Did you know...?

[nosig]

Witold Pilecki (13 May 1901 – 25 May 1948; Polish pronunciation: [ˈvitɔlt piˈlɛt͡skʲi]; codenames Roman Jezierski, Tomasz Serafiński, Druh, Witold) was a Polish Army officer and intelligence agent during World War II. He also served as a rittmeister with the Polish Cavalry during the Second Polish Republic and was the founder of the Secret Polish Army (Tajna Armia Polska) resistance group in German-occupied Poland in November 1939, and a member of the underground Home Army (Armia Krajowa), which was formed in February 1942. He was the author of Witold's Report, the first comprehensive Allied intelligence report on Auschwitz concentration camp and the Holocaust. He was Roman Catholic.

During World War II, he volunteered for a Polish resistance operation to get imprisoned in the Auschwitz death camp in order to gather intelligence and escape. While in the camp, Pilecki organized a resistance movement and, as early as 1941, informed the Western Allies of Nazi Germany's Auschwitz atrocities. He escaped from the camp in 1943 after nearly two and a half years of imprisonment. Pilecki took part in the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. He remained loyal to the London-based Polish government-in-exile after the Soviet-backed communist takeover of Poland and was arrested in 1947 by the Stalinist secret police (Urząd Bezpieczeństwa) on charges of working for "foreign imperialism", thought to be a euphemism for MI6. He was executed after a show trial in 1948. Until 1989, information about his exploits and fate was suppressed by the Polish communist regime.

As a result of his efforts, he is considered as "one of the greatest wartime heroes". In the foreword to the book The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery, Michael Schudrich, the Chief Rabbi of Poland, wrote as follows: "When God created the human being, God had in mind that we should all be like Captain Witold Pilecki, of blessed memory." In the introduction to that book Norman Davies, a British historian, wrote: "If there was an Allied hero who deserved to be remembered and celebrated, this was a person with few peers." At the commemoration event of International Holocaust Remembrance Day held in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum on 27 January 2013 Ryszard Schnepf, the Polish Ambassador to the US, described Pilecki as a "diamond among Poland's heroes" and "the highest example of Polish patriotism".

[Aberzombie]

William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor who was primarily known for his typecast roles in horror films that depicted the characters Frankenstein and the Mummy.

He portrayed Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939), which resulted in his immense popularity. He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932).

His best-known non-horror role is as the Grinch, as well as the narrator, in the animated television special of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966). He also had a memorable role in the original Scarface (1932). For his contribution to film and television, Boris Karloff was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

[nosig]

Project Orion was a study of a spacecraft intended to be directly propelled by a series of explosions of atomic bombs behind the craft (nuclear pulse propulsion). Early versions of this vehicle were proposed to take off from the ground with significant associated nuclear fallout; later versions were presented for use only in space.

The idea of rocket propulsion by combustion of explosive substance was first proposed by Russian explosives expert Nikolai Kibalchich in 1881, and in 1891 similar ideas were developed independently by German engineer Hermann Ganswindt. General proposals of nuclear propulsion were first made by Stanislaw Ulam in 1946, and preliminary calculations were made by F. Reines and Ulam in a Los Alamos memorandum dated 1947.[1] The actual project, initiated in 1958, was led by Ted Taylor at General Atomics and physicist Freeman Dyson, who at Taylor's request took a year away from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton to work on the project.

The Orion concept offered high thrust and high specific impulse, or propellant efficiency, at the same time. The unprecedented extreme power requirements for doing so would be met by nuclear explosions, of such power relative to the vehicle's mass as to be survived only by using external detonations without attempting to contain them in internal structures. As a qualitative comparison, traditional chemical rockets—such as the Saturn V that took the Apollo program to the Moon—produce high thrust with low specific impulse, whereas electric ion engines produce a small amount of thrust very efficiently. Orion would have offered performance greater than the most advanced conventional or nuclear rocket engines then under consideration. Supporters of Project Orion felt that it had potential for cheap interplanetary travel, but it lost political approval over concerns with fallout from its propulsion.

The Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 is generally acknowledged to have ended the project. However, from Project Longshot to Project Daedalus, Mini-Mag Orion, and other proposals which reach engineering analysis at the level of considering thermal power dissipation, the principle of external nuclear pulse propulsion to maximize survivable power has remained common among serious concepts for interstellar flight without external power beaming and for very high-performance interplanetary flight. Such later proposals have tended to modify the basic principle by envisioning equipment driving detonation of much smaller fission or fusion pellets, although in contrast Project Orion's larger nuclear pulse units (nuclear bombs) were based on less speculative technology.

[Limeylongears]

David M Mallon wrote:

The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance (Aliança Luso-Britânica), ratified by John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and King John I of Portugal at the Treaty of Windsor in 1386, between England (succeeded by the United Kingdom) and Portugal is the oldest alliance in the world that is still in force – with the earliest treaty dating back to the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373. With the Anglo-Portuguese victory at the Battle of Aljubarrot in 1385, John I was recognized as the undisputed King of Portugal, putting an end to the interregnum of the 1383–1385 Crisis, with the Treaty of Windsor establishing a pact of mutual support between the two countries.

The Iberian Union (1580–1640), a 60-year dynastic union between Portugal and Spain, interrupted the alliance. Portuguese foreign policy became tied to Spanish hostility to England. As a result, Portugal and England were on opposite sides of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Dutch–Portuguese War. The alliance was reconfirmed after the Portuguese Restoration War and the English Restoration.

Since then, the Portuguese and the British have supported each other through numerous conficts, including the Seven Years' War, the Napoleonic Wars, The First and Second World Wars, and the Falklands War. In 1960, Portugal and the United Kingdom were two of the seven founding member nations of the European Free Trade Association (though they have both since withdrawn), as well as two of the twelve founding member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Portugal and the United Kingdom were two of the earliest members of the European Union under the Treaty of Rome (in 1986 and 1973, respectively).

Portugal was officially neutral in WWII (it was a right-wing dictatorship at the time), I think, though there may have been some informal collaboration.

[Aberzombie]

Academy Sports + Outdoors is an American sporting goods discount store chain. Academy carries an extensive line of name-brand equipment and clothing and shoes for competitive sports, physical fitness training, and outdoor recreational activities such as camping, hunting, fishing, and boating. Academy Sports and Outdoors has its corporate offices in the Katy Distribution Center in unincorporated western Harris County, Texas, United States, near Katy and west of Houston.

[David M Mallon]

Limeylongears wrote:

Portugal was officially neutral in WWII (it was a right-wing dictatorship at the time), I think, though there may have been some informal collaboration.

While Portugal was officially neutral, dictatorial prime minister António de Oliveira Salazar stated at the outset of Britain's entry into the war that he "would answer the call if it were made on grounds of dire necessity."

In 1943, the British government invoked the alliance on behalf of the United States, requesting the use of air bases in the Azores, a request which Salazar immediately granted. Between 1943 and the war's end in 1945, nearly 9,000 American aircraft departed from Portuguese air bases in the islands.

[Aberzombie]

Sho Kosugi, born on June 17, 1948, is a Japanese martial artist with extensive training in Shindō jinen-ryū Karate, Kendo, Judo, Iaido, Kobudo, Aikido and Ninjutsu, who gained popularity as an actor during the 1980s, often playing ninjas. Kosugi is a man who believes in and practices his profession both as an actor and as a martial art grand master. He was an All Japan Karate Champion.

[nosig]

Tuscany's name in modern days comes from the Etruscans, a very advanced ancient civilization, highly influential in the development of the early Roman civilization. But the origins of the Etruscan civilization has been a vivid debate amongst archaeologists, historians and linguists for centuries.

Three are three main theories about their origin: they came from Anatolia (modern day Turkey), as stated by the Greek historian Herotodus; they developed from the local Iron Age Villanovan society, as suggested by another Greek historian, Dionysius of Halicarnassus; or they came from an Indo-European invasion from the north, like the Latins did.

Now, the most accurate approach, the DNA analysis, was applied. A team led by Professor Piazza has investigated genetic samples from three present-day Tuscany (central Italy) populations from in Murlo, Volterra, and Casentino. "We already knew that people living in this area were genetically different from those in the surrounding regions. Murlo and Volterra are among the most archaeologically important Etruscan sites in a region of Tuscany also known for having Etruscan-derived place names and local dialects. The Casentino valley sample was taken from an area bordering the area where Etruscan influence has been preserved."

This DNA samples were compared to those coming from healthy males from Northern Italy, the Southern Balkans, the island of Lemnos (Greece), Turkey, and the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia.

The Tuscan samples came from individuals living in the area for at least three generations, based on their surnames, having a geographical distribution limited to the linguistic area of sampling. "We found that the DNA samples from individuals from Murlo and Volterra were more closely related those from near Eastern people than those of the other Italian samples. In Murlo particularly, one genetic variant is shared only by people from Turkey, and, of the samples we obtained, the Tuscan ones also show the closest affinity with those from Lemnos", Piazza said.

Previously, the same relationship had been found for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the female lineages. Another mtDNA of local ancient breeds of cattle still living in Tuscany and other areas found a close link to those from Anatolia.

Many Etruscan cities were continuously inhabited since the Iron Age, and the people who lived in the ancient Etruria region did not appear "out of the blue". The Etruscans took the Greek alphabet, and their inscriptions revealed a language developed in situ before their first historical record, in 800 BC, without any connection with the Indo-European languages, thus the third theory was totally excluded. By 265BC, the Etruscans were totally incorporated into the Roman Empire. "But the question that remained to be answered was - how long was this process between pre-history and history?" said Piazza.

In 1885, an inscription in a pre-Greek language discovered in the island of Lemnos, dated to about the 6th century BC, presented many similarities with the Etruscan language both in its form and structure and its vocabulary. Herodotus' theory, criticized by many historians, claimed that the Etruscans emigrated from the ancient region of Lydia (now western Turkey). Half the population sailed from Smyrna (now Izmir) until they reached Umbria in Italy.

Indeed, tombs discovered in ancient Lydia are extremely similar to those of the Etruscans. The Etruscans were also skilled sailors, who traded with the Greeks and Cartagena and the God of the Sea, Neptunus, was important in their religion.

The Lydian theory also links the Etruscans to the Minoans and "People of the Sea", seafaring raiders that were at war with the Egyptians in the 12th century BC. Their civilization was centered in Crete (now an island in southern Greece) and other neighboring islands (like Lemnos) and these people spoke non-Indo-European related languages. There are significantly increasing proofs that match the Crete and Minoan civilization to Atlantis and its decline in a huge ancient tsunami.

"We think that our research provides convincing proof that Herodotus was right and that the Etruscans did indeed arrive from ancient Lydia. However, to be 100% certain we intend to sample other villages in Tuscany, and also to test whether there is a genetic continuity between the ancient Etruscans and modern-day Tuscans. This will have to be done by extracting DNA from fossils; this has been tried before but the technique for doing so has proved to be very difficult." said Piazza.

[Aberzombie]

Bill Murray agreed to do the film Stripes two weeks before shooting began. He did not show up until the third day of shooting because he was attending Chicago Cubs baseball games instead.

[nosig]

"Look, that's why there's rules, understand? So that you think before you break 'em."
"He's going to go totally Librarian-poo."
"Rincewind had always been happy to think of himself as a racist. The One Hundred Meters, the Mile, the Marathon -- he'd run them all."
"Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life."
"Luck is my middle name," said Rincewind, indistinctly. "Mind you, my first name is Bad."
"Let's just say that if complete and utter chaos was lightning, he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards'."
-discworld (yeah, Terry Pratchetts quotes - gotta love em)

[David M Mallon]

Prior to his high-profile roles on the television series Malcolm In The Middle (2000-2006) and Breaking Bad (2008-2013), American actor Bryan Cranston (b. 1956) worked as a voice actor for American dubs of Japanese films and television, including Macross Plus, Armitage III: Poly Matrix, and Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise. Cranston also provided the voices of several monsters on the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993-1994), including Twin Man and Skizzard. The Power Rangers character Billy Cranston, the Blue Ranger, (David Yost) was named after him.

Prior to his mainstream success, Cranston appeared in numerous small live-action roles, including parts in the films Fletch Lives (1989), That Thing You Do! (1996), and Saving Private Ryan (1998), as well as the television series Murder, She Wrote, Seinfeld, From the Earth to the Moon, and Babylon 5.

[Aberzombie]

Pillsbury is a American brand name used by Minneapolis-based General Mills and Orrville, Ohio-based J.M. Smucker Company. Historically, the Pillsbury Company, also based in Minneapolis, was a rival company to General Mills and was one of the world's largest producers of grain and other foodstuffs until it was bought out by General Mills in 2001. Antitrust law required General Mills to sell off some of the products. General Mills kept the rights to refrigerated and frozen Pillsbury products, while dry baking products and frosting are now sold by Smucker under license.

Leo Burnett created Pillsbury's Doughboy and Jolly Green Giant, which are two of the agency's top brand icons.[

[Kajehase]

Before dying at a much too young age, John Cazale appeared in five feature-length movies. All of them received at least an Academy Award nomination for best picture. (They were: The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather, Part 2, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter.

[Aberzombie]

Antoine's is a Louisiana Creole cuisine restaurant located at 713 rue St. Louis (St. Louis Street) in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It has the distinction of being the oldest family run restaurant in the United States, having been established in 1840 by Antoine Alciatore. A New Orleans institution, it is notable for being the "inventor" of several famous dishes, such as Oysters Rockefeller, Pompano en Papillote, Eggs Sardou and Pigeonneaux Paradis. Antoine's Cookbook, compiled by Roy F. Guste (the fifth-generation proprietor) features hundreds of recipes from the Antoine's tradition. The restaurant is also known for its VIP patrons (including several U.S. presidents and Pope John Paul II).

Antoine's features a 25,000 bottle capacity wine storage and 15 dining rooms of varying sizes and themes, with several featuring Mardi Gras krewe memorabilia. The lengthy menu (originally only in French, now in French and English) features classic French-Creole dishes. By tradition, Antoine's is closed to the general public on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Mardi Gras. The restaurant can be reserved for private parties on these "Closed Days." Advance reservations are required for dining during Mardi Gras and on weekends. The executive chef as of November 2012 is Michael Regua.

[Limeylongears]

The 'forehead duel', which is (apparently) still practiced in the Crimea, involves each party head-butting one another until one of them falls to the ground, at which point he cuts his own throat with a knife.

[Aberzombie]

Puppy Dog Pals (previously titled Puppy Dog Tails) is an American computer-animated children's television series created by Harland Williams. The series debuted on Disney Junior and Disney Channel in the United States on April 14, 2017.

Puppy Dog Pals is about brothers Bingo and Rolly, two puppies who have fun travelling around their neighborhood when their owner Bob leaves home. They also have a cat sister named Hissy, and a robot dog named ARF.

[Kajehase]

According to imdb.com, the first person to portray Winston Churchill on film was an actor called Norman Stuart, in the 1914 movie The Cause of the Great European War.

[nosig]

Joshua Abraham Norton (c.1818? – January 8, 1880), known as Emperor Norton, was a citizen of San Francisco, California, who in 1859 proclaimed himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States" and subsequently "Protector of Mexico".

Born in England, Norton spent most of his early life in South Africa. After the death of his mother in 1846 and his father in 1848, he sailed west, arriving in San Francisco possibly in November 1849. Norton initially made a living as a businessman, but he lost his fortune investing in Peruvian rice.

After losing a lawsuit in which he tried to void his rice contract, Norton's public prominence faded. He reemerged in September 1859, laying claim to the position of Emperor of the United States. Although he had no political power, and his influence extended only so far as he was humored by those around him, he was treated deferentially in San Francisco, and currency issued in his name was honored in the establishments he frequented.

Though some considered him insane or eccentric, citizens of San Francisco celebrated his regal presence and his proclamations, such as his order that the United States Congress be dissolved by force and his numerous decrees calling for a bridge crossing connecting San Francisco to Oakland, and a corresponding tunnel to be built under San Francisco Bay. Long after his death, similar structures were built in the form of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and the Transbay Tube, and there have been campaigns to rename the bridge "The Emperor Norton Bridge".

On January 8, 1880, Norton collapsed at the corner of California and Dupont (now Grant) streets and died before he could be given medical treatment. At his funeral two days later, nearly 30,000 people packed the streets of San Francisco to pay homage. Norton has been immortalized as the basis of characters in the literature of writers Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christopher Moore, Morris and Goscinny, Selma Lagerlöf, and Neil Gaiman.

At the peremptory request and desire of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I, Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and now for the last 9 years and 10 months past of S. F., Cal., declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these U. S.; and in virtue of the authority thereby in me vested, do hereby order and direct the representatives of the different States of the Union to assemble in Musical Hall, of this city, on the 1st day of Feb. next, then and there to make such alterations in the existing laws of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which the country is laboring, and thereby cause confidence to exist, both at home and abroad, in our stability and integrity.

— NORTON I, Emperor of the United States

[Aberzombie]

Landry's, Inc., is an American, privately owned, multi-brand dining/hospitality/entertainment/gaming corporation. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Landry's, Inc. owns and operates more than 500 restaurant/hotel/casino/entertainment destinations in 35 states and the District of Columbia. The company also owns and operates numerous international locations.

Landry's, Inc., is owned entirely by President & CEO Tilman J. Fertitta, an original partner in the company's first Landry's Seafood, which opened in the Houston suburb of Katy, Texas, in 1980. A year later, Fertitta helped open Willie G's, a seafood restaurant in Houston. In 1986, Fertitta gained controlling interests in both restaurants. He became CEO and took the company public in 1993, with a valuation of $30 million.

Under the leadership of Fertitta, the company expanded. In 2010, already being the majority shareholder, Fertitta acquired all outstanding shares of company stock, gaining sole control and ownership. By 2011, the company's value had risen to more than $1.7 billion.

[Aberzombie]

From Animal House, in honor of Flounder....

Stacy Grooman, Flounder's girlfriend Sissy, was actually a student at the University of Oregon at the time the movie was filmed.

The female clerk, from whom Flounder (Stephen Furst) buys the marbles, is actually his wife.

The original script called for Flounder (Stephen Furst) to be admitted to the fraternity only if he told one of Larry Kroger's (Tom Hulce) secrets. Flounder blurted out, "He's got spots on his weenie!" Later, during the naming of the pledges, when Larry asks why his Delta name is Pinto, the entire fraternity drunkenly yells, "'Cause you got a spotted dong!"

The original script included a scene of "competitive projectile vomiting" which Flounder was to fail at repeatedly. Later, after Flounder throws up "on" Dean Wormer, Boon congratulates Flounder on his technique.

In the original script, Flounder and Sissy fall asleep during the toga party--another sign that Flounder wasn't cool. (The scene was apparently never shot, but one publicity still photo shows them snoozing on a couch.)

The license plate on Flounder's car begins with the initials "FNG", a derogatory military term--"F@$~in' New Guy"--for newcomers during the Vietnam War.

Flounder's groceries handling in the supermarket was another single shot. Stephen Furst deftly caught the many items John Landis and Tim Matheson threw at him, amazing Landis.

The car that Flounder drives which his brother lend to him and the Delta's also use at the end with as the "Deathmobile" is a1964 Lincoln Continental

The handgun with blanks Flounder is given to shoot/scare Neidermeyer horse with is a Star Model B.

[Aberzombie]

Team Umizoomi is an American children's computer animated fantasy musical series with an emphasis on preschool mathematical concepts, such as counting, sequences, shapes, patterns, measurements, and comparisons. The eponymous team consists of mini superheroes Milli and Geo, a robot named Bot, and the audience who is viewing the show. Milli, Geo and Bot refer to the viewers as their Umifriend and encourage him or her to develop their "Mighty Math Powers!" The action generally takes place in and around Umi City, a colorful city where the streets are paved with origami inspired patterns.

In the United States, Team Umizoomi was first shown on both Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. It is also available on iTunes and Amazon Prime. It first aired on January 25, 2010. On February 20, 2014, a crew member of Team Umizoomi stated that the series had not been renewed for a fifth season by Nickelodeon.

[Stuffy Grammarian]

Aberzombie wrote:

Team Umizoomi is an American children's computer animated fantasy musical series... The eponymous team consists of mini superheroes Milli and Geo, a robot named Bot, and the audience who is viewing the show.

How do the names "Milli", "Geo," and "Bot" contribute to the name "Team Umizumi"? It appears the term "eponymous" should have been applied to the name "Umi City" instead, with regards to the team name?

[Aberzombie]

A spark plug is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air mixture by an electric spark, while containing combustion pressure within the engine. A spark plug has a metal threaded shell, electrically isolated from a central electrode by a porcelain insulator. The central electrode, which may contain a resistor, is connected by a heavily insulated wire to the output terminal of an ignition coil or magneto. The spark plug's metal shell is screwed into the engine's cylinder head and thus electrically grounded. The central electrode protrudes through the porcelain insulator into the combustion chamber, forming one or more spark gaps between the inner end of the central electrode and usually one or more protuberances or structures attached to the inner end of the threaded shell and designated the side, earth, or ground electrode(s).

Spark plugs may also be used for other purposes; in Saab Direct Ignition when they are not firing, spark plugs are used to measure ionization in the cylinders – this ionic current measurement is used to replace the ordinary cam phase sensor, knock sensor and misfire measurement function.[citation needed] Spark plugs may also be used in other applications such as furnaces wherein a combustible fuel/air mixture must be ignited. In this case, they are sometimes referred to as flame igniters.

In 1860 Étienne Lenoir used an electric spark plug in his gas engine, the first internal combustion piston engine and is generally credited with the invention of the spark plug.

Early patents for spark plugs included those by Nikola Tesla (in U.S. Patent 609,250 for an ignition timing system, 1898), Frederick Richard Simms (GB 24859/1898, 1898) and Robert Bosch (GB 26907/1898). But only the invention of the first commercially viable high-voltage spark plug as part of a magneto-based ignition system by Robert Bosch's engineer Gottlob Honold in 1902 made possible the development of the spark-ignition engine. Subsequent manufacturing improvements can also be credited to Albert Champion, the Lodge brothers, sons of Sir Oliver Lodge, who developed and manufactured their father's idea and also Kenelm Lee Guinness, of the Guinness brewing family, who developed the KLG brand. Helen Blair Bartlett also played a vital role in making the insulator in 1930.

[nosig]

The Hat Terai Gurkha is the name of the headgear worn by officers of the Gurkha Contingent in Singapore. A distinctive part of the Gurkha uniform not worn by any other member of the Singapore Police Force, it is named after the Terai region in Nepal, a location linked to the events surrounding the Gurkha War. Worn only during guard duty and on parades, the hat is made of khaki-coloured felt with a dark blue puggaree wound around the hat with six folds. The aluminium silver anodised police force cap badge is affixed on the puggaree to the left. It is always worn with the chin strap and is deliberately tilted far enough to the right that the brim touches the right ear.

[Aberzombie]

The Sazerac is a local New Orleans variation of a Cognac or whiskey cocktail, named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of Cognac brandy that served as its original main ingredient. The drink is most traditionally a combination of Cognac or rye, absinthe, Peychaud's Bitters, and sugar, although bourbon whiskey or Herbsaint are sometimes substituted. Some claim it is the oldest known American cocktail, with origins in pre–Civil War New Orleans, although drink historian David Wondrich is among those who dispute this, and American instances of published usage of the word cocktail to describe a mixture of spirits, bitters, and sugar can be traced to the dawn of the 19th century.

[nosig]

The Order of the Stick (OOTS) is a comedic webcomic that satirizes tabletop role-playing games and medieval fantasy. The comic is written and drawn by Rich Burlew, who illustrates the comic in a stick figure style.

Taking place in a magical world that loosely operates by the rules of the 3.5 edition of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), the comic follows the sometimes farcical exploits of six adventurers as they strive to save the world from an evil lich sorcerer. Much of the comic's humor stems from the characters' awareness of the game rules that affect their lives or from having anachronistic knowledge of modern culture. This in turn is often used by the author to parody various aspects of role-playing games and fantasy fiction. While primarily comedic in nature, The Order of the Stick features a continuing storyline serialized in one-to four-page episodes, with over 1000 such episodes released so far.

[David M Mallon]

The name of American pop punk band Townhouse Warrior was conceived when the band's frontman, originally wanting to name the band "Saltine Warrior" (after the former Syracuse University sports mascot and associated local tavern), realized the potential implications of the Native American mascot and changed "saltine" to a competing brand of wheat crackers.

[Kajehase]

A Sussex jury roll from the 1600s includes the names
Accepted Trevor
Redeemed Compton
Kill-Sin Pimple
Fly-Fornication Richardson (apparently a name usually given to children born out of wedlock)
Search-The-Scriptures Moreton
The-Peace-Of-God Knight
Stand-Fast-On-High Stringer
The Gift-of-God Stringer
Fight-The-Good-Fight-Of-Faith White
Obediencia Cruttenden
Called Lower
Hope-For Bending
More-Fruit Flower
and Meek Brewer.

[Limeylongears]

Hope-For Bending?

Sounds like new alias time to me...

[Kajehase]

Probably should have included “Through-Much-Tribulation-We-Enter-The-Kingdom-Of-Heaven" a.k.a. "Tribby," as well.

"Joye-in-Sorrow" makes me suspect a tragic delivery.

And let's all have some very belated compassion for the people named "No-Merit."

[Aberzombie]

Beer can chicken, also referred to as chicken on a throne, beer butt chicken and dancing chicken, is a barbecued chicken dish and method of indirect grilling using a partially-filled can of beer that is placed in the chicken's cavity prior to cooking. The process adds moisture to the dish, and some believe that steam from the beer serves to steam the chicken from the inside and add flavor to the dish. Some people are avid proponents of the dish, while others have contended that the efficacy of using the beer is overrated, and that the science regarding beer can chicken is debatable.

[Aberzombie]

WD-40 is the trademark name of a penetrating oil and water-displacing spray. The spray is manufactured by the San Diego, California–based WD-40 Company.

Different sources credit different men with inventing WD-40 formula in 1953 as part of the Rocket Chemical Company (later renamed to WD-40 Company), in San Diego, California; the formula was kept as a trade secret and was never patented.

According to Iris Engstrand, a historian of San Diego and California history at the University of San Diego, Iver Norman Lawson invented the formula, while the WD-40 company website and other books and newspapers credit Norman Larsen. "WD-40" is abbreviated from the term "Water Displacement, 40th formula", suggesting it was the result of the 40th attempt to create the product. The spray, composed of various hydrocarbons, was originally designed to be used by Convair to protect the outer skin which comprised the paper-thin balloon tanks of the Atlas missile from rust and corrosion. These stainless steel fuel tanks were so fragile that when empty they had to be kept inflated with nitrogen to prevent them from collapsing. WD-40 was later found to have many household uses and was made available to consumers in San Diego in 1958.

It was written up as a new consumer product in 1961. By 1965 it was being used by airlines including Delta and United; United, for example, was using it on fixed and movable joints of their DC-8 and Boeing 720s in maintenance and overhaul. At that time, airlines were using a variant called WD-60 to clean turbines, removing light rust from control lines, and when handling or storing metal parts. By 1969 WD-40 was being marketed to farmers and mechanics in England.

[Kajehase]

Ten of the facts of varying believability included in the pop-up version of the video to the Arcade Fire song Creature Comfort includes:

"Pierre Gill, the cinematographer, had just completed work on Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049."

"The bass line that runs through this song was sampled from the Super Nintendo version of Street Fighter II."

"The metallic outfits were incredibly hot. Drummer Jeremy Gara lost six pounds during the shoot."

"Their first gig was at a Christian music festival called 'Christ, This Is Fun!'"

"Bassist Tim Kingsbury ruined so many rehearsals by wandering out of frame that the director made him put on a shock collar."

"The light-up microphone was white hot. After each take, Win screamed, 'There must be a better way to do this!' The crew just laughed and laughed.

"Before every concert, the members of Arcade Fire stand in a circle and each say one thing they like about capitalism."

"The 'God' the lyrics refer to is Cthulhu, the elder god. The entire band worships him!"

"'Arcade Fire' is an anagram for 'Darc Fairie,' Win's AOL Instant Messenger username in the 1990s."

"Richard is the last redhead in Canada. There will be no more."

[David M Mallon]

American actress Susan Linda Bay (b. 1943) is both the widow of Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015) and the first cousin of infamous filmmaker Michael Bay (b. 1965).

[Aberzombie]

Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from an original built by William the Conqueror in 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a bend of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-and-bailey castle was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century. During the Hundred Years War, the facade opposite the town was refortified, resulting in one of the most recognisable examples of 14th century military architecture. It was used as a stronghold until the early 17th century, when it was granted to Sir Fulke Greville by James I in 1604. Greville converted it to a country house and it was owned by the Greville family, who became Earls of Warwick in 1759, until 1978 when it was bought by the Tussauds Group. In 2007, the Tussauds Group merged with Merlin Entertainments, which is the current owner of Warwick Castle.

[Thomas Seitz]

Aberzombie wrote:

Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from an original built by William the Conqueror in 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a bend of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-and-bailey castle was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century. During the Hundred Years War, the facade opposite the town was refortified, resulting in one of the most recognisable examples of 14th century military architecture. It was used as a stronghold until the early 17th century, when it was granted to Sir Fulke Greville by James I in 1604. Greville converted it to a country house and it was owned by the Greville family, who became Earls of Warwick in 1759, until 1978 when it was bought by the Tussauds Group. In 2007, the Tussauds Group merged with Merlin Entertainments, which is the current owner of Warwick Castle.

I've been to Warwick Castle many times. It's a nice little castle but not my favorite.

[Aberzombie]

The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors is composed of chief boiler and pressure vessel inspectors representing states, cities, and provinces enforcing pressure equipment laws and regulations. Created to prevent death, injury and destruction, these laws and regulations represent the collective input of National Board members.

During the past ten years, over six million pressure equipment inspections were performed in North America. Of that total, there were more than 556,000 violations, or more than 556,000 potential accidents that were prevented: almost one out of every ten pieces of equipment inspected.

[Aberzombie]

A floppy disk, also called a floppy, diskette, or just disk, is a type of disk storage composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic enclosure lined with fabric that removes dust particles. Floppy disks are read and written by a floppy disk drive (FDD).

Floppy disks, initially as 8-inch (200 mm) media[1] and later in 5¼-inch (133 mm) and 3½-inch (90 mm) sizes, were a ubiquitous form of data storage and exchange from the mid-1970s into the mid-2000s. By the late 2000s, computers were rarely manufactured with installed floppy disk drives; 3½-inch floppy disks can be used with an external USB floppy disk drive, but USB drives for 5¼-inch, 8-inch, and non-standard diskettes are rare to non-existent. These formats are usually handled by older equipment.

While floppy disk drives still have some limited uses, especially with legacy industrial computer equipment, they have been superseded by data storage methods with much greater capacity, such as USB flash drives, flash storage cards, portable external hard disk drives, optical discs, ROM cartridges and storage available through computer networks.

[BigNorseWolf]

Coyotes and badgers will hunt together

[Aberzombie]

A Dutch oven is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens are usually made of seasoned cast iron, however some Dutch ovens are instead made of cast aluminium, or are ceramic. Some metal varieties are enameled rather than being seasoned. Dutch ovens have been used as cooking vessels for hundreds of years. They are called casserole dishes in English speaking countries other than the United States ("casserole" means "pot" in French), and cocottes in French. They are similar to both the Japanese tetsunabe and the Sač, a traditional Balkan cast-iron oven, and are related to the South African Potjie and the Australian Bedourie oven.

[David M Mallon]

In the 1960 historical fantasy adventure/romance film The Loves of Hercules (AKA Hercules vs. the Hydra; starring Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay), one of the characters (played by French actor Gil Vidal in an uncredited appearance) is referred to throughout the film by the name of "Achilo," or possibly "Acheloö." However, in subtitled versions of the film (as well as the film's IMDB page and the subtitles for the movie's appearance on the 11th season of Mystery Science Theater 3000), the character is listed as "Achilles." No explanation has ever been given for the discrepancy.

[Kajehase]

Astrophysicist Brian Schmidt was once stopped by airport officials on his way to North Dakota because he was carrying his Nobel Prize - a half-pound gold disk that showed up as completely black on the security scanners.
"Uhhhh. Who gave this to you?" they said.
"The King of Sweden," he replied.
"Why did he give this to you," they probed.
"Because I helped discover the expansion rate of the universe was expanding."

[Aberzombie]

Monopoly is a board game that originated in the United States in 1903 as a way to demonstrate that an economy which rewards wealth creation is better than one in which monopolists work under few constraints and to promote the economic theories of Henry George and in particular his ideas about taxation. Monopoly was first published by Parker Brothers in 1935. Currently subtitled "The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game", the game is named after the economic concept of monopoly—the domination of a market by a single entity. It is now owned and produced by the American game and toy company Hasbro. Players move around the game-board buying, trading, or selling properties, developing their properties with houses and hotels, and collecting rent from their opponents, with the goal being to drive them all into bankruptcy, leaving one monopolist in control of the economy. Since the board game was first commercially sold in the 1930s, it has become a part of popular world culture, having been locally licensed in more than 103 countries and printed in more than thirty-seven languages.

[nosig]

Captain Robert Campbell, a British officer captured during World War I was granted leave to visit his dying mother on one condition - that he return.
And Capt Robert Campbell kept his promise to Kaiser Wilhelm II and returned from Kent to Germany, where he stayed until the war ended in 1918.
Historian Richard van Emden told the BBC that Capt Campbell would have felt a duty to honour his word.
It also emerged that Capt Campbell tried to escape as soon as he returned.
Mr van Emden discovered the story when researching Foreign Office documents at the National Archives for his book, Meeting the Enemy: The Human Face of the Great War.
Twenty-nine-year-old Capt Campbell, of the 1st Battalion East Surrey Regiment, had been captured in northern France on 24 August 1914 and then sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in Magdeburg, north-east Germany.
While in the camp he received news that his mother Louise was dying of cancer.
Attempted escape
Capt Campbell wrote a letter to the German emperor begging to be allowed to go and see his mother, which the Kaiser allowed - as long as Capt Campbell gave his word that he would return.
Mr van Emden said that Capt Campbell almost certainly travelled through the Netherlands and then by boat and train to Gravesend in Kent, where he spent a week with his mother before returning to Germany the same way.
His mother died in February 1917.
Mr van Emden told the BBC that Capt Campbell would have felt a duty to honour his word and "he would have thought 'if I don't go back no other officer will ever be released on this basis'".
Mr van Emden said it was "surprising" that Capt Campbell was not blocked from returning to Germany from Britain.
No other British prisoners of war were afforded compassionate leave, though, after Britain blocked a similar request from German prisoner Peter Gastreich, who was being held at an internment camp on the Isle of Man.
In another twist to the story, Mr van Emden said that as soon as Capt Campbell returned to the camp he then set about trying to escape.
He and a group of other prisoners spent nine months digging their way out of the camp before being captured on the Dutch border and sent back.
Mr van Emden said that as well as feeling honour bound to keep his word to return to the camp, as an officer, Capt Campbell was also honour bound to try to escape.

[Limeylongears]

Scottish poet Robert Burns discovered a rhyme for the word 'purple'

Spoiler:

Curple (plural curples) The hindquarters or the rump of a horse, a strap under the girth of a horse's saddle to stop the saddle from kicking forward. (transferred) The rump, the posterior.

However, he wasn't bloody smart enough to find a rhyme for 'orange', was he?

'The Purple Curple' was his 18th Century superhero alias, too - he used to change his britches in a semaphore station and then fly around the country dispensing justice with his enormous mauve bum.

[David M Mallon]

Limeylongears wrote:

However, he wasn't bloody smart enough to find a rhyme for 'orange', was he?

Stan Rogers found one... kind of. I guess it only works if you're Canadian.

...No penny of mine will I add to the fray | "Remember the Boyne," they will cry out in vain | For I've given my heart to the place I was born | And forgiven the whole House of Orange | King Billy and the whole House of Orange

[Aberzombie]

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin turbofan engine, straight wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). Commonly referred to by the nicknames "Warthog" or "Hog", its official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, a World War II fighter that was effective at attacking ground targets.[citation needed] The A-10 was designed for close air support (CAS) of friendly ground troops, attacking armored vehicles and tanks, and providing quick-action support against enemy ground forces. It entered service in 1976 and is the only production-built aircraft that has served in the USAF that was designed solely for CAS. Its secondary mission is to provide forward air controller – airborne (FAC-A) support, by directing other aircraft in attacks on ground targets. Aircraft used primarily in this role are designated OA-10.

The A-10 was intended to improve on the performance of the A-1 Skyraider and its lesser firepower. The A-10 was designed around the 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon. Its airframe was designed for durability, with measures such as 1,200 pounds (540 kg) of titanium armor to protect the cockpit and aircraft systems, enabling it to absorb a significant amount of damage and continue flying. Its short takeoff and landing capability permits operation from airstrips close to the front lines, and its simple design enables maintenance with minimal facilities. The A-10 served in the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm), the American intervention against Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, where the A-10 distinguished itself. The A-10 also participated in other conflicts such as Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and against ISIL in the Middle East.

The A-10A single-seat variant was the only version produced, though one pre-production airframe was modified into the YA-10B twin-seat prototype to test an all-weather night capable version. In 2005, a program was started to upgrade remaining A-10A aircraft to the A-10C configuration, with modern avionics for use with precision weaponry. The U.S. Air Force had stated the F-35 would replace the A-10 as it entered service, but this remains highly contentious within the Air Force and in political circles. With a variety of upgrades and wing replacements, the A-10's service life may be extended to 2040.

[nosig]

The Paris Commune was a radical socialist and revolutionary government that ruled Paris from 18 March to 28 May 1871. Following the defeat of Emperor Napoleon III in September 1870, the French Second Empire swiftly collapsed. In its stead rose a Third Republic at war with Prussia, which laid siege to Paris for four months. A hotbed of working-class radicalism, France's capital was primarily defended during this time by the often politicized and radical troops of the National Guard rather than regular Army troops. In February 1871 Adolphe Thiers, the new chief executive of the French national government, signed an armistice with Prussia that disarmed the Army but not the National Guard.

Soldiers of the Commune's National Guard killed two French army generals, and the Commune refused to accept the authority of the French government. The regular French Army suppressed the Commune during "La semaine sanglante" ("The Bloody Week") beginning on 21 May 1871. Debates over the policies and outcome of the Commune had significant influence on the ideas of Karl Marx, who described it as an example of the "dictatorship of the proletariat".

[nosig]

Elevator company ThyssenKrupp has developed a "sideways elevator" known as MULTI. In many respects it's similar to a standard elevator—it's a car that's designed to move people between floors in buildings. But this elevator has two key engineering differences. First, it uses motors on tracks to move the cars, rather than a cable pulling the cars up and down. Second, the tracks themselves can rotate or be built in orientations that aren't just up and down. That last bit is what makes this so interesting.

In a conventional elevator setup, architects devote a columnar portion of the building to elevator shafts. Those are then outfitted with cabling and motors to move the elevator cars up and down between floors. There's plenty of fancy math engineers build in to optimize the availability and speed of those elevators. But typically, the biggest limitation is that for each elevator shaft, there is just one elevator car. (There are multi-car-per-shaft elevators known as "twin elevators," but the cars generally block one another in the shaft.)

MULTI allows multiple cars per shaft, with the ability to scoot cars sideways as needed, or even to build a zig-zagging shaft structure. This allows cars to get out of the way of each other, enabling all kinds of interesting algorithmic changes. The system could put multiple cars near high-traffic areas—and those areas might change based on time of day or other factors. Priority cars might be able to zip along, while others moved to the side to wait. A car might move sideways and enter another shaft, if that would create a faster path. Or imagine a dual-tower building—it could have a sideways elevator shaft (or many of them) to connect the towers. Imagine the time savings in traveling between upper floors of the two buildings, when such a linkage exists! As a broad concept, MULTI basically removes the idea of the elevator "shaft" and replaces it with something more like lanes on a road—and adds the ability to move along two axes rather than just one.

[nosig]

A quote from Alfred Hitchcock:

On the bagpipes:

"I understand the inventor of the bagpipes was inspired when he saw a man carrying an indignant, asthmatic pig under his arm. Unfortunately, the man-made sound never equaled the purity of the sound achieved by the pig."