Posts Tagged ‘Humor’
Northern Lights and Coronal Mass Ejection: Existential Threat from Methanogenic Cattle
Reading Time: 3 minutesNORTHERN LIGHTS AND CORONAL MASS EJECTION: METHANOGENIC CATTLE OAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has announced a G2 geomagnetic storm watch for tomorrow, August 28, which could potentially boost aurora activity. Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are plasma and magnetic field explosions from the Sun’s corona. When aimed at Earth, they trigger geomagnetic storms that affect…
Read More5 Christmas Myths, Not Found in the Nativity Story
Reading Time: 6 minutes5 CHRISTMAS MYTHS: NOT FOUND IN THE NATIVITY STORY Podcast version am often asked to explain the history behind a holiday: is it based on history, tradition, or legend? The best historical sources on the birth of Jesus are found in two Gospel accounts in the New Testament: St. Matthew and St. Luke. …
Read MoreIs Die Hard Really A Christmas Movie?
Reading Time: 4 minutesIS DIE HARD REALLY A CHRISTMAS MOVIE? cholars and historians have debated for centuries this question: “Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?” Or at least they have during the last three and a half decades since the movie was released. This is why readers have turned to me, your friendly neighborhood historian, to…
Read MoreHistory of Black Friday: One Day Only?
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF BLACK FRIDAY While it is difficult to connect the term “Black Friday” to the start of the Christmas shopping sales season before its use in the mid-1960s in Philadelphia, the concept appears to go back to the 19th century, when Christmas sales followed Thanksgiving Day parades. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the…
Read MoreHistory of October 10: 42 Day
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF OCTOBER 10: 42 DAY Question: What is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. Answer: 42
Read MoreHistory of Leap Year
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF LEAP YEAR The Leap Day, February 29, depicts a day that occurs only once every four years, every Leap Year or intercalary year when an extra day is inserted into the calendar. But not every fourth year; if that year ends in “00,” like 1900, then it is not a Leap Year. Except…
Read MoreHistory of Waltz Day: 123,123
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF WALTZ DAY: 123, 123 December 31, 2023, or 12/31/23, is Waltz Day. A day like this is unique, occurring only once a century. For many, this will be the only time in their life they see this kind of date. Waltz Day? Though it has nothing to do with the annual National…
Read MoreSix Blades – When Five Just Aren’t Enough
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSIX BLADES Today, while I was at the pharmacy waiting for a script to be filled, I thought I’d wander down the Shave Needs aisle and see the latest. Five Blades Years ago, scientists realized that a single blade was not enough for a clean shave and added a second, and then a third,…
Read MoreHistory of Black Friday: One Day Only?
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat is the origin of Black Friday, and the modern practice around it.
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