DURHAM, N.H. -- New Hampshire residents say that the Granite State is an excellent place to live, partly because of public safety and the environment, according to a new WMUR Granite State Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.

Out of 516 people surveyed, 64 percent rated the state as an excellent place to live, 31 percent said it was good and 5 percent said it was fair or poor.

Half of those surveyed said the environment in their area is excellent. People in the North Country were most likely to give high environment ratings, while Manchester-area residents gave the lowest ratings.

On public safety, 84 percent said they feel very safe in their neighborhood at night, 15 percent feel somewhat safe and 1 percent don't feel safe.

One area that residents weren't too happy with was education. Only 19 percent of those surveyed think schools are doing an excellent job, 39 percent said they are doing a good job and 19 percent said they are doing a fair or poor job.

People living in the North Country and in the central part of the state were most likely to say their local schools are doing a fair or poor job.

The margin of sampling error for the survey was /- 4.3 percent.

We all love living in New Hampshire!

Looking for some flower facts?

Flowers beguile us with their lovely scent and striking beauty, but many flowers have hidden attributes. Flowers and plants have been used medicinally for thousands of years. Some flowers, such as the lotus, have religious or historical significance. Many flowers may also have unusual characteristics or forms. Dive into the fascinating world of flower-lore and gain a fresh appreciation for these plants.

 

CC flickr photo of corpse flower courtesy of ingridtaylar

1.     Roses are related to apples, raspberries, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, pears and almonds.

2.     Tulip bulbs were more valuable than gold in Holland in the 1600s. 

3.     Ancient civilizations burned aster leaves to ward off evil spirits.

4.     Tulip bulbs can be substituted for onions in a recipe.

5.     Chrysanthemums are associated with funerals in Malta and are considered unlucky.

6.     The very expensive spice, saffron, comes from a type of crocus flower.

7.     The largest flower in the world is the titan arums, which produce flowers 10 feet high and 3 feet wide. The flowers smell of decaying flesh and are also known as corpse flowers.

8.     Almost 60 percent of fresh-cut flowers grown in the U.S. come from California.

9.     Hundreds of years ago, when Vikings invaded Scotland, they were slowed by patches of wild thistle, allowing the Scots time to escape. Because of this, the wild thistle was named Scotland’s national flower.

10.  The lotus was considered a sacred flower by ancient Egyptians and was used in burial rituals. This flower blooms in rivers and damp wetlands, but may lie dormant for years during times of drought, only to rise again with the return of water. Egyptians viewed it as a symbol of resurrection and eternal life.

11.  Scientists discovered the world’s oldest flower in 2002, in northeast China. The flower, named Archaefructus sinensis bloomed around 125 million years ago and resembles a water lily.

12.  The juice from bluebell flowers was used historically to make glue.

13.  Foxglove is an old English name, derived from the belief that foxes slipped their feet into the leaves of the plant to sneak up on prey.

14.  Dandelions might seem like weeds, but the flowers and leaves are a good source of vitamins A and C, iron, calcium and potassium. One cup of dandelion greens provides 7,000-13,000 I.U. of vitamin A.

15.  The flower buds of the marsh marigold are pickled as a substitute for capers.

16.  Sunflowers move throughout the day in response to the movement of the sun from east to west.

17.  Moon flowers bloom only at night, closing during the day.

18.  Flowering nicotiana is related to tobacco, from which cigarettes are made.

19.  Gas plants produce a clear gas on humid, warm nights. This gas is said to be ignitable with a lit match.

20.  When Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, they subsisted on the roots of the Sego Lily Plant. This plant is the state flower of Utah.

21.  The cornstarch-like powder known as arrowroot is derived from the plant, Marantha arundinacea, and is native to India. It was used by indigenous people to draw out the toxins from a poisoned arrow wound. Today, it is used to thicken pies and jellies.

22.  Angelica was used in Europe for hundreds of years as a cure for everything from the bubonic plague to indigestion. It was thought to ward off evil spirits.

23.  Blue cohosh, also known as squaw root or papoose root, was used by Native American women to ensure an easy labor and childbirth.

24.  During the Middle Ages, lady’s mantle was thought to have magic healing properties.

25.  When Achilles was born, his mother dipped him head first in a bath of yarrow tea, believing it had protective qualities. Yarrow is still known for healing and was used during World War I to heal soldiers’ wounds.

The next time you walk through a flower garden, take a minute to consider the individual plants growing there. One of them may hold the secret for curing a dreaded disease. Another may have a long, illustrious history. Every flower has qualities and attributes worth admiring.

via gardeningchannel.com

Wed Apr 6, 12:16 pm ET

Study: Maine the most peaceful U.S. state, Louisiana the least

By Brett Michael Dykes

 

A study by the http://www.visionofhumanity.org/ Institute for Economics and Peace finds that Maine is the most peaceful state in the country, while Louisiana is the least peaceful.

The inaugural United States Peace Index purports to be the first state-by-state ranking of America based on levels of peace. The group's standard for measuring a state's serenity was rather simple: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/04/maine-ranked-... absence of violence." Using data compiled from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the group focused on homicide rates, percentage of population that is jailed, availability of small arms, number of police officers and overall violent crime rate.

And despite what you may think, with all the mass public protests going on around the country in the last couple of years, the index claims that America is getting more peaceful as a whole, with neither Republican nor Democratic states having any sort of an advantage over each other.

 "The USPI report reveals that peace in the United States has improved since 1995 primarily driven by a substantial decrease in homicide and violent crime, http://www.visionofhumanity.org/info-center/us-peace-index/ the IEP says on its website, adding that "peace is significantly correlated with factors related to economic opportunity, education and health."

The group lists the ten most peaceful states in order as: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Minnesota, North Dakota, Utah, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Iowa, and Washington. And here are the least (also in order, with Louisiana leading the unrest): Louisiana, Tennessee, Nevada, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Maryland.

It's worth noting that Louisiana was ranked as http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38382866/ns/business-bloomberg_businessweek/ the laziest U.S. state in a separate study last year. Apparently, kicking back and taking it easy doesn't amount to a life of calm in the eyes of some, though many Louisianians, this reporter among them, would probably argue that they're not lazy or non-peaceful, just misunderstood.