Yahoo! Answers

Hey Guys,

The Major Leagues recently honored Jackie Robinson, the first African-American player in baseball, by having all the players where Jackie’s number (42) for one game. There can be no debate that Robinson was a great hero, who had an immeasurable impact on baseball. I got to thinking about other players who helped change the face of the big leagues. That led me to the story of William Hoy.

William Hoy was one of the first deaf people to play Major League Baseball. Hoy, who went by the nickname “Dummy,” joined the big leagues in 1888, at the age of 26. Hoy lost his hearing at a young age after suffering from meningitis, but went on to graduate at the top of his class from the Ohio State School for the Deaf. Later, after opening his own shoe repair store, he switched tracks and made baseball his career.

Hoy played professional baseball for more than 14 seasons, racking up over 2,000 career hits and nearly 600 stolen bases. In fact, at the time of his retirement in 1902, Hoy had the third most stolen bases in MLB history. Even now, over a hundred years later, he’s still number 18 all time.

But that isn’t all — Hoy is credited by many for creating the “safe” and “out” gestures used by umpires in games. The reason was obvious — he couldn’t hear, so he needed some other way of knowing what was going on in the game. He asked his third base coach to raise an arm if a ball was a strike. The practice caught on. Those same basic gestures are still used today in every level of baseball.

No doubt he was a heckuva baseball player. But, according to dummyhoy.com, he was also an incredibly likable and honest person. Apparently, during a game in which the sky had turned dark, Hoy was ruled to have caught a fly ball hit by the opposing team. The other team protested and when the umpire asked Hoy if he had really caught the ball, he admitted that he had not. “The umpire called the batter safe. Hoy’s teammates were furious. Hoy was satisfied that he had told the truth.”

According to a site dedicated to his memory, Hoy would often tell people that he had two goals in life. One, to live to be a hundred years old. And two, to make it into the baseball hall of fame. He almost accomplished the first goal. He passed away in 1961, at the age of 99. Just a few months before he died, he threw out the first pitch in game three of the World Series.

Hoy’s other goal, to be enshrined as one of baseball’s best ever in Cooperstown, was never achieved. But people are still trying. Hoy’s fans ask that others email the Hall of Fame directly. From a statistical point of view, Hoy was certainly far above average. But as a man who helped mold the game into what it is, America’s Pastime, he is one of the all time greats.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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Hey Guys,

If you were stuck on the moon and could only bring one CD to listen to, what would it be? What about reading material? Which book would you bring along? Astronaut Alan Shepard faced a similar question when he was heading up to the moon on the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. Only instead of books or albums, Shepard had to decide what golf club to bring.

I wasn’t around when Admiral Shepard walked on the moon, but I remember hearing stories of him setting up a camera on the moon’s surface and hitting a few golf balls. It got me wondering, what club did he use?

A random question to spend my time answering? Absolutely, but you never know what you’re gonna find on the Web until you look. A few weeks ago, I looked into what I thought was going to be a relatively easy answer on how who coined the phrase, “The dog ate my homework.” My research skills were quickly humbled, as I was unable to find any reliable answers.

This time, it was quite the opposite. I thought, “There is no way I’m gonna find out what golf club an astronaut used four decades ago,” but not only was the answer out there, I found the video of Shepard swinging away. If you listen carefully, you can hear him mention that he’s using a six iron.

Due to the bulkiness and inflexibility of his space suit, Shepard had to golf one handed. Upon hitting the second golf ball, he joked that it went “for miles and miles.” According to Wikipedia, Shepard later admitted that the ball likely flew between 200 and 400 yards. Not shabby until you consider that the moon has one-sixth the gravity of planet Earth.

In his later years, people would often ask Shepard about his lunar golf swing. He wasn’t sure if the golf balls would be preserved on the moon for future generations, or if, due to vast swings in temperature, they exploded. Interestingly, according to Sports Illustrated, Shepard never revealed what brand of golf balls he used, for fear that his famous swing would be inadvertently commercialized. Again, according to SI, Shepard knew that his having hit golf balls on the moon is what made him famous. “I’m probably a hell of a lot more famous for being the guy who hit the golf ball on the moon than as the first guy in space,” he said.

As for the six iron, it’s on display at the USGA Museum in Far Hills, New Jersey. Astute viewers will note that Shepard sawed off the club and attached it to a sample collection tool in order to bring it with him to the moon. A good golfer knows how to improvise.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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Hey Guys,

They say that history is made by the first timers, and I’m inclined to agree. The people who don’t listen to the naysayers are the same ones who change the world. As I was browsing through Yahoo! Answers, I found a few questions on the first person to drive a car or the first man to sign the Declaration of Independence. For today’s column, I decided to tackle something similar — who was the first female medical doctor?

It’s a little odd to think about it, but there was a time, not so very long ago, that all medical doctors were men. No exceptions. It wasn’t until the mid-1800s that this changed, thanks to the tireless efforts of Elizabeth Blackwell.

An awesome article from the National Institutes of Health explains that Dr. Blackwell was accepted at just one medical school, and that was actually a bit of a fluke. The administrators at Geneva Medical College in New York “did not want to risk rejecting a woman applicant, so they asked the medical students” their opinion on whether she should be accepted. The students, apparently thinking the application was just a prank perpetrated by a rival school, said, “Sure, why not?”

It was a dubious beginning and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to know that none of your classmates think you deserve to be there. But Blackwell rose above it, taking all the same classes as her male counterparts, and even dissected male cadavers, “which was considered outrageous behavior for a woman of the Victorian era.”

After graduating at the head of her class, Blackwell found that despite her training, she could not get a job because she was a woman. So, she, along with several other women including her sister, formed their own hospital dedicated to women’s health. Later on, she not only taught in medical schools, she also trained nurses for duty in the Civil War.

Phew, I’m exhausted just thinking about everything Dr. Blackwell went through, all in an effort to share her passion and talents. What other “first timers” do you guys admire? Please leave a comment below, and feel free to include links.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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Photo by sausyn

On Yahoo! Answers, did you know that if you search for the word “cat” right now, you’ll find more than 60,700 results? And, if you search for the word “dog” you’ll find more than 108,600 results?

And, when you dig down into these categories, you’ll find loads of top, quality users, committed to helping other pet owners find answers to their pet needs– like these top contributors:

troublesniffer (Cats): “ Former Siamese, Russian Blue, Burmese and
Oriental Shorthair breeder. Charter member of Oriental Shorthairs International. Was active in the Westchester Cat Club and the Empire Cat Club.

Living with cats for over 40 years. Blessed with two excellent veterinarians, one who makes housecalls and has emergency hours for established clients. “

Aduial (Dogs): “Hello! I am a professional dog training and behaviorist. I run training classes from puppy obedience to advanced training and CGC tests. I also work in a kennel with dogs of all sorts and volunteer at my local humane society as a dog walker, trainer, Petmobile (taking dogs to nursing homes) and fostering.”

With this many questions and answers on Yahoo! Answers, we’re excited to announce that we’ve recently partnered with Purina Pet Food to provide you with great advice and resources for your furry friends– whether they’re dogs, cats, puppies or kittens– the Purina Dog & Cat Answers Center has them covered!

Here, you can connect with Knowledge Partners, Leigh from Purina & Dr Deb– or get expert advice on: food, nutrition, behavior training, health, new puppies, and kittens. You can also find videos and more, as well as a special segment called “Doing more for pets with Jeff Probst”

So stop on by the Purina Dog & Cat Answers Center and see what they can do for you– and, be sure to ask, answer, and discover a few interesting and relevant questions within the Dog, Cats & Pets categories today!

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Photo by lonecellotheory

Whether you celebrate Easter or not, there’s one thing about this time of the year that everyone can take advantage of: the candy.

And nothing says Easter like the marshmallow-y and sugary sweet treat, Peeps.

But did you know that scientists have actually proven that these sugary sweet delights are essentially indestructible. It’s true. You can read about it here.

Scientists aren’t the only ones with a fierce fascination with these sparkly, sweet treats—the Answers community has one too—you all have asked questions about these sweet delights, ranging from things like “Do different colored peeps have different flavors?” to “Is there religious significance in the candy called Peeps?”

People are fascinated by these gooey, sparkly treats—why, we find ways to celebrate them in a variety of ways: through costumes, “Peep Show Dioramas” hosted by the Washington Post, and even through Do-it-Yourself Peep recipes.

Yes, it’s safe to say that come Easter, no matter what religion you are, you’re bound to pick up or come across a box of Peeps—even if it’s just to toss them in the microwave to watch them expand exponentially. Enjoy, and don’t forget to come back here and share your favorite Peep recipes and questions with the Answers community!

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