Monday, December 28, 2020

Your 2020 Quiz


Take the 2020 Corona-Quiz and Win, answers appear at bottom but remember no cheating!


Your 2020 CORONA QUIZ

How much do you really know about COVID19 and how much is FAKE NEWS?

QUESTIONS:


(1)  When were the first U.S. cases of nontravel-related COVID 19 confirmed in the USA?


a.  January 16

b.  January 31

c.   February 5

d.   February 26


(2) Limited US community transmission began after


a.  A single importation of the virus from China 

b.   A single importation of the virus from Europe

c.  A single importation of the virus from China followed by a single importation from Europe.

d.  A single importation of the virus from China followed by multiple importations from Europe.

e.  Multiple importations of the virus from China followed by multiple importations from Europe.



(3)   Until late February COVID-19 incidence was


a.  High but undetected by emergency departments

b.  Too low to be detected by emergency departments.

c.  Misdiagnosed by emergency departments as a common flu strain

d.  Considered unremarkable by emergency departments



(4) The first nontravel–related U.S. case was confirmed 


a.   In a California resident 

b.   In a Washington state resident

c.   In a New York City resident

d.   In President Donald Trump


(5) A second nontravel–related case was confirmed


a.  In the state of California

b.  In the state of Washington

c.  In New York state

d.  In Rhode Island.

e.   The second case cannot be definitively pinpointed


(6)  Analysis of viral RNA sequences from early cases suggested that a single lineage of virus  began circulating in the United States 


a.   Already in December 2019

b.   Sometime between January 18 and February 9, followed by several SARS-CoV-2 importations from Europe.

c.  Sometime on or around February 1st followed by a Mideastern variant 2 weeks later.

d.  There was never a single lineage of the virus circulating the United States.



(7)  Sustained, community transmission of the virus likely resulted from 


a)  the importation of a single lineage of virus from China in December, followed by several importations from Europe in January

b)  the importation of a single lineage of virus from China in late January or early February, followed by several importations from Europe.

c) importation of a dual virus lineage from China in earlyJanuary and from Europe in early February



YOUR BONUS QUESTION (determines your level of enlightenment):  

The widespread emergence of COVID-19 throughout the United States highlights 


a.  the importance of robust public health systems to respond rapidly to emerging infectious threats

b.  the importance of a functioning government to respond nimbly to emerging threats of all kinds

c.  the importance of public education  

d.  the importance of health care   

e.  the importance of science

f. the importance of honesty

g.  other:




 










CORRECT ANSWERS (INCORRECT ANSWERS ARE CONSIDERED INCORRECT)


(1)   (D) The first U.S. cases of nontravel–related COVID-19 were confirmed on February 26 and 28, 2020, suggesting that community transmission was occurring by late February.


(2)  (D)  Limited U.S. community transmission likely began in late January or early February 2020, after a single importation from China, followed by multiple importations from Europe.


(3)  Until late February, COVID-19 incidence was too low to be detected by emergency department syndromic surveillance for COVID-19–like illness.


(4) The first nontravel–related U.S. case was confirmed on February 26 in a California resident 


(5) A second nontravel–related case was confirmed in the state of Washington  


(6)  Analysis of viral RNA sequences from early cases suggested that a single lineage of virus imported directly or indirectly from China began circulating in the United States between January 18 and February 9, followed by several importations from Europe.


(7)  b


(8)  Really? You don’t know that all of the above are correct?


Teachers’ Guide for Interpreting Your Results:  

Number of correct answers:  

1 correct answer = You moron, what have you been doing the last 12 months if not compulsively, obsessively watching TV?    2 correct answers = better than moron but still living under a rock   3  correct answers = you know just enough to talk intelligently in zoom meetings   4 correct answers = dangerously informed, you could not run for office at this point   5 correct answers = you no longer qualify as science expert on cable news  6 correct answers = You moron, what have you been doing the last 12 months … obsessively watching TV and reading READING the newspaper?


 

Sunday, December 6, 2020

The Winter Solstice and the Grand Conjunction

The Singing Fir Tree


In Switzerland, a story is told about a man named Hans Kreutz, who lived with his wife on Thun Lake in Ralligen. In the year 1555, a thick black fog descended on the village and it would not dissipate. The alarmed villagers retreated to their homes, closed doors and sealed the windows tightly. But a light blue vapor crept under the window sill and the wife breathed in this vapor and in the evening she lay in bed motionless. Hans looked into her eyes and saw no reflection there and in the morning she was dead. Many villagers died that year and the survivors buried their loved ones in the church yard at the outskirts of town, where the mountain and forest swept down abruptly into the valley. While the bells in the church tower were ringing, Hans buried his wife and returned home. For days he did not leave his house. He neither ate nor slept but could not forget the vacant stare of his beloved wife and the sound of the church bells as he lowered her into the grave.

One evening when Hans sat by the fire, he heard the church bells ring out the Ave and they rang and rang and he lost track of the time. He raised his head, for he thought he heard wonderful and sweet singing up high in the Hohlbach Forest near the tree line. But when the church bells stopped ringing, he heard it no more. The next day he sat with longing and waited for the evening church bells to ring out the Ave. At first he heard only the faintest sound of distant singing, but then the melody grew stronger until there could be no mistake. A woman’s voice sang a mysterious and beautiful song, the words of which he could not quite decipher.


But Hans spread word among the townspeople. At night the entire village listened while the church bells rang and soon everyone heard the wonderful singing daily. The singing was soothing and the villagers listened at the edge of the village until the snow began to fall and then they returned to their homes. All but Hans, who wanted to know where the singing came from. The next night when the church bells were ringing, the villagers assembled in the church yard. Hans lit a torch and climbed the mountainside, following the mysterious melody. He did this every evening until one night he finally found a giant fir tree, and its voice was sweet and clear. He shyly gazed upon the tree and in amazement listened to its gentle song.


But Hans could find no rest. The singing fir tree occupied his waking and sleeping hours and he wanted to be in the presence of its song always. In secret he climbed up the mountain during the day and spent long hours near the tree. Some time passed and Hans was called away to visit his family in the next valley.


While he was away, a wood carver from among the villagers, who had seen the beautiful fir tree, decided he needed it to make a wood carving. Because the tree was so magnificent, tall and straight, with perfectly formed branches and trunk, he had it felled and brought down to the valley. From the wood, he selected an enormous block of the trunk that had no scars or branches. From this piece of wood he began to carve an image of the Virgin Mary. He worked day and night on this carving and saw nothing more beautiful than the image of the Virgin growing out of the wood. And after some time, the villagers came to his workshop and marveled at the beauty of the image, its heavenly countenance and mild authority.


When Hans returned to the village after some months, he climbed the mountain and went directly to where the singing fir tree had stood. In its place was only a stump and Hans was gripped by such melancholy, that a loud moan issued from his lips. It was like the howling of a wounded wolf or the shriek of an eagle flying overhead. The loud cries filled the valley, echoing off the cliffs and rocks. When the villagers heard the loud cries from above, they gathered below near the church. And soon in the distance they heard the beautiful, long-missed song. They turned and saw the woodcarver, carrying his statue and saw that it was singing. He placed the statue in the church, where it stands today. And some say, they have heard it singing when a loved one dies. The place where the tree once stood is now called Marienstein. There is a smaller rock nearby, where Hans once gazed upon the fir tree. It is said that in his grief, Hans turned to stone and the place is now called the Kreutzantisch.