Towers and Broadway and Birthday's, Oh my!

Oh March, how you must come to an end. Following short February you are but a long reminder that spring doesn't officially begin in New England until mid-April. You come in like a lion and, around here, you go out like a lion that just ate that tasty little lamb. It's dreary, wet and windy. Depressing almost. But wait! there is one glimmer of hope at the end of this month, at least for me anyway. See, March 31st is my birthday and I can't think of any better way to celebrate the end of the month other than a whole day committed to me, me ME. Just kidding (kinda?) Birthday's aren't that big of a deal to me (right?) and I hardly expect anyone to waste time on me (do I?)

Yes, I totally do.

Er, anyway in honor of my birthday I'm bringing you a couple little dinosar shaped historical chicken nuggets, not just one. Both of which are kind of exciting for me because A. I'm a loser and B. both happened on March 31st.
FIRST:
The Eiffel Tower officially opened for business. Not that the people of Paris did see it being built for like, ever. The story itself is kind of cool. It was built in honor of the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Personally I think Eiffel, the steelworker and designer, did a great job on it, but I think it would have been a nice touch to have a giant iron severed head of Marie Antoinette on the top there. I mean, would have looked a little more bad ass.

I mean the French are known for being a little brutal..

The Eiffel tower also served as the opening gates for the 1898 French World's Fair. This is where the story gets awesome. So it was the most impressive steel structure in the world at the time, right. So the American's were all like "Ok France, anything you can do we can do better, you're on." And then in 1892 we put on the Chicago World's Fair, which was even more awesome than the French one. We also debuted the world's first Ferris wheel, a massive steel structure that was taller, and far more impressive then the Eiffel Tower. "Suck my escgargot, France" was apparently muttered by Chicago workers (kidding).


Also on March 31st Oklahoma! opened on Broadway. Ok, so what, right? NO. OKLAHOMA! CHANGED EVERYTHING. On Broadway anway. It was the first modern-day musical combining dance, song, story and dress. Rogers and Hammerstein hit the big time with that one. So in honor of that (and just so I can hear it) here's a little Oklahoma! for you guys.

Most B.A. Trophy in all of Sports

I'm not much of a sports person, when it comes to television viewing. Football's too complicated and takes FOREVER, baseball's too boring and takes FOREVER, Basketball doesn't take forever but is still kinda boring to watch unless its the last five minutes. There is one sport that I love to watch though, and that's hockey. It's the perfect sport: low scoring, violent and timely. Games are always over in 2 hours max, unlike baseball which you could watch for about 8 hours before it ends (assuming you didn't die of boredom first).

Gouge my eyeballs out with a spoon...please.

What does any of this have to do with history? Well this week happens to mark the 117th anniversary of the first Stanely Cup championship, played on March 22nd 1894. For those of you who don't know what the Stanley Cup is, it is only the most bad ass trophy in all of sports. There's only one, not like other sports which make about 23234 copies of a trophy which only ends up on Pawn Stars 30 years later.

Suck it, Heisman trophy

Lord Stanley's Cup, as it is referred to (mostly by Canadians) was orgiinally crafted by Lord Stanley of Preston himself who, by the sound of it, was a rich little hockey fan who, not needing a real job, decided to dedicate a silver punch bowl the the NHL. Little did he know that it would become the most treasured trophy in the sport, and a symbols of sportsmanship and honor. Each year, the winning team of the NHL championship has the names of all its players and staff inscribed on the cup, like, forever. By now the trophy stands almost 3 feet tall. Pretty sick if you ask me.

In addition to getting their names inscribed on the cup, each player gets to spend a little alone time with the cup over the course of the next year. If you read up on some of the stories you wouldn't be too shocked to hear most of them involve drunk hockey players. I'm sure if that thing could talk it would have a lot of stories to tell, most of them you probably wouldn't want to hear.

Throw up in my mouth. Bad, Hayden Panettiere, BAD.

 There are a few famous stories though, of players letting their dogs eat out of the cup, drinking expensive wine out of the cup and even baptizing their kids in it. Unfortunately though, I'm a Boston fan and anyone following the Bruins knows that we aren't anywhere close to winnning the Stanley Cup anytime soon. It's kinda sad and I would kill to see them win it and be at the game. Guess unitl then I'll just have to do something crazy and like, cheer for the Red Sox or something. Ew.

Sometimes I Feel like I Live in Grand Central Station..

I don't know where to begin this week. It's midterm time here at the ol' Skidmore so of course that means everyone is freaking out about EVERYTHING. It doesn't help that it's the beginning of March, so everyone's super sluggish and ready for a well deserved break. I'm in the same basket as everyone else. I've got two exams and two papers this week to do and I've gotta get cracking (later?). The sad thing is that doesn't leave much time for researching stuff for you guys and of course, this is the one week where a lot of pretty cool stuff happened.

LIKE the telephone being patented! Woo! Yep on March 7th 1876 Alexander Graham Bell patented the world's first telephone. Yeah, yeah, it's kinda boring compared to NASCAR, but I mean, half of you are probably reading this blog on your iphones, all thanks to Mr. Bell.

Well..

 

 

 One thing that's kinda interesting about this story is that while Bell was inventing the telephone, Elisha Gray was inventing something extremely similar. Bell beat out Gray's in issuing a patent by two hours. Which OBV made Gray pretty pissed. So pissed that he started to work for Thomas Edison to invent a better telephone. Bell promptly sued their asses though, which is why he is credited as the first and only inventor of the telephone. Suck it Edison, you get enough credit for you so called 'lightbulb', stop being such a goddamn attention whore (and elephant electrocution-er).

Anyway, since this is a pretty boring post, I'll leave you with a smidgen of Family Guy to cleanse the palate.

Happy Spring Break!

"Like the Ancient Hawaiians say.."

I can't believe that this week is the beginning of March! I  think everyone will agree with me when I say THANK YOU GOD. It's almost spring! (Kinda) that means I can actually go outside with one layer of clothing and not ruin my shoes trekking to Alpine in the snow! Warmer weather also means more outdoor activities, and this week I'm celebrating the patenting of one of the greatest outdoor activities. Hoola Hooping!

Shake it like a Polaroid picture!

  The first Hula Hoop was patented on March 5, 1963 by the Wham-O company. You might be familiar with Wham-O, they're the company that made all the plushy, missile shaped toys and football that you probably spent countless hours torturing your younger siblings with back in the day. They also made the first frisbee!

lawled

Anyway, the company sold 25 million Hula Hoops in the first four months of production. See, this is why I dont understant why I bother with college sometimes. I can make millions upon millions of dollars selling hoops made out of freakin' PVC pipe, why am I wasting my time (and money) with all this worthless stress?

If you ever watch the show Pitchmen you know what I'm talking about. People invent a goddamn fold up wrench and they make millions. I have an ivy-league-level education and all I have to look forward to is mountains of debt for the next 30 years. Don't forget Grad School so I can get a "real job" somewhere down the line.

I'm not bitter, really!

Er, anyway, back to my point. Hula hoops are pretty fun and have lasted the test of time without really changing too much. They haven't changed because, as I've pointed out, its a hoop made of PVC pipe, not much room for change. People either are awesome at Hula Hooping or terrible. I'm somewhere in between I guess. Basically, when I don't think about it I can hula hoop like a champ, but most of the time I suck. My friend, Ethan, is actually one of the best Hula Hoopers I've ever seen but the catch is that he can only do it when he's drunk. If he tries to do it sober he can't keep it going. strange, but admirable at the same time

I don't know if I should be worried that it's clearly daytime..

 Happy almost spring! :D

You Might Be a Redneck..

Yeehawwww everybody! this week we're celebrating the anniversary of the best darn-tootin sports institution to ever grace these here United States! Y'all know I'm talking about NASCAR!

Yep, this week marks the 63rd anniversary of the founding of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (wow, it does actually stand for something), known to all you rednecks as your beloved NASCAR. So crab your truckers cap, mullet styler, lucky strikes and a big case of Bud-Heavy and let's delve into this unfortunate American tradition.

"Already on it"

NASCAR got its start, like most traditions in the south, around booze. Stock car racing originated during Prohibition, when Moonshiners developed fast, lightweight cars in order to deliver their products while evading the cops. For those of you who've never been to the Appalachians, those roads can get pretty twisty, so it took some ingenious moonshiners to come up with the best and most effective liquor-smuggling machines.

Like this guy!

Eventually people found that it was a dang good time just to race these cars, and stock car racing started to become popular throughout the South. NASCAR really got its start though, in Daytona Beach, Florida where William France organized an official stock car racing league. This league was officialy christened the South's beloved NASCAR on February 21st 1948.

Today NASCAR is the second most watched sport in the United States with an estimatated 75 million fans. These fans apparently purchse over $3 billion worth of sports-related product each year. Thats a helluva lot of beer-dispensing hats. The NASCAR fan is a unique breed of American that doesn't occur to much in these here parts. You can make fun of 'em all day but in the end, they like what they like and don't care what you think, which I guess it a good way to live your life, especially if you're missing a few teeth.

Personally, I'm more of a "real" sports kinda girl and the thought of watching a car drive around an oval for 3 hours doesn't seem like a good time to me, no matter how many Budweisers I could choke down prior to it.

Why most of the world hates Americans..

I Love You! Here, Have a Cavity!

Well folks, today is Valentine's Day, the day where those in love flaunt their feelings and those of us who aren't bitch and moan about how it's a "stupid holiday built on commercialism." And because I want to be fair to both parties, I'm going to dedicate this blog to the history of everyone's favorite ant-acid: the candy conversation heart.
They're EVERYWHERE this time of year and, just like Marsh mellow Peeps and Cadbury Creme Eggs, tend to disappear for the rest of the year, much to the delight of those who abhor showing any happiness or emotion. 

Will U Be Mine?

In fact, conversation hearts have a pretty interesting story that dates back to the Civil War, when sugary candies with rolled-up romantic messages were enjoyed right before someone speared you with a Confederate bayonet.

Lookin' Good

Just kidding, in fact the candies were mostly enjoyed at weddings and contained some sort of whimsical saying such as "Married in White, You've Chosen Right" or "Married in Satin Love won't be Lasting." Clearly they weren't going for a rhyme on the second one, there. 
 
Modern conversation hearts were first produced in the early 1900s and today are produced primarily by the Necco corporation. Necco is famous for Necco Wafers, Mary Jane's and other candies that your Grandparents have probably had in their cupboards since 1950.

No Grandpa, I don't want Ribbon Candy..

Obviously the most popular sayings, such as "Kiss me" and "Be Mine" have stood the test of time, but Necco has always strives to keep with the times. In the 90's they first started modernizing their phrases by adding "Email Me" and "Fax me" to the collection of heartwarming phrases. It makes one wonder what they'll come up with next. "Skype Me?" or what about "Facebook Stalk Me?".

Despite the modernization, after 145 years later this candy is still going strong. This fact kind of surprises me though, because have you ever actually tried to eat one? They're hard as rocks. Sometimes you get a nice, soft, yummy one but most of the time I bite into one and wonder if I'm biting into my own tooth. That kind of kills the mood.

So, if you have a Valentine of not, enjoy the day and be thankful for all the people you do love this year, even if they don't buy you candy. Happy Valentines Day! <3

Best Thing to Happen To Music; The Worst Thing to Happen to Hair

"The British are coming, the British are coming!"
 In 1775 this message would have been brought to you by a fat silversmith on a horse, and would have aroused hundreds of strapping minutemen from their beds and running to gather their muskets and hardtack. 

Fast forward 189 years and this statement was delivered by radio and instead of arousing anger, it, quite literally, aroused thousands of  young women and sent them scrambling for JFK airport.

 

 

I don't think I've ever  been that excited for anything, ever.

 Yes, on February 7th 1964 The Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" had been playing for 2 weeks in America by then and apparently the band wasn't sure how they were going to be received in America, especially since they had such a crazy fan-base back home. Well I think we proved that anything Britain can do America can do better because when the plane landed in the US there were an estimated 3 thousand hormone-fueled fans to greet them. And by greet them I mean scream at them until their lungs collapsed.

When the band appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show two days later it was viewed by 40% of the American public. No bands been that popular since, well, I guess N'Sync was pretty popular.

dreamy.

 Anyway, I know fully well that the Beatles changed the course of music history and rock and roll, so they get my respect. I'm not the biggest fan of their music though. Don't get me wrong, I like some songs like "I get by with a little help from my friends" and "I want to hold your hand" but other than that I never really got into them. It doesn't help that "Across the Universe" was a freakin' weird movie. And I like musicals. This just puts me in more of a minority here at Skidmore, but considering I'm a Country music fan, I never really aspired to fit in musically anyway.

Despite this I'm still open to new things, and if y'all have any good Beatles tunes you want to send my way in honor of this week, feel free to do so!

Anyone notice that yellow Volkswagen on the left is on the sidewalk? I wonder if the driver got a ticket..