the official start date for having to provide REAL ID when boarding a flight. The law requiring this strengthening of security was passed in 2005, but the official beginning was pushed back several times for various reasons. The most recent delay was due to COVID.…