I had no idea...

July 3rd fireworks continues...

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At TVGuy Video today we feature the world's smallest runway... this pilot is either insane or highly skilled.. probably both...

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When I was flying to Chicago last week my friend Vinnie picked up the latest Newsweek issue.... the cover story was "181 Things You Need To Know Now..."

They are going to do this at least once a year, which I think is terrific... Global Issues, Faith, Politics, etc... things that reasonable adults in our country should have a passing understanding on...

I think families in the 70s and 80s were either a Time or Newsweek family... kind of like where you drew the line with "Mayonnaise" and "Miracle Whip"... our family subscribed to Time.. but I'm pleasantly surprised at the indepth online archives that Newsweek Magazine provides.. I spent the better part of 2 hours the other day digging through their Internet Portal... and came away incredibly impressed... anyway...

There is an online poll that you can take as a supplement to the article... the Internet Address
is here...

anyway... I got 41 percent correct.. which turns out to be right down the middle of folks taking this test... which made me a little upset... I always considered myself a little ahead of the curve when it came to trivia... but apparently I had fallen back to the pack in the past years...

So I'm going to do something about that.. or at least attempt to...

Once a week here at TVGuy I'm going to make a concerted effort to answer a question or two that I have no idea the solution of... things that make me think when I'm reading.. or driving..etc... and hopefully they will be things that you don't know.. or even if you do reinforce the fact in your cerebral cortex...

So let's start... The Inaugural "I Had No Idea"... begins while I was flying to Chicago last week..

I understand the grid pattern of the Central U.S.... the states and counties have everything cut up into squares...

But as I was flying I saw for about the 20th time miles and miles of Circles cut into these squares... so I took some pictures...

I Had No Idea! #1

Q: What are those Circles cut into crop areas across the Central United States??

A: Center pivot irrigation (sometimes called central pivot irrigation), also called circle irrigation, is a method of crop irrigation in which equipment rotates around a pivot. A circular area centred on the pivot is irrigated, often creating a circular pattern in crops when viewed from above.

Central pivot irrigation is a form of overhead (sprinkler) irrigation consisting of several segments of pipe (usually galvanized steel or aluminium) joined together and supported by trusses, mounted on wheeled towers with sprinklers positioned along its length. The system moves in a circular pattern and is fed with water from the pivot point at the center of the circle.

So basically the irrigation systems are on a pivot, and the result is a circular crop pattern...

Now we know... well, at least I do... thus ends the Inaugrual I Had No Idea... join us next time, won't you??

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President Josiah Bartlet: Here's one that's really important because we've got a lot of sports fans in this town: touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean. Leviticus 11:7. If they promise to wear gloves, can the Washington Redskins still play football? Can Notre Dame? Can West Point? Does the whole town really have to be together to stone my brother John for planting different crops side by side? Can I burn my mother in a small family gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads? Think about those questions, would you? One last thing: while you may be mistaking this for your monthly meeting of the Ignorant Tight-Ass Club, in this building, when the President stands, nobody sits...
--"The West Wing" (NBC)