Quote of the day

Fun Facts: Ancient History
In 625 B.C., metal coins were introduced in Greece, They replaced grain - usually barley - as the medium of exchange. Stamped with a likeness of an ear of wheat, the new coins were lighter and easier to transport than grain, and did not get moldy.
The ancient Egyptians defined the hour to be one-twelfth of the time between sunrise and sunset, thus their hour's length was different from one day to the next, and was not the same during the day as it was at night.
The ancient Romans built a network of roads totaling fifty thousand miles - longer than the U.S. interstate highway system.
- www.coolquiz.com
(Teachers page-a-day calendar - Wednesday 7 January 2009)

School Satire
During his American history class at Hebron Elementary School, fifth-grader Jake Hensley was unable to produce a single hilarious disruptive comment regarding the Wilmot Proviso, an 1846 rider to a Congressional appropriations bill that attempted to outlaw slavery in the territory acquired from the Mexican-American War.
"I completely blanked," said Hensley, who firmly established his class-clown status earlier in the year during a lesson on Revolutionary War-era statesman John Hancock. "It was getting so close to the end of class that I almost considered 'Smellmot Proviso.' I think I'm losing my touch."
Hensley did manage to redeem himself in his last-period English class by delivering a solid five minutes on the third chapter of Hatchet.
- www.theonion.com
(Teachers page-a-day calendar - Thursday 8 January 2009)

An inquisitive little girl in kindergarten leaned over and admired my watch. Since it had no numbers on its face, she asked how I knew what time it was. Trying not to disturb the rest of the class, I whispered, "I just know." She asked, "Why do you need a watch then?"
- Tammy Richardson in Reader's Digest
(Teachers page-a-day calendar - Friday 9 January 2009)

It is a big mistake to think that the best way to express yourself is to do whatever you want, acting however you please. This is not expressing yourself. When you have many possible ways of expressing yourself, you are not sure what to do, so you will behave superficially. If you know what to do exactly, and you do it, you can express yourself fully.
- Shunryu Suzuki
(Zen page-a-day calendar - Monday 10 November 2008)

A man needs a little madness, or else he never dares cut the rope and be free.
- Nikos Kazantzakis
(Zen page-a-day calendar - Tuesday 11 November 2008)

Life is but a day; a fragile dew-drop on its perilous way
from a tree's summit.
- John Keats
(Zen page-a-day calendar - Wednesday 12 November 2008)

The firmest fayth is found in the fewest woordes.
- Edward Dyer
(Zen page-a-day calendar - Thursday 13 November November 2008)

Sin and blessing are all empty. The snake swallows the frog. The toad sucks up the worms. The hawk eats the sparrows. The pheasant eats the snake. The cat catches the rat. The big fish devours the smaller one. And everything is all right. The monk who offended against the commandments does not fall into hell.
- Zen saying
(Zen page-a-day calendar - Friday 14 November 2008)

Play is the exultation of the possible.
- Martin Burber
(Zen page-a-day calendar - Saturday 15 November 2008)