6 Education’s Pioneer 18 P.T. Barnum 24 New Zealand 30 The Black Death Sal Khan Showman extraordinaire ‘Kia ora!’ A devouring plague CONNECTING TO INDUSTRY THE PANAMA CANAL: FEAT OF ENGINEERING An ambitious expansion will double the cargo-carrying capacity of the canal, which famously unites the Atlantic and Pacifi c oceans SUMMER 2014 ASIA/PACIFIC – WINTER 2014 ® OUR WEBSITE IS YOUR 24-7-365 CONNECTION TO THE LATEST SAFETY & TECHNICAL INFORMATION. Dixon on the web is one more important way we deliver outstanding service and support to you. We’re “always on” at dixonvalve.com – your source for information, insights and answers. Dixon: The Right Connection for service, safety and quality. ® Call: 877-963-4966 dixonvalve.com ©2014 Dixon Valve & Coupling Company. All rights reserved. Dixon website_Edited.indd 1 2/18/14 5:28 PM SUMMER 2014 ASIA/PACIFIC – /WINTER 2014 8 18 24 Alejandro Bolivar/EPA/Newscom Alejandro of Congress) Collection (Library Photograph Brady-Handy ©iStockphoto.com/Alkalyne FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 8 THE PANAMA CANAL: FEAT OF ENGINEERING 5 BUILDING CHARACTER An ambitious expansion will double the cargo- Survey Signals Shift in Honesty carrying capacity of the canal, which famously unites Among American Youth the Atlantic and Pacifi c oceans. By Ken Stier 6 PROFILE Education Pioneer Sal Khan 18 THE GREAT ENTERTAINER P.T. Barnum brought a genius for marketing and 14 BY THE NUMBERS Panama Canal Trade showmanship to 19th-century America. His tactics seem strikingly modern. 23 THE DIXON DRILLER By David Holzel 34 KEEPING IT SAFE 24 KIA ORA—AND WELCOME TO NEW ZEALAND Staying on Task From national park splendor and city sophistication to fi shing rivers and foodie tours, the small island nation 36 HEALTH & FITNESS features a large range of offerings with broad appeal. Aspirin the Wonder Drug By Kathy Ombler 38 INVENTIONS 30 THE BLACK DEATH Zap It! In the late 1340s, a devouring plague threatened the extinction of mankind. By Eugene Finerman www.dixonva lve.co m s u mm e r 2014 4 BOSS 3 SUMMER 2014 ASIA/PACIFIC – WINTER 2014 Publisher Dixon Valve & Coupling Company Editor Sue De Pasquale Editorial Board Richard L. Goodall, CEO, Dixon Bob Grace, President, Dixon Taylor Goodall, Vice President, Distribution, Dixon Scott Jones, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Dixon Mark Vansant, Vice President, Dixon Hazen Arnold, US Marketing Director Joseph Dawson, Marketing Specialist Bill Harr, Global Marketing Director Karen R. Hurless, Advertising & Communications Manager, Art Director Editorial & Design Clipper City Media Director of Custom Media A FEAT TO ADMIRE Jeni Mann This issue’s cover story, “The Panama Canal: Feat of Engineering,” brought Senior Designers Cortney Geare back vivid memories of my time as an Army second lieutenant stationed at Kim Van Dyke Fort Davis in the Canal Zone. I spent about 10 months testing tank weapons Please submit address changes and requests for new subscriptions to: and ammunition in tropical conditions. Clipper City Custom Media The Army needed wet and humid conditions for the tests and Panama proved Attn: Rochel Ziman [email protected] the perfect environment. During the wet season, from May through November, 11459 Cronhill Drive, Suite A Owings Mills, MD 21117 rainfall averaged 8 to 18 inches per month. We soon learned that issued rain 410-902-2308 Fax: 410-902-2338 gear was useless: When the torrential rains came they soaked right through our ponchos. Fortunately for us, the heavy rain would only last for short periods, BOSS is produced three times a year by Dixon Valve & Coupling Company and Clipper City several times a day; each downpour was followed by beautiful weather until the Custom Media. The acceptance of advertis- ing does not constitute endorsement of the next storm. products or services by Dixon Valve & Coupling Company. The publisher reserves the right to The weather’s uncertainty made planning and testing difficult, but that was reject any advertisement that is not in keeping with the standing or policies of Dixon Valve & nothing compared to what builders of the original Panama Canal must have Coupling Company. Copyright 2014, all rights encountered for days, weeks and years on end. Moving tons of dirt (enough to reserved. Reproduction of any part of BOSS without written permission is prohibited. create a 16-foot tunnel to the center of the Earth, as our article reports) seems Dixon Valve & Coupling Company an almost impossible task in the face of so much water. What’s more, my fellow 800 High Street Chestertown, MD 21620 servicemen and I did not have to deal with the mosquito-borne illnesses that 877-963-4966 killed so many of those brave souls who worked the original dig. Fax: 800-283-4966 www.dixonvalve.com My hat goes off to the workers who dug the original canal in the early Email questions or comments about BOSS to: 1900s—and to those now engaged in its impressive expansion. [email protected] Thanks for reading, JOIN US! 4 BOSS 4 s u mm e r 2014 BUILDING CHARACTER/ Reason to Celebrate Survey signals shift in honesty among American youth > It’s easy to feel discouraged by In 2012, 38 percent of the students important.” He added, “Though there today’s headline-grabbing incidents of said they sometimes lie to save money; is still far too much cheating, lying dishonest and unethical behavior from that is a drop of 3 percent from 2010. and stealing, I think we have turned political leaders, business executives the corner.” and athletes. But the latest report card Stealing: In 2010, 27 percent of Josephson’s theory is supported on the ethics of American youth, issued the students said they had stolen by survey results showing that 93 every two years by the Josephson something from a store in the past percent of students said their parents Institute in Los Angeles, California, year. In 2012 that number dropped or guardians always want them to offers some reason for optimism: to 20 percent. do the ethically right thing, no matter For the first time in a decade, students In 2010, 17 percent said they had the cost. Eighty-five percent said are lying, cheating and stealing less stolen something from a friend in the most adults in their life consistently than in previous years. past year, compared to 14 percent in set a good example in terms of ethics “It’s a small ray of sunshine shining 2012. The percentage who said they had and character. through lots of dark clouds,” said stolen something from a parent or Michael Josephson, founder and other relative in the past year also For more on this survey and to see president of the Josephson Institute decreased (from 21 to 18 percent). a report on issues related to youth of Ethics and a nationally noted violence, bullying and high-risk commentator on behavior. “Changes in Based on the number of schools behavior, visit: http://charactercounts children’s behavior of this magnitude adopting the Josephson Institute’s .org/news/2012-report-card/ suggest a major shift in parenting and Character Counts! program, and the school involvement in issues of honesty number of parents who visit the and character.” institute’s website, Josephson believes The report is based on a survey “that adults interacting with young administered to 23,000 high school people are more concerned with students. Among the findings: teaching kids that honesty really is Cheating: In 2010, 59 percent of students admitted they had cheated on an exam in the past year; in 2012 OTHER IMPORTANT FINDINGS OF THE 2012 REPORT CARD that rate dropped to 51 percent. ON THE ETHICS OF AMERICAN YOUTH: Students who copied an Internet document for a classroom assignment Young people believe ethics and character are important, and they think dropped 2 percent, from 34 percent highly of their own ethics: in 2010 to 32 percent this year. 99% say “it is important for me to be a person with good character.” Lying: Students who said they had lied % say they are satisfied with their own ethics and character. to a teacher in the past year about 93 something significant dropped from 61 percent in 2010 to 55 percent in 81% believe that when it comes to doing what is right, they are 2012. Those who lied to their parents better than most people they know. about something significant also dropped, from 80 percent to 76 percent. www.dixonva lve.co m s u mm e r 2014 4 BOSS 5 PROFILE/BY MARIA BLACKBURN An Education Revolution Sal Khan has transformed the world of teaching—and learning > Back in 2004, Sal Khan was a That realization helped launch an and education levels per month. Khan 20-something hedge fund analyst education revolution. Academy is the largest school in the working in Boston. In his spare time, he Khan took to the Internet with his world, and Khan, 37, has been lauded as tutored his 13-year-old cousin Nadia in homemade videos—teaching everything a “superstar teacher” and “hero.” math by phone. Occasionally, when they from art history and economics to “This is the future of education,” said couldn’t connect, Khan created videos math, physics and medicine—offering Bill Gates, who donated $1.5 million to using Yahoo Doodle to illustrate the them for free on YouTube to whoever Khan Academy in 2010 after Khan’s mathematical concepts they had cared to watch. In 2008 he founded 2011 TED Talk (an annual conference discussed so that Nadia, who lived in Khan Academy, a nonprofit funded of the world’s leading thinkers). New Orleans, could review their lessons through donations and other sources, Watch one of Khan’s lectures on her own time.