Candy Corn was initially known by the name Chicken Feed but the name gradually changed to be more appealing. Really? in what universe has Candy Corn ever been appealing? The real news here is that somehow Candy Corn has made the top ten list of 2024's most popular Halloween candy. Other upsets to this years list are M&M's replaced Reese's Cups as the #1 candy and Butterfinger was added to the top ten. Sour Patch Kids also claimed a spot for those who don't properly cherish chocolate.
Here being how Halloween is celebrated, it basically started with immigrants from the British Isles bringing their Halloween customs and postcards to the US in the early 20th century. Last month I posted about postcards being the original memes and that was especially true of Halloween. An estimated 900 million postcards were mailed in the first couple of decades of the 20th century and many of those were Halloween postcards, an estimated 3,000 different designs were created in that era alone. The following are examples.
Another company is joining the Halloween advertising gang, they're calling it Boktober which refers to Reebok's new sneaker line of Monster inspired footwear. The most expensive of the lineup is Gill-man from "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" for $220.
Next is Frankenstein for $180
In the spirit of Halloween maybe today's title should be witch is witch, or maybe not. Most people use the words graveyard and cemetery interchangeably, but they are actually different. Cemetery is the older of the two words first appearing in the mid 1400s and referring to Roman Underground cemeteries or catacombs. Over time the meaning shifted to mean burial grounds closer to the surface, then by 1485 it meant grounds next to a church and by the 1600s it took on the meaning of park like grounds for burial purposes. Graveyards didn't come into use until the mid 1700s and simply meant burial grounds though later on became used in metaphors like, "a graveyard for outdated electronics" or fill in the blank with many other items when they become obsolete.
A British farm that holds the Guinness World Record is attempting to beat their own record this year by building another pumpkin mosaic featuring Beetlejuice. The mosaic was made with over 10,000 pumpkins and squash and took 50 hours of planning on paper then was built in one day by 15 people. Fans of the farm's pumpkin artwork voted for this year's theme with 70% opting for Beetlejuice.
Another company is joining the Halloween celebration, Airheads candy is giving away more than 100 bottles of cherry scented foot spray between October 14-18. According to the candy company the foot spray is supposed to smell just like their cherry flavored taffy bar and comes in a big red foot container. If you still don't "get it" they are referring to the 'trick or treat, smell my feet rhyme. Still seems odd to come out with candy scented foot spray though that's the genius of marketing? With only around 100 the containers may become collectibles so there's that.
Burger King loves Halloween. Every year they feature a Spooky Season special, this year they're launching on October 10th (today!) with the help of the Addams Family. The specials available will include: Wednesday's Whopper which is a classic Whopper on a purple bun, made that color from purple potatoes, Thing's Rings, onion rings served in an Addams Family sleeve, Gomez's Churro Fries, served with chocolate dipping sauce, and Morticia's Kooky Chocolate Shake, soft serve ice cream blended with cake batter fudge and sprinkled with black and purple cookie pieces. They are also offering Chicken Fries costumes on their website. Enjoy!
Is it a coincidence that tarantulas mate this time of year or is it all a well thought out Halloween plan? Whatever the case the arachnids typically spend most of their time underground in burrows but from September-October they come out at dusk to mate. Here's the part that may make feminists smile...the males become sexually active around 7 years of age and once they quickly perform the mating act they usually become a snack for the much larger female in order to nourish her pregnancy. Soon after that she will lay up to 1,000 eggs which hatch after 30-45 days later and only spend a few days in her den before striking out on their own. Got to love the life of a female tarantula! plus the females can live up to 20 years.
Pizza Hut is launching "Reszames" a pizza box with your resume printed on it. The idea is that 75% of resumes are unread but if they arrive on a pizza box, complete with a cheese pizza the resume will be sure to be read. Pizza Hut is offering this service for free during the hiring surge of the 4th quarter to any business within New York City. To get the ball rolling go to their website and fill out a form, though they will only be offering the service to a limited number of applicants. Not to be a killjoy but even if a person was one of the selected few to receive this service there are still many ways it doesn't guarantee employment, but hey it's free! so at least the price is right.
You'll never guess what the researchers have been up to this time, drum roll...they've discovered that the dye used in Cheetos can make mice's skin transparent! Tartrazine aka Yellow No. 5 is used in several snacks and drinks, how it works is when the dye is applied it causes light to pass through the cells and voila! transparent mice. You are probably wondering by now why your hands don't turn transparent when you munch down a face full of Cheetos, the answer is that human skin is thicker than mouse skin so it will take a lot more of the dye, though human tests are in the works.
Before we get started on today's post it's important to remember there are no bad dogs but according to a leading canine behaviorist there are some dogs who trainers never own and are very difficult to fit into most homes. That said those breeds are the ones who are bred to do their work independently. They are often very intelligent and are many times herding dogs. His top three most difficult to train are: Caucasian Shepherd, Turkish Kangal, and Siberian Husky.
Some health related quotes for your enjoyment are today's topic. Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing. Redd Foxx Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead. James Thurber I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don't intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises. Neil Armstrong Health food makes me sick. Calvin Trillin
In a one of a kind study researchers spent two weeks acclimating 11 behavioral compliant adult cats with osteoarthritis before fitting them with specially crocheted electrode containing caps. Then they conducted an EEG and evaluation of the cats reactions to soothing stimuli like colored lights and grapefruit essential oil to note how it affected their brain activity. Once the pain was measured they hope to be able to treat it appropriately without unwanted side effects. This research also paves the way for other animals suffering chronic pain. More than just cats looking cute in hats!
This invention may be right up there next to sliced bread if it works as stated. Named UNOS which stands for "U Need One Size" only, they are an innovation in sneakers that allow for children's shoes sizes to grow a half size and adult sizes to grow a full size. Children feet grow quite rapidly so this will be great for parents trying to keep up with growth spurts and adults often have feet that are different sizes or sometimes feet swelling from being stood on all day. The design is rather simple in that it is a cut out Z pattern in the sole that lets the shoe expand. Why hadn't anyone thought of this before? Oh, never mind, they wanted to sell more shoes, environment be damned!
Most everyone knows gobbledygook means overly complicated or unintelligible language but how many know that it was coined by a US senator to criticize convoluted language used on government documents? Next word up is dragooned, meaning being forced/pressured into something against your will...most of us know that feeling. Next up is boondoggle which started out as the name for the braided lanyard made by boy scouts but morphed into meaning a waste of time or money during the 1930s by critics of the New Deal.
This is the month to acknowledge those winged mammals for all they do year round, not just as October decorations.
10/1 National Black Dog Day
10/2 World Farm Animals Day
10/3 Latinos Equal Pay Day
10/4 Vodka Day
10/5 World Teachers Day
10/6 Pickle Day
10/7 World Habitat Day
10/8 World Octopus Day
10/9 Bullying Prevention Day
10/10 World Homeless Day
10/11 National Coming Out Day
10/12 Free Thought Day
10/13 Silly Sayings Day
10/14 Native American Day
10/15 National Grouch Day
10/16 Global Cat Day
10/17 National Pasta Day
10/18 World Menopause Day
10/19 Evaluate Your Life Day
10/20 Miss American Rose Day
10/21 Lung Health Day
10/22 National Tex Mex Day
10/23 National Mole Day
10/24 Food Day
10/25 Sourest Day
10/26 American Frog Day
10/27 Navy Day
10/28 Champagne Day
10/29 National Hermit Day
10/30 Checklist Day
10/31 National Knock-Knock Jokes Day
Enjoy your month!
