Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Be sure to drink some Irish Breakfast or green tea! And what better way to serve than from a Blarney Castle teapot?

Words to live by

"Vessels large may venture more, But little boats should keep near shore."

Wise words from Benjamin Franklin who was born on this day, January 17, 1706.

But did he pull out a rabbit?

London haberdasher James Hetherington stepped out on the town wearing the first top hat in public on January 15, 1797. He attracted a large crowd of onlookers and was later fined 50 pounds for causing a public nuisance by, "on the public highway wearing upon his head a tall structure of shining luster and calculated to disturb timid people."

Today, Brooks Brothers should be similarly fined for foisting these abominations upon the unsuspecting public.

Feeling a bit flaky

Snowed under at work or school? Surrounded by flakes? Take a minute or two to appreciate the real deal. SnowCrystals.com is a website with dozens of lovely pictures of delicate snowflakes and feathery frost. My favorite section is the Myths and Nonsense page.

The father of information processing

American Herman Hollerith, pictured left, invented a mechanical tabulating machine for counting the 1890 census. He was issued a patent for his invention on January 8, 1889. The company he founded, with the descriptive name of Tabulating Machine Company eventually became IBM.

Roller derby

For those of you under a certain age, pictured at left is a pair of clamp-on roller skates. Generations of children learned to skate on a pair similar to these, sans helmet and other protective gear. We just strapped them on and away we went! Mine had metal wheels for skating on sidewalks. They would adjust with a key or wing nut to fit the shoes of a growing child. To skate indoors, we wore these. (And they certainly didn't cost that much either!)

Considered the father of modern roller skating, American James L. Plimpton invented and patented a roller skate on January 4, 1863.

I met Sugar³ while roller skating. I fell on him.

New Year's Resolutions

Years ago I made a resolution to never again make New Year's Resolutions. It's the only one I've been able keep. If you're so inclined, here's a list of this year's top resolutions, compiled by the U.S. Government.

Lose Weight, Pay Off Debt, Save Money, Get a Better Job, Get Fit, Eat Right, Get a Better Education, Drink Less Alcohol, Quit Smoking, Reduce Stress Overall, Reduce Stress at Work, Take a Trip, Volunteer to Help Others

Bah Humbug

A perennial Christmas favorite, Charles Dickens' serial potboiler, "A Christmas Carol", was first published on December 19, 1843. Not only did it help pay his bills, but it was an instant success, and has spawned countless adaptations throughout the years.

But wouldn't it get sticky?

I stumbled across this website the other day. It sells giant stuffed animals and features a woman standing in line at an ice cream shop. That struck me as a little odd. Is it really advisable to take a giant stuffed monkey with you everywhere? Then again, I suppose it's cheaper than therapy. And when it gets matted and dirty, you can wash it like this. I would imagine it wouldn't freak out quite so dramatically.

Eccentric astronomer

Danish nobleman turned astronomer Tycho Brahe was born on December 14, 1546. His accurate astronomical observations were later used by his assistant Johannes Kepler to derive the Laws of Planetary Motion. But he was anything but another boring scientist. Brahe wrangled with mathematicians, lost his nose in a duel and apparently kept a pet moose and a dwarf. Even his death is controversial. He may have been poisoned by his famous assistant.

Tie one on

Or not. The clip on tie was invented on December 13, 1928. Although eminently practical for law enforcement officers and very young little boys, clip on ties have somehow become regarded as slightly seedy and a little tacky. Of course, with examples like these, I can see why.

Prefer wrestling with a "proper" tie? Here's instructions on how to become fit to be tied.

Bygone building

London's Crystal Palace, was an enormous cast iron and glass Victorian monstrosity built for the 1851 Great Exhibition, which showcased Great Britain's industrial, economic and military might. It was moved to a new location in 1854 and eventually destroyed in a fire on November 30, 1936.

Cool computer animation of the interior and exterior here.

Avoiding Black Friday

Although tradition has it that Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year, this isn't necessarily so. Nevertheless, the thought of all those bargain crazed crowds and the ensuing melee doesn't appeal to CrackedPot who won't be venturing near any stores this day.

Would you like fries with your order?

McDonald's sold its 50 billionth burger on November 20, 1984. Presumably it tasted just as bland as the previous 49,999,999,999 burgers.

CrackedPot dined as a child at the original McDonald's, pictured above left, which was located in San Bernardino, California. It has since been torn down. Corporate McDonald's doesn't really explain its existence, and instead claims the first McDonald's was built by Ray Kroc in Des Plaines, Illinois in 1955, a full 15 years after Dick and Mac MacDonald began serving up burgers. Ray Kroc built the empire, but it all started with a little hamburger stand in California.

Caffeine crisis

Not being a coffee drinker, CrackedPot, (who prefers tea, and caffeine free herbal teas at that), has never set foot in a Starbucks. Sugar³ is a big coffee drinker, but prefers to brew his own at home. We may be the only two people in the country who have never been to Starbucks. But Starbucks has apparently reached the saturation point. After growing like gangbusters for the past few years, the company reported huge losses for the third quarter.

More Mobius

August Ferdinand Mobius was born on November 17, 1790. He is best known for his co-discovery of the Mobius strip and as a pioneer in Topology, which Sugar³ is studying at present.

If you haven't already, check out yesterday's post featuring a cool video of Mobius Transformations.

Monet boats

Claude Monet, pictured right, was born on November 14, 1840. His Water Lilies (scroll down) are ubiquitous, but CrackedPot's favorite Monet paintings are the ones with boats,especially sailboats.

Ghost Ship

The Mary Celeste set sail from Staten Island, New York on November 7, 1872. She was later found abandoned near the Straits of Gibralter, and passed into history as a legendary ghost ship. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a fictionalized account of her abandonment that over the years came to be regarded as fact.

The Father of Frozen Foods

Thanks to inventor Clarence Birdseye we can have DiGiorno instead of delivery.

The photo of Mr. Birdseye in the bio looks like a Norman Rockwell painting.

The "Flying Lumberyard"

Howard Hughes flew his Spruce Goose sixty years ago today. Disney Corporation took quite a drubbing from the local public, press and politicians when they evicted the Goose from its home in Long Beach, CA in the early 1990's. Fortunately the Goose found a new home. The last CrackedPot heard, the huge custom built hangar in Long Beach was being used as a soundstage for filming TV shows and movies. More on Hughes here, and movies of the Goose here.