Get Your Irish Up

Did you know that most Halloween traditions originated in Ireland? The traditions spread to other parts of the world after the potato famine when many Irish fled the country,in fact Halloween is more Irish than St. Patrick's Day which was a US product of Irish immigrants. The colors for Halloween (orange and black) represent death of summer and fall harvest. Speaking of black...the word black and bleach both come from the same root word "bhel" which meant shine,flash,or burn. Black gained its current meaning from association with burnt objects and bleach got its meaning because it made things shine. The broomstick gained its place in Halloween lore because poor elderly women who were accused of witchcraft couldn't afford horses so they used a walking stick to help them travel. A broom was often substituted for the walking stick. Happy Halloween!

Cast Offs

It seems like there is a museum for everything,and the more obscure the items on display the more interesting the stories that they tell. The "Museum of Broken Relationships" (in Croatia) started as a joke between a couple after their four year relationship had ended. They felt there should be a place to house the left over personal items. In 2006 they started asking friends for contributions from their own break ups and the collection was born. In the years that followed the collection toured the world gathering new items along the way. The museum became the first privately owned museum in the city (Zagreb) in 2010. Other than the usual detritus from break ups (rings,clothing,gifts and ect.) the collection includes: The letter T from a keyboard,air sickness bags,a side-view mirror,mannequin hands,an ax,a wooden watermelon,a candy thong,and pretty much anything else you could think of. The museum is a new home for items that cause pain instead of inspiring pleasant thoughts.

Going Nuts

Most everyone is aware that Grape-Nuts cereal contain neither grapes nor nuts,so what is the story there? Grape-Nuts was developed by C.W.Post in 1897. The ingredients have mostly remained the same except switching to whole grain. There are two versions about how Grape-Nuts was named,one is Post used maltose in the original recipe which was called grape sugar at the time,that explains the grape part of the name. The cereal also had a nutty flavor which explains the nuts portion of the name. The second version is people thought the cereal looked like grape seeds,which are sometimes referred to as "grape nuts". Now for a few fun facts...Post first claimed Grape-Nuts would cure appendicitis and malaria. Grape-Nuts was the first wide spread product to feature coupons. Grape-Nuts sponsored the 1933 expedition to Antarctica. Grape-Nuts were included in the soldiers rations during WWII,they also fueled the first trip to the summit of Mt. Everest. The bad news is Grape-Nuts aren't all that healthy,they have a higher glycemic index than Fruit Loops or Frosted Flakes and are also high in calories. Hope I didn't ruin anyone's day!

Hang Onto Your List!

I just read about a book composed of grocery lists the author found discarded in shopping carts,on floors,in parking lots and various other places. It sounds like a snooze fest on the surface but once a person hears the title,"Milk Eggs Vodka grocery lists lost and found" it starts to sound a bit more entertaining. The book is available in hardcover and has recently been released in paperback. Just from the bits and scraps I have seen it looks like it would not only be funny but also an insight into our culture as seen on scraps of paper for private use...oh,and snarky comments by the author!

You've got to  laugh at shotgun listed directly above tampons!

What's That Smell?

When a person thinks of animals with a distinctive scent most people would think of the skunk,there is no denying a skunk's smell,but there are also animals with assorted pleasant scents,my macaw smelled like cookie dough. The binturong (native to southeast Asia,aka bearcat) smells like popcorn. Yellow ants smell like lemon drops but only emit the smell if disturbed. The spadefoot toad smells like peanut butter,but the substance causes sneezing and burning eyes. Beaver scent glands (located in the butt) produce a scent so much like vanilla it is sometimes used as a food additive...castoreum,in case you want to check a vanilla flavored product ingredients list!

Quirky

Insurance is a necessary evil,at least that is my feeling,but in China they are selling some interesting policies. I'm not sure how the fine print would read on some of them,then again maybe Chinese insurance companies actually intend to pay for losses. Some examples of their policies include: naughty child protection,bride becoming pregnant before honeymoon,your soccer team being knocked out of the World Cup,burning your tongue while eating and smog ruining your vacation to name a few. The prices I found seemed reasonable,for example the "mischievous and destructive" children's policy was about $7.16 per year...still what kind of message does that send the child?

Wasted

I am to the point of dreading elections,everyday the mailbox is stuffed with propaganda. It is such a waste of paper as a person can't believe anything they send you,it is all contradictory,and don't even get me started on the candidates...for the most part they are a pack of liars and the ones that don't lie don't sound mentally stable. As close as I can tell all a person can do is research the whole mess on their own and hope for the best as a person can't believe everything they read either!

Recalcitrant Cat

It will be a year ago come the first of the year when I got a rescue cat from Chicago. Not to stereotype the residents of Chicago,but maybe he is having trouble adjusting to a small town after big city life. First thing he did once he was settled in here was to join a "fight club". I had no idea where he was disappearing to until he came home badly beaten. The neighbors told me that a group of male cats gathered in their backyard hissing,growling and otherwise carrying on. I would have thought with his size (20 lbs at that time) and his extra toes,complete with extra claws would have given him an advantage,but who knows? It could have been a raccoon. I finally managed to get him weaned away from the fight club and he stayed close to home or inside for several weeks,then about a week or maybe closer to two weeks he started disappearing from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. I had decided he had found a job and was wondering if he knew the correct address so his paychecks would come here instead of his old home. I decided he needed a day off yesterday and didn't let him out at 8. He was more than ready to get out the door and off to work this morning,only to come home within an hour looking like he had taken another minor beating...I guess I don't need to worry about his paycheck anymore,apparently his employer didn't take kindly to his having a day off!
 

Monkey Bars

When I was in primary school girls were required to wear dresses,of course that was no deterrent to acting like the tomboys most of us were. One of our favorite recess activities was climbing on or hanging upside down on the monkey bars,apparently we hadn't heard of or understood the word modesty at that time...but I digress,the topic for today is Hotel Bikini Berlin. The 10 story hotel used a lot of glass to showcase the sites of the city including the nearby zoo. The top floor contains a restaurant and bar (named the Monkey Bar) offering a 360 degree view,it also offers a view to passersby of anyone using the restrooms as the walls are made of glass...and to think I was worried about us young girls showing our underwear! In all fairness they do post a warning,"Please be careful,not only the monkeys are watching."

Umvisible

Has anyone heard about the air umbrella? From what I have learned so far this invention is just another unnecessary gadget that will produce more waste in spent batteries to operate it when we already have the good old fashioned umbrella to perform the same task. The idea is for the wand to blow the rain away from the user,but here is the rub...the battery life on the women's size (about 12 inches to fit into a handbag) is only 15 minutes. The full size comes in two models,one is telescopic (about 20 inches and extends to close to a yard) the standard model is 20 inches and doesn't extend,both of the full size types have a battery life of 30 minutes. They are rechargeable but we all know how long rechargeable lasts...and did I mention they will sell for around $200? I suppose when the battery goes dead for good you could console yourself at being left with a serviceable club weighing 1-2 lbs!

Snake Oil

Have you ever wondered why serpents wrapped around a staff became the medical symbol? There are several versions of the story behind the snakes on the caduceus,plus there is more than one depiction of the staff. The winged caduceus was carried by Hermes (the messenger) who was the patron of travelers and doctors often traveled great distances to see their patients (unlike modern day!). Another depiction has no wings and only one snake,it is known as the staff of Asclepius,a demigod of medicine. Zeus was angered by Asclepius and killed him with a thunderbolt then placed him in the sky where he became the "serpent bearer" constellation. The Greeks regarded snakes a sacred and used them in healing rituals (even today snake venom has medicinal purposes) and their skin shedding was viewed as rebirth and renewal.

Mr. Richardson,I presume?

 Does anyone recognize the name Lunsford Richardson? I doubt most people have ever heard of him but most everyone is familiar with his product,Vicks VapoRub. Originally Vicks was called Richardson's Croup and Pneumonia Cure Salve but it was too long to fit on the little blue jar,so he named it for his brother-in-law,Dr. Joshua Vick. Richardson worked for Dr. Vick as a self taught pharmacist with a love for chemistry and three years of Latin in college. Richardson introduced Vick's Magic Croup Salve in 1894 having concocted it for his croupy baby,and the rest as they say,is history.

Hazardous Instruments

Since the school year is just getting started I thought this would be a good time to issue a warning about band instruments. The woodwind instruments seem to be at the top of the list for a malady known as "Saxophone Lung",but it can happen with other instruments as well. Mold collects in the instruments over time and causes inflammation of the lung tissue. The fix is easy enough and simple too,clean the instrument! Especially band students using instruments on loan. Imagine if you will one case study of "Saxophone lung" who played in a Dixie band and hadn't cleaned his clarinet in over 30 years! A perfect example of courting disaster...or trouble at the very least.

Childhood Stuff

No idea what made me think of the childhood saying "Olly olly oxen free" but once I got that in my head the mystery of the words got the better of me. This phrase meaning "all clear" is a little sketchy as far as etymology goes. Some of the guesses at the origin are: All ye out come in free",All's out come in free" (Olly=All ye, oxen=come in, when heard in frantic children's voices). In the Midwest the phrase is often "Ole Ole Olsen's free". It is also close to the German phrase "Alle,alle auch sind frei" meaning everyone, everyone is also free. Do kids even play hide and seek anymore? I would love to go watch kids on the playground but a person can't really do that these days without arousing suspicion.

Here's the Key

The book I'm reading starts out in Key West,Florida which reminded me that when I was there sometime in the 1990's I had wondered why it was named Key West when it is the southernmost city in the US and I don't know for sure if there is another spot further east but weird as it sounds I think Alaska might hold that distinction. Okay,back to the question at hand,why Key West? Many of the early explorers were Spanish and Key West was named by a Spaniard (Keyo Weso) which means Bone Island. It was a communal cemetery and was littered with human remains. The island was the westernmost Key with fresh water,so when it was translated to English is became Key West. It still doesn't seem right to me,but I doubt they will change the name just to please me!
 

Hemingway's Key West home

Eating Light

While I was skeptical about the usefulness of the "Sonic Dictionary" today's item is something I can see a use for. What is the item in question? Glow in the dark ice cream...think of the possibilities! It is made with a synthesized version of the luminescence protein that makes jellyfish and fireflies glow. Hard as it may be to believe there are already several companies making glow in the dark ice cream. One type uses the actual jellyfish protein and that brand is said to be the original but since jellyfish protein is rare it is expensive ($225 per scoop). The next type that company (Lick Me I'm Delicious) is working on is invisible ice cream...sorry,I don't see a use for that one.

Useful?

I'm not sure how useful the "Sonic Dictionary" is but I am intrigued by the idea of a database of sounds. The dictionary is being compiled at Duke University and not only includes how different musical instruments sound but also everyday sounds like shucking corn,an air conditioner,ambulance siren,avalanche,zipper,baling hay,bar code scanner,chirping bird,chopping wood,the list goes on and on. I do enjoy the online dictionaries that feature audio pronunciations as they eliminate the guesswork of difficult words,so who knows? maybe there is a practical application for this dictionary too.

Seeing Red

Not long ago (9/17/14) I posted a bit about how Snoopy was almost named Sniffy and wondered if Charles Schultz had patterned Snoopy's fantasy life after "Don Quixote". Today I am wondering if Schultz knew that the real Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen) had a Great Dane named Moritz who was not only his best friend but would ride with the Baron on short flights? As long as I'm on the subject of the Red Baron,he was not known by that name (Red Baron) until after his death.

Dynamite

This is one of those things a person reads about and thinks that it is a product of an overactive imagination. This oddity is a tree that goes by several aliases,sandbox tree,possum-wood,dynamite tree and monkey no-climb. What is unusual about this tree is the pointed spines on smooth bark,fruit that is shaped like a pumpkin the size of a fist and did I mention the fruit explodes (making a loud report) launching seeds at 160 mph as far as 330 feet? The seeds have injured animals,humans and pretty much anything in their path. The weirdness doesn't end there either,the sap has been used to make poison tipped arrows! Now let's everyone make up a story about someone getting killed by a dynamite tree!

What's Bugging You?

I had to read this more than once and it still didn't make much sense. A 32 year old father of 2 choked to death after eating 35 meal worms and dozens of live cockroaches. Why? you might be asking...he was participating in a bug eating contest at a pet store in hope of winning the grand prize,an $850 ivory ball python that he wanted as a gift for a friend. An incredibly stupid end of life all for a snake,have you guessed I am not a big snake fan?

Simply Gross

Today's post is in direct opposition to yesterday's title (Size Matters) as these snails are small but deadly killing around 10,000 people annually. The mosquito still remains the deadliest creature on earth (even more so than humans) with a death toll of 750,000 a year. The way these snails kill is not a pretty picture,they dwell in fresh water in tropical and subtropical areas,when people drink the water they ingest snail eggs,the eggs then burrow into the stomach causing flu-like symptoms...too creepy! Even worse in 2009 a German researcher was attacked and killed by the snails he was trying to collect for his study leaving very little of his body intact. How can this be true you say? Snails have up to 10,000 teeth (actually called radula) that are extremely efficient eating machines! It is my understanding that these are the same snails people put into their freshwater aquariums...they do a good job of keeping it clean but they also eat the fish.