A Ton of Crap (125 page)

Response by the U.S. Government
The United States Government passed the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act on October 19, 1998. The Act was intended to promote the sharing of information related to the Y2K problem from the private sector, and for their help, the companies were provided with a limited amount of protection and exemption from antitrust policies. The White House worked with FEMA, which was independent at the time and created websites as a form of outreach. Federal agencies had their own task forces associated with Y2K and worked with the private sector. The United States spent $300 billion dollars in preparation for Y2K.

JOSEPH PULITZER

His Early Career in Publishing
In 1872, Joseph Pulitzer purchased the
St. Louis Post
for $3,000, as well as a German newspaper. The profits from the
Post
were able to pay for his law school education. In 1878, Pulitzer, who had started a law firm, closed it and purchased the
St. Louis Dispatch
, which had been in trouble. He combined the
Post
and
Dispatch
into one paper, and focused on writing about corruption, gambling, tax fraud, and lotteries. He made it his goal to clean up and repair St. Louis.

PRIME NUMBERS

The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic
The fundamental theorem of arithmetic states that all integers that are positive and larger than 1 can be written as the product of one or many primes so that it is unique except, perhaps, for the order of prime factors. What this theory says is that primes are the building blocks of numbers that are natural or composite. Prime factorization is the process of finding out what prime numbers make up a natural number. For example, if you wanted to find the prime factors of 18, you would do:

18 ÷ 2 = 9
9 ÷ 3 = 3
18 = 3
²
 × 2

STEM CELLS

Unique Properties of Stem Cells
Stem cells are not like any other cells found in the body, and they have three properties, no matter the source. Stem cells have the capability to divide and renew themselves over long periods of time, a characteristic that blood cells, muscle cells, and nerve cells do not have. Stem cells are not specialized, meaning they do not have functions like carrying oxygen or pumping blood. Instead, they create specialized types of cells. The process of creating a specialized cell from an unspecialized cell is known as differentiation.

SPIRITUALISM, MEDIUMS, AND TALKING TO THE DEAD

Mediums
Mediums communicate with the dead to provide messages to the living. There are two types of mediums: physical mediums and mental mediums. Physical mediums usually only work with séances. This is because anyone sitting next to the medium will see and hear what is going on around them. With mental mediums, the process is in the mind of the medium. There are three forms that mediums identify: clairvoyance (seeing the spirit), clairaudience (hearing the spirit), and clairsentience (sensing the thoughts and presence of the spirit).

Y2K

International Response
Funded by the World Bank, the International Y2K Cooperation Center was established and met on December 11, 1998. Among the things discussed at the meeting were planning for crises, testing computers, and communication among countries. The IY2KCC intended to promote worldwide programs, promote coordination with geographic areas, and promote communication and support from the private sectors.

JOSEPH PULITZER

The New York World
In 1883, at the age of thirty-six, Pulitzer bought the
New York World
for a total of $346,000 from its owner, who was reportedly losing $40,000 a year on the paper. Pulitzer made the paper focus on scandals, sensationalized stories, and human-interest pieces, and used the paper to expose fraud and abuses. In 1909, Pulitzer was indicted when the
New York World
reported that the U.S. government fraudulently paid $40 million dollars to the French Panama Canal Company. Pulitzer was indicted for libeling Roosevelt. The case was dismissed, however, and it was a very important moment concerning freedom of the press.

PRIME NUMBERS

Euclid’s Theorem
As previously stated, prime numbers are infinite. This is actually a theorem, known as Euclid’s theorem. There are many proofs that show Euclid’s theorem to be true. Euclid showed this with his own proof. His proof stated that if you have a list of prime numbers, there will always be another one after the last number you’ve written. If
P
is the product of the prime numbers and
q
 = 
P
 + 1, the answers produced will be either prime or not prime. Though this doesn’t only give prime answers, it proves the number of primes goes on infinitely.

STEM CELLS

Embryonic Stem Cells
The stem cells taken from embryos are known as embryonic stem cells. These cells are mostly derived from the embryos of eggs fertilized in vitro, which are then donated for further research. These cells are then grown in the laboratory. If grown under proper conditions, embryonic stem cells can remain undifferentiated. If they begin clumping together, they will differentiate spontaneously and begin to form various types of cells. When scientists attempt to generate a specific type of cell, they control the differentiation. Today, scientists have “recipes” that tell them how to make particular cells.

SPIRITUALISM, MEDIUMS, AND TALKING TO THE DEAD