News Thursday, June 22, 2023 Volume 69 | Number 42
The
Local News Interesting Facts Brain Teasers Cartoons Tips Recipes and More!
THE DESERT MOBILE HOME NEWS CELEBRATING THE DESERT COMMUNITIES FOR 69 YEARS
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Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Chill, explore and invigorate amoung te pines wth a summer pass
• In Mexico, the first slice of your birthday cake must be given to the person you love most. • Florida mom Geraldine Gimblet spent her entire life savings on medical treatment for her daughter’s breast cancer ... then won $2 million in the lottery just days after making the final payment. • Japanese warriors wore their hair in a small ponytail after shaving the front of their heads, but not to make a fashion statement. Instead, it helped to keep their helmets secure. • To protect the giraffe’s brain from sudden changes in blood pressure when it drinks, the animal’s jugular veins have elastic walls and large one-way valves that allow the veins to significantly expand, preventing blood from flowing back to the brain when the giraffe’s head is lowered. • It is illegal to gamble in a library in the U.K. • When Core Design animator Toby Gard wanted to make an interactive movie starring a male character looking for treasure in Egyptian pyramids, the character was deemed too similar to Indiana Jones, so the character was switched to a South American woman named Laura Cruz. Then Core wanted a more U.K.-friendly name, so employees went to the phone book for a new surname. We now know her as Lara Croft.
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uring the sizzling hot desert summer, the Palm Springs Tram summer pass is the perfect escape for fresh mountain air and cool breezes. The world’s largest rotating tram cars travel over 2.5 miles along the breathtaking cliffs of Chino Canyon up into untouched wilderness. During the 10-minute journey, tram cars rotate slowly, offering picturesque vistas. Once at the Mountain Station, an elevation of 8,516 feet, there are two restaurants (Peaks for fine dining and Pines Café for cafeteria style snacks), Lookout Lounge for refreshing cocktails, observation decks, a natural history museum, two documentary theaters, a gift shop and over 50 miles of hiking trails. The temperature at the top is approximately 30 degrees cooler than on the desert floor below. Within Mt. San Jacinto State Park, there are 14,000 acres of pristine wilderness. All trails are accessed by exiting the Mountain Station and descending a concrete pathway to Long Valley, with picnic tables, a ranger station, flush toilets, trails and free guided nature walks. First responders will receive free admission during June, and up to four of their guests will receive a 25 percent Tram fare discount. Hikes include the Long Valley Discovery Trail, following nature trail posts around a three-quarter mile loop, and the moderately strenuous Desert View Trail at 1.5 miles leads to scenic overlooks. The pic-
1. MOVIES: Which movie features the line, “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads”? 2. HISTORY: Which serious disease was declared eradicated in 1980?
turesque Round Valley trail leads higher up into the mountains. The truly adventurous can contemplate Wellman’s Divide with a 600-foot elevation gain as well as the big prize, San Jacinto Peak, a 5.5 mile hike one way with views of Catalina Island. The summer pass includes unlimited Tram admissions, a 10 percent discount on additional Tram admissions (limit four per passholder), a 10 percent discount at Peaks Restaurant or Pines Café and unlimited free parking. The Aerial Tramway is located at 1 Tram Way in Palm Springs. For additional information, visit pstramway.com or call 888-515-8726.
Fascinating facts about the Summer Solstice • The name comes from the fact that the sun appears to stand still. The term solstice is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because the sun’s relative position in the sky at noon does not appear to change much during the solstice and its surrounding days. The rest of the year, the Earth’s tilt on its axis—roughly 23.5 degrees—causes the sun’s path in the sky to rise and fall from one day to the next. • The hot weather follows the sun by a few weeks. the temperature usually doesn’t reach its annual peak until a month or two later. It’s because water, which makes up most of the Earth’s surface, has a high specific heat, meaning it takes a while to both heat up and cool down. Because of this, the Earth’s temperature takes about six weeks to catch up to the sun.
• In Ancient Egypt, the summer solstice heralded the new year. The summer solstice preceded the appearance of the Sirius star, which the Egyptians believed was responsible for the annual flooding of the Nile that they relied upon for agriculture. Because of this, the Egyptian calendar was set so that the start of the year coincided with the appearance of Sirius, just after the solstice. • In Alaska, the summer solstice is celebrated with a midnight baseball game. Each year on the summer solstice, the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks celebrate their status as the most northerly baseball team on the planet with a game that starts at 10 p.m. and stretches well into the following morning—without the need for artificial light—known as the Midnight Sun Game.
3. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What color is the “black box” that is used to record data on airplanes? 4. GAMES: How much does getting out of jail cost in the board game Monopoly? 5. LITERATURE: What kind of animal is the novel “Black Beauty” about? 6. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the youngest president? 7. TELEVISION: Who played the Penguin in the original “Batman” TV series? 8. GEOGRAPHY: What is the northernmost point of the United States? 9. ASTRONOMY: Which is the only planet in our solar system that spins clockwise? 10. FOOD & DRINK: Which fast-food restaurant chain claims that “We have the meats”? (c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc. Answer on page 6