The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories 15 страница

Red Nose Day

There's one special day in Britain when you can see lots of people all over the country wearing clown red noses. This is known as Red Nose Day. It's arranged by a charity organisation ‘Comic Relief’ whose aim is to collect money for people who are in need.

‘Comic Relief’ was started in 1985 by the writer Richard Curtis and the comedian Lenny Henry. At that time, people in Ethiopia were suffering from an awful hunger and something had to be done. The idea was simple. Richard and Lenny decided to gather a group of much-loved British comedians to give public performances. And in this way they would collect money to help people in desperate need. They also hoped to let people know about poverty in Africa. Richard and Lenny strongly believe that laughter is the best weapon to fight tragedy, poverty and injustice. That was how ‘Comic Relief’ was born.

One of the main events organised by ‘Comic Relief’ is Red Nose Day. It takes place every two years in the spring, though many people think that this day should be held annually. The first Red Nose Day was held on 5 February 1988 and since then they have been held on the second or third Friday in March.

The event is widely celebrated in the UK and many people consider it to be a type of unofficial national holiday. The symbol of the day is the red nose which you can find in various supermarkets and charity shops. The thing is that red noses are not sold and you cannot buy them, but you can leave a small sum of money (a donation) and just take one. The exact sum of the donation is not fixed. You can leave as much as you want – it's an act of charity.

Since 1985 there have been all kinds of noses: plastic, soft, boring common ones, there were noses that looked like faces, noses that made noises, noses that changed colour when they got hot… This year it's a dinosaur theme, which means noses are shaped like small creatures from pre-history.

On Red Nose Day money-raising events take place all over the country and many schools participate.

In the evening of Red Nose Day a ‘telethon' takes place on the BBC channels. This is like a televised marathon that shows a selection of the events of the day, and lots of short comic performances and reports of how the money will be spent. It starts in the evening and goes through into the early hours of the morning.

There’s a Red Nose Day page on Facebook and you can follow it on Twitter. People also upload videos of local charity events on YouTube and Facebook.

So, if you are ever in the UK on Red Nose Day, now you know why you will find normal people wearing red noses and doing silly things! It's all for a good reason!

The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories

First introduced in 1927, The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories are a series of books about the adventures of brothers Frank and Joe Hardy. They are teenage detectives who solve one mystery after another.

The Hardy Boys were so popular among young boys that in the 1930s a similar series was created for girls featuring a sixteen-year-old detective named Nancy Drew. The cover of each volume of The Hardy Boys states that the author of the series is Frank Dixon. The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories for girls are supposedly written by Carol Keen. Over the years, though, many fans of both series have been surprised to find out that Frank Dixon and Carol Keen were only pen names. Nobody knew who was hiding behind those names or who actually wrote The Hardy Boys and The Nancy Drew Stories.

The Hardy Boys and The Nancy Drew Stories were written through a process called ghostwriting. A ghost-writer creates a book according to a specific formula. Ghost-writers are paid for writing books, but their names do not appear on the covers when the works are published. Ghost-writers can create books for children or adults, and most often they work on book series.

The initial idea for both The Hardy Boys and The Nancy Drew Stories was developed by a man named Edward Stratemeyer, who owned a publishing company that specialised in children’s books. Edward Stratemeyer noticed the increasing popularity of mysteries among adults and decided that children would enjoy reading mysteries about younger detectives.

Edward Stratemeyer first described the plot, the setting, and the characters himself. Then he hired a ghost-writer to develop his ideas into a book of over 200 pages. After the ghost-writer had written the book, he or she sent it back to Stratemeyer, who made a list of corrections and mailed it back. Once Stratemeyer had approved the book, it was ready for publication.

As each series was published for so many years, The Nancy Drew Stories and The Hardy Boys both had a number of different ghost-writers. However, the first ghost-writer for each series turned out to be the most influential.

Although The Hardy Boys and The Nancy Drew Stories were very popular with children, not everyone approved of them. Critics thought their plots were very far from the real life of teenagers – most of them could not experience adventures such as the young detectives from the books had.

The way the books were written also attracted criticism. Many teachers and librarians disliked the ghostwriting process. They said it was designed to produce books quickly rather than create quality literature. Some libraries, including the New York Public Library, even refused to include the books in their children’s collections.

Ironically, this decision helped the sales of the books because children simply bought them when they couldn’t find them in local libraries. Despite the debates about the literary value of these books, they have had a great influence on American and even global culture. Most Americans have never heard of Edward Stratemeyer and his ghost-writers, but people throughout the world are familiar with Nancy Drew and Frank and Joe Hardy.

Nike

Take a look around. How many people are wearing Nike right now? There is at least one, trust me. Nike is the number one manufacturer of footwear and clothes, and it has become a world famous brand on the same level as Coca Cola, McDonald’s, and Apple.

Nike was originally known as Blue Ribbon Shoes. It was founded in 1964 by the runner Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman. They established the company to import cheap Japanese running shoes for sale in the U.S. At the very beginning they had no room or shop, so Philip Knight sold the shoes out of the back of his car. Meanwhile Bill Bowerman worked on improvements to the footwear. He tore the shoes apart to see how he could make them lighter and better.

In 1967 a third person joined Blue Ribbon Shoes. It was Jeff Johnson. A runner himself, Johnson became the first full-time employee of Blue Ribbon Shoes. His contribution to the company is so great that it's hard to estimate. Johnson created the first product brochures, print adverts and marketing materials, and even took the photographs for the company’s catalogues. He established a mail-order system and opened the first company shop.

At about the same time the company became ready to take a big move forward. They no longer wanted to be distributors, but wished to start designing and manufacturing their own brand of athletic shoes. Here again Johnson made an enormous contribution to the company. One night, he dreamed of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, and suggested the name to his bosses.

Yet, another thing was missing – a memorable logo. One was created by a graphic design student Carolyn Davidson. She had become acquainted with Philip Knight who asked her for her design ideas and Carolyn agreed to do some freelance work for his company. Soon she presented a number of designs to Philip Knight and the other company managers, and they finally selected the mark which today is the Swoosh. That has been the Nike logo ever since then. Amazingly, Carolyn asked just $35 for her work.

In 1988 Nike started an advertising campaign with its world famous slogan 'Just Do It'. The slogan was born during a Nike meeting with the advertising agency. The slogan has become so closely associated with Nike that as soon as most people hear or see those three words, they remember Nike, even if the company name is not mentioned. Today, the words 'Just Do It' and the Nike "swoosh" brandmark are all that are needed to identify something as a Nike product.

Isn't it amazing how a small symbol we call a logo can make a company into a huge success!