Weekend Open Thread
Today is the day where many, who expressed their thankfulness during the previous day, usually engage in arguments and fights over items they may not care about a year from now. It would be interesting to hear what you guys observed in this area. Enjoy your weekend!
Category: Open thread
First
Hack Stone had his standard Cut & Paste, but when he went to post, there was no text, and Hack had to enter his email. Regardless, this is what should have been posted:
Oh, wise and all knowing Magic 8-Ball, will Hack Stone experience the joy of scoring three consecutive titles of the highly coveted and rarely awarded title of First Commenter for the This Ain’t Hell Weekend Open Thread, or will he be burdened by what has not been in a vast chicken wing foisted upon his loyal subjects by the Deplorable Garbage who refuse to turn the page and send another $2,500,000 to Oprah? Magic 8-Ball says…
Show off….
I still haven’t purchased a Magic 8-Ball yet for the competition.
Present and Unaccountable as I award myself yet another Honorary First.
((((OVER))))
Hack Stone for the win again! Wow! I’ll take Third.
Hack Stone on the throne … and me providing trivia for dessert. Interesting way to do things! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, so here’s your leftover dessert.
DID YOU KNOW…?
Did a flu bug help lead indirectly to World War II?
By Commissioner Wretched
didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com
Copyright © 2024
A couple of weeks ago, I introduced the column with a note about the recent elections and said, “I hope your candidate won.” Last week, I received an e-mail from a reader who took a bit of exception to that thought.
Seems the reader thought I should have expressed who I had hoped won the voting.
There are two things I seldom if ever discuss, religion and politics. But that isn’t why I didn’t mention a candidate two weeks ago.
The reason I didn’t is … this column is written several weeks in advance, and at the time I had no idea who the winner would be.
I adjust the introduction when needed, but otherwise, what you see is what I wrote quite some time ago. Like the trivia which follows.
Did you know …
… a famous Revolutionary War battle had an audience? Thousands of people living in the area of Boston, Massachusetts sat on rooftops, in trees, and even on church steeples to watch the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. Additional trivia note: though it is called the Battle of Bunker Hill, it did not take place on Bunker Hill. The battle was actually fought on nearby Breed’s Hill. (Bunker Hill just sounds better, I suppose.)
… the crime rate in Vatican City is 133.6%? This is particularly surprising when you realize that the population is only about 1,000 people. Most of the crimes are committed by tourists, however. (Wow, you’re not even safe in one of the holiest places in the world!)
… wolves do not make good guard dogs? Sure, they seem fierce, but they actually are afraid of the unfamiliar, and will usually hide from visitors rather than bark at them. (They do howl, however, and that makes it fun.)
… the Atari 2600™ video game was released less than 24 hours after the last execution by guillotine in France? Of course, the two events had nothing to do with each other. But many people worldwide thought France had long retired its head-chopper, only to learn that the last use of the guillotine was on September 10, 1977. On September 11, 1977, the popular Atari Video Computer System, later renamed the 2600, hit the market. (Just a reminder of the “old” meeting the “new,” it seems.)
… a U.S. president’s favorite snack may surprise you? Richard Nixon (1913-1994), 37th president and the only one to ever resign the office, had a favorite snack of cottage cheese and ketchup. (Make of that what you will.)
… a flu bug may have indirectly led to World War II? Following the end of the first World War in 1918, the victorious Allies were debating the punishment to be imposed on Germany for its role in the start of the conflict. A strong opponent to harsh penalties was U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), but Wilson was suffering from a case of the Spanish flu and in his weakened state, he caved to French demands for the extreme punishment placed on Germany. Historians say the terms of the Treaty of Versailles led to the rise of Nazism, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) and the Second World War, and had Wilson been healthier, that harsh treaty might not have been imposed.
Wilson was really the Biden of the early 20th Century.
Yet another thing Al Qaeda ruined – the Atari anniversary.
Fuck those fucks.
… sometimes, more than just weather can delay baseball games? Take, for instance, the 1989 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. Game three of the series was about to begin on October 17, 1989, when – at 5:04 p.m. – the ground began to shake. The Loma Prieta Earthquake, which resulted in 63 deaths, more than 3,700 injuries, and over $6 billion in damages, postponed that game and the rest of the Series by ten days. (If the game was actually underway when the earthquake hit, would the errors count?)
… the horse borrowed by Paul Revere for his famous 1775 midnight ride was never returned to its owner? Revere (1735-1818) was one of two riders who set off on April 18, 1775 to warn the Colonial militia about the approach of British forces to the towns of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. Revere made the ride on a horse named Brown Beauty, which he had borrowed from Deacon John Larkin (1735-1807). But Larkin, who had the horse on loan from his own father, never received Brown Beauty back. It is thought that Brown Beauty was confiscated by the British. (Confiscated? Neigh!)
… polar bears can eat up to ten penguins at a single meal? They never, ever do, however. That’s because polar bears are only found near the North Pole, while penguins are only found near the South Pole. (That’s a long way to travel just to eat out.)
… the fastest known random speaker was a U.S. President? According to some, John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) could speak articulately at a rate of more than 350 words per minute. (No wonder he got into politics.)
Polar bears and penguins, you just know that the genius of Gary Larson could do something with that premise.
Tiny nitpick, penguins are also found north of the equator (not near either pole).
The Galápagos penguin is the original snowbird.
… Heinz™ does not actually have 57 varieties of ketchup, or anything else? If that’s the case, what’s up with the “57” on each bottle of ketchup? Well, company founder Henry J. Heinz (1844-1919) thought the product should have a number, and he was particularly fond of the number 57. The company had more than 60 different products when Heinz added his favorite number. Additional trivia note: if you find your Heinz ketchup flowing too slowly, hit the bottle on the “57,” not the bottom. (It doesn’t make it go 57 times faster, though.)
… wearing a necktie reduces blood flow to the brain? A study conducted in 2018 found that if you wear a necktie, blood flow to your brain is reduced by up to 7.5%. Ties also increase pressure on your eyes if they’re too tight, leading to an increased risk of glaucoma. (These days, if you see me in a coat and tie, it’s because someone is paying me to wear it.)
Now … you know!
….either paying you, or you’re dead, and blood flow to the brain doesn’t matter.
So, wearing a necktie explains all of Pedo Joes problems?
I missed the part where neckties lead to hair sniffing and a lifetime of foreign policy failure.
It ended all of Epstein’s problems.
My Man, CW! Good to be back @ Fire Base Magnolia, safely…And it’s good to have another dose of your Trivia.
Thank you, Good Sir!
It was also good to be able to avoid all the idjits shopping, very little drama at the Food Orgy, and have all of my warm blankets to snuggle up in.
Glad you’re safely home.
Present and still full!
But I’ll be ready for some turkey sliders in a bit
Late but fully grateful – the SO is in the hot tub with the most wonderful daughter in law ever, and I am playing the part of Cabana Boy. Life is good. I am ready to bring food or drink to these people who bless my life, and life is good!
Phil Monkress (CEO of All-Points Logistics) works balls.
I mean, I can’t tell you I’m not sitting here giggline like a school girl. 😀
Maybe it’s just the ramdomess of where we find this golden oldy but damn, it’s still fucking funny! and True.
Word.
My dog just dropped a huge, steaming pile of Phil Monkress in the yard.
Got, DAMN, I was working on Travel for some folks and it dropped at like 12:45?? Da FUQ?!?!?
Oh well, here and shit.
Cheers…off yo go to the store…just …shopping….post Thanksgiving grocery cause I’m having delayed Turkey supper Sunday. Not the gift retail looting….
I’m happy and Thankful for you freaks.
Happy Black Friday.
Don’g forget Golden Corral when somebody cuts in line and gets the last steak:
Do not *EVER* miss (or mess with) the Waffle House Ninja Girl!!
No gonna lie, that’s hot. Also a new turnon I wasn’t expecting.
Female Waffle House Employee: “How DARE You THROW A TEMPER TANTRUM IN HERE!!!”
We have a picture of the campaign medal, with toddler chair attachment for those engaged in active interpersonal combat with the enemy.
All gave some, some gave all, take all that you want, and eat all that you take.
The above video IS the reason I’ve never taken a store’s cashier job…
Cong-Rats @ HackStone
To answer thebesig’s question – the GB Clan is staying away from all stores and areas where residences are closer than 1/2 mile apart. Don’t even want to see those people – and thankful we don’t have to.
(Tomorrow, however, y’rs truly must man the counter once again. >sigh<)
Happy Thanksgiving weekend to each of you.
And yes, Phil Monkress still works balls.
Top 10.
Happy weekend.
Open Thread!
At least I’m not last.
No Hueys, but if you were ever a crew chief …
No Hueys – So Sad. But that’s just me. Huey Crew Chief, 67N2F, 71-72, Phu Bai, Viet of the Nam, “Black Widow” of C Co, 101st AHB, 101 Airborne.
I’m working my way through WO1 Robert Mason’s Chickenhawk about his time in the Huey over Viet of the Nam.
I read that book sometime in the early eighties I think. Excellent book!
I happened to hear a song today. My favorite from That War. No politics or anything–just doing the job and thinking about The World.
Or Christie’s “Yellow River”:
Ain’t it the truth.
Wow. Thanks for posting this video.
FIRST TWENTY FOURTH
T-Day festivities at Son #1’s house this year. My DIL is a Brit model he brought home.
On the kitchen countertop I saw a children’s book she bought for the grandson’s second birthday. It was Matt Walsh’s Johnny the Walrus.
Yeah, she’s a keeper.
Not first. Back to Casa de Sparky Western Annex.
I love my job…I love my job…I love my job….
Today is Small Business Saturday, a day set aside to help stimulate the local economy by spending money at independent businesses. If you need something for the grandchildren that they will cherish for years, you should consider giving them a copy of classic Red Hat Software. So head on down to your local Red Hat retailer on Wilson Lane, make that Lonesome Pine, scratch that, just try the trunk of a 1980’s vintage Jaguar the general vicinity of the River Road exit of the Capital Beltway and make America lucky again by filling the coffers of someone who is our intellectual, financial and genetically superior currently experiencing some cash flow problems.
Shout out to every who supported a small minded businessman by buying their Red Hat Software from our mobile software kiosk at the River Road exit of I-495 this afternoon. Customers were lined up for miles.
Dude got the shit smacked out of himself after messing with an old dude on a bus. I believe his request was “bring ambalamps”…..
Attention whores gotta attention whore. If you don’t want to have children, then don’t have children. Obviously these women never wanted to bear children, but why are they blaming Donald Trump for their decisions to have surgery to prevent pregnancy?
https://www.newsweek.com/women-sterilized-donald-trump-abortion-1993261