The first soft drink was accidentally created around 1767, by 1800 the public was calling the carbonated drink "soda". A decade later the name "pop" was being used, in 1863 the two names briefly merged with the drink becoming "soda pop," as more soft drinks were introduced the naming debate grew splitting the country into pop, soda and Coke territories. Today the way you order your soft drink can reveal the region you're from.
Today's post contains words from the past for you to incorporate into usage at your own discretion. Smelfungus is from the 18th century, it is used to label someone who always complains, especially when traveling. The 10th century equivalent of the F-bomb was "sard", it was even used in the Old English bible. Rantallion is an insult from the18th century used to mock and humiliate a man's masculinity, it means their penis is shorter than their scrotum.
Nursery rhymes didn't start out as entertainment for children, they originally were used to send messages among the masses and at times to reveal what evil the ruling class was up to. For instance, "Pop Goes the Weasel" was about having to sell your fur coat when financial times were rough. Weasel referred to fur coats in the 19th century. "Baa Baa Black Sheep" had to do with taxes, in the 13th century King Edward I of England imposed a "sheep tax" requiring a portion of all wool be given to the monarchy. 3 blind mice represent the three protestant bishops who were executed under the reign of Queen Mary I of England for their rejection of Catholicism.
If your goal for the New Year is to set a Guinness World Record here are some suggestions for you to try. Fastest 400 meter sack race, the 100 meter record is already taken at 25.96 seconds. Set the longest record for playing air guitar. Most potatoes peeled in one minute. Make the tallest stack of Guinness World Record books in 30 seconds. Most coffeehouses visited in one month. Most items caught by a cat in one minute. Try for the fastest time to climb the height of Everest on stairs.
In a1977 episode of "The Newlywed Game" Bob Eubanks asked the question, "Where is the weirdest place you ever made whoopee?" One contestant answered, in the butt Bob. Seems like an appropriate way to kick off today's post on a report compiled by the government on the worst 25 things people had to go to the ER to have removed from their butts.
1. Screws and nails
2. A dog chew toy
3. Beard clippers wrapped up in a plastic baggie, cited as being used as constipation relief
4. A baton
5. A turkey baster
6. A shampoo bottle (listed more than once)
7. A dental pick
8. A wine stopper
9. A corn cob holder
10. A highlighter
11. A magic wand toy
12. Marbles
13. A film canister
14. A sandal
15. A doorknob
16. A lightbulb, inserted glass side first which ‘due to the suction effect’ got ‘sucked up’
17. A flashlight
18. A vape pen
19. Two pencils
20. A corncob-style pipe
21. Uncooked pasta
22. A piece of nose hair trimmer
23. A pair of glasses
24. An egg
25. A rectangular travel toothbrush holder
Some of the big brand/tech names meaning are known by at least a few but for the most part people just accept them at face value without much thought. Here are a few of the more interesting names and how they came to be. eBay was originally called AuctionWeb but the owner also had a company named Echo Bay Technology Group but echobay.com couldn't be registered so he shortened it to eBay. "Hulu" has no English definition but a Chinese proverb describes hulu as the holder of precious things. Last on today's list is Airbnb which most folks assume means "online bed and breakfast" but the founders bought air mattresses for their guests and created a website called Air Bed & Breakfast, which was shortened to Airbnb.
If a person is sporting a beard they may as well make it work for them, like sticking things in it that might come in handy, or like this guy who realized there was always food or something caught in his beard and decided to see what all his beard could hold which in turn garnered him many Guinness World Records. The following is a partial list of his records.
Let's jump into this year feet first and try to make it something special!
1/1 World Day of Peace
1/2 National Buffet Day
1/3 Festival of Sleep Day
1/4 Trivia Day
1/5 National Bird Day
1/6 National Bean Day
1/7 National Bobblehead Day
1/8 Argyle Day
1/9 Play God Day
1/10 Eagle Day
1/11 National Milk Day
1/12 National Clean Off Your Desk Day
1/13 Rubber Ducky Day
1/14 World Logic Day
1/15 National Hat Day
1/16 National Nothing Day
1/17 Cable Car Day
1/18 Thesaurus Day
1/19 National Popcorn Day
1/20 National Cheese Lovers Day
1/21 Mariachi Day
1/22 National Polka Dot Day
1/23 National Pie Day
1/24 Belly Laugh Day
1/25 National Irish Coffee Day
1/26 Clashing Clothes Day
1/27 International Port Wine Day
1/28 National Kazoo Day
1/29 National Puzzle Day
1/30 Croissant Day
1/31 Fruitcake Toss Day
Today's post looks back to 1925 at the predictions made for 2025, they didn't get a lot of them right. Life expectancy would be at least 150, H. G. Wells said there would a global power with no independent countries only 3 great masses of people, the United States of America, the United States of Europe and China. A British scientist expected television machines, breakfast tubes, automatic sleep beds, wireless banking and moving sidewalks. The airport of the future would be in the center of the city, have a well appointed lobby with an elevator that would take you to the roof where the plane waited on a turntable to be catapulted off at 300 mph. San Francisco and Oakland would overtake New York City as the world's greatest city with a population of 15 million. Oh well, back to the drawing board.
As words go these really aren't that old, in fact they're just turning 50 though it's still surprising to learn they've been around that long. Of course as to be expected some have aged better than others but that's mostly true of newly coined words they lose their impact quickly. Without further ado the list of 50 year old words.
To say this collection of vintage New Year's cards is odd is and understatement at the very least. My only comments are that the Fums Up one took me a minute to realize it meant thumbs up and the one with the pig and the spiderweb is from 1907 well before Charlotte's Web in case anyone was wondering.
Today's post features the top 5 New Year's Eve drops, enjoy!
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| #5 Ludington, Michigan a ball drop clad in thousands of flashing lights. |
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| #4 MoonPie Over Mobile, Alabama Indulge in the world's largest MoonPie cake, the watch the 600lb electric MoonPie descend. |
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| #3 Tallapoosa, Georgia Possum Drop, no possums are harmed in the event. Spencer a stuffed possum who met his fate as roadkill is used instead of a living possum. |
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| #2 Boise, ID Potato Drop, a glowing potato is dropped at midnight. |
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| #1 Pierogi Drop Whiting, Indiana a giant pierogi is dropped 50 feet into a boiling cauldron at midnight. |
New Year's Eve is right around the corner which calls for a variety of celebrations depending on your location. Today's post will feature #10-6 of New Year's Eve drops around the country.
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| At #10 is the Pickle Drop of Mount Olive, NC where a glowing pickle drops into a giant jar. |
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| #9 is the Shrimp Drop at Amelia Island, FL |
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| #8 is the Beach Ball Drop at Panama City, Fl. One ball drops at 8pm and another at midnight. |
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| #7 is the Great Pinecone Drop at Flagstaff, AZ a 70lb 6 ft. metallic pinecone drops at 3 different times. |
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| #6 is the Peeps Chick Drop at Bethlehem, PA a 400lb Peeps Chick is dropped at 5:35 on both 12/30 and 12/31. |
