It's a Girl!

After 21 months or pregnancy and 30 hours of labor Rose-Tu (an 18 year old Asian elephant) gave birth to a 300 lb. female calf at 2:17a.m. November 30. The baby is healthy,tall and vigorous. She was very vocal from the moment she was out of the amniotic sac. Mother and baby will not be accepting visitors until they have time to adjust and the calf has had a chance to bond with the rest of the herd.
She really is cute! I wonder what her name will be?

Chili To-Go

I could be the only person on the planet that has never heard of a walking taco,but the first thing that came to mind when I heard Fritos and Chili equaled a walking taco was how on earth would you walk with that combo without ending up looking like the loser in a food fight? So of course I had to know the details. There are many recipes for walking tacos,some go by different names,Frito pie and Frito casserole are a couple examples both with several methods of preparation. The true walking taco uses a small single serving bag of corn chips with chili of taco meat poured over the top. The additions from that humble beginning are as limitless as your imagination,cheese,onions,jalapenos,lettuce,tomatoes and sour cream all come to mind. In different regions they are also known as Frito boats.
The exact origins are unknown,but some credit Frito-Lay's founder Elmer Doolin's mother Daisy Dean Doolin.

Square Pegs/Round Holes

I have been rereading several of my Stephen King books and had forgotten some of the short stories he wrote that were set in the 1920s-30s. The slang terms he uses are ones most people are familiar with,but the one I have been chewing on is when someone get cooled with a heater...talk about a contradictory phrase! That brought me to today's blog,I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the slang of that era.
Abyssinia-means "I'll be seeing you" if you say it really fast that is what you hear.
Horn-telephone
Gat/rod/heater/convincer-gun
Cadillac-an ounce of cocaine or heroin (I wonder how they knew which they were ordering?)
Chicago typewriter/chopper-Thompson machine gun or Tommy gun.
City Juice/Dog Soup-a cup of water
Chicago overcoat-coffin
Abe's Cabe-$5 bill
Ace-$1
Baby Grand-heavily built man
Bimbo-tough guy (this one has done a 360!)

Double or Nothing

Today's blog will not be news to U.K. readers,but I had never heard about the British Royalty that aren't born in the summer months celebrating their birthdays twice. Queen Elizabeth celebrates her actual birthday on April,21 and her official birthday on a Saturday in June. This is done with the hope for good weather for the Birthday Parade,also known as Trooping the Colour.
The Queen usually spends her actual birthday privately,but the occasion is marked publicly by gun salutes in four different locations.
Over the course of her reign there have been 12 British Prime Ministers and 12 U.S. Presidents.(maybe we should all look into this double birthday deal?) The Queen joined Facebook in 2010 with a page called British Monarchy which features royal news,photos,videos and speeches. Elizabeth was the first British monarch to celebrate her diamond wedding anniversary while reigning.

Staying Power

Resurrection Mary is a ghost story I read about in the past,and happened onto another reference a few days ago. The sightings of this ghost have been going on since the 1930s and all of them describe the same thing. Here is her story for you to ponder.
Mary had spent the evening dancing with a boyfriend at the Oh Henry Ballroom,they had an argument and Mary stormed out. She thought she would rather face a cold walk home than spend another minute with her boyfriend. She hadn't gotten very far when she was struck and killed by a hit and run driver. Her parents found her and were grief stricken. They buried her in Resurrection Cemetery wearing a white dancing dress and matching shoes. Since then she has been sighted at different dances,has gotten into cabs and cars only to disappear when they pass Resurrection Cemetery. There were sightings in 1976,1978,1980, and 1989 where she was struck or nearly struck by cars,but disappears by the time the driver gets out. The sightings began to taper off in the 1990s. All describe the same woman with blond hair and blue eyes wearing a white dancing dress and shoes.

Morbid Fascination

After first discovering the secret life (meaning) of nursery rhymes I am like an addict,I just keep going back to see what evil lurks with the innocence. Some are a bit morbid without knowing the stories behind them,for instance Three Blind Mice. Today I want to present one I wasn't familiar with from childhood,but once you hear its origins I am willing to bet you will not be saying you have goose bumps again!

Goosey Goosey Gander,whether shall I wander?
Upstairs and downstairs and in my Lady's chamber.
There I met an old man who wouldn't say his prayers,
So I took him by his left leg and threw him down the stairs.

In 16th century Europe people were busy fighting off the plague or killing off Catholics. Protestants were given a reward for executing Catholic priests. A popular method of execution was tying his legs and throwing him down a flight of stairs. You are no doubt mentally asking yourself what Goosey Goosey Gander has to do with this? Goose was an old slang term for "lady of the night". The goose bumps I promised at the start...were slang for the red bumps caused by venereal diseases. It kind of makes me wonder what my mother really meant when she called me a "silly goose".

Time Out

Take a break from your busy weekend to have a few laughs.
I failed some subjects in exam,but my friend passed in all. Now he is an engineer in Microsoft and I am the owner of Microsoft-Bill Gates
When they put unknown at the end of a quote,that means they probably don't know how to spell anonymous-Unknown
I never make stupid mistakes,only very,very clever ones...
Smile,it scares people...
A good man can make you feel sexy,strong and able to take on the world...oh sorry,that's wine...wine does that.
"Have Patience" is the favorite word of lazy people.
I don't have a drinking problem,I'm just really thirsty.
Hard work never killed anybody,but why take a chance?
Good friends don't let you do stupid things alone.
I stopped fighting my inner demons. We are on the same side now.
Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.

Sick World

I will grant you that I could easily be referring to the Black Friday Shop-a-Thon that everyone seems more than willing to "buy" into,but that is not the particular sickness on my mind today.
Most people in the US have seen some of the classic photos taken during the depression,or even the one of the sailor kissing the nurse on VJ day. The photo I want to draw your attention to today is "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper". I would like to believe it was an innocent photo depicting the extremes immigrants and others desperate to make a wage,were willing to brave but as it turns out it was actually a staged photo,a publicity shot for Rockefeller Center. The photo was taken 9/20/1932 during the construction of Rockefeller Center depicts 11 immigrant laborers 850 feet above Midtown. It is included in a collection of posed photos for promoting Depression-era real estate. What does it say about society when utter recklessness for the sake of financial promotion becomes an icon? But in all fairness I will acknowledge that it can also be seen as the pure determination and will to survive that brought people through those terrible times.

Some Fun Facts on the Day

First of all Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the U.S.A.,and may you all have plenty to be thankful for.
In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln designated the last Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. In 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt changed the date to the 4th Thursday of the month,as some years (1939 was one) there is a fifth Thursday.
Cranberries had been used by Native Americans in a variety of foods and also as medicine and dye,they had given it the name craneberry because the blossoms reminded them of a crane.
In 2007 President George W. Bush granted a pardon to two turkeys named May and Flower at the 60th annual National Thanksgiving presentation. The two turkeys were flown to Orlando,FL,where they served as honorary grand marshals for the Disney World Thanksgiving parade. The current tradition of presidential turkey pardons began in 1947,but the practice is said to have informally begun when Abraham Lincoln granted a pardon to his son's pet turkey. In 2009 President Obama pardoned a turkey named Courage.
Minnesota is the top turkey producing state in America,but Illinois grows the most pumpkins. The largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 lbs,it included 900 lbs pumpkin,62 gallons evaporated milk,155 dozen eggs,300 lbs sugar,3.5 lbs of salt,7lbs of cinnamon,2lbs or pumpkin spice and 250 lbs of crust.

Some Things to Chew on

Did you know:
After chocolate and vanilla orange is the world's favorite flavor?
Alcoholic beverages have all 13 minerals necessary for human life?
All the Krispy Kreme donut stores together could make a stack of doughnuts as high as the Empire State Building in only 2 minutes?
850 peanuts are needed to make an 18 oz. jar or peanut butter?
A one kilogram packet of sugar contains about 5 million grains of sugar?
An apple,potato,and onion all taste the same if you eat them with your nose plugged? They all taste sweet. (I am going to have to try this one before I believe it.)
If an egg is fresh it will sink in water,but a stale one won't.
Bananas contain a natural chemical which can make a person happy? The same chemical is found in Prozac.
Bourbon was first made by a Baptist minister from Bourbon County,Kentucky?
Britons eat over 22,000 tons of french fries a week?
Buttermilk doesn't contain any butter,but is a cultured milk product usually made from fat free milk? (I did know this one.)

Out My Window

The bridge in these pictures is what I see when I look out my front windows. I jokingly tell people I bought the bridge along with my house,a package deal. The bridge and I have a long history as I used to drive across it every weekday and knew it was only a matter of time before a strong gust of wind would catch an empty truck and blow it over. I had been on two wheels when a particularly strong gust hit my vehicle on one rugged crossing. Yesterday morning around 10 a.m. a hapless driver of an empty 53 foot semi-trailer finally proved my prediction. There were no serious injuries,but the bridge was closed until early evening.

Odd Symbols

The selection of state symbols caught on in the 1920s-30s,most states have made choices depending on local resources or as a way of advertising what the state has to offer. I am not going to go so far as to include each state and their individual choices,just a few of the more esoteric ones.
New Mexico has a state question,"Red or Green?" The question refers to chilies. The official snack of Utah is Jell-O both because it represents good family fun and the state is the number one per capita consumer of Jell-O. The official soft drink of Nebraska is Kool-Aid which was developed there in 1927. Minnesota has an official state muffin,blueberry. Alabama is the only state I found with an alcoholic state drink,Conecuh Ridge Whiskey. Indiana went with plain old water for the state beverage. Maine's state drink is Moxie (no Sandy,not your cat!). Tomato juice for Ohio as they grow a bumper crop of tomatoes.
Part of the reasoning behind the state symbols is supposedly to test citizens of the states,but I don't think most people know all the things that have been chosen over the years. Some of the choices were left up to school children,which is just as well as I would hate to think the tax-payers were footing the bill for naming these items. I am going to continue to think of these symbols as a fun trivia knowledge.

More Thoughts

It seems that the only thing that's "Made in America" anymore are babies.

Lemon juices are made from artificial flavors. Whereas,dish wash liquids are made with real lemons. What the??

Why does coffee smell so good in your cup but so bad on some one's breath?

Why did I have to enter my phone number if the very first thing my rep is going to do is ask me what my phone number is?

Deja moo: the feeling that you've heard this bull before.

We can put laser-equipped robots on Mars,but wrinkled dollar bills still don't work in vending machines?

I set all my clocks five minutes ahead so I can trick myself into not being late for anything. But I automatically subtract five minutes every time I look at them. Nice try,myself.

Thoughts

A few funny things I read recently:
Did you know that a large group of baboons is called a congress? That explains a lot now,doesn't it?

I hate when I commit to running a yellow light and the person in front of me chickens out.

Crayons have 'non-toxic written on them. Did they used to be toxic? "Alright gentlemen,we have a coloring product here that we hope to sell to every child in America. What should we make it out of?" "Poison!" Good call,Johnson!"

I don't care how much you like the soap-NEVER be caught smelling your fingers while walking out of a public restroom.

There is just no practical way to explain to your dog that the doorbell he heard was on the television.

I recently learned that Socrates had a brother,very average in comparison,named Mediocrates.

If a man serving a life sentence dies in prison, only to be revived minutes later,has he served his sentence?

Simple Name

 I came across this ordinary sounding name on the trivia site I frequent and thought it was worthy of sharing.
Elaine Davidson is a Brazilian-born nurse,(one would think an unlikely profession for this particular undertaking) living in Edinborough,Scotland. She achieved her place in the Guinness Book of Records in 2000 as the world's most pierced woman. At the time she made the Guinness Book she had 462 piercings,192 on her face. But she didn't stop there,in May 2008 she had 5,920 piercings,and in February of 2009 the number climbed to 6,005. Amazing to imagine that many extra holes in a human body and never mind the actual process! Most of Elaine's piercings are in her genitalia,over 500 located both outside and inside. The total weight of the jewelry adds up to 3 kilograms. Despite her bizarre appearance Elaine wants the public to know she doesn't do drugs,drink alcohol,or smoke. Her only vice is Coca-Cola...oh,and body piercing!

Presents & Gifts

Do you ever wonder how everyday items came into your life? I wonder about these kind of things more than most people,but that is part of who I am,so get over it...I have!
In 1910 an 18 year old Joyce C. Hall moved to Kansas City,Missouri and set up a mail order postcard company. About a year later he was joined by his brother Rollie and they became Hall Brothers. Joyce began to see that postcards were limited,and that most people didn't have time to write long letters so greeting cards,supplying the privacy of an envelope,were added to their line in 1912. During the holiday season in 1917 they ran out of the standard red,white and green tissue papers that were the standard gift dressing of the day. Rollie realized they had a stack of fancy French paper for lining envelopes and placed it in a showcase priced at .10 a sheet,it was an instant success. In 1919 they decided to print their own wrapping paper and the gift wrap business was born. In 1928 the Hall Brothers adopted the name "Hallmark" after the hallmark symbol used by goldsmiths and began printing the name on the back of every card,today it is also embossed on the flap of the envelopes.
Wrapping paper was a $3.2 billion industry,but in 2002 gift bags became the more popular way of presenting gifts.

                                    

A Few Words

Not to be confused with yesterday's blog,Last Words, though some of you may wish you could make these your last words. This blog is dedicated to those of you raising teens.
It would seem that something which means poverty,disorder,and violence every single day should be avoided entirely,but the desire to beget children is a natural urge.
Phyllis Diller
I'm getting ready to be a parent. I just turned 30,and I'm tired of mowing the grass.
Jeff Foxworthy (does he have a surprise coming!)
No matter how calmly you try to referee,parenting will eventually produce bizarre behaviour,and I'm not talking about the kids.
Bill Cosby
You get a lot of tension,you get a lot of headaches. I do what it says on the aspirin bottle: Take two and keep away from children.
Roseanne Barr
If your parents never had children,chance are you won't,either.
Dick Cavett

Last Words

Today's offering is humorous epitaphs followed by epitaphs for some famous folks.
"I told you I was sick!"

The children of Israel wanted bread
And the Lord sent them manna,
Old clerk Wallace wanted a wife,
And the Devil sent him Anna.

We planted him raw
He was quick on the trigger,
But slow on the draw.

Here lies Johnny Yeast
Pardon me for not rising.

Here lies an Atheist
all dressed up and no place to go.

The following are people whose names you may recognize:
"The best is yet to come." Frank Sinatra
"That's all Folks!" Mel Blanc (voice of Porky Pig)
"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter." Winston Churchill
"I told you so,you damned fools." H.G. Well
"There goes the neighborhood." Rodney Dangerfield
"I will not be right back after this message." Merv Griffin

Energy

I have been wondering about the energy drinks that offer extra caffeine...it seems like every time I see anyone drinking one they are extremely involved in doing absolutely nothing,but maybe that is just in this area. There seems to be an abundance of money to be made from the stuff,which is also a bit curious as with all the espresso stands at least one per block if not more,how did society survive before all these high-powered offerings? I enjoy my morning coffee,but have never made a career of drinking it all day long and can do without it if necessary. Other people drink soda for their caffeine fix,and then there is the faction of people that think ingesting caffeine is at least on some level sinful. But enough of my ramblings,it is time to get to my point,providing I have one.
Decaffeinated Coffee,like non-alcoholic beer is not free from the contents they lead you to believe that they are free of. In the case of decaf once the caffeine is removed it still contains about 3 mg of caffeine,but compared to regular coffee at 115 mg considerably less,but if someone had a sensitivity to caffeine it could still cause problems. The caffeine they take from the decaf is sold to soft drink and pharmaceutical companies. The good news is that coffee in moderation is actually good for you,it lowers your chances of getting colon cancer,gallstones,cirrhosis of the liver,Parkinson's disease and Type 2 diabetes. It also helps control asthma and alleviates headaches,partly due to the caffeine content and partly from the antioxidants. Americans drink so much coffee that it is the number one source of antioxidants in our diet. Now all you need to do is decide how to get your next fix!

More Uses

This is one of my accidental blogs where I was looking for one thing,but ended up finding something else. I haven't tried any of these uses,so use you own judgement.
Revive a dead car battery by dropping two aspirin tablets into the battery. The acetylsalisylic acid combines with the sulfuric acid to produce one last charge. Make sure there is no salt on your hands as that combination could cause an explosion.
Remove perspiration stains by crushing two aspirin into a fine powder and mixing with half cup of warm water. Soak the stain for two hours. (I think white vinegar is an easier solution for this problem.)
Restore hair color by dissolving 6-8 aspirin in a glass of warm water and rubbing solution into your hair. Let stand 10-15 minutes. I am not sure if this one means natural hair color or dyed hair color though I am guessing it must be dyed hair.
Control dandruff by crushing two aspirin and adding it to the amount of shampoo you use to wash your hair. Leave in for two minutes,rinse well and wash again with plain shampoo.
Help cut flowers or Christmas trees last longer by adding two aspirin to the water.
Aspirin can also work for wart removal as it has the same active ingredient. Apply damp aspirin to wart and cover with bandage.

A Special Kind of Stupid

The other day I heard that more men were struck by lightning than women. I started turning this over in my mind and thinking of reasons that would be true...maybe because men are generally taller? or maybe they had more of some mineral or chemical in their bodies?
Nope,neither of those,even knowing the answer doesn't make it seem likely.
82% of the 648 people killed in the U.S. between 1995 -2008 were men. The reason given (drum roll please)...men are less willing to quit what they're doing because of the weather,they make themselves more vulnerable by continuing to fish,camp, and golf. Recreational and sports related activities are involved in about half of all lightning related deaths. A psychologist claimed men are hard wired to exhibit bold behaviour to attract a mate...how watching someone getting fried by lightning is attractive escapes this female.

Naming an Icon

Bugs Bunny didn't start out with that name,first he was called Happy Rabbit. Warner Brothers writer Ben Hardaway,whose nickname was Bugs,directed a short film featuring a sneaky rabbit. The cartoon was called "Porky's Hare Hunt". As the animators for the next short starring Happy Rabbit were working on the images one of them labeled a sketch "Bug's Bunny" to make it clear that the drawing was part of Hardaway's project. The label was mistaken for the name of the character,and the animators started referring to Happy Rabbit as Bugs Bunny...an icon was born. Though he had already been around for awhile his birthday is thought to be July 27,1940. Bugs was the second (Mickey Mouse was the first) animated character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Customs

No,not the kind you have to go through upon entering a country. As customs go the USA seems to be lacking in the colorful department,or maybe they just don't seem unusual to me because I am used to them. Today I would like to present a few courting customs from different parts of the world,and other times.
Eligible Austrian girls in the 19th century would keep an apple slice under their armpits at dances. When the evening ended,the girl would hand the slice to a gentleman who caught her eye. If the feeling was mutual,he would eat it (yuck!). This next one from what I understand is still practiced. Gypsy girls aren't allowed to date. If a boy wants to catch a girl's attention,he's supposed to grab her and forcibly kiss her. The ever thrifty Puritans would give their fiance a thimble for sewing. When it came time for the wedding she would cut the bottom off the thimble and wear it as a ring. As recently as the 1800s when a Finnish girl was of marrying age she would wear an empty sheath. If a man fancied her,he'd place his knife in the sheath. If she wasn't interested she would return it,if she kept it that meant she agreed to marry him. In 18th century New England (I guess the US did make the list!) couples were allowed no privacy,so someone came up with the courting stick. The 6 foot long hollow tube allowed couples to speak privately at a safe distance while family members remained in the room. I wonder if this is where "speak softly and carry a big stick" originated? I think it was Teddy Roosevelt that made the saying popular.

Also Coming...Local Legend

A date I failed to mention on the monthly planner is 11/24. On 11/24/1971 a man calling himself Dan Cooper boarded Northwest Orient Flight 305 from Portland to Seattle carrying only a briefcase. Once in the air Cooper handed a note to a stewardess saying he had a bomb in his briefcase and that he planned on setting it off unless he received $200,000 (not worth it by today's standards!) cash and parachutes upon landing in Seattle. I have to wonder at this point why nothing was done to thwart Cooper in Seattle? After his demands were met he redirected the plane to Mexico with specific instructions on speed (less than 150 knots) and altitude of less than 10,000 feet. With cash in hand and a parachute on his back he jumped out of the plane somewhere over the Oregon Washington border,never to be seen again...or not?
Though a criminal most people were compelled to root for him. Authorities maintain he probably died from the jump,but no body was found and there's evidence to suggest otherwise. In 1978 hikers near the area Cooper jumped found instructions for descending the rear stairwell of a Boeing 727. In 1981,an 8 year old boy found $5,880 that turned out to be part of Cooper's ransom money. In 1997 Duane Weber made a deathbed confession that he was Dan Cooper. In 1999 the FBI tested DNA belonging to a man named Lynn Doyle Cooper against a tie left behind on the plane...it didn't match.
Everyone loves a mystery and this one is a local favorite.

More Than Seven

Before Disney picked the names Doc,Grumpy,Happy,Bashful,Sneezy,and Dopey they had went by various other names. One play had given the dwarfs the names Blick,Flick,Glick,Snick,Flick,Whick,and Quee (no idea why there were two Flicks). Out of the pool of names not chosen are: Silly,Sappy,Scrappy,Snappy,Snoopy,Goopy,Gloomy,Gaspy,Gatsby,Gabby,
Blabby,Flabby,Crabby,Cranky,Lazy,Dizzy,Dippy,Dumpy,Snurfles,Dirty,Deafy,Daffy,
Doleful,Woeful,Wistful,Soulful,Helpful,Awful,Graceful,Tearful,Tubby,Weepy,Wheezy,
Sneezy-Wheezy,Sniffy,Puffy,Stuffy,Strutty,Shorty,Shifty,Slutty,(really?) Thrifty,Nifty,
Neurtsy,Hotsy,Hungry,Hickey,Hoppy,Jumpy,Jaunty,Jazzy,Chesty,Busy,Burpy,Baldy,
Biggy-Wiggy,and Biggo Ego. These names were all kicked around in 1934 in case you were wondering about conflicting character names like Snoopy (1950),and Daffy like Daffy Duck (1937). Did I mention that the Seven Dwarfs also have different names in different countries? Kind of hard to imagine them with any other names,but all the above were possibilities.

A Paler Shade

Have you ever wondered how the colors pink and blue got assigned to there respective sexes? It wasn't always pink for girls and blue for boys. In the 1900s pink was seen as the color that went better with boys and blue was the color for girls. In 1918 Ladies Home Journal wrote,"There has been a great diversity of opinion on the subject,but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. The reason is that pink being a more decided and stronger color is more suitable for the boy,while blue,which is more delicate and dainty,is prettier for the girl." It's also said that since pink is closer to red, it was more appropriate for boys because red is a fierce color,whereas blue was associated with girls since the Virgin Mary is customarily dressed in blue.
Somewhere over the years the two colors reversed their earlier meanings. Studies suggested women naturally liked pink better (not this woman!) and that men preferred blue. Others feel the switch came that about in the 1950s came from Nazis branding gays with pink triangles in concentration camps. If that is the case why was pink assigned to girls? Women don't mind a Nazi connotation? Personally I don't really buy into color assignments regarding the sexes.

More on Red

Maybe that should be moron red? No,never mind pardon the poor attempt at a pun.
Lobsters in the ocean, or live in a tank are not red but brown,rarely there are blue and yellow lobsters though they don't last long in their natural habitat due to their color making them more noticeable to predators. Today lobster is considered a delicacy,but that wasn't always true. In colonial North America lobster was mostly fed to pigs,cows,and goats,the shells were ground up and spread on the ground as fertilizer. The Indians would use them to bait their hooks and only ate lobster when they caught nothing else. Irish immigrants ate lobster as it was affordable. Lobster was commonly fed to the servants with little else. One group of servants brought their masters to court and were awarded a judgement protecting them from eating it no more than three times a week.
At this point I became curious how times had changed so drastically in relation to the desirability of lobster...clever advertising? No,it comes more under supply and demand. The abundance of lobster made it unwanted. They could be caught by children with no more than a fishhook tied to a stick. It wasn't until the late 1800's that lobster began its climb to popularity,mostly because it was getting harder to come by. Kind of hard to picture considering today's lobster prices,isn't it?

Rarities

I am not sure what got me thinking about redheads I have known,but there I was thinking about how few I had known that were really born with red hair. One was a cousin,one a girl I went to school with and the little boy next door. The following explains why there are so few to be known.
The highest concentration of redheads (the rarest hair color) is in Northern Europe,with Scotland having the highest percentage at 13% and Ireland second at 10%. Only 2% of people in the USA have naturally red hair. Biologists think that the geographic location of redheads has to do with evolutionary adaptation,the fair coloring allowing more light to be absorbed in areas with greater hours of darkness. The mutated gene that causes red hair is recessive,so in order for someone to have red hair they have to inherit two copies of the gene,one from each parent.
The very gene that gives redheads their hair color and fair skin also affects the way they feel pain. Redheads are more sensitive to the cold than blonds or brunettes,they are also more likely to have sclerosis and endometriosis and toothaches at a higher rate. They feel pain about 20% more and it takes more anesthetics to put them under for surgery or dental work.

Leftovers from Halloween

I thought his might be an appropriate follow up for a few days after Halloween as it is a bit spooky. The more I check out the history behind nursery rhymes the more I realize they were really not for children.
Mary Mary quite contrary,
how does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
and pretty maids all in a row.
Fasten your seat belts and get ready for some turbulence!
The Mary alluded to in this rhyme is reputed to be Mary Tudor,or Bloody Mary. Queen Mary was a staunch Catholic and the garden referred to is an allusion to graveyards which were increasing in size with those who dared to continue the Protestant faith. The silver bells and cockle shells were instruments of torture. The silver bells were thumb screws which crushed the thumb between two hard surfaces with the tightening of a screw. The cockleshells were torture implements attached to the genitals. The maids were a device to behead people also called the Maiden. This early guillotine was less than effective and often took several blows to accomplish the grisly task.
What do you think now about this seemingly innocent rhyme?

Make a Plan

It's that time AGAIN,time to flip your calendars to another month (yes Terri,you need to do this now!) November is Peanut Butter Lovers Month/International Drum Month and several other less interesting claims to fame.
11/1 All Saint's Day
11/2 Look for Circles Day/Deviled Egg Day (yum!)
11/3 Book Lovers Day/Sandwich Day
11/4 King Tut Day
11/5 Gunpowder Day (celebrate this with a bang)
11/6 Marooned without a Compass Day
11/7 Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
11/8 Cook Something Bold Day/Dunce Day (Boldly cook a Dunce?)
11/9 Chaos Never Dies Day
11/10 Forget-Me-Not Day
11/11 Veteran's Day
11/12 Chicken Soup for the Soul Day (not my personal favorite)
11/13 World Kindness Day
11/14 Operating Room Nurse Day (or maybe dress up as a naughty nurse?)
11/15 Clean Your Refrigerator Day
11/16 Have a Party With Your Bear Day (live or stuffed,your choice)
11/17 Take a Hike Day
11/18 Occult Day
11/19 Have a Bad Day Day
11/20 Absurdity Day
11/21 False Confession Day
11/22 Go For a Ride Day
11/23 Buy Nothing Day
11/24 Make up Your Own Day Day
11/25 National Parfait Day
11/26 Shopping Reminder Day
11/27 Pins and Needles Day
11/28 Make Your Own Head Day
11/29 Square Dance Day
11/30 Stay at Home Because You Are Well Day
Have a wonderful month!