Holiday Fun Fact: Baby New Year
The New Year is often personified as a baby wearing a diaper and a top hat — but there’s nothing new about it. Using a baby as a symbol of rebirth has its roots in ancient Greece and Egypt.
The New Year is often personified as a baby wearing a diaper and a top hat — but there’s nothing new about it. Using a baby as a symbol of rebirth has its roots in ancient Greece and Egypt.
By Michael Masterson | Thu, Dec 31, 2009
There are many New Year superstitions with ancient origins that are still held by some today. For example:
By Michael Masterson | Wed, Dec 30, 2009
“Auld Lang Syne” — a very old Scottish song — is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country to welcome the New Year. The title translates to “Old Long Ago.” In English, we would say “The Good Old Days.”
By Michael Masterson | Thu, Dec 24, 2009
According to the book Did You Ever Wonder… by Jeff Rovin, “Xmas” comes from the Greek word for “Christ,” which is “Xristos.” The shortened form of the word “Christmas” became popular in Europe in the 1500s. Today, we see it a lot, especially in ads. (Maybe because it has the [...]
By Michael Masterson | Fri, Oct 30, 2009
I learned a lovely word today: MacGuffin. A MacGuffin is an irrelevant interest grabber — a story whose purpose is to draw attention to itself and away from something else. It comes from a plot device invented by Alfred Hitchcock. He borrowed it from a shaggy-dog story that goes something like this: A couple, [...]
By Michael Masterson | Tue, Oct 27, 2009
In Charleston, West Virginia, the tap water is toxic. Bathwater burns sensitive skin. Drinking water takes enamel off teeth. The water has concentrations of arsenic, barium, lead, manganese, and other chemicals that cause cancer, damage kidneys, and wreck the nervous system. The cause? Illegal amounts of these pollutants being pumped into [...]
By Michael Masterson | Fri, Oct 23, 2009
Retailers aren’t looking forward to the holidays. Analysts predict sales will be flat, about the same as last year. Last year was bad — the biggest decline in Christmas shopping since 1970. But, once again, I think the analysts are going to be wrong. I think sales will be worse this year.
By Michael Masterson | Thu, Oct 22, 2009
Whenever you write an e-mail on a sensitive topic, leave the “To:” line blank until you’re absolutely sure you’re ready to send it. That way, you’ll never have to worry about accidentally transmitting a message before you have everything phrased “just so.”
By Michael Masterson | Wed, Oct 14, 2009
A recent study found that 2008’s media coverage of the financial crisis was all about big government and big business. Small-business issues merited just 5 percent of the total. Newspapers and magazines and television experts were almost entirely focused on the auto industry, bank bailouts, and stimulus plans. And most of the [...]
By Early To Rise | Sat, Aug 1, 2009
A few weeks ago, we told you about Eastern European criminals installing “skimmers” to steal personal information from ATMs. Now, it looks like those thieves won’t be trying their scam in South Africa… at least, not for long. Cameras trained on cash machines detect when somebody tampers with the card [...]
By Michael Masterson | Fri, Jan 1, 2010
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