Fact of the Day

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - ALL SAINTS' DAY

All Saints' Day at a cemetery in

Gniezno, Poland – flowers and candles

placed to honor deceased relatives (2017)

 

Did you know.... that All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, Hallowmas, the Feast of All Saints, or Solemnity of All Saints, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown. From the 4th century, feasts commemorating all Christian martyrs were held in various places on various dates near Easter and Pentecost. In the 9th century, some churches in the British Isles began holding the commemoration of all saints on 1 November, and in the 9th century this was extended to the whole Catholic church by Pope Gregory IV. In Western Christianity, it is still celebrated on 1 November by the Roman Catholic Church as well as many Protestant churches. The Eastern Orthodox Church and associated Eastern Catholic and Byzantine Lutheran churches celebrate it on the first Sunday after Pentecost. The Church of the East and associated Eastern Catholic churches celebrate All Saints' Day on the first Friday after Easter. (Wikipedia)

 

 

All Saints' Day: The History and Traditions Behind the Holiday
By Ashley Novak, CNN  |  Updated November 1, 2020

 

Many Catholic Spaniards celebrate All Saints' Day by visiting tombstones to honor the memory of deceased relatives.
 

(CNN) Every year on November 1, many Roman Catholics and other Christians around the world observe All Saints Day, which honors all saints of the church deemed to have attained heaven. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, All Saints Day is observed on the first Sunday after Pentecost. Here's a look at the history and traditions of this holy holiday.

 

Where All Saints' Day came from

While now observed in November, All Saints' Day was originally celebrated on May 13, although the origin cannot be traced with certainty, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Pope Boniface IV formally started what would later be known as All Saints Day on May 13 in 609 AD when he dedicated the Pantheon in Rome as a church in honor of the Virgin Mary and all martyrs. The current date of November 1 was established by Pope Gregory III during his reign (731-741 AD) when he dedicated a chapel in Rome's St. Peter's Basilica in honor of all saints. While this celebration was originally limited to Rome, later in 837 Pope Gregory IV ordered the official observance of All Saints Day every November 1 and extended its celebration to the entire Church.

 

All Saints really means ALL saints

St. Patrick

While many canonized saints are celebrated with their own individual feast days (such as St. Patrick), saints that have not been canonized have no particular holiday. All Saints' Day recognizes those whose sainthood is known only to God. Even so, Catholic observances tend to focus on known saints, those canonized by the Catholic Church.

 

A holy obligation

 

According to Catholic Online, within the Catholic Church, All Saints' Day is generally considered a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning all Catholics must attend Mass unless they are prevented by illness or another sufficient excuse. After the Protestant Reformation, many Protestant sects kept All Saints' Day. Methodists, for example, acknowledge it as a day of giving God earnest gratitude for the lives and deaths of saints, according to Christianity.com.

 

Observances around the world

Although not a public holiday in the US, All Saints' Day is observed publicly in many countries.

 

All Saints' Day in Germany is dedicated to the Christian saints.

 

In France and Germany, people have the work day off and businesses are closed.
 

 

In the Philippines, All Saints Day is known as "Undas" and isn't just for remembering the saints, but for honoring and paying respects to departed loved ones, usually with prayers, flowers, and good offerings.

 

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - All Saints' Day  |  History and Tradition of All Saints' Day
 

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - CINNAMON FERN

Did you know... that Osmundastrum cinnamomeum is a deciduous herbaceous plant that produces separate fertile and sterile fronds. The sterile fronds are spreading, 30–150 cm (0.98–4.92 ft) tall and 15–20 cm (5.9–7.9 in) broad, pinnate, with pinnae 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) long and 2–2.5 cm (0.79–0.98 in) broad, deeply lobed (so the fronds are nearly, but not quite, bipinnate). The fertile spore-bearing fronds are erect and shorter, 20–45 cm (7.9–17.7 in) tall; they become cinnamon-colored, which gives the species its name. The fertile leaves appear first; their green color slowly becomes brown as the season progresses and the spores are dropped. The spore-bearing stems persist after the sterile fronds are killed by frost, until the next season. The spores must develop within a few weeks or fail. The Osmundastrum cinnamomeum fern forms huge clonal colonies in swampy areas. These ferns form massive rootstocks with densely matted, wiry roots. This root mass is an excellent substrate for many epiphytal plants. They are often harvested as osmunda fiber and used horticulturally, especially in propagating and growing orchids. Cinnamon Ferns do not actually produce cinnamon; they are named for the color of the fertile fronds. (Wikipedia)

 

 

About the Cinnamon Fern
By: Jacob J. Wright  |  21 September, 2017

Protected under the dappled shade of tall forest trees, the cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) adds a lacy texture to the damp forest floor. Unrolling its fronds from its roots each spring, the stiff, upright spore-bearing fronds mimic the color of cinnamon sticks. Grow it in a moist woodland or near the edges of a stream or pond for a graceful ornamental effect. It is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 4 through 9.

 

Origins

Cinnamon fern's native range extends in North America from Newfoundland to western Ontario and south to the American Gulf Coast and New Mexico. The subspecies asiatica grows in eastern Asia. This fern enjoys such a wide natural distribution but only grows in areas where shade, humusy soil and moisture abound.

 

• Protected under the dappled shade of tall forest trees, the cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) adds a lacy texture to the damp forest floor. 
   

Description

In mid-spring, the fuzzy emerging fronds unfurl, lengthening to 2 to 4 feet. The unrolling frond stems are known as croziers or "fiddleheads." These fronds are light to medium green and are broadly rounded but lance shaped with many leaflets and are sterile. A few weeks later a cluster of fertile fronds emerges from the center of the sterile green fronds. The fertile fronds are stiff, upright and first pale green before becoming rusty golden brown, as they are covered in sporangia that release spores. Ferns do not flower but release spores rather than seeds. The sterile fronds remain until the first autumn frost, when they turn yellow and die back.

 

• In mid-spring, the fuzzy emerging fronds unfurl, lengthening to 2 to 4 feet.
• The fertile fronds are stiff, upright and first pale green before becoming rusty golden brown, as they are covered in sporangia that release spores.
   

Growing Requirements

Plant cinnamon fern in a moist, fertile, humus-rich soil that is acidic to neutral in pH (5.0 to 7.0). If soil remains evenly moist, this fern tolerates upwards of six hours of direct sunlight, but as a general rule, it is best sited where it receives dappled light under tall shade trees. New leaves in spring tolerate significant sunlight initially while waiting for the forest trees to leaf out. Avoid planting it in waterlogged soils. This species is long-lived, and root clumps may be divided in early spring. Small ferns rapidly grow from the shed spores in early summer if soil is moist and out of direct sunlight.

 

Cultural Uses
Historically, Native Americans used used cinnamon fern to treat rheumatism, headache, chills, colds and snakebites. Frond tips were eaten both raw and cooked. Today the fern is prized as a garden plant and often is grazed upon by hungry deer. The roots are black, wiry and fibrous, and sometimes used as a porous medium to mount tropical orchids. Do not destroy natural stands of cinnamon ferns in the wild for these uses.

 

• Plant cinnamon fern in a moist, fertile, humus-rich soil that is acidic to neutral in pH (5.0 to 7.0).
• The roots are black, wiry and fibrous, and sometimes used as a porous medium to mount tropical orchids.
   

Eating the Croziers

Sautéed Fiddlehead

Harvest the fern croziers in spring as they uncoil, up to a size no greater than 8 inches. Steam or boil them until tender, or serve them hot but al dente. The fiddleheads are edible, tasting like a blend of broccoli, asparagus and artichoke.

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Cinnamon Fern  |  Cinnamon Fern Facts

Edited October 28, 2021 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - ART DECO

Art Deco armchair made for art collector Jacques Doucet (1912–13)

Did you know..... that Art Deco, sometimes referred to as Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. Art Deco influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewelry, fashion, cars, movie theatres, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners. It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925. It combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress. From its outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bold geometric forms of Cubism and the Vienna Secession; the bright colours of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes; the updated craftsmanship of the furniture of the eras of Louis Philippe I and Louis XVI; and the exoticized styles of China and Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt and Maya art. It featured rare and expensive materials, such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship. The Chrysler Building and other skyscrapers of New York City built during the 1920s and 1930s are monuments of the Art Deco style. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, Art Deco became more subdued. New materials arrived, including chrome plating, stainless steel, and plastic. A sleeker form of the style, called Streamline Moderne, appeared in the 1930s; it featured curving forms and smooth, polished surfaces. Art Deco is one of the first truly international styles, but its dominance ended with the beginning of World War II and the rise of the strictly functional and unadorned styles of modern architecture and the International Style of architecture that followed.  (Wikipedia)

 

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ART DECO
by KATE WATSON-SMYTH  |  4TH FEBRUARY 2020

There’s been a lot of talk, now that we are in 2020 about the Roaring Twenties and that distinctive style of décor coming back into fashion. In fact there was a lot of chat last year about how Art Deco was one of the biggest design trends of 2019 and that looks set to continue for the foreseeable future. So I thought I would continue my occasional 10 Things series with a look at what Art Deco actually is. I have already looked at Bauhaus and English Country Style.

 

deco martini wallpaper

 

1. Short for Art Decoratifs, the style first appeared in France just before WWI and influenced everything from architecture to clothes and jewelry, ships and furniture. It lasted until well into the 1930s when it gave way to modernism and Bauhaus. It wasn’t actually named until the 1960s and then the name was taken from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris.

 

2. Art Deco is characterised by strong colours, geometric patterns and luxury materials. It is chic and opulent as well as elegant and sophisticated.

 

fan table and rich colours

 

3. Art Deco was forward-looking and celebrated new ideas which is why you see it so much on posters for travel by air and sea. It also featured modern materials such as chrome, glass and plastic as well as lacquering which is also a highly polished finish. Basically if it isn’t shiny it isn’t coming in.

 

4. Art Deco is currently undergoing a 21st century revival with lots of the arches, curves and lozenge shapes used in furniture and decorative patterns being retooled for a fresh audience.

 

bellagio velvet chair

 

5. Look out for vintage pieces such as chairs by Jindrich Halabala. I found mine on eBay for £750 the pair but that was a massive bargain. You can expect to pay double that now. They work really well upholstered in modern fabrics.

 

6. Other pieces of furniture that are strongly associated with that style include dressing tables and console tables. Much of the furniture was produced in small numbers although Heals made furniture in larger quantities and in oak rather than the more luxurious, and expensive walnut and maple. The designs are often elaborate with intricate inlaid patterns.

 

deco mirror 

 

7. It was also influenced by the first age of travel – pyramids feature heavily – as well as the glamour of the Silver screen and movie stars. Look out for fan and sunburst shapes. The mirror above is a classic of the genre.

 

8. If you want to nod to this look then you need to avoid floral patterns and stick to geometric or blocks of colour. That’s not to say you can’t have flowers but they must be the stylized geometric versions rather than the swirling floral motifs of the earlier Art Nouveau movement.

 

jindrich halabala chairs

 

9. Art Deco colours tend to be strong – teal, gold, deep pink and emerald green or go the other way and stick to black, white and chrome for a more pared back sleeker look.

 

10. You don’t have to live in a 1920s house to incorporate some Art Deco elements although be careful not to overdo it. Chairs are particularly versatile as you can upholster them in modern fabrics to incorporate them more into your own home. Console tables are always useful but beware of adding too many sunbursts.

 

vintage jindrich halabala armchairs in the home of Erica Davies

 

Source: Wikipedia - Art Deco

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - UNIVERSAL HORROR

 

Did you know.... that Universal Classic Monsters is a media franchise based on a series of horror films primarily produced by Universal Pictures from the 1930s to the 1950s. Although not initially conceived as a franchise, the enduring popularity and legacy of the films and the characters featured in them has led the studio to market them under the collective brand name of Universal Studios Monsters. Steve Jones of USA Today described Universal's most famous monsters as "pop culture icons", specifically Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Wolf Man. (Wikipedia)

 

Famous Movie Monsters

BY Michael Ray

Ghost, ghouls, and things that go bump in the night. People young and old love a good scare, and the horror genre has been a part of moviemaking since its earliest days. Explore this gallery of ghastly classic movie monsters.

 

I vant to suck your blood!

Bela Lugosi with Frances Dade in Dracula (1931).

 

Portrayed as everything from mindless killers to brooding, romantic antiheroes to teen heartthrobs who sparkle in the noonday sun, vampires are a staple of the horror genre. Bram Stoker’s Dracula probably represents the most iconic example of the vampire myth, and the fearsome count has been brought to unlife on the screen by a host of notables, including Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Gary Oldman, and, in a regrettably comic turn, Leslie Nielsen. The Lost Boys offered a decidedly ’80s twist to the vampire tale, while Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk 'Til Dawn was a rowdy, bloodsucking, action film (featuring special effects master Tom Savini in a supporting role). The Swedish sleeper hit Let the Right One In was a story of love and longing between two pre-teens—one of whom just happens to be a vampire.

 

That’s a wrap!

Boris Karloff and Zita Johann in The Mummy (1932), directed by Karl Freund.

From beneath Egyptian sands, an ancient terror erupts! Well, not really. Mummies were generally the victims of tomb robbers, not the other way around. But Boris Karloff’s take on the shambling, bandaged horror in The Mummy created a film staple. The mummy went on to battle the comedy team of Abbot and Costello, and Hollywood rediscovered mummy madness in the late ’90s with the launch of a series of blockbusters starring Brendan Fraser.

 

I’d like to meet his tailor

Lon Chaney, Jr., as a werewolf in The Wolf Man (1941)

Shapeshifters are common throughout world mythology, from the Japanese hengeyokai to the trickster Coyote of Native American folklore, but none have received the cinematic (or, in the case of Warren Zevon, musical) attention that werewolves have. Rituals involving lycanthropy appeared in ancient Greek religion, and tales of men turning into wolves under the light of the full moon were a widespread European superstition. Hollywood’s most famous take on the legend was The Wolf Man, a 1941 classic starring Lon Chaney, Jr., in the title role. Later adaptations include The Howling, An American Werewolf in London, and the underrated Ginger Snaps.

Brains!

Human brain preserved in formalin.

In the classical Vodou tradition, zombies are hardly the stuff of engaging cinema (Wes Craven’s The Serpent and the Rainbow being an obvious exception to that rule). It wasn’t until George Romero’s gore fest/Cold War commentary Night of the Living Dead debuted that the “modern” flesh-eating zombie made its debut. Since then, the zombie has experienced a sort of renaissance, with zombies appearing as a metaphor for consumerism (Romero’s Dawn of the Dead), acting as agents of the apocalypse (as in Robert Kirkman’s comic series The Walking Dead), moving surprisingly fast (in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later), confounding one man’s search for a Twinkie (Zombieland), and being assaulted with cricket bats and Sade albums (Shaun of the Dead). Japan’s contribution to the zombie craze, the manic, genre-mashing Wild Zero, was an alien invasion, romance, musical, buddy picture that featured Japanese garage rock group Guitar Wolf fighting zombies with the power of punk rock (with a description like that, how can you not add it to your Netflix queue?). Zombies were also the subject of a best-selling survival guide by Max Brooks, a book that informed countless debates among horror and science fiction fans as to what they would do in the event to a widespread zombie attack.

 

These are secrets man was not meant to know!

Colin Clive (left) and Dwight Frye (right) in Frankenstein (1931), directed by James Whale.

Ah, science! The marvels you have given to humankind—greatly extended life, speedy travel and communication around the globe, radioactive ants the size of school buses. Well, that last one could probably use some more attention from the R&D folks. But that’s not going to stop the next goggle-bedecked scientist from proclaiming from his Tesla coil-filled lab that it is the world, not he, that is mad. Hollywood has adapted any number of literary examples, from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. The mad scientist archetype has also been played to great comic effect, most notably by Mel Brooks (father of zombie aficionado Max), who demonstrated in Young Frankenstein that, properly motivated, an Abby Normal creature could become a cultured, sophisticated man about town.

We’re going to need a bigger boat

White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also called great white shark or white pointer near Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Mexico, Baja California peninsula, Pacific Ocean.
Some individual white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) may travel far out to sea or into tropical waters, but field studies show that most return to these temperate feeding areas each year.

Why bother with a supernatural threat when the animal kingdom stands ready to bedevil humanity at every turn? Alfred Hitchcock terrified a seaside town with The Birds, and Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster Jaws forced an entire generation of parents to convince their children that no, in fact, a great white shark could not survive in a freshwater lake in Wisconsin. Stephen King’s Cujo reinforced the point that St. Bernard's really are enormous animals, and we’re lucky that they’re on our side. Spielberg crossed the “man-eating animal” genre with the mad scientist genre in Jurassic Park, in which Jeff Goldblum’s character opines (by way of explaining how populating an island with enormous dinosaurs could be anything but a great idea), “life, uh…finds a way.” He could have finished with, “…to open a door and come inside and eat you.”

 

You maniacs! You blew it up!

Lock Martin (left) and Michael Rennie in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

With friends like humankind, who needs enemies? Humanity’s urge to turn upon itself has been exploited to great effect in film, with Charlton Heston’s scenery-chewing soliloquy before a ruined Statue of Liberty at the conclusion of Planet of the Apes (it’s been more than 40 years—one would hope that spoiler tags are not necessary) serving as a defining moment in sci-fi and pop culture history. The sci-fi parable The Day the Earth Stood Still presented Earth as a threat to its neighbors, a collection of alien civilizations who were willing to destroy the planet as an act of self-defense. Perhaps the best examples of humanity’s darker side can be seen in Rod Serling’s anthology The Twilight Zone; Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? and The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street are standouts in a generally excellent series.

 

Watch the night skies!

Poster for the Italian release of the motion picture The War of the Worlds, directed by Byron Haskin, 1953 (United States).

Otherworldly threats have taken an assortment of shapes—some of them a bit too familiar (as in Invasion of the Body Snatchers and John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing). While Hollywood has occasionally presented a “nice alien” in the vein of Close Encounters of the Third Kind or E.T., it’s generally a safe bet that saucers in the sky will probably translate to mass destruction on the ground. Orson Welles adapted H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds as a radio play that terrified listeners, and the 1953 film version featured special effects that still looked impressive decades later. Not all aliens needed heat rays or pod people to cause mayhem, however. The low-budget, camp classic The Blob featured a young Steve McQueen as he battled a slow-moving gelatinous creature that consumed everything that it touched.

 

Up from the depths, 30 stories high…

Movie poster for Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956).

Japanese film director Honda Ishiro created a host of classic monster movies. While working for the Toho Motion Picture Company in the 1950s, Honda directed and cowrote Gojira (Godzilla), the story of a giant lizard-like monster woken from its slumber by atomic testing. City-destroying fun ensues. Gojira was a massive hit in Japan, and dubbed versions of the film were released around the world. Honda became the godfather of the kaiju (“monster”—usually taken to mean “giant monster”) genre for Toho, and he followed with Rodan (1956), a giant pterodactyl-like beast, and Mothra (1961), a giant moth that was accompanied by a pair of miniature priestesses. Gojira films inspired a wave of kaiju imitators, including Gamera (a flying turtle) and Ultraman (a giant humanoid with a wild assortment of powers). The latter character served as one of the earliest and most enduring tokusatsu (“special effects“) characters on Japanese television. The special effects in question were generally people in monster suits doing battle with miniature tanks and crushing balsa wood buildings, but the popularity of the kaiju genre has endured on film and television (the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are just one example of an American adaptation of kaiju conventions).

 

Who ya gonna call?

The ghost of Jacob Marley (right) paying a visit to his former business partner, Ebenezer Scrooge; illustration by John Leech for Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843).

Ah, the ghost story: a staple of sleepovers and campfires everywhere. While cinema has seen a wide range of ghostly personalities—ranging from friendly (Casper) to romantic (Patrick Swayze) to comedic (Slimer from Ghostbusters)—many of the most memorable have been horrifying. Poltergeists got star billing in a 1982 film, as a young girl announced “They’re here.” A more subtle ghostly possession took place in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, an adaptation of a Stephen King novel that saw Jack Nicholson spiral into madness as the caretaker of a haunted hotel. The Haunting and the low-budget Paranormal Activity served as two outstanding examples of the haunted house tale.

 

The devil in disguise

The Devil Presenting St. Augustine with the Book of Vices, oil on wood by Michael Pacher; in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

Old Scratch, Old Nick, the Prince of Darkness: all names for the same cloven-hoofed tempter—the devil. Featuring prominently in such literary standards as Faust, the devil is essentially the ultimate antagonist, but his onscreen depictions have varied wildly. In The Devil and Daniel Webster and The Witches of Eastwick, he was avuncular and charming, a sharp contrast to the obscenity-spewing possessor of children seen in The Exorcist, The Omen and Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby offer different takes on a “child of the devil” being born on Earth.

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Universal Classic Monsters  |  Famous Movie Monsters

Edited October 30, 2021 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - TRICK OR TREAT

 

Did you know.... that Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. In the evening before All Saints' Day, children in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "Trick or treat". The "treat" is usually some form of candy, although in some cultures money is given instead. The "trick" refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the homeowner(s) or their property if no treat is given. Trick-or-treating usually occurs on the evening of October 31. Some homeowners signal that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween decorations outside their doors; others simply leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely. Houses may also leave their porch light on as a universal indicator that they have candy. (Wikipedia)

 

You Never Knew About Trick-or-Treating
The tradition goes back 2,000 years.

By Kelly Marages  |  Oct 6, 2017

 

THE TRADITION IS OVER 2,000 YEARS OLD — AND STARTED WITH FOOD AND WINE.
The roots of trick-or-treating go back more than 2,000 years to the Ancient Celts. They celebrated a pagan festival called Samhain on November 1 that marked the end of the harvest season. The night before, they believed the dead returned as ghosts, so they left food and wine on their doorsteps to appease them. In the 8th century, the Christian church replaced Samhain with All Saints' Day, a.k.a., All Hallows. The night before — October 31 — came to be known as All Hallow's Eve, which then, of course, became Halloween.

 

 

TRICK-OR-TREATERS USED TO SING AND DANCE FOR SWEETS.
Back in the day, revelers couldn't just show up on a doorstep and demand candy; they had to entertain for it. In Middle Ages Britain, kids who were mostly poor went door-to-door dressed in disguise on All Hallow's Eve, singing, dancing, telling jokes and reciting poetry in exchange for food, wine and money. Irish and Scottish immigrants revived the tradition in 19th century America, turning it more or less into the trick-or-treating we know now.

 

 

AMERICANS SPEND ABOUT $3.8 BILLION ON HALLOWEEN CANDY EVERY YEAR.
Counted in this figure: the confections you give out to trick-or-treaters as well as the candy you keep for "decoration" at home and boss-placating at work..

 

 

CANDY CORN IS VERY POPULAR.
Is it food? Is it flavored wax? Is it mere decoration? Candy corn may be a mysterious substance, but since it was invented in 1898, it's become synonymous with Halloween. Manufacturers produce about 35 million pounds of the stuff a year, or about 9 billion pieces. Oh, and National Candy Corn Day occurs annually and aptly on October 30.

 

 

REPORTS OF POISONED CANDY ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED.
Fact: No child has ever been randomly poisoned by a stranger on Halloween, at least in recorded history. There are, however, two cases of Halloween poisonings that may have led to the lore. In 1974, an 8-year-old boy in Houston, Texas died after eating a pixy stick laced with cyanide. His father — who had recently taken out a hefty life insurance policy on both his son and daughter (who lucky hadn't eaten her sweet) — was later convicted of his son's murder. And in 1970, a 5-year-old Detroit boy died after ingesting a large amount of heroin. The drug was found sprinkled on his candy haul, but it was later discovered that the family put it there to throw off investigators. In reality, the boy uncovered his uncle's heroin stash and mistakenly ate it, tragically dying from an overdose.

 

 

HAUNTED HOUSES (KIND OF) STARTED IN ANCIENT EGYPT.
The Haunted House Association estimates that the U.S. is home to about 1,200 seasonal haunted attractions that pull in up to $500 million a year. Turns out, proprietors have ancient Egyptians to thank. To keep tomb raiders away from bodies and treasures, Egyptians often built moving walls, mazes and traps filled with snakes within their pyramids. That, combined with the ancient Greeks' and Romans' penchant for mazes and monsters, along with morality plays from early Christians looking to frighten people into converting, add up to you paying to get chased by a chainsaw-wielding bogey monster on a crisp Friday night.

 

 

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME WAS EXTENDED, IN PART, TO HELP TRICK-OR-TREATERS.
Back in 1985 when Congress was debating extending Daylight Savings Time for energy conservation, the candy industry lobbied hard in its favor. They wanted the clocks to fall back after Halloween so trick-or-treaters could collect an hours' worth more of candy — and according to one report, even left candy pumpkins on the seat of every senator to curry favor (a claim the industry has disputed). They didn't succeed then. But thanks to a 2005 bill, starting in 2007, Daylight Savings Time was pushed from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November — guaranteeing goblins got extra light.

 

 

GHOST COSTUMES STARTED AS A DISGUISE.
Princesses and superheroes may rule modern costumes, but ghosts never fail to make an appearance. How did the simple bedsheet costume become tradition? Back in the days of the Celtic festival Samhain, people dressed as ghosts when they went outside on October 31, hoping to either calm the spirits that were said to roam that day, or to blend in with them.

 

 

MISCHIEF NIGHT IS ALSO KNOWN AS… CABBAGE NIGHT?
Depending on the region you live in, you may know the night before Halloween as Mischief Night or Doorbell Night — when local kids prank the neighborhood with toilet paper rolls or ring doorbells and run. In New England, some people still call it Cabbage Night. Back in Scotland, teen girls used to "read" cabbage stems on Halloween to predict who they would marry. Over in New England, that morphed into teens throwing stinky cabbages at their neighbors' houses or leaving other rotting produce on their doorsteps. Awww!

 

 

IT'S AN HONOR TO BE CALLED A WITCH.
The word "witch" may not have the best connotation now, but in reality, it stems from the Old English word wicce, which means "wise woman." The plural, as you may have guessed, is wiccan.

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Trick-or-Treating  |  Trick-or-Treating Facts
 

Edited October 31, 2021 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - DIECAST TOY

Typical early Dinky diecast toy, with multiple

parts and rubber tyres, but early models had

no glazed windows.

 

Did you know.... that A die-cast toy is a toy or a collectible model produced by using the die casting method of putting molten lead, zinc alloy or plastic in a mold to produce a particular shape. Such toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber, glass, or other machined metal parts. Wholly plastic toys are made by a similar process of injection moulding, but the two methods are distinct because of the properties of the materials. (Wikipedia)

 

 Collector’s Guide to Diecast Cars

by Invaluable

A group of repainted Dinky Toys Bedford and Guy Vans . Sold for £50 via Vectis Auctions Ltd (August 2019).
 

Diecast cars are built from zinc alloy — and offer a healthy dose of nostalgia. In the peak of their production, these small-scale cars — typically no larger than the palm of a hand — were carefully modeled after real-life designs produced by automobile manufacturers. For collectors in the market today, diecast cars perfectly marry two popular collecting categories: vintage toys and classic cars. Car enthusiasts may find they can fit a few more 1:43 scale diecast cars in their garage than full-scale Ford Pontiacs, for example, and toy collectors may find joy in the careful details offered by each of the four major manufacturers of diecast toys. And, just about everyone can find joy in rolling diecast cars down imaginary roads.

 

What is a Diecast Car?
A diecast toy (sometimes written as die cast or die-cast) is any toy produced through the die casting method of metal casting, and is typically made of a zinc alloy (or, in some cases, lead). Die casting is a process in which a molten metal alloy is forced under high pressure into a mold creating a product similar to injection mold plastic but made of metal. This relatively simple method was perfect for mass-producing toys of all kinds in the era before inexpensive plastics were developed. In addition to diecast model cars other vehicles such as planes, trains, motorcycles and even spaceships have also been produced. Japanese toy manufacturer Bandai first developed the ‘Chogokin’ (the Japanese word for “super alloy”) line of diecast giant robot toys that have been in production since the 1970s. The painstaking process for creating these toys is the same as in the production of classic car lines.

 

A Dinky Supertoys Guy Warrior ‘Heinz’ Van (920).

 

One major appeal of diecast cars is how brands have been able to authentically recreate full-size cars at a much smaller scale. This has been the case since the early days of die casting. One of the first diecast cars from iconic toy manufacturer Dinky Toys was a model of the 1930s race car ‘The Speed of the Wind,’ driven by British race car driver and engineer George Eyston when he broke the land speed record. Many famous car brands such as Chrysler, Ford, Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen have also been captured in miniature size. Trucks are also a popular style among collectors, and branded models like the Heinz truck from Dinky Toys are particularly sought-after.

 

Dinky Pre-war 23e Trade Pack ‘Speed of the Wind’ Racing Car. 

 

A Brief History of Diecast Cars

The story of diecast car production begins in England: Of the major toy brands that competed for market share in the 1950s and ‘60s, two were British companies. Later, following the success of the original British makers, came an American diecast manufacturer called Hot Wheels — which eventually grew to dominate the market. But roughly forty years before those toys even crossed the Atlantic Ocean, a formidable company named Dinky Toys changed the toy market forever.

 

Dinky Toys
A true pioneer of the industry, Dinky Toys began producing diecast toys twenty years before any of the other major players even entered the market. As a result, for collectors seeking out a pre-war antique toy car, Dinky Toys is likely the relics’ manufacturer. Established by Frank Hornby in a factory in Liverpool in 1908, the company was originally named Meccano Ltd. and produced primarily model trains and construction sets. In 1934, the company began to sell miniature accessories to compliment their train line under the name Meccano Dinky Toys. By the following year, they dropped “Meccano” altogether and officially became Dinky Toys. That same year they produced their first diecast car.

 

French Dinky No.23b Pre-war Streamlined Racing Car. 

 

The first diecast toy cars were sold in a set of six cars together: a sports car, a delivery van, a tank, a sports coupe, a truck and a farm tractor. These six cars were cast in lead and were based on a generic version of the listed car. The cars proved popular, and soon Dinky Toys was producing dozens of new models including diecast planes, diecast tanks and diecast ships. For twenty years, Dinky Toys was the only name in diecast cars, until a little company named Corgi Toys introduced “the ones with windows”.

 

Corgi Toys
Corgi Toys was first introduced as a sub-brand of Mettoy Playcraft, and was named after the eponymous dog breed that also hailed from the company’s headquarters in Swansea, South Wales. Mettoy Playcraft specialized in metal toy production, but had primarily focused on tin plate toys, not diecast toys. Their products were initially popular, but in 1956 they shook the industry by developing glazed plastic windows, an invention so essential it’s hard to imagine a time before they existed. Corgi Toys was so confident in this new innovation, they sold the new toys with the simple slogan “the ones with windows”. Their initial 1956 line comprised of eight classic vehicles, including the Ford Consul, the Morris Cowley, the Austin-Healey 100 and the Triumph TR2.

 

Corgi No.200 rare factory Pre-production Ford. 

 

Both Dinky Toys and Corgi Toys produced cars in O scale, harkening back to their origins in model trains. O scale refers to the zero gauge size of model trains, which are the smallest available. Dinky Toys was already working in this scale, so they sized their cars accordingly and Corgi Toys later followed suit. O scale for cars ranges from about 1:43 diecast cars to 1:48 diecast cars, depending on the model. 

 

Matchbox Cars
Soon after Corgi introduced transparent windows, another British company, Lesney Products, unveiled “Matchbox” cars — what would soon become a household name. These cars, named for the faux matchbox they came in, were significantly smaller in size, but very affordable. Lesney Products produced an array of models, quickly outpacing their competitors in volume if not in quality. It also helped that Matchbox cars were made in approximately 1:65 scale, though proportions were often modified to fit their pint-sized packaging. This did not affect their popularity.

 

Collection of vintage Matchbox Lesney Diecast Models.

 

The appeal of “the ones with windows” and the affordable Matchbox cars forced a sort of diecast arms race. Dinky Toys and Corgi Toys produced car after car, each trying to outdo the other with new features: jeweled headlights, detailed interiors, working suspensions, and licensing deals. For ten years, the three major companies were caught in a stalemate that seemed certain to last. That is, until Hot Wheels emerged.  

 

Hot Wheels
In 1968 Elliot Handler, toy industry legend and founder of Mattel Toys, created a new line of tiny toy cars: Hot Wheels. What made these cars so different from their competitors was that instead of being modeled after real-life cars, Hot Wheels were conceived as fantastical custom hot rods with exaggerated proportions and pull-back racing functionality. “The Original Sweet 16” cars alongside a racing track set (sold separately, of course) were released in America to outstanding success. In 1969, they took that success to Europe.

 

No Paint 1968 Hot Wheels Redlines Custom Mustang.

 

Consolidation in the Market
The British companies simply could not compete with the American-made cars. For ten years they played catch up as Hot Wheels sold better each year, so well they actually made their slogan ‘Go with the Winner’. Dinky Toys was the first to fall to the success of Hot Wheels, and they closed their factory in 1979. The Dinky Toys brand, along with Matchbox and Corgi Toys, would later be purchased by Mattel. Mattel eventually sold Corgi Toys, which was reestablished as “Corgi Classics”. They still produce replicas of original Corgi toys today. Mattel currently produces toys under the Matchbox brand name, but they have allowed the Dinky Toys classic line to languish.

 

Diecast Car Values
Diecast cars, including exceptional examples from Dinky Toys, Corgi Toys, Matchbox and Hot Wheels, are commonly found at auction. For individual cars, Dinky cars tend to sell for a few hundred dollars, depending on condition, demand, and availability of original packaging. Due to scarcity, some pre-war Dinky cars can sell for a few thousand dollars. Corgi Toys licensed cars tend to be the most sought-after of their toys, with their “James Bond” and “Batman” cars selling in a range from several hundreds to several thousands of dollars, again depending on condition and packaging.

 

A rare Corgi gold-plated presentation James Bond Lotus Esprit.

 

True to their origins as a discount diecast toy line, Matchbox Cars items tend to sell for less, with individual cars typically selling for one hundred dollars or less. Meanwhile, Hot Wheels in unopened packaging can easily sell for thousands of dollars, and special sets can go even higher. The most expensive diecast car ever sold was a pre-production Volkswagen Rear Loader Beach Bomb. The car was too top-heavy to go into production and the prototype reportedly sold at auction for around $70,000.

 

 

Condition Issues 
In collecting vintage diecast cars keep an eye out for zinc pest (also known as zinc rot). Zinc pest is caused by impurities in the zinc alloy and can be found in diecast object made before the 1960s. For diecast cars, that means zinc pest crops up in early Dinky Toys and Corgi Toys cars. Zinc pest causes a white corrosive to form on the surface of the metal and compromises the structural integrity of the toy. Also always remember that many of these car lines have been reproduced over the years, so make sure to do your research when purchasing a vintage toy.

 

 

Diecast toys are fun for nostalgists and collectors of all ages. The sheer volume of cars produced over the years makes acquiring quality models accessible for any level of interest in the field of vintage toys. Whether you’re interested in a classic Dinky Toy diecast car, a revolutionary Corgi, the economical Matchbox, or the fantastical Hot Wheels, you’ll find plenty of examples to capture your imagination in the market today. 

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Diecast Toy  |  Facts About Diecast Cars
 

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - AIR TRAVEL

S7 Airlines Boeing 767-300ER

 

Did you know.... that Air travel is a form of travel in vehicles such as airplanes, jet aircraft, helicopters, hot air balloons, blimps, gliders, hang gliders, parachutes, or anything else that can sustain flight. Use of air travel has greatly increased in recent decades – worldwide it doubled between the mid-1980s and the year 2000. Modern air travel is much safer than road travel. (Wikipedia)

 

What Your Flight Used To Look Like (And It's Actually Crazy)
By Suzy Strutner  |  June 2014  |  Updated December 2017

A stewardess serves a meal to a couple on an American Airlines flight, mid to late 1950s.

 

Air travel has come a long way since the 1950s, this we know. We're deep into our bizarre affection for SkyMall, personal TV screens and in-flight WiFi (not to mention WiFi in general). But in the 50s, flying was something different. It was something magical and marvelous. Air travel exploded into its Golden Age, and airplane trips weren't just a means of getting to your vacation -- they were a vacation in themselves. Passengers dressed in their finest to fly. They lined up for group photos before boarding. Riding an airplane made them feel like a movie star because it pretty much took the the salary of a movie star to do so. But not everything was so rosy. If you took a flight in the 1950s...

 

Turbulence could snap your neck.

Early commercial planes were powered with pistons, not jet engines. As a result, they were loud, vibrated fiercely, bumped like crazy in turbulence and were grounded often due to weather (things got smoother after the first commercial jet debuted in 1952). In the 50s, pressurized airplane cabins were relatively new to the scene. And a non-stop flight? Not likely -- getting across the country could require multiple layovers.

 

 

You had insane amounts of legroom. Coach seats had three to six inches more legroom than they do today -- 1950s economy class looked more like business class does now. And first class was clearly about as spacious as a modern hotel room.

 

 

Your flight attendant wore a girdle and had a weight limit.

Flying was an over-the-top luxury experience, and leggy, chatty "hostesses" were part of the show. One stewardess recalls her airline's rule that she wear high heels at all times -- only after takeoff could she switch to flatter shoes. Hair had to be short enough so as not to touch her collar. A flight attendant manual mandated that stewardesses be single, stay under 125 pounds, and maintain "high moral standards" during employment.

 

 

You might have paid up to 5% of your salary for a ticket.

In the 50s, a flight from Chicago to Phoenix could cost $138 round-trip -- that's $1,168 when adjusted for today's inflation. A one-way to Rome would set you back more than $3,000 in today's dollars. Lobster counted as airplane food. With commercial plane travel a new market, airlines struggled to one-up each other by offering the fanciest meals. One vintage ad lists TWA's "full meal" to be served in-flight: soup, meat, salad, vegetables and dessert. Real glassware and roast beef were typical sights.

 

 

Smoking was totally acceptable... and for much longer than you'd think.

During the 1950s, smoking (of cigarettes, pipes and cigars) was totally acceptable in the air, but strangely not in the terminal (they were afraid cigarettes might ignite the fuel fumes). "Confusion and resentment" ran rampant when a law prohibited smoking on short domestic flights decades later, in 1988. It wasn't until 2000 that a law mandated all flights to and from the U.S. be smoke-free.

 

You were handed a postcard as you boarded.

Flying was so utterly rare that passengers felt compelled to document every moment on postcards with pictures of the plane or in-flight meal, to show their less lucky loved ones what the newfangled experience was like. "The tradition at the time was that you would use your in-flight time to write people you knew on the ground, describing your flight," historian Guillaume de Syon explained to Fast Company.

 

 

You drank (LOTS) for free.

Alcohol was another popular form of in-flight entertainment: passengers were served as much free alcohol as they could drink, and it was not uncommon to come off a flight totally hammered. Of course, the free boozing tapered off as air travel became less of a luxury industry and more of a commercial one. But in those early Golden Days, "people just poured themselves scotch after scotch".

 

You didn't show ID.

Even as late as 1970, passengers made it onto planes without ID of any sort -- a quick look-over from security did the trick. Showing up at the airport 30 minutes before your flight was totally fine, and well-wishers could walk right up to your gate where you boarded via stairs, not jet bridge. Passenger screenings wouldn't become mandatory until 1973.

 

Baggage claim was even more excruciating than it is now.

In the early 50s, you'd wait for a skycap to organize everyone's luggage on a counter. One by one, passengers pointed to their suitcases, paid him a tip and collected their bags. Thank heavens for the first conveyor belts!

 

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Air Travel  |  Air Travel 1950s

Edited November 2, 2021 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - ANIMALS

Hummingbird Hawk-Moth

 

Did you know.... that you might think you’ve seen the world over, under, around and through, but there will still be wonders that will make your eyes pop. Even if you’re a dedicated animal enthusiast, you can’t honestly expect to know all of the 1,367,555 non-insect animal species, that are identified on the face of Earth today! (Weird Animals You Didn’t Know Exist)

 

Animals You Never Knew Existed!
Martin Morin

 

Gerenuk

First described in 1878

 

This mammal, also known as the giraffe gazelle or Waller’s gazelle, lives in East Africa, mainly in Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia. Gerenuks are herbivores that can live for a dozen years or so. They are highly adaptable, able to survive in very dry environments. The species is threatened by habitat loss.

 

Dugong

First described in 1765

 

This marine mammal, which can grow to lengths of three metres (10 feet) and weighs in at around 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds), has a lifespan of up to 70 years. Dugongs spend their days peacefully swimming through the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the Red Sea. They are related to the manatee and… the elephant! These animals have long been hunted for their oil, meat, skin and bones, and although the species is now protected it is still vulnerable. Dugongs feed by grazing the ocean floor—they are the only marine mammals that are strictly herbivorous.

 

Siberian Flying Squirrel

First described in 1758

 

The native habitat of the Siberian flying squirrel (or pteromys volans to its closest friends) stretches all the way from Finland to the Bering Sea. This charming little creature, which weighs barely 150 grams (five ounces), is able to glide over distances of up to 40 metres (130 feet). This squirrel prefers to hunt at night, and isn’t averse to nabbing an egg or two from unguarded nests.

 

Bongo

First described in 1861

 

This creature is the largest of the forest antelopes. Bongos are magnificent mammals that can weigh up to 450 kilograms (1,000 pounds), crowned with horns that can be up to a metre (three feet) in length. These herbivores live in central and southern Africa. Male bongos tend to be solitary.

 

Saiga

First described in 1766

 

This antelope (‘saiga’ means antelope in Russian) is critically endangered though hunting. These strange-looking mammals can be found on the steppes of Central Asia, in Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan. Their giant noses are incredibly flexible, capable of filling with air and keeping it warm during cold periods. The nose also serves as a filter when the wind whips up desert dust. Saigas move in herds over great distances.

 

Aye-aye

First described in 1782

 

This little lemur, which looks like a cross between a bat and a Gremlin, lives on the island of Madagascar. The species is sadly endangered. Aye-ayes weigh around two kilograms (four pounds) and can live for up to 20 years, spending their lives in the treetops and avoiding being at ground level as much as possible.

 

Star-nosed mole

First described in 1871

 

This cute (?) little mole has a nose that looks a bit like an octopus or a starfish. Its 22 tentacles are covered with 25,000 sensors that allow the mole to locate and devour prey in less than a second. They can be found tunneling through the marshes of North America.

 

Batfish

First described in 1808

 

This red-lipped fish lives in waters around Peru and the Galapagos Islands. It’s a pretty poor swimmer, using its fins like legs to walk around the ocean floor, over 30 metres (100 feet) below the surface.

 

Lowland streaked tenrec

First described in 1798

 

This tiny, punky mammal can only be found in one place on Earth: Madagascar, off the coast of southeast Africa. These animals can grow up to 20 centimetres long (eight inches), weighing only 125 to 280 grams (four to 10 ounces). Its spines, like those of a porcupine, are detachable, providing a defense mechanism while foraging on the ground. This tenrec also uses its quills to communicate with other members of the species, rubbing them together to warn of a predator.

 

 

Source: Weird Animals You Didn't Know Exist  |  Facts About Animals You Never Knew Existed!

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - TUTANKHAMUN

Quartzite statue thought to be of Tutankhamun

 

Did you know.... that Tutankhamun, Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen, commonly referred to as King Tut, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the 18th Dynasty during the New Kingdom of Egyptian history. (Wikipedia)

 

Surprising Facts About King Tutankhamun
BY MICHELE DEBCZAK  |  APRIL 1, 2020

The burial mask of Egyptian King Tutankhamun.

 

If you can only name one Egyptian pharaoh, it’s likely King Tut. Born around 1343 BCE, Tutankhamun made history as the youngest known monarch to preside over the ancient Egyptian empire. But that wasn’t his only claim to fame. In life, King Tut made important political decisions; in death, he captivated the public’s fascination and ignited their interest in mummies. The discovery of King Tut's pristine tomb in 1922 remains one of the most important moments in all of Egyptian archaeology. From his confusing lineage to his impact on pop culture, here’s what you need to know about King Tutankhamun.

 

1. KING TUT’S PARENTS WERE RELATED.
Tutankhamun was likely inbred—something that wasn’t uncommon with royal families trying to maintain a “pure” bloodline throughout history. Around 2010, an analysis of DNA taken from the mummies of King Tut and his relatives revealed that the boy pharaoh’s parents had been brother and sister, but that discovery has since been disputed. Tut’s father has been identified as the heretic Akhenaten, but the identity of his mother remains unknown. At least one archaeologist believes that Tut’s mother was actually Queen Nefertiti—Akhenaten's cousin, and one of his wives.

 

2. KING TUT HAD AN INCESTUOUS RELATIONSHIP OF HIS OWN.
King Tut was married to a woman named Ankhesenamun, who was the daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. That made her Tutankhamun’s half-sister—or his full sister, if the theory about Nefertiti being his mother is true. King Tut fathered two daughters with his wife, but unfortunately, both children were stillborn. Their bodies were mummified and eventually interred in King Tut’s tomb with him. Ankhesenamun outlived Tutankhamun and possibly got married to the pharaoh Ay (Tut’s uncle) after Tut’s death.

3. KING TUT BECAME PHARAOH AT AGE 9.
As the grandson of the pharaoh Amenhotep II and the son of pharaoh Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun was destined for the throne. He assumed his position as Egypt’s leader at the young age of 9, and ruled until his death 10 years later around 1324 BCE. It is believed that King Tut is the youngest pharaoh ever to rule over the ancient Egyptian empire. Because he was so young when he came into power, his uncle Ay was likely in charge during those early years.

 

4. KING TUT REVERSED HIS FATHER’S RELIGIOUS REFORMS.
King Tut didn’t need to do much to impress his subjects—his father, pharaoh Akhenaten, had been a disastrous ruler. Akhenaten changed the established religion to focus on the worship of one god, the sun deity Aten, which left him branded as a heretic. Akhenaten also moved the holy capital from Thebes to Amarna. When Tut became pharaoh he undid his father’s changes and declared Thebes to be the religious center once again. This helped him earn the trust of his people during his brief reign.

 

5. KING TUT CHANGED HIS NAME.

Profile of a wooden statue of King Tutankhamun.

 

King Tut went by many names during his lifetime. He was born with the name Tutankhaten, which translates to “living image of Aten.” After he become pharaoh, he changed his name to Tutankhamun or “living image of Amun.” This change was a reflection of Tut’s devotion to the god Amun, whom his father had neglected in favor of the god Aten. Today, Tutankhamun is most commonly known as King Tut.

6. KING TUT HAD HEALTH ISSUES.
King Tut had a severe bone disease that left him disabled. He had a clubbed left foot, which made it hard for him to move around. In ancient art he is regularly depicted sitting down when engaging in physical activities like archery, whereas other pharaohs were always shown standing up in similar scenarios. It’s believed that Tut’s inbred lineage contributed to his physical issues. CT scans of his mummy showed that his left leg had been broken and infected, which may have contributed to his untimely death.

 

7. EXPERTS USED TO SUSPECT THAT KING TUT HAD BEEN ASSASSINATED.
King Tut’s mummy was discovered with a hole in its skull, leading some people to believe that the young pharaoh had been assassinated with a blow to the head. This theory has since been widely debunked by experts. It’s now suspected that the hole was either put there by embalmers when King Tut was being mummified or it was created when archaeologists first removed the mummy’s gold mask. It’s much more likely that the infection in his leg was the cause of his death.

8. A CHARIOT ACCIDENT MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO KING TUT’S DEATH.

King Tutankhamun's burial chariot, which was discovered in the pharaoh's tomb.

 

If King Tut did indeed die from a broken leg, the question still remains of how he broke his leg in the first place. According to one theory, the teen king died in a horrible chariot accident, which is why one side of his body—including his leg—was found crushed. The chariots used by royalty in ancient Egypt were small and light, allowing them to reach high speeds. Although there’s no evidence that chariots were used for racing during this period, they were used during war and for hunting rides.

9. KING TUT WASN’T HISTORY’S ONLY YOUNG PHARAOH.
King Tut was likely the youngest pharaoh to lead Egypt, but not my much. Cleopatra became co-regent with her younger brother (and husband) Ptolemy XIII in 51 BCE when he was just 10 years old. Looking beyond ancient Egypt, there are many young monarchs from history who shave years off Tut’s age record. China, Russia, England, Spain, and France are just a few countries that have crowned “rulers” when they were babies.

 

10. KING TUT’S SUCCESSORS TRIED TO ERASE HIM FROM HISTORY.
While King Tut did a lot to reverse his father’s unpopular reforms during his lifetime, none of it did much to protect Tut’s legacy in the long run. His successors did their best to remove his wife, Ankhesenamun, from history—and the memory of Tutankhamun along with her. Tut was buried quickly and in a small tomb normally reserved for private citizens, not one of the grander tombs meant for pharaohs. Because his tomb was out of the way, it remained untouched for centuries until it was rediscovered in 1922. Now King Tut is the most famous Egyptian pharaoh of all time.

 

Source: Wikipedia - Tutankhamun  |  King Tutankhamun Facts
 

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - DOGS OF ANCIENT EGYPT

Did you know.... that we, and everyone else it seems has given homage to the cats of ancient Egypt, but dogs too were important, both as symbols of gods and as domesticated animals. Certainly they were pets, but it is difficult to say whether dogs were as beloved by their Egyptian owners as cats. They were never shown as animals to be petted. But as in modern times, their uses were much more diverse. Nevertheless, they were mummified and they were often buried with owners, or sometimes in their own coffins. At Abydos, part of the cemetery was set aside for dogs near the graves of women, archers and dwarfs. (Egypt: The Dogs of Ancient Egypt)

 

The Amazing Egyptian Dog Breeds

by Animals Home

 

There are some Egyptian dog breeds that go back to ancient Egypt, when they were friends with the ancient Egyptians, as there was a tomb dating back to 3500 BC that had a painting of a man walking a dog on a leash. Some of these ancient dogs developed into the original Egyptian dog breeds that we know today, and there are also a few breeds that may not be classified as original in Egypt, but they came from the country in the original, and still resemble those famous ancient Egypt dogs.

 

1. Egyptian Pharaoh Hound Breed

 

The Pharaoh Hound or the Anubis dog is an ancient Egypt dog breed as some people call it the oldest Egyptian dog breeds that are changed little since it is developed more than 5,000 years ago. They were the dogs of kings and may have hunted gazelles with pharaohs, hence their name. This loyal hunting companion later made their way to Malta, where they’re now the national dog. You need not be royalty to befriend the Pharaoh Hound dog. Adaptable and affectionate, these pups make great family companions, even for novice pet parents and apartment dwellers. Pharaoh Hounds dogs delight their humans with clownish antics and will love to make you laugh. They also have a sensitive side, though, and are even known to blush! Return this pup’s love in kind, and you’ll have a loyal friend for life.

 

2. Egyptian Greyhound Dog

 

The beauty of the Egyptian Greyhound or the Sloughi has been a thing of wonder for thousands of years. this Egyptian dog breed is among the Fastest Dog Breeds in the world, They’re slim and leggy, but very strong and perfectly balanced, like a great athlete or dancer. Males can stand between 23 and 28 inches at the shoulder; females can be much shorter. They come in many colours and patterns. Their large, oval-shaped eyes are warm and intelligent. Egyptian Greyhounds are the oldest purebred dog, dating to the time of the Pharaohs. The first records of greyhound type dogs appear about 8,000 years ago. In ancient Egypt, greyhounds were revered as gods, and only royalty was allowed to own them. Sloughi are highly adaptable, able to live and work in any climate. They’re magnificent animals, but owning them comes with many special challenges.

 

3. Basenji Dog Breed

 

This dog breed was found in Egypt, specifically in the sculptures of the pharaohs, as some consider it to be one of the Egyptian dog breeds Out of Africa, the Basenji dog breed was originally found in the Congo. These Egyptian dogs use both scent and sight to hunt and were originally used to flush small game into hunters’ nets and to control village rodent populations. These days, they also make for great, loving, furry family members.

 

4. Ibizan Hound

 

The Ibzanian Hound is a native of the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain, yet this elegant species is another breed that can easily trace its original lineage back to ancient Egypt and to Egyptian dog breeds, where dogs with a striking resemblance to the breed have been found on many tombstones and historical artefacts. Due to their high energy and great endurance, Ibizan Hounds are best suited for living in an active home that can provide them with an outlet for their energies.

 

5. Baladi Dog Breed

What is an Egyptian Baladi dog?
 

Its one of the Egyptian dog breeds in Arabic, “Baladi” means “of town” “local” “rural” comparable to English “folk” with a lower-class connotation. When the word is applied to a dog, it generally refers to the native stray dogs who run the streets of Egypt. It is not a “breed” per se, but more of a “type” of dog. They are generally light and skinny with long lanky legs and comically big ears that either stand up like radars or flop halfway, giving them a perpetually curious expression. These dogs also have a characteristic curly tail. Baladi dogs are the original sighthounds of the Middle East, descendants of the Egyptian Saluki, and Pharaoh Hounds and Palestinian Canaan dogs.

 

6. Egyptian Armant Herding Dog

 

Also known as the Egyptian Sheepdog, or the Egyptian guard dog the Armant is a working breed developed in Egypt. This breed originated in the village of Armant, sometime in the early 1900s. The exact details of its development are unknown but it is thought to be descended from ancient Egyptian farm dogs. Some believe, however, this Egypt dog breed are descended from European dogs brought to Egypt some 200 years ago. This theory stems from the fact that the Armant shares some physical characteristics with French breeds like the Bearded Collie and other livestock guarding breeds like the Newfoundland.

 

Egyptian Dogs Facts

 

Not all the Egyptian dog’s breed are originally from egypt.
The Egyptian god dog as we know it today with name The Pharaoh Hound

 

What breed is the Anubis dog?
Anubis, also called Anpu, the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, represented by a jackal or the figure of a man with the head of a jackal

 

What kind of dog did Cleopatra have?
Among pharaohs known to own Egyptian greyhound dog are Tutankhamen, Amenhotep II, Thutmose III, Queen Hatshepsut, and Cleopatra VII. Throughout history, Greyhounds were the pets, hunting dogs and friends of the ancient Egyptians, the Romans, the Greeks and the Medieval European aristocracy.

 

 

 

Source: Ancient Egyptian Dogs  |  Facts About Egyptian Dog Breeds

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - WIGS

Did you know... that a wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Some people wear wigs to disguise baldness; a wig may be used as a less intrusive and less expensive alternative to medical therapies for restoring hair or for a religious reason. (Wikipedia)

 

Facts About Human Hair And Wigs

BY SARAH K  |  JANUARY 18, 2016

Hair extensions are all the rage right now, and you will be hard pressed to find a model who isn't wearing them. But when did they become such a trend? How are they made? And where does all of these 'human hair wigs' come from anyway? There are some pretty crazy facts about human hair wigs that most people don't know about... some that may even turn  you off of the whole idea completely! But... maybe not... cause they look so nice!

 

What’s In A Name?

Wig is short for ‘periwig’ which first appeared in the English language around 1675, referring to the large, elaborate, powdered wigs that judges and barristers would often wear. The word wig may also have relation to the white powder, or flour used. The wearing of wigs also contributed some other words. The French King Louis XIV started wearing wigs in the 1600’s, and the fashion trickled down through the upper classes. It became a status symbol to wear a big, elaborate wig, as only the upper class could afford them- the ‘bigwigs’. The word toupée was first used in France in the 1700’s, meaning ‘tuft of hair’ and we’re still using it today.

 

History Of Wigs

The history of using human hair in wigs goes back further than you may think! Even earlier than 1675. It’s certainly not a recent invention, with many ancient cultures using wigs for a variety of reasons including fashion, sun protection, and theatre. The Egyptians used beeswax on theirs, and often scented them, and the Romans, which could at times have quite elaborate hairstyles, are just two of many cultures. A little more recently, think of Marie Antoinette and her elaborate hair designs, sometimes featuring ships, birds, and bows! That’s definitely not all her hair!

 

Wigs Were More Popular With Men Than Women

Maybe a bit surprising at the moment, but at certain points in history wigs were much more popular with men than with women. They first experienced a resurgence with certain male monarchs who were starting to show their age a bit, and then after the French Revolution, when hairstyles all around were becoming a bit tamer, women tended not to wear wigs, whereas men still did, although they were a bit more toned down. Part of this was the continued tradition of certain professions wearing wigs (which still continues in certain countries today). Women would often continue to use some hairpieces to pad out certain styles, but wigs would not be as popular again until the 1950s.

 

Most Hair Comes From India And China

This comes from demand- there is high demand in the western world, especially the US, for human hair wigs, and partially its supply. Many in India and China shave their heads as a traditional religious practice. At one temple in India up to 25% of the 40 million pilgrims per year shave their heads. Temples then sell the hair to wigmakers which brings in cash to help with charitable endeavors and also serves as a way to deal with all of it, without resorting to burning it. Seems like a win-win situation, really.

 

But We Don’t Know Where All Of It Comes From…

Only about 20% of the hair coming from India comes from temples like the Venkateswara Temple. The reality is, no one knows where the rest of it really comes from. Some comes from barber shops and salons, and some comes from waste pickers who gather it from trash and dumpsters. Hair traders will also go to villages and barter with women for their hair. Unfortunately, hair is not always sold or gathered willingly- women may be forced by their families to shave their heads, and female prisoners may be forced to shave. The hair business is big business, and can be highly lucrative.

 

Hair Is Worth A Lot Of Cash

From the women who sell their hair, to those who gather it, to the temples who can sell it for $700 per pound, human hair is worth its weight in gold. It’s even sometimes referred to as black gold in India. In 2014 fashion companies bid almost $14 million in just one temple’s hair auction. It’s worth so much that some salons have been burglarized, and the burglars are not after the cash register or the safe- it’s the wigs and hair extensions. The hair business is worth billions per year.

 

Blonde Hair Is In High Demand, And Worth Even More Cash

Women with long, blonde hair in Russia can often get $50-hundreds for their hair, and there have been cases where women have been flown out to wigmakers for their hair. One woman from Indiana was paid $1,500 for hers. Although that’s nothing compared to what someone paid for the wig made out of it. Hmm… maybe a quick way to make some cash if you’re lucky to have lush, long, golden locks? (Sorry… natural blondes only).

 

Wigs Are Incredibly Expensive

That $1,500 of blonde hair was made into a wig which sold for $8,000! Where a synthetic wig might cost $250, a comparative real human hair wig would cost $1,500. Even extensions can be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. One of the most expensive wigs ever sold at auction was the one that belonged to famous painter Andy Warhol, best known for his pop art paintings of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe. The wig sold for $10,800 (although that number seems a bit low, really, considering how much they can cost normally!). Michael Jackson’s also fetched a hefty sum.

 

It Takes A Lot Of Effort To Make A Wig

First the hair needs to be collected, sorted by length, as well as direction of hair, and untangled (imagine untangling thousands of people’s hair!) Then it needs to be washed and dried, and then dyed a variety of colours. It is then either made into a wig, which can take several days as hairs are sewn with a needle and thread or using a special sewing machine, or shipped out to salons to be sewed, taped, or bonded as extensions. A fully custom-made wig could take up to eight weeks to make.

 

There Are Two Types Of Wig

There are two main types of human hair wigs: the traditional machine stitched weft wig and the hand tied lace wig. The machine stitched wigs are the most popular, and made more quickly, ensuring a bit of a degree of affordability, but hand tied lace wigs are much more realistic, as it gives the illusion that hair is growing from the scalp. These are made with a lace base to which each strand is individually stitched, meaning huge effort and time (and money).

 

Locks Of Love

While wigs and crazy hair colours may be some of fashion’s biggest trends right now, wigs are also needed by a variety of people with medical conditions, including children. Locks of love is just one of the many organizations that provides wigs to children in need, by accepting hair donations. Most wigs on the market don't fit children and are often not that affordable for people undergoing medical treatment, so they provide a much needed service! Six to ten donated ponytails go into just one hair piece, which at retail would cost between $3,500 and $6,000 each. They provide up to 300 pieces per year.
 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Wig  |  Facts About Wigs

Edited November 6, 2021 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - SIGN LANGUAGE

Sign language relief sculpture on a stone wall:

"Life is beautiful, be happy and love each other",

by Czech sculptor Zuzana Čížková on

Holečkova Street in Prague-Smíchov, by a

school for the deaf.

 

Did you know... that sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulations in combination with non-manual elements. Sign languages are full-fledged natural languages with their own grammar and lexicon. Sign languages are not universal and they are not mutually intelligible with each other, although there are also striking similarities among sign languages. Linguists consider both spoken and signed communication to be types of natural language, meaning that both emerged through an abstract, protracted aging process and evolved over time without meticulous planning. Sign language should not be confused with body language, a type of nonverbal communication. (Wikipedia)

 

Fun Facts about Sign Language

by Valerie Carter  |  September 20

There are many interesting facts about sign language:

• Its origins in France.
• The vast number of signed languages internationally.
• Interpreters and their pay.    
• And its impact on the sports world.

No doubt about it, there is nothing boring about sign language! 

 

 

1) American Sign Language (ASL) stems from the Old French Sign Language (OFSL), back from the mid-18th century. Abbé de l’Épée, a cleric from Paris witnessed two young girls signing to each other, and he realized that this language could be used to educate deaf children (as at the time nobody really paid any attention to the deaf).  Sign language was born. Today, French Sign Language and ASL are still the most similar of all the signed languages. 

2) There are more than 130 recognized signed languages worldwide. They are also completely different based on country of origin. Signed languages are the most organic of human languages. They evolved naturally whenever and wherever a group of people with hearing impairments needed to communicate. Signed languages are fully capable of the same complexity as spoken languages.  Signed and spoken languages are complex linguistic systems that differ in where and how they are expressed and understood. The fact is that sign language accesses similar brain structures as spoken languages.

 

 

3) Did you know that over 70 million deaf people use sign languages as their preferred communication form?  And, over 150 million people worldwide simply use sign language to engage with family and friends with speech and hearing challenges. The number of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in the United States is about 3.6% of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly 11.8 million people. Anywhere from 500,000 to two million people speak American Sign Language (ASL). It’s the fifth most-used language in the United States behind Spanish, Italian, German and French. In fact, some three dozen states give high school credit for students taking ASL courses as a foreign language. Science has proven that learning a second language can actually increase the size of your brain, improve communication and cognition and delay the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life.

 

4) With so many people using sign language, there is a big need for interpreters. Currently, there are only 2,300 sign language interpreters here in the U.S.  Of those, 68% are women and 25% male, with the average age of about 44 years old.  It pays about $48,500 per year, with men making an inequitable higher amount than women. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for deaf interpreters is growing; through 2028, the need for interpreters is expected to increase by 19%. Possibly a career option for some readers? Maybe some future interpreters can right the boat on pay!

 

5) Sign language is based on the idea that sight is the most useful tool a deaf person has to communicate and receive information. Sign language doesn’t only use signs to communicate. It uses facial expression, hand movement and position, gestures and body language to communicate. Just as with other languages, specific ways of expressing ideas in ASL vary as much as ASL users themselves do. ASL also changes regionally, just as certain English words are spoken differently in different parts of the country. Ethnicity, age, and gender are a few more factors that affect ASL usage and contribute to its variety.

 

 

6) According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), hearing loss is the third most prevalent chronic health condition facing older adults. As the population ages and the incidence of hearing loss increases, sign language becomes more and more relevant – especially in emergency situations when communicating with someone who is deaf or hard of hearing is critical.

 

 

7) Now for a really fun fact- baseball fans might be interested to know that the signals baseball players use to communicate with each other are the result of a deaf baseball player by the name of William “Dummy” Hoy who played for the Chicago White Sox in the early 1900s. Since umpires shouted all the calls at that time, Dummy and his third-base coach worked out a series of signals to communicate balls and strikes. The practice caught on and soon became common use among players, managers and umpires.  Over time, every major sport started using some type of sign language. Not only does it keep the other team guessing, it also provides a great way to communicate strategy.

 

Source: Wikipedia - Sign Language  |  Facts About Sign Language

Edited November 7, 2021 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - SEATTLE

Did you know.... that Seattle is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015,[2] it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The Seattle metropolitan area's population is 4.02 million, making it the 15th-largest in the United States.[9] Its growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 makes it one of the nation's fastest-growing large cities. (Wikipedia)

 

Things You Should Know About Seattle

BY JEFF WELLS   |  MARCH 22, 2016

 

You know about the Space Needle, Starbucks and its distinction as the birthplace of grunge. But did you know it’s built atop the ruins of a city center that burned down more than a hundred years ago? Or that it’s the hometown of Kenny G.? Here for your tasting pleasure: a cup of freshly brewed facts about Seattle.

 

1. The first European to visit the area, which had been inhabited by native tribes for more than 4,000 years, was a man named Vancouver. That’s George Vancouver, the renowned British explorer, who stopped by in 1792 during his voyage to chart the Pacific coast of North America.

2. It was originally called New York. Why, exactly, is unclear, though several members of the Denny party, a ragtag group that first settled Alki Point in 1851, in what’s today known as West Seattle, hailed from New York State. After the party moved across Elliott Bay, they renamed the territory “Seattle” after a Duwamish Indian chief who befriended them.

 

3. The entire central business district burned down in 1889, in what’s today known as The Great Seattle Fire. It started with a woodworker who mishandled hot glue, and resulted in 116 acres reduced to ash. City residents decided to rebuild atop the rubble rather than relocate, raising streets up to 22 feet in the process and using brick and steel to erect buildings instead of wood (smart move).

 

 

4.Long before the likes of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, Seattle’s first millionaire was a sawmill operator named Henry Yesler. A native of Hagerstown, Maryland, Yesler came to Seattle shortly after it was settled and built what became the country’s first steam-powered sawmill. He also, oddly, served as Seattle’s 7th and 15th mayor.

5. Seattle became a boomtown during the Yukon Gold Rush, outfitting the hordes of prospectors heading north to strike it rich. Merchants in Pioneer Square filled their stores and sidewalks with merchandise, and some even offered classes to wide-eyed greenhorns on panning and sluicing for gold.

 

6. It was the first major American city to have a female mayor. Bertha Knight Landes held the office from 1926 to 1928, and was notable for taking a hard line against corruption (she fired the chief of police, for starters). The city hasn’t had another female mayor since.

 

 

7. Airplane manufacturer Boeing opened in 1916 [PDF] in a former shipyard on the shores of Lake Union. World War I kickstarted the business, but the following years were lean ones, and Boeing began turning out furniture, phonograph cases, and corset frames to offset the decline. The rise of commercial aviation, World War II, and the jet age would eventually propel the company into the stratosphere. And though it’s no longer is based in Seattle, Boeing still manufacturers several airplanes, including the 747, the 767 and the giant 787 Dreamliner, at the company’s Everett plant just north of Seattle.

8. The 600-foot-tall Space Needle was the brainchild of artist Edward E. Carlson, who sketched a design for the tower that would loom over the 1962 World's Fair on a cocktail napkin. The structure, which was built in just 400 days, can withstand winds of up to 200 mph and a 9.1 magnitude earthquake (more on that later), thanks in part to its foundation, which extends 30 feet underground.

 

9. The iconic Pike Place Market started because of overpriced onions. Between 1906 and 1907, the price of produce, and onions in particular, skyrocketed, and consumers as well as civic leaders believed price-gouging wholesalers were to blame. So the city proposed a public market where customers could buy directly from farmers. In August 1907, Pike Place Market opened for business. Today, it’s the oldest continually operating farmer’s market in America.  

 

 

10. It’s one of the fastest growing big cities in the U.S.—number three, to be exact—with 15,000 residents added over the past year. Only Denver and Austin grew more.

 

 

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Seattle  |  What To Know About Seattle

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - ANNE FRANK

Frank in May 1942, two months

before her family went into hiding.

 

Did you know.... that Annelies Marie Frank was a German-Dutch diarist of Jewish heritage. One of the most discussed Jewish victims of The Holocaust, she gained fame posthumously with the 1947 publication of The Diary of a Young Girl (originally Het Achterhuis in Dutch; English: The Secret Annex), in which she documents her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944, during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. It is one of the world's best-known books and has been the basis for several plays and films.  (Wikipedia)

 

About Anne Frank
Anne Frank was just 15 years old when she died but her diary is perhaps the best known document chronicling life under Nazi occupation and the persecution suffered by Jews.

by Laura Mackenzie  |  October 2021

Written over the course of two years, Anne’s diary details the time that her family spent in hiding during the Nazis’ occupation of the Netherlands. The Jewish Frank family moved into a secret annex on the premises of the company owned by Anne’s father in order to escape capture by the Nazis. They lived there with another Jewish family named the van Pels and, later, a Jewish dentist named Fritz Pfeffer. While undoubtedly showcasing her literary talent, wit and intelligence, Anne’s diary is also very much the writings of a frustrated and “ordinary” teenager, struggling to live in a confined space with people she often didn’t like. It’s this aspect that sets her diary apart from other memoirs of the time and has seen her remembered and beloved by generation after generation of readers. Here are 10 facts about Anne Frank.

 

1. “Anne” was just a nickname

Anne Frank’s full name was Annelies Marie Frank.

 

Anne is seen here at school in 1940,

two years before her family went into hiding.

 

 

2. The Frank family were originally German
Anne’s father, Otto, was a German businessman who served in the German army during World War One. In the face of the Nazis’ rising anti-Semitism, Otto moved his family to Amsterdam in the autumn of 1933. There, he ran a company that sold spices and pectin for use in the manufacture of jam. When the family went into hiding in 1942, Otto transferred control of the business, named Opekta, to two of his Dutch colleagues.

 

3. Anne’s diary was a 13th birthday present
Anne received the diary for which she became famous on 12 June 1942, just a few weeks before her family went into hiding. Her father had taken her to pick out the red, checked autograph book on 11 June and she began writing in it on 14 June.

 

 

4. She celebrated two birthdays while living in hiding
Anne’s 14th and 15th birthdays were spent in the annex but she was still given presents by other residents of the hiding place and their helpers on the outside world. Among these presents were several books, including a book on Greek and Roman mythology that Anne received for her 14th birthday, as well as a poem written by her father, part of which she copied out in her diary.

 

 

5. Anne wrote two versions of her diary
The first version (A) began in the autograph book that she received for her 13th birthday and spilled over into at least two notebooks. However, since the last entry in the autograph book is dated 5 December 1942 and the first entry in the first of these notebooks is dated 22 December 1943, it is assumed that other volumes were lost. Anne rewrote her diary in 1944 after hearing a call on the radio for people to save their war-time diaries in order to help document the suffering of the Nazi occupation once war was over. In this second version, known as B, Anne omits parts of A, while also adding new sections. This second version includes entries for the period between 5 December 1942 and 22 December 1943.

 

6. She called her diary “Kitty”
As a result, much – though not all – of version A of Anne’s diary is written in the form of letters to this “Kitty”. When rewriting her diary, Anne standardized the entries by addressing all of them to Kitty. There has been some debate over whether Kitty was inspired by a real person. Anne did have a pre-war friend called Kitty but some, including the real-life Kitty herself, don’t believe that she was the inspiration for the diary.

7. The residents of the annex were arrested on 4 August 1944
It has been commonly thought that someone called the German Security Police to notify them that Jews were living on the Opekta premises. However, the identity of this caller has never been confirmed and a new theory suggests that the Nazis may in fact have discovered the annex by accident while investigating reports of ration-coupon fraud and illegal employment at Opekta. Following their arrest, the residents of the annex were first taken to Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands and then on to the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. At this point the men and women were separated. Initially, Anne was housed along with her mother, Edith, and her sister, Margot, with all three forced to carry out hard labour. A few months later, however, the two girls were taken to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany.

 

Anne Frank's house 1940

 

8. Anne died in early 1945
Anne Frank died at the age of 16. The exact date of Anne’s death is not known but it is thought she died in either February or March of that year. Both Anne and Margot are believed to have contracted typhus at Bergen-Belsen and died around the same time, just a few weeks before the camp was liberated.

 

9. Anne’s father was the only resident of the annex to survive the Holocaust
Otto is also the only known survivor of the Frank family. He was held at Auschwitz until its liberation in January 1945 and afterwards returned to Amsterdam, learning of his wife’s death en route. He learned of his daughters’ deaths in July 1945 after meeting a woman who had been at Bergen-Belsen with them.
 

10. Her diary was first published on 25 June 1947
Following the arrest of the annex’s residents, Anne’s diary was retrieved by Miep Gies, a trusted friend of the Frank family who had helped them during their time in hiding. Gies kept the diary in a desk drawer and gave it to Otto in July 1945 following confirmation of Anne’s death. In keeping with Anne’s wishes, Otto sought to have the diary published and a first edition combining versions A and B was published in the Netherlands on 25 June 1947 under the title The Secret Annex. Diary Letters from June 14, 1942 to August 1, 1944. Seventy years later, the diary has been translated into as many as 70 languages and more than 30 million copies have been published.

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Anne Frank  |  Facts About Anne Frank
 

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - POPCORN

Unpopped corn kernels prepared for popping

 

Did you know... that popcorn is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated; the same names are also used to refer to the foodstuff produced by the expansion. A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the seed's hard, starchy shell endosperm with 14–20% moisture, which turns to steam as the kernel is heated. Pressure from the steam continues to build until the hull ruptures, allowing the kernel to forcefully expand, to 20 to 50 times its original volume, and then cool. (Wikipedia)

 

Interesting facts about popcorn

by Admin  |  January 2020

 

• Popcorn is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated and the foodstuff produced from the expansion.
• A popcorn kernel’s strong hull contains the seed’s hard, starchy shell endosperm with 14 to 20% moisture.
• When such kernels are heated to about 200 °C (about 400 °F), the moisture in the starch turns into steam and builds up pressure until the kernel explodes inside out into a white fluffy, irregular mass, about 20 to 40 times the original size.
• When the seed shell breaks a sharp noise is made. The name “pop” is because of this noise.

 

 

• Half the fun of popcorn is watching it turn from a hard, little yellow seed into a white fluffy treat. Few foods take such a dramatic turn as popcorn does while it’s cooking.
• For centuries people have been fascinated by popcorn.
• Popcorn is native to the Western Hemisphere.
• Archaeologists discovered that people have known about popcorn for thousands of years.
• In Mexico, for example, remnants of popcorn have been found that date to around 3600 BC.

 

 

• The first European explorers of the New World described the toasting of popcorn by the Indians for food, for scattering in religious ceremonies, and for wearing as decoration in the hair.
• Popping of the kernels was achieved by hand on the stove-top through the 19th century.
• Charles Cretors, founder of C. Cretors and Company in Chicago, introduced the world’s first mobile popcorn machine at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

 

 

• Although popcorn is typically thought of as a snack food today, popcorn was once a popular breakfast food. Ahead of its time and very likely a role model for breakfast cereals to come, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, popcorn was eaten just as we eat cereal today.
• During the Great Depression, popcorn was fairly inexpensive at 5–10 cents a bag and became popular. Thus, while other businesses failed, the popcorn business thrived and became a source of income for many struggling farmers, including the Redenbacher family, namesake of the famous popcorn brand.
• In 1938 a Midwestern theater owner named Glen W. Dickinson Sr. installed popcorn machines in the lobbies of his theaters. Popcorn was making more profit than theater tickets. At the suggestion of his production consultant, R. Ray Aden, he purchased popcorn farms and was able to keep the ticket prices down. The venture was a financial success, and the trend to serve popcorn soon spread.

 

 

• During World War II, sugar rations diminished candy production, and Americans compensated by eating three times as much popcorn as they had before.
• Popcorn went into a slump during the early 1950s, when television became popular. Attendance at movie theaters dropped and with it, popcorn consumption. When the public began eating popcorn at home, the new relationship between television and popcorn led to a resurgence in popularity.
• In the early 1980’s, microwave popcorn was born into the popcorn family and home popcorn consumption increased by tens of thousands of pounds in the years following.
• Today, the United States grows almost all the world’s popcorn.
• Americans today consume 14 billion quarts of popped popcorn each year.
• The average American eats about 43 quarts.
• According to The Popcorn Institute, approximately 70 percent is eaten in the home (home popped and pre-popped) and about 30 percent outside the home (theaters, stadiums, schools, etc.).

 

 

• As a snack food, popcorn is commonly buttered and salted. It may instead be glazed with variously flavoured and coloured candy syrups that harden, or be mixed with peanuts or almonds, or be coated with melted cheese.
• Popcorn is one of the most wholesome and economical foods available.
• In the popcorn industry, a popped kernel of corn is known as a “flake”. Two shapes of flakes are commercially important. “Butterfly” or “snowflake” – flakes are irregular in shape and have a number of protruding “wings”. “Mushroom” – flakes are largely ball-shaped, with few wings.

 

 

• Major popcorn producing states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio.
• Since 2004, popcorn has been the official state snack in Illinois.
• Berco’s Billion Dollar Popcorn is the world’s most expensive popcorn. It cost $100 for a quart and $1.000 for 6.5 gallons. Made of the finest ingredients collected from around the world, the most expensive popcorn is made of organic sugar for caramel, Vermont Creamery, Laeso which is the world’s most expensive salt, Nielsen Massey Bourbon Vanilla and 23-karat edible gold flakes.

 

 

• The largest box of popcorn was achieved by Cineplexx (International) with a volume of 52.59 cubic meters (1857 cubic feet), which was filled in 1 hour and 57 minutes at an event outside Avenue Mall in Osijek, Croatia, on 16 April 2011. The event was organised by Cineplexx (International) to celebrate the opening of two new Malls, complete with two new Cineplexx cinema’s in Croatia.
• The largest popcorn ball weighed 1,552.64 kg (3,423 lb) and was made by employees at The Popcorn Factory, Lake Forest, Illinois, USA on 29 September 2006.

 

 

 

• The largest popcorn sculpture measured 6.35 meters (20 ft 10 in) tall, 3.88 meters (12 ft 9 in) wide and weighed 5,301.59 kg (11,688 lb). It was created by 50 members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre in Jamaica, New York, United States on 27 August 2006. The sculpture was of a 5 tiered cake. The width provided above is the diameter of the largest tier.

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Popcorn  |  Popcorn Facts

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - REMEMBRANCE DAY

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces

march during a Remembrance Day parade

in Ottawa, 2017

 

Did you know.... that Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. Following a tradition inaugurated by King George V in 1919, the day is also marked by war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. In most countries, Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of First World War hostilities. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918, in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. ("At the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am.) The First World War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919. The tradition of Remembrance Day evolved out of Armistice Day. The initial Armistice Day was observed at Buckingham Palace, commencing with King George V hosting a "Banquet in Honour of the President of the French Republic" during the evening hours of 10 November 1919. The first official Armistice Day was subsequently held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace the following morning. During the Second World War, many countries changed the name of the holiday. Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations adopted Remembrance Day, while the US chose Veterans Day. (Wikipedia)

 

Quick Facts on Remembrance Day

by Delta Optimist  |  November 11, 2019

Canadians recognize Remembrance Day, originally called Armistice Day, every 11 November at 11 a.m. It marks the end of hostilities during the First World War and an opportunity to recall all those who have served in the nation’s defense.

 

1. Remembrance Day was first observed in 1919 throughout the British Commonwealth. It was originally called “Armistice Day” to commemorate armistice agreement that ended the First World War on Monday, November 11, 1918, at 11 a.m.—on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

2. From 1921 to 1930, Armistice Day was held on the Monday of the week in which November 11 fell. In 1931, Alan Neill, Member of Parliament for Comox–Alberni, introduced a bill to observe Armistice Day only on November 11. Passed by the House of Commons, the bill also changed the name to “Remembrance Day”. The first Remembrance Day was observed on November 11, 1931. The poem, “In Flanders Fields,” was written by Canadian John McCrae and has become synonymous with Remembrance Day. It is often recited at many memorial ceremonies.

 

3. Every year on November 11, Canadians pause in a moment of silence to honour and remember the men and women who have served, and continue to serve Canada during times of war, conflict and peace. We remember the more than 2,300,000 Canadians who have served throughout our nation’s history and the more than 118,000 who made the ultimate sacrifice.

4. The poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day. The red poppy, a native plant along much of the Western Front during the First World War, has become a powerful symbol of remembrance. It is the principal emblem of the Royal Canadian Legion, which distributes several million each year to be worn by Canadians on Remembrance Day.  Replica poppies are sold by the Royal Canadian Legion to provide assistance to Veterans.

 

5. Remembrance Day is a federal statutory holiday in Canada. It is also a statutory holiday in three territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) and in six provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador).

6. The national ceremony is held at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. The Governor General of Canada presides over the ceremony. It is also attended by the Prime Minister, other government officials, representatives of Veterans’ organizations, diplomatic representatives, other dignitaries, Veterans as well as the general public.

 

7. In advance of the ceremony, long columns of Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces members, RCMP officers, and cadets march to the memorial lead by a pipe band and a colour guard. At the end of the ceremony, they march away to officially close the ceremony.

8. Some of the 54 Commonwealth member states, such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, observe the tradition of Remembrance Day on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Other nations observe a solemn day but at different dates. For example, ANZAC Day is observed in New Zealand on April 25. In South Africa, Poppy Day is marked on the Sunday that falls closest to November 11.

 

First Anzac Day parade in Sydney, along

Macquarie Street, 25 April 1916

9. Many nations that are not members of the Commonwealth also observe Remembrance Day on November 11, including France, Belgium and Poland.

10. The United States used to commemorate Armistice Day on November 11. However, in 1954 they changed the name to Veterans Day.

 

 

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Remembrance Day  |  Facts About Remembrance Day
 

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - KAKAPO ­

Did you know... that the kākāpō, also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the super-family Strigopoidea, endemic to New Zealand. It has finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and relatively short wings and tail. (Wikipedia)

 

Interesting Facts About Kākāpōs
by Admin  |  March 27, 2021

 

• The kakapo also called owl parrot is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot.
• It is the only parrot which cannot fly.
• With a face like an owl, a posture like a penguin, and a walk like a duck, the extraordinarily tame and gentle kakapo is one of strangest and rarest birds on Earth.
• This parrot lives in grassland, scrubland and coastal regions of New Zealand, but is now so rare they can only be seen on protected offshore islands.

 

 

• It is possibly one of the world’s longest-living birds, with a reported lifespan of up to 100 years.
• Heaviest of the world’s parrots, the 64-cm (25-inch) kakapo weighs up to 6 kg (13 pounds) and has moss-coloured green-and-brown plumage, a long, rounded tail, and a stout, blunt, pale yellow bill.
• Kākāpō are herbivorous – they only eat plants. Their diet is diverse, including fruit from the tips of high rimu branches, juicy supplejack vines and orchard tubers grubbed out of the ground.
• On its brownish gray legs, the parrot waddles long distances to feeding areas, where it chews plants for their juices and digs up rhizomes to crush them with its ridged bill.
• The kakapo has a well-developed sense of smell, which complements its nocturnal lifestyle.

 

 

• Like many other parrots, kakapo have a variety of calls. As well as the booms and chings of their mating calls, they will often loudly skraark.
• Males construct pathways to excavated mating arenas known as leks, where they gather in traditional spots to call and display for females. In a plate-sized depression often at the crest of a rocky knoll, the male inflates his chest like a bloated bullfrog, heaves his thorax, bobs his head, and releases a resonant boom like the sound made by blowing across the top of a large bottle. The call lasts all night and carries for 1 km (0.6 miles).
• Females nest in holes in the ground. The female kakapo lays 1–4 eggs per breeding cycle, with several days between eggs. She nests on the ground under the cover of plants or in cavities such as hollow tree trunks.

 

 

• The female incubates the eggs faithfully, but is forced to leave them every night in search of food. Predators are known to eat the eggs, and the embryos inside can also die of cold in the mother’s absence. Kakapo eggs usually hatch within 30 days, bearing fluffy grey chicks that are quite helpless. After the eggs hatch, the female feeds the chicks for three months, and the chicks remain with the female for some months after fledging.
• The kākāpō only breed every 2 to 4 years when rimu trees produce a bumper crop of fruit, and even when they do mate, less than 50 percent of the eggs are fertile, likely because of inbreeding.
• Kākāpō evolved without the presence and effect of mammals. They gained weight and lost their flying ability.

 

 

• Kakapo means ‘night parrot’ in the Maori language.
• Like many other New Zealand bird species, the kakapo was historically important to Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, appearing in many of their traditional legends and folklore – however it was also heavily hunted and used as a resource by Māori, both for its meat as a food source and for its feathers, which were used to make highly valued pieces of clothing. Kakapo were also occasionally kept as pets.
• Before the arrival of humans, the kakapo was distributed throughout both main islands of New Zealand.
• In Fiordland, areas of avalanche and slip debris with regenerating and heavily fruiting vegetation – such as five finger, wineberry, bush lawyer, tutu, hebes, and coprosmas – became known as “kakapo gardens”.

 

 

• The kakapo is critically endangered – the total known adult population is about 200 living individuals, all of which are named and tagged, confined to four small islands off the coast of New Zealand that have been cleared of predators.
• The introduction of predators such as cats, rats, ferrets, and stoats during British colonization almost wiped out the kakapo.
• Conservation efforts began in the 1890s, but they were not very successful until the implementation of the Kakapo Recovery Programme in 1995.

 

 

• The conservation of the kakapo has made the species well known. Many books and documentaries detailing the plight of the kakapo have been produced in recent years.
• Today, most kakapo are kept on two predator-free islands, Codfish / Whenua Hou and Anchor, where they are closely monitored, and Little Barrier / Hauturu Island is being trialed as a third home for the species.

 

 

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Kākāpō  |  Facts About Kākāpōs

Edited November 12, 2021 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - SINKHOLES

The Red Lake sinkhole in Croatia

Did you know... that a sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are in locally also known as vrtače and shakeholes, and to openings where surface water enters into underground passages known as ponor, swallow hole or swallet. A cenote is a type of sinkhole that exposes groundwater underneath. A sink or stream sink are more general terms for sites that drain surface water, possibly by infiltration into sediment or crumbled rock.  (Wikipedia)

 

 

7 of the World's Most Stunning Sinkholes
A hole in the ground can be impressive—and dangerous.
BY TIM NEWCOMB  |  FEBRUARY 9, 2017

 

The earth collapsing in on itself—sucking away anything in its wake—can happen anywhere, from deep in the ocean to urban environments. And the holes left in the sudden lurch can range in size from just a few feet wide to up to a 1,000. Here are seven of the craziest sinkholes across the globe, ancient and sudden alike.

 

Fukuoka, Japan

 

Five lanes of road vanished in the Japanese city of Fukuoka in 2016 as a sinkhole nearly 100 feet wide and 50 feet deep sucked the pavement away and then promptly filled with water. What made this sinkhole most extraordinary was the fact that Japanese officials had the road repaired in a matter of days. But it all may have gone too quickly as more settling of the earth shifted the new roadway a few inches following repairs.

 

Xiaozhai Tiankeng, China

 

We know about the world's largest sinkhole thanks to a 1994 China Caves Project mapping, during which it was discovered. Thanks in part to an underground river in the forests of China, this double-nested sinkhole includes a waterfall in its depth of over 2,100 feet. The whole hole is 2,000 feet long and 1,760 feet wide. The upper bowl is over 1,000 feet deep and the lower bowl drops an additional 1,100 feet. 

 

Dean's Blue Hole, The Bahamas

 

Dean's Blue Hole in The Bahamas gets more fascinating as it goes down. Dropping 663 feet deep—the world's deepest known blue (ocean) hole— the circular opening of up to 115 feet in diameter widens to about 330 feet after only a drop of 66 feet. The root cause of Dean's Blue Hole is still unknown, but scientists thing it may have been caused by the erosion of limestone, a chemical reaction spurred on by the meeting and mixing of fresh and salt water. 

 

National Corvette Museum, Kentucky

 

Eight Corvettes that fell away from the floor of the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky easily turned into some of the most famous vehicles in the museum. In 2014 a 60-foot by 45-foot hole dropped 30 feet deep and grabbed eight Corvettes in the process. Fortunately the cars were able to be recovered and the museum now celebrates the sinkhole by displaying those cars unwashed. 

 

Guatemala City, Guatemala

 

 

Guatemala City and its decaying underground infrastructure has created more than one city's fair share of sinkholes, including a hole in 2010 that sucked down a three-story factory and killed 15 workers. The 65-foot-wide hole dropped 100 feet, made possible by broken sewer pipes and both water from a tropical storm and the movement from a volcanic eruption.

 

The Great Blue Hole, Belize

 

A beautiful circular diameter of nearly 1,000 feet gives us what is called the Great Blue Hole in Belize, one of the most impressive displays of sinking in the world. At over 400 feet deep, this sinkhole off the coast of Belize has clearer water the deeper you go, giving off visuals of underwater rock formations.

 

Guangzhou, China

 

The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou knows sinkholes, but it knows none bigger than one that developed in 2013 near a subway construction site that dropped about 30 feet deep but was about 1,000 square feet across, gobbling up five shops and part of another building. Luckily nobody was injured in the sinkhole formation.
 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Sinkhole  |  Most Stunning Sinkholes
 

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - NELLIE BLY

Nellie Bly (Pseudonym of Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman), (1867-1922)

 

Did you know... that Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist, industrialist, inventor, and charity worker who was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days, in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional character Phineas Fogg, and an exposé in which she worked undercover to report on a mental institution from within. She was a pioneer in her field and launched a new kind of investigative journalism.  (Wikipedia)

 

Facts You Need to Know About Nellie Bly, the Revolutionary Journalist
 by Melinda Sineriz  |  2018

 

Do you enjoy shows like 20/20 and Dateline? Especially when they send folks undercover to expose some corrupt organization? Then you should take a second to think about Nellie Bly, because those shows owe a serious debt to her. Nellie Bly essentially invented modern investigative journalism with an embedded 10-day investigation inside an insane asylum.

 

1. Nellie Bly is a pen name

Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Cochran, Pennsylvania on May 5, 1864. Nellie Bly was a name she picked out when she started her first newspaper job at the Pittsburgh Dispatch.

 

2. A fiery letter to the editor got her a job offer

Bly was discovered after she wrote a letter in response to an Op-Ed titled “What Girls Are Good For,” which said women shouldn’t work. The editor printed her letter, and after she wrote her first article about divorce, he hired her full time.

 

3. She wanted to write for everyone, not just women

Bly was often pushed to write for women and stick to light, fluffy articles. But she wanted to write about real issues, so she left Pittsburgh to work for the New York World.

 

4. She wrote an awesome resignation letter

When she left the Dispatch, she left a note that read: “I am off for New York. Look out for me. —Bly”

 

5. She got herself committed to an insane asylum

The New York City Mental Health Hospital on Blackwell's Island, c. 1893

 

She was asked by The World to write about insane asylums. To do this, she went and got herself committed. She checked into a boarding house. She refused to go to bed, telling the boarders that she was afraid of them and that they looked "crazy." They soon decided that she was "crazy," and the next morning summoned the police. Taken to a courtroom, she claimed to have amnesia. The judge concluded she had been drugged and soon after the judge had her committed. Several doctors then examined her; all declared her insane. "Positively demented," said one, "I consider it a hopeless case. She needs to be put where someone will take care of her." The head of the insane pavilion at Bellevue Hospital pronounced her "undoubtedly insane". The case of the "pretty crazy girl" attracted media attention: "Who Is This Insane Girl?" asked the New York Sun. The New York Times wrote of the "mysterious waif" with the "wild, haunted look in her eyes" and her desperate cry: "I can't remember I can't remember. [Read More]

 

6. She exposed the harsh treatment of patients

She spent 10 days as a patient in the Blackwell Insane Asylum. She noted that there were just 16 doctors to treat 1,500 patients (in a facility designed for 1,000). Patients were made to bathe in ice water and were forced to sit still on benches, often for hours at a time. The food was moldy and spoiled and the water was often contaminated.

 

7. She also exposed the mistreatment of immigrants

Bly was surprised to discover that many of the inmates at the asylum weren’t insane—they just couldn’t speak English. Some were impoverished and had no family to rely on. They couldn’t defend themselves, and they couldn’t communicate. The treatment they received at the asylum was actually psychologically damaging to these women, who were healthy before they were committed.

 

8. Her work brought about real change

New York responded to Bly’s articles quickly. Her reporting was a national sensation, and in response, a grand jury investigated her claims. New York added $1 million per year to the asylum’s budget, made staffing changes and hired translators to help immigrants.

 

9. She went around the world in 72 days

Bly was a national sensation again after deciding to travel around the world in 80 days or less in honor of the book by Jules Verne. She made the trip in just 72 days, which was a world record.

 

10. She was an inventor
Bly married Robert Seamen, a millionaire with a manufacturing company. Although she eventually “retired” from muckraking journalism, she actively worked on inventions for the company, patenting several – some of which are still in use today.

 

11. She got to cover stories that mattered

Bly returned to writing later in life, working as a foreign correspondent during World War I. She also covered the women’s suffrage movement. She was still working when she died of pneumonia on January 27, 1922.

 

 

Source: Wikipedia - Nellie Bly  |  Facts About Nellie Bly
 

Edited November 15, 2021 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day  - WEIRD VICTORIAN HOBBIES

Did you know.... that in a time before smartphones, social media, and binge-watching, the Victorians were remarkably creative in finding ways to spend their free time. A culture obsessed with the afterlife, the Victorians would spend the day enjoying a meal next to a grave and then the evening trying to contact a lost loved one. Fascinated by the teachings of Charles Darwin and the scientific revolution, they paid fortunes to collect rare plants and witness medical anomalies firsthand. Even expired animals could be grouped into entertaining tableaux for audiences to wonder at. With hobbies bordering on the occult, morbid, and just plain weird, it's no wonder we're still fascinated with life in the Victorian era more than a century later. (Weird History)

 

Victorian Hobbies That Seem Weird Today
BY MICHELE DEBCZAK  |  FEBRUARY 11, 2017 (UPDATED: NOVEMBER 12, 2021)

Leave it to the Victorians to make a bracelet of woven hair.

Though they didn’t have access to television or the internet, the Victorians had no problem keeping busy. Some looked to the supernatural realm for fulfillment, while others passed the time scouring their own backyards. From graveyard picnics to kitten taxidermy, here are some of the diversions people enjoyed in the Victorian era that might seem odd today.

 

1. CEMETERY PICNICS
With fewer parks, gardens, and museums to choose from, many Americans of the Victorian era sought to have a good time in graveyards. Sprawling “rural cemeteries” began cropping up in the United States after 1830. For a number of U.S. residents, the local cemetery was the closest thing they had to a public park. Groups would pack lunches and have picnics among the tombstones. Afterward, they might go hunting or have carriage races on the grounds. Cemeteries became such heavily trafficked destinations that guidebooks were distributed to visitors at some of the most famous locations, like Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn or Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

2. FERN COLLECTING

An illustration for The Illustrated London News, July 1871.

In the 19th century, fern fever caught England by storm. It was so prevalent that it was even given an official name: pteridomania. The phenomenon took off in 1829 when a British botanist named Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward started cultivating the plants in glass cases (later known as Wardian cases; today we call them terrariums). Soon enough, Victorians around the country were hunting desirable ferns to grow in their own homes. The hobby was especially popular among women, perhaps because it offered them a socially acceptable excuse to be outdoors unsupervised.

3. ANTHROPOMORPHIC TAXIDERMY
When it came to the taxidermy creatures of the Victorian period, some had more dignified afterlives than others. Positioning stuffed animals in typically human scenarios became a popular theme within the artform—and it was indeed an artform. Popular taxidermists like Walter Potter and Hermann Ploucquet put an extraordinary amount of effort into making their scenes come to life. Memorable anthropomorphic pieces from the era depicted ice-skating hedgehogs, a classroom full of rabbits, and a wedding attended by kittens decked out in highly detailed garb.

4. SEAWEED SCRAPBOOKING
You can add seaweed to the list of plants Victorians were obsessed with. After collecting the specimens, scrapbookers would paste the multicolored strands onto sheets of construction paper. The designs were more aesthetic than educational, with the seaweed sometimes arranged to spell out words or form images.

 

5. DIATOM ARRANGING

 

 

Victorian biologists found their own ways to have fun. By arranging diatoms, or single-celled algae, on glass slides using strands of hair, they could create elaborate kaleidoscopes of natural beauty. Some microscopic designs—which often included butterfly scales and insect scales as well as algae—incorporated thousands of individual components onto a single slide. The number of patterns was limited only by the artist’s imagination.

6. MAKING JEWELRY FROM HAIR
Though using human hair in art and jewelry dates back to Ancient Egypt, the practice soared to new heights with the Victorians. Snippets of hair were woven into rings, necklaces, pins, watch chains, and other unique pieces of ornamentation. A lock of hair taken from a living loved one acted as a very personal version of a friendship bracelet. Hair cut from the deceased, meanwhile, was often made into keepsakes for those coping with their loss.

 

7. SÉANCES
Today, a typical séance might involve breaking out a plastic Ouija board at a slumber party. But during the Victorian era, attending one was a major event. At the time, Spiritualism—a religious practice focused on contacting the dead—was extremely popular. Spiritualists would host intimate séances at home, or go out to see mediums perform otherworldly acts on stage. In addition to moving Ouija boards, mediums would perform tricks like summon disembodied hands, levitate tables, and cough up ectoplasm during communions with the dead. Or at least, that’s how it seemed to participants who bought into their tricks.

8. SENDING SECRET CODES WITH FLOWERS

A color lithograph of Language des Fleurs (Language of Flowers) by Alphonse Mucha, 1900.

It wasn’t hard for Victorians to communicate a thoughtful message through a bouquet of flowers. Different flowers became attached to different meanings, and anyone with a dictionary of floriography—the language of flowers—could decipher them. Daffodils, for example, symbolized chivalry and unrequited love, while monkshood warned of potential danger. Oscar Wilde was one famous user of floral codes: The green carnation he sported was a signal worn by gay men in 19th century Europe.

9. CRYSTAL GAZING
Humans have been seeking out their fortunes in reflective surfaces since ancient times, but the practice saw a revival in the late 19th century. Crystal gazers would stare into glass orbs, mirrors, or gems like amethysts hoping to tap into the secrets of their subconscious minds. In his 1896 book Crystal Gazing and Clairvoyance, John Melville laid out the instructions for using a crystal for spiritual purposes: “The crystal or mirror should frequently be magnetized by passes made with the right hand,” he wrote. “The magnetism with which the surface of the mirror or crystal becomes charged, collects there from the eyes of the gazer, and from the universal ether, the Brain being as it were switched onto the universe, the crystal being the medium."

 

Source: Weird Victorian Practices  |  Facts About Weird Victorian Hobbies