What's in a Name, 5

One of the characters in the Peanuts universe was “555 95472,” or “5” for short. Introduced in September 1963, 5 explained that his father was so upset about people being seen as “just a number,” he renamed the entire family as a series of digits.

The family’s last name is taken from their ZIP Code, though when spoken, 5 insists there’s an accent on the 4. The ZIP Code, by the way, is the real one for Sebastopol, California, where Charles Schulz lived at the time.

5’s sisters 3 and 4 made a few appearances in the strip before disappearing, but 5 was occasionally a background character until 1981. You’ve probably seen 3, 4, and 5 already and didn’t even know it. All three appear in the famous dance sequence in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'. 3 and 4 are the twin girls in purple dresses, while 5 is the spiky-haired kid in orange.

Happy Friday

“Satisfaction of one’s curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life.” - Linus Pauling

Although my curiosity will never be sated, my Friday Thoughts always help me have a Happy Friday!

What's in a Name, Reno

It was in 1868 that a little town in Northwestern Nevada was officially named, Reno (after General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer of the Civil War).

Actually, the town just over the border from California, already existed before this date. It was first settled by the Washoe Indians who used the area for festivals and ceremonies. As settlers moved in, it was known as Fuller’s Ferry, and later, as Lake’s Crossing.

In the mid 1800s, Reno was just another settlement of silver miners. When the Comstock Lode was discovered in the Virginia City area, fortune hunters throughout the world came to the area to strike it rich. Today, they still come to strike it rich at Reno’s glitzy gambling casinos.

Reno is also a haven for quickie divorces (six-week residency is required), is known as the biggest little city in the world, the winning slogan from a contest held in 1929. If you look on a map you will find that Reno is actually west of Los Angeles.

Glass Slippers

Cinderella's slippers were originally made out of fur. The story was changed in the 1600's. The glass slipper is likely to have arisen from a confusion between the French, "une pantoufle en vair" (a fur slipper) and, "une pantoufle en verre" (a glass slipper.)

Sports Names

In the four major US professional sports, (Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Hockey) there are only eight teams whose nicknames do not end with an "S."
Basketball: Miami Heat, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic.
Baseball: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox.
Hockey: Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild.
Football: None.
The only reason I find this interesting is because my name starts with an S.

Ten More Interesting Names

On Night Court, Nostradamus Shannon was better known as Bull.

2. On Entourage, Turtle’s real name is Salvatore Assante.

3. Sesame Street‘s resident game show host Guy Smiley was using a pseudonym all these years. He was born Bernie Liederkrantz.

4. The Michelin Man’s name is Bibendum.

5. Jonas Grumby was called The Skipper on Gilligan's Island.

6. The Professor on Gilligan's Island was Roy Hinkley.

7. The Shaggy of Scooby-Doo is Norville Rogers.

8. The Pillsbury Doughboy’s name is Poppin’ Fresh. He has a wife, Poppie Fresh, and two kids, Popper and Bun Bun.

9. The patient in the classic game Operation is Cavity Sam.

10. The true identity of The Lone Ranger was John Reid. He was also the uncle of the Green Hornet. Both radio series originated on Detroit radio.

Barry Manilow

The famous “I am stuck on Band-Aid…” jingle was written by Barry Manilow.

Clean Up With The Boss

William Henry 'Boss' Hoover didn't even invent the vacuum cleaner, yet his name has become a verb and a noun, especially in England, where they hoover the floors with a Hoover. 

James Murray Spangler invented the first upright vacuum in 1908 because his asthma was exacerbated by the dust the carpet sweeper used at his work stirred up. He was making one every 2-3 weeks when he loaned a model to his cousin Susan Hoover.

Her husband was looking for a new business venture since he was a leather worker and the popularity of the car was reducing people’s need for his goods. He seized the opportunity and bought Spangler’s patent from him. Absolutely no one was interested in his weird sucking machine. He decided to put an ad in a popular magazine for possibly the first ever 'free at home trial'. The gimmick worked and within four years the Hoover Company was an international brand.

Walnuts and Other Handy Home Tips

My brother, a carpenter, among other skills, says to rub a walnut over a wood scratch to hide the scratch.

Six Uses for Butter

Butter isn't just good for topping toast and popcorn. There are plenty of other things it is useful for, such as:

Swallowing pills: Coat the pills with a thin layer of butter to make them go down easier, especially bigger pills and ones that have no coating.

De-stress cats: If you're moving or throwing a party, your cat can get a bit stressed by the sudden change in the environment. Put a little dab of butter on the top of her paws. She'll be distracted by cleaning herself.

Prevent cheese mold: Put a thin coat of butter on the cheese after you cut it so it won't get too hard or start molding, especially harder cheeses.

Preserve onions: If you cut an onion in half and decide to leave the other half in the fridge, coat the exposed side with a bit of butter to keep it fresh longer.

Duffel Bags

Duffel bag now stands for a particular style of bag. They were originally named for the thick Duffel cloth they were made out of, which was produced in the town of Duffel, Belgium. Duffel coats are named for the same cloth.

Five Weaponology Facts

The Chinese invented gunpowder, but they were not the first to develop firearms.

Sam Colt invented the revolving pistol, therefore, all revolvers are correctly called pistols.

Revolvers cannot be silenced, due to all the noisy gasses which escape the cylinder gap at the rear of the barrel.

A 12 gauge rifled slug does not spin, even though there are grooves on its bearing surface. A slug actually travels like a dart.

A bullet fired from the 7.62 x 51mm NATO cartridge (also called the .308 Winchester) is still supersonic at 1000 yards.

Happy Friday

Words are strong, brevity stronger, silence strongest.

No words needed to have a Happy Friday!

Glass is the New Plastic

For the techno geeks, here is an interesting site that discusses technological uses of glass, like curved glass, smart glass, wearable glass, Gorilla glass and more. Too much to summarize here. link