Quote of the Day
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear."
1 John 4:18
Writing Prompt of the Day
What Local Problems Do You Think Your Mayor Should Try to Solve?
Day's Conversation Starter
What was the most over hyped place you’ve travelled to?
Joke of the Day
A police officer just knocked on my door and told me my dogs are chasing people on bikes. That's ridiculous. My dogs don't even own bikes!
Top Fun Fact
When mice live in the wild, they typically only live for about six months due to the fact that they have so many predators. However, in a controlled environment like being kept as a pet, they can live up to two years.
History Fact
The Government Literally Poisoned Alcohol During Prohibition
During Prohibition in the United States, the U.S. government literally poisoned alcohol. When people continued to consume alcohol despite its banning, law officials got frustrated and decided to try a different kind of deterrent—death. They ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols manufactured in the U.S., which were products regularly stolen bootleggers. By the end of Prohibition in 1933, the federal poisoning program is estimated to have killed at least 10,000 people.
Weird Laws
It's Illegal to Feed Pigeons in Venice
With thousands of pigeons descending upon Saint Mark's Square and Venice, lured by the the tourists readily handing out food in exchange for Instagram-worthy photos, Venice lawmakers officially made it illegal to feed the pesky fowl in 2008.
It is said the cleanup from the birds cost each citizen €275 per year, so now, the tables are turned. If you're caught feeding the pigeons, you could face fines of up to €700. Better to get the picture-perfect shot of Venice's beautiful bridges instead.
Foody Things
Croatia
Seafood in Croatia's Adriatic coastal cities like Dubrovnik and Split can be amazing. But most of Croatia’s foods are similar to its neighbors, who are better known for their versions. For example, goulash is more famous in Hungary and pasta and sauces are renowned in Italy.
Much of Croatian cuisine is game-based, with turkey, pork and even the “edible dormouse” found abundantly on menus.
Edible mouse?
Uh, no, thank you.
Movie/TV Trivia
Toy Story 2 Was Almost Deleted
A command entered in the "master machine" where the animation for Toy Story 2 was stored deleted 90 percent of the work the Pixar team had done on it. As Mental Floss describes, "A plan was quickly hatched to restore the data from a regular backup, which meant that only half a day of work would have been lost. But the backup system had failed. Pixar, incredibly, did not have a copy of the Toy Story 2 files on its servers." Fortunately, the film's technical director had a copy she had been working on from home, and much of it was restored.
Movie/TV Quote
"Why so serious?" - The Dark Knight, 2008