COFFEE BREAK
Saturday, August 5, 2017
OUT OF THE VAULT
Soaring temps spur classic sidewalk experiment
A
ugust in Eastern
Oregon invariably
means high
temperatures. With
thermometers topping
100 degrees, most folks
seek a way to escape to
cooler climes. For an East
Oregonian photographer in
August of 1967, the intense
heat of the concrete canyon
of downtown Pendleton
created the perfect scenario
to attempt to prove or
disprove a classic “just how
hot is it” experiment.
EO photographer Virgil
Rupp wanted to know if it
was indeed hot enough to
fry an egg on the sidewalk
on August 14, 1967. Rupp
fi rst enlisted an assistant,
Elaine Alkio, a 1967
graduate of Pendleton
High School. She donned
a bikini, armed herself
with a couple of eggs and a
box-opening knife (having
no kitchen implements at
hand), and began scouting
for a promising “frying
pan.” Almost immediately a
crowd — consisting mostly
of men — formed, and
a dispute broke out over
whether concrete or asphalt
would better serve the
experiment.
Alkio gamely cracked
her fi rst egg amidst helpful
advice. “Higher!” someone
EO fi le photo
called. The egg splattered
upon hitting the pavement.
“I’ll just scramble it,”
Alkio said.
Another egg was cracked
as the crowd grew larger. It
East Oregonian
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splattered too. But, wielding
her improvised spatula,
Alkio showed onlookers
that, with patience, you
can indeed cook an egg on
a sun-scorched patch of
concrete. Rupp’s article,
however, did not say how
long it actually took for the
eggs to cook, or what the
eggs looked like when they
were done.
The average air
temperature of 102 degrees
Fahrenheit during that
week translates (according
to internet research) to
concrete temperatures north
of 140 degrees. But in a
2013 NBC News article
by Rob Lovitt, even at air
temperatures of 128 degrees
in Death Valley, despite
monumental efforts by
visitors to the state park
there, eggs would not cook
on pavement. Concrete and
asphalt are poor conductors
of heat, and cracking an
egg onto either surface will
cool it below a temperature
suffi cient to cook the egg.
And it makes a huge mess,
park rangers lamented.
■
Renee Struthers is the
Community Records Editor
for the East Oregonian. See
the complete collection of
Out of the Vault columns at
eovault.blogspot.com
DEAR ABBY
Abusive adoptive mother has no right to daughter’s money
Dear Abby: I need your
I do? — Strained Relationship
advice. I am 41 years old and
In California
was adopted at birth. I was raised
Dear Strained Relation-
by an unloving woman who
ship: Here’s what to do. Realize
was emotionally, verbally and
that when good parents adopt a
physically abusive. I persevered,
baby, they do it NOT because of
worked hard, and now have a
what that baby will do for them,
loving husband and a beautiful
but for what they can give to
son. We live a comfortable and
that child. Then tell your abuser
Jeanne
peaceful life.
Phillips the gravy train has stopped, she
My adoptive mother, on the
won’t be getting another penny
Advice
other hand, expects me to hand
and cut off all communication.
her fi nancial support every
You do not “owe” her
month and pay for her extravagant anything, so do not allow yourself to be
lifestyle. She did not save for herself, as bullied or guilted into being her ATM
I was her “investment.” She doesn’t ask, machine. If you feel the urge to waver,
Abby; she demands. She believes that if take my advice and spend the money
not for her “taking me away from the on a licensed psychotherapist who will
slums as a child,” I wouldn’t be where I help you understand that your adoptive
am in life now.
mother does not have the ethical or
The fi nancial burden she has guilted moral right to anything more from you
me into is putting a strain on my than you have already given.
marriage and our plans to save for a
Dear Abby: I have a 6-year-old
stable future. I am depressed beyond daughter and a 3-year-old son who
words. It doesn’t help that I still carry have no modesty at all. I don’t make
resentment for having been severely a big deal about private parts. They
mistreated as a child.
sometimes bathe together and will jump
Her words are vile whenever she in the shower with me or my husband.
doesn’t get “her” money, and she Because of this, they’ll get into our pool
couldn’t care less about me or my son. I or hot tub naked if there isn’t a swimsuit
have no love for her. But I do feel for her around. Our backyard is completely
in her old age. Please help. What should private. No one can see in, so I have no
problem with it.
However, when my in-laws are in
town, they are appalled and turn it into
a big deal. Then my husband freaks out,
scolds the kids and makes them put their
clothes on.
First of all, they are OUR children
and WE are raising them. Second, if my
husband didn’t want them swimming or
running around the house naked, then
the kids should have been told before
their grandparents arrived. I would
understand that if the kids were older,
it might be inappropriate, but they are
still so young.
Am I too laid-back, or are my
in-laws too uptight and we should just
let the kids be kids and have fun? —
Unashamed In Florida
Dear Unashamed: You are not
too laid-back, and your in-laws may
not be too uptight. The difference in
your attitudes regarding nudity may
be a result of the generation gap. I do
think it’s hypocritical of your husband
to reprimand the children for doing
something that’s usually acceptable,
because it sends a confusing message.
He should explain to the kids that when
“company” comes, they will need to
cover up so they don’t make the guests
uncomfortable.
DAYS GONE BY
100 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Aug. 5-6, 1917
Private “Rattlesnake Pete” Inman,
who fi gured in the encounter last week
between members of Troop D and
an alleged I.W.W., demonstrated his
fi ghting proclivities again Saturday
evening when he administered a
“blackeye punch” to the face of a
Greek waiter at the French restaurant.
The waiter is said to have addressed
a profane remark to one of the girls
waiting on the troopers’ table. Inman
resented the remark and proceeded to
give the waiter a trouncing. In fact he
hit the offending Greek so hard that his
own hand was damaged and he is now
wearing it in a sling.
50 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Aug. 5-6, 1967
The U.S. Army is ready to use atomic
warfare, but not in Vietnam. Instead it
will use it here at home on Helix fl our.
Irradiating fl our, the atomic-age process
of bombarding fl our with radiation to
help preserve it longer, will be tried by
the U.S. Army using fl our made from
Umatilla County wheat purchased from
the Helix Milling Company. Irradiation
for preserving food has been tried on
other types of food, including bacon,
and has been used to induce sprouting
in potatoes and onions. The irradiation
process has been approved by the Food
and Drug Administration for use in
disinfestation of fl our.
25 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Aug. 5-6, 1992
Benjamin Clark, 17, traces his
interest in India to young childhood.
He was immersed in the culture about
200 miles west of Calcutta for the past
school year. Clark’s family lived in
Kenya and Tanzania, East Africa, where
they made friends from India. “I liked
their accent when I was a little kid,” said
Clark. His parents, Andrew and Barbara
Clark, moved back to Pendleton when
he entered third grade. As he fi nished
10th grade at Pendleton High School,
Clark picked India for his Rotary Club
student exchange.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Today is the 217th day of
2017. There are 148 days left
in the year.
Today’s Highlights in
History:
On August 5, 1957, the
teenage dance show “Amer-
ican Bandstand,” hosted
by Dick Clark, made its
network debut on ABC-TV.
The British cartoon character
Andy Capp, created by Regi-
nald Smythe, fi rst appeared
in the Daily Mirror.
On this date:
In 1864, during the Civil
War, Union Adm. David
G. Farragut led his fl eet
to victory in the Battle of
Mobile Bay, Alabama.
In 1884, the cornerstone
for the Statue of Liberty’s
pedestal was laid on Bedloe’s
Island in New York Harbor.
In 1924, the comic strip
“Little Orphan Annie” by
Harold Gray made its debut.
In
1933,
President
Franklin D. Roosevelt estab-
lished the National Labor
Board, which was later
replaced with the National
Labor Relations Board.
In 1936, Jesse Owens of
the United States won the
200-meter dash at the Berlin
Olympics, collecting the
third of his four gold medals.
In 1953, Operation Big
Switch began as remaining
prisoners taken during the
Korean War were exchanged
at Panmunjom.
In 1962, actress Marilyn
Monroe, 36, was found
dead in her Los Angeles
home; her death was ruled a
probable suicide from “acute
barbiturate
poisoning.”
South African anti-apartheid
activist Nelson Mandela was
arrested; it was the beginning
of 27 years of imprisonment.
In 1967, “The Piper at the
Gates of Dawn,” the fi rst Pink
Floyd album, was released in
the United Kingdom on the
Columbia label.
In 1969, the U.S. space
probe Mariner 7 fl ew by
Mars, sending back photo-
graphs and scientifi c data.
In 1974, the White
House released transcripts of
subpoenaed tape recordings
showing that President
Richard Nixon and his chief
of staff, H.R. Haldeman, had
discussed a plan in June 1972
to use the CIA to thwart the
FBI’s Watergate investiga-
tion; revelation of the tape
sparked Nixon’s resignation.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor
John Saxon is 81. College
Football Hall of Famer and
former NFL player Roman
Gabriel is 77. Country song-
writer Bobby Braddock is 77.
Actress Loni Anderson is 72.
Actress Erika Slezak is 71.
Rock singer Rick Derringer
is 70. Actress Holly Palance
is 67. Singer Samantha Sang
is 64. Rock musician Eddie
Ojeda (Twisted Sister) is
62. Actress-singer Maureen
McCormick is 61. Rock
musician Pat Smear is 58.
Author David Baldacci is
57. Actress Tawney Kitaen is
56. Country musician Mark
O’Connor is 56. Basketball
Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing
is 55. Director-screenwriter
James Gunn is 51.
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• Homes • Farms • Commercial • Build to Suit
Thought for Today:
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