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What about diamonds on the SOLES of your shoes?
Up until about the 1920s, if you were a well-dressed person, you’d often wear “spats” over your shoes. Spats were cloth covers for the tops of shoes, extending up to the ankle. In some accounts, King George V of England was partly responsible for changing the style away from spats; in 1926 he began appearing… Continue reading
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Ready, set, paddle!
If you live anywhere near a navigable — even barely navigable — body of water, today would be a good day to get your canoe out of the shed and try to see just how fast you can paddle it. Why do that today? Because by coincidence, two Olympic champion canoe sprinters were born on… Continue reading
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November 20
Undermined once again by reality, the very day after posting a snide comment like “there’s no Children’s Day,” what do we land on? Children’s Day. It all started in 1857 in Chelsea, Massachusetts when a church held a special service dedicated to children. At the time they called it Rose Day, but in a prescient… Continue reading
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You’re annoying me
My humans make up silly storiesjust to help them fret and worry;They don’t listen when I say“Come on outside, relax and play.”It’s like they’d rather moan and talkinstead of going for a walk —I have to growl before I’m doneto make those dodos have some fun. -Chocolate Continue reading
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Free, eh?
Most glass beverage bottles nowadays are molded with screw threads so you can twist the metal cap off with your fingers. But some — particularly beer bottles — still come with metal caps crimped onto the top. Those caps have a name: they’re “crown corks.” They were invented in 1892 in Baltimore, and not only… Continue reading
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November 19
It’s entirely appropriate that in a year that might deserve to be flushed down the drain, November 19 is World Toilet Day. It’s a serious holiday, though, started by the UN to get people to do something about sanitation worldwide. Although even the UN has a slight bit of trouble keeping a straight face; when… Continue reading
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November 18
Today is Mickey Mouse’s birthday! At least that’s what the Disney company says. There’s plenty of room to argue about it. What happened on November 18, 1928 was that Steamboat Willie was released, starring Mickey and Minnie. It was a big hit, but it was really Mickey’s third film. Mickey’s first film was called Plane… Continue reading
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Dog’s plan
“You want to do what, exactly?” asked Hare. “I want to leave this on the ground — well, on the snow — in a place in the forest where Magpie will probably find it, but nobody else probably will,” said Dog. “Why don’t you just give it to Magpie yourself?” asked Hare. “Because it’s a… Continue reading
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Oh fiddle-faddle
Flimflam is misleading nonsense. In other words it’s humbug, bunkum, claptrap, poppycock, balderdash, bilge, hooey, malarkey, blatherskite, twaddle, rigamarole. (Hey, I did say “other words.”) But “flimflam” is the word of the day, so we’ll skip the tommyrot and get right to it. It’s an older word than you might guess, dating back to the… Continue reading
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Nicolas Appert
Anybody can do canning at home — that is, preserving food in sealed containers, usually glass jars. Canning is also sometimes called “appertization,” which is a reference to Nicolas Appert. Appert was born November 17, 1749 in France, and while he (probably) didn’t invent canning, he was the first to really systematize it. Appert was… Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
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Now Read This
This list includes only “artisanal” sites, by which I mean they’re all authored by individuals. While there are some worthwhile sites created by organizations, this is the kind I prefer to support.
[citation needed] by Molly White
Bedlam Farm Journal by Jon Katz
Full Moon Fiber Art by Maria Wulf
Daring Fireball by John Gruber
Garbagetown by Catherynne M. Valente