Category Archives: Uncategorized

Some crematoria in Sweden and Denmark have begun selling surplus heat from their furnaces for use in houses. Many see this as entirely sensible, avoiding the need for crematoria to have expensive and energy-hungry cooling towers. But others wonder if it breaches an ethical code drawn up the International Cremation Federation, a body set upContinue reading “Is it hot in here?”

November 9, 1906 –Teddy Roosevelt went against more than a century of tradition and became the first American president ever to leave the country while in office, on this date. He went to view the construction site of the Panama Canal. Before Roosevelt, it was assumed that a President of the United States couldn’t overseeContinue reading “Bully, bully!!!”

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”

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”

November 9, 1934–We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces. Carl Edward Sagan scientist, author,Continue reading “Carl Sagan Day –”

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”

(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”

November 8, 1954 – You never know when you’re making a memory. Rickie Lee Jones, The Duchess of Coolsville, two-time Grammy Award-winning vocalist, musician, songwriter and producer, was born on this date.

(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!

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”