ReTRIeVIA

The hour-hand and the minute-hand are exactly together at 12 noon.

At what time are they next together?

Intuitively, we can ‘see’ that this will happen around 1.05-1.06 pm. However, how do you solve the question mathematically?

I asked myself: On how many occasions will the two hands be together from 12 noon to 12 midnight? That is, in 12 hours how many occasions will the 2 hands be together?

A visual inspection will show 11 occasions of ‘togetherness’. So, how long does it take from one occasion of ‘togetherness’ to the next?

Since we have 11 occasions of ‘togetherness’ in 12 hours, each occasion to the next will take 12/11 hours, i.e., 1 hour and 60/11 minutes.

Working this out, the answer is 1 hour and 5.4545 minutes.

To be honest, clock-watching is not always this exciting!

Talking about clocks reminds me of that old saying.

There is no such thing as a person being ALWAYS wrong.
Why, even a clock that does not move is right twice a day!

Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2003/ 2004
Tan Wee Kiat

Does money grow on trees? Of course, you can’t find money in trees. But can you find trees in money? Well, you can –if it is the Singapore $5 note. Look at the back of the $5 note and you can find a picture of the famous Tembusu tree that grows in the Botanic Gardens.

Recently, this tree was honoured again. Look at the first stamp on the left.

The Tembusu is one of the “Heritage Trees” stamp-set issued in September 2002.

Here in NIE-Jurongthere are lots of another Heritage Tree shown on the stamp. This is the Rain Tree (third stamp from the left).

Why are these trees called ‘Rain’ trees? Because the leaves fold when there is rain. (The leaves also fold towards evening time.)

What about the other 2 trees in the stamp-set?

The beautiful red one is ‘Flame of the Forest’ and the last one is ‘Kapok’.

Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2003/ 2004
Tan Wee Kiat

Talking about stamps being used (or abused) like this reminds me of a similar operation during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore that was, perhaps, a little less legitimate.

During the Japanese rule in Singapore (15 February 1942 to 12 September 1945), Japanese stamps were issued. These
are shown below (the 50-cent piece shows an existing landmark building in Johore Bahru).

However, when the Japanese ran short of stamps, they commandeered the stocks of British stamps, which showed a picture of King George the Sixth, and simply printed “Great Japan” on the stamps.

Take a close look at the stamp on the left. The pronunciation of“Great Japan (or Great Nippon)”is rendered as ‘Dai Nippon’.

However, ‘Dai Nippon’ could be pronounced as ‘Die Nippon’ and interpreted as a sign that Japan would eventually lose the war!

Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2003/ 2004
Tan Wee Kiat

At one of the streams in MacRitchieReservoir I saw many Tiger Barbs. It is a pretty fish, about 5-10 cm long. It is a ‘Tiger’ because of its stripes. Take a look at these Singapore stamps, one issued in 1966 and one in 1981.

Oh! The 2 stamps look alike, you say!

Well, you are quite right. How did this come about?

A stamp, in a way, is a piece of paper currency. Back in 1966, the postal authorities had printed a big quantity of the 4-cent stamps. Fifteen years later, in 1981, there was still a substantial quantity left. The postal authorities covered the ‘4 cents’ in the bottom left corner with a black-colour pattern and inserted ’10 cents’ at the top right corner.

Perfectly legitimate way of making money; nothing ‘fishy’ here.

Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2003/ 2004
Tan Wee Kiat

Thinking of Small Kindness Week inevitably leads to thoughts of Courtesy Campaigns.

The Courtesy Campaign started years back, if I remember correctly, in 1979 because the Tourism Authorities wanted to make Singapore a more memorable and pleasant place of visit for tourists. After all, ‘a satisfied customer is our best advertisement’.

Apparently, when the [then] Prime Minister (Mr Lee Kuan Yew) heard about this objective, he said something to this effect. ‘Of course, we must be courteous and kind to our foreign visitors but more importantly, we must be courteous and kind to our own people as well.’

Hence, the Courtesy Campaign had two objectives instead of one.

To symbolize the campaign’s message for our Lion City we had the Courtesy Lion.

Here’s a stamp to jog your memory.

Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2003/ 2004
Tan Wee Kiat

Another annual observance at this time of year (April) is Small Kindness Week. In our interactions with colleagues, neighbours, siblings, etc.,courtesy towards each other would be an example of ‘small kindness’. Words such as ‘Please’, ‘Excuse me’, ‘I am sorry’, ‘Thank you’, etc should be part of our everyday vocabulary.

‘That is only common sense’, you say.

Well, the problem with ‘common sense’ is that it is not very common! Here is little story.

SKW Advocate: To make life more pleasant for everybody, we should always use words such as ‘Please’, ‘Excuse me’, ‘I am sorry’, ‘Thank you’ etc in our interactions with others.

SKW Cynic: What for? Why waste time? Such words are just empty air, nothing but hot air!

SKW Advocate: Oh! You are absolutely right. I fully agree with you that such words are nothing but empty air. But what is in the
tyres of our cars, buses, and motorcycles but empty air! But, without this empty air, every journey would be rough.

Thank goodness, indeed, for empty air!

Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2003/ 2004
Tan Wee Kiat

During Ching Ming the Chinese clean up the grave site of their ancestors. At the Chua Chu Kang cemetary, you will see people burning joss paper, offering food, etc at the graves of their ancestors. Generally, the Chinese people doing these rituals are ‘traditional worshippers’. The
Christians among the Chinese do not offer food and joss paper but usually place a bunch of flowers at the grave of their ancestors.

Here’s a little story about the differences in religious beliefs that may interest you.

Two young Chinese men, strangers to each other, are offering prayers at two adjacent gravesites. One young man, a traditional worshipper, had made an offering of roast meat, steamed dumplings and wine at the gravesite. The other young man, a Christian, placed a bunch of flowers at his ancestor’s tombstone.

Looking at the food offerings that his ‘traditional’ neighbourhad brought, the Christian man decided to make a statement about religious practices.

Christian man: I say! When do you think your ancestor will come up to enjoy all these delicious foods that you have brought?

Traditional man: I don’t know. But, if you must have an answer, I would say my ancestor will enjoy these foods at the same time your ancestor
comes up to smell your flowers.

Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2003/ 2004
Tan Wee Kiat

Talking about Mr Rajaratnam reminds me of Kampong Glam. Mr Rajaratnam was the MP for Kampong Glam for many years.

Incidentally, ‘Glam’ is not short form for ‘Glamour’, neither is it another way of spelling ‘Glum’. If ‘Glam’ doesn’t stand for ‘Glamour’ what does it stand for?

The word ‘Glam’ stands for ‘Gelam’, the name of a tree. The common name for this tree is ‘paper-bark’ tree. This refers to the tendency for the bark to shred in a paper-like manner. The wood is whitish, which leads to the Malays referring to it as ‘Kayu putih’. The scientific name for this tree is Melaleuca cajuputi (notice the similarity between ‘cajuputi’ and ‘kayu putih’). The leaves of this tree are collected and distilled to obtain ‘Minyak kayu putih’, a medicated oil similar to Oil of Eucalyptus.

Now comes the $64 question: Can you find this tree in Kampong Glam?

Yes. There are some Gelam trees planted in Kampong Glam and, near Kampong Glam, in front of the HajjahFatimah Mosque in Beach Road.

There is a whole row of these trees on the road divider outside the Methodist Girls’ School in Bukit Timahand several in Havelock Road.

Oh, yes, there is a grand old Gelam tree in the Botanic Gardens (near the famous Tembusu Tree which is shown on our $5 note and on a postage stamp).

Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2003/ 2004
Tan Wee Kiat

Most old folks, including yours truly here, would remember singing the national anthem, Majulah Singapura in school way back in 1959. Taking the Pledge, “We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves…” only started some years later in 1966. The protocol then was to stand ‘at attention’ with both hands at the side. Some years later, I think it was in 1989, the hand-position was amended, as shown in the stamp.

You may ask why Pledge-taking did not start in 1959 together with Flag-raising and singing Majulah Singapura. The simple answer is that the Pledge was only written in 1966.

The Pledge was written by Mr Rajaratnam, who was the Minister for Culture in 1959, Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1965, and Second Deputy Prime Minister in 1973. He retired from politics in 1988.

A Straits Times report (9 June 1996) goes like this:
While giving a speech in 1996, Senior Minister Lee KuanYew was overcome with emotion when he recalled the words of the Singapore Pledge and the man who penned the words.

Mr Lee, who was Prime Minister of Singapore 1959-1990, was quoted as saying ”He (Rajaratnam) had enormous courage, enormous idealism …After the racial riots in the mid-60s, where rational people became beasts, it required an act of faith to put those words together …But Rajaratnamgave me a lot of heart. He drafted it. I knew it was ……really a dream too far ….. I polished it up, left the words in”.

Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2003/ 2004
Tan Wee Kiat

The Speak-Good-English-Movement reminds me of my grandson’s attempt to tell me a story about the use of ‘lah’in Singlish.

Grandson: Today, our Teacher told us not use the word ‘lah’ when we speak.

Grandpa: Really? What exactly did she say?

Grandson: She said, “Don’t use the word ‘lah’. Okay?”

Grandpa: Really? And what did you say?

Grandson: I said, “Okay, lah”.

This Singlishstory reminds me of the VIP (Very Important Passenger) who was on a plane flying from Singapore to London. Trying to be friendly, the VIP tried to initiate a conversation with the air-stewardess, ‘Singapore Girl’.

VIP: Do you enjoy flying all over the world?

Singapore Girl: So, so, lah.

VIP: And what did you do before your present job?

Singapore Girl: Study, lor!

VIP: Study law! And you gave that up to be a stewardess?

Singapore Girl: Why, cannot meh?

Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2003/ 2004
Tan Wee Kiat