Suzie Q is a knockout
QUESTION Why was Rocky Marciano’s knockout punch called the Suzie Q?
The Suzie Q, Rocky Marciano’s ferocious overhand right, was named after a novelty dance move.
One of the toughest men to step foot in the ring, Marciano was a remarkably small heavyweight at just 13st 7lb and 5ft 10in. Contrast him with Muhammad Ali, who was 16st 9lb and 6ft 3in, and Tyson Fury at 19 st and 6 ft 9 in.
however, he remains the only heavyweight champion to be undefeated: 49 wins with 43 knockouts.
The Suzie Q was rightly feared. The December 1963 issue of Boxing Illustrated proclaimed: ‘Marciano’s knockout blow packs more explosive energy than an armour-piercing bullet and represents as much energy as would be required to spot-lift 1,000 lb, 1 ft off the ground.’
however, Marciano was not a one-punch wonder: he threw an enormous number of heavy blows, round after round, testament to his remarkable fitness.
his tremendous power came from his short stature, big legs, thick torso and low centre of gravity.
The 1930s dance called the Suzie Q could be performed on its own, but was usually part of the Jitterbug and Lindy hop dances for couples.
A December 12, 1936, news story in the Chicago Defender claimed the name was the result of a misheard conversation about where the dance had come from: Syracuse, New York.
It became a popular song, Doin’ The Suzie Q, written and performed by the irrepressible Lil hardin Armstrong.
Its other names of ‘heel twist’ or ‘grind walk’ describe the movement of cross and side steps with a swivel action.
John Amyss, Norwich, Norfolk.
QUESTION When oil was $150 a barrel, why weren’t fuel prices as high as they are today, when oil is just $80 a barrel?
WhAT you pay at the pump is made up of the wholesale price — the cost of distribution and fuel companies’ profit margins — and fuel duty.
This is a flat rate of 57.95p per litre plus VAT, which is charged at 20 per cent of the wholesale price plus the duty, which equates to 16.7 per cent of the final price.
Under normal circumstances, crude oil prices are the main driver in fluctuations. The 2008 oil price was a spike. At that time, fuel duty was significantly lower, at 50.35p per litre (though it rose to 52.35p in December 2008) and VAT was lower at 17.5 per cent.
Nevertheless, the fuel price did briefly rise to 103.9p per litre.
Between 2011 and 2014, there was a sustained period in which oil was $120 per barrel. With the increased duty, this was reflected at the pumps, with petrol prices between £1.34 and £1.39 per litre. While today’s oil price is lower, the muchpublicised problems in distribution and a change in the make-up of fuels contributed to the high price at the pump.
Diesel contains 10 per cent biodiesel, which is increasingly expensive to produce. As for unleaded, the switch to e10 has meant higher prices because it has a higher ethanol content. ethanol is more expensive than petrol.
Dr Ken Warren, Glasgow.
QUESTION Has nuclear testing ruined the science of carbon dating?
The bomb effect refers to the addition of artificial radiocarbon (Carbon 14 or C-14) to the atmosphere because of nuclear weapons testing.
Carbon dating became less reliable after the spike in C-14 following the nuclear testing programmes of various countries in the 1950s.
Results are given with units BP, which is years Before the Present, meaning 1950.
Radiocarbon dating uses the decay of C-14 to estimate the age of organic materials, such as paper.
All living things absorb carbon from the atmosphere and food, including a certain amount of natural, radioactive C-14.
When a plant or animal dies, this process stops, yet the radioactive carbon accumulated continues to decay, with a half-life of 5,730 years. By measuring the amount left in a sample, it is possible to calculate its age.
Laboratories in Britain, Switzerland and the U.S. have used this technique to date the flax used to weave the Turin Shroud as from between 1260 and 1390, rather than around the time of the Crucifixion. And radiocarbon dating has shown that Otzi, the body found in melting alpine ice on the Austrian-Italian border in 1991, is more than 5,000 years old.
This basic calculation assumes the amount of C-14 in the environment has been constant in time and space — which it hasn’t. The burning of fossil fuels and nuclear bomb tests have radically altered the amount of C-14 in the air. There are other fluctuations caused by solar flares, planetary magnetic field reversals and oceanic mixing.
As a result, conversion tables have been created to match the calendar with radiocarbon dates in different regions.
Since the 1960s, researchers have mainly done this recalibration with trees, counting annual rings to get calendar dates and matching them with measured radiocarbon dates.
The radical change in global C-14 levels brought about by human activities necessitated the use of a reference standard for carbon dating.
A vat of unpolluted oxalic acid was adopted as the baseline by the U.S. National Bureau of Standards. Its radiocarbon content is theoretically the same as a wood sample grown in 1950, the zero point of the radiocarbon timescale used for carbon dating results. Simon Casey, Oxford.
QUESTION When was the flight simulator invented?
The earlier answer referenced the famous Link Trainer, the first advanced flight simulator.
An example with a full set of working instruments is on display at The de havilland Aircraft Museum in London Colney, hertfordshire.
For a £25 donation plus entry to the museum, the resident pilot, a former U.S. Navy Commander, will give you hands-on experience at the controls.
Peter Dace, Cuffley, Herts.