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Flag Today 50°/23° Week 48 Day 340 Air Quality: Fair Sunshine Wind 9 mph Gusts 10 mph Light
Breeze Active Fire: 132 miles away Risk of fire
Moderate Nearest
Lightning: 927 miles away Dec. Averages: Temps: 45°\18° Moisture: 5 Days |
Weekly Observations
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1-7 Cookie Cutter WeekLink Older Driver Safety
Awareness Week Link |
3-10 Clerc-Gallaudet Week Andisop (Meterological
Fiddling) Link |
Daily Observations
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AFL-CIO Day Link (1955) |
International Volunteer Day World Soil Day Link |
Today’s Quote
Today’s Meme
Thoughts for the day
Blue sky as it warms up very
gradually.
I took my vehicle to the car wash. It’s
all shiny and new again. I decided to do that instead of shopping today. Good
choice.
Our retirement group is back in Flag,
so lunch tomorrow will be enjoyable.
I realized this morning that I forgot
to pick up a couple of small poinsettias on Black Friday. I’m sure I’ll find at
least one when I go shopping.
Trivia Time
Christmas Traditions
Yule Logs
Throwing a yule log on the fire is another
tradition that is said to predate Christianity. As part of winter
solstice celebrations, Gaels and Celts burned logs decorated with holly,
ivy, and pinecones to cleanse themselves of the past year and welcome the next
one. They also believed the ashes would help protect against lightning strikes
and evil spirits. The practice was scaled down over time, and eventually, it
morphed into a more delicious tradition—cake! Parisian bakers really popularized
the practice of creating yule log-shaped desserts during the 19th century, with
various bakeries competing to see who could come up with the most elaborately
decorated yule log.
If you prefer a wood yule log to one covered in frosting, but
find yourself sans fireplace, you can always tune in to Yule Log TV.
Random Thoughts…
Happiness is a path, not a destination.
In 1830 students at Yale revolted over
the introduction of chalk boards.
Tweety is and has always been a male
character, in spite of what many people think.
Frank Lloyd Wright was specifically left off the
architecture commission for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair due to his
‘inability to work well with others.’
Never attempt to put out a grease fire with
water. Doing so spreads it and makes it worse. If grease catches fire you have
to smother it and cut off its supply of oxygen to put it out.
Ancient Roman Life
Fire insurance – and insurance fraud – has seemingly been
around since Roman times
It is not surprising that Romans began to invest in fire
insurance, considering the frequency of fires throughout Ancient Rome. It was
still a luxury option that was only available to those who could afford it.
This also means that insurance fraud could have been a problem for Romans.
People would often invest in houses and have their contents
insured against fire. Then they would mysteriously go up in flames. People were
often given more money to cover their homes and other items than they were
worth. They quickly realized that the fire may not have been as innocent after
all.
Historic Events
1455 (Earthquake) Naples, Italy, killing an
estimated 40,000 people.
1854 – Aaron H. Allen of Boston received
U.S. patent# 12,017 for a folding chair as an “Improvement in Self-Adjusting
Opera-Seat” for theatres or other public buildings. You have probably sat on
his invention if you have gone to a movie theater.
1876 – Daniel Chapman Stillson patented
the Stillson wrench. The device was the first practical pipe wrench; the design
is still in use today. (Patent #184,993)
1933 – Prohibition ended, thanks
to the 21st amendment. Utah was the last state needed to ratify it. When the
21st Amendment was passed to end Prohibition, American journalist H. L. Mencken
celebrated with a glass of water, calling it “my first in 13 years.”
2005 – In the UK, the Civil
Partnership Act granted civil partnerships “which include same-sex
partnerships” in the United Kingdom with rights and responsibilities identical
to civil marriage.
2008 – O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted for the well-known double murder in Los Angeles, was sentenced for up to thirty-three years in prison for robbing a pair of memorabilia dealers.
Birthdays
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@100 – Strom Thurmond, American politician, 103rd Governor of
South Carolina (d. 2003) @87 – Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman), American
singer-songwriter, pianist, actor @85 – Fritz Lang, Austrian-American director, producer, and
screenwriter (d. 1976) @80 – Otto Preminger, Austrian-American actor,
director, and producer (d. 1986)@79 – Martin Van Buren, 8th President (d.
1862) @74 – J.J. Cale (John Weldon Cale), American
singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013; heart attack) @65 – Walt Disney, American animator, director,
producer, and screenwriter, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company (d. 1966;
cancer) @36 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (d. 1876; @
Little Big Horn) |
…The End for today…
