May 4 - Geezer's Blog - International Firefighters Day & National Orange Juice Day

The Bottom Line: Learn something new about firefighters.

The Full Story:

• Red and blue also signify emergency services around the world.
• Check out the cool video @IFFD (International Firefighters Day’s Twitter account) made as promotion for May 4th
• According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 97 on-duty firefighters died in the U.S. in 2013, 31% being from rapid-fire progresses and explosions. 33% were caused from overexertion/stress/ or medical issues.
• According to Firefightersday.org, on the first Sunday in May, they ask the public to Sound Off in respect of past firefighters. Sirens sound for 30 seconds followed by a minute’s silence in memory of and respect for the fallen fighters who were lost in the line of duty “or passed before us.”
• Most firefighters are volunteers. Yup - 75% of all firemen are actually volunteers. They choose to run into burning buildings and save lives, not for the fame or fortune but to just help out their community. And they don’t even get paid.
• Firefighters enter buildings with temperatures greater than what you cook meat at in your oven. A burning building typically reaches 600 degrees on the bottom floor and can get up to typically 1500 degrees in the ceiling! Most people don’t cook their food at more then 450 degrees.
• Firefighters are expected to get dressed in less then 2 minutes. They need to have everything on in less then 2 minutes! This includes their turnout gear and SCBA (what they use to breathe with in burning buildings) correctly in less than 2 minutes. All of that gear plus the tools to do the job can weigh anywhere between 80 to 120 pounds.

The Full Story:

• A person needs to eat two to three oranges to get the same amount of sugar as in a one cup serving of orange juice.
• Orange juice is purchased by nearly 70% of American households.
• Early Spanish explorers planted the first orange trees around St. Augustine in the 1500s. Florida welcomed the trees with a perfect environment enabling natives to plant more. The state’s warm, sub-tropical climate made orange trees its perfect home. Now it’s known as The Sunshine State!
• For all the pulp lovers and non-pulp lovers, guess what? A glass of orange juice with pulp contains the maximum vitamins per serving. So non-pulp peeps, think again!
• Orange is the fourth most popular fruit, and orange juice is the most popular juice in America.
• Brazil is the largest producer of oranges in the world.
• Florida oranges are greener than the California oranges. The warm night climate in Florida causes the chlorophyll pigments to migrate into the orange peel making it greener.
• It is possible for more than one plant to grow from a single seed of orange.
• The ripe oranges that are not plucked from trees, may turn green due to a process called re-greening. However, this effect does not hamper the taste and nutritional value.
• Oranges contain more fiber than most fruits and vegetables.
• Oranges and orange blossoms are a symbol of love.
• More orange trees are killed by lightning, than plant diseases.
• Oranges were known as the fruits of the Gods. They were often referred as the 'golden apples' that were stolen by Hercules.
• There are over 35,000,000 orange trees in Spain.