Weekend Open Thread

… black tea is called “red tea” in China? (There’s a joke here about communism, but I’m not doing it.)

… teeth can reattach to their roots? You have to put them back into their place very quickly if they’re knocked out, but it is possible. (Or, you could just not get them knocked out in the first place.)

… derby hats were created as safety hats? Derbies, or bowlers, began as a practical item – riding helmets. The helmets were worn to protect horse riders from branches and other obstacles. The hats were designed by hatmakers Thomas (1812-1869) and William Bowler (1808-1878), which is why they’re called bowlers. (And they were made popular by that dashing Westerner, Bat Masterson.)

… a super-colony of ants is on the verge of taking over the world? First reported in 2009, a monstrous colony of ants – spreading across three continents – is growing and flourishing underground. At first the various groups were thought to be individual colonies, but scientists observing their behavior noted that the Argentine ants share similar chemical profiles, and do not attack each other. This leads the scientists to believe that all of these ants – and there are billions if not trillions of them – are inter-connected. (And I, for one, welcome our new ant overlords.)

… television’s first fantasy sitcom aired in the 1950s? In 1953, the situation comedy Topper began on CBS, and it ran until 1955. Leo G. Carroll (1886-1972) starred as Cosmo Topper, who along with his wife buys a house that was the home of a young couple who died in an avalanche. But the couple, George and Marion Kerby, played by Robert Sterling (1917-2006) and Anne Jeffreys (1923-2017), aren’t quite finished with their home – they’re still there as ghosts, which only Topper can see and hear. The comedy comes from the Kerby ghosts causing odd things to happen which bring excitement into the life of the stuffy, stodgy Topper. Adding to the fun is the ghost of Neil, the Kerby’s alcoholic St. Bernard dog, also lost in the avalanche. Additional trivia note: The series was based on the 1937 film of the same name, which was crafted from two novels by Thorne Smith (1892-1934).

… at some time in your life, you’ve probably used an abecedarium? What’s that – you don’t know what an abecedarium is? It’s a primer, the book used to introduce things like the alphabet to a child. Chances are pretty good that you used one in kindergarten or first grade. (I get it.)

… wars have gotten expensive over time? For example, the cost per day of fighting the Revolutionary War was about $27,000 in today’s dollars. For World War II, the per-day cost was $2.7 billion. (You can save a bunch of money by not having wars at all, though.)

This week on Hack Trolls The Indian Scammers, he receives a call from Amazon about a laptop order. Hack presses 1 to speak to a representative. The guy tells Hack that a laptop was ordered for X amount of dollars. Hack says to cancel it. The guy wants to confirm the customer’s name, so Hack says “First name is Joe, last name is spelled M, A,M,M,A. (Normally they hang up when they realize that they are speaking to Joe Mamma).

Well, Hack/Joe Mamma made it past the first hurdle, and the guy asks for his ZIP (Zone Improvement Program, betcha didn’t know that) Code, so Hack gives 90120. Still have him on the line. Next, he wants to know what bank Joe Mamma uses. “Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills”. Had to spell it a few times. So, with the correct bank identify, he sent an email to the Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills, and he will be transferring Joe Mamma to someone at the bank.

The transfer goes through, and “Anna from Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills” is on the line. First up, Joe Mamma asks her if Mr. Drysdale is there. She asks who, and Joe Mamma tells her that Milburn Drysdale is President of the Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills. She doesn’t know him because she just started working there.

She asks the routine questions like Social Security Number, date of birth, yada yada yada. Hack writes down his answers in case she asks again.

May they rest in peace.

I paused the video of the crash. It looked to me like the main rotor was badly damaged, but it also looked to me like the whole tail rotor was missing.