Hungarian Heritage Review, 1987 (16. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1987-08-01 / 8. szám
In a decision governmental authorities believe will help to boost tourism revenues to unprecedented highs, the American Society of Travel Agents has selected Budapest as the site of the 1988 ASTA World Congress. This decision was made after a rigorous review process which included a careful, in-person check of Budapest’s hotel, restaurant, sightseeing, and entertaining tour resources by a special delegation of ASTA officers and members of the ASTA World Congress Committee. A large-scale Hungarian scientific expedition is scheduled to leave for East Africa this November to follow the road covered by Count Samuel Teleki (1845-1916), the discoverer of the Rudolf and Stephanie lakes and the Teleki Volcano. The sixmonths expedition will consist of 11 members comprising zoologists, botanists, geologists, linguists, ethnography experts, and a physician. A TV cameraman will also accompany the expedition. The team is to examine the changes that have taken place over the last 100 years in the areas covered by Count Teleki. They will also seek geological and palaeontological proof underlining the recent theory concerning that stones under the African shoreline and the Carpathian basin were once found next to each other, but drifted apart due to the shiftings of the earth’s crust. The expedition will also report to UNESCO their findings in the areas of desert formations and population tendencies. ****** In spite of what the Austrians and the House of Habsburg may dateline Putmpest have done to Hungary and the Hungarian people in the past, it seems that Austro-Hungarian relations today are better than ever. Particularly, in relation to the business and professional community of Sopron. For this city on the Austro-Hungarian border has become the “shopping mall’’ of Austrians with shillings to spend and need no visa to cross the border to do some “bargain-basement” shopping from foodstuffs to dental work. These Austrian shoppers, of course, still call Sopron “Odenburg”! The Hungarian postal service has issued a five-part series of stamps on the great pioneers of medicine in a nominal value of 20 forints. The series has been printed in 379,600 perforated and 4,700 unperforated copies. The stamps portray Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.); the Greek physician Avicenna (980-1037), who was a physician and scientist of Tadzhik origin; Ambroise (1510-1590), a French physician who pioneered new techniques in surgery; William Harvey (1578-1657), the British discoverer of blood circulation; and Ignác Semmelweis (1818-1865), the Hungarian discoverer of the pathogen of puerperal sepsis. It is interesting to note that, in 1988, there will be a World Congress of Physicians at Semmelweis Medical College in Budapest. There are about 27,000 private taxis operating in Hungary and, “believe it or not”, they carry more passengers and goods than the stateowned, taxi companies combined! How come? Because private taxi drivers are more polite to their customers and, being available to the public during the late afternoons and evenings — even on Sundays and holidays — get a good play from people in a hurry. Most of these private taximén are either pensioners, work part-time to augment regular incomes, or former drivers for state-owned taxi companies who switched to make more money. Many of them are skilled workers and college graduates. All must belong to the Private Craftsmen’s National Association in order to qualify for licensing and, each year since 1982, 5,000 new licensees and private taxicabs prowl the streets for customers. At any rate, the next time you should visit Hungary and hop into a cab, remember this: Private taxicabs are equipped with a CB radio linked with a network and, by means of this system of communications, they have been and continue to be of great help to the police! ****** Lajos Kuris has established such a unique world record that the editors of the Guiness Book of Records are still in a state of shock! It seems that this retired railroad employee showed up at the annual Egg Fair in Braunfels, Germany, and proceeded to fix 151 horseshoes with 604 nails made by himself.. .and on one, single egg! 8 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW AUGUST 1987
