Weekend Open Thread

BOOM!

The frequently ghost, bka -Dog, swoops in and Fs some Ds in the A!

Long week, about to be a longer weekend.

Y’all best be stacking supplies cuz if/when we go sideways I’d like to see you after the unravel.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

… Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) once published a list of more than 200 synonyms for “getting drunk?” (And he would know what all of them were, wouldn’t he?)

… the city of Tokyo has a real superhero? He’s called Mangetsu-man, which means “Mr. Full Moon” in Japanese, and his costume consists of a purple bodysuit and a big yellow smiley-face head. Mangetsu-man does not fight crime, however. He takes on trash, and helps to keep the city clean. Mangetsu-man can be found out and about most days, armed with his trusty broom and dust pan, helping to keep the “Cleanest Streets in the World” from losing that title. He’s influenced thousands of followers as well, with children especially joining him in his crusade. Mangetsu-Man first appeared in 2013, and – like all superheroes – keeps his secret identity just that, secret. (He may not be Batman, but hey … at least he’s in there pitching!)

… the first woman to be elected mayor of a U.S. city was nominated as a joke? In 1887, a group of men in Argonia, Kansas, added the name of Susanna Salter (1860-1961) to the ballot for the election of mayor as a cruel joke. Their intent was to humiliate women, who had been clamoring to be given the vote – which they finally achieved via the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920. But the voters of Argonia called the group’s bluff, electing Salter as the first woman mayor of a U.S. city. Salter received two-thirds of the vote, no doubt aided by the fact that Kansas had allowed women to vote in state and municipal elections just a few weeks earlier. Salter served one term as mayor and never sought elected office again. (She didn’t have to. Her point was more than made.)

… you can be denied a bank loan because of social media? Many banks use a service called LendUp, based in San Francisco, which checks the Facebook and Twitter profiles of potential borrowers. If you don’t have a lot of online friends or if you don’t often interact with those you do have, you could be turned down for a loan. LendUp says it views an active social media life as an indicator of stability. (As opposed to, say, having a job?)

… three actual survivors of the Titanic lived long enough to see the classic 1997 movie? Of the three, only two actually saw the film. Eleanor Johnson (1911-1998) died shortly after its release, though she did watch it four times and found it enjoyable but (understandably) emotional. Michel Navratil (1909-2001) was the last survivor to actually remember the event, and he saw the movie in a private screening. Millvina Dean (1912-2009), last survivor of the actual Titanic, was aware of the movie but had no desire to see it. Her father died in the sinking, she said, and she had little interest in reliving the event, even though she did not remember it.

Now … you know!