LA Times Crossword 29 Sep 24, Sunday

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Constructed by: Gary Larson & Doug Peterson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: To Be or Not To Be

Themed answers are common phrases with “BE” inserted, or removed:

• 22A Final task on a medical supply manufacturer’s assembly line? : PROBE BOXING (pro boxing + be)
• 33A Fer sure, totally give birth? : HAVE, LIKE, A CHILD (behave like a child – be)
• 47A Spring-loaded necklace element? : POP-UP BEAD (pop-up ad + be)
• 63A Tree surgeon’s undergrad degree? : BA IN THE WOODS (babe in the woods – be)
• 70A Like the Ugly Duckling on the verge of adulthood? : BECOMING SOON (coming soon + be)
• 85A Public perception of certain evergreens? : FIR OPTICS (fiber optics – be)
• 99A Tolerate a weekend marathon of a Bette Midler tearjerker? : STOMACH BEACHES (stomach aches + be)
• 112A Parade entry carrying sports fans? : ROOTER FLOAT (root beer float – be)

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 21m 40s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Metric feet : IAMBS

An iamb is a metrical foot containing an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The lines in William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” use five sequential iambs, e.g. “Shall I / compare / thee to / a sum- / -mer’s day?” With that sequence of five iambs, the poem’s structure is described as iambic pentameter.

14 “__ bon!” : TRES

In French, one might describe this crossword as “très bon!” (very good!).

19 Major alternative for a composer : MINOR

Experts, unlike me, can wax lyrical on the technical differences between major and minor keys and scales. To me, music written in major keys is very strident, often very joyful and “honest”. Music written in minor keys (usually my favorite) is more feminine, more delicate and often quite sad.

20 Inspiring figure : MUSE

In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:

• Calliope (epic poetry)
• Clio (history)
• Erato (lyric poetry)
• Euterpe (music)
• Melpomene (tragedy)
• Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
• Terpsichore (dance)
• Thalia (comedy)
• Urania (astronomy)

21 Home of the stadium nicknamed the “Taj Mahal of Tenpins” : RENO

Reno’s National Bowling Stadium is a ten-pin bowling facility that opened for business in 1995. The original design called for the stadium to house 80 lanes, but an aisle had to be added after construction was completed so that there are now “only” 78 lanes. Regardless, the building’s gift shop is still called “Lane 81”.

24 Baum princess : OZMA

L. Frank Baum wrote a whole series of books about the Land of Oz. Princess Ozma appears in all of them except the one that’s most famous, namely “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”.

26 Phillies div. : NL EAST

The Phillie Phanatic is the mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. The Phanatic replaced the older mascots Philadelphia Phil and Philadelphia Phillis in 1978.

27 Board that supposedly chose its own name : OUIJA

The Ouija board was introduced to America as a harmless parlor game at the end of the 19th century, although variations of the board date back to 1100 AD in China, where it was apparently used to “contact” the spirit world. The name “Ouija” is relatively recent, and is probably just a combination of the French and German words for “yes” … “oui” and “ja”.

29 Honeydew relative : CASABA

A casaba is a type of honeydew melon that ripens relatively late in the season, and so is classed as a winter melon. The casaba takes its name from the Turkish city of Kasaba, from where the fruit was imported into America in the late 1800s.

31 Supermodel Bündchen : GISELE

Gisele Bündchen is a fashion model from Brazil. Bündchen does quite well for herself as she has been the highest-paid model in the world for several years now and has amassed a fortune of about $150 million. She was romantically involved with Leonardo DiCaprio for about five years and was married for thirteen years to Tom Brady, the NFL quarterback.

36 GOP org. : RNC

National leadership of the Republican Party is provided by the Republican National Committee (RNC). Only one former chairperson of the RNC has been elected to the office of US president, and that was George H. W. Bush.

39 Soak up the sun : BASK

Our verb “to bask”, meaning “to expose one to pleasant warmth”, is derived from the gruesome, 14th-century term “basken”, meaning “to wallow in blood”. The contemporary usage apparently originated with Shakespeare, who employed “bask” with reference to sunshine in “As You Like It”.

40 Stevenson villain : MR HYDE

Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was published in 1886. There are many tales surrounding the writing of the story, including that the author wrote the basic tale in just three to six days, and spent a few weeks simply refining it. Allegedly, Stevenson’s use of cocaine stimulated his creative juices during those few days of writing.

41 Retro console : ATARI

Kids today probably don’t realize that we had a video game console back in the seventies, and it wasn’t a Nintendo nor was it a PlayStation. The Atari 2600 game system introduced the idea of separating out computing hardware (the console) from the game code (a cartridge). The same concept persists to this day, although cartridges have been displaced by discs and downloads.

43 Exclusive British school that originally served the poor : ETON

Eton College near Windsor in the south of England was founded way back in 1440 by King Henry VI. Originally known as “The King’s College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor”, the school was intended to provide free education to poor boys. Free education today at Eton? Not so much …

49 Start to care? : OBAMA-

The correct name for what has been dubbed “Obamacare” is the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (ACA).

51 Harpo Productions CEO : OPRAH

Oprah Winfrey’s multimedia production company is known as Harpo Studios. “Harpo” is “Oprah” spelled backwards, and is also the name of the husband of the character who Winfrey played in the movie “The Color Purple”.

57 Last word in the “Gilligan” theme song : ISLE

The iconic sitcom “Gilligan’s Island” ran for only three seasons, although that added up to a total of 98 episodes. The show is about a small band of castaways who are trying to escape their island and return to Hawaii. The last episode originally aired in 1967. The castaways did eventually get off the island in a 1978 TV movie called “Rescue from Gilligan’s Island”, but ended up back on the island at the end of the film.

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The Minnow would be lost, the Minnow would be lost.

The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle
With Gilligan
The Skipper too,
The millionaire and his wife,
The movie star
The Professor and Mary Ann,
Here on Gilligan’s Isle.

60 Caramel-filled treat : ROLO

Rolo was a hugely popular chocolate candy in Ireland when I was growing up. It was introduced in the thirties in the UK, and is produced under license in the US by Hershey. I was a little disappointed when I had my first taste of the American version as the center is very hard and chewy. The recipe used on the other side of the Atlantic calls for a soft gooey center.

63 Tree surgeon’s undergrad degree? : BA IN THE WOODS (babe in the woods – be)

“Babes in the Wood” is a children’s tale, dating back to the late 1500s, that I think is quite morbid and scary. The basic story is that two children are abandoned in a wood, die, and are then covered in leaves by robins. It’s a morality tale that does describe the downfall of the uncle who has the children taken to the woods. However, today we think more of the “innocent babes”, as we describe someone who is naive as a “babe in the woods”.

65 In a power pose, perhaps : AKIMBO

“Akimbo” is such a lovely word, I think (as in “arms akimbo”). I failed to dig up anything too exciting about the term’s etymology. It seems to stem from Middle English, “in kekbowe” or “on kenbow” meaning “bend in a curve”. When the arms are held akimbo, the hands are on the hips and the elbows are pointed outward.

68 __ Dame : NOTRE

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a private school that was founded by French-born priest Edward Sorin in 1842, originally as a primary and secondary school. The nearby Saint Mary’s College was founded in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. The women’s school was needed as Notre Dame was a men-only university back then.

70 Like the Ugly Duckling on the verge of adulthood? : BECOMING SOON (coming soon + be)

Hans Christian Andersen’s tale “The Ugly Duckling” has to be one of the most endearing ever written. Unlike so many fairy tales, “The Ugly Duckling” isn’t based on any folklore and is simply a product of Andersen’s imagination. It is speculated that Andersen was the illegitimate son of the Crown Prince of Denmark, and that he wrote the story of the ugly duckling that turned into a beautiful swan as a metaphor for the secret royal lineage that was within Andersen himself.

76 Esquire : LAWYER

The title “esquire” is of British origin and is used differently today depending on whether one is in the US or the UK. Here in America the term is usually reserved for those practicing the law (both male and female). In the UK, “esquire” is a term of gentle respect reserved for a male who has no other title that one can use. So, a mere commoner like me might receive a letter from the bank, say, addressed to W. E. Butler Esq.

78 Track for some small cars : SLOT

Slot cars are those motorized toy cars that run around on tracks picking up power from a slot in the racing surface. The first slot cars were made in 1912 by the Lionel company, the manufacturer of toy train sets.

82 Sleep clinic study : APNEA

Sleep apnea (“apnoea” in British English) can be caused by an obstruction in the airways, possibly due to obesity or enlarged tonsils.

85 Public perception of certain evergreens? : FIR OPTICS (fiber optics – be)

Optical fibers are lengths of glass or plastic that are slightly thicker than a human hair. They are usually bundled into cables, and then used for transmission of data signals. Optical transmission has advantages over electrical transmission, especially in terms of interference and loss of signal strength.

87 100 centimes : FRANC

The French franc was made up of 100 centimes, before being replaced by the Euro.

90 Shelter org. : ASPCA

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

91 Critic Gene : SHALIT

Gene Shalit is a retired film critic and TV personality. He used to appear regularly on NBC’s “The Today Show”, and was known for his lush handlebar mustache and head of fuzzy hair.

94 Free TV spots : PSAS

Public service announcement (PSA)

96 Moo __ pork : SHU

Moo shu pork (also “mu shu pork”) is a traditional dish from northern China, with the main ingredients being shredded pork and scrambled egg. In North America, the dish is served with tortilla-like wrappers that are sometimes referred to as “moo shu pancakes”.

98 Brita alternative : PUR

Pur is a brand of water filters and related products that was sold to Procter & Gamble in 1999, and sold on again to Helen of Troy Limited.

99 Tolerate a weekend marathon of a Bette Midler tearjerker? : STOMACH BEACHES (stomach aches + be)

“Beaches” is a 1988 film starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey as two friends who have known each other since childhood, with John Heard playing the third in a love triangle. The film’s theme song, “Wind Beneath My Wings”, became a huge hit for Midler.

103 Fragrant compounds : ESTERS

Esters are very common chemicals. The smaller, low-molecular weight esters are usually pleasant smelling and are often found in perfumes. At the other end of the scale, the higher-molecular weight nitroglycerin is a nitrate ester and is very explosive, and polyester is a huge molecule and is a type of plastic. Fats and oils found in nature are fatty acid esters of glycerol known as glycerides.

105 “I Hope You Dance” singer Lee Ann : WOMACK

“I Hope You Dance” is a country-pop song released by Lee Ann Womack with Sons of the Desert in 2000. It won the CMA award for Single of the Year at the 2001 ceremony. As an aside, brothers Drew and Tim Womack of Sons of the Desert are no relation to Lee Ann.

106 Luke’s bot : ARTOO

Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2 (also “Artoo-Detoo”). R2-D2 is the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stood just 3 feet 8 inches tall, was the man inside the R2-D2 droid for the first six of the “Star Wars” movies.

109 Actress Lena : OLIN

Lena Olin is a Swedish actress, and someone who has acting in her blood. Her mother was the actress Britta Holmberg and her father the actor and director Stig Olin. Olin had a very successful career in Sweden, often working with the great Ingmar Bergman. Olin’s breakthrough international and English-speaking role was playing opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” released in 1988. Way back in 1974, Miss Olin was crowned Miss Scandinavia in a beauty pageant for Nordic women held in Helsinki, Finland. Olin’s most famous performance was in “Chocolat” released in 2000, and then she won an Emmy in 2003 for Best Supporting Actress in the TV show “Alias”.

110 Site of Napoleon’s exile : ELBA

Napoleon was sent into exile twice. A coalition of European powers sent him to the island of Elba in Tuscany in 1814, only for him to escape after a year and return to power. After Wellington defeated him at Waterloo, Napoleon was dispatched to the British-owned island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he spent the last six years of his life.

112 Parade entry carrying sports fans? : ROOTER FLOAT (root beer float – be)

Root beer is a beverage that is very North American, and is rarely found elsewhere in the world. Root beer originated in the 1700s and was made from the root of the sassafras plant. The traditional root beer was a beverage with a very low alcohol content, and today there are many versions that contain no alcohol at all. The sassafras root was used as the primary flavor ingredient right up until 1960, when the FDA banned its use as tests determined that it was a carcinogen.

118 Lucy’s sitcom chum : ETHEL

In the hit television show “I Love Lucy”, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz play Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. The Ricardos’ best friends are also their landlords, Fred and Ethel Mertz. The Mertzes are played by William Frawley and Vivian Vance.

119 Eyelike openings : OCULI

“Oculus” (plural “oculi”) is the Latin word for “eye”, and is a term used in architecture for a circular window.

120 “Orinoco Flow” singer : ENYA

“Orinoco Flow” is a song by Irish singer Enya that she released in 1988. It’s the one that goes “sail away, sail away, sail away …”

121 Home of the Whiffenpoofs : YALE

The Yale Whiffenpoofs are an a cappella group based in Yale University. They are the oldest such university group in this country, established in 1909. “The Whiffenpoof Song” is the group’s traditional closing number. The song was first performed back in 1909, and has been recorded by many artists including Rudy Vallee and Bing Crosby.

We’re poor little lambs
Who have lost our way,
Baa Baa Baa,
We’re little black sheep
Who have gone astray
Baa Baa Baa.

122 Mil. awards : DSMS

The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is the highest non-valorous decoration awarded for services to the US military.

Down

1 Surfer’s need, briefly : ISP

Internet service provider (ISP)

2 Bank loan abbr. : APR

Annual percentage rate (APR)

4 Crooner Michael : BUBLE

Michael Bublé is a singer from Burnaby in British Columbia. He is of Italian descent on his father’s side. Bublé has held dual Italian-Canadian citizenship since 2005. He dated English actress Emily Blunt for a while, and she sang background vocals and the final verse for his 2007 version of “Me and Mrs. Jones”. Also, Bublé wrote his 2007 song “Everything” for Blunt.

6 __ sense : SIXTH

The so-called sixth sense is extrasensory perception (ESP). It is also referred to as second sight.

7 U.S. maritime agcy. : ONI

The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the oldest of the US intelligence services. The ONI was set up in 1882 to determine the state of advancement of foreign naval forces.

8 Soccer Hall of Famer Landon : DONOVAN

Landon Donovan is a retired American soccer player who turned to coaching. On the field, he set the world record for the most international goal assists, and shares the US record for the most international goals.

11 Elevator tracks? : MUZAK

“Muzak” is a proprietary name for piped music, and is apparently a blend of the words “music” and “Kodak”. The Muzak system was developed way back in 1922 and was first used in workplaces.

12 Marx follower : -ISM

Marxism is the political and economic philosophy espoused by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the mid-to-late 1800s. The main tenet of Marxism is that bourgeois suppression of lower classes in a capitalistic society inevitably leads to a socialist and ultimately classless society.

15 Installed again, as linoleum : RELAID

Lino (short for “linoleum”) was originally made by coating canvas with solidified linseed oil. The product’s inventor, Englishman Frederick Walton, gave it the name “linoleum” from “linum” and “oleum”, the Latin for “linen” and “oil”.

23 Prizefighter Max : BAER

Max Baer was an American Heavyweight Champion of the World in the thirties. Baer held the title for 364 days, and then went into the ring after hardly any training at all against the well-prepared James J. Braddock. Braddock was a huge underdog, and yet emerged victorious after 15 rounds (Braddock is the subject of the 2005 movie “Cinderella Man”). By the way, Baer’s son is Max Baer, Jr., the actor who played Jethro on “The Beverly Hillbillies”.

31 Chardonnay, for one : GRAPE

The chardonnay grape is believed to have originated in the Burgundy wine region of France. Now it’s grown “everywhere”. Drinkers of California “chards” seem to be particularly fond of oak flavor, so most chardonnay wines are aged in oak barrels or with oak chips.

34 Quarters : ABODE

We use the term “quarters” for a place of abode, especially housing for military personnel. Back in the late 16th century, quarters were a portion (quarter) of a town reserved for a military force.

35 Feeler in a sci-fi novel : EMPATH

In the world of science-fiction, an empath is an entity with a supernatural ability to feel the emotions of others. A classic example is the character Deanna Troi on the TV show “Star Trek: The Next Generation”.

42 South Dakota memorial : RUSHMORE

The four presidents whose faces are carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore are (from left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each of the presidents is about 60 feet in height, although they might have been larger. The original intent was for each president to be depicted from head to waist, but the project lost funding.

45 __ asada : CARNE

The name of the dish called “carne asada” translates from Spanish as “roasted meat”.

48 Well-financed lobbying group? : BIG OIL

The six or seven largest oil and gas companies are often referred to as “Big Oil”. Usually included in the Big Oil list are ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Eni and Total.

49 Stump figures : ORATORS

“To stump” can mean “to go on a speaking tour during a political campaign”. This peculiarly American term dates back to the 19th century. Back then, a stump speech was an address given by someone standing on a large tree stump that provided a convenient perch to help the speaker get his or her message across to the crowd.

52 Boycotts or strikes : PROTESTS

“Boycott” is another word given to the world by the Irish! Englishman Captain Charles Boycott found himself on the wrong side of a local community in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, and in a concerted campaign he was refused service by all around him. His name lives on …

54 Swit co-star : ALDA

Loretta Swit started playing Major “Hot Lips” Houlihan on “M*A*S*H” in 1972. She and Alan Alda were the only actors who appeared in both the pilot and the series finale. Swit has written a book on needlepoint, would you believe? It’s called “A Needlepoint Scrapbook”.

62 Tech giant with more than 120,000 patents : IBM

Tech giant IBM was founded as the Tabulating Machine Company in 1896. The company changed its name to the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation (CTR) in 1911 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1916. The name “International Business Machines” (IBM) was given first to the company’s Canadian subsidiary, and then to its South American subsidiary. In 1924, it was decided to adopt the International Business Machines name for the whole company. Good choice …

64 Connect four in Connect Four, say : WIN

Connect Four is an interesting two-player game in which opponents drop colored discs into a vertical grid. The objective is to make straight lines of discs of one color, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Disappointingly, the player who goes first can always win the game by playing the right moves.

65 “Voulez-Vous” singers : ABBA

“Voulez-Vous” is a 1979 song by ABBA that served as the title track for an album released that same year.

66 Castle stronghold : KEEP

In a medieval castle, a fortified tower at the center of a castle complex is known as a keep. It served as a final refuge in the event of an attack by an adversary.

68 PopOdyssey Tour headliners : NSYNC

NSYNC was a boy band from Orlando, Florida that was formed in 1995. The name of the group came from a comment by the mother of band member Justin Timberlake, who said the boys’ voices sounded “in sync”. But, it’s also true that the letters of the name NSYNC are the last letters of the given names of the five band members:

• Justin Timberlake
• Chris Kirkpatrick
• Joey Fatone
• Lance “Lansten” Bass
• JC Chasez

71 MVP of the 1969 Super Bowl : NAMATH

Legendary quarterback Joe Namath played most of his professional football games with the New York Jets. He was dubbed “Broadway Joe” in 1965 by offensive tackle Sherman Plunkett, a reference to Namath’s appearance on the cover of “Sports Illustrated”. Namath had played college football with the University of Alabama but left school without finishing his degree, to play professionally. Many years later he enrolled in Alabama’s External Degree program, and graduated with a BA in December 2007, at 64 years of age. Well done, Joe!

72 Hailee’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” voice role : GWEN

Spider-Woman is the alias of Gwen Stacy, a supporting character to the Spider-Man stories in the Marvel Comics universe. Stacy was Peter Parker’s (Spider-Man’s) first romantic interest, but she came to a bad end. She was murdered by the Green Goblin.

Hailee Steinfeld is an American actress, singer, and songwriter who gained critical acclaim for her breakout role as Mattie Ross in the Coen brothers’ 2010 western film “True Grit.” She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, making her one of the youngest nominees ever.

74 Toast starter : HERE’S …

The tradition of toasting someone probably dates back to the reign of Charles II, when the practice was to drink a glass of wine to the health of a beautiful or favored woman. In those days, spiced toast was added to beverages to add flavor, so the use of the word “toast” was an indicator that the lady’s beauty would enhance the wine. Very charming, I must say …

83 Insurance company with a quacking mascot : AFLAC

In 1999, Aflac (American Family Life Assurance Company) was huge in the world of insurance but it wasn’t a household name, so a New York advertising agency was given the task of making the Aflac brand more memorable. One of the agency’s art directors, while walking around Central Park one lunchtime, heard a duck quacking and in his mind linked it with “Aflac”, and that duck has been “Aflacking” ever since …

88 Ready to tumble down : RICKETY

Something described as rickety is lacking in stability and is liable to fall down. The adjective “rickety” arose in the late 17th century and, unkindly I think, refers to the disorder known as rickets. Rickets is mainly a childhood disease that causes soft bones that can deform.

89 (In) a secret partnership (with) : CAHOOTS

To be in cahoots with someone is to be in partnership with that person. The exact etymology is unclear, but one suggestion is that it comes from the French “cohorte”, which was used in the US to mean “companion, confederate”.

92 Hulled corn used in grits : HOMINY

Hominy is a dish consisting of dried kernels of maize that have been treated with an alkali. The term “hominy” is derived from a Native American word for “maize”.

93 “Insecure” actress Seales : AMANDA

Actress Amanda Seales’ break came when she was cast in the supporting role of Tiffany DuBois in the comedy-drama TV show “Insecure”.

94 “__ the Bunny”: touch-and-feel baby book : PAT

“Pat the Bunny” is a children’s book by Dorothy Kunhardt that was published in 1940. It is recognized as the first interactive, touch-and-feel children’s book. Readers are encouraged to pat the rabbit’s fur, for example, which is fake fur included on a page. There is also some sandpaper on a page, which represents “Daddy’s scratchy face”.

97 Bach title : HERR

In German, a “Herr” (Mr.) is married to a “Frau” (Mrs.), and they live together in a “Haus” (house).

Johann Sebastian Bach died when he was 65-years-old, in 1750. He was buried in Old St. John’s Cemetery in Leipzig, and his grave went unmarked until 1894. At that time his coffin was located, removed and buried in a vault within the church. The church was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid during WWII, and so after the war the remains had to be recovered and taken to the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig.

100 Tower of __ : BABEL

We use the word “babel” now to describe a scene of confusion, lifting the term from the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. The Tower was built in the city of Babylon, and the construction was cursed with a confusion of languages due to the varied origins of all the builders.

104 Phone service outfit : TELCO

A “telco” is a “telecommunications company”.

111 Broadway star Salonga : LEA

Lea Salonga is a singer and actress from the Philippines who is known for originating the lead role in the musical “Miss Saigon” in both the West End and on Broadway. She also provided the singing voice for the Disney princesses Jasmine (in “Aladdin”) and Fa Mulan (in “Mulan”, both 1998 and 2004 versions). Salonga was the first Asian woman to win a Tony Award, for her performance in “Miss Saigon”.

113 Omega, on a physics test : OHM

The unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (with the symbol omega) named after German physicist Georg Simon Ohm. Ohm was the guy who established experimentally that the amount of current flowing through a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage applied, (V=IR) a relationship that every school kid knows as Ohm’s Law.

114 2001 film depicting the Rumble in the Jungle : ALI

“Ali” is a 2001 biographical movie about Muhammad Ali, with Will Smith in the title role. Among other things, the film is noted for its realistic fight scenes. The scenes were realistic because Smith was really being hit, as hard as his opponents could manage.

The Rumble in the Jungle was the celebrated 1974 fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman that took place in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The fight was set in Zaire because of financial arrangements between promoter Don King and Zaire’s President Mobutu Seko. Ali coined the term “rope-a-dope” to describe his incredibly successful strategy in the contest. From the second round onwards, Ali adopted a protected stance on the ropes letting Foreman pound him with blows to the body and head, with Ali using his arms to dissipate the power of the punches. He kept this up until the eighth round, and then opened up and downed the exhausted Foreman with a left-right combination. I hate boxing but I have to say, that was an interesting fight …