Weekend Open Thread
January 6 to February 17 is 2026’s Carnival/Mari Gras season. After the 12 days of Christmas comes the days of Epiphany. Officially, those days end on the first Sunday after January 6. Informally, the season runs from the 6th through Mardi Gras, the day before Ash Wednesday. The King Cake replaces the Christmas Cake for this season; however, whoever finds the “baby Jesus” in their slice is up to purchase the next King Cake. Enjoy your weekend!
Category: Open thread
First!
Hack Stone will participate in a mostly peaceful transition of power, but like Governor Tim Walz, Hack Stone is going to ride you live you’ve never been ridden before. But in a heterosexual way.
“…ride you live….”
Ohhhh, kinky.
Hack could go in and edit, but he will just have to live with the consequences of not proofreading prior to posting.
Welcome to my world of commenting, hitting send and THEN proofreading.
I blame typos and misstatements on auto fill.
To do otherwise would involve some necrophilia, IMHO.
Please don’t call him retarded.
VICTORY! I MADE IT!!!
We need the Holiday Weekend Safety Brief. You may want to remind the troops on the proper way to run over Federal Law Enforcement officers executing existing immigration policies.
Alright, this is the safety brief on how to properly run over Federal Law Enforcement Officers:
Federal LEO orders you to get out of the car. You comply by putting that bitch in park, turning off the engine, keys on the dash, and then you proceed to calmly get out of the car with hands clearly visible. The LEO will then take you into custody. Then, later in court, your Attorney does the running over to get you out of jail.
And that concludes the safety brief!
That and tell every libtard you know to DO NOT piss on electric fences!
Don’t tell them that. The discovery phase of that act is well worth the price of admission.
^
Hack Stone would have beat you to First Comment, but since he updated his company issued Nokia 9000 software, he now needs to click on a check mark before posting on This Ain’t Hell.
Soooo you converted to Red Hat Software?
Oh wise and all knowing Magic 8-Ball, will Hack Stone commemorate the 45th anniversary of his enlistment in the Marine Corps by scoring his second First Comment in the Weekend Open Thread in 2026, or will Hack Stone have to take consolation in just being the greatest Director of Media Relations for a proud but humble woman owned business that sells outdated and overpriced Red Hat Software ? Magic 8-Ball says…
Denied!!!!
Jynx! You owe me a soda!
No, you owe Hack Stone a soda, his “Denied” posted first.
Not how it works. Our “Denied!” posted at the exact same time. Also, who calls “Jynx” first gets the soda.
Hack Stone is a little cash poor at the moment, since his last 312 paychecks issued by Paul of The Ballsack haven’t cleared yet. Will you accept payment in outdated Red Hat Software?
Eh, unlike my last landlord, I do not have a deadline for payment. Just get it to me when you can 😉
Denied!
The struggle is real … I watch all day, the WOT drops, and someone sneaks in and steals the throne. Well, phooey. Rats of the Cong to AH and here’s the trivia for him and for you!
DID YOU KNOW…?
Was one of radio’s longest broadcast marathons tied to a baseball team’s losing streak?
By Commissioner Wretched
didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com
Copyright © 2026
Sometimes I just want to do the following:
On “write the column” day, sit down at my keyboard, clear my throat, crack my knuckles, and type “This Space for Rent.”
It gets really hard sometimes to come up with an introduction to the column. When the world doesn’t give me much to work with, I have to be creative – and we all know where that leads.
So the introduction this week is no introduction at all, and we’ll just move along to the trivia.
By the way, if you feel the urge to write to me, do so at didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com and I always answer quickly. Thanks!
Did you know …
… non-dairy coffee creamer is flammable? (Which makes you really wonder about some of the stuff we put into our bodies.)
… a part of the United States once belonged to Russia? What is now the state of Alaska was purchased by the United States from the Russian government in 1867 at the bargain-basement price of 2¢ an acre, or $7.2 million. Why did Russia want to sell its sole North American claim? They thought the land was simply useless tundra, and the government of Tsar Alexander II (1818-1881) needed money. Within twenty years, however, huge gold deposits were discovered in Alaska, and in the 20th Century another very valuable mineral – petroleum – was found. (So, if the Russians were to think they were robbed, you may just understand that.)
… one of the longest broadcasting marathons was tied to a baseball team’s losing streak? In 1988, the Baltimore Orioles opened their season by dropping 21 consecutive games. Ten games into the streak, a disc jockey at radio station WIYY in Baltimore, Bob Rivers (1956-2025) made an on-air promise to his listeners: he would stay on the air until the Orioles won a game. Great idea, right? I mean, they had to win some time, didn’t they? Eventually, they did … twelve games later. Rivers kept his word, though, staying on the air 24 hours a day, sleeping only during long song sets. During his marathon, Rivers began to develop health issues from lack of rest. After 258 straight hours on the air, the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-0, and Rivers could finally sign off. His last choice of a song was appropriate, too – The Who’s “I’m Free.” (That gives “think before you speak” a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?)
… the largest Christian church in the world is in Africa? Located in the city of Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire (or Ivory Coast) on Africa’s northwest bulge, the Our Lady of Peace Yamoussoukro Basilica was built between 1986 and 1989 and is roughly based on St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It rises to a height of 489 feet at the top of its dome and can hold up to 18,000 worshipers. The esplanade, or promenade area, can accommodate up to 300,000 more. The church was built by order of the country’s then-President, Félix Houphouët-Boigny (1905-1993).
Geez, how would you like to be the Church Usher who gets to pass the basket for 18,000 congregants?
… the founder of the Smithsonian Institute is entombed in his museum? James Smithson (1765-1829), a British chemist and mineralogist, was the founding donor of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. When he died in Genoa, Italy, he was buried in a cemetery there, and in his will he bequeathed his entire estate to found a museum in Washington. After the cemetery was planned to be moved in 1905, Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), one of the museum’s regents, asked that Smithson’s body be moved to the Institution building. Smithson is still there, entombed in the “Castle,” where his remains have been since 1905. (I’ve heard of monuments, but this…!)
… a popular comedian never passed on an offer of work? Mitch Hedberg (1968-2005), who was known for his surreal humor and deadpan delivery of unconnected one-liners, never turned down an opportunity to perform. Hedberg said he had been told “no” so often at the start of his career that he feared never working again if he refused a gig. (A funny man who left us far, far too soon.)
… a popular movie franchise was created because of rejection? Steven Spielberg (born 1946) had always wanted to direct a movie in the James Bond franchise. He was turned down, however, and shared his disappointment with his friend George Lucas (born 1944). Lucas advised Speilberg that he had an idea of how to make a James Bond movie – but even better. That’s how the Indiana Jones movie franchise was born. (He raided the lost ark.)
… the last two letters added to the English alphabet were J and W? The letter “J” came into existence around 1650. Previously, an alternate form and pronunciation of “I” was used. But even more recently, 1700 to be exact, we added “W.” Originally it was two “U”s side by side, separated by a space. The space was, over time, eliminated, and the new letter took hold. Additional trivia note: There was once a 27th letter, after “Z.” It was “&” which we call the ampersand. Its original name was “et,” the Latin for “and.” Its current name, ampersand, is a corruption of “and per se and,” which means “and, by itself, and.” (Letters, we get letters…)
… there is a strange reason that many windows in buildings in Britain and France are bricked over? In the 1700s, the governments of Scotland, England and France enacted “window taxes” in a discreet effort to tax rich people more. The tax was based on the number of window panes a residence had. To combat the tax, rich people bricked over many of the windows in their residences, and those brick patterns can still be seen today. (A transparent way to raise some money, wouldn’t you say?)
Now … you know!
Top five-ish look I’m driving in a car. I can’t try to battle for first fuck y’all have a safe Friday. Don’t jump in any fucking volcanoes.
No volcanoes in the former Republic of Colorado, so no danger of me accidentally doing that 😜
“No active volcanoes…”
FIFY
I stand corrected.
Back in 1999 Hack was down in Rockhampton Australia for Crocodile 99. One of the great Australian beers (not Foster’s) would put trivia questions on their beer caps. One of the questions Hack recalls is “What is the only continent without active volcanoes?” Hack went on to Final Jeopardy, because he used the process of elimination to answer with Australia. Further proof that drinking beer makes you smarter.
Late to the party even when I’m not teaching.
Was doing yard work hauling dirt from down by the pond up hill to where an old Chinese Tallow tree stump had been. So after lunch I took a nap.
Otherwise I’d a beat AH to the punch. Or maybe not.
Y’all have a great weekend.
Happy Friday, You Gents! I hope you had a fantastic week! So, I do need to inform you gents that I decided to drink the Kool-aid of my Government college course a little. The intent was to satisfy my own curiosity about whether or not we could possibly agree with the Lib-turds on anything. And I assure you all, I haven’t flipped to the otherside. I still think Donald Trump is the greatest president of my generation. I still do NOT regret my three votes for Trump. And I am still the Libertarian/Objectivist that leans right you guys know. None of that has changed. Now as for whether or not we can agree with the demonrats on some things, the answer is surprisingly yes, we can. However, on things that absolutely matter, definitely not! There is absolutely NO possibility that they can give the Trump admin the benefit of the doubt, even though many of the things he and his admin are doing are within the bounds of past admins. There is also a high probability that, if we negotiate or try to compromise with the Left as it is now, the concessions on our part to seek peace with them would be unreasonable (e.g. the giving up of Rights as a US Citizen and the Rollback of state power and sovereignty to the point the states are merely administrative districts). As such, there can be NO negotiation with those whose opinions and ideology is antithetical to both the ideals of generations of Americans who came before us and of human nature. This has been an interesting look into the liberal mind virus for me, but my look into it needs to end now. For both my own sanity and for my GPA (don’t offend the person who decides your grade) In any event, I do want to share with all of you the questions this course has asked me and my answers to it. The questions, at times, are politically loaded. But I believe I managed them well and I also believe what I wrote is the best stuff… Read more »
What do you think motivated American colonists to convene the First Continental Congress? Do you think they were justified? Why or why not?
The Intolerable Acts were a major factor in the convening of the 1st Continental Congress. The first of these acts was the Boston Port Act, which closed the Port of Boston as a response to the Boston Tea Party. The Port was to stay closed until the colonists reimbursed the destroyed shipping. This move crippled the economy in Boston. The second was the Massachusetts Government Act, which revoked the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter and put the local government under the control of the Crown. This led to General Thomas Gage being made the Royal governor of Massachusetts. Martial Law was easier to impose after that. The third was the Administration of Justice Act, which mandated that British Officials and Soldiers accused of Capital crimes be moved to a different colony or to Great Britain to stand trial. This is despite the fact that John Adams, the lawyer representing and defending the British Regulars who opened fire on the crowd that was accosting them (the Boston Massacre), was able to get them acquitted, proving that a fair trial was possible in Boston despite the enormous political pressure to convict. Finally, the Quartering act, which applied to all the colonies, mandated that the colonist were to house British Regular troops in any unoccupied space and pay for keeping them fed, regardless of any personal hardship of the household. So, yes, the colonist were justified to convene the first Continental Congress and in sending the Petition to the King afterwards. The Patriots, as far as support, were in the minority prior to the Intolerable Acts. After, they were in a really strong majority
Explain the difference between enumerated and implied powers and give examples of each. Are both kinds of powers necessary for the Federal Government to function? Why or why not?
Enumerated powers are the powers that are laid out in the Constitution and given to the National Government. Implied are not listed explicitly in the Constitution, but are necessary to execute the enumerated powers. The enumerated and implied powers are needed as the Founder’s couldn’t account for every single situation the government may encounter during it’s entire runtime. The “necessary and proper” clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution is the clause that outlines the implied powers. Now, while I view that flexibility in government is needed, I do also view that constitutional guardrails of creative solutions must be maintained. Else, we will pick and choose what rights to uphold.
Explain and discuss the difference between civil liberties and civil rights. Do you think this is an important distinction? Why or why not?
Civil Liberties are natural human rights that individuals that are free from government interference. Civil Rights are are beneficial actions taken by the government to secure the rights for the people. The distinction between the two is important as a civil liberties violation has to do with the government violated your rights that are explicitly enumerated in the Bill of Rights (Examples: a cop breaking into your house to search for evidence without a warrant or the government making you quarter US soldiers in your home and making you pay for their care) and a Civil Rights violation has to do with violating equal treatment before the law (14th Amendment) and can be committed by single actors or the government (examples: Being required to pay a poll tax or take a literacy test before being able to vote that is applied only to a specific race or races and skipping a house for aid during/after a natural disaster due to the political sentiments of the homeowners).
What is the significance of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? How did life change for marginalized citizens and communities? How did it stay the same?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a very important piece of legislation concerning civil rights since the Reconstruction Era following the American Civil War. Before, the equal protections before the law clause in the 14th amendment was consistently ignored by Federal, State, and Local Governments. When this bill was passed, the securing of Civil Rights and execution of the 14th Amendment became the official policy and mandate of the Federal Government. After the passage, the Jim Crow laws and segregation practices immediately ended. Disenfranchised American Africans were given equal treatment in public space they were long entitled to, but long ignored. There was some resistance, but it was minimal due the intervention of the Federal government. The things that stayed the same was the societal and cultural norms in regards to segregation. De jure segregation ended, but de facto segregation remained as the culture beliefs and norms of many white people who stringently followed the the illegal laws remained, as did the belief of those who were raised in a society to view nonwhite as an other. These attitudes and other barriers to full desegregation needed time to be overcome. We have come a long way since then.
This is all I have for this week, as the course asked me plenty of questions. This just week 1, so I don’t think I’ll be done sharing the week until the end of the month.
Anyway, have a nice weekend!
Keeping “take a literacy test before being able to vote” in mind, in the PR of California a lot of referenda are on are ballots. Many of these, in my opinion, are to pass laws the CA Assembly and Senate wouldn’t touch. Several of the referenda are written in Orwellian newspeak so a no vote could mean the voter wants it passed.
CA has ballots in several languages.
I asked a CA State politician if a third choice could be added to a referendum vote; 1. yes 2. no 3. no opinion. This way voters who cannot make heads nor tails out of the referendum could still have their ballots counted. The referenda would still need majorities of all voters to pass, that is over 50%. I never got an answer. My fear is some folks vote for referenda because, “Well, the folks that are backing them went to so much work and money to present them”, out of sympathy I suppose.
I’d like to know how that would be different from a representative of senator voting present.
Top Forty as Casey Kasem, present and unaccountable as I award myself yet another Honorary First!
((((OVER)))))
Is everyone else still having a ball watching the left self-destruct? I know I am!
Ponderous, man.
Corn? *dry heave*
(NSFW and also like if you think first responders should have a raise)
Is there a fire extinguisher the extinguishes idiocy? Anyone?
*that
I’m Batman!
Where are they now #8! (NSFW)
Please note: if you, as a firefighter, decide to try and play “bomb squad leap-frog” in an active minefield that is within the United States, you will have an FBI/BATFE agent (as they are highly likely to be on scene as soon as they hear the word “minefield”) slap handcuffs on you faster than your Chief is able to draft termination papers for you.
Too late to even count. Off to read the artical/comments.
And I thought we were supposed to be against kings.
I was watching YouTube videos yesterday and found this which is a spoof on Counter Strike: Global Offensive. It’s pretty entertaining.
Chrono Prepper:
After viewing this cinematic masterpiece, Hack Stone has made the life altering decision that Terror in Beverly Hills is no longer the worst movie to be released by a no budget studio.
For you Deplorable Garbage old enough the golden era of Comedy Central during the 1990’s, the crew launched a new program called RiffTrax, and this is probably their greatest achievement.
Happy weekend!