Fact of the Day

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - BOXING DAY

Did you know.... December 26 is more than just “the day after Christmas.”

 

Relax, Hallmark conspiracy theorists: Boxing Day isn’t some prank to confuse America. It’s a real holiday in the United Kingdom and other countries that dates back to the days of Queen Victoria. Here are some facts to get you up to speed.

 

Boxing Day occurs on December 26.

Boxing Day is observed annually on December 26. If it falls on a weekend, the public holiday itself will be celebrated on Monday. It became an official holiday during the reign of Queen Victoria, though some historians trace its origins back much further—to medieval times. Today, it’s largely an extension of the Christmas holiday and a big day for sporting events and shopping.

 

No one really knows where the name Boxing Day originated.

Many historians think Boxing Day’s name is derived from the church practice of opening alms boxes the day after Christmas and distributing money to the poor. Historically, British employers followed the church’s lead by sliding workers and servants gifts or cash on December 26. Others believe the “box” refers to the boxes of gifts employers gave to their servants on the day after Christmas. (In wealthy households, servants were often required to work on Christmas Day but given December 26 off to celebrate the holiday on their own.)

 

Boxing Day is a big day for shopping.

 

 

Historically, Boxing Day’s post-Christmas sales have long made it one of the UK’s busiest shopping days of the year. And while it still falls within that category, the popularity of online shopping has reduced the overall spending people do on December 26. “Fifteen years ago it was pretty much guaranteed that you would only get big sales a few times a year—Boxing Day and the big summer clearance,” Bryan Roberts, an analyst at Kantar Retail, told The Telegraph in 2015. “That is no longer the case.”

 

“The Boxing Day sales are pretty much dead,” Roberts added. “Black Friday and Cyber Monday illustrate Christmas sales are starting earlier and earlier. There is a possibility prices will just keep on dropping in the run-up to Christmas. This makes the Boxing Day sales incredibly diluted.”

 

There is no boxing involved in Boxing Day.
Despite the name, British observances of Boxing Day involve no fisticuffs. For patricians, however, another sport rules the day: fox hunting. Though it’s a long-held tradition, many animal rights activists and groups would like to see the practice done away with altogether—especially because it’s technically illegal. In the days leading up to Boxing Day, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is often very vocal in reminding citizens that “The chasing or killing of foxes and other British mammals with a pack of dogs was banned because the overwhelming majority of the UK public rejected this so-called ‘sport’ as cruel and abhorrent.”

 

Some other countries do take the name more literally.

In other countries, Boxing Day celebrations are more literal. Some nations in Africa and the Caribbean that used to be British colonies celebrate the holiday with prizefighting events.

 

In Ireland, December 26 is sometimes known as Wren Day.

Ireland sometimes refers to December 26 as Wren Day, a nod to an old tradition in which poor children would kill a wren, then sell the feathers to neighbors for good luck. In today’s celebrations, the wren is fake.

 

 

Source: Surprising Facts About Boxing Day

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - TALKING BUTTON BOARDS

Did you know... Social media is overflowing with videos of dogs “talking” through button boards. But does this cute trick amount to genuine communication? 

 

Treat. Walk. Play. According to viral videos on TikTok and Instagram, pet dogs (and one sassy pig named Merlin) are expressing their demands by pressing button boards—a floor-based array of buttons labeled with dog-appropriate words—instead of barking and whimpering.

 

As funny and endearing as these videos are, they raise a scientific question: Do dogs who press button boards actually understand what they’re doing and use them to communicate specific needs? 

 

According to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, they do. 

 

Researchers from the University of California and the University of Valencia in Spain asked the owners of 152 pet dogs to record the animals’ button presses using a custom-built smartphone application, resulting in over 190,000 data points. 

 

For button presses to qualify as a meaningful form of canine communication, the researchers had to rule out several common criticisms of “talking” dogs—namely, that their presses were either random or a result of being led by the owner’s inadvertent body language (a confounding factor dubbed the Clever Hans effect) or by their positive reinforcement.

 

Their analysis revealed that, at the population level, the dogs’ button-presses were not random nor accidental, and that specific two-button combinations were pressed more often than could be explained by chance. “We also find that dogs’ presses are not perfectly predicted by their owners’, suggesting that dogs’ presses are not merely repetitions of human presses, therefore suggesting that dog soundboard use is deliberate.”

 

Though inspired by a social media trend, the study’s findings represent an intriguing step toward understanding animal-to-human communication. In the 1970s and ’80s, animal behaviorists focused on communicating with great apes. Pre-internet stars like Koko the gorilla and Washoe the chimpanzee, both of whom were taught American Sign Language, amazed the world by seeming to sign words describing their surroundings and emotions.

 

Some researchers are not convinced that Koko and Washoe were capable of communicating with humans, suggesting that the apes could have been mimicking their caretakers’ words or acting in ways they knew would garner positive feedback, or the caretakers themselves might have been reading too much in the responses of their test subjects. The field of study remains controversial, simply because there aren’t enough apes in the world to produce a sufficient body of data from which to draw reliable conclusions. 

 

But now, thanks in part to TikTok, we’re getting a bit closer to understanding what dogs might be trying to say. 

Source: Do Those Dog “Talking” Buttons Really Work?

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - OWNING ITSELF

Did you know... Not all who speak for the trees are storybook characters … or even alive. That’s true in the case of Colonel William H. Jackson, a college professor and resident of Athens, Georgia, who sought to protect his favorite tree long after he was able to enjoy its shade. A portion of Jackson’s will made its way into newspapers around 1890, thanks to an unusual request — that his favorite childhood tree, and 8 feet of land surrounding it, be given to the tree itself. 

 

While the city of Athens has respected Jackson’s wishes and cared for the tree (with the help of gardening groups), it’s unclear whether the white oak has any legal roots to stand on. No modern person has ever seen the deed Jackson supposedly drew up to give the tree ownership of itself, and Georgia law doesn’t permit nonhuman entities to possess property. Yet no one has ever contested the tree’s ability to own itself, and Jackson’s oak has become a beloved local landmark. When it fell in 1942 during a windstorm, its acorns were collected and sprouted so that a descendant sapling could be replanted in the same spot.

 

Amazingly, Georgia isn’t the only place with a self-owning tree. Eufaula, Alabama — a town of 12,600 people some 200 miles from Athens — is home to another independent oak. In 1935, the area garden club advocated to protect a 65-foot-wide post oak (called the Walker Oak) in the middle of town, hoping to preserve a popular spot where children played. Mayor E.H. Graves recorded a “deed of sentiment” stating in part that the tree was “a creation and gift of the Almighty, standing in our midst — to itself — to have and to hold itself,” and an iron fence with a plaque was installed around the tree. Despite its safeguarding, a windstorm toppled the original 200-year-old hardwood nearly three decades later in 1961. But just like with its counterpart in Athens, townsfolk worked to replace the tree with another tree that still stands today.

 

Oak trees can drop up to 10,000 acorns in one year.
Oak trees are known to shower yards, cars, and even people with a deluge of acorns — some autumns more than others. The number of acorns a single tree drops depends on the year, since oaks follow a pattern of lean and heavy acorn-producing seasons. In “mast years,” aka years when trees produce a heavier-than-normal supply of the nuts, oaks can drop up to 10,000 acorns. Scientists aren’t entirely sure what causes mast years, but the cycle occurs every two to five years, regardless of weather or rainfall. One working theory is that the mast year cycle outsmarts predators such as squirrels and chipmunks, allowing oak trees to saturate their environment with more acorns than can be eaten and giving future saplings a shot at sprouting.

 

 

Source: There’s a tree in Georgia that owns itself.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - POP-UP HEADLIGHTS

Did you know.... They might have peaked with ‘Knight Rider.’ 

 

It’s a stock visual in any 1980s movie montage: A character jumps into a cool sports car, revs the engine, and activates the pop-up headlights. Violating the speed limit inevitably follows. 

You might have noticed that pop-up lights aren’t nearly as common as they once were. Some have speculated they’re no longer legal or that automakers have distanced themselves for safety reasons. What’s the truth?

 

The Origin of Pop-Up Headlights
Pop-up headlights, also known as hidden headlamps, first emerged in 1936 on the Cord 810 automobile. Free from the kerosene-powered headlights of early cars, designers and engineers were able to experiment with these kinds of design choices. However, the hidden headlamps on the Cord were still primitive by today’s standards. To “hide” the headlight, the driver had to use a manual hand crank located under the dash—one for each bulb.

 

In 1938, GM advanced the feature on a concept car dubbed the Y-Job. Instead of a hand crank, the lights were covered with eyelid-esque horizontal shutters that “blinked” open when the headlamps were turned on.

 

The feature kept popping up in cars until production halted during World War II. In the 1950s, auto regulations mandating a certain size and shape of the beams motivated automakers to find solutions to obscure them whenever possible.

 

Later, when auto regulations insisted on headlights being a certain height, designers opting for a sleeker, low-front-end look could use the pop-ups. When lowered, the car maintained a stylish appearance. While popped up, they were in compliance with automotive standards.

 

Other times, the pop-up lights served a purpose beyond aerodynamics. Oldsmobile’s Toronado would activate the pop-ups when it sensed the radiator needed cooling to help air circulate.

 

The feature became common in sports and luxury vehicles from the 1960s on. But not everyone was a fan. In 1991, automotive columnist Brooks Peterson celebrated the new 1992 Mitsubishi Eclipse for dropping the pop-ups: “Come sunset, up pop the headlights, blasting the carefully worked-out aerodynamics of your vehicle to smithereens and giving your sleek the appearance of having  a pair of telephone booths perched on the front fenders.”

 

Automakers were opting for that design choice more and more frequently. Then, around the early 2000s, pop-up headlights seemed to disappear almost completely. One of the last models to feature them was the 2004 Chevrolet Corvette C5. What happened?

 

The Decline of Pop-Up Headlights
There are a few key reasons pop-up headlights fell out of favor. For one, automotive regulations regarding the size and shape of lights loosened in the later part of the 20th century, allowing designers to make more aesthetically pleasing beams. There was less incentive to try and hide them from view.

 

When they did incorporate the pop-ups, they were also prone to mechanical failure. Imagine a car with one working and one non-working headlight, the latter unable to lower itself back into the chassis.

 

Finally, carmakers have to contend with pedestrian safety regulations governing protruding elements of cars. A 1998 European Union mandate specified how large such protrusions could be, and hidden headlamps were a casualty. While different countries have different standards, it’s difficult for carmakers to make multiple models to accommodate different mandates. That safety concern is one of the reasons hood ornaments fell out of favor.

 

In short, pop-up headlights aren’t illegal, and you won’t be ticketed for driving a classic car around. But regulations make them cost-prohibitive. If you miss them, there’s always the ‘80s movie montage.

 

Source: Why Don't Cars Have Pop-Up Headlights Anymore?

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - EXCLAMATION MARK

Did you know... Coincidentally, they both came into existence at roughly the same time, although their reasons for adopting the controversial punctuation differ as dramatically as their settings. The first, a village in southwestern England called Westward Ho!, sought to capitalize on the popularity of the identically named 1855 book by Charles Kingsley, who wrote lovingly of nearby Bideford. Founded as a vacation resort in the 1860s, the hamlet sprung up around the Westward Ho! Hotel, and remains a notable tourist destination thanks to its scenic coastline and famed Pebble Ridge.

 

The second place, a town in southern Quebec called Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, isn't exactly a bustling tourist destination, although early explorers may have been happy to refresh themselves at nearby Lake Temiscouata. According to the Commission de Toponymie du Québec, the archaic French term "le haha" indicates an unexpected obstacle or a dead-end, likely referring to the lake's sharp change of direction. That doesn't explain the distinct punctuation in the name — no one's quite sure how or why that started. But no matter; this unassuming community, established in 1860 as a Catholic mission, has garnered an extra boost of attention since being honored for its double exclamation marks by Guinness World Records in 2018. 

 

Honorable mention goes to the southwestern Ohio city of Hamilton, which became known as Hamilton! following a city council vote in May 1986. While the announcement drew plenty of pre-internet buzz, the United States Board on Geographic Names and mapmaker Rand McNally & Company refused to play along. Hamilton! officials nevertheless pressed forward with duly punctuated city seals, letterhead, signs, and the like for some time, although the federally unrecognized notation had disappeared from existence by the time a city clerk undertook a short-lived attempt to revive it in 2020.

 

A celebrated comic book writer became known for his exclamation mark-punctuated middle initial.
Were you to leaf through an old X-Men or Spider-Man comic, it wouldn’t take long to notice the proliferation of exclamation marks in the dialogue bubbles. That had as much to do with the exaggerated scenarios portrayed in the storylines as it did with the reality of printing on cheap pulp paper, which left a tiny period impossible to see at times. In the early 1970s, new DC Comics writer Elliot S. Maggin quickly adjusted to placing an exclamation mark where a period usually went, to the point where he unwittingly typed Elliot S! Maggin on a Superman script. Intrigued, editor Julie Schwartz subsequently issued an order to the rest of the company that any mention of Maggin’s name should thereby be “punctuated with an exclamation mark rather than a period from now on until eternity.” Maggin went on to earn industry acclaim for his work on Superman over the next decade-plus, and he continues to sign off with the S! well after leaving the hyperbole of comics behind to pursue other careers in writing, teaching, and politics.

 

 

Source: Two places in the world use exclamation marks in their names.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - COLD CHART

Did you know... Dogs have built-in fur coats, but they still get cold during their winter walks. Even if Fido isn’t hiding whenever you pull out the leash, you should still determine your dog’s tolerance for snowy romps based on factors like size and breed (and not just enthusiasm for eating snow).

 

How to Tell If It’s Too Cold to Walk Your Dog Outside
The below handy chart from by Fetch is modeled after a scale developed by Tufts University that determines how canines respond to weather conditions depending on their builds. Before taking your four-legged friend outside, always check the temperature first (including wind chill), then reference the chart to gauge whether your dog can safely withstand the elements.

 

 

Small- to medium-sized dogs face cold-weather risks like hypothermia and frostbite when temperatures dip to 40°F. Larger dogs can tough it out for a little longer, but all pet owners should exercise caution and keep walks brief once the thermometer reaches 30°F. Canine accessories like sweaters or booties can safely prolong emergency bathroom strolls. Tiny pet shoes also protect vulnerable paws from sidewalk chemicals like antifreeze, according to NPR.

 

That said, no two canines—nor their fluff—are exactly alike. Dogs who are conditioned for the cold, or ones with heavy coats, fare better than older dogs or those with health conditions. Tiny, short-haired dogs may struggle too. Shivering is the first sign of hypothermia. As Dr. Kim Smyth, then a staff veterinarian with Petplan (which has since rebranded to Fetch) told WBUR in a 2018 interview, if you see your pups trembling, “you want to get these dogs inside, wrap them up in a warm towel or blanket, and get them to the vet if you need to.”

 

What to Do When It’s Too Cold to Walk Your Dog Outside
If conditions are too cold and dangerous to safely take your pup for their regular walk, you may have to get creative. You could try taking your dog for a quick walk during the warmest part of the day, and only let them out for very brief, supervised bathroom breaks. If your dog is hesitant to go in the snow, you may have to shovel a small path for them.

 

Your dog should have plenty of in-house entertainment to keep them physically and mentally stimulated while they’re cooped up inside. Toys and puzzle feeders are great for helping occupy their minds and letting them get some excess energy out. And if the weather is so bad your dog can’t safely step outside for even a brief bathroom break, make sure you’re stocked up on puppy pads so your pets can comfortably pee and poop indoors without making a mess on your floor.

 

Source: This Handy Chart Tells You When It’s Too Cold to Walk Your Dog

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - THE NEW YEAR

Did you know.... People used to literally ring in the coming year.

 

These days, you can say you’re “ringing in” the New Year with plenty of things that don’t ring: a toast, a kiss, an ambitious New Year’s resolution, a Harry Potter marathon, an entire sheet cake to yourself, and so forth. When the phrase originated, however, it involved something that actually rang: bells.

 

As Mic reports, communities used to bid adieu to the old year and welcome the new one by ringing bells, often in churches. The tradition may have grown out of other occasions where bells marked an end—“passing bells,” the bells that tolled when someone died—or celebrated a beginning (like wedding bells). Alfred, Lord Tennyson referenced the custom in part of “In Memoriam A.H.H.,” a lengthy elegy written after the sudden death of his friend (and his sister’s fiancé) Arthur Henry Hallam in 1833. Here’s the second stanza from the section known as “Ring out, wild bells”:

 

“Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.”

 

Decades before hordes of revelers started flocking to Times Square to watch the ball drop, which first occurred in 1907, they congregated farther downtown at Wall Street’s Trinity Church. There—now home to the graves of Alexander Hamilton and several relatives—they rang in the New Year with a veritable concert put on by the church’s official bell ringer, James E. Ayliffe. As the New York Herald reported in 1860, “there floated from the high church tower the stirring music of eight bells chiming in changes and making the air redolent with harmony. This was followed by ‘Hail Columbia,’ ‘Yankee Doodle’ and some sweet selections from ‘La Fille du Regiment.’ ”

 

 

According to Trinity Church’s archives, the earliest mention of the tradition is from the minutes of an 1801 meeting where parishioners allotted eight pounds “to the Persons who rang the Bells in New Years day.” It might have been going on long before that, considering the church got its first bell back in 1698.

 

In short, ringing bells was once a central part of the holiday. The fact that it’s faded from memory—and ring in the New Year makes little sense if you don’t know the phrase’s history—may help explain why so many people now say “bring in the New Year” instead.

 

 

Source: Why Do We ‘Ring In’ the New Year?

[DarkRavie]

FACT OF THE DAY - FLIGHT ATTENDANTS WERE NURSES?

Did you know.... Flight attendants make our journeys through the sky safer and more comfortable. Yet they do more than just serve peanuts and soda; they’re trained to respond to safety and medical emergencies, necessary skills for cruising at 35,000 feet. However, modern flight attendants don’t have to have in-depth medical training the way the first American in-air staff did — the earliest commercial airlines equipped with flight attendants required their staff to be registered nurses.

 

The first flight attendants to board U.S. commercial flights were led by Ellen Church, a nurse who was also a licensed aviator. Unable to find work as a pilot due to gender discrimination, Church found another way into the sky by pitching airlines the concept of the “flight stewardess,” who could use her nursing skills to aid sick or injured passengers while also easing nerves at a time when flying was still somewhat dangerous and often uncomfortable for passengers. Boeing Air Transport tested Church’s idea in May 1930, hiring Church and seven other nurses for flights between San Francisco and Chicago (with 13 stops in between). In air, the attendants were tasked with serving meals, cleaning the plane’s interior, securing the seats to the floor, and even keeping passengers from accidentally opening the emergency exit door. After a successful three-month stint, other airlines picked up Church’s idea, putting out calls for nurses in their early 20s to join the first flight crews — standard requirements until World War II, when nurses overwhelmingly joined the war effort, leaving room for more women of all backgrounds to enter the aviation field.

 

Florence Nightingale’s parents opposed her dream of becoming a nurse.
Florence Nightingale is often recognized as the mother of modern nursing, though if her parents had their way, she never would have jump-started the profession as we know it today. At 16 years old, Nightingale became determined to care for the ill and injured, believing it was her calling. Her parents, however, opposed the idea, arguing it was a job inappropriate for a woman of their upper-class standing. Despite being forbidden from pursuing a medical career, Florence enrolled in a German training school for teachers and nurses, eventually returning to London three years later as a hospital nurse. When the Crimean War erupted in 1853, Nightingale’s path through history followed, with her innovative nursing techniques and quest to improve hospital cleanliness eventually seen as a game changer in medical treatment — one that would even be recognized by Queen Victoria.

 

 

Source: Many of the earliest flight attendants were nurses.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the day - POUND CAKE

Did you know... This iconic cake was actually a British classic before it was an American one.

 

Pound cake, a spongy confection often baked in a loaf or bundt pan, is beloved in the South. It can be flavored with cream cheese, lemon, and sour cream, making for a tangy, not-too-sweet alternative to classic baked goods like cookies or cupcakes. 

 

But unlike with many other cakes (think chocolate, vanilla, and carrot), it’s not immediately clear what a pound cake tastes like from its name alone. You may assume that the cake got its name because it weighs a pound. If you look at the history of the dessert, however, you’ll see that’s not actually the case. 

 

Pound cakes originated in England in the 1700s. They were called that because the very first pound cakes were massive; they used one pound each of eggs, flour, sugar, and butter, and would’ve been able to feed multiple families. Leaveners (like baking soda, baking powder, yeast, or cream of tartar) were not used. Instead, air was whipped into the batter.

 

The recipe’s simplicity was key to its popularity. At the time, much of the population couldn’t read or write, so most information was spread by word of mouth. The 1:1:1:1 formula for pound cake ingredients was easy to remember, and scaling it up or down was simple. Instead of having to do mental math for each ingredient, bakers only had to do it once; halving the recipe, for example, would require half a pound each of eggs, flour, sugar, and butter. All four of those ingredients were fairly inexpensive, making it a great staple for the average household.

 

Pound cake quickly spread to the American colonies, and in 1796, it appeared in Amelia Simmons’s American Cooking—the first cookbook published by an American. It seems that by the 1800s, the cake was already popular in the South. Mary Randolf published a classic version in her 1824 cookbook, The Virginia Housewife. For 1881’s What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Abby Fisher adapted the cake to include yeast and whipped egg whites.

 

Nowadays, pound cake is an iconic component of the Southern table. It’s also rarely made with four pounds of ingredients today—which is good news if you don’t have a whole village to feed.

 

 

Source: How Did Pound Cake Get Its Name?

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - HEADBUTTS

Did you know.... Cats headbutt you to show their appreciation.

 

Cats are complex creatures. Scientists have continuously studied their behaviors, such as purring and kneading, to better understand them. Another confusing behavior cat owners may have noticed is random headbutting, also known as head bunting.

 

According to PetMD, a cat’s head bunt is likely a way of marking you. Cats have pheromones within the glands in their cheeks, foreheads, and chins. The animals use scents from these chemicals to communicate. Your kitty has an incredible sense of smell—which means that while humans can’t smell the pheromones, other cats can detect that another member of their species has claimed you. Felines may also headbutt various objects to mark their territory. 

 

Strangely enough, cats may resort to headbutting when getting to know someone new. It’s best to avoid sudden, quick movements when a cat does this to ensure they aren’t startled. 

 

Your feline will often headbutt you—typically while purring—as a sign of affection. It’s a way of bonding and showing trust. You may even see your cat headbutting other pets for the same reason. If you see your cats bumping heads, they’re forming a connection by creating a colony scent and mixing their smells. 

 

PetMD states that your cat could also be headbutting you to simply grab your attention. If they want to be pet or want food, they may lightly push their head against you so you’ll stop what you’re doing and shift your focus to them. This is especially the case if you’ve rewarded the cat with attention after headbutts. 

 

Keep in mind that head bunting and head pressing are different. Head pressing is the urge to press one’s head against an object, which typically indicates damage to the nervous system. Other concerning symptoms accompanied by head pressing include pacing, circling, and disorientation. It’s best to take your cat to a vet immediately if you witness them head pressing.

 

 

Source: Why Does My Cat Headbutt Me?

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - WHO SAID IT FIRST?

Did you know... The birth of a controversial retail philosophy, explained.

 

Whether you believe a customer is always right probably depends on which side of the counter you’re on. For shoppers, having a merchant who’s quick to rectify mistakes and listen to concerns is a good thing. For retailers, having consumers abuse the philosophy can be draining. Can a customer always be right if they’re returning a half-eaten sandwich or a wine-stained shirt? That’s debatable.

 

Whether you love or loathe the expression, you may have wondered where it came from. There are a few explanations, but not all of them are right.

 

The Origin of ‘The Customer Is Always Right’
The earliest printed mention of “the customer is always right” dates to 1905 and is attributed to Marshall Field, a Chicago department store operator who was celebrated in his day for his great wealth and success. In a profile, The Boston Globe dubbed him a “merchant prince” and speculated he might be worth up to $125 million, or roughly $4 billion today.

 

Field, who oversaw a block-sized store named Marshall Field and Co., was said to be insistent on employees observing his business practices. “Every employee, from cash boy up, is taught absolute respect for and compliance with the business principles which Mr. Field practices,” the Globe reported. “Broadly speaking, Mr. Field adheres to the theory that ‘the customer is always right.’ He must be a very untrustworthy trader to whom this concession is not granted.”

 

It's possible the uncredited author of the Globe piece was attributing a proverb to Field that he merely adopted, though no evidence of said proverb is in print prior to the 1905 story.

Nor was Field the only proprietor to subscribe to the idea. Hotel owner César Ritz, who had properties in Paris and London, was a proponent of “le client n’a jamais tort,” or “the customer is never wrong.” This is first attributed to Ritz in 1908, though he certainly could have been referencing it earlier.

 

But coining a term is not quite the same as popularizing it.

 

Harry Selfridge
Harry Gordon Selfridge was a disciple of Marshall Field’s, first as a stock boy and then as a department manager—a position he earned by marching up to Field and asking for it. According to a 2016 Chicago Tribune story, Selfridge has been credited with coming up with the phrase as well as the sales tactic of advising shoppers there are “only (blank) number of shopping days until Christmas.”

 

It's possible, though not provable, Selfridge came up with the customer-is-always-right phrase and Field adopted it. The reverse can also be true. Either way, Selfridge came to be more closely identified with it thanks to his move to London, where he opened Selfridge and Co., or Selfridge’s, in 1909. The courtesy demonstrated by Selfridge’s employees to customers was renowned. Once, Selfridge learned of a woman who believed a coat cost 25 pence rather than 25 pounds: He let her purchase it for the lesser amount.

 

The motto ran somewhat counter to English retail of the era, which took a more balanced approach and considered the idea of deferring to shoppers silly. Selfridge’s Americanized department store was a success, however, and he prospered. Like everyone else, Londoners enjoyed the pampering.

 

Selfridge is occasionally credited with the phrase “the customer is always right, in matters of taste,” which changes the meaning considerably. But there’s no readily accessible source citing Selfridge with this altered maxim.

 

Some find the phrase infantilizing, arguing that customers can quite frequently be wrong and that no store should accommodate unreasonable shoppers. Even Selfridge’s strayed somewhat from the philosophy. In a 1936 newspaper editorial, the store made the following statement: “The customer is not quite always right. There is such a thing, very seldom, as the unreasonable customer … so far as we are concerned, we abide by our old slogan that the customer is always right, and at the same time we relieve ourselves of a possibly impossible position by adding the two words ‘almost always.’”

 

Source: Who First Said “The Customer Is Always Right”?

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - UP THE WAZOO?

Did you know.... Poking around how ‘wazoo’ became a euphemism for ‘butt.’

 

When a person has problems that threaten to overwhelm them, it is an unhelpful friend or observer who says they have issues “up the wazoo.” Or they might use the alternative phrase out the wazoo. In either case, wazoo is functioning as a slang term for the butt, and the poor soul who’s being talked about has a dilemma or some kind of surplus that is either up their posterior or coming out of it.

 

Crass? Certainly. But also quite descriptive. So where did this charming colloquialism come from?

 

Let’s start with wazoo. According to the Oxford English Dictionary—which remains an authority on words both pleasant and profane—wazoo’s origins are hard to pin down. The word might come from the French word oiseau, or “bird,” via Louisiana Creole. Another possibility is that it stemmed from the word razoo meaning “raspberry,” but not in the edible sense: Razoo was late-1800s slang for giving someone raspberries, or showing them contempt.

 

Another theory is that wazoo may be related to kazoo and its variant, gazoo, which both entered the lexicon in the 19th century to describe the buzzing instrument. In the 1960s, all three words gained traction as slang for the butt or anus, perhaps because it, too, also makes unpleasant noise. Wazoo in particular first saw print in this context in 1961, when a University of California, Berkeley, campus humor newspaper suggested readers “run it up yer ol’ wazoo.” And in Francis Pollini’s 1965 novel Glover, a character mentions a place featuring “Blokes, Blokes, up the goddamn gazoo and out.”

 

Pollini was using the phrase like we use up the wazoo today—implying (usually unpleasant) excess or abundance. It’s unclear when exactly people started invoking wazoo itself in the same way, but it happened at least as early as 1978: That year, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser observed that Wally Amos (of Famous Amos cookie fame) was “up his wazoo in kazoos” as a result of handing them out at a baseball game.

 

By the 1980s, up the wazoo in the posterior sense had begun to proliferate across published works. The OED’s first citation appeared in New York’s Syracuse Herald-Journal in 1981 (“There comes a time in performing when you just do it. You can have theory up the wazoo”), while Green’s Dictionary of Slang cites the 1983 book Gardens of Stone: “I got paperwork up the wazoo.”

 

Eventually, up the wazoo and out the wazoo eclipsed their kazoo and gazoo counterparts—and even other wazoo phrases, including pain in the wazoo. Per the OED, both of the former phrases mean “in great quantities, in abundance, to excess,” but Green’s has a slightly different definitions: Out the wazoo simply means “to excess,” while up the wazoo has a more negative connotation, meaning “full up, as much as one can handle, to excess; all over the place.” So if one has an issue up the wazoo, it means the problem has gotten out of hand. If a situation has been described as going out the wazoo, then the excess isn’t necessarily a problem. One could have money out the wazoo with no complaints. Bills up the wazoo, however, would be a different story.

 

In all instances, a writer or speaker is able to communicate a crude meaning without running afoul of manners or editorial guidelines, which may help explain how the word wazoo caught on in the first place. Even The Wall Street Journal was an early champion: One 1971 article stated that golf “is quite safe, the greatest risk being the possibility of a long drive plunking some poor fellow in the wazoo.”

 

But wazoo has not been the sole purview of the anus. According to Green’s, wazoo was used in print as a euphemism for the vagina as early as 1962. For some, wazoo is simply synonymous with an orifice, and apparently there was a time when any one of them would do.

 

 

Source: Why Do We Say “Up the Wazoo”?

[DarkRavie]

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.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - IGLOOS

Did you know... Learn the science behind this ingenious example of Arctic architecture.

 

Many people can’t imagine living in the Arctic, where the lowest temperatures reach extremes of -65 °F. However, the Inuit, the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic and subarctic regions, have mastered the art of surviving in these circumstances by building igloos for shelter. But how can a cold material like snow provide warmth? Allow us to explain.

 

To learn the science behind igloos, you must first understand how heat moves. According to LabXchange, heat can be transferred through convection (the movement of gas or fluid), conduction (direct contact with something else), and radiation (electromagnetic waves). 

 

When body heat is dispersed in an igloo, it warms up the air that’s already inside it, demonstrating convection. Warmer air then rises and cooler air sinks. Igloos often have tiers for this reason: the entranceway is low-ceilinged and below ground level, the main living space is at ground level, and a sleeping platform is raised a foot or so above the living area floor. The coldest air collects in the sunken area nearest the entrance, while the warmest air rises to the level of the sleeping platform. Staying in the middle and top tiers allows people to keep warm despite their frigid surroundings.

 

That doesn’t explain why all igloos have a catenoid or dome shape. Igloos are built from dense snow blocks without any fastenings or interior supports, so stability is top of mind. The dome shape distributes weight and pressure evenly and strengthens the igloo. 

 

Additionally, igloos are built to capture lost body heat within their walls. Snow is made from up to 95 percent trapped air thanks to the tiny air pockets cushioned between its ice crystals. This constricted air provides excellent insulation against bone-chilling temperatures because it slows the transfer of heat to the outside world. 

 

With the proper building techniques, an igloo can be 40 to 60 degrees warmer than its surrounding environment, depending on the weather, the body heat of the people inside, and the thickness of the snow-brick walls.

 

 

Source: How Do Igloos Keep People Warm?

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - DINOSAUR HIGHWAY

Did you know.... The prehistoric tracks date back 166 million years.

 

Millions of years before humans entered the scene, dinosaurs roamed what is now Great Britain. The extinct creatures left behind evidence of their lives in many different forms, including a so-called “dinosaur highway” covered in prehistoric footprints.

 

At least five specimens crossed what’s now known as the Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, England, leaving 200 footprints. They were discovered after a quarry worker named Gary Johnson noticed strange humps on the ground while operating his equipment. He reached out to the University of Birmingham and Oxford, which prompted a week-long excavation of the area in June 2024. Scientists were able to examine the site in more detail after building 3D models of it with data gathered by drones. Researchers believe the footprints date back to the Jurassic Period, roughly 166 million years ago.

 

Moreover, they think four sets of tracks came from cetiosaurus, a species of long-necked herbivore. They grew to be nearly 60 feet long. The fifth animal is assumed to be a megalosaurus, a 30-foot carnivore with razor-sharp three-toed claws. The longest path of a single creature goes on for nearly 500 feet. 

 

Scientists can learn a surprising amount by examining footprints alone. Dr. Susannah Maidment, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London, states, “Trackways are important because they preserve fossilized behavior, something that we are unable to get from the bones of an animal alone. For example, fossilized trackways have indicated that some dinosaurs lived in herds, and speed of movement can also be roughly calculated.”

 

Kirsty Edgar, professor of micropaleontology at England’s University of Birmingham who helped lead the dig, shared her enthusiasm for the discovery with The Washington Post. “It’s very rare in the UK to make really big finds. It’s amazing.”

 

While it’s an exciting discovery, the dinosaur highway isn’t the first case of prehistoric tracks being uncovered in the UK. In 2020, paleontologists shared news of stegosaurus prints they had discovered on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

 

Source: ‘Dinosaur Highway’ of 200 Footprints Uncovered in England

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - THEY SHAVED THEIR EYEBROWS! 

Did you know... Ancient Egyptians are often said to have worshipped cats. They didn’t — though it is accurate to say their felines were beloved and pampered, sometimes bedazzled in gold accessories, and occasionally allowed to eat directly from dinner plates at meals. Cats first made their appearance in Fertile Crescent farming communities around 8,000 years ago, and they initially earned their keep as household protectors from rodents, snakes, and scorpions. Eventually, the Egyptians grew to see cats’ protectiveness and companionship as the same traits held by their deities, particularly Bastet, a goddess often depicted as a cat or lion who was honored with temples and pilgrimages. All in all, the Egyptians bonded so well with their cat companions that they mourned their pets after death, and both cat owners and family members would publicly express their grief by shaving off their eyebrows. Some historians believe that the mourning period lasted until a new set of eyebrows grew in (which could be as long as three or four months).

 

The ancient Egyptians are often credited with domesticating felines, though in 2004, archaeologists found a 9,500-year-old cat buried in Cyprus — suggesting cats may have been living alongside humans earlier than previously thought. Still, Egyptians likely helped transform cats from the tiny, wild creatures they once were to the lazy furballs we now snuggle with; some historians believe the Egyptians selectively bred housecats, helping their numbers flourish and giving them the temperaments we now enjoy (or at least tolerate) today.

 

Most cats are lactose intolerant.
If the ancient Egyptian love for cats has inspired you to pamper your feline friend, you may have considered offering up a saucer of milk. However, many vets recommend steering clear of this kind of dairy indulgence, since most cats are lactose intolerant. While kittens rely on milk from their mothers, cats typically wean around six weeks old, quickly losing their ability to produce lactase enzymes that help their stomachs break down the sugars in milk. That means cats can experience uncomfortable symptoms, like stomach pains, if they consume dairy, just like lactose-intolerant humans. Instead, many vets recommend just offering up clean drinking water. Though if you’re feeling particularly festive, you can crack open a bottle of nonalcoholic wine made specifically for felines.

 

 

Source: Ancient Egyptians shaved their eyebrows as a sign of mourning when their cats died.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - THE LAST GREAT AUK

Did you know... Was the animal a bird, or a witch?

 

Sailing near the remote Scottish island of St Kilda, Laughlan McKinnon sighted a strange bird napping on a rocky sea stack. It didn’t resemble most other birds he’d seen near these waters. It wasn’t a gull or a puffin. Plump and tuxedoed, it stood 3 feet tall and had comedically short 6-inch wings.

 

Today, a casual observer could be forgiven for confusing the bird, a great auk, for a penguin. The black-and-white creature was clumsy on land but a torpedo in the sea. It feasted on fish and had a low, croaking scream. It was flightless, monogamous, and nested in some of the world’s iciest, and most rugged, territory. In fact, the auk lent its name to modern penguins: Its scientific name was Pinguinus impennis. When early explorers discovered flightless birds in the southern hemisphere, they called the creatures penguins because of their resemblance to the great auk. (The birds, however, are biologically unrelated.)

 

For centuries, great auks occupied the chilly islands near Iceland, Greenland, and northern Scotland. According to Samantha Galasso at Smithsonian, an 18th-century sailor wrote that Newfoundland’s Funk Island was so congested with auks that “a man could not go ashore upon those islands without boots, for otherwise they would spoil his legs, that they were entirely covered with those fowls, so close that a man could not put his foot between them.”

 

Which is to say the birds were easy to kill. Great auks had no fear of humans; a person could easily walk up to a bird and strangle it—and many did. In 1534, the French explorer Jacques Cartier wrote that he was able to fill two boatloads of dead auks in just half an hour. He compared the activity to packing a ship with stones.

 

An auk, after all, was worth more dead than alive. Locals valued its meat, which fishermen used as food and bait. Sailors coveted the oil rendered from the bird’s fat. Pillow-makers prized the auk's feathers. By the 16th century, the bird’s population had plummeted so quickly that conservation laws were written to protect it. By the 1770s, the island of St. John's in Canada had outlawed feather- and egg-collecting and penalized criminals with public floggings. But that didn’t stop people from killing the birds: As the population of great auks dropped, the profits to be made only increased.

 

So when Laughlan McKinnon saw an auk around July 1840, it’s likely he and his two companions had money on their minds. For an unknown reason, however, they made the unusual decision to take the bird alive: One of the men, Malcolm MacDonald, approached the snoozing bird, snagged it by the neck, and lassoed its legs together. Unsurprisingly, the auk woke and began to wail. And as the bird screamed, rain began to fall.

 

The men decided to wait out the storm in a small hut called a bothy, and they took the bird inside with them. One day passed. Then a second. Rain and wind continued to roar, and the swelling waves prevented the men from returning to their boats and heading home. By day three, the men, still cooped up in the bothy with the bird, were likely starting to go stir crazy. Adding to their headache was the bird itself, which kept screaming whenever anybody approached it.

 

Finally, as the story goes, the fishermen concluded that there was only one cause for their bad luck: The bird was no bird at all. It was a storm-conjuring witch.

 

And there was only one way to deal with a weather-controlling witch: They had to kill it. According to one account, the men beat the auk with two large stones (others say they used sticks) until it was lifeless. Decades later, historians learned that this bird was likely the last great auk in Great Britain.

 

Within five years, the last breeding pair of the species would suffer a similar—though less superstitious—fate. On the island of Eldey near Iceland, a mating pair of auks was strangled to death by a group of fishermen. At that moment, the female bird had been incubating an egg. As the men struggled to kill the auk, one of the fishermen stomped on the egg with his boot, effectively crushing the future of the species along with it.

 

 

 

Source: The Bizarre Story of Britain’s Last Great Auk

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the day - CANADA EXSTENDS TO CALIFORNIA

Did you know... Canada is famously known as the Great White North, but most of its citizens live in the country’s southerly regions — which are more southerly than you might think. In fact, 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S.-Canadian border, and around 60% of all Canadians live south of Seattle, Washington. All in all, 27 states in the U.S. are totally or partially north of Canada’s most southern point, at Middle Island in Lake Erie in Ontario. Areas above that highest point even include a small sliver of California, which may seem counterintuitive considering the state contains one of the hottest places on Earth (Death Valley). Utah and Nevada also contain land north of Canada’s most southern point. 

 

Why do so many Canadians cling to these southern regions? In large part, agriculture. According to Canadian historian William Lewis Morton, commercial agriculture in these warmer climates formed a network of towns, which then developed into modern cities following the Industrial Revolution. These numbers could change as the world continues to warm, and Canada’s colder regions prepare for an influx of climate refugees. In 50 to 100 years, Canada likely won’t resemble the Great White North anymore.

 

A stretch of Canadian coast has been burning for millennia.
In the far north of Canada’s Northwest Territories — sandwiched between the Yukon in the west and Nunavut in the east — lies a strange geological phenomenon: a strip of coast that’s been constantly burning for thousands of years. Aptly named the “Smoking Hills,” this fuming piece of northern coastline near Cape Bathurst was mentioned in the early 1800s by Irish explorer Captain Robert McClure, whose crew was in search of the missing Franklin expedition. When McClure saw the smoke, he thought maybe it was from campfires belonging to the missing crew, but a closer inspection found no people — just smoke. Some of McClure’s men even grabbed pieces of the burning shale, which, when placed on the captain’s desk for inspection, reportedly burned a hole straight through. At the time, the explorers believed this unending burning was caused by some unseen volcanic activity, but in reality it was something else entirely. Underground oil shales rich in sulfur and brown coal cause spontaneous ignition as the rock erodes and these deposits are exposed to oxygen. The resulting sulfur dioxide has essentially created a micro-ecosystem with incredibly high acidity. Of course, few people ever lay eyes on this strange landscape, since it’s accessible only by boat or helicopter, temperatures are often bone-chillingly cold, and just standing near the site is incredibly toxic to humans. It goes without saying that the Smoking Hills won’t be featured in Canadian tourism ads anytime soon.

 

 

Source: Canada extends as far south as California.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - STILLSON WRENCH

Did you know... Indoor plumbing led to this innovative tool.

 

While there are endless varieties of tools, the wrench is particularly versatile. Need an adjustable wrench for tightening nuts? You might want a Crescent wrench. Want something that can tackle industrial projects like automobiles? You can grab a monkey wrench. Want to put together an IKEA bookshelf? An Allen wrench works.

 

If you have a plumbing issue, however, you’re likely to turn to the wrench that can sink its literal teeth into pipes. That’s a pipe wrench, also known as a Stillson wrench. And while all tools have pushed manufacturing forward, the Stillson stands out as one of the most important developments to ever grace a toolbox.

 

The Origin of the Stillson Wrench
Daniel Stillson had a way with machines. The Durham, New Hampshire, native was a mechanic on a U.S. Naval steamship, the R.B. Forbes, for the Union during the Civil War. Afterward, a Union engineer and colonel named Levi Greene invited him to come work for him at J.J. Walworth and Co., a steam heating business in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was at Walworth that Stillson would make his mark on tool history.

 

According to a 2019 Boston Globe article, in the late 1800s, cities were making a push to install and maintain water systems for indoor plumbing and heating. Some, like Boston, had to replace older wooden pipes with materials that were more sensible for the reliable transportation of water. As this transition to metal occurred, it was obvious that not all existing tools were up to the challenge.

 

The biggest problem for monkey wrenches and other types of clamping tools was that their jaws were usually smooth. That worked for fasteners like nuts, since one flat surface could sit flush with another, but it didn’t work well for pipes. Their round surface meant flat wrenches could—and often would—slip off or damage the pipe.

 

Stillson certainly wasn’t the first engineer to observe the problem, but he was the first to take real action. His first solution was a kind of tong that could better grip the pipe but still proved less than ideal. Using wood, he carved out a prototype wrench that had a slightly uneven, serrated surface. Because the “teeth” ran opposite one another, they had a fierce grip that was able to keep a secure hold on round, slippery metal pipes.

 

 

When Stillson showed his idea to Greene, the company agreed to have a steel version made. Greene wanted to see if it was as strong as Stillson claimed and encouraged him to attack a pipe until either the metal broke or the wrench did. After he successfully tore into a 1.25-inch pipe, Greene was convinced. Stillson’s wrench worked.

 

Though they likely could have claimed Stillson’s invention as their own owing to his employee status, Walworth encouraged him to patent it under his own name. The company would then license it from Stillson so it could be manufactured and distributed to consumers.

 

Stillson went ahead and filed a patent application for the wrench in 1869, which was granted in April 1872.

 

“I, Daniel Stillson of Charlestown, in the county of Middlesex and state of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful improvement in pipe wrenches,” he wrote. “My invention is an improvement upon the pipe wrench as patented by me … and has for its object the production of a wrench which shall be equally effective in its operation upon a pipe, whether such pipe be perfectly cylindrical or circular, or of a somewhat flattened or ellipsoidal shape in cross-section; and my invention consists in the employment of two springs affixed to opposite sides of the shank of the fixed jaw, and so arranged as to operate in conjunction with the pivoted frame in controlling the action of the movable jaw, as will be hereinafter described.”

 

A Wrenching Victory
Plumbers, mechanics, and even locomotive workers grabbed the wrench, which was, like the monkey wrench, adjustable and could therefore replace cumbersome wrench sets.  

 

Walworth even displayed Stillson in advertising, crediting him as the inventor of the wrench—a somewhat unusual marketing approach. A print spot from 1928 showcases a Stillson said to be 37 years old and still working. “That is the kind of lasting strength you can count on getting in any wrench of any size that carries Dan Stillson’s own trademark—STILLSON—forged in a diamond on the top jaw,” the ad read.

 

Though the patent would ultimately expire, Stillson benefited greatly from Walworth’s lack of greed. At the time of his death in 1899, Stillson had made an estimated $100,000 from the wrench, or well over $3 million today. And although anyone is free to make a Stillson-style wrench and name it anything they like, Stillson’s influence is such that people often refer to it using his surname.

 

 

Source: Why Do We Call It a “Stillson Wrench”?

Edited January 13 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - ALL-SEASON VS. SNOW TIRES

Did you know... Just because you can drive on all-season tires any time of the year doesn’t mean you should.

 

If you reside in a part of the country prone to heavy snowfall, you’ve probably experienced the jolt of fear that accompanies briefly losing control of your vehicle. Tires slide and skid across icy or slippery surfaces; the steering wheel stops responding. For a moment, you’re in trouble.

 

While there are driving strategies to steer out of skids and other road hazards, one key safeguard against bad weather driving conditions is to equip your car with snow tires.

 

What’s the difference between regular tires and snow tires?
Regular or all-season tires are the default option for virtually all new and used vehicles. In terms of how they’re different from snow tires, it’s not so much what they lack for icy conditions as what snow tires add. Specifically, there are three major differences in rubber composition, tread depth and pattern, and biting edges.

 

In snowy weather, regular tire rubber tends to stiffen up and provide less traction, which is an issue with roads that have been smoothed over with snow and ice. Snow tires are made with more flexible rubber that maintains a good grip on the road. A snow tire also has a deeper tread depth, which reduces the amount of snow that can accumulate on the tire and improves traction by pushing snow out of the way. The tread patterns of a winter tire will also repel slushy build-up and water, which helps prevent hydroplaning. Biting edges—those “slits” on the surface of the tire—also help keep the tire on the road.

 

How much do snow tires cost?
Snow tires average around $200 to $250 per tire, though cost is dependent on the tire brand and the make and model of your vehicle. Tires for SUVs, for example, can cost more. Some sources suggest you should expect to pay upwards of $1000 for all four if you're shopping from a major manufacturer.

 

Who should buy snow tires?
If snowstorms are a regular occurrence in your region, purchasing a set of snow tires would be a good idea. If you’re hit only sporadically and can manage to avoid driving in bad weather, you’re probably fine with the all-season tires that likely came with your car.

 

Can I install just one set of snow tires on the front or rear of my vehicle?

That’s not recommended. Having just two snow tires in the front or rear still leaves the possibility of your remaining all-season tires skidding.

 

Can I just leave snow tires on all year long?

That’s also not advisable. Driving snow tires on warm and dry pavement will wear them out. If you opt for snow tires, be sure to change them out in the spring. Typically, you can get multiple winters out of a new set of snow tires, but expect to replace them after six years.

 

Can I change the tires out myself?

You can, but it involves raising the car with a jack and making absolutely certain they’re secure. Winter tires should also be mounted on a dedicated set of rims. When in doubt, have the work done by a professional.

 

Source: All-Season Tires vs. Snow Tires: What’s the Difference?