If you’re in Germany, maybe you want to stay indoors today

In Germany so many significant events in history have happened on November 9, that historians have called the date Schicksalstag (Fateful Day). It was the day that Robert Blum was executed in 1848, After Germany’s defeat in the First World War, the emperor Wilhelm II lost the support of the German army. He abdicated onContinue reading “If you’re in Germany, maybe you want to stay indoors today”

Start thinking about side dishes

Before you go – Amazon has kickstarted its Christmas campaign (in the UK) with the voice of Adele helping to promote the kindness of strangers amid the annual consumer frenzy. So class, what does this commercial tell us – you can help teens with their social anxiety by buying them gifts – from Amazon. DemandContinue reading “Start thinking about side dishes”

Rhapsody Rabbit

November 9, 1946 – Another classic, yet surprisingly controversial Bugs Bunny outing, Rhapsody Rabbit, premiered on this date (We’ll talk about the controversy later.) Franz Liszt’s 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody music was first used in 1941’s Rhapsody in Rivets. A long-standing controversy exists between the previous cartoon and the Tom and Jerry short, The Cat Concerto.Continue reading “Rhapsody Rabbit”

Today is International Tongue Twister Day

(Or at least I think it is, there seems to be some controversy on the date.) Tongue twisters have technically been around since as early as the 19th century when John Harris published Peter Piper’s Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation, which included a twisty tongue tango for every letter of the alphabet. AndContinue reading “Today is International Tongue Twister Day”

A sure sign of the upcoming holiday season

(A certain reader was a day early yesterday.) The English department store chain, John Lewis and Partners released their annual holiday advert, (apparently this is one of the more highly anticipated commercials and it seems to be early this year.) And boy they seem to have gone back to the tear jerker mode. Demand Euphoria!

This is why the film is so memorable

Psycho was the first film to ever show a toilet flushing. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho captivated audiences and is one of the go-tos when people talk about the invention of the slasher genre. It was, for certain, a film of firsts, and one of those firsts just so happened to be the first timeContinue reading “This is why the film is so memorable”

Remember to check out that hack license

Back in 2013, former Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg went incognito as a taxi driver in Oslo. According to him, he did so to “hear from real Norwegian voters and taxis were one of the few places where people shared their true views.” Those who entered the faux-taxi largely enjoyed Stoltenberg’s stunt, but didContinue reading “Remember to check out that hack license”