Category: misc.
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Happy Birthday Big Bird
By cookla, March 19, 2010 8:26 am
Tomorrow, March 20th, is Big Bird’s birthday. He will be 6 years old (as always) but this will mark his 41st year.
Neatorama has a great feature on Big Bird today with lots of interesting facts.
Why Six?
Big Bird’s character was originally supposed to be more of a village idiot than a neighborhood friend, but within the first season, the writers and performers quickly started seeing a lot more potential in the innocent and sweet bird. They started envisioning him more as a curious child than a yokel and quickly morphed him more into a role model for the youngsters at home.
Big Bird’s young mind is always inquisitive and he always asks questions as a result. This not only gives kids a chance to learn the answers to questions he asks, but also teaches them that it’s good to ask about things they don’t understand. Big Bird helps children understand that it’s OK to not understand everything because even someone who’s eight feet and two inches tall still doesn’t know everything.
This also helps the character share morality lessons with kids without preaching to them because he is only reflecting on something he just learned.
View the whole entry here: link
Shackleton’s Whisky
By cookla, February 10, 2010 12:01 pm
The New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust is restoring the shack used by explorer Ernest Shackleton during his Anarctic expedition of 1907-1909. In 2006 they discovered two cases of whisky, but only recently have they been able to free those crates from the ice. Then they discovered another case of whisky and two crates of brandy! Although the crates and most of the contents must remain with the historical site, a sample of the whisky will be retrieved for the distiller.
NYC Blizzard 2010
By cookla, February 9, 2010 9:22 am
I don’t know which picture I like better:
I guess it looks like some snow is coming.. Or, excuse me, not snow. Blizzard!
Parisian Love
By cookla, February 8, 2010 1:14 pm
This commercial is just so damn… cute.
Punxsutawney Phil says 6 more weeks of winter
By cookla, February 2, 2010 3:28 pm
The world’s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, emerged before chilly revelers in western Pennsylvania today to see his shadow, meaning winter will last another six weeks.
Unusual and Fascinating Currency
By cookla, February 2, 2010 1:48 am
The economic troubles of Zimbabwe in recent years have been reflected in the currency, such as this 100 trillion dollar banknote from 2008. Zimbabwe is not the first country to experience such hyperinflation, of course. After the First World War, Germany endured a severe economic crisis. In 1914, the highest denomination German note was for 1000 Mark, which was worth approximately 238 US dollars or 50 British pounds. In early 1922, the government issued 10,000 Mark notes, but by February 1923, Germans were using banknotes in denominations of 100,000 and 1 million Marks. Notes reached 50 million in July, 10 billion in September and 100 trillion when hyperinflation peaked in October 1923.
Just to give you an idea of what this meant for the average German, on November 1 1923, you could buy a loaf of bread for a measly three billion or truly splash out and get three pounds of meat for 100 billion. By November 15, 100 billion would get you two glasses of beer, not really enough to make you forget your troubles, while that loaf would now cost you 80 billion.
When it was all over, these huge banknotes were worth around 5 pounds or 24 US dollars. On November 15, the government introduced a new currency, one unit of which was worth a trillion of the old Marks. Prices eventually stabilized, but most of the population had nevertheless seen their wealth vanish.
Dark Roasted Blend takes a look at artful and unusual bank notes from around the world, past and present, including notes like this. Everything from the colorful to the creepy and even some currency origami.
More info: link
Biggest and Brightest Full Moon of 2010 Tonight
By cookla, January 29, 2010 8:11 pm
Tonight’s full moon will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. Luckily, if you live in the northeast United States, like me, it will also be the coldest night since the last Ice Age. Okay, okay, maybe that’s being a little dramatic. Get outside tonight, enjoy the bright glow of the moon and look for some creators you’ve never seen before.
Want to know why this moon is bigger then normal?
More info: link
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