”I didn’t invent the rainy day. I just own the best umbrella.”
Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon
Everyone is familiar with the site of an umbrella, they’re present whether you live in the hottest of climates or the coldest. They’re there to keep the rain off on a blustery day, and there to protect you from sunburn on a warm and sunny one, there’s simply no day that isn’t a perfect Umbrella Day! So of course there’s a holiday to honor this ever useful, ever fashionable and essential piece of travel gear.
History of Umbrella Day
Umbrella Day celebrates this useful device that has been with us for quite a long time, and has served every purpose from practical to fanciful since its creation. Just how long has the umbrella been with us? Long enough that it’s permeated every culture across the globe, and originated from more than one. The oldest recorded umbrella appeared in 21 AD, in Ancient China. Though to be fair, this really was just the first recorded collapsible umbrella, Qin Shihuang’s tomb revealed a terracotta army carriage that had a permanently open umbrella attached to it dating from 210 BC. They were also found in Nineveh, Persepolis, Ancient Egypt, and Greece, just to name a few. Needless to say the umbrella has a long and noble history.
Umbrella Day celebrates this useful device that has been with us for quite a long time, and has served every purpose from practical to fanciful since its creation. Just how long has the umbrella been with us? Long enough that it’s permeated every culture across the globe, and originated from more than one. The oldest recorded umbrella appeared in 21 AD, in Ancient China. Though to be fair, this really was just the first recorded collapsible umbrella, Qin Shihuang’s tomb revealed a terracotta army carriage that had a permanently open umbrella attached to it dating from 210 BC. They were also found in Nineveh, Persepolis, Ancient Egypt, and Greece, just to name a few. Needless to say the umbrella has a long and noble history.
The popularity of the umbrella extended beyond its usefulness for protecting us from sun and rain, special efforts were made to turn these simple devices into exquisite works of art, some of them even being made of lace or lavishly decorated paper, and were carried by the most influential and beautiful people in the world. Today has revealed even more styles that are available in the world, including an innovation on the already innovative collapsible umbrella. Now they have telescoping ones that don’t just collapse the shade, but then collapse the handle so it can fit in your purse or car door! Isn’t that amazing?
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (noun) The floor just above the ground floor of a building. | ||
| Synonyms: | mezzanine | ||
| Usage: | While waiting for our room to be prepared, we sat down for a cup of coffee in the entresol of the hotel. | ||
Idiom of the Day
lose (one's) spirit— To lose one's vigor, energy, hope, or resolve; to become resigned or complacent. |
History
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Opens on Broadway (1949)
Considered Miller's masterpiece, Death of a Salesman won a Pulitzer Prize, a Tony Award for Best Play, and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Best Play award in its first year. An unconventional tragedy, it tells the story of the last day of Willy Loman, a failed salesman betrayed by his own hollow values. The play follows Loman's stream of consciousness. As he talks to people from his past, those from his present wonder if he is unraveling.
Leontyne Price (1927)
When she was a young girl in Mississippi, Price was given a toy piano by her parents. Her passion for music was further inflamed by a Marian Anderson performance she saw as a child. She later enrolled in Juilliard and, with her remarkable vocal range and power, went on to become one of the Metropolitan Opera's most popular stars and the first internationally recognized African-American opera singer.
Namahage Sedo Festival
| A namahage is a man dressed as a demon, wearing a grotesque mask and cape made of straw. Namahages traditionally appear on New Year's Eve at residents' homes to warn children not to be lazy. In 1964 the city of Oga adapted a community event that occurs in people's homes into a public festival that welcomes tourists. The Shinzan Shrine is the site for the festivities; in the dark, tens of people disguised as namahage parade down from the mountains and head to the shrine for music and dancing. Today a bonfire and rice cakes still await the arrival of the namahage. |
Why Are We Afraid of Sharks? There's a Scientific Explanation
There's something lurking in the water, and it's a fear of swimmers everywhere. It's a type of fish, this one several feet long, with rows of sharp, serrated teeth that it uses to clamp down on prey. There's a shark in the water. Sharks, specifically ...READ MORE:
1863 - In New York City, two of the world’s most famous midgets, General Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren were married.
1870 - The YWCA was founded in New York City.
1897 - "The New York Times" began printing "All the news that's fit to print" on their front page.
1933 - The singing telegram was introduced by the Postal Telegraph Company of New York City.
1935 - The Pennsylvania Railroad began passenger service with its electric locomotive. The engine was 79-1/2 feet long and weighed 230 tons.
1971 - Carole King's "Tapestry" was released.
1989 - Ron Brown became the first African American to head a major U.S. political party when he was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
If You Were Born Today, February 10
While you certainly have an independent streak, partnership is extremely important to you. Nothing pleases you more than a special friendship, learning about one another, and growing through your connection. You quite easily take the lead, however, and others naturally follow. You are passionate and strong–perhaps intimidating to some because of this strength. Famous people born today: Laura Dern, Robert Wagner, Boris Pasternak, Elizabeth Banks, George Stephanopoulos, Larry Adler, Alexander Payne.
READERS INFO
INTERESTING FACTS
- If you’re looking for a traditional Christmas dinner in Japan, you have to look no further than your local KFC, where this is the Christmas dinner of choice for the majority in the Land of the Rising Sun. According to KFC, this particular unusual Christmas tradition dates back to the 1970s when supposedly a customer at the chain’s Aoyama store observed that, in a land bereft of the customary turkey for a celebratory dinner, fried chicken was the next best thing. This idea eventually percolated up to the corporate offices of KFC and prompted the company to start a huge advertising campaign in Japan called “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!” (Kentucky for Christmas!) in 1974, which became ludicrously popular thanks to this campaign and the popularity of American culture in Japan at the time.
- The song Silver Bells was originally titled Tinkle Bells, first appearing in “The Lemon Drop Kid,” a 1951 film starring Bob Hope. Needless to say, these two things would have surely resulted in the song getting a few chuckles had composer Jay Livingston’s wife, Lynne Gordon, not stepped in. Said the co-composer of the song Ray Evans, “We never thought that tinkle had a double meaning until Jay went home and his wife said, ‘Are you out of your mind? Do you know what the word tinkle is?’” (Of course, referring to the fact that it is another word for urination often used with kids.)
- Mistletoe tends to spring from bird droppings that have fallen on trees, with the seeds having passed through the digestive tract of birds. From this, it should come as no surprise that the name “mistle” or “missel” meant “dung” and “toe,” which came from the Anglo-Saxon “tan,” meant “twig.” Thus, mistletoe is another way to essentially say “poop twig.” Not only is mistletoe a poop twig, but most varieties of this plant are partial parasites, being unable to fully sustain themselves via photosynthesis, so they leach what they need from the particular tree they are growing on. Nothing like finding one’s true love kissing under a parasitic poop twig…
- While Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known for his acting and his work while Governor of California, he was actually remarkably successful even before any of that. Before he was thirty, he’d already served in the army, won numerous body building competitions, while simultaneously going to business school and working at a health club. Once he immigrated to America, he continued to compete in bodybuilding competitions while also starting a bricklaying business, which he then used the profits from to start a mail-order business selling fitness related products like workout instructional materials. He then used the profits from that and his winnings in body building competitions to start a real estate investing business, ultimately making him a millionaire in his 20s, long before his breakthrough role at the age of 35 in the 1982 Conan the Barbarian.
Pictures of the day
The Three Musicians is an oil painting by the Spanish Baroque painter Diego Velázquez (1599–1660). One of his earliest works, the painting depicts three young men around a dinner table playing music. It is painted in chiaroscuro, a Baroque technique that uses the contrast between light and darkness to achieve a sense of volume. The work is now held at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, Germany.
Burning Since 1901, this Bulb is the Poster Child for Planned Obsolescence
It's the light bulb the manufacturers don't want you to see
knit
thanks, Helen
knit
thanks, Marilyn
knit
knit
Convertible Center Row Lace Headband / Neck Warmer
knit, Valentine's Day
crochet
thanks, Sharon
crochet
thanks, Joy
crochet
Layering Shrug
crochet
crochet, Valentine's Day
Valentine Mug Cozy

RECIPE ... Valentine's Day
CROCKPOT RECIPE, adult
thanks, Sally
SWEETS
thanks, Shelley
Pierre Hermé, France’s most celebrated pastry chef, has created a special French shortbread
ADULT COLORING
CRAFTS ... Valentine's Day
Recycled Valentine's Day Giant Kisses
hometalk
CHILDREN'S CORNER ... Valentine's Day
thanks, Iris
THE FELT FINGER PUPPETS
PUZZLE
Fire Hydrant Jigsaw Puzzle
WORD SEARCH
| ales arrest assist carve conversation craft crown | deft depot detour diner entertainment epee episode eras | fear fewer first grant guest haunt hoist leader | master nerd never note ours part peas pest pigeon | receipt rent rustic savings sees servitude sirs smoke sots stirs sweet | tact teen tote train twist upset video wart where |
SUDOKU ... very hard
solution:
QUOTE
CLEVER
thanks for quiz, Susie, West Coast Correspondent
giveitlove
me (below) .. you?
Chihuahua
Energetic yet down to nap, Chihuahuas seem your speed!
EYE OPENER
VINTAGE
By Tom Hoepf, associate editor of Auction Central News
Question: I love to collect enamelware similar to this fluted cast-iron cake pan. The interior is white, and the exterior is bold blue with a few rusted areas. The mark is somewhat worn, with the only letters visible being "Sedlet." Could it possibly be Sedletz, a city in the Czech Republic? Can you tell me the age and value of this pan?
Answer: This enameled spouted cake mold is often called a "Turk's head" mold. European enamelware was imported to the United States from the late 1800s until World War I. An article in The New York Times at the time noted that Bohemian enamelware was nearly all blue and white and was more attractive than the mottled American graniteware. Made of steel, enamelware manufactured in Czechoslovakia was said to be more durable than the American-made product. "Sedletz" (you are correct -- the "z" is partially obscured on your mold) refers to the Czech city where it was made. Beginning in 1891, the McKinley Tariff Act required foreign-made imports to be stamped or labeled in English words with their country of origin. Thus, one might assume the mold predates that law. Enameled Turk's head molds sell for $35 to $65.
Question: My wife and I inherited this chair from my father, who said it was a wedding present to his great-grandparents and that he thought the chair came over on a ship from England. It looks like maybe it is made out of oak. It is 29 inches high and 40 inches wide from the outside of each arm. The letters PAT.AT.FOR are carved in the hinges at the bottom of the back where it attaches to the seat. Can you help me with some history of this item? I will never sell it, but it would be nice to know something of its origin and value.
Answer: Rocking chairs have been popular since the early 1800s. Here, the rockers are attached to what is called a Morris chair, a large easy chair of the late 19th century. The style -- attributed to William Morris, an English artist, writer and designer -- features an adjustable back, and loose cushions form the seat and back that rest within a wooden frame. This oak Morris rocker was likely made in America, as such a relatively inexpensive item would not likely have warranted the cost of its owner shipping it from overseas. Comparable late-Victorian Morris chairs in nice condition generally sell at auction in the $100 to $200 range.
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