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The Officially Unofficial ARC Holiday Giveaway


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Yes, you truly are vigilante to the ARC brand! I would hold a raffle, but after trying to sell one of my daughters(helions) on evil-bay, I was contacted by a few government agencies saying even if I am 30% hillbilly, it is against the law....

WTH??

-Jim

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Hey Waco, Just a comm check but are my e-mails getting to the super-secret highly classified e-mail address? I only ask cause I THINK I got the answers correct on the scrooge question but wasn't mentioned in the correct answers list (and we know how honorable that list is!) I say I think cause I didn't actually say "Little Fan" I just put down Fan. So either that's not a complete enough answer, you overlooked my answer OR my e-mail ain't going to the right place. So, in short....can you hear me now? :D

That's all.

Bill

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Question #5

Tonight's Prize: TwoBobs 1/48 T-2 Buckeye, with complete decal set and TwoMikes resin cockpit set

Tonight, a biology question for the ARC scientists!

The toxicology of Christmas: the Winter Holidays can be quite hazardous to your health, with a number of poisonous symbols and decorations threatening the unwary Yule-tide merrymakers.

Name 3 poisonous plants typically associated with the Christmas season. No, Mikey Reeves' fruit cake recipe does not count.

pirate_santa.gif

The current time is 1800AKST, 1900PST, 2000MST, 2100CST, 2200EST, and, for Moai Vincent, it's also 2200 on Easter Island. It's also 0300GMT for those who prefer a universal reference. You have 12 hours to answer this question. All correct answers received by 0600AKST/1500GMT will be entered into the drawing for the TwoBobs 1/48 T-2 Buckeye package deal.

Correct answers received after the time noted above will be arranged alphabetically to take turns licking the hoar frost off the flagpole in front of my office.

Edited by Waco
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TIME IS UP FOR #5! (WAY UP, ACTUALLY)

Frackin' real day job took up way too much time today. Don't they realize I'm trying to run a contest here?

At any rate, this was certainly one of the more popular questions, or maybe it was the prize offering, or maybe I need to make the questions more difficult. So, what are the poisonous Christmas plants? Without a doubt, the most popular answers I received were: Mistletoe, with its extremely toxic berries; Holly, who, based on my ex-girlfriend of that name, is extremely toxic; and Poinsettia...except...

Long thought to be toxic, the poinsettia plant poses little health risk. Studies have shown that a toddler would have to ingest 250 poinsettia leaves a day to cause a serious problem. Like other plants, ingesting leaves and stems can lead to stomach upset, but poinsettias are now considered to be non-toxic.

christmas-poinsettia-1.jpg

BOOM! However, I found other, conflicting sources of information which put the beautiful red flower into a somewhat dubious state. Toxic? Poisonous? Non-poisonous? Non-Toxic? Goes well ground into a red sauce, but don't ever pair it with arsenic? So in the end, I've accepted all answers that included Poinsettia, due to its questionable status. Here's a rather complete list:

Mistletoe

Mistletoe, a common Christmas decoration, grows in the wild. The mistletoe sold at Christmas usually comes from Texas and Oklahoma. The white berries that appear on the plant in winter are toxic to children and pets. To reduce the risk of poisoning, some sellers substitute plastic berries for the toxic real berries on mistletoe plants sold during the holidays. Toxins in the berries can slow the heart and cause nausea and vomiting. Keep away from children as swallowing even a few berries can be serious for a toddler. The stems and leaves of the mistletoe also contain toxins, but in lesser amounts.

Holly

The berries of the holly plant are extremely toxic. They contain ilex acid which irritates the stomach, resulting in nausea, vomiting and diarrhea when ingested. Consuming 20 berries can be fatal.

Bittersweet

Bittersweet is commonly used in floral arrangements and wreaths, mainly in the fall and winter when red berries are present. Although the entire bittersweet plant is poisonous, the unripe berries are the most toxic part of the plant. They contain solanine which decreases the heart rate and causes drowsiness and headaches.

Boxwood

Boxwood branches are often used to make wreathes and swags. The twigs and leaves of boxwood branches contain buxene, a toxic alkaloid. Ingestion of this substance can cause stomach upset, convulsions, and severe respiratory problems.

Pine

Pine trees also contain toxins. While small amounts may result in irritation and stomach upset, ingesting large amounts can be highly toxic. Handling pine material may also result in skin irritation.

Jerusalem Cherry

Like bittersweet plants, the berries of Jerusalem cherry plants contain solanine. Ingesting these yellow to red berries can cause stomach upset, lowered heart rate, low blood pressure, shallow breathing and even coma. This is one of the most toxic plants commonly used for Christmas decorations.

So, given all of the above, I had a total of 29 correct answers for Question Number Six Five. I played a game of nose-wheel tire roulette with the crew chiefs this afternoon, and in addition to losing $75, having to buy 2 cases of Keystone, and a fifth of Jack, I determined the correct number for prize number 5 was entry #16. So, congratulations to ScottVA36, the winner of the 1/48 TwoBobs/TwoMikes T-2 Buckeye package.

Scott, PM me your address, please.

Next question will be up soon!

Edited by Waco
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Okay, time to announce the next Prize, which is, of course:

battlestar-galactica-20080410023353829-000.jpg

Uhhh, no. Sorry guys, I'm not actually giving away Tricia Helfer. But prize #6 is a selection of ZactoModels missiles....a little something for the 1/32 modeler tonight. The winner of the next question will take home a set of 1/32 Vympel R-27/AA-10 Alamo missiles, a set of 1/32 Vympel R-73/AA-11 Archer missiles; and a set of 1/32 AIM-9L/M missiles.

If you haven't seen these, you really need to check them out. They're pretty darned impressive. From his page, and the thread here on ARC, check 'em out:

Missiles.jpg

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