The weekly news update featuring Eiffel Tower Dedication
To all North Pole City Elves, those in Santa's Village, in the Lower 48 and all around the world, this is your weekly update for the week of March 27, 2023. I'm your host Walter "Mistletoe" Livingstone and I'm your co-host, Becky "Marshmallow" Livingstone, Let's go to press.
For the week of March 27, 2023 your sponsor will be Vicki's Virtual Vacations. Vicki's is your virtual vacations headquarters. Want to take a trip somewhere, but just cant get out of the North Pole? Stop by and book a virtual trip with Vicki at Vicki's Virtual Vacations at 330 Silver Bell Circle. You will have the best trip without having to go an extra mile. Save an extra 30% off if you book on Virtual Vacation Day this week. Thats Vicki's Virtual Vacations.
We received a report from an anonymous elf stating that they witnessed Santa and Mrs. Claus dancing in the mansion this past week. Rumors suggest that the Clauses may make an appearance at the dance competition on Friday night. The Clauses did attend the dance about 40 years ago and were some stiff competition with them coming in third place. It will be interesting to see what happens on Friday night.
Edward Hinklemyer sent out a memo stating that the Office of Elf of affairs will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday of this week for some renovations and furniture replacement. Some of the pieces in the office dated bake to when Santa's Village was established and it is time for an upgrade. The offices will be cleaned, painted, and outfitted with new office furniture. If you are planning on bidding on new positions this week, please do not stop by the offices on Wednesday or Thursday.
The Offices of WWW/PR are still recouping from a power outage that happened over the weekend. The website was down for about a day and a 1/2 since the connection to the Internet was interrupted with some storms that moved across the southern part of North Pole City with some heavy winds that knocked out the power at the communications tower. Everything seems to be back up now and is operational.
This week in NPC weather we are expecting temperatures in the -19 to -22 range with mostly sunny skies. Precipitation is not expected as there is only a 10-20% chance any day this week. High winds are expected again though on Tuesday so be careful.
Join Walter as he will be the master of ceremonies at the North Pole City Dance Marathon on Friday at the North Pole City Hotel. As you are aware, this dance is held every year to help celebrate the "Dance Marathon Day", and is a throwback to the dance competitions from the 1960s. Elf couples will hit the floor starting at 8 p.m. dancing the night away. There will be several competitions throughout the evening.
The Eiffel Tower was dedicated on March 31, 1889, in Paris. The ceremony was presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower’s designer, and attended by French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard, a handful of other dignitaries, and 200 construction workers.
In 1889, to honor of the centenary of the French Revolution, the French government planned an international exposition and announced a design competition for a monument to be built on the Champ-de-Mars in central Paris. Out of more than 100 designs submitted, the Centennial Committee chose Eiffel’s plan of an open-lattice wrought-iron tower that would reach 984 feet above Paris and be the world’s tallest man-made structure.
A worldwide symbol of romance, Eiffel’s tower had critics who argued that it would be structurally unsound, and indignation from others who thought it would be an eyesore in the heart of Paris. In fact, 300 Parisian artists and intellectuals signed a manifesto that ran in the Le Temps newspaper on Valentine’s Day in 1887 saying, “We, writers, painters, sculptors, architects, passionate lovers of the beauty, until now intact, of Paris, hereby protest with all our might, with all our indignation, in the name of French taste gone unrecognized, in the name of French art and history under threat, against the construction, in the very heart of our capital, of the useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower.”
Even so, Eiffel completed his tower and under budget in just two years with only one worker who lost his life during construction, which at the time was a remarkably low casualty number.
The tower has 3 platforms, each with an observation deck. Eiffel even contracted the Otis Elevator Company of the United States to design the tower’s famous glass-cage elevators; though they were not yet completed on the decication, so Gustave Eiffel ascended the tower’s stairs with a few companions and raised an enormous French flag on the flagpole. Fireworks were set off from the second platform. Once he descended, the Eiffel addressed the guests and about 200 workers. When the Paris International Exposition opened, and the tower served as the entrance gateway to the giant fair.
Over the years, the “Iron Lady” has changed her looks with the variety of paint colors. When it was opened in 1889, the Eiffel Tower sported a reddish-brown color. A decade later, it was coated in yellow paint. The tower was also yellow-brown and chestnut brown before the adoption of the current, specially mixed “Eiffel Tower Brown” in 1968. Every seven years, painters apply 60 tons of paint to the tower to keep her in good condition. The tower is painted in three shades, progressively lighter with elevation.
Since Eiffel paid for 80 percent of the tower’s construction costs, he was permitted to allow the structure to stand for 20 years in order to recoup his investment before it passed into the hands of the Parisian government, which planned to disassemble it for scrap metal. Eiffel engraved the names of 72 of the country’s scientists in the tower’s first-level gallery, (to see the list of names, you can visit : https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/the-monument/eiffel-tower-and-science ) and atop the structure he installed a laboratory that was used by himself and French scientists to study astronomy, meteorology, aerodynamics and physiology and test experiments such as Foucault’s Pendulum. In 1909 Eiffel installed an aerodynamic wind tunnel at the base of the tower that carried out thousands of tests, including those on Wright Brothers airplanes and Porsche automobiles. In a final bid to save it, Eiffel erected an antenna atop the tower and financed experiments with wireless telegraphy. Seeing the value of the tower in sending and receiving wireless messages, the city kept the tower up when Eiffel's permit expired in 1909. Today, more than 100 antennae on the tower beam radio and television broadcasts around the world.
As a final tidbit, during World War I, the French military used the tower’s wireless station to intercept enemy messages from Berlin and in 1917, the Eiffel Tower intercepted a coded message between Germany and Spain that offered details about “Operative H-21.” using this transmission, the French arrested, convicted and executed legendary spy Mata Hari for spying on behalf of Germany.
A report from the NPC Commerce Association stated that "The Waffle Tasting" was a huge success. More than 2 million samples went out and 500,000 votes were cast. The winner ended up being Wynter's Waffles. Wynter "Wonderful Waffle" Leighton was very excited to have so many vote for his waffles. He said that he, "never would have imagined that his waffles would be voted for by more than 80% of the voters." It truely was a landslide win. Congratulations Wynter!
Now that the Snowball Games have ended, the North Pole City Sports League is looking at plans for this year's Reindeer Games. There will be a planning meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning at the North Pole City Sports League offices at 10 a.m. for anyone wishing to be a part of this year's steering committee. Anyone is welcome to come out and join in on the planning sessions.
This week in community events, we start off with International Scribble Day on Monday the 27th. Kids love to scribble, take some time and give it a whirl. You might just find it relaxing.
On Tuesday the 28th, it is National Something on a Stick Day. Whether it is a corndog, popcycle, a shish kabob or something else, have a treat on a stick. Foods that come on a stick are fun and easy to eat. Don't want to make your own, visit Mrs. Claus' Kitchen to see what treats on a stick they have for you to try.
Wednesday the 29th is Mermaid Day. Miranda the Mermaid plans on swimming up for a visit. Be sure to stop by and say hello. It is also World Piano Day. Penny "Piano" Cumberbatch is holding an Evening Concierto Concert in the North Pole City Auditorium at 8 pm.
Thursday the 30th is Vitual Vacation Day. Since we elves do not get to leave the North Pole too often, this is a great chance to visit some places in the world you always wanted to visit- virtually. Stop by Vicki's Virtual Vacations to take your virtual trip. Since it is also Pencil day... call Vicki to Pencil you in!
Now Friday the 31st is going to be an amazing day. Join in on Dance Marathon Day. The NPC Hotel will be hosting a NPC Dance Marathon. It will start at 8 pm and will go until the last elf drops. None other than the WELF-NPC's Walter "Mistletoe" Livingstone will be the Master of Ceremonies with special selections by The Tree Toppers. It is also Crayola Crayon Day so pull out your crayons and color a picture or do some more scribbling if you are not gonna dance.
Saturday is a full day too. It is April 1st and April Fools Day so be on your toes-- Lucky the Leprechaun is still in town. It is Pillow Fight Day too. Start your day or end your day with a pillow fight with family or friends. It is also fun at work day and edible book day. That could be your April Fools Joke. Get a book at the NPC Library's Edible Book Sale and tease your friends at work when they ask you if that is a good book.
WELF-NPC would like to wish a very happy 600th birthday to Emma "Gingerbread" Appleton of the Reindeer Stables. She has been working with Blitzen for 300 years. She is the only one that seems to be able to get Blitzen to take a bath. We wish her many more happy years.
This is Walter "Mistletoe" Livingstone and Becky "Marshmallow" Livingstone with the reminder: If you're not having fun, it's not worth doing. ~Tommy Bolin.
Have a good evening, and be sure to tune in next week for another WELF-NPC North Pole Radio News Update.
