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China Air Defense Expo Park to Open in Zhenhai
2010-01-12 12:19:43
The other day, China Air Defense Expo Park, the first place in China for the exhibition and education of national air defense, laid its foundation in Zhenhai, Ningbo City. This indicates that Ningbo is in the forefront of China in the education of national defense.

China Air Defense Expo Park is to rely on the Education Base of the Zhenhaikou Coastal Defense and to make use of the air defense facilities in the Zhaobao Mountain Scenic Spot. The total investment for the project is 180 million yuan. With an area of 40,000 sq meters, and a floorage of 18,500 square meters, it is expected to be a place for exhibition, research, cultural exchanges and tourism as well as an education base for patriotism and heroism.

The park will consist in an exhibition hall, an area of air defense tunnels and an exhibition area for weapons. By such means as multimedia, pictures and personal participation, it aims to systematically popularize the knowledge of air defense.

So far, the design and expert approval for China Air Defense Expo Park has been completed. The work for gathering exhibits has started and the park is estimated to open on October 1, 2011.

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The history of the middle finger

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Well, now......here's something I never knew before, and now that I know it, I feel compelled to send it on to my more intelligent friends in the hope that they, too, will feel edified. Isn't history more fun when you know something about it? Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous English longbow was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew" (or "pluck yew").

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, See, we can still pluck yew! Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodentals fricative F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute! It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird."

IT IS STILL AN APPROPRIATE SALUTE TO THE FRENCH TODAY!
And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing.

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