Candy Cane Myths and Facts

The myth is the white base color of the candy cane symbolizes Jesus’ purity; the red stripes symbolize Jesus’ blood when he died on the cross; and the J shape was chosen to represent the J in Jesus. These and all other religious connotations have been debunked or not able to be proven as fact.

The facts - Candy canes started as white sugar sticks with no hook as early as the 1600s. There is no reference to calling them candy "canes" until the mid to late 1600s. No fact as to why the sticks were changed into canes, although many believe it was so the candy could be hung on a Christmas tree.

The red stripe was not added until the early 1900s. No one knows who invented the stripes, but Christmas cards prior to the year 1900 showed only all-white candy canes. Christmas cards after 1900 showed illustrations of striped candy canes.

The bottom line is that we do not know who started making them, why, or who added the hook, but most people love candy canes and that is a fact.

Personal Genome Map for $99

What a great way to begin the New Year. Get your genome mapped. A few years ago it cost over ten thousand dollars. LINK

Strange Christmas Traditions

Had to finish the year with a few strange Christmas traditions from around the world.

On Christmas in Caracas they skate to mass on roller skates. Firecrackers pop to wake the citizens, who put on their skates for the pre-dawn trip to mass. Streets are closed in the mornings to allow the skating churchgoers to pass.

In Catalonia, the traditional nativity scene has an extra figure. El Caganer can be found somewhere on the periphery of the scene, crouched in the squatting position of a bowel movement. It is believed “The Defecator” in the nativity scene will fertilize the coming year with a good harvest of wealth and prosperity. The statue can be a monk, a shepherd, a popular sports star, or celebrity, but he is always wearing his signature red Catalan hat as he squats above a pile.

In Italy, the gift-bringer is a kind but hideous witch named La Befana. She missed seeing the Christ-child, because she was busy when the wise men told her to come. La Befana comes late, several days after Christmas Day, but leaves gifts at each house in case the holy infant is there.

In Ireland it is traditional to leave out mince pie and Guinness as snacks for Santa.

Norwegians legend says witches and evil spirits come out on Christmas Eve to steal brooms and ride around causing mischief.

In the Ukraine, Christmas trees are adorned with silver and gold spider webs. This tradition came from the story of a poor woman without means to decorate for the holiday. As she slept, spiders spun webs of pure gold and silver to beautify her tree and bring her wealth.

Wordology, Borborygmus

Seems this one is appropriate for the holiday season. It is the rumbling noises your stomach makes.

What I Did Not Get For Christmas

This one is sure to give you borborygmus. It is a name-brand scent in a little bottle that was introduced in December 2012.

Pizza Hut Inc. in Canada came out with a limited edition bottle of Pizza Hut perfume, probably to advertise the chain’s sense of humor.

The perfume is supposed to recreate the smell of a box of Pizza Hut being opened, with top notes of freshly baked dough, according to the company. Pizza hut is owned by Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and Taco Bell among others.

Google Fun

Type in the word askew and see the results. Type in the word sphere and see the results.

Type in "the loneliest number" then click on images and see the results.

Interesting Feet Facts

As we enjoy the holidays sitting in front of a warm fire with our feet up and pondering our toes, here are a few interesting feet facts.

Human feet can sweat up to a pint of fluid a day. Feet have more sweat glands than any other part of the body, approximately 125,000 in each foot. The toughest skin on your body is on your feet. Toenails grow fastest during your teenage years, in hot weather, and when you are pregnant.

American actor Matthew McGrory, 7'6" had the record-breaking foot size until he passed away in 2005. He was in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the tallest actor and having the largest toe. His shoe size was 29 1/2.

Blog Statistics

Was reviewing my blog site statistics and it showed 68 countries visited my blog during November, 2012. Here they are, in order of number of visitors. Over half came from outside the US.

Welcome and thank you to all my visitors and new best friends.

United States

United Kingdom

Canada

Philippines

Australia

India

Brazil

Germany

Sweden

Mexico

France

Israel

Russia

South Korea

Norway

Malaysia

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

Singapore

Finland

Spain

Netherlands

Thailand

Saudi Arabia

Pakistan

Lithuania

Ireland

Hong Kong

Greece

Serbia

Portugal

Egypt

Bulgaria

Trinidad and Tobago

Switzerland

Romania

New Zealand

Italy

Denmark

Ukraine

Sri Lanka

Slovenia

Peru

Nepal

Mongolia

Mauritius

Japan

Iraq

Indonesia

Czech Republic

Croatia

Colombia

Belgium

Austria

Argentina

Taiwan

South Africa

Slovakia

Qatar

Puerto Rico

Poland

Nigeria

Luxembourg

Jamaica

Estonia

Cameroon

Botswana

Bahrain

Happy Friday

Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.

My motivation allows my ability to aim my attitude toward having a Happy Friday!

Facts about Mistletoe

The name comes from the fact mistletoe starts from bird droppings made from the red or white berries. It is a parasitic plant and roots to the branches of trees. Thus “mistle” or “missel”, which meant “dung”, and “toe”, which came from the Anglo-Saxon “tan” meaning “twig.” There are over 900 species of mistletoe and it grows on a wide variety of trees.

Ancient Greeks considered the plant an aphrodisiac and believed it aided in fertility. Norseman believed mistletoe was a plant of peace and when enemies met under the mistletoe they were obliged to stop fighting for at least a day. Eventually, this spawned a tradition to hang mistletoe over the doorway for peace and good luck.

It became associated with Christmas from the tradition of hanging mistletoe in one’s home to bring good luck and peace to those within the house. It hung year round and was replaced each Christmas eve or at New Year.

During the 16th century in Britain, it became popular to create a ball of mistletoe hung as a Christmas decoration. Couples standing under the mistletoe were to kiss if the mistletoe ball still had berries. For each kiss, one berry would be taken from the ball. Once all the berries were gone, all the “luck” was drained out and it became bad luck to kiss beneath it.

Mistletoe leaves and young twigs are used by herbalists, and it is popular in Europe, especially in Germany, for treating circulatory and respiratory system problems.

Eight Other December 25 Events

December 25, 325 is the first date that Christmas was celebrated specifically on December 25.
December 25, 597 England adopted the Julian calendar, now used by most of the world.
December 25, 800 Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III.
December 25, 1066 William the Conqueror is crowned King of England.
December 25, 1717 the great Christmas Flood ravaged the Netherlands and parts of Germany and Scandinavia.
December 25, 1776 - 11pm, General George Washington, along with 5,400 men, crossed the Delaware River, in order to surprise Hessian troops celebrating the Christmas Holiday.
December 25, 1914 the Christmas Truce. During the height of World War I, the Germans began to sing Christmas Carols, crossed the lines, and met with Allies and both shook hands. (The next day they resumed fighting.)
December 25, 2002 University of New Mexico junior place-kicker Katie Hnida attempts to kick an extra point in a game against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl. She is first woman to play in Division I football.
December 25, 2012 - Merry Christmas!

Wordology, Tragus

The little piece of cartilage that sticks out at the front external opening of your ear.

Ten Tiger Facts

Most tigers have more than 100 stripes, and no two tigers have the same stripes.

The roar of a tiger can be heard from over a mile away.

There are nine subspecies of tiger: the Bengal tiger, the Indochinese tiger, the Malayan tiger, the Sumatran tiger, the Siberian tiger, and the South China tiger.

The Siberian tiger is the biggest of the nine subspecies and can reach an average head and body length of 75-90 in. They can weigh up to 660 pounds.

A tiger marks its territory by spraying trees and bushes (contained inside the territory) with its urine, and also leaves deep scratches on tree trunks.

One averaged sized tiger can eat up to 60 pounds of meat at a single time.

A tiger’s canine teeth can grow up to three inches long, easily capable of crunching through the spine of any creature on Earth.

A tiger can go as long as a week without a meal.

A tiger’s saliva is antiseptic, and is handy when a tiger cleans its wounds.

If you were to shave all the fur off a tiger’s skin, the stripes would still remain.

Three Stooges Origin

Ted  Healy, another vaudvillian discovered the act in 1925 as they were performing on vaudeville. They were originally billed as "Ted Healy And His Stooges", but the trio broke away from Healy in 1934 due to his mismanagement of them and their finances. He passed away in 1937.

Here they are on stage with him.