calvert county population

The population of Calvert County was about 20,000 in 1970, not 5,000.

some notes about Opryland

Opryland was closed in 1997 and sold for parts, to make room for other ventures. Gaylord's current management reportedly has been unable to discover any documentation of the 1997 management team's decision. I tried to track down a few of the rides.

• While the Grizzly River Rampage is gone, and what remains of the track not worth the cost of recovery, its creator, Intamin AG, has long produced and still produces similar rides. Current incarnations are more flume-like, with an emphasis on contraptions, smaller rafts, and more track-like chutes, whereas the River Rampage put more of an emphasis on a natural river experience. Many parks have a similar rides. A contemporaneous example (and likely most similar) would be the Piraña in the Netherlands and the first such ride, the Thunder River at 6 Flags AstroWorld. A more recent version, the Grizzly River Run at Disney California Adventure, has a similar name, perhaps implying similarity, but I can't find a track layout.
• The Wabash Canonball was sold, but the buyer never managed to find a place for it, and scrapped the ride in 2003. However, the original version of the ride, the Corkscrew, is still operating in Idaho.
• Several of the other roller coasters are still in operation elsewhere, including The Hangman in California and the Rock n Roller in New York.

more corrections

• While I was correct that crudo means raw, cenote doesn't mean well; it is derived from a Mayan word for cenote.
• The Empire State Building is struck by lightning about 100 times per year.
• Roses were often planted in vineyards to indicate rot, mildew, or other problems on the rose petals before they show on the grape vines.
• The underground lunch room is in Carlsbad, not Yellowstone.
• It was North Dakota that wanted to (still wants to?) remove the direction from its name.

just trying to keep up with my mouth...

• Bactrian camels have two humps.
• Polydactyly occurs in about .2% of births, not 5%, which is a little ridiculous, I suppose.
• On the other hand, breast cancer is more disturbingly common than I thought.
• Dad bought a Rav-4, which, while slightly ridiculous for a commuter car, is less ridiculous than a Pilot. It is smaller and gets better gas milage.
• The primary source of sweetness in most fortified wines comes from the grapes in the wine, not from the fortifier; adding the brandy (or whatever) kills off the yeast in the wine, leaving more of the sugars from the grapes.

corrections, stale

• There are over 12,400 wild Cheetahs still around in Africa. The current theory is that their lack of genetic diversity traces back to the last ice age.
• Gas taxes are usually priced per gallon, not computed as a sales tax. So, the percent burden of gas tax has decreased with the cost of gas. However, some states apply sales tax to gasoline sales, and 'pay at the pump' fees to credit card companies are usually a percentage of the sale cost.

corrections: method acting and coloring problems

• 'On the Waterfront' came out in 1954, three years after 'Streetcar'.
• 'The Method' was taught by Strasberg and derived from Stanislavski's 'System'.
• A region surrounded by a single country is an enclave. East Pakistan would have been an exclave, but not an enclave.
• As such, neither would Pt. Robert's be considered an enclave, although wikipedia describes it as a 'pene-exclave'.
• Speaking of which, Wikipedia has a great list of four-country border sets, which demonstrate the need for four coloring the globe. It includes at least one exclave, which is sort of cheating.

short corrections; I need to take better notes

• Apple stock is up about 3,000% since I bought it, not 40,000%, which is an overstatement. It is up about 1,000% since I sold it.
• DCA is in Virginia. There was some dispute about it at the time, but the territory counts as part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, but is under control of the US congress.

corrections

• The Rosenbergs were from New York.
• The integral of sqrt(x)dx is (2 * x ^ (3/2))/3 + C

I do not want to be incorrect

• Do not want comes from a bad translation of a Star Wars movie.
• Only two people have died on 'Mission: Space'.
• Dude originally meant 'fastidious man or dandy', evolved to mean 'city slicker' or fresh cowboy, thus 'dude ranch'.

burning bubble wrap

It appears that burning pure polyethylene shouldn't be too dangerous - i.e. it will not produce dioxin. However, I am not certain that bubble wrap is only polyethylene; Kristin might know better.