We’ve all had the experience of assembling (putting pieces together) furniture, a toy, or an appliance (machine used in the home). Sometimes, it turns out to be (has the unexpected result of) a bigger and more difficult job than we anticipated (expected; predicted).

Now imagine putting together the Statue of Liberty.

I talked about the Statue of Liberty in English Cafe 488, so you already know that the Statue was a gift from France, and that it was transported from France to the United States in June of 1885.

But did you know that the Statue arrived in over 210 packing crates (large containers made of wood used for transporting things) with 350 pieces inside?

Once the pedestal (base; foundation) was built, the workers began assembling the Statue. Fortunately, under the direction of (with the guidance or help of) French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, who designed the Statue of Liberty, the Statue had been constructed on a frame (hard structure) in France. Each piece had been assigned (given) a number or a symbol (simply drawn figure or picture) before it was dissembled (taken apart) for transport to the U.S.

The pieces that should be fit together (put next to or connected to each other) had matching numbers or symbols, and they had holes that lined up with (matched) holes in the adjacent (next to it) piece so that they could be riveted together (for short metal pins or bolts to be placed through both, connecting the two).

The outer (on the outside) pieces were made of thin copper, a light-weight metal that is a reddish-brown color. Although the French workers had packed each copper piece very carefully, many of the pieces were bent (had their shape changed) during the sea voyage (trip). The workers assembling the Statue had to patiently (carefully, without being in a hurry) put the pieces back into their original shape.

The Statue of Liberty was unveiled (shown to the public) on October 28, 1886. You can see some of the pieces before and during assembly here and here, and here.

~ Jeff

Photo Credit: Head of the Statue of Liberty  from Wikipedia

“You press the button … we do the rest.”

That was the promise made in 1888 by the Eastman Kodak company when they introduced their first camera. Here’s how they described it:

“It’s the easy-to-use camera for everyone. There’s no control for the exposure time (how long the shutter is open) or aperture (how much light is allowed into the camera) – you simply point the camera and click (push the button to take the photograph). The whole camera with 100 pictures must be sent back to KODAK after exposure (the photographs have been taken) and is returned with the finished circular (round, like a circle) photos and a freshly loaded (new) film.”

When Kodak introduced the first point-and-click (automatic) camera, they promised to provide everything the everyday photographer needed: camera, film, developing the film (making the picture visible), and printing the picture on photographic paper.

Soon after they introduced their first camera, advertisements like this “Kodak as you go” advertisement turned the word “Kodak” into a verb and encouraged people to take their Kodak cameras wherever they went. Kodak ads (advertisements) had one very simple message: Kodak cameras, film, and processing (preparing the photographs) make it easy to photograph life’s important moments (times, events) so they will never be forgotten. These moments came to be known as Kodak Moments.

Kodak Moments were an important part of Kodak’s advertising for many years. They advertised heavily (a lot) in magazines that were popular in the middle of the 20th century – like Saturday Evening Post and Life. And when television appeared, they ran (broadcast) ads like Turn Around in 1960 and Daddy’s Little Girl in 1989.

Many people have filled walls, albums (books of photos), and boxes with Kodak Moments – Christmases, birthdays, baby and wedding showers (parties for someone having a baby or getting married), weddings, and vacations.

The phrase “Kodak Moments” has became a common way to refer to moments of strong feelings or special memories, even if photographs aren’t taken to help remember them. And, in contrast, someone might say, “What a Kodak Moment!” when they mean the opposite, perhaps as an unkind joke or to show that they are a little angry. This what we call sarcasm.

For many years, Kodak continued to make Kodak Moments possible with new, easy-to-use cameras, new kinds of film, and all the services needed to help everyone make photographs of their important personal moments. Unfortunately, Kodak’s moment (period of time) didn’t last. They couldn’t compete with digital and smartphone cameras and, since 2012, no longer do most of the things that made Kodak Moments possible.

~ Warren Ediger, ESL coach/tutor and creator of the Successful English web site.

Photo of Kodak logo from Wikipedia Commons;
photo of Kodak advertisement from Vintage Ad Browser.

Labor Day, observed (celebrated; scheduled) on the first Monday of each September, is the unofficial beginning of the school year at many schools (see English Cafe 49). This year, Labor Day is next Monday, September 7th.

As high school students return to school, I can predict which high schools will have students with better grades and which high schools will have students with poorer grades.

No, I don’t have a crystal ball (glass ball used to see the future). Instead, I’ve read about research findings (results) showing that schools that begin later in the morning have students who typically perform better in their classes. One study of over 9,000 students in the U.S. found that students in schools that began at or after 8:35 a.m. earned grades that were significantly higher, so that a “B” or “C” grade became “B+” and “C+” grades.

Grades are used to calculate (give a numbered total for) a student’s grade point average (G.P.A.), which is a single number that indicates that student’s overall school performance. A student’s G.P.A. is used for many things, including college admissions (being allowed to study at a college or university). Here’s how it works: Each letter grade equals a certain number of points: “A” = 4.0, “B” = 3.0, “C” = 2.0, “D” = 1.0, and “F” = 0.  A “+” added to a grade is worth another 0.5 points, so the difference between getting a “B” and a “B+” or a “C” and a “C+” is significant (important).

The explanation behind these findings may be found in teenagers’ changing bodies. When people reach ages 13-19, their circadian rhythms — their natural “body clock” — change and teenagers stay up (remain awake) later at night and sleep later in the morning. A later start time for school matches (is in agreement with) this change in the teenage brain.

Other research has found that later start times for school are also related to fewer car crashes (accidents where two cars hit each other) among teenage drivers. In a 2008 study, when a school delayed (made later) its start time by one hour, students reported fewer and fewer car accidents over the next two years, dropping over 16%. The researchers concluded that students slept more hours and as a result, were more alert (awake; aware of what is happening around them).

Some of the arguments against starting school earlier have to do with logistics (planning and organizing). American high school students often participate in after-school activities, such as sports and clubs. A later start time leaves less time for these activities. And school buses that transport high school students in a single district (collection of schools under one management) also transport elementary and middle school students, making changes in scheduling more difficult.

Every high school’s start time is different. Venice High School, the high school nearest to where I live, begins at 7:57 a.m. Jeff’s high school in Minnesota and mine in Arizona just happened to have (occurred by chance and not through planning) begun at the same time: 8:10 a.m. Now I have an excuse (reason or explanation) for my grades, although Jeff clearly overcame this obstacle (succeeded despite this difficulty).

Is the school year beginning where you live? What time did the school day begin when you were in high school? Is it different now?

– Lucy

Photo Credit: Venice High School from Wikipedia. Venice High School has been used as the location for several famous films, including Grease and Nightmare on Elm Street, and for several music videos, including one by Britney Spears.

The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California is shaped like a large “H”. If you walk across the middle of the “H” to the left leg and look left, you’ll see the Ragpicker – a painting by Edouard Manet. He hangs on the wall at the bottom of the “H” and, I imagine, keeps an eye on (watches) everyone who walks through the galleries (rooms for showing art) that display (show) the Museum’s modern art.

I’ve always been fascinated by (attracted to; curious about) this life-size painting of such a humble (not important) man. Ragpickers were early recyclers. They walked around cities, Paris for Manet’s Ragpicker, and picked up rags and other objects that could be sold to people who recycled, or reused them. Rags were used to make paper.

Manet was one of several painters of his time who painted the everyday people of Paris. They weren’t wealthy. They weren’t powerful. And many people probably didn’t notice them. But they were an important part of Parisian life.

I thought of Manet’s Ragpicker when I read about Sarah Godfrey’s recent experience. She was at the Park Street subway station under the streets of Boston, Massachusetts, when she saw what she described as “a nice old man who was picking up garbage at the train station on his way to work.”

Sarah walked up to him and remarked, “What a good citizen you are!” He was grouchy (in a bad mood), she said, and complained that the stations were always filthy. She agreed.

She was uncomfortable when she watched him reach down to pick up a “food wrapper and what looked like a used napkin” and reminded him to “make sure he washed his hands when he got to work.”

He looked at her and replied, “That’s what my wife says.”

When they got to the top of the stairs, he threw the trash he had picked up into a trash container, then turned to Sarah and asked, “How many ex-governors do you think go around picking up trash at train stations?”

Sarah said that she laughed and said, “Not many.” She thought for a moment, then asked if he had actually served as governor of Massachusetts.

“Yes, for 12 years,” he answered, and she realized that she had been talking to Michael Dukakis, the former governor of the state.

Hmm. I wonder how many ex-governors – or anyone else – go around picking up trash to try to keep their cities clean. Probably not many.

~ Warren Ediger – ESL coach and tutor and creator of the Successful English web site.

Photo of Ragpicker from Wikipedia Commons.