U.S. Census Bureau Daily Features for April 26-27

4/25/2003

From: Rick Reed or Tom Edwards, 301-763-2812, both of the U.S. Census Bureau

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Following are the daily "Profile America" features for April 26-27 from the U.S. Census Bureau:

SATURDAY, APRIL 26: RICHTER SCALE

Profile America -- Saturday, April 26th. Say the word "earthquake," and you probably think immediately of the Richter Scale. Its inventor, Charles Francis Richter, was born on this day in 1900, near Hamilton, Ohio. In 1935, Richter developed the scale that bears his name, to quantify the awesome power of earthquakes. The scale increases exponentially by the power of ten -- so, a 4.5 reading is 10 times as powerful as a 3.5. The Alaskan earthquake of March 1964, which permanently tilted Kodiak Island, registered 9.2, among the strongest ever recorded. To understand our world, and the forces that shape it, the U.S. underwrites nearly 40- billion dollars of research each year. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at http://www.census.gov.

SUNDAY, APRIL 27: VOLUNTEER WEEK

Profile America -- Sunday, April 27th. This coming week is set aside as a time to honor the men and women who make life a little better in communities around the nation, by the work they do without pay to help others. It's National Volunteers Week. This is also a time for individuals, families and groups to become involved in solving their own local problems. More than half of us do some sort of volunteer work. This is a trend that cuts across age categories -- half of students in grades 6 through 12 take part in community service, as well as 4-out-of-10 of those aged 75 and over. The average volunteer donates about 3-1/2 hours a week of their time, with religious, youth and educational organizations benefitting the most. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at http://www.census.gov.

------ Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments ready to air on a monthly CD or on Internet at http://www.census.gov (look under the "Newsroom" button). For further information, contact Rick Reed, 301-763-2812, fax at 301-457-3670, or E-mail at rreed@census.gov.