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Wow...just realized, until last night, it had been nearly 7 years I had been on here. Sorry to anyone who still remembers me. Life happened and I completely forgot about this amazing place until last night. Recently survived a major hurricane. Which was historic. I live in the mountains of North Carolina and we got wrecked. Thankfully our home survived, but we took a hit financially. We were without power for two weeks, internet a month, and water for a month. Then there was three wild fires 13 miles away from our home. Anyways, my family is safe and I am going to try and get on here again and be more active.

That's interesting, you don't often see this kind of word in english; more so in other languages. In a way you could say the word is adscititious to the language in and of itself

Happy New Year!

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/firestone-online-idle-rpg-bfd04b Firestone Online Idle RPG is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/nightingale Nightingale is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/doodle-devil-dark-side-android-2b0231 https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/doodle-devil-dark-side-ios-307eea Doodle Devil Dark Side is currently free on Epic Games Store for Android and iOS devices. https://freebies.indiegala.com/game-of-mafia Game of Mafia is currently free on IndieGala. https://freebies.indiegala.com/bad-cat-sam Bad Cat Sam is currently free on IndieGala. https://freebies.indiegala.com/whiskeymafia-leos-family Whiskey Mafia Leo's Family is currently free on IndieGala. https://freebies.indiegala.com/mrbrocco-co Mr.Brocco & Co is currently free on IndieGala. https://freebies.indiegala.com/scamster-kombat Scamster Kombat is currently free on IndieGala.

What's the Word: ADSCITITIOUS pronunciation: [ad-sih-TISH-əs] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, 17th century Meaning: 1. Forming an addition or supplement; not integral or intrinsic. Examples: "When the dense fog stranded hundreds of travelers, the resort struggled to feed the adscititious crowd." "The Sunday papers used to come with more than a half-dozen adscititious magazines and promotional flyers." About Adscititious “Adscititious” is based on the Latin “adscitus,” meaning “admitted.” Did you Know? The word “adscititious” has a two-part definition: “forming an addition or supplement” and also “not integral.” While both parts make up the definition, they can be at odds with each other — something that is not integral can be seen as unneeded. However, supplements are usually helpful additions, and sometimes even necessary. Consider the nutritional supplement folic acid. This might fit both sides of the definition of adscititious; it’s not integral to most adult diets, but it’s extremely important to supplement as a prenatal vitamin.

The last episode of season one of HoriMiya. It was such a a sweet episode. The whole series was wonderful, but I love how it came to a beautiful ending of Izumi proposing to Kyoko. It was in a tasteful innocent way, and not some cheesy over the top way.

Just sitting here watching snow and playing Pokemon Violet.

Huniepop is free on both steam and gog today, for its 10th anniversary: https://store.steampowered.com/app/339800/HuniePop/ https://www.gog.com/en/game/huniepop

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! What's the Word: EPHEMERA pronunciation: [ih-FEM-ər-ə] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, 14th century Meaning: 1. Things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time. 2. Items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity. Examples: "Realizing many of his belongings were basically ephemera, Greg donated them to charity before he moved." "When Sara is at the fair, she’d rather eat decadent foods than win ephemera on the midway." About Ephemera “Ephemera” is taken directly from the Latin, where it was borrowed from the ancient Greek “ἐφήμερᾰ” (“ephḗmera”), meaning “short lived” or “living for a day.” Did you Know? In the world of collectibles, “ephemera” refers to a broad category of items that were never intended to last a long time or have any particular value. This category includes things such as old periodicals, receipts, tickets, and product packaging, as well as outdated maps and documents that are now obsolete. All of these items were intended to exist for a very short period of time, but to modern collectors, ephemera from years ago provides a clear picture of life in the past.

Merry Christmas!

Kondo shared more info about the Trails in the Sky Remake. Saying the voice cast for Sky Remake is still undecided. So remains to be seen if we'll get the same cast from the recent games or brand new casting. Also confirmed that the game will feature new details that debuted in later entries of the series post-Sky that'll help cohesion and worldbuilding. So it's not a 1 for 1 remake. They're going to be adding stuff to make it better fit with later entries by including various additional details. Physical editions of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter in the West were confirmed. Limited Run Games will handle the collector’s launch with a standard release made available via Amazon.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-lord-of-the-rings-return-to-moria-f01344 The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is currently free on Epic Games Store.

https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_whispered_world_special_edition The Whispered World: Special Edition is currently free on GOG.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/bus-simulator-21 Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/lego-star-wars-the-skywalker-saga Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is currently free on Epic Games Store.

Batman Arkham Asylum and Sonic x Shadow Generations. I'm not a gamer so these are officicially my first ever games I've spent money on.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/beholder-8c3b4c Beholder is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://freebies.indiegala.com/jumping-knight Jumping Knight is currently free on IndieGala. https://store.steampowered.com/app/552990/World_of_Warships/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/3254520/World_of_Warships__7th_Anniversary_Gift/ World of Warships — 7th Anniversary Gift DLC is currently free on Steam. The base game is free to play.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/220/HalfLife_2/ Half-Life 2 currently free on Steam.

https://www.gog.com/en/game/diggles_the_myth_of_fenris#Diggles-The-Myth-of-Fenris Diggles: The Myth of Fenris is currently free on GOG.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/castlevania-anniversary-collection-a61f94 Castlevania Anniversary Collection is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/snakebird-complete-e6f0ae Snakebird Complete is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://freebies.indiegala.com/wheres-my-helmet Where's My Helmet? is currently free on IndieGala.

Fact of the Day - SILLY PUTTY Did you know... World War II ran on rubber. From tanks to jeeps to combat boots, the Allied Forces needed an uninterrupted flow of rubber to supply fresh troops and vehicles to the front lines. Then, in late 1941, Japan invaded Southeast Asia — a key supplier of America’s rubber — and what was once a plentiful resource quickly became scarce. Americans pitched in, donating household rubber (think old raincoats and hoses) to help the war effort, but it wasn’t enough. So scientists set to work finding an alternative. A pair working separately at Dow Corning and General Electric independently developed a silicone oil/boric acid mixture that appeared promising. It was easily manipulated and could even bounce on walls, but in the end its properties weren’t similar enough to rubber to be useful in the war. U.S. government labs eventually found a workable rubber substitute using petroleum, but the previously developed “nutty putty” stuck around until it fell into the hands of advertising consultant Peter Hodgson. Sensing an opportunity, Hodgson bought manufacturing rights, renamed it “Silly Putty,” and stuck some of it inside plastic eggs just in time for Easter 1950. But it wasn’t until Silly Putty’s mention in an issue of The New Yorker later that year that sales exploded, with Hodgson eventually selling millions of this strange, non-Newtonian fluid (fluids whose viscosity changes under stress; ketchup and toothpaste are other examples). Since then, Silly Putty has found various serious uses, from teaching geology to physical therapy, and even took a ride on Apollo 8 in 1968, when it was used to keep the astronauts’ tools secure. A pretty impressive résumé for a substance that was initially considered a failure. Daylight saving time was first instituted to ration energy during wartime. On March 19, 1918, the Standard Time Act was signed into law, establishing the five time zones of the U.S. along with instituting daylight saving time, a method designed to conserve energy during World War I. But after the war, the energy-saving portion of the act was repealed and states were once again permitted to create their own standard time. Fast-forward to February 1942, only three months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Congress once again instigated a year-round daylight saving time, nicknamed “war time.” The time zones were even renamed to “Eastern War Time,” “Pacific War Time,” etc. At the war’s end in 1945, states once again regained the right to set their standard time, until 1966 when Congress passed the Uniform Time Act. Source: Silly Putty was developed during World War II as a potential rubber substitute.

What's the Word: EMERITUS pronunciation: [ə-MER-ə-dəs] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, mid-18th century Meaning: 1. (Of the former holder of an office, especially a college professor) Having retired but allowed to retain their title as an honor. Examples: "The banquet was held every year to honor the emeritus professors." "As an emeritus member, she was welcome to sit in on lectures." About Emeritus Academia is a career path unlike any other. Most people earn their degree and move on, but some folks remain on campus for the rest of their lives, from undergraduate to graduate school, after which there are positions in teaching and research. Tenure provides job security, but when a professor is ready for retirement, they can maintain privileges with an emeritus role. Did you Know? In Latin, the verb "emereri" means "to earn one's discharge by service." "Emeritus" comes from that, meaning you earned your retirement, so you're still entitled to the honor and title. The female form is "emerita," but you're unlikely to see that out-of-date usage anymore.

Fact of the Day - OLDEST BLACK HOLE Did you know..... The big ol’ hole at the center of the CAPERS-LRD-z9 galaxy is almost as old as the universe itself. In a galaxy far, far, far away, astronomers have found the oldest black hole in the universe. It sits at the center of the CAPERS-LRD-z9 galaxy, and it’s thought to have formed over 13.3 billion years ago—less than 500 million years after the Big Bang. Birth of a Black Hole Black holes are believed to form when massive stars collapse in on themselves at the end of their life cycles, creating concentrations of gravitational force so powerful that they swallow up everything around them, including light. Astronomers suspected their existence in the 18th century, but such theories weren’t confirmed until the 1970s, when X-ray emissions revealed stellar wind accreting around a black hole positioned 6000 to 7200 light-years away from Earth. Researchers the University of Texas at Austin’s Cosmic Frontier Center and colleagues reported that the black hole at the center of CAPERS-LRD-z9, named after a James Webb Space Telescope program studying some of the oldest and farthest galaxies in the observable universe, was discovered in much the same way. Using spectroscopy, the astronomers were able to separate light from CAPERS-LRD-z9 into multiple wavelengths, revealing patterns unique to and therefore indicative of black holes. “There aren’t many other things that create this signature,” Anthony Taylor, a postdoctoral researcher at the center and first author of the paper published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, said in a statement. “And this galaxy has it!” The Biggest Black Hole in the Universe? Not only is this black hole old—it’s gigantic. Taylor’s team estimates that the black hole is 300 million times more massive than our own sun, with a mass equal to around half of the 100 to 400 billion stars in the Milky Way. As unfathomably big as this black hole is, it’s not the biggest—not by a long shot. That honor may go to a black hole located at the center of the Cosmic Horseshoe galaxy that early estimates suggest is a mind-boggling 36 billion times more massive than the sun. But while the black hole at the center of CAPERS-LRD-z9 isn’t the biggest of its kind, it is the oldest. Until a future discovery lays claim to its title—the researcher say they have a couple promising candidates awaiting spectroscopic evaluation—this galaxy remains home to the most ancient body in the cosmos. For astronomers, this black hole’s proximity to the Big Bang is equal parts puzzling and exciting. Though it casts doubt on long-established theories about how black holes are formed and how fast they grow, it provides researchers with a unique opportunity to study the infant universe. Source: It’s Official: Astronomers Confirm the Universe’s Oldest Black Hole

What's the Word: HECTARE pronunciation: [HEK-tair] Part of speech: noun Origin: French, 19th century Meaning: 1. A metric unit of square measure, equal to 100 ares (which equals 2.471 acres or 10,000 square meters). Examples: "A hectare is equivalent to two U.S. football fields aligned vertically." "Along with the house, Megan inherited an operating 3-hectare beet farm." About Hectar “Hectare” is a loanword from French, where it was created by merging the ancient Greek “ἑκατόν” (“hekatón,” meaning “hundred”) with “are,” from the Latin for “piece of level ground” (“area”). In English, “are” is a historical unit of measure equivalent to 100 square meters. Did you Know? A hectare is equal to 10,000 square meters or 2.471 acres, but that’s not an easy measurement to visualize. Here's a better way to understand it: An American football field is roughly half a hectare, so a hectare is like two football fields side by side, with no room in the middle for fans, concessions, or sidelines. Bringing the stadium into the equation changes things. While its football field is only half a hectare, Michigan Stadium at the University of Michigan (nicknamed “The Big House”) occupies more than 5 hectares in total.

What's the Word: FARDEL pronunciation: [FAR-dl] Part of speech: noun Origin: Greek, early 20th century Meaning: 1. (Archaic) A bundle. Examples: "The men carried fardels of sticks to start a campfire." "The couple had a fardel of stories about their adventures together." About Fictile This word comes from the Old French “fardel,” meaning “parcel, package, small pack.” It is a diminutive of “farde,” which the Oxford English Dictionary says is “cognate with” (others say “from”) the Spanish “fardo,” meaning “pack, bundle.” This is said to be from the Arabic “fardah,” meaning “package.” Did you Know? “Fardel” is also the name of a historic manor located in the southwestern corner of England in the parish of Cornwood. It was successively the seat of the Raleigh and Hele families. This medieval home was previously linked to Sir Walter Raleigh and Pocahontas. It was for sale in 2018, and the property came with its own chapel and lordship.

Fact of the Day - CREAM SODA FLAVOR Did you know... The answer lies in the way our brains and taste buds respond to vanilla. There is no shortage of drinks and dishes with misleading names. Welsh rabbit is melted cheese on toasted bread, served with Worcestershire sauce and mustard, a dish in which no long-eared creatures are harmed. Bombay duck is a species of lizardfish, not a bird; prairie oysters are deep fried bull testicles, and you would be hard-pressed to find a bar that serves Long Island iced tea with actual tea in it. The same goes for cream soda, which contains zero actual cream. The soft drink tends to be prepared using the same non-dairy ingredients: carbonated water, natural or artificial sweeteners, and some form of vanilla flavoring. There are a few regional variations, like Crush Cream Soda, a pink bubble gum-flavored brand in Canada, and Bickford’s Creamy Soda from Australia has notes of raspberry. Nor was cream part of cream soda’s ingredient list in the past, the way cocaine used to be a part of Coca-Cola. Two of the earliest published recipes, uncovered by writer Dan Nosowitz in Bon Appétit, leave no room for cream. Michigan Farmer magazine’s recipe from 1852 calls for only water, cream of tartar, Epsom salts, sugar, tartaric acid, milk, and egg. One possibility, then, is that cream soda derives its name from cream of tartar, an acidic powder that can be used to stabilize whipped egg whites and stave off crystallization of sugar syrups. “That Real Smooth Finish” Alternatively, cream soda may owe its name to another longtime ingredient, vanilla. Originally a luxury essence produced by orchids, its rich flavor profile became widely available following the invention of synthetic vanillin in the 1930s. Vanillin, in turn, became a staple flavoring in cream soda brands around the world. The result is a soda with a distinctly smooth and sweet finish, one connoisseur told Nosowitz: “They all have a cream finish on them, no matter what the flavor profile is. You can get a raspberry or a bubble gum or whatever it is, but it just has that real smooth finish on it. You know it when you taste it.” That creamy mouthfeel isn’t a just a result of food science. It’s also due to human physiology. Our brains and taste buds associate vanilla flavor with creaminess, and this association is so strong that, in one study, adding a little bit of vanilla to low-fat milk greatly altered participants’ perception of its cream content. Cream soda, whether colored bubble-gum pink or golden brown, taps into this same sensory shortcut. Source: Why Is It Called “Cream Soda” If There’s No Cream In It?

What's the Word: CONFUTE pronunciation: [kən-FYOOT] Part of speech: verb Origin: Latin, 16th century Meaning: 1. Prove (a person or an assertion) to be wrong. Examples: "The student confuted the professor with a logical proof." "After some research, I was able to confute the belief that fruit trees couldn’t grow in this climate." About Confute “Confute” is derived from the Latin “confutare,” meaning “to answer conclusively.” It builds upon “refutare,” the basis of the similar word “refute,” adding the prefix “con-,” meaning “altogether.” Did you Know? “Confute” is similar to “refute” and shares an etymological root. The difference between the two words is that “confute” has traditionally been a verb applied to proving a person or people wrong, while “refute” is applied only to proving ideas wrong. Consequently, one may refute a claim, or confute the person who made the claim.

Fact of the Day - DOGS IN HOT CARS A NO-NO Did you know.... Sad but true: Your pet can die in a shockingly short amount of time. We often think of dogs as indomitable and durable animals who can fend off attackers, tirelessly chase Frisbees, and even eat poop without digestive consequences. It’s true that dogs generally have a solid constitution, but that shouldn’t lead you to believe they can endure one of the biggest mistakes a pet owner can make: Leaving them in a hot car—even for a few minutes—puts a dog’s life at serious risk. The Dangers of Leaving Your Dog in a Hot Car Even on relatively cool days with temperatures around 71.6°F, the inside of a vehicle can reach 116.6°F within an hour, as Quartz highlights. If it’s a scorching summer heat wave, an 80-degree day will see temperatures get up to 99°F in just 10 minutes; a 90-degree day can turn the car into an oven at 119°F in the same amount of time. Dogs can’t tolerate this kind of heat. As their bodies struggle to cool down, the temperature is often more than they can expel through panting and opening capillaries in the skin. If their body reaches a temperature of 105.8°F, they’re at risk of heatstroke, which only half of dogs survive. At 111.2°F, a lack of blood circulation can cause kidney failure and internal bleeding. Brain damage and death is very likely at this point. Depending on the outside temperature, it can happen in as little as six minutes. Cracking windows won’t help. Unless you plan on leaving your vehicle running with the air conditioning on (and we don’t recommend that), there’s really no safe amount of time to leave a pet inside. What to Do If You Find a Dog Trapped in a Hot Car If find a listless dog who is unresponsive, it’s best to get to a veterinarian as soon as possible. And if you’re a bystander who sees a dog trapped inside a car, alert the nearest store to try and make an announcement to get the owner back to the vehicle. You can also phone local law enforcement or animal control. In some states, including California, you’re legally allowed to enter a vehicle to rescue a distressed animal. If local law enforcement instructs you to remove the dog from the vehicle, be sure to check for any unlocked doors. If you have to break a window, choose one that's least likely to shatter glass onto the trapped pup. You should also have some sort of plan for how to secure and handle the dog after you rescue it—according to to the American Kennel Club, a belt or purse strap could serve as a makeshift leash. Source: Why You Should Never Leave Your Dog in a Hot Car—Even For Just a Few Minutes

Fact of the Day - ESCALATOR Did you know.... Over the course of two weeks in the fall of 1896, some 75,000 people stepped onto the curious contraption stationed at Coney Island's Old Iron Pier. Initially created by engineer Jesse Reno for use in the New York City subway system, the "inclined elevator" carried people on a conveyor belt-type platform, at an angle of 25 degrees, to a height of 6 or 7 feet from the ground. Although it lacked individual steps, the inclined elevator featured accompanying handrails and shallow platform grooves that allowed it to pass seamlessly through a pronged top landing, making it the first working escalator. Reno wasn't the first to muse on a means for automatically moving people to higher floors. In 1859, lawyer and inventor Nathan Ames obtained a patent for his "Revolving Stairs," which he proposed could be made from wood or metal, and powered by steam, weights, or hand. In other words, it was more of a fanciful concept than an invention with a clear path to becoming a reality, and the idea was left to gather dust. Thirty years later, amateur engineer Leamon Souder followed suit with a patent for his "Stairway," a series of steps pushed at an incline along an "endless propelling-belt." While more practical than Ames' creation, Souder's Stairway was also never built, leaving Reno to claim the glory after patenting his version in 1892. While Reno’s business lifted off with the installation of four of his inclined elevators in New York City's Siegel Cooper Department Store in 1896, he soon faced stiff competition from inventor Charles Seeberger. Having purchased a patent from explorer George Wheeler, Seeberger coined the term "escalator" and teamed with the Otis Elevator Company to develop a new and improved model. Similar to today's versions with steps that emerged from the bottom and flattened at the top landing, the prototype wowed onlookers at the 1900 Paris Exposition. By 1920, Otis had absorbed both Seeberger's and Reno's patents and installed 350 escalators around the world, the moving stairway now well past the point of spectacle and clearly established as a mode of casual transportation for modern city-dwellers. The Norwegian city of Trondheim features the world's only bicycle escalator. Why bother pedaling a bike up a hill when you can have a machine do the hard work for you? That was the mindset of Norwegian industrial designer Jarle Wanvik, who set about creating an easier way up the 18-degree incline of Trondheim’s Brubakken Hill. Introduced in 1993 as the world’s first bicycle escalator, the Trampe provides a series of footplates that run along a track at the push of a button. With one foot pressed against a plate and the rest of the body on the bike as normal, users are propelled up the 400-plus-foot path at a rate of approximately 5 miles an hour. The Trampe carries 20,000 to 30,000 cyclists per year, according to Trondheim’s tourism site, and it reportedly has a strong safety record. However, perhaps because of high costs of installation — between $2,400 and $3,200 a yard as of 2014 — Brubakken Hill remains the lone place on this planet where bikers can enjoy the reward of quality views without the sweat usually needed to reach such heights (and without getting off their bikes — other “bike escalators” will carry a bike separately up a hill for you). Source: The first working escalator was an amusement park ride.

What's the Word: AMPHIGORY pronunciation: [AM-fi-gohr-ee] Part of speech: noun Origin: French, 18th century Meaning: 1. Nonsense verse that appears at first hearing to have meaning, but which reveals itself to be meaningless under scrutiny. Examples: "Lewis Carroll’s poem ‘Jabberwocky’ is an amphigory that sounds like regular English, until one examines its nonsense words in detail." "I was struggling to understand my poetry assignment, until a friend told me it was an amphigory and couldn’t be understood." About Amphigory “Amphigory” comes from the French “amphigouri,” which is based on the prefix “amphi-,” from the Greek “ἀμϕι,” meaning “both sides.” The basis for “-gory” is unknown, but may be connected with the Greek “ηγορία,” meaning “speech.” Did you Know? A well-known amphigory is found in the closing credits of the 1980s sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati.” Musician Jim Ellis wrote music for a song to play over the end credits, but didn’t yet have words prepared, so in an early demo, he sang gibberish over the hard-rock backing track and was surprised to discover it sounded effective. At a time when critics complained rock vocals were becoming unintelligible, the meaningless syllables belted over the closing credits of “WKRP” were a joke of their own.

What's the Word: LAUDABLE pronunciation: [LAW-də-bəl] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, 15th century Meaning: 1. (Of an action, idea, or goal) Deserving praise and commendation. Examples: "The neighbors commended my teenage son’s laudable efforts to clean up the local park." "Despite a laudable effort to tie the game in the ninth inning, the visiting team was defeated." About Laudable “Laudable” is based on the Latin “laudābilis,” which means “worthy of being praised.” Did you Know? Many celebrities are beloved because of their laudable acts. We don’t just love Dolly Parton because she’s a talented singer and songwriter, but also because she gives generously to medical, educational, and social causes. Public figures who do such laudable things with their money and influence are inspiring because they offer an example of how to live well, and their audiences tend to reward them with adoration.

What's the Word: DOLORIFUGE pronunciation: [də-LOR-ə-fyooj] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, late 19th century Meaning: 1. Something which mitigates or removes grief. Examples: "After his team lost the World Series, the star pitcher took up mountain climbing as a dolorifuge." "After I suffered my first breakup, my mom introduced me to the dolorifuge of ice cream and bad TV." About Dolorifuge “Dolorifuge” is formed by combining the Latin “dolor,” meaning “pain,” with the English suffix “-fuge,” related to the Latin “-fugus,” describing a noun that removes or dispels something. Did you Know? Virtually every person suffers a broken heart at some point in life, and it’s important to take time to grieve these feelings. One way to do that is to turn to a dolorifuge — a fresh source of pleasure that distracts from grief. What makes a dolorifuge successful is how much it engages the sufferer and provides them a break from their woes. Many find physical activity, exercise, and mental challenges a powerful salve for a broken heart, while others find a dolorifuge in socializing, and still others recharge by staying home and engaging in comfort activities such as reading books or playing video games.

I check everyday!

Fact of the Day - ODD GRAMMAR RULE Did you know... You know this rule, even if you don’t know you know it. The English language is full of all sorts of quirks that can be infuriating to non-native speakers. (Imagine learning as an adult that cough, enough, and though all make different sounds.) To those of us who speak English as our first tongue, these nonsensical grammar conventions come as second nature—and some rules are so innate that they rarely get taught in school. Take this example: This passage tweeted by editor Matthew Anderson comes from the book The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase. It outlines the rules of adjective order when preceding a noun. According to the text, the order goes “opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun,” and any change made to that organization will make you “sound like a maniac.” For instance, big black dog is a perfectly acceptable phrase, but saying “black big dog” just sounds awkward. At least that’s the case for native English speakers—people learning English as a second language are tasked with committing that seemingly arbitrary sequence to memory. If they don’t, they risk getting confused stares when asking for “the green lovely rectangular French old silver whittling little knife.” That’s not the only English rule we know without knowing we know it. Here are a few more, from why the phrasing is my brother’s car and not the car of my brother to why we say “abso-freakin’-lutely” instead of “absolute-freakin’-ly.” Source: The Odd Grammar Rule Most English Speakers Know But Are Rarely Taught

What's the Word: EVINCE pronunciation: [ih-VINS] Part of speech: verb Origin: Latin, 17th century Meaning: 1. Reveal the presence of (a quality or feeling). 2. Be evidence of; indicate. Examples: "Sharon said nothing, but evinced her elation by the look on her face." "I evinced my cluelessness about blackjack through my losses." About Evince “Evince” comes from the Latin “evincere,” which means “overcome, defeat.” Did you Know? In its original form, “evince” did not mean “to demonstrate” or “to reveal,” but rather “to overpower” or “to conquer” — it shares a Latin root with another word, “evict,” meaning “recover property by legal process.” But in modern language, no battle or conquering is required when proving one’s feelings. It’s enough to evince feelings by simply sharing thoughts and emotions as evidence.

What's the Word: CONCINNITY pronunciation: [kən-SIN-ih-tee] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, 16th century Meaning: 1. The skillful and harmonious arrangement or fitting together of the different parts of something. 2. Studied elegance of literary or artistic style. Examples: "The combined effect of the performances, stage sets, and dazzling lighting made the Broadway show a model of concinnity." "Masha seeks out art that displays a complex concinnity of African influences." About Concinnity “Concinnity” is based on the Latin “concinnitās” (meaning “skillfully put together”). Did you Know? Year after year, critics rate the 1972 film “The Godfather” as one of the finest movies ever made. Perhaps its concinnity elevates Francis Ford Coppola’s classic film above all other gangster movies. The film's masterful script contains memorable and easily quotable lines, and it’s also legendarily well acted by Marlon Brando, as the titular Godfather, and Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, and James Caan, among others. The film is carefully shot to exude a unique aesthetic that creates a world of its own — and the soundtrack is likewise notably memorable. The concinnity of these forces is at the root of the success of “The Godfather.”

What's the Word: LUFF pronunciation: luhf Part of speech: verb Origin: Old French, 13th century Meaning: 1. Steer a yacht nearer the wind. 2. Obstruct (an opponent in yacht racing) by sailing closer to the wind. Examples: "The ship luffed up as it turned out to sea." "Unfortunately, the most direct route home required us to luff up." About Luff “Luff” is based on the Old French “lof,” likely based on the Middle Dutch “loef,” meaning “the windward side of a sail.” Did you Know? Over its long history in English, “luff” has had many definitions, including a noun that referred to the edge of a sail closest to the wind. This is connected to “luff” as a verb, which usually appears as a phrasal verb with “up” (“to luff up”), describing the action of turning a sailing ship into the wind. Luffing up is a difficult sailing technique that risks sapping the ship of its power, but it's sometimes necessary to make a direct trip.

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What's the Word: AMPHIBOLOGY pronunciation: [am-fə-BOL-ə-jee] Part of speech: noun Origin: Old French, 14th century Meaning: 1. A phrase or sentence that is grammatically ambiguous, such as “She sees more of her children than her husband.” Examples: "Avoid accidental amphibology by using an Oxford comma, such as in the list of actions ‘eats, shoots, and leaves,’ instead of the ambiguous list ‘eats, shoots and leaves.’" "I was alarmed by an amphibology in my adviser’s letter of recommendation, because an ambiguous statement could be misread." About Amphibology “Amphibology” is based on the Old French “amphibologie,” from the late Latin “amphibologia,” meaning “ambiguous.” Did you Know? An amphibology (to be distinguished from “amphibiology,” the study of amphibians) is a statement that can be misread because it contains ambiguous language or words with multiple definitions. For example, in “Jury sentences defendant to six months in stolen trophy case,” it’s clear that there is a legal case regarding a stolen trophy, yet “trophy case” is a common term in an entirely different context, so it turns the statement into an amphibology. The same is true of “Last night I was surprised by a guest in my bathrobe.” This amphibology could be interpreted to mean that the guest was wearing the bathrobe — surprising indeed.

Fact of the Day - TOYS IN CEREAL BOXES Did you know... Honey Comb Monster Mitts. Urkel for President campaign buttons. Sugar Smacks Star Trek badges. If you ate cereal between the 1950s and 1990s, you were likely to encounter a cereal box prize—an inexpensive trinket lurking inside the bag that may have made the difference between a kid choosing Fruit Loops over Lucky Charms. Browse the cereal aisle today, though, and you won’t find much in the way of in-box toy incentives. So what happened? The Origin of Cereal Box Toys Dry breakfast cereal has always been marketing-driven. In the 1930s, Mickey Mouse was recruited to endorse Post products; Cap’n Crunch was created to appeal to kids who hated soggy cereal. But prizes weren’t always relegated to children. In 1905, Quaker Oats awarded consumers free bowls of fine China in exchange for box tokens. Obviously, Quaker wasn’t stuffing fragile dinnerware into boxes of oatmeal: You had to send away for the bowls. But before long, prizes were included in the package itself. In the 1930s, General Mills began enticing kids with paper airplanes and trading cards packed inside cereal boxes. In the 1940s, Army buttons could be dug out of Pep cereal. In the 1950s, Kellogg’s began inserting tiny submarines and scuba-diving frogmen into their products. (The submarines could be filled with baking soda that allowed them to plunge and resurface in bathwater.) Some companies used the limitations of the giveaways to get creative. In 1955, Quaker Puffed Rice offered a deed that entitled the consumer to a 1-inch plot of land in the Yukon; Nabisco’s Wheat Honeys promised a launching plastic rocket; Alpha Bits included terrariums where kids could grow basil. As plastic injection molding made toymaking easier, companies began outsourcing creative toy ideas to marketing companies, who would then try to bid for cereal contracts. The toys had to meet exacting specifications for size and weight. The item couldn’t have any loose parts, because a tiny figure’s broken arm or head could become a choking hazard. (That problem was never fully resolved: In 1988, Kellogg’s recalled 30 million tiny flutes and binoculars that were included in boxes of Corn Pops and Rice Krispies that could break into smaller, airway-obstructing pieces.) Some toys didn’t take much brainstorming: They were marketing tie-ins. A new Star Wars movie could mean a lightsaber spoon stuffed into boxes of Apple Jacks; others were mascot-driven, with Tony the Tiger license plates awaiting kids in boxes of Frosted Flakes. Come the 2000s, though, cereal toys seemed to be growing scarce. Why Cereal Box Toys Disappeared Cereal companies never made any formal announcements about their shifting marketing strategies. Still, it’s easy enough to identify some contributing factors to the decline in cereal toys. The most significant change to the industry was the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, a voluntary pledge announced in 2005 that curbs advertising less-nutritious food to kids. Cereal makers like Post, General Mills, and Kellogg’s (under the company name Kellanova) are all participants. Since toys are certainly going to catch a kid’s eye, there may have been some reluctance to stuff them into sugary cereals. Instead, companies began including pedometers in boxes to encourage physical activity. A more health-conscious market wasn’t the only issue. Environmental concerns were also in play, with companies recognizing that the mass production of plastic items likely to be discarded isn’t exactly a public relations win. Cereal incentives still exist. Tiny toy mascots dubbed Bowl Buddies were included in Kellogg’s boxes in 2021. Other boxes feature QR codes so consumers can play games online. But the days of garnering a deed to a 1-inch plot of land in the Yukon or firing off a plastic rocket over the breakfast table are likely over. Source: Why Did Toys Disappear From Cereal Boxes?

What's the Word: FANTOCCINI pronunciation: [fan-tə-CHEE-nee] Part of speech: noun Origin: Italian, 18th century Meaning: 1. Puppets used to enact dramatic scenes by means of machinery. 2. The puppet shows in which they are used. Examples: "Fantoccini and other styles of puppet shows were once an extremely popular form of entertainment for children and adults alike." "With this new choreography and music, the dancers move across the stage like fantoccini." About Fantoccini “Fantoccini” is based on “fantoccino,” a diminutive Italian word for “puppet,” which is itself based on the root “fante” (meaning “child”). Did you Know? For about a century before the arrival of the term “marionette” in the 19th century, “fantoccini” was the term used to describe puppets operated from above with sticks or cables. “Fantoccini” is related to the Italian root “fante” (meaning “child”) because of the small size of the puppets: Puppet shows were often advertised as bringing miniatures to life. Though the term “fantoccini” was originally associated with Italian puppeteer Carlo Perico, who brought his show to England in 1770, the term was quickly applied to all puppetry performances in which puppeteers operated from above.

Fact of the Day - EASTER DATE Did you know... It involves some complicated moon math. Easter—with its pastel colors and imagery of flowers, bunnies, and hatching chicks—is a sign that spring is here. For those who celebrate it for religious reasons, the holiday marks the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb in Christianity; those who enjoy it for secular reasons embrace the joy of eating rabbit-shaped chocolate and dyeing eggs. But when exactly Easter Sunday occurs during the season changes each year. In 2025, the holiday is April 20, which is one of the latest dates it can fall on. Why isn’t the date for Easter fixed in the same way as other Christian holidays? Christmas, for example, is always December 25, whereas the date of Easter can vary within a wide range of days in March and April under the standard calendar. The earliest it can be is March 22; its latest date possible is April 25. The holiday is what is known in religious terms as a moveable feast, meaning it can shift around the calendar, as opposed to a fixed feast like Christmas Day. Easter’s changing date is an issue that began long before the Gregorian calendar (named after Pope Gregory XIII) was instituted in 1582. (The Julian calendar—named for Julius Caesar—was the standard format for centuries before then.) Official formulations for working out Easter’s date were first established in 325 CE at what was known as the First Council of Nicaea in Ancient Rome; the council was held to try and reach agreement on a number of issues in the Christian church. The council determined that Easter should always be celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox. (The same council meeting also decided on December 25 as the date for Christmas.) The vernal equinox happens between March 19–21, depending on the year. To make things more complicated, the full moon and spring equinox in question do not refer to the astrological ones. They instead follow ecclesiastical rules. According to these rules, an ecclesiastical full moon is always the 14th day of the ecclesiastical lunar month and the ecclesiastical equinox always falls on March 21. A complex formula that has evolved over the years is used to determine the date of future Easters (and someone even devised an algorithm that can help you find Easter dates for the years 1900–2099). The calendar someone uses can change the date of Easter even more. Different branches of Christianity use different ones: Western churches use the Gregorian calendar, while the Eastern Orthodox Church continues to use the Julian calendar. Those within Catholic and Anglican churches, for example, may wind up celebrating the holiday on a different date than those in the Eastern Orthodox Church. But there are some years when the date of Easter in both the Gregorian and Julian calendars happens to fall on the same day—and such will be the case for 2025. Source: Why Does Easter’s Date Change Every Year?

Fact of the day - VCR Did you know... In the 1950s, long before they were compact and more affordable, the earliest VCRs took up as much space as a piano and cost more than a house. We can trace the technology to engineer Charles Ginsburg, who was hired by electronics company Ampex to work on the development of a new video tape recorder (VTR). The resulting machine, called the Ampex VRX-1000, debuted in 1956 and allowed users to edit and play back recorded video on tape reels. However, these devices were humongous and cost roughly $50,000 (around $580,000 today), making them out of reach for personal use. Instead, Ampex found a market in large television networks such as CBS, which used the VRX-1000 to replace costly live broadcasts with prerecorded, edited content that could be re-aired. The personal VCR market developed further into the 1960s, starting with the work of Sony engineer Nobutoshi Kihara, who unveiled the CV-2000 in 1965. This was a smaller and more affordable device priced at $695 (around $7,000 today), capable of recording and playing back black-and-white images. But the CV-2000 still relied on tape reels; it wasn’t until 1971 that the first VCR to use cassettes debuted. This was the Sony VO-1600, which incorporated Sony’s new U-matic technology, in which the tape was encased inside a cassette — a direct predecessor to modern VHS tapes. The retail price of the Sony VO-1600 was still in excess of $1,000. But as the technology continued to develop throughout the 1980s, the cost of a new VCR dipped into the low hundreds. The first and last VHS movies released in the U.S. came less than 30 years apart. VHS tapes made their commercial debut in the United States in 1977, one year after they first hit shelves in Japan. Some of the earliest titles from that year included indelible classics such as The Sound of Music, Patton, and the film version of M*A*S*H. The VHS format exploded in popularity throughout the 1980s and 1990s, though it began to wane in the early 2000s when DVD sales overtook VHS sales for the first time. Studios continued to produce feature films on VHS until the mid-2000s before they stopped manufacturing VHS versions of feature films altogether. According to the Los Angeles Times, the last major Hollywood movie released on VHS was the 2005 David Cronenberg thriller A History of Violence, which was brought to market on VHS the following year, marking the end of the medium’s 30-year production run. Source: The first VCR cost $50,000 and was the size of a piano.

Fact of the Day - ONE-TRICK PONY Did you know.... Ponies have come to represent a very low bar for performance. In the 2021 film Wrath of Man, Jason Statham portrays a highly-skilled executor of violence who speaks sparingly and is bent on revenge. These traits also apply to roles in Parker, Wild Card, The Beekeeper, A Working Man, and likely another dozen films in the actor’s filmography. In the realm of action movies, Statham is a one-trick pony, or a performer with a very narrow area of specialty. But why do we use one-trick pony to describe someone with a single point of expertise? And is it always disparaging? The Origins of One-Trick Pony According to The Oxford English Dictionary, the phrase one-trick pony was initially literal. It referred to a performing show pony seen in traveling circuses displaying a minimal skillset. The OED cites this 1905 passage from the Oregon Pioneer Association 32nd Annual Reunion as the first to use the phrase in print: “Among the earliest of mundane things remembered are the resplendent red shirts of the volunteer firemen, conspicuous in every Fourth of July parade; the marvels that were seen at the first one-tent, one-clown, one-trick-pony, pioneer Oregon circus.” (There are earlier uses of the phrase, notably in an 1869 advertisement for a Nottingham traveling show that featured “two ring horses and one trick pony.” However, this likely meant a single pony that knew tricks, rather than a pony that knew just one trick.) Horses had been a part of the modern circus since the 18th century, having entered with ex-military members who had learned how to demonstrate certain tricks. But there was often more than one trick: Horses could pull off a trainer’s clothing, walk on their hind legs, or remove their own saddle. A one-trick pony, in contrast, would be a smaller breed that might have more limited range and indicated the circus in town was not sprawling. As the Oregon Pioneer Association noted, you might get just one clown, not a whole car’s worth. But as circuses of such limited means fell by the wayside, so did the literal use of the term. The OED dates the first use of one-trick pony as an colloquial saying to 1950, meaning “a person or thing specializing in only one area, having only one talent, or of limited ability.” Curiously, print use of the idiom was scarce until 1980, when musician Paul Simon wrote and starred in the film One-Trick Pony, about a once-famous singer (Simon) who grapples with personal and professional break-ups. Simon also recorded a soundtrack and a song with the name, which included the following lyrics: He's a one-trick pony One trick is all that horse can do He does one trick only It's the principal source of his revenue Did Simon help popularize the term? Perhaps. While newspaper mentions of the phrase picked up in the 1980s, the OED denotes the sharpest uptick in usage from 2000 to 2010. Dog and Pony Show A close cousin to one-trick pony is dog and pony show, which often refers to a pandering or simplistic attraction or attempt. This, too, has origins in the circus, when traveling show might offer only a modest animal attraction consisting of dogs and ponies. It took on a different and more disparaging meaning around 1949. The New York Times is cited: “Dr. W. Y. Elliot of Harvard University told the bankers that ‘the present Russian peace offensive, which has been launched through the sponsorship of many misguided intellectuals, by what looked like trained dog and pony shows ... is dangerous if it misleads American opinion.’” These various idioms don’t do much for the reputation of the pony, which has now become synonymous with a person or situation of limited ability. Of course, equine intelligence is well-documented and impressive. One 2017 study found that horses could use physical cues to alert a caretaker to the location of carrots. Even a metaphorical one-trick pony is still nothing to be ashamed of. According to Forbes, Jason Statham earned $41 million in 2023. That’s a pretty good trick. Source: Why Do We Call Someone a “One-Trick Pony”?

What's the Word: IMMISCIBLE pronunciation: [ih-MIS-ə-bəl] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, 17th century Meaning: 1. (Of liquids) Not forming a homogeneous mixture when added together. Examples: "Patrick’s favorite cocktails involve liquors just immiscible enough that they can be layered one on top of the next without mixing together." "Oil and vinegar are immiscible, which is a bit of a paradox, considering how naturally the flavors pair." About Immiscible “Immiscible” is rooted in the Late Latin “miscibilis,” meaning “something that may be mixed,” with the negating prefix “im-.” Did you Know? A mixture of immiscible liquids is known as an emulsion, and emulsions are part of many common food preparations. The most common of these is the mixture of immiscible oil and vinegar for salad dressings, but many other emulsions play an important role in the kitchen, too. Milk and ice cream variously combine oil and water, or oil and air. Mayonnaise combines three immiscible liquids: vegetable oil, an acid, and eggs. Hollandaise sauce is an emulsion of a similar mix, but it substitutes butter for oil.

What's the Word: CONNATE pronunciation: [KON-eyt] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, 17th century Meaning: 1. (Especially of ideas or principles) Existing in a person or thing from birth; innate. 2. (Of parts, in biology) United so as to form a single part. Examples: "My cat has a connate sense for when the weather is about to change, and will hide in the basement before a storm appears." "Stevie Wonder was so talented from an early age that many believed his musical skill was connate." About Connate “Connate” is based on the Latin terms “connatus” and “cognatus,” meaning “born related by blood.” Did you Know? “Connate” means something similar to “innate” or “inborn,” but in plant biology, it has a separate definition. In plants and flowers, parts of the same type (such as petals) that fuse together to form a new part of the plant are described as “connate.” Their opposite, new plant organs created by fusing different parts of the plant, are described as “adnate.” An example of a connate structure in flowers is a cup or tube created by flower petals joining together.

Fact of the Day - ON ONE KNEE Did you know..... Medieval knights (and Jon Snow of ‘Game of Thrones’) were known to bend the knee, which may have influenced modern-day marriage proposals. If you’re expecting a marriage proposal pretty soon and your partner starts to sink to one knee, you should check to see if their shoe is untied. If it’s not, steel yourself for a certain yes-or-no question. In addition to being a handy heads-up, kneeling to propose presumably has roots in some age-old historical practice—or a combination of several. As MarthaStewart.com points out, people have been genuflecting (derived from Latin for “bending the knee”) to show respect or reverence for thousands of years. It may have originated in the Persian Empire, when proper salutations depended on societal rank. “In the case where one is a little inferior to the other, the kiss is given on the cheek,” Greek historian Herodotus observed in Persia around 430 BCE. “Where the difference of rank is great, the inferior prostrates himself upon the ground.” This greeting system, known as proskynesis, was adopted by Alexander the Great when he took over the empire a century later, and some historians believe that genuflection was part of it. Many of Alexander’s existing Greek and Macedonian subjects disapproved of the new ritual, thinking such gestures should be reserved for gods, so not everybody acquiesced. But the idea of genuflection as a sign of deference would prove popular in both religious and secular spheres in the future. Catholics, for example, drop to one knee when facing a tabernacle that contains the Eucharist (wafers blessed to be the body of Jesus). And European warriors knighted after battle often knelt in front of their commander, who dubbed them with a sword. According to Bustle, it’s possible that bending the knee first took on a romantic significance during knights’ heyday. In the 11th century, knights started to form close bonds with ladies of the court—a custom later christened “courtly love.” Since the woman was often already married, the nature of the relationship usually wasn’t sexual, but it was always a serious commitment. Knights pledged themselves to serve and honor their lovers with the same fervor applied to their lords and kings. Guinevere’s romance with Sir Lancelot is a good example of courtly love, as is the tale of Tristan and Isolde (though both of those cases did involve adultery). There’s no explicit link between that medieval trend and today’s proposal tradition, but a lot of the artwork depicting courtly love features the man kneeling before the woman—a scene that mirrors many modern-day engagement photos (sans all the armor). In short, bending the knee has long conveyed devotion and humility, which you might want to embody when asking someone to spend eternity with you. But popping the question on two feet doesn’t violate any written-in-stone code of conduct for proposals. Source: Why Do People Propose on One Knee?

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Fact of the Day - BABY TALK Did you know... The number of global languages fluctuates each year — as of 2021, linguists recorded 7,151 actively spoken languages. But one dialect that has gone uncounted is the only language we can all decipher without a translator: baby talk. That’s because parental prattle using a softer tone and more rhythmic inflection — also called “parentese” — is believed to exist across nearly every spoken language. Recently, Music Lab researchers, now part of Yale’s Haskins Laboratories, set out to determine if caregivers of all backgrounds alter their speech when talking to babies. They recorded more than 1,600 parent-baby interactions across 18 languages and six continents, including urban, rural, and hunter-gatherer societies. The results showed that adults communicating with infants modified their voices and speech patterns in the same high-pitched, sing-songy way, transcending culture or language. What’s more, over 51,000 adults who listened to the recordings were able to correctly distinguish if the speakers were talking to babies or adults around 70% of the time — even when the listener spoke a different language. Parentese once had a reputation as silly, but some scientists believe that baby talk — at least the kind using real words, if delivered in an exaggerated tone — may have evolved as a tool to help babies and parents bond while teaching language skills. High-pitched sounds catch a baby’s attention, and stretched vowel sounds help them process and replicate new words. Using repetitive phrases, which can be annoying to anyone who’s outgrown diapers, is credited with helping babies memorize words and establish an early vocabulary. Recent research into baby talk’s benefits encourages parents to chit-chat with their infants from the start — young brains grow at a staggering speed, up to 55% of their final size in just the first three months after birth. Some bat pups babble like human babies. They’re tiny, love milk, and make adorable babbling sounds — baby bats, they’re just like us! In 2021, chiropterologists (aka bat scientists) studying bats in Central and South America discovered that at least one bat species learns to communicate by making babbling sounds, similar to human babies. Greater sac-swinged bat (Saccopteryx bilineata) pups spend their days nursing, sleeping, and practicing their species’ songs and calls by making repetitive, rhythmic chirps. In 2021, researchers recorded and analyzed more than 55,000 bat sounds and determined the pups worked through 25 distinct syllables that make up the language adult bats use to attract mates and protect their territories. S. bilineata babies were recorded babbling up to 40 minutes at a time, and often during interactions with other bats that encouraged the practice pronunciations. And surprisingly to researchers, all baby bats babbled, even though only adult male sac-winged bats sing. Scientists have yet to identify other bats that produce practice patterns, but with more than 1,400 bat species worldwide, it’s possible we just haven’t heard them yet. Source: Baby talk is universal.

I'll post the image of our tree a couple years ago: Yes it's artificial. Yes, it's black. Kind of wanted a "Nightmare Before Christmas" style themed tree utilizing a black tree, purple lights (that look pink lmao), with purple & white ornaments, some Halloween themed garland that has purple bats and silver skulls, etc. Also used a mesh-net thingy as the base but can't see that in the picture.

Fact of the Day - FLIP A COIN Did you know... Coin flipping is a time-honored tradition for making decisions. Long before the NFL used the method to determine opening kickoffs, Romans employed coin tossing to settle personal disputes (though they called it “heads or ships,” a reference to the Roman coin’s two-faced Janus on one side and the prow of a ship on the other). While the mechanics of coin flipping are simple enough — guess a side and flip — the physics of how a coin flips are anything but. By exploring this complicated motion, scientists have discovered that coin flips are not as random (and thus impartial) as most of us think. A 2023 study from the University of Amsterdam flipped 350,757 coins across 46 different currencies and discovered that a coin flipped to its starting position 50.8% of the time — close to 50/50, but not quite. In other words, if a coin started heads up, there was a slightly greater chance it would land heads up, too. This proves a previous theorem, developed in 2004, which argued that coin tosses landed as they started about 51% of the time. This small difference likely won’t dissuade humans from practicing the coin flip tradition, however. A more serious concern comes from a 2009 study, which revealed that coin tosses can be easily manipulated with just a few minutes of practice. So if you’re relying on the “randomness” of a coin toss to determine important decisions, make sure you trust the person doing the flipping. The U.S. was one of the first countries to have a decimal currency. The United States has been pretty slow on the metric uptake, but when it comes to rationalizing currency, it’s actually one of the leaders. Although the first (incomplete) example of decimalization occurred in Czarist Russia around 1704, the U.S. decimalized its currency with the Coinage Act of 1792, which established that 100 pennies make a dollar. This was a huge improvement, especially for the nonmathematically inclined, over the British system, wherein 1 pound equals 20 shillings, 1 shilling equals 12 pence, and 1 pence equals 4 farthings. However, this decimal system only pertained to coins at the time. Paper money didn’t enter circulation until 1861, when an embattled Union government, desperate for money during the Civil War, produced the first banknotes — known as “greenbacks.” Source: Coin flips are not actually random.