Notebook: Dec. 16, 1996

WINNERS & LOSERS

THEY CAME FROM OUTER SPACE

[WINNERS]

SHANNON LUCID First woman to receive Congressional Space Medal of Honor, for record 188 days in orbit

ARTHUR C. CLARKE Ice on the moon? Author of 2001: A Space Odyssey thought it possible, back in 1954

JOHN GRAY Writer of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus lands one-man Broadway show

[& LOSERS]

MICHAEL JORDAN Mike Tyson knocks Space Jam star out of No. 1 spot on Forbes’ 1996 top-paid-athletes list

COLUMBIA CREW A real space jam–faulty hatch keeps them indoors, and weather delays their return

JACK NICHOLSON Warner Bros.’ Mars Attacks! star bronzed on Hollywood Walk of Fame 11 years after Bugs

INNOCENTS ABROAD

American students are studying overseas in record numbers

% change and number of students, 1994-1995:

Britain 16% 19,410 France -0.6 7,872 Spain 7.7 7,473 Italy -10 7,062 Mexico -0.1 4,715 Germany -0.2 3,504 Australia 42 3,346 Israel 28 2,621 Costa Rica 30 2,302 Japan -0.8 2,212 Austria -27 1,489 Russia -15 1,290 China 30 1,257

Source: Institute of International Education

UNCOMMON ENGLISH

Two dictionaries newly published by Oxford University Press offer a fascinating glimpse into the way English adopts words from other tongues

A DICTIONARY OF SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH ON HISTORICAL PRINCIPLES

ai-ai: (township slang) methylated spirits or absolute alcohol, taken as a drink or used for lacing drinks

for Africa: in huge numbers or quantities, as in “I’ve got homework for Africa!”

gemors: a mess, muddle or state of confusion; a disaster

juj: excellent, cool; well dressed

mafuta: (Nguni) a fat person; now often a term of address

monkey’s wedding: simultaneous occurrence of sunshine and rain

just now: in a while; by and by

now-now: immediate past; a moment ago

A DICTIONARY OF CARIBBEAN ENGLISH USAGE

aajay: (U.S. Virgin Islands) wild with anger

cow: (Guyana) work done regularly for private gain using employer’s equipment

downhouse: (Antigua) to belittle

jokified: jolly; amusing in conversation and behavior

scud: (Belize) to absent yourself from school

make monkey-motion: (St. Vincent, Guyana) to make funny faces or perform antics

yerriso: (Belize) hearsay; gossip

washbelly: (Jamaica) the last child a woman bears

THE TRUTH ABOUT SANTA

Average number of full-time Santas employed per mall 0.8

Average number of part-time Santas employed per mall 2.8

Average number of children who visit Santa per mall 12,031

Estimated number of children who visit Santa in all U.S. malls 23 million

Percentage of children ages 1 through 10 who visit Santa im malls 60%

Source: International Council of Shopping Centers, based on a 1996 survey of 200 regional malls.

HEALTH REPORT

THE GOOD NEWS

–One less worry about SURGERY. Beta-blocker drugs may cut in half the chances of a high-risk patient’s dying from a heart attack during and after an operation. For the heart, surgery can be as stressful as running for days on a treadmill. The drugs bring the heart rate down to the level of a slow walk.

–Radiation therapy, already used for cancer, may benefit patients with a progressive form of macular degeneration, an eye disorder that can cause blindness. VISION LOSS is halted by low-dose X rays (20% of what’s used on tumors), which destroy excess blood vessels in the retina.

–An imaging technology called spect may help doctors diagnose ATTENTION-DEFICIT DISORDER. Afflicted kids seem to have decreased blood supply and cell activity in parts of the brain.

THE BAD NEWS

–Women on ESTROGEN-REPLACEMENT THERAPY may want to cut back on drinking. A small study shows that blood levels of estrogen shoot up among those who consume even moderate amounts of alcohol. Why care? Researchers suspect that the hormone may be linked to breast cancer.

–The controversy–and confusion–about early MAMMOGRAMS continues. Three studies now say women are less likely to die of breast cancer if they begin routine mammograms by age 40 rather than 50.

–A woman’s weight at birth may be linked to her future risk of BREAST CANCER. A study finds that for reasons not entirely clear, women who weighed less than 5.5 lbs. at birth have half the breast-cancer risk of those who weighed 8.8 lbs. or more.

Sources–GOOD NEWS: New England Journal of Medicine; Radiological Society of North America annual meeting (2, 3) BAD NEWS: Journal of the American Medical Association; Radiological Society of North America annual meeting; Lancet

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

KAROLYN GRIMES, 56; STILWELL, KANSAS; It’s a Wonderful Life star

She won America’s heart at age 6 as Zuzu, the youngest daughter in the Bailey brood, when she reminded her father George (Jimmy Stewart) that “every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” As the film turns 50, Grimes still calls Zuzu her “alter ego.” She’s got her own fan club, the Zuzu Society, and a newsletter, The Zuzu News, not to mention a Zuzu doll and her new It’s a Wonderful Life Cookbook. Grimes draws growing crowds as she tours the country, even autographing rose petals upon request. Like George, she has known hardship. She was orphaned at 15 and divorced at 26; her 18-year-old son committed suicide in 1989; and in 1994 her second husband, of 25 years, died of cancer. “My life hasn’t always been wonderful,” she says. “But I’ve gained strength from the film, and if I can share that, then I feel I’m privileged to be Zuzu.”