7 Things You Might Not Know About Hummingbirds

You can see the red-throated hummigbird to the left of the feeder.

1. Hummingbirds remember every flower they've been to and know how long it will take each flower to refill with nectar.

2. Hummingbirds hear better than humans.

3. Hummingbirds have little to no sense of smell.

4. Hummingbirds can barely walk; they prefer to fly.

5. Females lay a clutch of two eggs.

6. 30% of a hummingbird's weight is comprised of flight muscles.

7. A hummingbird's wings can rotate in a full circle.






*All facts gleaned from http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/facts.php

Mockingbird Trivia

The jury box in the Monroe County Courthouse
Monroeville, Alabama

Last night during the 50th anniversary showing of "To Kill a Mockingbird," we logged into Viggle and learned all sorts of movie trivia that I'll share here along with other trivia I found.

• The courthouse used in the movie was an exact replica of the Monroe County Courthouse where Harper Lee's father tried cases as an attorney. The Monroeville courthouse is now a museum.

• Mary Badham, who played Scout, did not read the book until she was grown.

• Gregory Peck did his 9-minute summation speech in one take.

• Brock Peters, who played Tom Robinson, gave the eulogy at Gregory Peck's funeral.

• Rock Hudson was the studio's first choice for the role of Atticus.

• The pennies in the cigar box were dated 1962, even though the setting took place in 1932.

• Robert Duvall named many of his dogs "Boo Radley."

• Atticus Finch was named the top movie hero in the last 100 years by the American Film Institute.

• Robert Duvall stayed out of the sun for six weeks and died his hair blond for the role of Boo Radley.

• Mary Badham was the youngest girl nominated for an Oscar for her role as Scout, but lost out to another child -- Patty Duke, who played Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker."

Presidential Trivia

The back of the White House

I couldn't resist asking a few trivia questions for President's Day. Not being a history buff, I wouldn't know the answer to any of these except the Bonus Question at the end, since it relates to the day I took this picture.

1.       Which of these presidents was a Supreme Court Justice?

a.     William Howard Taft

b.      Franklin Pierce

c.       Lyndon Baines Johnson

d.      James Polk

2.       Which president served in two non-consecutive terms?

a.       James Monroe

b.      William Henry Harrison

c.       Gerald Ford

d.      Grover Cleveland

3.       How many presidents have been assassinated while in office?

a.      2

b.      4

c.       6

d.      8

4.       Which president had 15 children (which is the most so far of any president)?

a.      James Buchanan

b.      James Madison

c.       John Adams

d.      John Tyler

5.       Which is the only president who has been divorced?

a.      Gerald Ford

b.      John F. Kennedy

c.       Ronald Reagan

d.      William Henry Harrison

6.       Who was the tallest president, measuring 6’4”?

a.      Abraham Lincoln

b.      Barrack Obama

c.       Ronald Reagan

d.      Bill Clinton

7.       Which of these presidents was reportedly the first to bring a Siamese kitten to America?

a.      Martin Van Buren

b.      Rutherford B. Hayes

c.       John F. Kennedy

d.      Theodore Roosevelt

8.       Which country hosts an Obama reality show (“Obama Golden Ticket”) in which the winner receives an all-expense paid trip to significant places in President Obama's life?

a.     South Africa

b.    Germany

c.     Japan

d.    Indonesia

9.       Which president’s grandson says Newt Gingrich is a “big jerk” who “… needs to stick with the same wife, that’s what my mother taught me.”

a.      George Bush

b.      Lyndon B. Johnson

c.       John Tyler

d.      Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Last but not least, the BONUS QUESTION:

10.   Who was in office when Hannah Montana performed at the White House Easter  Egg Roll?

a.      George W. Bush

b.      George Bush

c.       Barrack Obama

d.      Bill Clinton

1)a, 2)d, 3)b, 4)d, 5)c, 6)a, 7)b, 8)d, 9)c, 10)a

Coca-Cola Polar Bears

Visitors to the World of Coke in Atlanta, Georgia can pose for pictures with the 7-foot Coca-Cola bear.



Just a few fun facts:

• The first polar bear to appear in Coca-Cola print ads made an appearance in France in 1922.

• The polar bear character was created by Ken Stewart and was inspired by his Labrador retriever puppy who resembled a polar bear.

• In the first animated polar bear commercial, the Coca-Cola bears are watching the Northern lights as if it were a movie.

• In 1994 Olympic game ads, the Coca-Cola bears slid down a luge and skiied off a ski jump.

"Gone With the Wind" Movie Trivia



One of the figurines at the Atlanta Cyclorama reportedly resembles Clark Gable in his role as Rhett Butler.


1. In the last scene of the movie, where do we see Scarlett?
a) on the porch at Tara
b) in a carriage
c) on a staircase
d) at Melanie's grave


2. At the Wilkes' barbecue, Scarlett grants which suitor the right to get her dessert for her?
a) Charles Hamilton
b) Ashley Wilkes
c) Frank Templeton
d) Pierre Merriwether


3. Where are Scarlett and Melanie when Melanie goes into labor?
a) Charleston
b) Savannah
c) Montgomery
d) Atlanta


4. Who tells Scarlett that land is the only thing worth fighting for?
a) Her father
b) Rhett Butler
c) Frank Kennedy
d) Ashley Wilkes


5. Who overhears Scarlett telling Ashley she loves him?
a) Her sister Sue Ellen
b) Melanie
c) Rhett Butler
d) India Wilkes


6. What color is the hat that Rhett brings Scarlett from Paris?
a) black
b) red
c) blue
d) green


7. Just before intermission, a starving Scarlett eats and is sick from what?
a) a rabbit
b) a carrot
c) a potato
d) eggs


8. What color is the dress Scarlett wears in the opening scene of the movie?
a) white
b) green
c) red
d) gold


9. Why does Scarlett visit Rhett in jail?
a) to tell him she loves him
b) to ask for money
c) to help him escape
d) Melanie sent her


10. What does Scarlett give Ashley Wilkes for Christmas?
a) gloves
b) scarf
c) cuff links
d) sash




Answers: 1.c, 2.a, 3.d, 4.a, 5.c, 6.d, 7.b., 8.a, 9.b, 10.d

Let's Talk Turkey

Turkey Terms



The chef carving our turkey at our German
Thanksgiving meal. Es schmeckt gut!

 Poult - a baby turkey.  A chick.

Tom – a male turkey. Wild males are known as gobblers.

Flock - a group of turkeys.

Jake -  gobblers that are less than a year old.

Hen - a female turkey.

Jenny -  hens that are less than a year old.

Caruncle – the brightly colored growths on the throat region.  Turns bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.

Gizzard – the part of a turkey’s stomach that contains helps them grind up food for digestion.

Snood - the flap of skin that hangs over the turkey's beak.  Like the caruncle, it turns bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.

Wattle - the flap of skin under the turkey's chin. Like the caruncle and snood, it turns bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.

Beard -  feathers that grow out from the chest of male turkeys and some hens

Drag marks - marks left by gobblers when they strut. The wing feathers are dragged along the ground and look like someone drew a line in the sand.

Basted or Self-Basted — bone-in turkey products (such as whole birds) that are injected or marinated with a solution containing butter or other edible fat, broth, stock or water, plus spices, flavor enhancers and other approved substances should be labeled as “basted” or “self-basted.”

Free Range or Free Roaming — in order to use these terms on a label, poultry producers must provide a brief description of the bird’s housing conditions with the label when it is submitted for approval. The To be free range or free roaming, the birds have continuous, free access to the outdoors for more than 51 percent of their lives.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

October is National Apple Month

 

 

Some Fun Apple Facts:

• Apple juice was one of the earliest prescribed anti depressants.
• Apples are a member of the rose family.
• It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.
• The crabapple is the only apple native to North America.
• Apples float because 25 percent of their volume is air.
• All apples have five seed pockets, each with a seed.
• Kathy Wafler Madison created the world's largest apple peel on October 16, 1976, in Rochester, NY. It was 172 feet, 4 inches long. (She was 16 years old at the time and grew up to be a sales manager for an apple tree nursery).
• The pilgrims planted the first US apples trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• The science of apple growing is called pomology.
• Quercetin is found only in the apple skin. The skin also contains more antioxidants and fiber than the flesh.
• China produces more apples than any other country.
• The apple is the official state fruit of New York, Washington, West Virginia and Rhode Island. It is the official state flower of Michigan.
  
• Contrary to popular belief, there is no mention of an apple as the forbidden fruit in the Bible. It is referred to as "fruit from the Tree of Knowledge" with no specification as to which kind of fruit. It was Hugo Van Der Goes who first implicated the apple as the forbidden fruit in his 1470 A.D. painting, The Fall of Man. After that, it became popular to depict the apple as the forbidden fruit.
• To the Iroquois Indians, the apple tree is the central tree of heaven.
• An apple blossom has five petals.
• There are more than 750,000 apple orchards in the state of Washington.
In ancient Greece, tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of marriage; catching it was acceptance.

That Smile

The lady certainly draws a crowd. We entered the Louvre just as it opened, and like the main attraction at an amusement park, everyone made a mad dash for the Mona Lisa.

She draws an estimated 6 million visitors a year, which makes it unfathomable tho think that someone managed to steal her, lifting her right off the walls of the Louvre on August 21, 1911. With glass protection and massive crowds, I doubt that will ever happen again.

How Much Do You Know About Skeeball?



The game can be spelled skeeball, skee ball, or skee-ball.



Did you know J.D. Estes first invented the game in 1909 to be played at his son’s birthday party? His prototype was a 36-foot lane blocked off by wooden rails. The players threw heavy metal balls toward three elevated holes.

You probably didn’t know that the Wurlitzer Company bought the rights to the game of skeeball in 1935 and sponsored the first skeeball tournament in Atlantic City, NJ that same year. Ownership then passed to the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1945.

It wasn’t until 1973 that the first electronic skeeball machines came into existence.

Are you aware that there’s a skeeball league in America organized as Skeenation? If you check out their website, you can learn the history behind the names of skeeball teams such as Backskeet Boys, Bad News Bearskees, Big Lebowskees, Black Eyed Skees, Charleskee’s Angels,  Charlie Skeen, Don’t Stop Skeelievin’, Easy Skeezy Beautiful Cover Girls, Jon Benet Ramskee, and Jerry Gar-skee-a. Though, we can probably figure out the history behind these clever names without even visiting the site, can’t we?

Maybe you knew all this. Maybe you didn’t. If your game play is as good as your knowledge about the sport, perhaps you ought to enter the Brewskee-Ball: the first ever national skeeball league. The skeeson started in May, but maybe you can skee if they can fit you in.

A Few Facts About the San Andreas Fault

• On April 18, 1906, the San Francisco earthquake moved this fenceline along the San Andreas faultline. Three hundred miles of the faultline was affected.

• The San Andreas fault is 810 miles long.

• The fault was first discovered by UC Berkeley geology professor Andrew Lawson in 1895.

• All land west of the Pacific plate is moving northwest, while all the land east of the fault is moving southwest.