Charmed Couture

 Considering the great toilet paper shortage early in the pandemic the last couple of Charmin Wedding Dress competitions were postponed though it is looking like this year will be a go (pardon the pun). These are really quite amazing since they are made out of Charmin Ultra,tape,glue or needle and thread. The first Cheap and Chic contest was held in 2004,at that time any brand of toilet paper could be used but since 2010 when Charmin became the event's sponsor they require contestants to use Charmin Ultra. Dresses typically use from 8-74 rolls to complete. The winner of the contest receives $10,000,second place$5,000 and third is $2,500. Even though it seems wasteful ecologically it actually makes more since than what people normally spend on wedding dresses. 

Cringe-worthy Combo?

 If you're old enough you might remember Dixie Cups as a treat,they were single servings of vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet,an unlikely pairing that somehow worked. Most people cringe at the thought of milk and orange juice since at best they kind of cancel each other out,so it's surprising to learn that Tropicana of orange juice fame is releasing a breakfast cereal made with honey-almond clusters waiting to be moistened with Tropicana orange juice. So maybe it isn't the orange juice/milk combo that doesn't sound good together,maybe it's just the thought of orange juice not really going with anything much...other than vodka,or maybe it's just me and they will open up a new cereal industry with their orange juice innovation? Either way you only have to wait a few more days to test drive it for yourself as Tropicana Crunch is coming out 5/4/22. 

A Quart Low

 A person can't help but wonder if some folks aren't a quart low on some essential bodily fluids when you hear about their half baked ideas...hey,maybe that's it! They're half baked! But seriously,there are certain people who actually believe Biden is dead and is being impersonated by several different actors,one being Jim Carrey who plays him on Saturday Night Live. You might be wondering why they would have actors playing a deceased president when the procedure would be to swear in the vice-president,and for that there are no answers. So relax and consider the source of the rumor. 

Time Unstitched

 The years of the pandemic probably felt like the longest years of most people's life though they were the same length as most years which doesn't mean that all years are equal time wise. The longest year in history was 46 BC which was 445 days long, it was made longer to implement changing the old Roman calendar into a solar year. Second longest year would go to 1972 which was a leap year giving it 24 extra hours plus it also had 2 leap seconds tacked on to correct for the Earth's irregular rotation and align astronomical time. Since the system for leap seconds was implemented there have been 27 leap seconds applied over the years. 

From Geezer to Gobbledygook

 Both of the words in the title have been around since the 1940s and it is interesting how they worked their way into everyday language. Geezer is actually from earlier in time,the 1880s where in British Cockney slang it meant a man in a mask or disguise which eventually became an old man by the 1940s. Once the geezer crossed the ocean and arrived in the US it took on a different meaning in British slang becoming any man much like "dude"or"bro" though in the US the old man meaning remained. Gobbledygook was born in a memo in 1944 from former Texas congressman Maury Maverick who banned his staff from using overly bureaucratic language (gobbledygook). 

 

Art Lover

 They  have always claimed artistic people are different and by different they mean a little crazy,maybe exceptionally talented people are a little crazy but mostly in a good way that gives them the edge they need to be creative. Then someone comes along who really adds fuel to the crazy fire,someone like Domingo Zapata who has 26 of his digital reinterpretations of the Mona Lisa displayed alongside the original work,but that's not the weird part,the weird part is Domingo claims he has a romantic and sexual relationship with the painting,he says he dreams about her every night and has sex with her in his dreams. Alrighty then,being a person who has weird dreams on a regular basis I'll just leave everyone to form their own conclusions at this point. 

Life's an Illusion

 It's time to give your eyes a workout again with some optical illusions! 

Stare at the cross in the center and see what happens

To Err is Human

 To really foul things up requires a computer,or the government or both as exhibited by a recent faux-pas when Quebec's Ministry of Health and Social Services posted a link on the latest COVID-19 figures that actually took users to a Pornhub foot-fetish video,"Femdom Foot Worship". The mistake wasn't recognized for 30 minutes and was then taken down and an apology for the inconvenience was posted. Not sure how that kind of error would happen though it's amusing to imagine everyone scrambling to erase the mistake and probably launch an investigation into how it happened. Gotta love those governments! 

 

Sky Boys

 One of the most iconic buildings in the world,the Empire State Building was obviously built to last as most older buildings were but it was also built really fast. The 1,250 foot,102 floor skyscraper was built in 410 days at a cost of $750 million which sounds kind of high for that time period but that figure is in today's money and includes the land it was built on. The men who worked on the building were called sky boys and were mainly Irish and Italian immigrants who enjoyed the daredevil stunts they performed in their daily work. Speaking of daily work,the pay for the men was $15 per day no matter what kind of work they were doing. Even with the lack of safety rules at that time only 5 deaths were reported though it was rumored that there were more. 

April Showers

 This morning as I was showering I thought I hadn't done a "shower thoughts" post in quite awhile,then I thought if April showers bring may flowers what does April snow bring? That brought two possible answers to mind,we don't know,or back we go. 

Which came first? The fruit orange,or the color orange? 

If air and water are both clear,why can we see water but not air?

Does a straw have one hole or two? 

If money is the root of all evil,why do churches ask for it? 

Winter is the only season you experience twice a year.