Fact of the Day

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - EMAIL

This screenshot shows the "Inbox" page

of an email client; users can see new

emails and take actions, such as reading,

deleting, saving, or responding to these

messages.

 

Did you know... that electronic mail is a method of exchanging messages between people using electronic devices. Email entered limited use in the 1960s, but users could only send to users of the same computer, and some early email systems required the author and the recipient to both be online simultaneously, similar to instant messaging. Ray Tomlinson is credited as the inventor of email; in 1971, he developed the first system able to send mail between users on different hosts across the ARPANET, using the @ sign to link the user name with a destination server. By the mid-1970s, this was the form recognized as email. (Wikipedia)

 

Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Email
Author: Corina Leslie  |  December 6, 2019

 

 

Do you know who sent the first email? Or how many times a day we check our inbox? Stay with us for 15 email facts worth knowing!

 

A world without email – can you imagine that? Neither can we, and there are billions of people around the globe who feel the same. Not just because we love email. We also need it at work, and to stay in touch with colleagues and friends. Not to mention, email is indispensable for any account we want to create online!

 

But what do we really know about email? Who invented it and how is it going to evolve? The trivia we gathered answers these questions, and more.

 

 

15 email facts you want to know
1. The first email ever sent was in 1971. Ray Tomlinson, the engineer who invented the email program on the ARPANET system, sent the message to himself and received it on a computer sitting right next to him.

2. Almost 2,8 million emails are sent every second, according to Internet Live Stats.

3. People check their email about 15 times a day.

4. 86% of professionals say that email is their favorite way to communicate.

5. The average person who works in an office receives 122 emails a day and sends out 40 business emails daily.

6. Only 14% of the emails a person receives every day are considered important.

7. In the U.S., 66% of email is read on mobile devices.

8. As of September 2019, almost 60% of the world’s email is spam, Statista shows. The number one offender? China.

9. The most popular mobile device for email opens is the iPhone.

10. Keep this in mind if you’re sending newsletters: according to several studies, Tuesday is the best day of the week to send an email. However, run your own tests until you figure out what your audience prefers.

11. Consumer email accounts represented the majority (79%) of US email accounts in 2016.

12. People own about 1.8 accounts per user. How many do you own?

13. Percentage of Americans that check their email:

• while driving: 18%
• in bed: 50%
• in the bathroom: 40%
• on vacation: 79%

 

 

The most staggering email facts?
14. In 2015, the number of emails that circulated in the world was of more than 205 billion per day.

15. This figure increased throughout 2016 and 2017, and will grow even more. By the end of 2019, it will reach over 246 billion emails!

 

Email facts whose sources we didn’t cite above are from studies conducted by technology market research firm Radicati Group. 

 

How quickly does your email list go bad?
Considering the amount of worldwide email traffic, you’re probably asking yourself:

How do I make sure I reach people?

 

Whether you send cold emails or use email marketing as a way to boost sales, making first contact is vital.

 

Spam filters have evolved, and that may affect your email deliverability. Furthermore, 22.5% of your B2B email list goes bad — every single year — research from Marketing Sherpa shows. As a result, you can find yourself:

 

• paying to email people who never see your messages anymore
• and jeopardizing your sender reputation and inbox placement.

 

 

 

Maybe it’s time for an email list cleaning?
There are several factors that influence your sender score and the number of emails that make it to your subscribers’ inboxes. One of the most important ones?

 

Email hygiene: ensuring your list contains genuine and active email addresses.

 

Not only does it show you follow email marketing best practices. But also, it allows you to target your communication more efficiently, towards real human beings.

 

So, before you schedule your next email campaign, allow an email list cleaning system to weed out all bad addresses. Great email marketing starts with a healthy, accurate email list.

 

 

Here’s an Email Fact: Video Boosts Click Rates
Video content is growing in popularity online and that extends to email marketing, too. For instance, statistics show that click rates rise by 300% when emails contain videos. Video emails have a practical application for email marketers because they allow for a large amount of information to be condensed and digested in a relatively short amount of time. Videos are dynamic and they keep viewers attentive and keyed in. It’s reported that the average video retains 37 percent of its viewers until the very end. Further, videos are highly shareable, allowing your readers to become more engaged with your brand and spread your message on your behalf. Embedding video in emails routinely results in an uptick in brand awareness as shared video content may reach consumers that are not even on your subscriber list.

 

Whether you’re a content marketer, or simply someone who likes to know how people behave online, these interesting email facts and statistics are certainly worth keeping in mind as we start the next decade!

 

Source: Wikipedia - Email  |  Email Facts  |  Statistics About Email

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - LEPRECHAUN

A modern depiction of a leprechaun

of the type popularised in the 20th century.

 

Did you know.... that a leprechaun is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. In later times, they have been depicted as shoe-makers who have a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. (Wikipedia)

 

Things You Probably Didn't Know About Leprechauns

In America, the bearded sprites known as leprechauns have become synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day and Irish culture. Here are some lucky facts about Ireland’s mythical beings.

by Mental Floss

 

1. LEPRECHAUNS ARE FAIRIES.
Although they might not match your initial idea of what a fairy is, leprechauns are considered a part of the family. Like other fairies, they’re small in size and prone to mischief. The miniature men are said to be descendants of Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of magical beings that served under the Gaelic goddess Danu. According to legend, this mythical group lived in Ireland long before humans inhabited the land.

 

2. THERE AREN’T ANY FEMALE LEPRECHAUNS.
As a way of explaining why there is no record of female leprechauns (and therefore no way to procreate in the traditional sense), some sources claim leprechauns are the unwanted children of the fairy community. As a result, leprechauns are described as grouchy, untrusting, and solitary creatures.

 

3. THERE’S A LEPRECHAUN COLONY IN PORTLAND, OREGON.

The world's smallest park doubles as

a wee leprechaun habitat.

 

After noticing a small circular hole in concrete where a light pole was meant to be, a journalist named Dick Fagan took it upon himself to make use of it. After adding flowers and a tiny sign that proclaimed it the “world’s smallest park,” Fagan began to write stories about the spot in a newspaper column. He detailed the adventures of a small leprechaun colony, led by a leader that only the journalist could see. The modest garden, called Mill Ends Park, became an official city park on St. Patrick’s Day in 1976. Over the years, contributors have added miniature additions like a swimming pool complete with a diving board.

 

4. LEPRECHAUN MEANS “SMALL BODY.”
Leprechaun is believed to be a variation of the Middle Irish word, lūchorpān—lū means small and corp means body.

 

5. SOMETIMES, LEPRECHAUNS ARE RED.
Although the little Irishmen are now synonymous with the color green, they weren’t always. Early accounts of leprechauns describe them as wearing red and sporting a variety of hats, often three-cornered.

 

6. LEPRECHAUNS HAVE A TROUBLESOME COUSIN CALLED THE CLURICHAUN.
Also sporting red is the rambunctious clurichaun, a mythical creature that shares many characteristics with the leprechaun. These beings are always described as drunk and surly. They are often seen in stories riding animals at night, or clearing out entire wine cellars. Some accounts explain these troublemakers as the night-form of leprechauns; after a hard day’s work, the bearded fairies get so tipsy they become an entirely different species. Other stories describe them as a close relative to the leprechaun.

 

7. LEPRECHAUNS ARE THE BANKERS AND COBBLERS OF THE FAIRY WORLD.

For leprechauns, making shoes has proven to be a very lucrative career.

 

Leprechauns are known for their money, and there’s apparently a lot of it in the cobbling business. Since they spend most of their time alone, the tiny green men pour all their energy into crafting shoes. They’re said to always have a hammer and shoe in hand. According to legend, you can hear them coming by the telltale tapping sound they make.

 

While some stories attribute the leprechauns’ wealth to the fine shoes they make, others say they protect the treasure of the entire fairy world. One tale says leprechauns act like bankers to make sure the frivolous fairies don’t spend all their gems at once.

 

8. LEPRECHAUNS ARE SNEAKY.
Wherever there are leprechauns, there are stories of people trying to steal their gold. The rule is, if you’re lucky enough to catch a leprechaun, you can never take your eyes off him or he’ll disappear. In one tale, a man managed to catch a leprechaun and forced the fairy to divulge the secret location of his treasure. The leprechaun reluctantly pointed to a tree. Delighted, the man tied a red bandana around the branch and ran home to get a shovel. When he returned, he was dismayed to find all the trees were sporting the same red scarf.

 

9. BUT LEPRECHAUNS CAN BE GENEROUS IF YOU’RE KIND TO THEM.
Constantly being chased for one’s gold—or cereal— can take a toll on any fairy’s demeanor. As a result, leprechauns are distrustful and secretive. This attitude doesn’t mean they won’t loosen the purse strings if touched by a bit of kindness. One legend mentions a down-on-his-luck nobleman who offered a leprechaun a ride on his horse. In return, the man returned to his crumbling castle to find it filled to the ceiling with gold.

 

10. SOMEONE CLAIMS TO HAVE FOUND THE REMAINS OF AN ACTUAL LEPRECHAUN

Unfortunately, you're more likely to spot sheep than leprechauns on Slieve Foye.

 

In 1989, a local businessman in Carlingford, Ireland, claimed to have found evidence of a real leprechaun on a mountain called Slieve Foye. He said that after hearing a scream near the wishing well, he found bones, a tiny suit, and gold coins near scorched earth. The evidence is now displayed behind a glass case for visitors to come see.

 

As a result, a new tradition was born: During an annual leprechaun hunt, 100 ceramic leprechauns are hidden on the mountain. Tourists come every year to try to hunt down the little green statues. Hunters need to buy a 6€ “hunter’s license” beforehand. In 2019—the 30th anniversary of the leprechaun bones’ discovery and the 10th anniversary of their official European Union recognition—fortune-seekers abandoned their mountain search and instead scoured the town for hidden leprechaun pots, one of which contained a real bar of gold valued at €1200.

 

11. LEPRECHAUNS ARE PROTECTED UNDER EUROPEAN LAW.
Apparently, there are 236 leprechauns that still live in the caverns of Slieve Foye. In 2009, the EU granted heritage status to the remaining wee people; they now have their own protected sanctuary nestled in the mountain. The directive also protects the animals and flora in the area to help keep the biodiversity of the land safe.

 

12. SOME ACCOUNTS SAY LEPRECHAUNS CAN LIVE UNDERWATER.

Why swim with the fishes when you can swim with the leprechauns?

 

The earliest known folktale to feature a leprechaun comes from the Middle Ages. In it, Fergus mac Léti, the King of Ulster, falls asleep by the beach. He awakens to find three lúchorpáin (“little bodies”) attempting to drag him into their undersea lair. The king captures them, but releases them after he is promised three wishes. This story suggests the mythical men are sea-dwellers, but modern takes on the myth do not often include this lifestyle detail.

 

13. LEPRECHAUNS MIGHT HAVE A DIVINE HERITAGE.
Some sources say leprechauns are derivatives of the Irish deity Lugh, god of the Sun and of arts and crafts. After the rise of Christianity, Lugh’s importance was diminished, and he was demoted to a shoe-making folklore character known as Lugh Chromain.

 

14. YOU CAN PRETEND TO BE A LEPRECHAUN FOR A GOOD CAUSE.
In March, there are marathons all over the country that encourage the participants to dress like leprechauns. The festive runners help raise money for charity while getting in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit.

 

15. YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN LEPRECHAUN TRAP.

Shiny things and Pinterest-worthy crafting

skills are allegedly all you’ll need to catch

a leprechaun.

 

Making a leprechaun trap is a great activity to share with your children this St. Patrick’s Day. All you need to get started is something shiny to lure the little men. The traps can be simple as a shoebox, or elaborate as your family can imagine. Although no one has caught anything yet—that we know of—it doesn’t hurt to try!

 

Source: Wikipedia - Leprechaun  |  Leprechaun Facts

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - THE OKAY (OK)

 

Did you know... that OK or (OKAY,  O.K., and ok) is an English word denoting approval, acceptance, agreement, assent, acknowledgment, or a sign of indifference. OK is frequently used as a loanword in other languages. It has been described as the most frequently spoken or written word on the planet. The origins of the word are disputed. (Wikipedia)

 

FACTS ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD OKAY 
By Deeceebee

 

 

For over one hundred and fifty years, people have tried to figure out the origin of the word “okay”. It may be possible that the word has come and gone in many countries, but that it was simply the Americans that popularized the word enough to bring it into the spoken language on a wide scale. It may also be that the word was already so popular, that people used it to communicate with English speaking people a little more easily. Here are some **facts about "Okay". **

 

IT WAS OLL KORRECT IN 1839    

Okay was the final survivor of a slang fad that happened in New York and Boston, between the years 1838 and 1839. The fad was to purposefully spell a common phrase incorrectly. The term “No Go” was spelt as “Know Go.” The misspelling that brought about “OK” was “All Correct” being spelt as “Oll Korrect.”

THE O.K. CLUB POPULARIZED THE TERM     
The Democratic president known as Martin Van Buren went up for reelection in 1940. The O.K. Club was a group based in New York that used to support Martin Van Buren. They took the club’s name from Martin Van Buren’s nickname, which was Old Kinderhook. This came from his birth place, which was in a New York village called Kinderhook. Even though Martin Van Buren lost the election, the term “OK” stuck around. This may have been due to the fact that it made agreeing to documents a lot easier, as the words “OK” were written on a document, followed by a signature.

THE TERM BECAME A VERB IN 1888     

It was in 1941 when “OK” was first considered to be a usable noun. It was in 1888 when the term became a verb. The verb stood for “it is so”, and was spelt as “Okeh”. Some historians claim that it was Woodrow Wilson who cemented this term in 1919, where he assumed it meant was related to the term “Choctaw okeh”. The spelling of the term was changed to “Okay” in 1929.

 

GREEK IMMIGRANTS HELPED TO SPREAD THE WORD
The term Okey-Dokey was a student slang that started around 1932. The Greeks who emigrated into America had picked up a few slang words and US mannerisms. A favorite was Okey-Dokey, which they used quite a bit. People started to call Greek students “okay-boys”.

O.K. IS A WORLDWIDE AMERICANISM     
It was H.L. Mencken who said that "O.K." is one of Americas most successful exports, to the point where U.S. troops in World War Two said that they heard the phrase being used all over the world.

DID THE O.K. CLUB ACTUALLY EXIST? 

  
There is a theory that the O.K. Club that supported Martin Van Buren's bid for Presidency was named the O.K. Club after the fact. There are many who say that the O.K. Club was not actually popular enough to have been remembered by enough people to ever have the term catch on. Some say that it was the use of “OK” on written documents that spread its popularity and that the O.K. Club was blamed for its use because people were unsure where the term came from.

THE O.K. CLUB EXISTED, BUT IT WAS NOT CALLED THE O.K. CLUB    
The truth is that the term “Oll Korrect” was not well known enough. The term was a New York and Boston slang term that was just used by a few people. The term was not popular enough for a group of Van Buren partisans to use it to name their group. America had a lot of abbreviations during the Van Buren bid, and O.K. was no more popular than any of the other slang words or abbreviations.

O.W. COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN OUR MODERN O.K    
The “O.K.” slogan did not help Van Buren's bid to be president, but maybe if he had used “O.W.” he may have had more success. “O.W.” stands for “Oll Wright”, which is a whimsical way of asking if everything is alright. The phrase was far more popular than “O.K.” but for some reason, “O.K.” stuck around.

PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONED THE ORIGIN OF O.K. FOR 150 YEARS     

It is known as the widest traveled Americanism, and yet nobody is 100% sure of its origin. The Van Buren story has holes and is often altered to fit the “O.K.” origin story. There is even a feeling that the original saying was simply used by him, and not created by him. Etymologists have been trying to figure out where this worldwide saying came from for over 150 years.

IT COULD HAVE COME FROM ANYWHERE     
When the Americans traveled the world during the Second World War, many of them claimed they heard “okay” being used around the world. But, they may have been mishearing the words being spoken in other countries. Here are some examples:

• Native American “Choctaw-Chickasaw okah” making okay the shortened version of that saying.
• A mishearing of the Scottish “och aye” or “ough aye”.
• West African languages have “O ke” for certainly and “waw kay” for “yes indeed”
• The Finnish “oikea” for “correct”
• The French “au quais” meaning “at the quay”. Or the French “Aux Cayes” which is a port in Haiti.

 

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - OK  |  Facts About the Okay (Ok)

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - INFRARED

A pseudocolor image of two people taken

in long-wavelength infrared

(body-temperature thermal) light.

 

Did you know.... that infrared, sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from the nominal red edge of the visible spectrum around 700 nanometers, to 1 millimeter. (Wikipedia)

 

What Is Infrared?
By Jim Lucas - Live Science  |  February 27, 2019

This article was updated on Feb. 27, 2019, by Live Science contributor Traci Pedersen.

 

An image of Earth in infrared wavelengths shows relative temperatures around the world.

The photo includes a plume of carbon monoxide pollution near the Rim Fire that burned

near Yosemite National Park in California on Aug. 26, 2013. (Image credit:

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

 

 

Infrared radiation (IR), or infrared light, is a type of radiant energy that's invisible to human eyes but that we can feel as heat. All objects in the universe emit some level of IR radiation, but two of the most obvious sources are the sun and fire.

 

Infrared radiation.

 

IR is a type of electromagnetic radiation, a continuum of frequencies produced when atoms absorb and then release energy. From highest to lowest frequency, electromagnetic radiation includes gamma-rays, X-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared radiation, microwaves and radio waves. Together, these types of radiation make up the electromagnetic spectrum.

 

British astronomer William Herschel discovered infrared light in 1800, according to NASA. In an experiment to measure the difference in temperature between the colors in the visible spectrum, he placed thermometers in the path of light within each color of the visible spectrum. He observed an increase in temperature from blue to red, and he found an even warmer temperature measurement just beyond the red end of the visible spectrum.

 

Within the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared waves occur at frequencies above those of microwaves and just below those of red visible light, hence the name "infrared." Waves of infrared radiation are longer than those of visible light, according to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). IR frequencies range from about 300 gigahertz (GHz) up to about 400 terahertz (THz), and wavelengths are estimated to range between 1,000 micrometers (µm) and 760 nanometers (2.9921 inches), although these values are not definitive, according to NASA.

 

Similar to the visible light spectrum, which ranges from violet (the shortest visible-light wavelength) to red (longest wavelength), infrared radiation has its own range of wavelengths. The shorter "near-infrared" waves, which are closer to visible light on the electromagnetic spectrum, don't emit any detectable heat and are what's discharged from a TV remote control to change the channels. The longer "far-infrared" waves, which are closer to the microwave section on the electromagnetic spectrum, can be felt as intense heat, such as the heat from sunlight or fire, according to NASA.

 

IR radiation is one of the three ways heat is transferred from one place to another, the other two being convection and conduction. Everything with a temperature above around 5 degrees Kelvin (minus 450 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 268 degrees Celsius) emits IR radiation. The sun gives off half of its total energy as IR, and much of the star's visible light is absorbed and re-emitted as IR, according to the University of Tennessee.

 

Household uses

Infrared toaster.

Household appliances such as heat lamps and toasters use IR radiation to transmit heat, as do industrial heaters such as those used for drying and curing materials. Incandescent bulbs convert only about 10 percent of their electrical energy input into visible light energy, while the other 90 percent is converted to infrared radiation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

 

Infrared lasers can be used for point-to-point communications over distances of a few hundred meters or yards. TV remote controls that rely on infrared radiation shoot out pulses of IR energy from a light-emitting diode (LED) to an IR receiver in the TV, according to How Stuff Works. The receiver converts the light pulses to electrical signals that instruct a microprocessor to carry out the programmed command.

 

Infrared sensing

One of the most useful applications of the IR spectrum is in sensing and detection. All objects on Earth emit IR radiation in the form of heat. This can be detected by electronic sensors, such as those used in night vision goggles and infrared cameras.

 

A simple example of such a sensor is the bolometer, which consists of a telescope with a temperature-sensitive resistor, or thermistor, at its focal point, according to the University of California, Berkeley (UCB). If a warm body comes into this instrument's field of view, the heat causes a detectable change in the voltage across the thermistor.

 

Night vision cameras use a more sophisticated version of a bolometer. These cameras typically contain charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging chips that are sensitive to IR light. The image formed by the CCD can then be reproduced in visible light. These systems can be made small enough to be used in hand-held devices or wearable night-vision goggles. The cameras can also be used for gun sights with or without the addition of an IR laser for targeting.

 

Night vison goggles.

 

Infrared spectroscopy measures IR emissions from materials at specific wavelengths. The IR spectrum of a substance will show characteristic dips and peaks as photons (particles of light) are absorbed or emitted by electrons in molecules as the electrons transition between orbits, or energy levels. This spectroscopic information can then be used to identify substances and monitor chemical reactions.

 

According to Robert Mayanovic, professor of physics at Missouri State University, infrared spectroscopy, such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, is highly useful for numerous scientific applications. These include the study of molecular systems and 2D materials, such as graphene.

 

Infrared astronomy

Caltech describes infrared astronomy as "the detection and study of the infrared radiation (heat energy) emitted from objects in the universe." Advances in IR CCD imaging systems have allowed for detailed observation of the distribution of IR sources in space, revealing complex structures in nebulas, galaxies and the large-scale structure of the universe.

 

One of the advantages of IR observation is that it can detect objects that are too cool to emit visible light. This has led to the discovery of previously unknown objects, including comets, asteroids and wispy interstellar dust clouds that seem to be prevalent throughout the galaxy.

 

IR astronomy is particularly useful for observing cold molecules of gas and for determining the chemical makeup of dust particles in the interstellar medium, said Robert Patterson, professor of astronomy at Missouri State University. These observations are conducted using specialized CCD detectors that are sensitive to IR photons.

 

Another advantage of IR radiation is that its longer wavelength means it doesn't scatter as much as visible light, according to NASA. Whereas visible light can be absorbed or reflected by gas and dust particles, the longer IR waves simply go around these small obstructions. Because of this property, IR can be used to observe objects whose light is obscured by gas and dust. Such objects include newly forming stars imbedded in nebulas or the center of Earth's galaxy.

 

 

Additional resources:

Learn more about infrared waves from NASA Science.
Read more about infrared from the Gemini Observatory.
Watch this video describing infrared vision, from National Geographic.

Source: Wikipedia - Infrared  |  Facts About Infrared

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - GOTHIC ART

Ambulatory at St. Denis:

We can see the Gothic style

emerge at St. Denis in

Abbot Suger’s re-designs.

 

Did you know.... that gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century AD, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern, Southern and Central Europe, never quite effacing more classical styles in Italy. (Wikipedia)

 

Medieval Histories
Nature, History, Heritage  |  05/09/2018

 

 

Gothic Art and Style
Architecture identifies Gothic Style. Just think of breath-taking cathedrals, mounting pillars, soaring vaults. It pays, though, to think of it as the physical expression of a special theological motive, the transgressing soul climbing through the Heavens. As such, it marked a plethora of other – minor – art forms.

 

Painting of the Cathedral in Reims by Domenico Quaglio c. 1787.

 

Gothic architecture was the predominant art-form in 13th–15th century Europe. It arose in the early 12th century out of the attempts of the medieval builder to lift massive masonry vaults over wide spans without causing the downward and outward pressures threatening to collapse the walls in an outward movement – such as happened in 1284 at Beauvais, when some of the vaultings in the choir fell causing an uproar in the international guild of masons; and perhaps, a turn towards less spectacular building projects. The significant constructional element in this new and innovative way of building large monuments was the invention of the ribbed vault, which was first applied in the rebuilding of the Cathedral of St. Denis in 1140, which was planned and carried out by the Abbot, Suger. With its dispersion of the weight to the ribs, these might be supported by pillars and piers, which would replace the continuous thick walls. In between the pillars, light could be channeled through the impressive windows, graciously decorated with elaborately stained glass. The primary example of this – the Rayonnant or decorated Gothic style – is the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. With its jewel-like character, it seems to enshrine the visitor together with its most famous relic, the Crown of Thorns. Later, the style became even more flamboyant. We know this from numerous town- and guild-halls from the 15th century.

 

Detail from the interior of the Saint Etienne Cathedral, Beauvais, France

 

However, Gothic cathedrals and later chapels were just one of the many Gothic pieces of art, which came to dominate the period. Reliquaries, altars, retables, tombs, fonts, pulpits, stalls, sculptures, ivories, manuscript covers and paintings as well as textiles all came to represent a kind of “micro-architecture”, typically featuring scenes framed or traced by pillars, buttresses and ribbed vaults.

 

Albeit these objects appear to have always been based on strict geometry, deft implementation of optical and coloristic elements overcame this, in the creation of micro-worlds or spectacles, inhabited by people gripped by all the spectra' of emotion as may be seen in the famous Reliquary of the Holy Sepulchre from Pamplona.

 

We know from contracts that a dividing line was seldom drawn between metalwork, carpentry, and construction. This furthered dissemination of the artistic ideas from France and outwards to the peripheries to the north and east. As did the use of architectural drawing on parchment.

 

Gradually, through this diffusion of minor decorative pieces of art, Gothic also came to represent a particular idea of how to dress and comport yourself in gliding vertical movements enshrined in the tableaus of the courtly romances depicted on ivory caskets, jewellery and other objects of art.

 

In the end, the Gothic style gave away to the Renaissance, known to have designated the art form as precisely “Gothic”, that is quaint and barbarous.

 

The Idea of the Gothic

Reliquary of the Holy Sepulchre from the Cathedral in Pamploma.

 

To some extent, Gothic Art is paradoxical. Its central expression was its architecture, yet the new and soaring monuments with their ribbed vaults supported by elegant pillars and piers were in clear opposition to the cultural climate of the 12thcentury renaissance. With its revival of Aristotelian logic, Roman law, Latin prose and poetry and Ciceronian writings, one should have imagined an accompanying resurgence of classicist architecture.

 

As is well known, however, this did not happen. Gothic Cathedrals do not look anything like Roman temples, albeit the sculptural embellishments of the same buildings – not least in the portals – to some extent did reinvent the idea of Roman portraiture. Instead, Gothic architecture and style exploded onto the art scene with an avant-garde force that continues to awe us.

 

What went on? First must be noted that these buildings constituted “Gesamtkunstwerke” to an extent never seen before. With their fabulous architecture, impressive portals, magnificent sculptural decoration, livid paintings and polyphonic music, the cathedrals invited the lay churchgoer to experience them in their totality. Moving further inside – as a liturgist or semi-clerical lay-person – the cathedrals and churches would open up to reveal reliquaries and other minor art-forms exhibited on the altar and presented as micro-architecture. It is obvious this glittering world came to entice people with a spiritual message encoded in the dramatic pageant of the mystery and miracle plays. We should remember that the early Gothic period culminated in the early 13th century Franciscan movement, with its pervasive use of pageants, including the first “live” Christmas crib” at Greccio.

 

Donor Portraits from Naumburg Cathedral.

 

As such, the beautiful Gothic churches were not primarily symbolic or allegorical installations as much as they were anagogical invitations for the viewers to be lifted up – whether by colour and light as Suger experienced it. Or as St. Francis found by way of nature.

Patrons were inspired by the idea of the temple of Solomon, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, or the New Jerusalem and its “descent from heaven”, while architects may have considered vaults as symbols of the baldachins covering the holy grave of the altar on which the Eucharist was celebrated. Symbolism and its handmaiden, allegory, did play substantial roles in the planning of the new churches. But the central perspective was, without doubt, the sublime spiritual ascension of the soul towards the heavens, that is: the transcended movement.

 

Here, subtle symbolism did not aid as much as teaching through experience – hence the widening use of architecture as spatial organisation of processional with its inbuilt eastward and upward directions, as well as the constructions of tableaus in the liturgy, paintings, mystery plays, and monumental as well as miniaturist sculpture.

 

Abbot Suger at the feet of Mary at the Annunciation in a stained

glass in St. Denis.

 

 

The latter may be what we conjure up as the idea of the Gothic. Here the massive portals at Chartres, Reims, and Regensburg come to mind; as does the west choir of Naumburg Cathedral with the breathtaking donor portraits from c. 1245 – 1250. As does the miniaturist sculptures forged in golden reliquary shrines.  Thus, while we may identify Gothic Art with cathedrals like those of St. Denis and later Reims, Amiens, Bourges, Chartres, Beauvais, Lincoln, Westminster and Cologne, Gothic aesthetics was probably more widely available to medieval people in the numerous pieces of minor decorative art-forms as well as in the literary renditions, found in poetry and novels in the later Middle Ages. We may think of the Phantasmagoria of the quest for the grail, and the imaginary temples erected to hide it from the unjustified. But also the rendition of the Heavenly Jerusalem in liturgies as well as in later poetry, like The Pearl. Or in the new polyphonic music in Paris. Another genre, Gothic in its inner core, were mysterious writings like “The Cloud of unknowing”; literally offering a way into the mysterious “beyond” through contemplation, ascension, and finally transcendence, transformation and revelation.

 

To conclude: Gothic was not just a new style of art. It was the formal expression of a way of thinking about humans on quests reaching beyond – to the Holy Land on a Crusade or up towards Heavens. The latter came to be envisioned as a sculptured procession of jamb statues, as well as spatially indicated by routes though the Gothic Cathedral towards the central and most mysterious act, the transubstantiation of the Eucharist at the high altar. Later, this gave the impetus to the development of the elaborate Sacrament Houses, those dazzling and complex microarchitectural structures designed for the preservation and display of the ”real present” body of Christ.

 

Gothic Art – more than just a single idea

The Palimpsest from Reims, France. c. 1230, showing some of the earliest

preserved architectural drawings

 

The distinct characteristic of the early Gothic Cathedrals – the preoccupation with light infusing the inner sanctum – led the famous art historian Erwin Panofsky to publish two significant works on Gothic Art. In 1946 he published his work on Abbot Suger on the Abbey Church of St.-Denis and Its Art Treasures. Based on the Norman Wait Harris lectures delivered at Northwestern University in 1938, his book on Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism followed in 1951.

 

In these two slender books, Panofsky outlined the complexities of how to understand Gothic Cathedrals. He did this by what later art historians have often thought of as overreaching the evidence. As Panofsky saw it, the early work of the patron Suger was to set into motion the construction of an edifice embodying the neo-platonic fusion of materiality and light.

 

In its classical form, this is what the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu later came to define as a “field” – a space, where no single type of cultural capital has a monopoly, and therefore a space constituted by the interplay and competition between intermingling ideas. Bourdieu later wrote in a postscript to his translation into French of the second of these books, how he was inspired by Panofsky’s writings on Gothic Architecture when outlining his distinctive sociological field-theory. Through his essay, Bourdieu helped to publicly ground the work of Panofsky at the centre of the European Philosophical debates peopled by – among many others – Cassirer and later Heidegger, a perspective which the Anglophone world, in which he found his home in the 1930s, not always seem to have appreciated. Later, Pierre Bourdieu used this as the point of departure for his book on “The Rules of Art”.

 

The point was of course that the idea of the Gothic was never just monolithic. It was fundamentally constituted by the interplay between two opposing forms of “capital” – spirituality and materiality. With the former primarily “seen” as light and voiced in theological treatises and sermons, the latter consisted of the practicalities of wielding masonry to support the effusion of the former. Hence, Panofsky came to write about the hidden or underlying rationality of the buildings as based on careful mathematical and geometrical – scientific – calculations. Not for nothing, the 12th-century Renaissance was also the time of the rediscovery of the work of Ptolemy translated into Latin in 1170, as well as the adoption or import of the astrolabe. Albeit classical works and inventions, both had overwintered in the Arab world, until they reentered Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries.

 

In a more practical historical context, this led later art historians, primarily Peter Kidson, to view the work of Erwin Panofsky as severely curtailed. As Kidson formulated it, if Suger was the patron, who was the architect? And how did this ephemeral person go about his work, if not as a mathematician and a scientist? And what about the practicalities of quarrying and cutting the stones? The material aspect of the whole enterprise?

 

Today, we know much more about the practicalities of planning, drawing, and building these magnificent Cathedrals than at the time, Panofsky wrote his groundbreaking works. With the help of radar, sonar, and perhaps even lidar, scientific investigations of the structure of buildings have moved significantly forward. And, thanks to Bourdieu, we know how to grasp the intricacies of the medieval world of interlocked and competing types of cultural capital in the 12th century – spirituality versus materiality. Or as Panofsky described it, as “the task of writing a permanent peace treaty between faith and reason”.

 

Source: Wikipedia - Gothic Art  |  Gothic Art and Style

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - RANDOM FACTS

The ball in a roulette can be used as a source

of apparent randomness, because its behavior

is very sensitive to the initial conditions.

 

Did you know... that in common parlance, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of pattern or predictability in events. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Individual random events are, by definition, unpredictable, but if the probability distribution is known, the frequency of different outcomes over repeated events (or "trials") is predictable. For example, when throwing two dice, the outcome of any particular roll is unpredictable, but a sum of 7 will occur twice as often as 4. In this view, randomness is not haphazardness; it is a measure of uncertainty of an outcome. Randomness applies to concepts of chance, probability, and information entropy. (Wikipedia)

 

Random Facts So Interesting You'll Say, "OMG!"

By BEST LIFE EDITORS  |  ALEX DANIEL  |  MARCH 19, 2021

 

 

One of the best things about being a human being is collecting all kinds of random knowledge and trivia throughout our lives. Random fun facts are great for breaking the ice, impressing a date, and winning a pub quiz. But there's you don't have to have a use for this little tidbits of mind-blowing information to make knowing them worthwhile. Just reading these totally random facts about science, history, food, celebrities, your body, the cosmos, and more will make your jaw drop at least once. And for more out-there oddities, here are 50 Wonderfully Weird Facts That Will Make You Question Everything.

 

More human twins are being born now than ever before.

Do you get the feeling that there are more twins around these days than there used to be? No? Well, you should, because according to a new study in the journal Human Reproduction, the “twinning rate” has increased by one-third since the '80s—up from 9 to 12 twins per 1,000 deliveries. Currently that adds up to about 1.6 million twins born each year across the world—meaning one out of every 42 babies is a twin. Helping drive this is the increasing use of medically assisted reproduction, and the delay in childbearing (twinning has been found to increase with a mother’s age). For more pieces of trivia to impress your friends, here are 50 Facts So Strange You Won't Believe They're True.

 

A narwhal's tusk reveals its past living conditions.

Much like the rings of a tree can tell you its age and provide clues about the life it has lived, so too does the long tusk of the narwhal. Recent research led by a bioscience professor at Denmark’s Aarhus University has shown that this peculiar arctic whale adds a layer to its distinctive tusk each year. And not only do these layers offer insight into the age of the narwhal (they’ve been known to live up to 50 years) but the conditions in which they lived—such as level of pollution, temperature levels, and even what their diet consisted of. You are what you eat!

 

The first person convicted of speeding was going eight mph.

According to Guinness World Records, the first person to be charged with speeding was Walter Arnold of the English village of Paddock Wood, Kent. On Jan. 28, 1896, Arnold was spotted going four times the speed limit in his 19th-century Benz—but since the speed limit at the time was just two miles per hour, that meant he was not going too fast by today’s standards. The constable had to chase him down on his bicycle, issuing a ticket for £4 7s and earning Arnold the speedy distinction. For more trivia to impress, here are 40 Random Obscure Facts That Will Make Everyone Think You're a Genius.

 

"New car smell" is the scent of dozens of chemicals.

Few odors are as pleasing as "new car smell"—and not just because it’s nice to be in a brand new car. But while the scent may be strangely satisfying, the fact is that it’s pretty much just a combination of 50+ chemicals (known as “volatile organic compounds”) that are released into the car, decaying quickly over time. The concentrations found in a typical new car aren’t dangerous, but among the VOCs that make up much of that new car smell are those found in nail polish, auto fuel, and petroleum.

 

The world wastes about 1 billion metric tons of food each year.

Food waste is a huge problem. How big? About 931 million metric tons. That’s how much food that researchers with the United Nations estimate was wasted in 2019, according to the Food Waste Index Report 2021, which surveyed 54 countries, finding that the majority of wasted food (61%) comes from homes while restaurants and other food services produce 26% of wasted food. Grocery stores make up just 13% of food waste. If you need a pick-me-up, read through these 50 Feel-Good Facts Guaranteed to Make You Smile.

 

The severed head of a sea slug can grow a whole new body.

It sounds like something out of a horror film, but it’s all too real: The Elysia cf. marginata, a type of sea slug, has been found to not only survive decapitation, but to be able to grow a whole new body from it. Ecologists at Nara Women’s University in Japan found that, a few hours after having their heads severed from their bodies, the snails’ heads were already nibbling on algae as if nothing had happened. In about 20 days, one-third of the sea slugs studied had fully grown back their bodies—heart included.

 

Hair and nails grow faster during pregnancy.

A surprising side effect of pregnancy is that nails and hair grow faster than usual. This is due to changes in hormones as well as increased blood circulation and metabolism supplying nutrients. According to Amy O’Connor, writing for What to Expect, a pregnant person’s hair also "might feel thicker and look more shiny and healthy than usual." Though she warns that it can occasionally mean that the expecting "may suddenly sprout strands in places [they'd] rather not." If you want to question everything you know, check out 50 Well-Known "Facts" That Are Actually Just Common Myths.

 

The world’s smallest reptile was first reported in 2021.

Those who think everything on the planet has already been discovered might just not be looking close enough. A tiny chameleon discovered in northern Madagascar and measuring just 28.9 millimeters is believed to be the smallest reptile on Earth. The itty bitty chameleon was recently discovered and reported in the January 2021 issue of Scientific Reports. But there’s one thing about these critters that’s big for its size: The genitalia of the males measures almost 20% of its body length.

 

Many feet bones don’t harden until you’re an adult.

Feet are enormously complex parts of the body. Each foot contains 26 bones, as well as 33 joints and 19 muscles, which work together to allow for a huge range of motion and movements. But many of these bones remain cartilage throughout a person’s childhood, slowly ossifying into bone as the years go on. According to the Ontario Society of Chiropodists, all of the bones in the foot don’t completely harden until a person is about 21 years old! And for more trivia to keep you sharp, sign up for our daily newsletter.

 

Some sea snakes can breathe through their skin.

You might think that it’s just fish that have gills, but there are several species of sea snake that breathe through their skin as well. For example, the Hydrophis cyanocinctus has been found to breathe through the top of its own head. It has a small hole and collection of blood vessels at the top of its head for picking up oxygen from the seawater and sending it to the reptile’s brain while it moves underwater.

 

The heads on Easter Island have bodies.

The iconic stone heads protruding from the ground on Easter Island are familiar to most, but many don’t realize what lies beneath the surface. In the '10s, archaeologists studying the hundreds of stone statues on the Pacific Island excavated two of the figures, revealing full torsos, which measure as high as 33 feet.

 

The moon has moonquakes.

Just as earth has earthquakes, the moon has—you guessed it—moonquakes. Less common and less intense than the shakes that happen here, moonquakes are believed by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists to occur due to tidal stresses connected to the distance between the Earth and the moon.

Click the link below  to read more Random Fun Facts! I listed 12 of them, but there are 175!

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Randomness  |  Random Fun Facts

Edited March 27, 2021 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - TOTEM POLE

A Gitxsan pole (left) and Kwakwaka'wakw pole (right)

at Thunderbird Park in Victoria, Canada.

 

Did you know... that totem poles are monumental carvings, a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. The word totem derives from the Algonquian word odoodem [oˈtuːtɛm] meaning "(his) kinship group". The carvings may symbolize or commemorate ancestors, cultural beliefs that recount familiar legends, clan lineages, or notable events. The poles may also serve as functional architectural features, welcome signs for village visitors, mortuary vessels for the remains of deceased ancestors, or as a means to publicly ridicule someone. They may embody a historical narrative of significance to the people carving and installing the pole. Given the complexity and symbolic meanings of these various carvings, their placement and importance lies in the observer's knowledge and connection to the meanings of the figures and the culture in which they are embedded. (Wikipedia)

 

Totem Pole

by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica  |  Last Updated: Mar 18, 2021

 

Totem pole, carved and painted log, mounted vertically, constructed by the Native Americans of the Northwest Coast of the United States and Canada. There are seven principal kinds of totem poles: memorial, or heraldic, poles, erected when a house changes hands to commemorate the past owner and to identify the present one; grave markers (tombstones); house posts, which support the roof; portal poles, which have a hole through which a person enters the house; welcoming poles, placed at the edge of a body of water to identify the owner of the waterfront; mortuary poles, in which the remains of the deceased are placed; and ridicule poles, on which an important individual who had failed in some way had his likeness carved upside down.

 

Totem Tole, British Columbia

 

The carving on totem poles separates and emphasizes the flat, painted surfaces of the symbolic animals and spirits depicted on them. Each pole generally has from one (as with a grave marker) to many (as with a family legend) animal images on it, all following standardized forms which are familiar to all Native Americans of the Northwest Coast; beavers, for example, always include cross-hatched tails, and eagles show downward curved beaks.

 

Totem poles from various tribes

native to British Columbia, Canada,

in Stanley Park, Vancouver.

 

The word totem refers to a guardian or ancestral being, usually supernatural, that is revered and respected, but not always worshipped. The significance of the real or mythological animal carved on a totem pole is its identification with the lineage of the head of the household. The animal is displayed as a type of family crest, much as an Englishman might have a lion on his crest, or a rancher a bull on his brand. More widely known, but in fact far less common, are the elaborately carved tall totem poles that relate an entire family legend in the form of a pictograph. This legend is not something that can be read in the usual sense of the word; only with an understanding of what the symbols mean to the Native Americans and a knowledge of the history and customs of the clan involved can the pole be interpreted. Each animal or spirit carved on the pole has meaning, and when combined on the pole in sequence, each figure is an important symbol constituent of a story or myth. An exact interpretation of any set of symbols, however, would be almost impossible without the help of a knowledgeable narrator from the family.

 

The totem pole was also a sign of the owner’s affluence, for hiring an artist to make a pole was an expensive proposition. The carving of totem poles reached its peak in the early and middle 19th century, when the introduction of good metal tools and the wealth gained from the fur trade made it possible for many chiefs to afford these displays. Few examples of this period remain, however, as the moist coastal atmosphere causes the cedar poles to rot and fall in about 60 to 70 years.

 

Totem Pole
Article by  René R. Gadacz  |  March 15, 2007
Updated by  Zach Parrott, Michelle Filice  |  Updated: September 25, 2017

 

The totem pole (also known as a monumental pole) is a tall structure carved out of cedar wood, created by Northwest Coast Indigenous peoples to serve variously as a signboard, genealogical record and memorial. Some well-known carvers include Mungo Martin, Charles Edenshaw, Henry Hunt, Richard Hunt and Stanley Hunt.

 

 

What’s a Totem Pole?
A totem pole or monumental pole is a tall structure created by Northwest Coast Indigenous peoples that showcases a nation’s, family’s or individual’s history and displays their rights to certain territories, songs, dances and other aspects of their culture. Totem poles can also be used as memorials and to tell stories. Carved of large, straight red cedar and painted vibrant colours, the totem pole is representative of both coastal Indigenous culture and Northwest Coast Indigenous Art.

 

History of Totem Poles in Canada

Totem poles at Alert Bay

 

Archeological evidence suggests that the northern peoples of the West Coast were among the first to create totem poles before the arrival of Europeans. The practice then spread south along the coast into the rest of British Columbia and Washington state. First Nations credited with making some of the earliest totem poles include the Haida, Nuxalk (Bella Coola), Kwakwaka’wakw, Tsimshian and Łingít. The Coast Salish people also make carvings out of cedar, but they are not really totem poles. The Coast Salish carve planks of wood that attach to the interior or exterior of their ceremonial houses.

 

The arrival of Europeans altered the construction of contemporary poles, as they introduced new materials and carving tools to Indigenous peoples through trade in the 19th century. Colonization also threatened the very existence of totem poles. Beginning in the 19th century, the federal government sought to assimilate First Nations by banning various cultural practices in the Indian Act, including the potlatch, which is the ceremony during which totem poles are often erected. Until the potlatch ban was lifted in 1951, totem poles were displaced and appropriated by Europeans, taken away from their homes and brought to museums and parks around the world. Christian missionaries also encouraged the cutting down of totem poles, which they saw as obstacles to converting Indigenous peoples. Poles commissioned by non-Indigenous peoples during this time were, and still are, considered culturally insensitive. It was only in 2017 that the Haisla First Nation was able to remove and replace an old monumental pole that was not carved or erected according to their customs with a new, Haisla-designed one.

 

After amendments to the Indian Act, the 1950s saw the beginnings of increased Indigenous efforts at reclaiming totem poles. New poles were commissioned for museums, parks and international exhibits; and in the late 1960s, totem poles were once again being raised at potlatches. As such, the totem pole can be seen as a symbol of ongoing survival and resistance to cultural and territorial encroachment. Many Northwest Coast communities have struggled to repatriate totem poles taken from them by colonial forces for sale or display elsewhere. In 2006, the Haisla successfully repatriated from a Swedish museum a pole taken in 1929 (see Repatriation of Artifacts.)

 

Totem Pole Designs and Meanings
Different First Nations have their own methods of designing and carving totem poles. The Haida, for example, are known to carve creatures with bold eyes, whereas the Kwakwaka’wakw poles typically have narrow eyes. The Coast Salish tend to carve representations of people on their house posts, whereas the Tsimshian and Nuxalk tend to carve supernatural beings on their poles.

 

In general, however, poles are skillfully carved of red cedar and are usually painted black, red, blue, blue-green and sometimes white and yellow. While paint was not used much in the past as part of the design, it is commonly used today. Poles vary in size, but house front poles can be over one meter in width at the base, reaching heights of over 20 m and generally facing the shores of rivers or the ocean.

 

Animal images on totem poles depict creatures from family crests. These crests are considered the property of specific family lineages and reflect the history of that lineage. Animals commonly represented on the crests include the beaver, bear, wolf, shark, killer whale, raven, eagle, frog and mosquito. The crest animals represent kinship, group membership and identity, while the rest of the pole may represent a family’s history.

 

Some poles also feature supernatural beings or humans, each with their own particular importance and significance to the nation or individual who commissioned it and to the person who carved it.

 

The cultural appropriation of totem poles by Europeans over the years has created and popularized the false idea that poles display social hierarchy, with the chief at the top and the commoners at the bottom. In fact, depictions of people are not usually found at the top of a totem pole and in some cases, the most important figure or crest is at the bottom. Totem poles do not depict a nation’s social organization in a top-down method; rather, they tell a story about a particular nation or person’s beliefs, family history and cultural identity.

 

Types of Totem Poles
There are various types of poles, each with their own purpose and function. Some, for example, are specific to death and burial practices. Memorial poles are erected in memory of a deceased chief or high-ranking member. The poles depict the member’s accomplishments or family history. Mortuary poles also honour the deceased. Haida mortuary poles include a box at the top where the ashes of the chief or high-ranking member are placed.

 

Some poles are used to depict families and lineages. House posts, placed along the rear or front walls of a house, are poles that, on the one hand, help to support the roof beams and, on the other hand, tell about family lineages. Similarly, house front or portal poles are monuments at the entrance of a home that describe family history.

 

Welcoming poles do what their name suggests — welcome visitors. First Nations sometimes erect poles as a means of greeting important arriving guests during a feast or potlatch. The Hupacasath First Nation has well-known welcome figures on its territory. With arms outstretched, the figures carved into the poles welcome and guide the guests during their travels. Another type of greeting pole is the speaker’s post — a carved figure of an ancestor. An appointed speaker announces the names of visitors from behind the post. In a sense, this allows the ancestors, speaking through the appointed speaker, to also welcome the guests.

 

Legacy poles commemorate important and historic events. In 2013, the Haida erected a legacy pole as a way of commemorating the signing of the Gwaii Haanas Agreement (1993), a groundbreaking document between the Haida and the Government of Canada that sets out the government-to-government and management relationship for Gwaii Haanas. Carver Jaalen Edenshaw supervised and worked on the legacy pole, which became the first monumental pole raised in the protected Gwaii Haanas territory in over 130 years.

 

 

 

 

Poles can also be used as a means of healing and education. Artist Charles Joseph’s totem pole, erected on 3 May 2017 in Montréal, serves as a reminder of the residential school system. A residential school survivor, Joseph wanted to express his emotions about those painful years, while also working towards reconciliation. Similarly, artist and residential school survivor Isadore Charters has shared his personal story with young people through a totem pole project. Charters carved a healing pole that tells about his eight-year experience at a Kamloops residential school. The pole is also intended to foster healing.

 

Shame poles or ridicule poles are less common elements of the tradition, but traditionally were used to mock and criticize neighbours for being insulting, offensive or for not paying back debts. These poles were also used by chiefs to belittle their political rivals. Contemporary communities may use similar tactics now in protesting external — government or corporate — entities.

 

Totem Pole Carvers
Not just anyone can carve a totem pole. Specialists known as carvers are commissioned by First Nations or individuals to make them. The wood the carvers use to make a pole is preferably taken from the traditional territory where it will be placed. Using tools like adzes (curved knives) and chisels, the carvers work from the bottom of the wooden pole, after it has been stripped and cleaned, and work upwards, carving over lightly drawn designs.

 

Older generation carvers such as Charles Edenshaw (c. 1839–1920), Charlie James (1867–1938) and Mungo Martin (1881–1962) inspired artists like Ellen Neel (1916–66), Henry Hunt (1923–85), Bill Reid (1920–98), Douglas Cranmer (1927–2006), Tony Hunt (1942–), Norman Tait (1941–2016) and Robert Davidson (1946–) to continue the tradition and themselves inspire a new generation. Today, their work, and the work of next generation carvers, such as Jaalen Edenshaw, can be seen in museums, galleries, on traditional territories, in parks like Stanley Park and Thunderbird Park in British Columbia, and elsewhere.

 

Significance
Totem poles are important expressions of specific Indigenous cultures along the Northwest Coast. Despite the threats posed by cultural, political and territorial encroachment, the art of totem pole carving has survived. While the totem pole has been used wrongly as a generic symbol of Canadian identity over the years, it is important to understand that these sacred monuments are specific to certain First Nations, and therefore carry deep meaning for those peoples and their ancestors.

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Totem Pole  |  Britannica - Totem Pole  | Canadian Encyclopedia - Totem Pole

Edited March 27, 2021 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - MCDONALD'S

Did you know... that McDonald's Corporation is an American fast food company, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger stand, and later turned the company into a franchise, with the Golden Arches logo being introduced in 1953 at a location in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1955, Ray Kroc, a businessman, joined the company as a franchise agent and proceeded to purchase the chain from the McDonald brothers. McDonald's had its previous headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, but moved its global headquarters to Chicago in June 2018. McDonald's is the world's largest restaurant chain by revenue, serving over 69 million customers daily in over 100 countries across 37,855 outlets as of 2018. Although McDonald's is best known for its hamburgers, cheeseburgers and french fries, they feature chicken products, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, wraps, and desserts. In response to changing consumer tastes and a negative backlash because of the unhealthiness of their food, the company has added to its menu salads, fish, smoothies, and fruit. The McDonald's Corporation revenues come from the rent, royalties, and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. According to two reports published in 2018, McDonald's is the world's second-largest private employer with 1.7 million employees (behind Walmart with 2.3 million employees). As of 2020, McDonald's has the ninth-highest global brand valuation. (Wikipedia)

 

The Craziest Facts About McDonald’s
Daryl Chen  |  Updated: Feb. 08, 2021

Seventy-five years ago, in 1940, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened up the first McDonald’s restaurant—a BBQ joint—in San Bernardino, California (it’s now a museum). Eight years later, they switched to burgers, shakes, potato chips, and pie. The McDonalds purchased several Multi-mixers for use in their establishment, and when Multi-mixer salesman Ray Kroc visited, he was impressed by their success and efficiency. Kroc purchased franchise rights from the brothers. In 1955, he opened his first franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois. Looking for more McDonald’s facts? This is the first McDonald’s menu ever.

 

The military inspired its first drive-through

McDonald’s first drive-through opened in 1975 in Sierra Vista, Arizona. What inspired the then-revolutionary concept? The restaurant was located near a military base, and soldiers were not allowed to leave their cars while wearing fatigues. Want to learn more pop-culture facts? These questions from Jeopardy will stump you.

 

The Ronald McDonald House makes a big impact

All those dimes and pennies do add up: In 2013, Ronald McDonald House Charities—the nonprofit organization that is McDonald’s charity of choice—raised around $450 million. It used those funds to help nearly 9 million children and their families worldwide. Today, RMHC has nearly 300 local chapters in 58 countries and regions.

 

There are more McDonald’s restaurants than hospitals

There are almost more than one-and-half times more McDonald’s locations than hospitals in the United States: 14,350 versus 10,660. Find out the only U.S. state capital without a McDonald’s.

 

It used to own most of Chipotle

McDonald’s invested in Chipotle in 1998, back when the fast-Mexican chain consisted of 16 restaurants. By 2006, McDonald’s owned 90 percent of Chipotle—which had grown to 500 locations—but it sold its stake in order to focus on McDonald’s.

 

It doesn’t have the fastest drive-through

The average McDonald’s drive-through transaction took roughly three minutes, or 189.49 seconds, according to one study; the fast-food leader was Wendy’s with a 133.63-second turnaround time.

 

McDonald’s Coca-Cola really is different

Some discerning diners believe that the Coke served at McDonald’s tastes better than it does at other places. They may be onto something: Only at McDonald’s is the Coke syrup delivered in stainless steel tanks to preserve its freshness; elsewhere, it’s transported in plastic bags.

 

The Golden Arches used to look different

Founder Richard McDonald first sketched the Golden Arches as an architectural feature to attract customers in cars looking from the roadside, but it took five more years for the arches to be linked into an M (shown at right, at a present-day restaurant in Downey, California, the oldest one still in operation). Did you know there might be a hidden sexual meaning behind McDonald’s gold arches?

 

It’s one of the most famous symbols

The Golden Arches are said to be the most recognized symbol in the world, even ahead of the cross.

 

It’s home to the … Turquoise Arches?

The McDonald’s in Sedona, Arizona, has the world’s only turquoise arches—the owners of that franchise were told that they needed to make the location more in keeping with the distinct desert environment. The blue was chosen to echo the sky, and the building is more orange and red to resemble the surrounding terrain.

 

 

Click link below  to read more of McDonald's Facts.

 

Source: McDonald's Facts  |  Wikipedia - McDonald's

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - GLACIER

The glacier of the Geikie Plateau in Greenland.

 

Did you know.... that a glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly deform and flow under stresses induced by their weight, creating crevasses, seracs, and other distinguishing features. They also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques, moraines, or fjords. Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that forms on the surface of bodies of water. (Wikipedia)

 

Cool Facts About Glaciers
BY MARK MANCINI  |  FEBRUARY 29, 2016

 

 

The world today would look very different were it not for glaciers, the icy bulldozers that—over many thousands of years—carved out landforms such as fjords and America's Great Lakes. As it turns out, those impressive claims to fame are just the tip of the iceberg. Here are a few more fascinating facts about the massive bodies of ice and snow.

 

There's a size requirement.
Proper glaciers must be a minimum of .1 square kilometers—that's almost 25 acres, or nearly 19 football fields!

 

The Largest Glacier on Earth is 60 Miles Wide and Around 270 Miles Long.
That would be Antarctica’s Lambert glacier, named after former Australian director of national mapping Bruce P. Lambert, who helped chart out the area during the late 1950s.

 

They Behave Like Really, Really, REALLY Slow-Moving Rivers.

Like the mighty Mississippi, glacial ice—which is driven by gravity—flows from high to low elevations. In the process, it often removes and transports chunks of rock (called “glacial erratics”), sometimes across a few hundred miles.

 

They’re Formed by Snowflakes and Time.

The most vital ingredient for glacier-making is a location where snow stays put year-round. When new layers arrive each winter, they start to crush existing blankets. All that weight distorts the snow crystals that make up the older layers, turning them into sugar-like grains. As time passes, these grains get bigger and denser until, eventually, genuine glacial ice is produced.

 

Glaciers Contain an Estimated 69 Percent of the World’s Fresh Water Supply.

By comparison, lakes, rivers, swamps, and similar bodies can only claim a combined 0.3 percent.

 

There are around 100,000 in Alaska.

These cover some 28,000 square miles of the 49th state. Provided they have the right permit, Alaskans are legally allowed to harvest glacial ice.

 

If Every Glacier and Ice Sheet on Earth Suddenly Melted, Global Sea Levels Would Rise by Over 260 Feet.

Hasta la vista, LA and London! Also, parts of southern Missouri might become great locations for beachside condos.

 

Glaciers Can Move At a Rate of Over 50 Feet Per Day.

In the summer of 2012, the Jakobshavn Glacier in Greenland set a new world record by traveling an impressive—by glacial standards, at least—150 feet per day.   

 

There Are Two Main Types.

Alpine glaciers flow downwards from mountaintops and slide through valleys. Continental glaciers, on the other hand, are large, horizontal expanses that aren’t seriously affected by the hills or mountains they cover. They generally dwarf their alpine counterparts.

 

During the peak of the Last Ice Age, Glaciers Covered About a Third of Earth's Land.

Over the past two billion years, our little blue planet has withstood at least five main ice ages. The latest one has spanned from 2.6 million years ago to the present day (yup: according to some experts, we're currently living through another).

 

Contrary to Popular Belief, You Won’t See Frozen Mammoths Suspended in Glaciers.

The mummified bodies of these great, extinct mammals are usually only found covered under frozen sediment and not—as many assume—floating inside glaciers.

 

Not All Glaciers Dwell Near the Poles.

Glaciers can be found on every continent but Australia (although New Zealand has some) and many “live” closer to the equator than one might expect—Mexico’s elevated areas are home to 24 [PDF] while the Ecuadorian Andes also have a few.

 

We Can Thank Glaciers for Something Called “Rock Flour.”

This stuff generally looks like earthy sawdust. As glaciers grate along the earth’s surface, they’ll grind bedrock into a fine, powdery substance. When this rock flour enters a lake, something magical takes place. Since it’s too fine to sink, the material may get suspended and turn the water turquoise blue.

 

Some Glaciers Look Blue Because That’s the Only Color Glacial Ice Can’t Absorb.

Unlike red and yellow lightwaves, blue light can penetrate snow and ice, thus creating that cool shade of winter wonderland azure.

 

Ancient Glaciers May Have Once Dotted Mars.

The red planet’s surface is rife with canyons, but did long-gone glaciers have anything to do with their creation? Some scientists think so. Last year, their theory got a major boost when a mineral called jarosite was identified along the walls of an enormous canyon known as Ius Chasma. On Mars, jarosite is created by reactions with water, usually through evaporation. But there was no way that a puddle was evaporating 3 miles up a cliff face. It’s believed that a glacier picked up some sulfur, and then as the sun melted the ice along the edges, the water reacted with the sulfur to produce jarosite.

 

Glaciers Occasionally Form Over Active Volcanoes.

 

In 1996, the Grímsvötn volcano of Iceland violently erupted despite the fact that it had been buried by roughly 2000 feet of glacial ice. Upon melting through this, a flood of epic proportions was triggered—one that caused $50 million in damages.

 

Source: Wikipedia - Glacier  |  Facts About Glaciers

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - THE HARDY BOYS

Cover appearing on revised editions

of The Tower Treasure, the first

Hardy Boys mystery.

 

Did you know... that The Hardy Boys brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterparts. The characters were created by American writer Edward Stratemeyer, the founder of book-packaging firm Stratemeyer Syndicate. The books themselves were written by several ghostwriters under the collective pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon. (Wikipedia)

 

Facts About ‘The Hardy Boys’
BY JANET BURNS  |  JULY 20, 2015

 

 

Frank and Joe Hardy have been blowing mysteries wide open for almost 90 years, combating ghosts, thieves, monsters, and shifty characters to the delight of several generations of kids. Fans of The Hardy Boys books might have caught a lot of the action along the way, but they may not realize that the series is its own shady case file that involves changing American tastes, furious librarians, and the shadowy, corrupt business of kids’ books. 

 

1. THE BOYS HAVE SOLVED AROUND 500 CASES. 

Not including graphic novels and planned releases, there have been well over 450 Hardy Boys titles published since their 1927 debut. This rough sum includes 38 titles from the original series that were entirely rewritten after 1959, releases by Grossett & Dunlap and digests from Simon & Schuster publishers, and the spinoff Clues Brothers, Undercover Brothers, Casefiles, Super Mysteries, and Adventures series, among others.  

 

2. THE BOOKS LET KIDS ENJOY ADULT ENTERTAINMENT. 

Edward L. Stratemeyer

Around the beginning of the 20th century, Edward Stratemeyer, who The New York Times called “a prolific hack with a nose for business” and “the Henry Ford of children's fiction,” had a revelation that would change children’s literature forever. Stratemeyer saw that, while most kids’ lit to date focused on moral instruction, kids themselves wanted to experience the same thrills their parents were getting from cheap series books that sold for a nickel to 10 cents a pop. When he started publishing books that delivered this excitement, he realized that children would become attached to certain authors, so it was better for them to be written using a pseudonym that he owned, than by an individual author who could leave. Thus, the high-output children’s series market was born. 

 

3. THEY ARE ALL GHOST-WRITTEN. 

In the decades that followed, the Stratemeyer Syndicate employed a changing stable of ghostwriters to churn out Hardy Boys titles (under the shared pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon) in as little as three weeks. These writers also filled the pages of Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, Bomba the Jungle Boy, and Tom Swift books at breakneck speed, usually for a flat per-book fee of between $75 and $125 with no royalties involved.

 

4. STRATEMEYER NAILED THE FORMULA. 
This group of ghost writers enabled Stratemeyer to build his literary empire, and while he sometimes provided bare bones storylines for his writers to work from, his instructions to Hardy Boys writers, the Times notes, “were basic: end each chapter with a cliffhanger, and no murder, guns, or sex.” 

 

5. IN THE BEGINNING, THOUGH, THEY WERE SHREWD ANTI-AUTHORITARIANS. 

Like many fiction and comic titles of the era, The Hardy Boys books coming out in the late 1920s and ‘30s showed a gritty, no-nonsense world (or the kids' version of it) where Frank, Joe, and their pals functioned as fearless private eyes, taking the pursuit of justice into their own hands because of authority’s impotence. Bumbling policemen often interfered with their investigations and even briefly jailed them as stuffy retribution for the boys’ ingenious work. In the second-ever Hardy Boys book, The House on the Cliff, Frank finds it necessary to put pressure on the local police chief in order to further real justice:

 

‘Of course, chief,’ said Frank smoothly, ‘if you're afraid to go up to the Polucca place just because it's supposed to be haunted, don't bother. We can tell the newspapers that we believe our father has met with foul play and that you won't bother to look into the matter [...]’

 

‘What's that about the newspapers?' demanded the chief, getting up from his chair so suddenly that he upset the checkerboard [...] ‘Don't let this get into the papers.’ The chief was constantly afraid of publicity unless it was of the most favorable nature.

 

6. ... ALL THANKS TO ONE VERY PROLIFIC CANADIAN GHOSTWRITER. 

Leslie McFarlane wrote 19 of the first 25 Hardy Boys books and, according to many, singlehandedly defined the kind of detailed, moody prose for which the original series is lauded. In his version of Bayport, the simultaneous kid-friendly hamlet/atrocious hotbed of crime the boys call home, the Hardy family isn’t as wealthy as other Syndicate heroes, the boys happily accept monetary rewards, and the town’s rich folk come across as daft and greedy. 

 

McFarlane clearly didn’t care much for the power structures in early 20th century U.S. culture, cops included. He wrote in his autobiography, Ghost of the Hardy Boys, "I had my own thoughts about teaching youngsters that obedience to authority is somehow sacred [...] Would civilization crumble if kids got the notion that the people who ran the world were sometimes stupid, occasionally wrong and even corrupt at times?”

 

7. WHILE MCFARLANE DIDN’T LOVE THE STATUS QUO, HE DID LOVE FOOD.
As the Times reflected, McFarlane “breathed originality into the Stratemeyer plots, loading on playful detail” that enthralled a young reader. He paid particular attention to his descriptions of meals, and to the sumptuousness of food from a young boy’s perspective. At the end of 1927’s The Tower Treasure, he included the following bacchanalian scene: 

 

''For more than half an hour, they indulged in roast chicken, crisp and brown, huge helpings of fluffy mashed potatoes, pickles, vegetable and salads, pies and puddings to suit every taste, and when the last boy sank back in his chair with a happy sigh there was still food to spare.'' 

 

8. BY 1959, THE SYNDICATE NEEDED TO CLEAN UP THE HARDY BOYS’ ACT. 

The Hardy Boys Casefiles Series.

As a result of the 1953 United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, many publishers of children’s media worked hard throughout the '50s to get their stories in line with new legal and social standards for kid-appropriate material. Like other Stratemeyer Syndicate series, Hardy Boys books had often contained negative racial and gender stereotyping among its supporting and minor characters, many of which would shock modern audiences, but which were also considered unpalatable by readers in 1959. 

 

9. BECAUSE OF THIS, IT SCRUBBED THE ORIGINAL RUN OF BOOKS.

 
That year, the Syndicate started rewriting 38 of its original Hardy Boys titles to remove objectionable material, including many of the books’ most violent moments. Writers also tried to give the books a more modern feel with fewer tough words, streamlined action plots, and generally updated language. Fans of the original series found the new bowdlerized versions to be downright bland, but Salon explained that some of the changes were reasonable:

 

“Dropped from The Missing Chums is ‘“I’ll say,’ replied Lola slangily,” as is ‘“So!’ she ejaculated, as the boys appeared.” Chet Morton’s car is referred to in The Tower Treasure as a ‘gay-looking speed-wagon.’ In the revision, the car loses this description but gains a name, ‘The Queen.’ (In this case there appears to be a wit at work, making the change something less than a total loss for literature.)” 

 

10. IN THE 60S AND 70S, THE BOYS’ POLITICS ALSO CHANGED.

Starting in 1959 and carrying on through today, the boys have seemingly done a 180 regarding their distaste for authority (and, some critics argue, indeed now work to defend The Man). In 1969’s The Arctic Patrol Mystery, for example, Frank appears to have evolved into the kind of conscientious young American that much media of the day promoted: 

 

“‘Great, Dad!’ Frank said, jumping to his feet. ‘With spring vacation coming up we won't miss any time at school!’

 

‘Are your passports up to date?’ his father asked.

 

‘Sure, we always keep them that way.’” 

 

Click the link below to read more about The Hardy Boys!

 

Source: The Hardy Boys Facts  |  Wikipedia - The Hardy Boys  

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - DRUMS

Drum carried by John Unger,

Company B, 40th Regiment

New York Veteran Volunteer

Infantry Mozart Regiment,

December 20, 1863

 

Did you know... that the drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a percussion mallet, to produce sound. There is usually a resonance head on the underside of the drum, typically tuned to a slightly lower pitch than the top drumhead. Other techniques have been used to cause drums to make sound, such as the thumb roll. Drums are the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years. (Wikipedia)

 

Facts About Drums
Written by Austin Hennen Vigil  |  Published May 23, 2018 General 

 

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments and is considered the most important component of the rhythm section of a band; essentially, it is the backbone. Dozens of different types of drums in many shapes and sizes exist today.

 

 

Drums are the world’s oldest musical instrument, and while the technology in drums has improved over centuries, the basic design of the drum has virtually remained the same for thousands of years. Here are ten facts about the drums you may not be aware of: 

 

• The oldest drum to be discovered is the Alligator Drum. It was used in Neolithic China, and was made from clay and alligator hides. The Alligator Drum was often used in ritual ceremonies, and dates back as early as 5500 BC.

 

• The longest recorded drum session/marathon by an individual is 122 hours, 25 minutes and was accomplished by Kunto Hartono in Malang City, Indonesia from December 27th, 2011-January 1st, 2012. Then beat by another individual is 134 hr 5 min, and was achieved by Steve Gaul (Canada) in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, from 14 to 19 August 2015.

 

 

• Ludwig Drums founded the first workable bass drum pedal system in 1909, paving the way for what became the modern drum kit.

 

• The modern drum kit was made popular in the 1920s in New Orleans in the Vaudeville (theatrical genre of variety entertainment) era.

 

• Drumming burns more calories in a half hour than cycling, hiking, and weight lifting in the same amount of time.

 

 

• The world’s largest drum kit has 813 pieces and it took 36 years to build! It was built by Dr. Mark Temperato who is working to expand it to 1,000+ pieces.

 

• The drum kit can be divided into four main sections including: the hardware (drum stands, pedals, and cymbal stands), the extensions (chimes, tambourines, cowbells), the shells (toms and bass drum), and the breakables (stool, snare drum, cymbals, sticks/brushes, and bass drum pedal(s)).

• Drums played a major role in medieval and Renaissance Europe. The snare drum and its relatives were used in the infantry to send coded instructions to soldiers. They were also used in ancient Africa and India to send messages over long distances between villages.

 

 

• In the 1980s, electric drums became very popular. Many people thought that they would make traditional drum kits obsolete or extinct. However, most drummers still prefer acoustic kits, and this has been the case since the existence of electric drums.

 

 

• Drum shells are made from different woods, and each wood has different characteristics. Maple has a warm and resonant sound; birch has a slightly more aggressive sound with less resonance; mahogany and oak produce higher volume drums. The plies (layers of wood) make a difference as well. Thinner plies make the drum more resonant, which means that it rings more after being struck.

Source: Wikipedia - Drum  |  Dum Facts

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - KNOCK-KNOCK JOKE

Did you know... that the knock-knock joke is a type of audience-participatory joke cycle, typically ending with a pun. Knock-knock jokes are primarily seen as children's jokes, though there are exceptions. The scenario is of a person knocking on the front door to a house. The teller of the joke says, "Knock, knock!"; the recipient responds, "Who's there?" The teller gives a name (such as "Noah") or a description (such as "Police") or something that purports to be a name (such as "Needle"). The other person then responds by asking the caller's surname ("Noah who?" "Police who?" "Needle who?"), to which the joke-teller delivers a pun involving the name ("Noah place I can spend the night?" "Police let me in—it's cold out here!" "Needle little help with the groceries!").  (Wikipedia)

 

The Unusual History Of Knock-Knock Jokes
The knock-knock joke is so simple that it’s usually the first one we learn as preschoolers. Ever wonder how these pun-based ditties entered into our lexicon? We have the answer.
by Jim Kneiszel  |  Updated: March 25, 2021

 

 

If you’re the teller of a joke, you want your witty quip to be followed by a cascade of laughter. A joke is meant to leave the listener doubled over in spasms of laughs: they used to call it a real “knee-slapper.” And what does a good stand-up comic do when he hits the stage? He or she “kills”—brings the house down in side-splitting guffaws. None of this applies, however, to the knock-knock joke. The success of these musty and dusty pun-based ditties is measured in groans and eye rolling. The knock-knock is so simple that it’s usually the first joke we learn as preschoolers. Ever wonder how these jokes entered into our lexicon?

 

How could you not love watching a pair of four-year-olds' recite this joke handed down from generation to generation:

 

Knock Knock
Who’s there?
Boo.
Boo who?
Don’t cry!

 

The Start of the Knock-Knock Joke?

It might come as a surprise that the silly knock-knock joke was once a popular parlor game for grown-ups, and it may have started in a passage from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, where in Act II, Scene III, a drunken porter greets three imaginary guests in a long diatribe of musings:

 

(Three knocks in the darkness)

 

PORTER: Who’s there, in the name of Beelzebub? Here’s the farmer, that hanged himself on the expectation of plenty…

This call-and-response style of humor then lay dormant like the plague. Luckily for the younger set, the Knock-Knock Joke was dumbed down over the ensuing 300 years when, in 1900, it started to show up as an evening pastime of bored 20-somethings—that is, before the invention of other distracting amusements such as swing music, radio, television, video games, and smartphones.

 

“Do You Know?” Jokes
Around the turn of the 20th century, Merely McEvoy, a writer for the Oakland Tribune, explained a new craze sweeping the land called, “Do You Know?” jokes. They went like this:

 

DO YOU KNOW ARTHUR?

ARTHUR WHO?

ARTHURMOMETER! (This one is best if heard aloud: i.e., “our thermometer”)

 

Knock-Knock Jokes Officially Come A-Knocking
By the 1930s, they were officially called “knock-knock” jokes, and the craze reached a crescendo as folks living through the Great Depression would try anything to coax a smile from their friends and neighbors. Knock-knock jokes even made it into music. Big Band leader Fletcher Henderson celebrated the knock-knock joke in a 1930s tune called Knock Knock Who’s There. If you know how puns are made, then you know how this is played.
 

On your mark, get set, let’s go. Knock knock knock knock, that’s the phrase…
 

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Saul who?
Saul there is: there ain’t no more.

 

Another Funny Theory

A number of historical accounts trace the Knock-Knock Joke to a 1920s children’s game called “Buff.” Buff involves a child thumping a stick on the ground and saying,

 

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Buff.
What says, Buff?
Buff says Buff to all his men, and I say Buff to you again!

 

Cue the giggling kindergarteners.

 

For the most part, knock-knock jokes after the 1950s seem to have been confined to the most youthful comedians. Although they did enjoy something of a renaissance in the 1960s, thanks to their use on the hippy-dippy television series Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. A popular bit on the sketch comedy show involved members of the cast poking their heads through small doors in a wall to tell jokes to each other, as well as poking fun at figures of the day.

 

Here’s a classic from hundreds and thousands of knock-knocks exploding on the Internet:

 

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Little old lady.
Little old lady who?
I didn’t know you could yodel!

 

Celebrate this October
And on October 31, when National Knock-Knock Joke Day comes a-knocking, be sure to pull out one of your old favorites to try out on anyone from age 3 to 93—and, with any luck, you’ll hear groans of appreciation.

 

Moments in Knock Knock Joke History
BY JENNIFER M WOOD   |  APRIL 1, 2014

 

Think back to the first joke you ever learned to tell, and chances are good that it started out with two simple words: Knock knock. (Chances are also pretty good that it wasn’t very funny.) You may have thought you invented the pun, but its history dates back much, much further than that. Here’s a brief history…

 

1. THE BARD ABIDES IN 1606.
Though the exact origin of the knock knock joke is officially unknown, many scholars point to the second act of Shakespeare’s Macbeth—written around 1606—as the earliest known example. It occurs when a porter is awoken out of a drunken stupor by a man knocking at Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s door.

 

2. CHILDREN PLAY IN 1929.
In Henry Bett’s 1929 book, The Games of Children: Their Origin and History, the author talks about the knock knock joke as being part of a kid’s game called Buff, in which one child would bang a stick while saying “Knock knock,” to which his or her opponent would ask, “Who’s there?”

 

3. WRITERS CATCH ON IN 1934.
In 1934, a newspaper columnist used the following (not-so-funny) joke in a story, which marked the knock knock joke’s first published appearance in popular culture:

 

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Rufus.
Rufus who?
Rufus the most important part of your house.

 

4. WHAT’S THIS TURNS TO WHO’S THERE IN 1936.
By 1936, the knock knock joke had made its way to the masses. So much so that an Associated Press article about its growing popularity appeared in the August 3rd edition of the Titusville Herald. Titled “‘Knock Knock’ Latest Nutsy Game for Parlor Amusement,” the piece talked about how “What’s this?” had given way to “Knock, knock” as the favorite parlor game setup. “Gone, apparently, are the days when the more serious-minded settled down to a concentrated spar with jigsaw puzzles, anagrams, intelligence tests, and similar intellectual pursuits,” the author lamented.

 

5. RAMROD DANK INVENTED IT IN 1936.
On December 30, 1936, humorist/radio host Fred Allen produced a wrap-up of the year’s biggest events in which he included an interview with the fictional Ramrod Dank, whom he deemed “The first man to coin a knock knock.”

 

Fred Allen

 

6. KNOCK KNOCK GOES INTERNATIONAL IN 1953.
By the 1950s, the knock knock joke had gained popularity around the world, in both English-speaking countries (England, Ireland, Australia, Canada) and otherwise (France, Belgium, India). French versions of the joke started out with “Toc-Toc,” and the punchline was typically a song title. In Afrikaans and Dutch, it’s “Klop-klop” and “Kon-kon” in Korean and Japanese. In Spanish, the joke usually rhymes. In South Africa in 1953, the following joke was popular amongst school children:

 

Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Delores.
Delores who?
Delores my shepherd.

 

7. LAUGH-IN DOES KNOCK-KNOCK IN 1968.
Knock knock jokes were a staple of the banter on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In from the very first season of the sketch comedy show’s six-season run.

 

8. GEORGE ZIMMERMAN’S LAWYER GETS IN ON THE FUN IN 2013.
“At considerable risk… I’d like to tell you a little joke,” George Zimmerman’s lawyer, Don West, told the jury during opening statements. Then proceeded to unleash the following bit:

 

Knock-knock.
Who's there?
George Zimmerman.
George Zimmerman who?
Alright good. You're on the jury.

 

Crickets would have been an improvement over the reaction the “joke” got.

 

Source: Wikipedia - Knock-Knock Joke  |  Brief Knock-Knock Joke History  |  Knock-Knock Jokes Facts

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - NATURAL SOUNDS

Did you know.... that natural sounds are any sounds produced by non-human organisms as well as those generated by natural, non-biological sources within their normal soundscapes. It is a category whose definition is open for discussion. Natural sounds create an acoustic space. (Wikipedia)

 

Strange and Mysterious Sounds on Earth & Beyond

Nature's noises

What’s that sound? Many scientists have come up with curious answers to explain some of the mysterious noises found in nature, while others are discovering strange new sounds from the extremes of the Earth and outer space.

 

THE BLOOP

One of the most famous and powerful underwater

sound events, known as Bloop, was recorded by

the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1997.

 

Over the past 70 years, the world’s oceans have emerged as a valuable global listening device, first by networks of underwater microphones scanning for enemy submarines during the Cold War, and in more recent decades, by scientists studying the oceans and the internal structure of the Earth. The Bloop event lasted for about 1 minute and rose in frequency from a low rumble. It was detected by underwater microphones more than 3,000 miles (5,000 kilometers) away and was much louder than the noises made by any known animal.

 

Click to hear the sound: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Bloop_real.ogg

 

The rough location of the event that caused Bloop is in the sea near the Antarctic Circle, and NOAA now thinks that Bloop was caused by the sound of massive icebergs "calving," or splitting, from the end of Antarctic glaciers and falling into the sea. Several other distinctive underwater sound events have been identified and named by NOAA: a weird cooing sound dubbed "Julia" that was likely caused by an iceberg running into the seafloor, an event known as "Train" (because it sounded like train wheels against a track) that scientists think likely originated in Antarctica's Ross Sea, and a scratchy noise dubbed "Upsweep," which likely originates in the Pacific and has been picked up by hydrophones seasonally since 1991.

 

AQUATIC CHOIRS

 

Scientists in Australia report that many different species of fish join in a mass chorus with their fellows at dawn and dusk, in much the same way as many birds.  The researchers, from Curtin University in Perth, recorded vocal fish songs off the coast of Port Headland in Western Australia for 18 months, reported New Scientist. They were able to make recordings of seven distinct choirs of fish, including overlapping foghorn calls made by Black Jewelfish and the "ba ba ba" sounds repeated by chorusing batfish. Most of the noises recorded by the scientists are just a single fish repeating the same call over and over. But, when two or more fish of the same kind can hear each other, often over a large distance underwater, they began to overlap their calls in a synchronous pattern. The researchers noted that sound plays an important role in many fish behaviors, such as breeding, feeding and territorial disputes.

 

THE LONELIEST WHALE

The world's 'loneliest whale' was first recorded in 1989

by an American military network listening for nuclear

submarines. It's been identified as a blue whale by the

pattern of its calls, but it seems to have a uniquely high

voice, with the main notes at a frequency of 52 hertz —

a low bass note to human ears. 

 

The world's "loneliest whale" was first recorded in 1989 by an American military network listening for nuclear submarines. It's been identified as a blue whale by the pattern of its calls, but it seems to have a uniquely high voice, with the main notes at a frequency of 52 hertz — a low bass note to human ears. Most blue whales speak in voices at frequencies between 10 and 40 hertz. This is how the Loneliest Whale picked up its lonesome eponym, because scientists and the media speculated that it was unable to communicate with all the other blue whales.

 

Click to hear the sound: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Ak52_10x.ogg

 

It's possible that "Sad Moby" may be a hybrid whale, with one parent from a different whale species, which could cause a different body shape and a different call. But, recent research suggests the difference between the Loneliest Whale and all the rest of the blue whales in the world may be not such a big social challenge after all. The researchers say many idiosyncratic whale calls have been detected, and some studies suggest that groups of whales living in particular regions have distinct "dialects" of whale song that often differ in frequency. Later recordings have also found that the Loneliest Whale is now changing its tune — the whale's call has been getting deeper for several years and now registers around 47 hertz. So, maybe it has cheered up a bit?

 

DEEP-SEA NOISE

 

In March 2016, NOAA released recordings of low moans, grumbles and occasional screeches from the deepest spot on Earth, the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, located in the western Pacific Ocean. The sounds were recorded over more than three weeks by a titanium-encased microphone that had to be lowered slowly so it wouldn’t be crushed by the pressure of the surrounding water, which is more than 1,000 times the atmospheric pressure at sea level. The microphone operated for 23 days at the deepest point of the ocean and captured the sounds several of different kinds of whales, passing boats and the rumble of nearby earthquakes. Researchers at NOAA say they want to understand if noises in the ocean from human sources are causing noise levels to rise in the deep ocean, and scientists want to study how these changes may be affecting animals that rely on echolocation, such as dolphins and whales. It's estimated the ocean is about 10 times noisier today than it was 50 years ago, thanks to the increase in shipping, submarines and underwater construction projects.

 

THE HUM

The ancient city of Taos in New Mexico.

 

Unlike the inaudible microseismic hum reported by ocean and Earth scientists, "The Hum" is a social phenomenon somewhere on the spectrum between conspiracy theory and annoying genuine mystery that has become famous enough to warrant having a "the" in its name, like The Rock. Many people around the world, but mainly in the United Kingdom and the United States, have reported being able to hear a faint low-pitched humming sound, sometimes compared to the sound of a distant engine idling or an electrical device, but no evident explanation for the sound can be found. Some people seem to hear The Hum more easily than others, and the phenomenon is often linked to a particular local area, such as the Taos Hum in New Mexico and the Bristol Hum in England. Doctors have suggested the experience of The Hum may result from people focusing too keenly on background sounds, as they try to listen for The Hum that they have heard other people talking about.

 

EARTHSONG

This photo from NASA's Suomi

NPP satellite shows the Eastern

Hemisphere of Earth in 'Blue Marble' view.

 

Ocean waves beating against the shores of land around the globe cause a continual, slow sound vibration within the Earth, well below the levels of human perception, according to research published in 2015. This low "hum" of the Earth can't be heard, but it can be measured with very sensitive seismographs. Seismologists have known since the 1990s that the Earth rings with faint "microseismic" vibrations even when there are no earthquakes, which make our planet ring like a bell with strong sound vibrations. Research published in February 2015, based on computer models, found that ocean waves could generate faint seismic waves on the seafloor with very slow sound frequencies of between 13 and 300 seconds. The researchers think the longest waves cause the observed microseismic activity.

 

ROCK GUITAR

A vibrational mode of Rainbow Bridge natural arch in Utah.

New research has revealed that the delicately carved bridge

sways in response to waves rippling on a lake nearby, and in

response to human-induced earthquakes in distant Oklahoma. 

 

An iconic narrow arch of rock in southern Utah, the 300-foot-high (90 meters) Rainbow Bridge, has been shown to vibrate like a plucked guitar sting when stimulated by other sounds and geological vibrations in the local environment, such as waves on a nearby lake or distant earthquakes, according to a study published in September 2016 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. By making precise measurements of the vibrations of the massive sandstone arch and using those to create computer models of the structure, the researchers were able to identify some of the sources of local vibrations that cause a strong resonant response in the arch. The scientists hope that learning more about the stability of the Rainbow Bridge, and how it responds to vibrational stresses in its environment, can help preserve the rare and already ancient geological structure for as long as possible. Many visitors to the Rainbow Bridge have also reported hearing a distinctive humming sound in the area, and some claim to have recorded the sound.

Click the link below  to read more about strange sounds.

 

Source: What's that Noise?  |  Wikipedia - Natural Sounds

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - EASTER

Did you know... that Easter is one of the principal holidays, or feasts, of Christianity. It marks the Resurrection of Jesus three days after his death by crucifixion. For many Christian churches, Easter is the joyful end to the Lenten season of fasting and penitence. The earliest recorded observance of Easter comes from the 2nd century, though it is likely that even the earliest Christians commemorated the Resurrection, which is an integral tenet of the faith. (Britannica)

 

Easter Facts about Peter Cottontail and Other Traditions
You'll never look at Easter eggs the same way.

BY JILL GLEESON  |  JAN 27, 2021

 

For many, Easter is one of the most beloved holidays of the year. Whether or not you attend church on the big day, there are so many lovely traditions to enjoy, from brightly colored Easter baskets stuffed with eggs, chocolate bunnies, and small gifts for kids, to the extravagant brunches and wonderful dinners marking the occasion. You can even dress up your home inside and out with festive Easter decorations, or celebrate the day with Easter crafts great for the whole family. But amidst all the fun, have you ever stopped to ponder Easter facts like, say, where that bunny came from, or what those colored eggs really mean?

 

There's a whole fascinating history behind Easter's most iconic symbols and customs, from elaborate egg decorating to the name itself, which some historians believe predates Christianity—and we've gathered the most interesting. Along with historical tidbits we've also dug up plenty of surprising information about newer Easter practices, including dressing up and chowing down (marshmallow Peeps, we're looking at you). So whether you're simply looking to expand your knowledge or would like some good trivia questions to ask before you turn on your favorite Easter movie, we have what you need. After you've tested your knowledge, check out our guide to the Easter Bunny Tracker, which is sure to become your family's new favorite holiday tradition.

 

Easter Is Named for a Fertility Goddess

Many historians believe that Christians named Easter after Ēastre or Ēostre, a pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess, in the hopes of encouraging conversion. Like the Christian equivalent, Eastre festivities heralded the coming of spring after winter's long slumber.

 

Easter is the Oldest Christian Holiday

Celebrating Jesus's resurrection, the foundation upon which Christianity was built, Easter is one of the most important Christian Holy Days.

 

Eggs Were Originally Dyed to Represent Christ's Blood

The tradition of dyeing Easter eggs is said to date back to ancient Mesopotamia. In modern times it continues on in secular fashion as well as in Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, where eggs are dyed red, blessed, and passed out to supplicants.

 

The Easter Bunny is German

Both hares and eggs were signs of fertility in Germany during the Middle Ages, and it was during this time that the legend of an egg-laying, candy-giving bunny was born. It wasn't until the first Germans immigrated to America in the 1700s that the Easter Bunny became a beloved tradition here.

 

We Have the Ukraine to Thank for Egg Decorating

While the tradition of dyeing eggs at Easter may have begun as a religious practice, the custom of decorating those eggs comes from a Ukrainian craft dating back thousands of years. The eggs, called pysankas, are painstakingly created using wax and dyes, a process Ukrainian immigrants brought with them to the United States.

 

In 2007, Florida Held the Largest Easter Egg Hunt Ever

And a whopping 9,753 children participated, searching for 501,000 eggs. Speaking of Easter egg hunts, it was President Rutherford B. Hayes who instituted the first White House Easter egg roll in 1878. It usually attracts some 30,000 people, although the 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19.

 

But Easter Games Used to be Even Weirder

Yep, back in the Middle Ages priests used to play a sort of "Hot Potato" game where they would toss a hard-boiled egg at a choir boy. The boy would then throw it to another boy, and so on, until the clock struck midnight. Whoever was holding the egg at that point got to eat it.

 

Dressing Up for Easter is Based on a Superstition

While you might think that dressing to the nines on Easter is simply a sign of respect for the holiday, that's not the case. At least it wasn't in 19th-century New York, when residents believed that wearing new duds on Easter would bring luck for the rest of the year. These days, it's estimated that $3.3 billion is spent on Easter finery.

 

Those Brightly-Colored Clothes Have a Meaning

All those pastels and floral prints folks wear on Easter are meant as a tip of the hat to spring's arrival. And the holiday's extravagant headwear? It only evolved into a popular tradition after Irving Berlin wrote of Easter bonnets in his hit 1933 song, "Easter Parade."

 

Only a Dozen States Recognize Good Friday

Commemorating Jesus's crucifixion, Good Friday occurs two days prior to Easter. States like New Jersey, Connecticut, and Texas have named it a state holiday, but it has not been designated a federal one.

 

Click the link below  to read more about Fascinating Easter Facts


Source: Fascinating Easter Facts  |  Britannica - Easter

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - ANIMALS

Did you know.... that the animal kingdom is full of fascinating birds, mammals, sea creatures and reptiles, each with their own set of distinct traits and habits. Learning some interesting animal facts is a great way to explore the natural world around us. (Woman's Day)

 

Interesting Animal Facts You Didn't Know
Learn new animal trivia for your next summer road trip
BY SABAH KARIMI  |  Jun 12, 2008

 

Flamingos are pink because of the food they eat. Shrimp is one of their main sources of food, so their skin takes on that pinkish color.

 

Most snakes never stop growing. This is why they're always shedding their skins, and can grow to be several feet long depending on the species.

 

A pot-bellied pig by the name of Kotetsu set a world record for the highest jump by a pig. Kotetsu jumped 27.5 in. in August 2004 at a farm in Japan.

 

The black bulldog ant (Myrmecia) is one of the few insects that can kill humans. It's found in Australia and is considered to be the most dangerous ant in the world. It can sting and bite people and animals alike.

 

Crows like to play pranks. One of their favorite games involves sneaking up on a sleeping cow, rabbit, pig or other farm animal, and making a loud noise to startle it. Talk about a wake-up call.

 

The bird-eating spider (Goliath birdeater) of South America is about 3.5 in. long and has a 10-in. leg span. That's bigger than the size of your hand.

 

The bug-eyed tree frog (Theloderma asperum) has to use its eyes to eat with. When swallowing food, the frog closes its eyelids and then presses down on the food with its eyeballs to lower the mouth and force the food down into its stomach.

 

Black cats are considered to be unlucky in the United States, but are considered to be a sign of luck in Britain.

 

Lobsters can live for up to 100 years. One of their most important survival skills is the ability to grow back a claw or a leg when they lose it.

 

A chameleon's tongue is almost as long as its body. It's also one of the few animals that can change color to match its surroundings.

 

 

Click the Live Science to read more about Amazing Things You Didn't Know about Animals.

 

Source: Animal Facts You Didn't Know   

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - '70s ALBUMS

Did you know.... that the ’70s – we have a love/hate relationship with this era. On one hand, it gave us some of the greatest classic tunes of all time. The decade represented an explosion of talent – singer/songwriters were becoming a trend and rock was branching out into several subgenre. But on the downside, it’s often remembered as the time of the disco mania. Let’s not go down that path because it only upsets us. Now, there were so many things going on in the ’70s that sometimes it’s hard to keep track of tiny details – little-known facts which might surprise even the most diehard fans. There was no Google, Twitter or Facebook and so there was no way of knowing seemingly insignificant things unless they’re published by magazines and newspapers or shown on TV. This list includes all those interesting things about ’70s albums which you may not know. If you already do, congratulations. If you don’t, you’re welcome.

 

Bob Dylan Had To Re-Record Some Songs In “Blood On The Tracks” (1975) After The Test Acetate Pressing

 

 

Bob Dylan’s “breakup album” is one of his finest works as a singer-songwriter. He exceeded everybody’s expectations and while it received mixed reviews when it was released, over time people acknowledged his musical brilliance evident in this record. It was deeply personal from him since it tackled his failing relationship with his then-wife Sarah. Even their child Jakob was well-aware it was about his parents’ marital discord. After listening to the test acetate pressing, Bob Dylan wasn’t at all pleased. Five songs were scrapped and re-recorded.

Quote

“A lot of people tell me they enjoy that album. It’s hard for me to relate to that. I mean … people enjoying that type of pain, you know?” – Bob Dylan

 

While majority of listeners believe he made the right call, there are still those who prefer the original versions over the replacement tracks. Obviously, that was a good choice since over the years, the album received more and more praises.

 

Patti Smith’s “Easter” (1978) Was Her First Album Since Her Infamous Stage Fall

 

 

Patti Smith Group’s third studio album “Easter” was commercially successful due in part to the diversity in the sound and musical styles used. It received widespread critical acclaim even if it didn’t make it to the top in the US Billboard and UK Charts. Also, this is the band’s first album after Patti Smith broke her neck during a stage fall in January 1977. It was during the tour for “Road to Ethiopia” in Tampa, Florida when she fell while dancing on stage and plunged 15 feet into the pit. She had to wear a neck brace and undergo physical therapy. The sad part is, “Road to Ethiopia” was a commercial failure.

Quote

“I still suffer from it. My neck… I still get discomfort, spinal discomfort. It’s nothing I can’t live with.” – Patti Smith

 

Aside from a broken neck vertebra, the accident also left her with a fractured spine. Still, she took advantage of her time off by writing a poetry book and of course, “Easter” which is one of the highlights of her career.

 

Bassist John Paul Jones Almost Quit Recording “Physical Graffiti” (1975) To Become A Choirmaster

 

Not everyone will agree that “Physical Graffiti” is Led Zeppelin’s finest work but the fact is it’s one of their best-selling albums with more than eight million copies sold. But it wasn’t an easy record to make. Let’s just say there were a few bumps in the road for these boys. For one, Peppy the roadie crashed Bonzo’s new car and of course he was upset. It pushed back the sessions for weeks. But perhaps the most interesting thing that happened was the fact that they had to cancel recording because JPJ almost quit the band so he can be a choirmaster.

Quote

“It later emerged that Jones had wanted to quit the band and take up a position as choirmaster at Winchester Cathedral. [Manager] Peter Grant urged caution, suggesting that Jones was overwrought from the incessant touring and should take a rest from Zeppelin for a few weeks. Jones changed his mind and sessions resumed at Headley Grange after the Christmas holidays.” – Led Zeppelin archivist Dave Lewis

 

Aren’t we glad JPJ finally came around? And well, let’s all thank Peter Grant for talking him out of it. The poor guy only wanted to take a break.

 

Some Dudes Stole Guitars And Even Bill Wyman’s Bass From The Rented Villa Where Rolling Stones Recorded “Exile On Main St.” (1972)

 

 

The Rolling Stones’ double album is often associated with tales of debauchery. Some of them are so wild it’ll make you wonder how they managed to come up with a legendary record. Now we’ll reserve our thoughts whether “Exile on Main St.” deserves to be tagged as their greatest work ever. Instead, how many of you knew there were axe thieves in Keith Richards’ rented villa in Nellcôte, France? There was no shortage of drugs and craziness but we can’t get over the fact that someone managed to steal one of Bill Wyman’s bass guitars. How dare they?

Quote

“Not everyone turned up every night. This was, for me, one of the major frustrations of this whole period.” – Bill Wyman

 

From John Lennon and Eric Clapton to groupies and drug dealers – it was probably hard to keep track of people coming in and out of the house and its security obviously wasn’t the top priority. God knows what happened in that villa so guys walking out with a bunch of guitars probably was the least shocking thing to happen. Rumor has it, those were dealers who collected overdue payment.

 

The Repeated, Insane Laughter In “Dark Side Of The Moon” (1973) Was From Naomi Watts’ Father

 

 

We know Paul and Linda McCartney didn’t make the cut but if you’ve listened to the album more than once, you probably wondered who that guy with the demented “stoned” laughter was. Well it’s Peter Watts – the band’s road manager and also the father of actress Naomi Watts (she starred in the 2001 thriller “Mulholland Drive” and the 2012 film “The Impossible"). Peter Watts also appeared in the rear cover for Pink Floyd’s 1969 album “Ummagumma” where he posed with fellow roadie Alan Styles in an airport runway along with the band’s van and equipment.

Quote

“I think we all thought – and Roger definitely thought – that a lot of the lyrics that we had been using were a little too indirect. There was definitely a feeling that the words were going to be very clear and specific.” – David Gilmour

 

You can hear the lunatic laughter in “Speak to Me” and “Brain Damage.” He died a few years later in a Knotting Hill flat due to heroin overdose.

 

It Took Three Hours To Shoot The Cover Photo For Bruce Springsteen’s “Born To Run” (1975)

 

It was the commercially successful “Born to Run” album which allowed Bruce Springsteen to break into mainstream – it sold six million copies in the US alone. And of course, the cover artwork is possibly one of the most iconic photos in rock. It shows The Boss holding his Fender Telecaster and leaning against E Street Band saxophonist Clarence “The Big Man” Clemons. It may look like it was perfected in one take but it was actually a three-hour session with photographer Eric Meola who took 900 frames.

Quote

“Other things happened. But when we saw the contact sheets, that one just sort of popped.[51]Instantly, we knew that was the shot.” – Eric Meola

 

Meola even published a book which contained the other shots taken during the photo shoot. And this image is so popular many other artists imitated it – even Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster and Bert recreated the same pose for the album “Born to Add.”

 

Click the link below to read more about these '70s Albums.

 

Source: Facts You Might Not Know From These ’70s Albums

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - THE 1950s

American fashion, 1953

Marylin Monroe (left, Jane Russell (right)

 

Did you know... that The 1950s was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959. Throughout the decade, the world continued its recovery from World War II, aided by the post-World War II economic expansion. The period also saw great population growth with increased birth rates and the emergence of the baby boomer generation. Despite this recovery, the Cold War developed from its modest beginnings in the late 1940s to a heated competition between the Soviet Union and the United States by the early 1960s. The ideological clash between communism and capitalism dominated the decade, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, with conflicts including the Korean War in the early 1950s, the Cuban Revolution, the beginning of the Vietnam War in French Indochina, and the beginning of the Space Race with the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957. Along with increased testing of nuclear weapons (such as RDS-37 and Upshot–Knothole), the tense geopolitical situation created a politically conservative climate. In the United States, a wave of anti-communist sentiment known as the Second Red Scare resulted in Congressional hearings by both houses in Congress. The beginning of decolonization in Africa and Asia also took place in this decade and accelerated in the following decade. (Wikipedia)

 

 

Things That Happened in the '50s
It's a decade where you'll meet multiple princesses, a new Queen, The King, Prince and the future King of Pop.
BY BRIE DYAS  |  Nov 16, 2020

 

What comes to mind when you think of the 1950s? The baby boom and Cold War are certainly high on that list, but we're here to tell you that the record of noteworthy events goes on from there. From the world stage to our American backyards, here are just a few of the amazing, and in some cases ground-breaking events that had people buzzing throughout this decade.

 

1950: The Baby Boom

Though it started in 1946, the '50s makes records for the number of babies born per year — around 4 million on average. The top names of the decade: James and Mary.

 

1950: The Price of the American Dream

Just in case you were wondering, the median home price was $7,354 this year. The average home size was under 1,000-square-feet.

 

1950: A New Princess

On February 15, Disney's Cinderella premieres and quickly becomes one of the highest-grossing movies of that year.

 

1950: Future Food Icon

Years before she would become a TV hit and change the way we eat, Julia Child enrolls at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school.

 

1951: In Living Color

RCA broadcasts the first color TV episode on June 25. However, the only photos we could find were in black and white!

 

1951: Our Favorite Redhead

On October 15, I Love Lucy debuts. In the first season, the show reaches over 10 million viewers.

 

1952: Look Up!

Just before midnight July 19-20, a UFO is allegedly spotted on radar and by witnesses on the ground in Washington, D.C.

 

1953: A New Queen

June 2 marks the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Hundreds of millions tune in on their televisions and radios to follow the day's momentous events.

 

1955: A Courageous Bus Ride

On December 1st, Rosa Parks made the life altering decision to sit in the section reserved for white passengers on her bus ride home. Her refusal to offer the seat to a white man subsequently led to her arrest and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The famous boycott lasted for 381 days and resulted in the end of segregation on Montgomery's buses. In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the ruling that bus transportation within a state couldn't be segregated.

 

1955: Kermit Debuts

Kermit the Frog makes his earliest debut on "Sam and Friends," Jim Henson's live action/puppet show that aired on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.

 

Click the link below  to read more  about what was happening in The 1950s.

 

Source: Good Housekeeping - Facts About the 50s  |  Wikipedia - 1950s

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - PODCASTING

 

Did you know... that podcasting, previously known as "audioblogging", has its roots dating back to the 1980s. With the advent of broadband Internet access and portable digital audio playback devices such as the iPod, podcasting began to catch hold in late 2004. Today there are more than 115,000 English-language podcasts available on the Internet, and dozens of websites available for distribution at little or no cost to the producer or listener. According to one survey in 2017, 42 million Americans above the age of 12 listen to podcasts on at least a weekly basis. (Wikipedia)

 

 

History Podcasts to Share With Your Friends
These educational podcasts are much lighter than a textbook.

BY LIZZ SCHUMER  |  Oct 9, 2019

 

If you're the kind of person who often starts sentences with "Did you know?" or you just need holiday cocktail party conversation fodder, add a few of these great history podcasts to your listening queue. They're faster and more portable than historical fiction and much more fun than a formal course, but they'll drop just as much knowledge into your ears. It's probably been awhile since most of us took a high school history class, and once you dive into the best history podcasts out there, you will quickly start to realize there were likely some gaps in your education, no matter how closely you paid attention.

 

Some of our favorite podcasts provide fresh perspectives on politics, offer background on current events, or even help teach us more about people and events we thought we knew already. Even podcast fans who don't consider themselves history buffs will enjoy the witty banter on podcasts like The History Chicks, the golden age of film nostalgia on You Must Remember This, and the true crime bent on podcasts like Monster. If there's a podcast genre, there's probably a historical take on it, so we've found a selection to hit every subject. With this list, you'll never find yourself feeling under-informed again.

 

The History Chicks

If you ever felt that history class skewed a little male, this podcast will help close the gender gap. Each episode introduces listeners to female characters in history, including fun facts and interesting tidbits, juicy details and minutiae that will make you the smartest gal at your next get-together. And the show notes include links to learn more, if you're really invested.  Listen now.

 

Presidential

Host Lillian Cunningham delves into the gap between our historical perception of our nation's past presidents and the real, complicated people they actually were. The series was originally launched as a lead-in to the 2016 presidential election, but it's still worth a listen today. Listen now.

 

Atlanta Monster

Some true crime podcasts focus more on the salacious stories than the actual events. Not the Monster series, which has one season on the 1979 spate of child killings in Atlanta and one on the infamous Zodiac Killer. This well-researched series hosted by Payne Lindsey and Matt Frederick will give you all of the facts and background to become a virtual expert on the subject at hand. Listen now.

 

Throughline

Help contextualize your news diet with this podcast that explains the historical basis for current events. Hosts Ramtin Arablouei and Rund Abdelfatah take listeners through subjects like military activity along the U.S.-Mexican border and sports protests, so you can come away feeling like a more educated news consumer. Listen now.

 

More Perfect

Supreme Court decisions shape so many aspects of our lives, from public safety to public restrooms and a whole host of private matters too, but most of us don't know the whole story behind the landmark cases. This podcast takes you inside the proceedings, explaining how they come about and what they mean for your life. Listen now.

 

Slow Burn

For history junkies who want to really dig into the issue, try the exhaustively fascinating Slow Burn from Slate. With two seasons focusing on Watergate and the Monica Lewinsky scandal, respectively, it not only investigates what happened during those events in minute detail, but ties them to our current political circumstances. Listen now.

 

Back Story

If you've ever wondered about the real whale that inspired Moby Dick or wanted to know the history of UFOs and aliens in this country, you'll want to take a listen to this aptly-named podcast. It also covers weightier topics like the opioid crisis and immigration, which those lighter concepts balance out nicely. Listen now.

 

Fiasco

For those of us who can't tear ourselves away from the latest political happenings, Fiasco is an excellent complement to the news. Host Leon Neyfakh takes us through what really happened during the 2000 election, shedding light on the twists and turns most of us probably never even knew about. It's fascinating, and totally binge-able. Listen now.

 

Revisionist History

From the author of such deep dives as The Tipping Point comes this podcast with equally in-depth explorations into historical events and issues you may think you understand. Malcolm Gladwell will show you there's a lot we're taught about our past that isn't entirely accurate, and help correct some of those misconceptions. Listen now.

 

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Whether you snoozed your way through AP History or just want to learn about obscure facts while doing other things, this podcast will help fill your chore time or commute with a dose of knowledge. It may not help you pass the exam, but it will make you more interesting at parties. Listen now.

 

 

Source: Best History Podcasts  |  Wikipedia - History of Podcasting  

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - MICROBURSTS ALSO CALLED DOWNBURSTS

Illustration of a microburst. The air moves in a

downward motion until it hits ground level. It then

spreads outward in all directions. The wind regime

in a microburst is opposite to that of a tornado.

 

Did you know... that in meteorology, a downburst is a strong ground-level wind system that emanates from a point source above and blows radially, that is, in straight lines in all directions from the point of contact at ground level. Often producing damaging winds, it may be confused with a tornado, where high-velocity winds circle a central area, and air moves inward and upward; by contrast, in a downburst, winds are directed downward and then outward from the surface landing point. Downbursts are created by an area of significantly rain-cooled air that, after reaching ground level (subsiding), spreads out in all directions producing strong winds. Dry downbursts are associated with thunderstorms with very little rain, while wet downbursts are created by thunderstorms with high amounts of rainfall. Microbursts and macrobursts are downbursts at very small and larger scales, respectively. Another variety, the heat burst, is created by vertical currents on the backside of old outflow boundaries and squall lines where rainfall is lacking. Heat bursts generate significantly higher temperatures due to the lack of rain-cooled air in their formation. Downbursts create vertical wind shear or microbursts, which is dangerous to aviation, especially during landing, due to the wind shear caused by its gust front. Several fatal and historic crashes have been attributed to the phenomenon over the past several decades, and flight crew training goes to great lengths on how to properly recognize and recover from a microburst/wind shear event. They usually last for seconds to minutes. (Wikipedia)  

 

Facts About Microbursts
By Traci Pedersen  |  August 27, 2016

Debris from downbursts, or microbursts,

is commonly blown in one direction. Often

there will be an impact point with debris

spread downwind in a fanned or divergent

pattern. 

 

Microbursts, also called downbursts, are powerful, localized columns of wind that occur when cooled air drops from the base of a thunderstorm at incredible speeds — up to 60 mph — and subsequently hits the ground, spreading out in all directions. 

Once this column of air reaches the ground (or body of water) and fans outward, it produces straight winds that can reach up to 100 mph, equivalent in speed to an EF1 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Strong microbursts are capable of creating havoc for miles, knocking down trees, power lines and fences and causing extreme damage to buildings. Microbursts can occur all over the United States but are more common east of the Rocky Mountains, simply because there are more thunderstorms on this side. 

 

What’s in a name?

The term “microburst” was coined by Ted Fujita, a severe storm researcher who developed the Fujita tornado intensity scale. It was upgraded to the Enhanced Fujita scale in 2007 and ranges from EF0 to EF5. An EF0 tornado may damage trees but not buildings, with winds ranging up to 85 mph (137 km/h). An EF5 tornado is devastating; winds exceed 200 mph (322 km/h), and buildings can be annihilated. As the name suggests, a microburst is a relatively small weather event, lasting anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes and affecting 2.5 miles or less. For downbursts affecting areas greater than 2.5 miles, Fujita used the term “macroburst.” 

 

How do microbursts form?
The most common weather event leading to microburst development is dry air entrainment, a phenomenon that occurs when dry air mixes with precipitation in a thundercloud. The dry air causes the droplets to evaporate, resulting in a rapid drop in air temperature. This patch of cooled air begins to sink, gaining momentum as it drops and essentially turning into a speeding column of air. 

 

Air flows in and around a convective cloud.

 

William Gallus, a professor of meteorology and numerical weather prediction in the department of geological and atmospheric sciences at Iowa State University, explains this phenomenon: “Cool air is heavier than warm air, so this blob of cold air can plunge toward the ground, and it spreads out rapidly when it hits the ground, kind of like how water explodes sideways when a water balloon is dropped and hits the ground,” he told Live Science. When this cool, dry air is further pulled down by the weight of precipitation, it is called water loading, and this causes the air to drop even faster.

 

Wet and dry microbursts

Microbursts are divided into two basic types: wet and dry. Depending on where you are in the country will determine which type you are more likely to encounter. Wet microbursts are more common in humid climates where there are plenty of thunderstorms, such as the Southeastern United States. These microbursts are typically driven by both dry air entrainment and water loading.

 

Dry microbursts usually begin with dry air entrainment due to moisture in the upper levels but eventually turn into wind-driven events with no surface precipitation. “For dry microbursts, we know they are more likely when the relative humidity a few thousand feet up in the sky is rather high, but it is much lower (dryer) below that level, especially near the ground. This kind of situation happens relatively often in places like Denver,” said Gallus. “When this happens, a storm can form from the moisture up high, but as it creates rain, the rain falls into the very dry air near the ground, and it evaporates, which cools the air.” Precipitation that evaporates before it hits the ground is called virga. 

 

 

Some microbursts, known as hybrids, have characteristics of both wet and dry types and are driven by several influences, such as dry air entrainment, precipitation loading, cooling beneath the cloud base and/or sublimation (ice crystals turning directly into vapor), according to NOAA.

 

 

Microburst or tornado?
Though less well-known than tornadoes, microbursts are much more common. According to the National Weather Service, there are approximately 10 microburst reports for every one tornado, but these numbers are just an estimate. 

 

“There has not been a detailed study done to look at how many happen on average each year in different areas, but it is believed a lot of wind damage happening in thunderstorms is likely due to microbursts, so that our climatology of wind damage from storms might give us a good idea [of their frequency],” Gallus said.

 

In fact, microbursts can cause so much damage that residents often believe they’ve been struck by a tornado. The surest way of knowing whether it was a tornado or a microburst, however, is by studying the pattern of damage. When a tornado hits, it leaves behind a more circular or meandering pattern of destruction and debris, while microburst winds cause straight-line damage that radiates from a center point of impact.

 

 

Disasters in the sky
The study of microbursts is relatively new in the field of atmospheric science. Before the introduction of Doppler radar at airports just a few decades ago, microbursts were responsible for as many as 20 major airline accidents, resulting in over 500 deaths, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF). Many of these had been mistakenly blamed on pilot error.

 

Microbursts still pose an incredible danger to aircraft, particularly during a take-off or landing. With winds up to 100 mph, trying to maneuver through a strong microburst is about as difficult as flying through a tornado. And like tornadoes, microburst development can be difficult to detect on radar and seem to come out of nowhere. 

 

One terrible disaster in particular — the crash of Delta Airlines Flight 191 — is credited with speeding up microburst research as well as bringing stronger safety measures for all aircraft. The disaster happened in August 1985. A thunderstorm was hovering over Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport as the pilots of Flight 191 were preparing to land. As the aircraft descended toward the runway, an explosive downdraft of wind knocked the plane full of passengers to the ground, sending the aircraft careening onto a highway where it hit and killed an automobile driver and plowed into two large water tanks where it burst into flames. Only 27 people survived this horrific event, and 137 lives were lost. 

 

 

While most pilots at this time had been highly trained in wind shear — rapid changes in wind speed or direction — surprisingly little was known about the specific dangers of microbursts. The crash of Delta 191 was a turning point, calling for more scientific research on these small but potentially fatal weather phenomena. Soon after, it was required that all planes be equipped with wind shear detection devices. 

 

Thanks to better research and advancements in technology, including the introduction of Doppler radar in 1988, the airways are much safer today. The last U.S. commercial airline to crash from a microburst was USAir Flight 1016 in 1994.

 

Forecasting microbursts
Even with today’s advanced technology, detecting microbursts is still a difficult task. Not only are they a relatively small phenomenon, but they are also quick to form. 

 

“It is very hard to predict microbursts,” Gallus said. “We can predict that an environment is somewhat favorable for microbursts, but we cannot tell in advance which exact locations will get hit by one, and not all storms will produce one even on a day when we say conditions are favorable. So it is a lot like forecasting tornadoes, except that conditions that support microbursts happen more often than those that support tornadoes.”

 

When forecasters are searching for ripe conditions, radar is the most helpful tool. They look for several factors, including air instability, high PW or precipitable water (a prediction of precipitation levels based on moisture in the atmosphere), dry air in middle levels, and strong winds in the layer of dry air, according to NOAA. The perfect conditions usually occur in the hot and humid summer months, especially in the Southeastern states.

 

Forecasting Microburst Potential

Forecasting for microbursts is typically done on a near-term basis, generally within 6-12 hours before convection is expected to develop.  There are several atmospheric parameters that forecasters use to help determine the microburst potential on any given day, primarily during the summer months. Instability, high precipitable water (PW), dry air in the mid levels, and strong winds in the dry layer are just a few of the parameters necessary for the development of microbursts.  The ideal conditions typically come together during hot and humid summertime afternoons in the Southeast. 

 

 

An actual microburst in the works will give specific clues to the forecasters. “Radar can show air colliding a few thousand feet above the ground, which normally would mean some of the air is forced downward,” Gallus told Live Science. “Radar also can show air diverging or spreading out in the lowest part of the atmosphere, near the ground, which again is a sign that a microburst is happening.” 

 

Radar does have some limitations when it comes to microbursts, though. For example, if a microburst forms on the outskirts of a radar’s reach, it may look so small that the meteorologist can’t see it, Gallus said. Also, since they form so quickly, one could hit the ground before a forecaster has time to issue a warning. 

 

When interpreting radar data, forecasters look for

converging air within the mid levels of the thunderstorm,

also known as a mid-altitude radial convergence (MARC)

signature. These can be very hard to detect since microbursts

are so short-lived and can sometimes occur between radar

scans.  Therefore, unfortunately, Severe Thunderstorm

Warning lead times for microbursts can be very short, or

there may be no warning at all.  Our understanding of

microburst formation and detection continues to increase

and will hopefully lead to better lead times in the future. 

When a microburst reaches the ground, a divergence

signature can be seen on radar. In the image to the right,

you can see the divergent wind pattern in velocity near

ground level from two different storms. The bright red

indicates winds blowing away from the radar, and the

bright green indicates winds blowing toward the radar.

 

Another helpful tool for detecting microbursts is DCAPE (Downdraft Convective Available Potential Energy), a computation used to estimate the potential strength of downdrafts in thunderstorms. “DCAPE gives us an idea of how much negative buoyancy can happen, which means how much cooler can a blob of air get due to evaporative cooling than the background temperature,” Gallus said.

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Downburst  |  Live Science - Microburst Facts

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - STAGECOACH (FILM)

George Bancroft, John Wayne and

Louise Platt in Stagecoach (1939)

 

Did you know.... that Stagecoach is a 1939 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne in his breakthrough role. The screenplay by Dudley Nichols is an adaptation of "The Stage to Lordsburg", a 1937 short story by Ernest Haycox. The film follows a group of strangers riding on a stagecoach through dangerous Apache territory. Stagecoach was the first of many Westerns that Ford shot using Monument Valley, in the American Southwest on the Arizona–Utah border, as a location, many of which also starred John Wayne. Scenes from Stagecoach, including a sequence introducing John Wayne's character the Ringo Kid, blended shots of Monument Valley with shots filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California, RKO Encino Movie Ranch, and other locations. Similar geographic incongruencies are evident throughout the film, up to the closing scene of Ringo (Wayne) and Dallas (Trevor) departing Lordsburg, in southwestern New Mexico, by way of Monument Valley. The film has long been recognized as an important work that transcends the Western genre. Philosopher Robert B. Pippin has observed that both the collection of characters and their journey "are archetypal rather than merely individual" and that the film is a "mythic representation of the American aspiration toward a form of politically meaningful equality." In 1995, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry. Still, Stagecoach has not avoided controversy. Like most Westerns of the era, its depiction of Native Americans has been criticized.  (Wikipedia)

 

Facts About Stagecoach
April 1, 2018

 

 

• Orson Welles argued that Stagecoach was a perfect textbook of filmmaking and claimed to have watched the movie more than 40 times in preparation for the making of Citizen Kane.

 

 

• Asked why, in the climactic chase scene, the Indians didn’t simply shoot the horses to stop the stagecoach, director John Ford replied, “Because that would have been the end of the movie.” In addition, Apaches would have stolen the stagecoach horses because, in their culture, horses were valuable in determining a warrior’s worth.
• Local Navajo Indians played the Apaches. The film’s production was a huge economic boost to the local impoverished population, giving jobs to hundreds of locals as extras and handymen.
• Stagecoach was John Wayne’s 80th movie.
• The hat that John Wayne wears is his own. He would wear it in many Westerns during the next two decades before retiring it after Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo, because it was simply “falling apart.” After that, the hat was displayed under glass in his home.
• The interior sets all have ceilings, an unusual practice at the time for studio filming. This was to create a claustrophobic effect in complete counterpoint to the wide open expanse of Monument Valley.
• Hosteen Tso, a local shaman, promised John Ford the exact kind of cloud formations he wanted. They duly appeared.

 

 

• Near the end of the movie, Luke Plummer has a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights. This is the notorious “dead man’s hand” supposed to have been held by Wild Bill Hickok before he was killed.
• John Wayne’s salary was considerably less than all of his co-stars, apart from John Carradine.
• John Ford loved the Monument Valley location so much that the actual stagecoach journey traverses the valley three times.
• Thomas Mitchell had stopped drinking alcohol for more than two years before he played the drunken Doc Boone.
• John Ford originally wanted Ward Bond to play Buck the stage driver but gave the role to Andy Devine when he found that Bond couldn’t drive a “six-up” stagecoach and there wasn’t enough time to teach him.
• Andy Devine was borrowed from Universal, John Carradine was borrowed from Twentieth Century Fox and John Wayne was borrowed from Republic.
• Louise Platt, who played the very proper Mrs. Lucy Mallory, wasn’t quite so prim off-camera. Observing John Wayne on the set one day, Platt turned to Claire Trevor and said, “I think he has the most beautiful buttocks I have ever seen.”

 

 

• The movie was originally budgeted at $392,000, but it cost over $500,000 to make.
• The movie grossed nearly $1 million by the end of 1939, earning the biggest profit of any Walter Wanger film production to that date.
• John Ford was so pleased with the way Yakima Canutt solved the problem of safely shooting the stagecoach’s river crossing that he gave Yakima carte blanche in creating all the stunts for the movie.
• Louise Platt, in a letter recounting the experience of the film’s production, quoted John Ford on saying of John Wayne’s future in film: “He’ll be the biggest star ever because he is the perfect everyman.”
• John Ford asked David O. Selznick to produce the movie. Selznick was interesting in making the movie, but only if he could have Gary Cooper as the Ringo Kid and Marlene Dietrich as Dallas.
• In 1939, Claire Trevor was Stagecoach’s biggest star and commanded the highest salary.
• Stagecoach is the first of three movies in which John Wayne and Claire Trevor were paired as romantic partners.

 

 

• Stagecoach made John Wayne a major star, 9 years after the failure of The Big Trail.
• In making the Ringo Kid, John Ford referred back to a silent era Western hero he made with Harry Carey called Cheyenne Harry.
• The interior scenes of the coach were all shot in a studio, and the town sequences were shot on Hollywood backlots.
• Producer Walter Wanger wanted Gary Cooper for the role of Ringo but Cooper’s fees were too high. Bruce Cabot unsuccessfully tested for it before John Ford got his wish and cast John Wayne.
• Joel McCrea and Errol Flynn turned down the role of The Ringo Kid.

 

Source: Wikipedia - Stagecoach (1939 film)  |  Fun And Interesting Facts About Stagecoach