Certificate birthday printable

The BUZZ/ talk, tidbits & trivia

Is it tough to share birthday with the U.S.?

Playwright Neil Simon is one. So are New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, TV reporter Geraldo Rivera and advice columnist Ann Landers.

And Calvin Coolidge was the only U.S. president with this distinction.

They're all Yankee Doodle Dandies - people born on the Fourth of July.

The Gazette is looking for area residents who were Independence Day babies for an upcoming story. We want to know how you celebrate your birthday: barbecues, concerts, community-wide fireworks displays?

E-mail us at drwilson@ gazette.com; fax 636-0202; or call 636- 0223.

A barrel of fun

You say you still haven't gotten your dad a gift for Father's Day? Don't despair. The helpful folks at Jack Daniel's have a suggestion: whiskey. And they're not just talking a bottle or two. They suggest really letting Dad know you care by giving him an entire barrel of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel. That's about 225-240 bottles' worth of whiskey and the barrel it's aged in. Cost is about $9,000. For information, call (888) 551-5225.

One cool cat

Sometimes, a certificate helps authenticate what you already know. You can find a printable Certificate of Coolness for your dad at an unusual Web site - www.fatherofcool.carrier.com.

The site is home to Carrier, an air conditioning and refrigeration company started by the "father of cool," Willis Haviland Carrier, who invented the basics in 1902.

The color of knowledge

Q. What do the dalai lama and drive-in movies have in common?

A. Both have June birthdays, and both are featured on the Crayola crayon company's Web site, www.cray ola.com, where you can find a picture of the spiritual leader and trivia about drive-in movie theaters.

A stub makeover

You know how you use a crayon until you've worn it down to a little stub? The Crayola Company wants to know what to call that end, so it's started a "Dub the Nub" contest.

At www.crayola.com, you can nominate and vote for your favorite nub names, and find recipes to make your own colors with the Crayon Maker, which lets you mix these nubs together to create a whole new hue.

- Deb Acord writes The Buzz. Reach her by mail at The Gazette, P.O. Box 1779, Colorado Springs 80901; fax 636-0202; call 636-0264; or e-mail dacord@gazette.com.