The 1927 White House Renovation and the Overdue Bill to the King of England
Calvin Coolidge, the 1927 White House renovation, and the deadpan joke that Britain should get the bill for damage dating back to the War of 1812.
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Have Yourself a Jewish Little Christmas
Read more: Have Yourself a Jewish Little ChristmasMany of the most popular Christmas songs were written by Jewish songwriters:
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Who Wants to Spend Christmas Looking at Planets?
Read more: Who Wants to Spend Christmas Looking at Planets?For the Voyager space exploration program, engineers plotted around 10,000 potential trajectories and then narrowed them down to find the optimal mission objectives. They chose trajectories that would reduce or eliminate planetary encounters taking place over the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays. source
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Making a List of Who is Naughty, Nice, and Who Will Be Eaten
Read more: Making a List of Who is Naughty, Nice, and Who Will Be EatenNot content with just one Santa Claus, Iceland has thirteen of them. Known as “Jolasveinar” or “Yule Lads,” they are the sons of the trolls Gryla and Leppaludi, who would eat children who have been naughty throughout the year. Originally the Jolasveinar were much like their parents, but they mellowed with the years, and instead…
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Another First for the American Space Program
Read more: Another First for the American Space ProgramOn December 16, 1965, astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra were on Gemini 6 when they transmitted the following message: “Gemini VII, this is Gemini VI. We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, up in a polar orbit. He’s in a very low trajectory traveling from north to south…
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I’m Dreaming of a Best Seller
Read more: I’m Dreaming of a Best Seller“White Christmas”, written by Irving Berlin and sung by Bing Crosby, is the best-selling single song of all time. With estimated sales in excess of 50 million for the original version and over 100 million sales for all versions, it has topped the charts since it was released in 1949 and has never been out…
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No Tree for Teddy
Read more: No Tree for TeddyPresident Theodore Roosevelt banned Christmas trees from the White House in 1901 out of concerns for protecting the environment. source
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And THAT is a Symbol of Kissing?
Read more: And THAT is a Symbol of Kissing?Mistletoe (Viscum album) is from the Anglo-Saxon word misteltan, which means “little dung twig” because the plant spreads through bird droppings. source
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Spinning a Web of Ukraine Christmas Blessings
Read more: Spinning a Web of Ukraine Christmas BlessingsIn Poland and Ukraine, spiders and spider webs are popular Christmas tree decorations, inspired by a legend that a spider wove a blanket for Baby Jesus. Additionally, Polish tradition views spiders as symbols of goodness and prosperity during the Christmas season.
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All of the Other Reindeer Used to Mock His Nasal Microcirculation
Read more: All of the Other Reindeer Used to Mock His Nasal MicrocirculationScientists studying the origin of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’s most-distinctive feature believe they have figured out why his nose is so bright. The short story is that it is due to an over-abundance of red blood cells. More precisely, “detailed evaluation of adult reindeer’s nasal microcirculation revealed similarities with human nasal microvasculature, but also striking…
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No Obstacle Too Great
Read more: No Obstacle Too GreatWilma Rudolph (1940-1994) was 4.5 pounds when she was prematurely born. She was the 20th of 22 children from two marriages. At age four she came down with polio and had to wear a brace on her left leg and foot until she was nine. She wore a special orthopedic shoe until age 11. By…
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Never Argue With a Judge — Even When He Calls Himself an Idiot
Read more: Never Argue With a Judge — Even When He Calls Himself an IdiotWhen Tristan Ellis, a notorious burglar, showed up in front of Australian Judge Dean Mildren on March 29, 2004, it was the third time that year he had been arrested. The judge was amazed that Ellis had been released on bail for the third time in a year, even after flagrantly ignoring a court-imposed curfew.…
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Keep Track of All Participants in Your Conversation
Read more: Keep Track of All Participants in Your ConversationThe distinguished British actor Sir John Gielgud sometimes lost track of the identity of the person with whom he was speaking. This occasionally generated some awkwardness. Once, while dining in a restaurant with a playwright, Gielgud spied someone he thought he recognized. “Did you see that man just coming in?” he asked his companion. “He’s…
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Open Mouth. Insert Foot.
Read more: Open Mouth. Insert Foot.The Plain English Campaign presents the Foot in Mouth Award each year to someone in the public spotlight who has said something utterly baffling. Recent winners include: “I know who I am. No one else knows who I am. If I was a giraffe and somebody said I was a snake, I’d think ‘No, actually…
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First Make People Laugh; Then Make Them Think
Read more: First Make People Laugh; Then Make Them ThinkThe “Ig Nobel Prizes” are a parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think”. They are presented by a group that includes genuine Nobel Laureates. Those who receive the award get the opportunity in a ceremony to explain their achievements. If…
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Turn Baby Mice Whines into Baby Mice Wine
Read more: Turn Baby Mice Whines into Baby Mice WineIf you like mice — particularly the baby kind — you might enjoy the traditional drink in China and Korea: baby mice wine. Manufacturers take baby mice from their mothers before they begin to grow hair or open their eyes and place them, alive, in bottles of rice wine. There the little critters are left…
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