Rumor has it that Santa's red-and-white suit was an invention of the Coca-Cola Company to promote the colors of its popular soft-drink label. In 1931 the company did hire an artist to create depictions of Santa drinking Coke, and those images became very popular--so much so that Coca-Cola takes credit for inventing Santa as we know him today. However, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, including a holiday greeting card dating back to 1885 with an image of a jolly, bearded, red-suited Santa; and a 1927 description from The New York Times:"A standardized Santa Claus appears to New York children. Height, weight, stature are almost exactly standardized, as are the red garments, the hood and the white whiskers. The pack full of toys, ruddy cheeks and nose, bushy eyebrows and a jolly, paunchy effect are also inevitable parts of the requisite make-up."
Thanksgiving is not the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States. Yes, many people flock to malls and big-box stores on "Black Friday" to take advantage of deep discounts and get a start on their holiday shopping. But while many stores report record numbers of shoppers on that day, those numbers aren't necessarily reflected in the sales figures. The rankings vary from year to year, but the day after Thanksgiving generally ranks no higher than fifth, after the two Saturdays and Sundays preceding Christmas. The biggest shopping day of the year is usually either the Saturday before Christmas or, if Christmas falls on a Saturday, December 23.
The date of Jesus' birth is not mentioned in the Bible. In fact, the context of the story of the birth of Jesus indicates that it occurred in the springtime. There are many theories as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25, the most common of which holds that the date was chosen by Christians to overshadow a pagan festival celebrating the winter solstice. Learn more about the origins of Christmas.
In addition to providing missile warnings and air defense for the United States and Canada, NORAD has been tracking Santa's progress for 50 years. It all started when a Colorado department store printed the wrong phone number for a "Santa hotline" on a promotional flyer, and CONAD (NORAD's predecessor) was flooded with calls from children eager to talk to Santa. Rather than disappoint them, the staff took it upon themselves to track Santa on their radar and keep the kids informed of his whereabouts. Nowadays, kids can also keep tabs on Santa on NORAD's Web site: http://www.noradsanta.org/
The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created as a holiday promotion for a department store. In 1939, the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward department store asked one of its copywriters to create a children's Christmas story that could be used as a promotional giveaway during the holiday shopping season. Inspired by The Ugly Duckling, he came up with the story of Rudolph, a reindeer who was teased for his glowing red nose, but ends up saving Christmas. The story evolved over the years into a song recorded by Gene Autry in 1949 and a 1964 TV special that has since become the longest-running holiday special in television history.
Abbreviating Christmas as Xmas doesn't really "take the Christ out of Christmas." The X in "Xmas" stands for the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter in Christos, the Greek word for "Christ," and a commonly used symbol to represent the name of Christ in religious writings.
The rumor that poinsettias are poisonous was started in 1919 when the 2-year-old child of an Army officer died, and ingestion of poinsettia leaves was assumed to be the cause. This was never proven, and no deaths from poinsettias have been reported since.A study by Ohio State University and the American Society of Florists fed rats high doses of pulverized poinsettia leaves, which failed to kill them or even cause any side effects. A 50-pound child would have to ingest more than 500 poinsettia leaves to exceed the doses given to the rats. Considering that the leaves have a bitter, unpleasant taste, it's unlikely a small child or pet would eat more than one bite. While it's still not a good idea to eat poinsettias--or any other houseplants, for that matter--the worst that could happen to your child or pet is an upset stomach.
It was once against the law to publicly celebrate Christmas in Massachusetts. The Puritans of New England followed a strict interpretation of the Bible, and since there is no mention of the exact date of the birth of Christ, they believed it was inappropriate to observe it on December 25. They also frowned upon the drinking, feasting, and other carousing associated with the holiday. In 1659 a law was passed making it a criminal offense, punishable by a 5-shilling fine, to publicly observe Christmas in Massachusetts. The law was revoked in 1681, but it wasn't until the mid-1800s that Christmas celebrations came back into favor. Learn more about the history of Christmas celebrations.
President Theodore Roosevelt was an ardent conservationist and did not approve of cutting down trees for Christmas. Hoping to set an example as president, he banned Christmas trees from the White House ... but his children smuggled one in anyway. Roosevelt asked Gifford Pinchot, head of the Division of Foresty (now the Forest Service), to explain to them why cutting down Christmas trees threatened the nation's forests. To his surprise, Pinchot said that if properly done, thinning the forests actually helped to maintain their health. After that, Roosevelt did allow a small tree in the White House.
Saint Nicholas was born around 280 AD near Myra in modern-day Turkey. He is said to have given away all of his wealth and devoted his life to helping the poor often by anonymously leaving small gifts for those in need. Admired for his kindness and piety, he became known as the patron saint of children and sailors (among many others). The legend of St. Nicholas spread, and by the Renaissance, he was the most popular saint in Europe. In Holland, where he was called "Sint Nikolaas" or "Sinter Klaas," he developed into a Christmas gift-giver. Dutch immigrants brought the tradition to America, where his name eventually became the familiar "Santa Claus."
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
THIS BLOG TELLS SOME PUZZLES AND RIDDLES
NUMBERS
Answer these three simple questions. You can't take your time, you have to answer really quickly. okay?
1..You are participating in a race. You overtake the second. What position do you arrive in?
2. If you overtake the last, what place do you arrive as?
3.(This riddle must be done in your head only without the use of paper and a pen)
Take 1,000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1,000. Then add 30. Add another 1,000. Now add 20. Then add another 1,000. Now add 10. What is the total.
Answer:
1. If you answered that you arrived first, you are absolutely wrong! 'Cause if you overtake the second, you take his place so you arrive second.
2. If you answered that you arrived second to the last then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST? The question is wrong!
3. Did you get 5,000? The correct answer is actually 4,100. You don't believe it? Check with your calculator.
MAGIC NUMBERS
Work this out as you read - it only takes 30 seconds. Make sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!
1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have sex.(Try more than once)
2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)
3. Add 5. (for Sunday)
4. Multiply it by 50. (okay you may use a calculator!)
5. If you've already had your birthday this year add 1750. If you haven't add 1749.
6. Now subtract the four-digit year that you were born. (Hey stop cheating and put in the correct number!)
Answer:
You should now have a three-digit number. (Do you?) The first digit of this was your original number (i.e., how many times you want to have sex each week). The second two digits are your age and it shows.
CHECK YOUR LOGIC
Don't look at the answer ! Try first and write down your answers.
1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building. Every day, he takes the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only travel halfway up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless it's raining Why?
2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital, where the surgeon says, " I can't operate on this boy, he is my son!" How can this be?
3. A man is wearing black. He had black shoes, socks, trousers, jumpers, gloves, and Balaclava. He is walking down the black streets with all the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with it's light off but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
4. One day Dada celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin brother, Dodo, celebrated his birthday. How?
5. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square one?
6. A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the puch died of poisoning. Why did the man not die?
7. A man died and went to heaven. There were thousands of other people there. They were all naked and all looked as if they died at the age of 21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he recognized. He saw a couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did he know?
8. A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?
9. A man walks into a bar and ask the bartender for a glass of water. The bartender pulls out a gun and points it at the man. Tha man says, "Thank you," and walks out
Answer:
1. The man is very short and can only reach reach halfway up the elevator buttons. However, if it is raining, then he will have his umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it. .
2. The surgeon was his mother.
3. It was daytime.
4. At the time she went into labor, the mother of the twins was traveling by boat. The older twin, Dodo, was born early on March 1st.The boat then crossed a time zone and Dada, the younger twin, was born on February 28th. Therefore the younger twin celebrates her birthday two days before her older brother during a leap year.
5. A square manhole can be turned and dropped diagonally down the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So, for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.
6. The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man drank the punch, the ice was fully frozen. Gradually it melted , poisoning the punch.
7. He recognized Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. because they were not born of women, they never had never umbilical cords, and therefore , they never had navels. This one seems perfectly logical but it can sometimes spark fierce theological arguments.
8. They were two sets of triplets (or quadruplets, etc.) This puzzle stumps many people. They try outlandish solutions involving test-tube babies or surrogate mothers. Why does the brain search for complex solutions when there is a much simpler one available?
9. The man had hiccups. The bartender recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a scare. It worked and cured the hiccups so the man no longer needed tha water.
PUZZLING RIDDLES
1. Five hundred begins in it, five hundred ends it, Five in the middle is seen;
First of all the figures, the first of all letters, take up their situations between.
Join all together , and then you will bring, Before you the name of an eminent king.
2. I build castles. I tear down mountains.
I make some men blind, I help others to see
What am I?
3. What does man love more than life
Fear more than death or mortal strife
What the poor have, the rich require,
and what contented men desire,
What the miser spends and the spend thriftsaves
And all men carry to their graves?
4. Whoever makes it, tells it not.
Whoever takes it, knows it not.
Whoever knows it want it not.
5. Whoever makes it, wants it not
Whoever buys it, uses it not.
And whoever uses it, knows it not.
6. Two words, my answer is only two words.
To keep me, you must give me.
7. When young, I am sweet in the sun.
When middle-aged, I make you gay.
When old, I am valued more than ever.
8. I go round in circles
But always straight ahead.
Never complain
No matter where I am led.
9. Lighter than what I am made of,
More of me is hidden, Than is seen.
10. At the sound of me, men may dream Or stomp their feet
At the sound of me, women may laugh, Or sometimes weep.
Answer:
1. DAVID (in Roman numerals).
2. Sand
3. Nothing
4. Counterfeit money
5. Nothing
6. Your word
7. Wine
8. Wagon wheels or tire.
9. Iceberg
10. Music
Assigment: ( I give the answer next blog, try to research it now)
THE WORLD'S EASIEST QUIZ (OR IS IT?)
1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?
2) Which country makes the Panama hats?
3) From which animal do we get catgut?
4) In which month do Russian celebrate the October revolution?
5) What is camel's hairbrush made of?
6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?
7) What color is a purple finch?
8) Where are Chinese gooseberries come?
9) Where was India ink invented?
10) How long did the thirty Years War last?
Smile of the Day:
Why is life like a riddle?
Because you must give up.
Answer these three simple questions. You can't take your time, you have to answer really quickly. okay?
1..You are participating in a race. You overtake the second. What position do you arrive in?
2. If you overtake the last, what place do you arrive as?
3.(This riddle must be done in your head only without the use of paper and a pen)
Take 1,000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1,000. Then add 30. Add another 1,000. Now add 20. Then add another 1,000. Now add 10. What is the total.
Answer:
1. If you answered that you arrived first, you are absolutely wrong! 'Cause if you overtake the second, you take his place so you arrive second.
2. If you answered that you arrived second to the last then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST? The question is wrong!
3. Did you get 5,000? The correct answer is actually 4,100. You don't believe it? Check with your calculator.
MAGIC NUMBERS
Work this out as you read - it only takes 30 seconds. Make sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!
1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have sex.(Try more than once)
2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)
3. Add 5. (for Sunday)
4. Multiply it by 50. (okay you may use a calculator!)
5. If you've already had your birthday this year add 1750. If you haven't add 1749.
6. Now subtract the four-digit year that you were born. (Hey stop cheating and put in the correct number!)
Answer:
You should now have a three-digit number. (Do you?) The first digit of this was your original number (i.e., how many times you want to have sex each week). The second two digits are your age and it shows.
CHECK YOUR LOGIC
Don't look at the answer ! Try first and write down your answers.
1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building. Every day, he takes the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only travel halfway up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless it's raining Why?
2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital, where the surgeon says, " I can't operate on this boy, he is my son!" How can this be?
3. A man is wearing black. He had black shoes, socks, trousers, jumpers, gloves, and Balaclava. He is walking down the black streets with all the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with it's light off but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
4. One day Dada celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin brother, Dodo, celebrated his birthday. How?
5. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square one?
6. A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the puch died of poisoning. Why did the man not die?
7. A man died and went to heaven. There were thousands of other people there. They were all naked and all looked as if they died at the age of 21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he recognized. He saw a couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did he know?
8. A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?
9. A man walks into a bar and ask the bartender for a glass of water. The bartender pulls out a gun and points it at the man. Tha man says, "Thank you," and walks out
Answer:
1. The man is very short and can only reach reach halfway up the elevator buttons. However, if it is raining, then he will have his umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it. .
2. The surgeon was his mother.
3. It was daytime.
4. At the time she went into labor, the mother of the twins was traveling by boat. The older twin, Dodo, was born early on March 1st.The boat then crossed a time zone and Dada, the younger twin, was born on February 28th. Therefore the younger twin celebrates her birthday two days before her older brother during a leap year.
5. A square manhole can be turned and dropped diagonally down the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So, for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.
6. The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man drank the punch, the ice was fully frozen. Gradually it melted , poisoning the punch.
7. He recognized Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. because they were not born of women, they never had never umbilical cords, and therefore , they never had navels. This one seems perfectly logical but it can sometimes spark fierce theological arguments.
8. They were two sets of triplets (or quadruplets, etc.) This puzzle stumps many people. They try outlandish solutions involving test-tube babies or surrogate mothers. Why does the brain search for complex solutions when there is a much simpler one available?
9. The man had hiccups. The bartender recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a scare. It worked and cured the hiccups so the man no longer needed tha water.
PUZZLING RIDDLES
1. Five hundred begins in it, five hundred ends it, Five in the middle is seen;
First of all the figures, the first of all letters, take up their situations between.
Join all together , and then you will bring, Before you the name of an eminent king.
2. I build castles. I tear down mountains.
I make some men blind, I help others to see
What am I?
3. What does man love more than life
Fear more than death or mortal strife
What the poor have, the rich require,
and what contented men desire,
What the miser spends and the spend thriftsaves
And all men carry to their graves?
4. Whoever makes it, tells it not.
Whoever takes it, knows it not.
Whoever knows it want it not.
5. Whoever makes it, wants it not
Whoever buys it, uses it not.
And whoever uses it, knows it not.
6. Two words, my answer is only two words.
To keep me, you must give me.
7. When young, I am sweet in the sun.
When middle-aged, I make you gay.
When old, I am valued more than ever.
8. I go round in circles
But always straight ahead.
Never complain
No matter where I am led.
9. Lighter than what I am made of,
More of me is hidden, Than is seen.
10. At the sound of me, men may dream Or stomp their feet
At the sound of me, women may laugh, Or sometimes weep.
Answer:
1. DAVID (in Roman numerals).
2. Sand
3. Nothing
4. Counterfeit money
5. Nothing
6. Your word
7. Wine
8. Wagon wheels or tire.
9. Iceberg
10. Music
Assigment: ( I give the answer next blog, try to research it now)
THE WORLD'S EASIEST QUIZ (OR IS IT?)
1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?
2) Which country makes the Panama hats?
3) From which animal do we get catgut?
4) In which month do Russian celebrate the October revolution?
5) What is camel's hairbrush made of?
6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?
7) What color is a purple finch?
8) Where are Chinese gooseberries come?
9) Where was India ink invented?
10) How long did the thirty Years War last?
Smile of the Day:
Why is life like a riddle?
Because you must give up.
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