Daily Quote
"When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new."
Dalai Lama
Writing Prompt
How Do You Celebrate Earth Day?
Conversation Starter
If you were a king / queen, what would your throne look like?
Joke of the Day
The tallest building in my city is the library because it has the most stories.
Fun Fact
The oldest “your mom” joke was discovered on a 3,500 year old Babylonian tablet.
It was discovered in Iraq in 1976, however since then the tablet has been lost, but the text remains preserved.
History Fact
Rasputin survived being poisoned and being shot.
Grigori Rasputin was a Russian mystic and supposed holy man. He became friends with the last Russian Tsar and Tsarina.
Over time, he came to influence the Russian royals much to the displeasure of many members of the Russian nobility.
This, combined with his drunkenness and lechery, led to several Russian nobles forming a plot to assassinate the man.
They invited him over to one of their houses, gave him cakes and wine laced with cyanide all to no effect, and then shot him in the chest.
To their horror, Rasputin started to cough and they realized he was still alive!
How did they fix the problem? The nobles shot Rasputin two more times – once in the head. Finally they threw his body into the frozen Malaya Nevka River.
Weird Laws
NEW YORK
The Empire State bans "being masked or in any manner" disguised in public with other people dressed in the same getup. The law has withstood legal challenges since 1845. It includes exceptions for parties.
Food Thing
Italian
Annual U.S. production: 5.6 billion pounds
When it was announced that Italian cheeses had dethroned American cheeses as the most popular in the country, it made headline news. But really, is it that big of a surprise?
Consider the list of exemplary cheeses one finds in this category, starting with the ubiquitous mozzarella. Whether supermarket mozzarella, trendy burrata or mozzarella di bufala, this versatile cheese is a true staple in the U.S., not to mention worldwide (it was first made, of course, in Italy). Today, Americans consume about 11.57 pounds of mozzarella per capita per year, with the popularity of American pizza playing a big role in these numbers.
And that’s to say nothing of the other major cheeses that help make up this category: ricotta, provolone and parmesan. Sounds like a winning mix of cheeses to us.
Movie/TV Trivia
Halloween
The Michael Myers face mask in Halloween is just a Captain Kirk/William Shatner face mask. They spray-painted the face white, teased out the hair, and reshaped the eye holes.
Movie/TV Quote
"Love means never having to say you're sorry."
Love Story, 1970