History

Hello Can You Hear Me

December 26, 2015 — 11 Comments

payphones

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Day 360 / 365

A young businessman had just started his own firm. He rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting there, he saw a man come into the outer office. Wishing to appear the hot shot, the businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working. He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments. Finally he hung up and asked the visitor, “Can I help you?”
The man said, “Yeah, I’ve come to activate your phone lines.”

Interesting Fact: The first public coin telephone was installed by inventor William Gray at a bank in Hartford, Conn. It was a “postpay” machine (coins were deposited after the call was placed). The first pay phone was invented in 1889 and by 1902, there were over 81,000 pay telephones in the United States. In 1889, the first public coin telephone was installed by inventor William Gray at a bank in Hartford, Conn. It was a “postpay” machine (coins were deposited after the call was placed). Gray’s previous claim to fame was inventingLorem ipsum the inflatable chest protector for baseball. In 1960, the Bell System installed its millionth pay telephone. ( http://pomo.cca.edu/~achou/payphone_code/transition/firstpayphone.html )

On The Christmas Day This Little Tree Will Light Your Way

December 25, 2015 — 9 Comments

Light Your Way

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Day 359 / 365

What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?

Frostbite.

Interesting Fact: The Christian ecclesiastical calendar contains many remnants of pre-Christian festivals. Christmas includes elements of the Roman feast of the Saturnalia and the birthday of Mithra.[51] The Chronography of 354 AD contains early evidence of the celebration on December 25 of a Christian liturgical feast of the birth of Jesus. This was in Rome, while in Eastern Christianity the birth of Jesus was already celebrated in connection with the Epiphany on January 6.[52][53] The December 25 celebration was imported into the East later: in Antioch by John Chrysostom towards the end of the 4th century,[53] probably in 388, and in Alexandria only in the following century.[54] Even in the West, the January 6 celebration of the nativity of Jesus seems to have continued until after 380.[55] In 245, Origen of Alexandria, writing about Leviticus 12:1–8, commented that Scripture mentions only sinners as celebrating their birthdays, namely Pharaoh, who then had his chief baker hanged (Genesis 40:20–22), and Herod, who then had John the Baptist beheaded (Mark 6:21–27), and mentions saints as cursing the day of their birth, namely Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:14–15) and Job (Job 3:1–16).[56] In 303, Arnobius ridiculed the idea of celebrating the birthdays of gods, a passage cited as evidence that Arnobius was unaware of any nativity celebration.[57] Since Christmas does not celebrate Christ’s birth “as God” but “as man”, this is not evidence against Christmas being a feast at this time.[8] The fact the Donatists of North Africa celebrated Christmas may indicate that the feast was established by the time that church was created in 311. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#History )

Going to Christmas Eve Party!

December 24, 2015 — 23 Comments

christmas eve

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Northern Shoveler Ducks

Day 358 / 365

Twenty ways to confuse Santa Claus

1. Instead of milk and cookies, leave him a salad, and a note explaining that you think he could stand to lose a few pounds.

2. While he’s in the house, go find his sleigh and write him a speeding ticket.

3. Leave him a note, explaining that you’ve gone away for the holidays. Ask if he would mind watering your plants.

4. While he’s in the house, replace all his reindeer with exact replicas. Then wait and see what happens when he tries to get them to fly.

5. Keep an angry bull in your living room. If you think a bull goes crazy when he sees a little red cape, wait until he sees that big, red Santa suit!

6. Build an army of mean-looking snowmen on the roof, holding signs that say “We hate Christmas,” and “Go away Santa.”

7. Leave a note by the telephone, telling Santa that Mrs. Claus called and wanted to remind him to pick up some milk and a loaf of bread on his way home.

8. Throw a surprise party for Santa when he comes down the chimney. Refuse to let him leave until the strippers arrive.

9. While he’s in the house, find the sleigh and sit in it. As soon as he comes back and sees you, tell him that he shouldn’t have missed that last payment, and take off.

10. Leave a plate filled with cookies and a glass of milk out, with a note that says, “For The Tooth Fairy. :)” Leave another plate out with half a stale cookie and a few drops of skim milk in a dirty glass with a note that says, “For Santa. :(”

11. Take everything out of your house as if it’s just been robbed. When Santa arrives, show up dressed like a policeman and say, “Well, well. They always return to the scene of the crime.”

12. Leave out a copy of your Christmas list with last-minute changes and corrections.

13. While he’s in the house, cover the top of the chimney with barbed wire.

14. Leave lots of hunting trophies and guns out where Santa’s sure to see them. Go outside, yell, “Ooh! Look! A deer! And he’s got a red nose!” and fire a gun.

15. Leave Santa a note, explaining that you’ve moved. Include a map with unclear and hard-to-read directions to your new house.

16. Set a bear trap at the bottom of the chimney. Wait for Santa to get caught in it, and then explain that you’re sorry, but from a distance, he looked like a bear.

17. Leave out a Santa suit, with an attached dry-cleaning bill.

18. Paint “hoof-prints” all over your face and clothes. While he’s in the house, go out on the roof. When he comes back up, act like you’ve been “trampled.” Threaten to sue for personal injury.

19. Instead of ornaments, decorate your tree with Easter eggs.

20. Dress up like the Easter Bunny. Wait for Santa to come and then say, “This neighborhood ain’t big enough for the both of us.

Interesting Fact: Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.[4] Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day. Together, both days are considered one of the most culturally significant celebrations in Christendom and Western society. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Eve#Historical_events )

I Don’t Want A Lot For Christmas, All I Want For Christmas Is You!

December 23, 2015 — 20 Comments
Christmas gift

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Day 357 / 365

It was Christmas and the judge was in a merry mood as he asked the prisoner, ” What are you charged with? ”

“Doing my Christmas shopping early”, replied the defendant.

“That’s no offense”, said the judge. “How early were you doing this shopping?”

“Before the store opened.”

Interesting Fact: The custom of giving gifts to relatives and friends on a special day in winter probably began in ancient Rome and northern Europe. In these regions, people gave each other small presents as part of their year-end celebrations. In the United States and England, children hang stockings on their bedpost or near a fireplace on Christmas Eve, hoping that it will be filled with treats while they sleep. In Scandinavia, similar-minded children leave their shoes on the hearth. This tradition can be traced to legends about Saint Nicholas. One legend tells of three poor sisters who could not marry because they had no money for a dowry. To save them from being sold by their father, St. Nick left each of the three sisters gifts of gold coins. One went down the chimney and landed in a pair of shoes that had been left on the hearth. Another went into a window and into a pair of stockings left hanging by the fire to dry.  No one was really in the habit of exchanging elaborate gifts until late in the 1800s. The Santa Claus stories of giving gifts to good children, combined with an amazing retailing phenomenon that has grown since the turn of the century, has made gift giving a central focus of the Christmas tradition. ( http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/trivia/gifts.htm )

Hot Chocolate Is Like A Hug From The Inside

December 22, 2015 — 23 Comments

Hot chocolate

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Day 356 / 365

A man found a bottle on the beach. He opened it and out popped a genie, who gave the man three wishes. The man wished for a million dollars, and poof! There was a million dollars. Then he wished for a convertible, and poof! There was a convertible. And then, he wished he could be irresistible to all women… Poof! He turned into a box of chocolates.

Interesting Fact: What the Spaniards then called “chocolatl” was said to be a beverage consisting of a chocolate base flavored with vanilla and other spices that was served cold.[6][7] Because sugar was yet to come to the Americas,[4] xocolatl was said to be an acquired taste. The drink tasted spicy and bitter as opposed to sweetened modern hot chocolate.[4] As to when xocolatl was first served hot, sources conflict on when and by whom.[4][7] However, Jose de Acosta, a Spanish Jesuit missionary who lived in Peru and then Mexico in the later 16th century, described xocolatl as: Loathsome to such as are not acquainted with it, having a scum or froth that is very unpleasant taste. Yet it is a drink very much esteemed among the Indians, where with they feast noble men who pass through their country. The Spaniards, both men and women, that are accustomed to the country, are very greedy of this Chocolate. They say they make diverse sorts of it, some hot, some cold, and some temperate, and put therein much of that “chili”; yea, they make paste thereof, the which they say is good for the stomach and against the catarrh. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_chocolate )

Ideas Just Come To Me

December 21, 2015 — 3 Comments

idea

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Day 355 / 365

When the inventor of the drawing board messed things up, what did he go back to?

Interesting Fact: In addressing the question of who invented the incandescent lamp, historians Robert Friedel and Paul Israel[9] list 22 inventors of incandescent lamps prior to Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison. They conclude that Edison’s version was able to outstrip the others because of a combination of three factors: an effective incandescent material, a higher vacuum than others were able to achieve (by use of the Sprengel pump) and a high resistance that made power distribution from a centralized source economically viable. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb#Early_pre-commercial_research )

Lights Are On And The Dark Is Gone!

December 18, 2015 — 15 Comments

Jersey City Downtown

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Day 352 / 365

How do we really know that Santa is a man?

Because no woman would ever wear the same outfit year after year.

Interesting Fact: The first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree was the creation of Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison. While he was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, a predecessor of today’s Con Edison electric utility, he had Christmas tree light bulbs especially made for him. He proudly displayed his Christmas tree, which was hand-wired with 80 red, white and blue electric incandescent light bulbs the size of walnuts, on December 22, 1882 at his home on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Local newspapers ignored the story, seeing it as a publicity stunt. However, it was published by a Detroit newspaper reporter, and Johnson has become widely regarded as the Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights. By 1900, businesses started stringing up Christmas lights behind their windows.[12] Christmas lights were too expensive for the average person; as such, electric Christmas lights did not become the majority replacement for candles until 1930. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_lights#History )

Time Is Precious, Waste It Wisely!

December 17, 2015 — 15 Comments

paint

F/ 13.0, 1/60, ISO 200, Photoshop CS6.

Day 351 / 365

A man was given the job of painting the white lines down the middle of a highway. On his first day he painted six miles; the next day three miles; the following day less than a mile. When the foreman asked the man why he kept painting less each day.

He replied “I just can’t do any better. Each day I keep getting further away from the paint can”.

Interesting Fact:  Ancient colored walls at Dendera, Egypt, which were exposed for years to the elements, still possess their brilliant color, as vivid as when they were painted about 2,000 years ago. The Egyptians mixed their colors with a gummy substance, and applied them separately from each other without any blending or mixture. They appear to have used six colors: white, black, blue, red, yellow, and green. They first covered the area entirely with white, then traced the design in black, leaving out the lights of the ground color. They used minium for red, and generally of a dark tinge. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint#History )

Click! Click! Snap!

December 16, 2015 — 23 Comments

cartoon photography

F/16.0, 1/60, ISO 160.

Day 350 / 365

Top ten reasons to date a photographer:

  1. They work well in the dark
  2. They’re used to funny smells
  3. They make things develop
  4. They work well on many settings
  5. They know how to focus
  6. They can make big things look small and small things look big
  7. They work well from many different angles
  8. They zoom in and out. And in and out and in and out and in and out…
  9. They shoot in many different locations
  10. They can find the beauty in anything

Interesting Fact: Color photography is almost as old as black-and-white, with early experiments including John Herschel‘s Anthotype prints in 1842, the pioneering work of Louis Ducos du Hauron in the 1860s, and the Lippmann process unveiled in 1891, but for many years color photography remained little more than a laboratory curiosity. It first became a widespread commercial reality with the introduction of Autochrome plates in 1907, but the plates were very expensive and not suitable for casual snapshot-taking with hand-held cameras. The mid-1930s saw the introduction of Kodachrome and Agfacolor Neu, the first easy-to-use color films of the modern multi-layer chromogenic type. These early processes produced transparencies for use in slide projectors and viewing devices, but color prints became increasingly popular after the introduction of chromogenic color print paper in the 1940s. The needs of the motion picture industry generated a number of special processes and systems, perhaps the best-known being the now-obsolete three-strip Technicolor process. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photograph#History )

 

Don’t Get Erased

December 15, 2015 — 13 Comments

don't be erased

F/9.0, 1/60, ISO 320, Photoshop CS6.

Day 349 / 365

Mother: “why are you home from school so early?” son: “i was the only one who could answer a question.” mother: “oh, really?
What was the question?” son: “who threw the eraser at the principal?”

source: http://www.jokebuddha.com/Eraser#ixzz3uRglUMj4

Interesting Fact: Before rubber erasers, tablets of rubber or wax were used to erase lead or charcoal marks from paper. Bits of rough stone such as sandstone or pumice were used to remove small errors from parchment or papyrus documents written in ink. Crustless bread was used as an eraser in the past; a Meiji-era (1868-1912) Tokyo student said: “Bread erasers were used in place of rubber erasers, and so they would give them to us with no restriction on amount. So we thought nothing of taking these and eating a firm part to at least slightly satisfy our hunger.” ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eraser#History )