The popular story is that during World War II, a military general visited one of the many airship stations operated by the U.S. Navy. Trying to find out what material an airship was made from, he tapped his finger against the fully pressurized envelope of a non-rigid Navy airship. The general described the sound he heard, "blimp," and blimps have been called blimps ever since.

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The answer is usually NO. Despite all the modern technology used in today's blimps they are cost effective only for advertising purposes. In relatively small blimps, passenger transportation is not profitable enough unless it is combined with an advertising mission. In the past, the small number of blimp rides which is available has been given to executives and clients of the advertisers/sponsors of the blimps. Blimp rides were available in Las Vegas for ten months in 2000 (see www.vegas.

Without any lifting gas, the empty ship (GZ-20) weighs about 12,840 pounds. Inflated with helium it weighs only 100-200 pounds, depending on the amount of fuel, payload and ballast aboard.

The use of the term was inspired by a brilliant comedic sketch written and performed by the members of Monty Python's Flying Circus. I won't attempt to explain the reference; suffice to say that if you have ever seen the spam sketch, the use of the term becomes immediately apparent.

The word Jedi comes from a fictional source, first used in the movie Star Wars: A New Hope. In the Star Wars universe, the Jedi exist as guardians, promoting peace, order, and justice whenever it is needed. They are, though, seen by us as romantic, not realistic.

The Goodyear blimps in the United States are fabricated by Goodyear & Lockheed Martin. They are made of polyester fabric coated with neoprene rubber. They look shiny and metallic from a distance, but they are actually soft and flexible.

Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician known as the "father of medicine," named the condition on the basis of the Greek word for CROOKED.

Lou Montulli, currently the protocols manager in Netscape's client product division, wrote the cookies specification for Navigator 1.0, the first browser to use the technology. Montulli says there's nothing particularly amusing about the origin of the name: 'A cookie is a well-known computer science term that is used when describing an opaque piece of data held by an intermediary. The term fits the usage precisely; it's just not a well-known term outside of computer science circles.'"

The economy Blimp can lift about 10.8lbs (5.35kg) at sea level. The Nylon 18 foot 2 Ply Blimp can lift about 10lbs at sea level. The Nylon 20 foot 2 Ply Blimp can lift about 13.5lbs at sea level. The economy 11 Foot SkyDoc Balloon can lift 10lbs at sea level. a general rule, the more cubic feet of helium you have, the higher you will be able to lift a certain payload at any base altitude. In order to gain additional altitude with a set amount of helium, you must have reduced payload.

The greater the elevation above sea level of the arena in which the blimp will fly, the less the "lift" a blimp will have. Our partners at Aerostar routinely analyze the altitude of the city in which a blimp is to be flown with respect to the lift necessary to fly effectively.

Goodyear has its own specially designed TV equipment for use in the blimps. The equipment is kept with the crew for installation just prior to a given event. The camera is a small Wescam, mounted in a vibration-free gimbal mount. The lens is an enormous Fujinon 44:1 zoom. The camera's image is transmitted to the ground by microwave, where a microwave dish antenna and receiver pick it up and feed it to the network. The blimp signal can be put on the air live or taped for replay.

Hellenismos was the Greek term used by the Roman Emperor Julian—one of the first figures to attempt to revive the religion after the advent of Christianity—to refer to the traditional religion of the Greeks and all those who embraced their religious culture. It is in this religious, inclusive sense that we reclaim and use the word today. (The word also has other unrelated meanings in modern Greek.)

MAmmals FIrst. The dietary practice is called "mafism" - lower case M - and one who practices it is a "mafist." (Not a mafioso.) The terms are lower case M because mafism, like vegetarianism, is not a religion. Mafism is not about a set of laws that you must follow, with things you are or are not allowed to do. It is about finding a middle road, between a traditional Western diet and vegetarianism, that is comfortable for you.

Back in the old days they believed that if you got drunk from alcohol you were taken over by a bad spirit. Hence the meaning of the word "Spirit."

There are a lot of popular theories, one of which involves a Monty Python episode. Here’s a site with details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(Monty_Python)

The term "Cherished Number" was originally coined to describe a registration having a sentimental value to its owner and which he/she wanted to keep in the family.

The acronym "DIN" stands for Deutsche Institut fuer Normung, The German standardisation institute. This is the body that takes care of standards for ski gear, such as the thickness of boot soles, binding setting numbers, and much more.

Obviously this refers to the size or diameter of the bore. Basically, the term came about from many years ago when there were very few ways of accurate measurement, as we know it today. Or perhaps more importantly, no standard that could be used by any Gunmaker, the length and breadth of the country, and each is the same measurement. So the way in which 12 bore was designated was by taking 1 lb of lead, dividing it into equal portions, dictated by the bore size required, eg.

How much caffeine is there in [drink/food/pill]? According to the National Soft Drink Association, the following is the caffeine content in mgs per 12 oz can of soda: Afri-Cola 100.0 (?) Jolt 71.2 Sugar-Free Mr. Pibb 58.8 Mountain Dew 55.0 (no caffeine in Canada) Diet Mountain Dew 55.0 Kick citrus 54 (36mg per 8oz can, caffeine from guarana) Mello Yellow 52.8 Surge 51.0 Tab 46.8 Battery energy drink -- 140mg/l = 46.7mg/can Coca-Cola 45.6 Diet Cola 45.6 Shasta Cola 44.4 Shasta Cherry Cola 44.

OK, now, the crucial piece of information you might be missing is that The Order of the Stick is a comic that parodies fantasy roleplaying games.specifically, Dungeons & Dragons. When the comic started out, it was only being seen by people who were already coming to my gaming site, so there was little expectation that anyone reading it wouldn.t .get. it. However, as we have spread in popularity, more and more people are finding their way to OOTS, and I.m hearing more about people who don.

The Wayback Machine is named in reference to the famous Mr. Peabody's WABAC (pronounced way-back) machine from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon show.

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is an extensible common presentation service for management applications. MMC is included in the Windows? 2000 and XP operating systems.

That's a little portable wind sock, and it gives the pilot a final check on the wind direction as he makes his approach. The airship always lands directly into the wind.

Answer: From the French "serge de Nimes," a twill fabric made in Nimes, France from blue vegetable dyes from the indigo plant, which is why deeper hues of blue denim are called "indigo."

Jimmy Durante recorded a song called "The Guy Who Found the Lost Chord," which recounts an old English legend about, in the words of Mike Pinder, "an organist who, while practicing one day, hit a particular chord which elevated his consciousness and he experienced what might be called nirvana or a glimpse of heaven -- perhaps a trance of sorts. However, as with all forms of stimulants, it was short lived and he moved one hand and could not find that special chord again.

Bail up was originally used to describe part of the process of fixing harness on bullock teams. It required a person to raise both arms to do up the straps. It came to mean "Stop and put up your hands" to the bushrangers, and is the Australian equivalent of the highwaymen‚s "Stand and Deliver", or the American "Stick em Up." Yes. The Wild Colonial Boy was not actually a Colonial.

The term “Green Card” refers to the identification card that indicates that a person is a lawful permanent resident of the United States. The card serves as proof of their status. Interestingly, the cards no longer are green in color, yet the term “ Green Card” endures. This is because for many generations, and for all cards issued before 1976, the primary color of the cards was infact green.