Did You Know II… ?

compiled by Shel Funk, Tuesday, February 10, 2009

• Between May and December 1946, a number of mysterious rocket-shaped objects, termed “Ghost Rockets,” were spotted by people in several European countries.
• God must love animals; He made so many of them! Including an estimated 100 trillion red-billed quelea birds. More
• Did you know that you have a 1 in 649,739 chance of being dealt a Royal Straight Flush when you play poker? Your chance of getting struck by lightning is actually higher.
• In the year 2000 Reality TV was introduced in the form of Survivor, based on Swedish game show Operation Robinson.
• In pagan times Friday was the luckiest day of the week because it was ruled by the planet Venus, the symbol of love and fortune.
• The keel of the H.M.S. Friday was laid on a Friday and was launched on her maiden voyage on a Friday. On her first voyage, setting sail on a Friday, she was commanded by Captain James Friday … this was done to prove that Friday’s were NOT unlucky … the ship and her crew were never seen again … not even on a Friday.
• The “unlucky 13” is the reason why the thirteen loaves that bakers once supplied were never called by the number but were instead described as “a baker’s dozen.”
• The fear of “talking” is called “laliophobia”.
• Barbie was introduced at the New York Toy Fair on 9 March 1959and her real name is Barbie Millicent Roberts.
• A fathom is 1.8 meters (6 feet).
• During the Battle of Waterloo, Lord Uxbridge had his horse shot from under him 9 times.
• The length from your wrist to your elbow is the same as the length of your foot.
• Your heart beats 101,000 times a day. During your lifetime it will beat about 3 billion times and pump about 400 million liters (800 million pints) of blood.
• In 1750 there were about 800 million people in the world. In 1850 there were a billion more, and by 1950, another billion. Then it took just 50 years to double to 6 billion.
• In 1750 there were about 800 million people in the world. In 1850 there were a billion more, and by 1950, another billion. Then it took just 50 years to double to 6 billion.
• More personal telephone calls are made on Mother’s Day in the USA than on any other day in any other country.
• Almost 1.2 billion people are underfed – the same number of people that are overweight to the point of obesity
• Melba toast is named after Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba (1861-1931).
• TIP is the acronym for “To Insure Promptness.”
• The world’s most expensive jam (jelly) is Confiture de groselles. It is a redcurrant jam (jelly) from a 14th century recipe made in the tiny French town of Bar-Le-Duc.

Black Friday or Bleak Friday

It depends on where you are, I suppose. Some reports from east coast retailers indicate that shoppers, although numerous, were looking for steep discounts from retailers on Black Friday (11/28/2008) and seemed to be willing to wait for the BEST deals which will undoubtedly occur closer to Christmas. What shoppers were buying wire children’s clothes and televisions.

Here in the rust belt of Ohio (Cleveland to Youngstown) retailers, as in other parts of the Midwest, were reporting that sales were moderate and hinted that there was hope for a profitable holiday season.

But you’ve got to know … with the deepening economic crisis we are in, there is not really going to be any reports of retailers sitting comfortably in the black this holiday shopping season. I mean, rarely do you even hear of it in a good year. Let’s face it, you and I cannot purchase enough to make retailers happy. If you ask them the question, “How much is enough?” they will not provide you an intelligent answer.

So, as I heard last year at this time (and the year before that one and the year before that one, etc., etc.) Black Friday has turned into Bleak Friday and it’s going to be yet another horrible year for retailers … and I can only conclude by saying, “What is … is, What ain’t … ain’t!”.

… and my heart felt condolences are humbly offered to the family of the Walmart sales clerk who lost his life to a herd of bargain hunting Christmas shoppers stampeding to insure that their kids got the newest and bestest toys at the cheapest price … God Bless America.

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