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You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat.
– Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-born American physicist
Adam’s apple photo via Shutterstock
Touch your fingers to the front of your throat and start humming. Feel around until you can feel vibration directly under your fingers. That’s your larynx, or voice box. It houses your vocal cords and is involved in breathing and vocalization.
Surrounding the larynx is the laryngeal prominence, better known as the Adam’s apple. The “apple” is simply protective cartilage. As your voice changes and your larynx grows during puberty, the cartilage enlarges and moves with it. Depending on the size of your larynx, the apple can seem barely there, or be very prominent.
Despite common misconception, women do have Adam’s apples, and both boys and girls have similarly sized apples when they’re young. Come puberty, though, boys’ vocal cords tend to become longer and thicker, and the larynx and laryngeal prominence both need to grow differently to accommodate them, so males’ apples will generally be more noticeable.
Adam Who?
There are two popular explanations for the laryngeal prominence’s nickname. The first is that it refers to the Biblical Adam. According to the book of Genesis, the first man ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, which is popularly interpreted as an apple, and the laryngeal prominence got its name because it looks like a piece of fruit stuck in one’s throat.
The alternate explanation is that it’s a mistranslation of the Hebrew tappuah ha’adam. In modern and Biblical Hebrew, tappuah has had a few meanings, including “apple,” “citron,” “swelling” and several place and personal names. Ha’adam, which can mean “mankind” or refers to unidentified men, may have been misinterpreted as the name Adam to get “Adam’s apple” instead of “man’s apple” or “man’s swelling.”
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Updated April 22, 2012, 2:28 pm
On April 23, 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for assassinating New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. The sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.
On April 23, 1858, Max Planck, the German Nobel Prize winner who developed the quantum theory, was born. Following his death on Oct. 4, 1947, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1616 The Spanish poet Cervantes died in Madrid. 1789 President-elect George Washington and his wife moved into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House in New York City. 1791 James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, was born in Franklin County, Pa. 1940 About 200 people died in a dance-hall fire in Natchez, Miss. 1954 Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit the first of his 755 major-league home runs in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. (Aaron’s career total is second only to Barry Bonds.) 1968 Leftist students at Columbia University in New York City began a weeklong occupation of several campus buildings. 1971 The Rolling Stones album “Sticky Fingers” was released. 1985 The Coca-Cola Co. announced it was changing its secret formula for Coke. (Negative public reaction forced the company to revert to the original version.) 2005 Co-founder Jawed Karim uploaded the first video to YouTube.com. 2007 Boris Yeltsin, the first freely elected Russian president, died at age 76. 2010 Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the nation’s toughest illegal immigration measure into law. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Director Michael Moore (“Fahrenheit 9/11,” “Bowling for Columbine”) turns 58 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
Actress Valerie Bertinelli (“One Day at a Time,” “Hot in Cleveland”) turns 52 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
1928 Shirley Temple Black, Diplomat, former child actress, turns 84 1939 David Birney, Actor, turns 73 1939 Lee Majors, Actor (“The Six Millon Dollar Man”), turns 73 1948 Blair Brown, Actress, turns 64 1949 Joyce DeWitt, Actress (“Three’s Company”), turns 63 1955 Judy Davis, Actress, turns 57 1957 Jan Hooks, Actress (“Saturday Night Live”), turns 55 1961 George Lopez, Actor, turns 51 1967 Melina Kanakaredes, Actress (“CSI: NY”), turns 45 1977 Andruw Jones, Baseball player, turns 35 1977 Kal Penn, Actor (“House M.D.”), turns 35 1983 Daniela Hantuchova, Tennis player, turns 29 1990 Dev Patel, Actor (“Slumdog Millionaire”), turns 22
Historic Birthdays
Max Planck 4/23/1858 – 10/4/1947 German Nobel Prize-winning physicist (1918); originated quantum theory.Go to obituary »
52 William Shakespeare 4/23/1564 – 4/23/1616
English poet and dramatist68 St. Catherine 4/23/1522 – 2/2/1590
Italian Dominican mystic49 Sir William Penn 4/23/1621 – 9/16/1670
English admiral and father of Pennsylvania’s founder76 J.M.W. Turner 4/23/1775 – 12/19/1851
English landscape painter77 James Buchanan 4/23/1791 – 6/1/1868
15th president of the United States (1857-61)79 Sir Frederick Whitaker 4/23/1812 – 12/4/1891
English politician and businessman; prime minister of New Zealand (1863-64,1882-83)48 Stephen Douglas 4/23/1813 – 6/3/1861
American Democratic Party leader78 Vladimir Nabokov 4/23/1899 – 7/2/1977
Russian-born American novelist and critic88 Edwin Markham 4/23/1852 – 3/7/1940
American poet and lecturer61 Johannes Fibiger 4/23/1867 – 1/30/1928
Danish Nobel Prize-winning pathologist (1926)62 Michel Fokine 4/23/1880 – 8/22/1942
Russian ballet dancer and choreographer62 Sergey Prokofiev 4/23/1891 – 3/5/1953
Russian composer75 Lester Pearson 4/23/1897 – 12/27/1972
Canadian statesman; winner of Nobel Prize for Peace (1957) and Canadian Prime Minister (1963-68)58 Roy Halston 4/23/1932 – 3/26/1990
American clothing designer
MORNING
“And because of all this we make a sure covenant.”
Nehemiah 9:38There are many occasions in our experience when we may very rightly, and with benefit, renew our covenant with God. After recovery from sickness when, like Hezekiah, we have had a new term of years added to our life, we may fitly do it. After any deliverance from trouble, when our joys bud forth anew, let us again visit the foot of the cross, and renew our consecration. Especially, let us do this after any sin which has grieved the Holy Spirit, or brought dishonour upon the cause of God; let us then look to that blood which can make us whiter than snow, and again offer ourselves unto the Lord. We should not only let our troubles confirm our dedication to God, but our prosperity should do the same. If we ever meet with occasions which deserve to be called “crowning mercies” then, surely, if he hath crowned us, we ought also to crown our God; let us bring forth anew all the jewels of the divine regalia which have been stored in the jewel-closet of our heart, and let our God sit upon the throne of our love, arrayed in royal apparel. If we would learn to profit by our prosperity, we should not need so much adversity. If we would gather from a kiss all the good it might confer upon us, we should not so often smart under the rod. Have we lately received some blessing which we little expected? Has the Lord put our feet in a large room? Can we sing of mercies multiplied? Then this is the day to put our hand upon the horns of the altar, and say, “Bind me here, my God; bind me here with cords, even forever.” Inasmuch as we need the fulfilment of new promises from God, let us offer renewed prayers that our old vows may not be dishonoured. Let us this morning make with him a sure covenant, because of the pains of Jesus which for the last month we have been considering with gratitude.
EVENING
“The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.”
Song of Solomon 2:12Sweet is the season of spring: the long and dreary winter helps us to appreciate its genial warmth, and its promise of summer enhances its present delights. After periods of depression of spirit, it is delightful to behold again the light of the Sun of Righteousness; then our slumbering graces rise from their lethargy, like the crocus and the daffodil from their beds of earth; then is our heart made merry with delicious notes of gratitude, far more melodious than the warbling of birds–and the comforting assurance of peace, infinitely more delightful than the turtle’s note, is heard within the soul. Now is the time for the soul to seek communion with her Beloved; now must she rise from her native sordidness, and come away from her old associations. If we do not hoist the sail when the breeze is favourable, we shall be blameworthy: times of refreshing ought not to pass over us unimproved. When Jesus himself visits us in tenderness, and entreats us to arise, can we be so base as to refuse his request? He has himself risen that he may draw us after him: he now by his Holy Spirit has revived us, that we may, in newness of life, ascend into the heavenlies, and hold communion with himself. Let our wintry state suffice us for coldness and indifference; when the Lord creates a spring within, let our sap flow with vigour, and our branch blossom with high resolve. O Lord, if it be not spring time in my chilly heart, I pray thee make it so, for I am heartily weary of living at a distance from thee. Oh! the long and dreary winter, when wilt thou bring it to an end? Come, Holy Spirit, and renew my soul! quicken thou me! restore me, and have mercy on me! This very night I would earnestly implore the Lord to take pity upon his servant, and send me a happy revival of spiritual life!
Paan Singh Tomar: A colorful name like that must have a colorful story, wouldn’t you think? Well, it sure does as we find out in this story inspired by true events, we’re told. A tribute to the unsung heroes that national athletes are, this is a thoughtfully made movie, albeit a little rough around the edges.
Irrfan (I didn’t know until now that he’d officially dropped his last name Khan) is quite brilliant in his role in every possible aspect: he portrays the young soldier in the army who evolves into a champion athlete with as much ease as he portrays his soft side to his devoted wife at home. Unassuming and having adopted the Madhya Pradesh dialect of Hindi with confidence, this is one guy who knows how to suck you into his character of sportsman, armyman, village man, husband, and finally outlawed dacoit. The performance is stellar, as is the acting by the journalist who is taking down Paan Singh Tomar’s story. Irfaan ought to be nominated for a Bollywood Oscar, in my opinion.
If there’s any letdowns at all, I’d have to say I’d like to have seen his post-dacoit days reveal something deeper tied to the loss of his wife and family. Sure, we understand that Tomar was a victim of circumstance and was provoked to the life of an outlaw by a corrupt system– and in this we see shades of the Phoolan Devi story, but I’d have liked to see how all this has affected his psyche, and did it truly build any character? And where is the redemption? Is there not one at all?
For these unaddressed questions, I would take away points, but for the rest, I’d award high marks and tell you without reservation that it is a movie worth your while.
If a pretty face was all that was needed to ensure an outstanding movie, this one would earn high marks. Because a pretty face is what you get from the very first frame, and not just pretty at that but a pretty decent performance by the pretty face as well. But both of those good qualities do not guarantee a remarkable movie. Vidya Balan has proven her chops in recent films and is the rising star on the horizon, but there’s only so far that a good face and a good performance can go. What’s just as important, if not even more so is the kahaani or story itself.
This kahaani starts out with great promise but soon gets too convoluted and unrealistic even as we sympathize with the pregnant young woman looking for her missing husband in the big city. Speaking of which, it might very well be the city itself that is the real star of this movie. Bustling with humanity, it is both the epitome of a sleepy city just as much as it is the city that never sleeps.
But back to the kahaani: the kahaani is a little too farfetched. Since when do police officers become partners-in-crime with private citizens in order to solve missing persons cases? And how it is that a pregnant young woman has no family or friends with her in her quest to find her missing husband? Come on, movie makers, let’s get the moviegoers to identify with the characters and the plot. If you can’t do that, well, then the kahaani is what is called a ‘bundal’! (That’s Hindi for baloney).
So, nice try everyone, but this ain’t remarkable by any stretch of the imagination. Oh, and Ms. Balan, I’m sure we’ll see more of you in the days to come. Here’s hoping you’ll get great scripts and stories to choose from.
