Author Archives: dcaligari

The pH scale was invented by the Carlsberg brewery. It was the brainchild of one Søren Sørensen who invented it in 1909 while researching the best proteins, amino acids and enzymes in the Carlsberg brewery laboratory.

Today is the birthday of Oscar Wilde (1854), known for his barbed wit, was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. In between bouts of buggery and posing for his Sodomite Trading Card photo, he found time to write the following passage inContinue reading “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken”

Most perfume is made from Sperm Whale excretion. Ambergris is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish colour produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. A core component to making any perfumes due to its pleasant smell and is often found floating in tropical seas.

October 15, 1951 – A former starlet convinced the alcoholic, womanizing head of a television network to run the TV version of her somewhat successful radio program. I Love Lucy, the television situation comedy, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, also featuring Vivian Vance and William Frawley, went on to run on CBS for 181Continue reading “I Love Lucy”

They’re celebrating it in Tunisia. It turns out that Evacuation Day recognizes the important contributions made to the world of science by Tunisian proctologists, (it actually commemorates the 1963 withdrawal of the last French troops from the naval port of Bizerte.) The less said about the gastroenterological rituals performed on this holiday the better. WhichContinue reading “It’s Evacuation Day”

It’s the Feast Day of one of my favorite saints – Saint Teresa of Avila She is also known as the Roving Nun (but should not be confused with the Wandering Nun, the Meandering Nun, or the Hopelessly Disoriented Nun). In case you still don’t know who this Saint is – she’s the one whoContinue reading “Being beyond reason and self-control”

The slang term for dollars, “bucks”, originates from the American colonial period. It refers to deer skins from male deer, or bucks as they’re commonly known. This is because during these early times, deer skins were used as an informal currency. In fact, a diplomat in 1948 noted that 5 Bucks would buy you aContinue reading “But that doesn’t explain why they also call it cheese”

We’re all born bald, baby. – Telly Savalas Today is Be Bald and Free day!

October 14, 1983 –Cyndi Lauper, formerly a member of the group Blue Angel, issues her first solo album, She’s So Unusual. With the MTV hits Girls Just Want To Have Fun and Time After Time, the album becomes an ‘80s touchstone. The song, Girls Just Want To Have Fun, became an anthem for female attitudeContinue reading “She’s So Unusual”

October 14, 1912 –Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for a return to office, was shot in Milwaukee by a saloon keeper named John Schrank on this date. What saves Teddy was the bullet lodged in Roosevelt’s chest only after hitting both his steel eyeglass case and a copy of his speech he was carryingContinue reading “Teddy Roosevelt, one of America’s First Superheroes.”