Trivia, trivia .... let's share some trivia!
Since we are all in lockdown how about we share some trivia here? It could be fun facts. It could be National Day facts. The choice is yours! I started a Did you know message in all the game communities and posted many National Day facts. Some of you added more fun facts to those messages but very few really knew that they existed inside each game community. So, now I am starting the trivia message here instead of posting to the individual game communities. Let's see how many pages of trivia that we can share!
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Smoke & Mirrors Day is celebrated on March 29th of each year. The source of the name is based on magicians’ illusions, where magicians make objects appear or disappear by extending or retracting mirrors amid a confusing burst of smoke. Generally, “smoke and mirrors” may refer to any sort of presentation by which the audience is intended to be deceived.
Mirror Magic
Magic as a performance art has been used to entertain people around the world since ancient times. In smoke and mirror magic tricks, magicians create optical illusions by diverting a spectator's attention away from the actions that create the "magic". Mirrors are also often used to create illusions by manipulating light and using the properties of reflection and refraction. Some of the popular magic tricks using mirrors include the Sphinx and the Vampire. In both tricks, mirrors are used to hide the object, usually the head of a person.
How to Celebrate?
Learn some magic tricks and entertain your friends and colleagues. Preferably try to use smoke and mirrors in your tricks.
Spend some time learning about how to achieve illusions using mirrors.
You can read more here.
If you want to learn how some of these tricks are done, please check out the videos below.
MOST FAMOUS Magic Tricks Finally Revealed | AGT | BGT
Magic Tricks Revealed : Learn Popular Illusions Free : Four Aces Illusion Magic Tricks Revealed
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(Tagging name's list - Part 1)
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(Tagging name's list - Part 2)
@RobinCorte , @samm_kml, @foxyfox, @Betts, @Mattia_, @Glenn1972, @stramonium, @caambuj, @Lucas_Yan_Maia, @SabrinaM, @Foley1362, @johamilton, @mysticalmysty, @Sukanta_Biswas, @kiara_wael, @Werner_Cichy, @stan1981, @Nck, @Nat09, @SeraphicStar, @bearwithme, @kaiser1618, @Rancid, @paul5473, @abe_coffee, @Crimson_Dawn, @LizzyLemondrop, @wafercookieflippers, @mercerik, @Chicken_Slayer, @MiaChristine, @candycrushinit, @flew66, @BQN537, @Special_K369, @gr33n3y3z, @PummyRaj, @STOKEDER, @slidey, @ShannaSkywolf, @SugarDonuts, @Mattia_, @kingcrushinit, @Mistyfan, @Popower, @Pocahontas1, @pompamandy83, @Albert_Heinrich, @richcastle, @Byrd59, @QueenReineer, @LatishaWillyard, @mimi1954, @Spieler_8675309, @MorphButterfly, @sarma_palash123, @Marzia333, @tininha1975, @Gourav01, @Aitch, @Peter_Tornaros, @Breee, @Ashraf, @mimi1954 , @satnam
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(Tagging name's list - Part 3)
@vikkilee711 @Believe01 @Mitzi @berf @Lola @Katherine286 @joeleelynn @DesireeK12 @christyreedy @frekles6 @frekles6 @Pitty_Kitty @Jennseay @adrianakonopka @princesscandy@johamilton @cookiegirl70 @leahjane10 @W1ckdGrnEyZ @Rita_Prunes @SuziQQQQ @debrichmond @cathykayla10 @Nat09 @gr33n3y3z @Daisy252 @Trish517 @lilac68 @candylover9 @DianaBelliure @SUNDAEMORNAE @anneella0315 @KimElston , @sanahuma @imabearnut @Seika @Debbie_Lyons @TiffanyR14
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Each year, March 30th National Pencil Day honors the writing utensil that has done more than just teach millions the alphabet and draw straight lines. It’s also helped win wars and enabled amazing art.
Hymen Lipman received the first patent for attaching an eraser to the end of a pencil on this day in 1858. Before that time, pencils and erasers existed separately. Lipman combined the two making two tools much more convenient to use. The intuitive businessman also manufactured envelopes for his stationery shop and was the first to add adhesive to the flap of envelopes.
Pencil Facts
In the United States, most pencils are painted yellow. It is believed this tradition began in 1890 when the L & C Hardtmuth Company of Austria-Hungary introduced their Koh-I-Noor brand, named after the famous diamond. They intended the pencil to be the world’s best and most expensive pencil. However, other companies began to copy the yellow color so that their pencils would be associated with the high-quality brand.
Notable pencil users (Wikipedia)
• Thomas Edison had pencils specially made by Eagle Pencil. His pencils were three inches long, thicker than standard pencils, and had softer graphite than typically available.
• Vladimir Nabokov rewrote everything he ever published, usually several times, by pencil.
• John Steinbeck was an obsessive pencil user and is said to have used as many as 60 a day. His novel East of Eden took more than 300 pencils to write.
• Vincent van Gogh used only Faber pencils as they were “superior to Carpenters pencils, a capital black and most agreeable.”
• Johnny Carson regularly played with pencils at his Tonight Show desk. These pencils were specially made with erasers at both ends to avoid on-set accidents.
• Roald Dahl used only pencils with yellow casings to write his books. He began each day with six sharpened pencils and only when all six became unusable did he resharpen them.
You can read more here.
History of the Pencil
On March 30, 1858, Hymen Lipman received a patent for his invention of a pencil with a built-in eraser. U.S. patent 19,783 was awarded to the Philadelphia stationery entrepreneur extraordinaire for what he described as a “combination of the lead and India rubber or other erasing substance [embedded] in the holder of a drawing-pencil.” (Info from here)
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NATIONAL CRAYON DAY
Each year, on March 31st children and adults alike, pick up their favorite colors for National Crayon Day. Opening up a box of crayons opens up a world of imagination and hours of fun. Wax and chalk-based crayons have been used by artists around the world for centuries. Edwin Binney created the brightly colored crayons we are familiar with today. He was part owner of Binney & Smith, a company that produced products such as paint, pigments and slate pencils for schools. (Info from here)
The Inventors of Crayola Crayons: Binney & Smith
Binney & Smith, now Crayola LLC, was an outgrowth of a chemical company that made pigments. The company started in 1864 in Peekskill, New York, and Joseph W. Binney was the owner. His son and a nephew took over when he retired, and they re-named the business Binney & Smith.
Peekskill Chemical Works sold their pigment product, “lampblack,” to foundries and to the cast-iron stove manufacturers that were located nearby. As the business grew and pigment was shipped elsewhere, the company used wax marking crayons to label the boxes. Later on, these wax crayons would be a main part of their business in the form of Crayola crayons.
When his son, Edwin Binney (1866-1934), finished his schooling in 1883, he joined his father’s company. One of Joseph’s nephews, C. Harold Smith (1860-1931) also joined the company around that time.
New Pigment Developed
In the meantime, Edwin Binney was investigating new ways to expand their line at home. Some businesses were marketing a new pigment known as “carbon black,” which was a byproduct of the drilling for natural gas that was being done in western Pennsylvania. Edwin Binney was very taken with the possibilities, and in 1892 he received a patent for an apparatus that permitted the mass manufacture of carbon black. Soon Binney & Smith became one of the major producers of the pigment. (In 2011, Edwin Binney was honored posthumously by the National Inventors Hall of Fame in recognition for his invention.)
Slate Pencil Let Company Enter School Market
At the turn of the 20th century, school children each had their own slates (like small two-sided blackboards) since paper was expensive and not easy to come by. The students used slate pencils to write on these tablets, and the softer the pencil the better. (The marks from a slate pencil are very much like markings of chalk and can be easily wiped away using a cotton cloth–or even a sleeve.) As Binney & Smith became familiar with the school market, Smith began listening for what else teachers needed. Two requests came up again and again: chalk that didn’t produce a dusty mess, and inexpensive wax crayons children could use for artwork.
Crayola Crayons Division Grows
The first wax crayons in the U.S. were imported from Europe, but by the 1880s, a few American companies were making them, too. Franklin Manufacturing in Rochester, New York, began with lumber and marking wax crayons, and by the 1880s, they expanded into the colored crayon market. Other companies, including Louis Prang (maker of early Christmas cards) and the Milton Bradley game company made wax crayons as well.
By 1903 they were satisfied with their new product. Binney & Smith produced their first box of eight colorful crayons that year. Alice Binney, who was a former teacher, is credited with coming up with the Crayola name under which the crayons were released. (“Craie” means chalk in French and “ola” was a shortened form of the French word, “oléagineux,” which means oily.)
At first, the boxes were sold door-to-door for a nickel. Each box contained crayons in these colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, and black. Each crayon was wrapped in paper and labeled as to color.
During the Depression, Binney & Smith hired farm families to hand-letter the papers and wrap the crayons. This provided work in an economic downturn, and over time, certain farms became known for their color specialty.
More and More Crayola Crayons
The big seller, however, has always been crayons. And from the beginning (1903), they recognized the growing interest in art education. For that more refined market, they created the Rubens-Crayola crayon. In 1949, the box was expanded to hold 48 colors placed in a box with “stadium seating,” and in 1958 the classic 64-color box was introduced with a built-in sharpener. In 1993, ninety-six colors were packaged into what they called the Big Box.
Involving the Public
Crayola has long recognized the importance of public opinion, and that is part of their success. In 1993, they ran a “Name the New Colors Contest.” Almost two million people entered. The oldest winner was an 89-year-old woman who submitted “purple mountain’s majesty” for a new shade of purple, and the youngest was 5, who submitted “razzmatazz” for the raspberry red crayon. To read all the new color names and their winners, click here.
Eight years later, the company wanted to know the most popular color. In 2001, they conducted the Crayola Color Census and the undisputed winner was the color blue; runners-up were various shades of blue.
Read more here.
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Celebrated on April 1, April Fool’s Day, also known as All Fool’s Day, is a day for tricks, pranks and jokes. Other names include April Noddy Day, Gowkie Day, Huntigowk Day and St All-Fool’s Morn.
There are several theories about the origin on the April Fool's Day custom. One explanation focuses on the introduction of the Julian and the Gregorian calendar. From ancient times, people in some parts of Europe celebrated the New Year on or around the March Equinox. However, the new calendar systems defined January 1 as the first day of the year.
Biblical theories
Another belief on the April Fool's Day origin points to the biblical character Noah as the first “April Fool”. It is said that on April 1, he mistakenly sent the dove out to find dry land before the waters subsided.
A second story tells that the day commemorates when Jesus was sent from Pontius Pilate to Herod and back again. "Sending a man from Pilate to Herod", is an old term for sending someone on a fool's errand.
The Origin of “Fool's Errands”
According to Roman myth, the god Pluto abducted Proserpina to the underworld. Her mother Ceres only heard her daughter’s voice echo and searched for her in vain. The fruitless search is believed by some to have inspired the tradition of “fool's errands”, practical jokes where people are asked to complete an impossible or imaginary task.
All Fool's Day in British Folklore
British folklore links April Fool's Day to the town of Gotham in Nottinghamshire. According to the legend, it was traditional in the 13th century for any road that the king placed his foot upon to become public property. So, when Gotham’s citizens heard that King John planned to travel through their town, they refused him entry, not wishing to lose their main road. When the king heard this, he sent soldiers to the town. But when the soldiers arrived in Gotham, they found the town full of fools engaged in foolish activities such as drowning fish. As a result, the king declared the town too foolish to warrant punishment.
This info came from here.
Fun facts
• The Scottish love April Fools' Day. In fact, they love it so much, they celebrate it for two days. In Scotland they call it "hunting the gowk" (the cuckoo), and if you are tricked, you are an "April gowk." To really get "behind" the holiday, the second day, called "Taily Day," is devoted to pranks involving the back side of the body. The "butt" of these jokes may often have a "kick me" sign placed on their back.
• There's something fishy going on in France. Kids fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their backs. When the victim discovers the fish, the prankster yells "Poisson d'Avril!" (April Fish!)
• Don't get floured, friends. In Portugal, April Fools' Day is actually celebrated on the Sunday and Monday before Lent. The big trick there? Throwing flour at your friend's face.
• Forget anything serious. In Poland everyone takes part in April Fools' Day activities, including the media and sometimes public institutions. All serious activities are completely avoided for the day. A favorite joke? Pouring water on people.
• In certain areas of Belgium, children lock out their parents or teachers and only let them in if they promise to give them sweets.
• Depending on where you live in England, instead of a "fool" you could be called a "noodle," "noddy," "gobby" or "gob."
Check out this list of the Top 100 April Fools' Day Hoaxes.
You can read more here.
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On April 2nd each year, National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day celebrates a classic food favorite. The average American will have eaten over 2000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time they graduate from high school.
Peanut butter was considered a delicacy in the early 1900s and was only served in New York City’s finest tea rooms. In a May 1896 article published in the Good Housekeeping magazine, a recipe “urged homemakers to use a meat grinder to make peanut butter and spread the result on bread.” That same year, in June, the culinary magazine Table Talk, published a “peanut butter sandwich recipe.” (Info from here)
Who Invented the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich?
The Earl of Sandwich is credited with inventing the sandwich because he wanted to eat his meal with one hand during a 24-hour gambling event and instructed his servant to put his meat between two slices of bread. But what many may not know, is how an American classic sandwich—the iconic peanut butter and jelly sandwich—came to be. If the Earl of Sandwich invented the sandwich, who invented the PB&J?
The story begins with the three essentials parts of the PB&J—peanut butter, jelly and bread. First, let’s start with the bread, which is, of course, an ancient food that has been around for tens of thousands of years.
The significance of the bread component in the PB&J sandwich is the invention of pre-sliced bread in the early 1900s. Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented a bread slicer but bakers were not interested because they thought no one would want their bread pre-sliced. Rohwedder kept refining his invention and changing things until it was ready to use in bakeries. He advertised the machine as “the greatest step forward in baking since bread was wrapped.” Later, the slogan evolved into “the greatest thing since sliced bread.”
Sliced bread proliferated. Soon people were looking for spreads to use with this newfound wonder food.
Next, let’s look at jelly; which is another food that has been around for a long time. In the case of the quintessential American PB&J sandwich, the most important person in this part of the story is a man named Paul Welch. In 1917, Welch secured a patent for pureeing grapes and turning them into jelly. He developed and advertised Grapelade (rhymes with marmalade) from Concord grapes—this was popular with America’s troops in WWI. When soldiers came home after the war, it was popular to spread Grapelade on bread.
Finally, there’s the peanut butter. Contrary to popular belief, peanut butter was not invented by Dr. George Washington Carver. But he is crediting with advancing the peanut crop in the South in the early 1900s and published his “300 Uses for Peanuts,” which included a peanut paste.
The forerunner of the peanut butter we know today was first brought to light sometime during the 1880s when a St. Louis physician, Dr. Ambrose Straub, made a peanut paste for geriatric patients who had trouble swallowing, or had bad teeth. Around the same time, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (same as the cereal) was the first to patent a process for manufacturing peanut butter. Peanut butter was first introduced at the 1893 Chicago World Fair. In 1904 Dr. Straub got a food company to develop the peanut spread and they took it to the St. Louis World Fair where it became so popular, grocery stores began ordering it.
Around the same time, peanut butter appeared in upscale tea rooms in New York City and was considered a delicacy. On the menu of Vanity Fair Tea Room was peanut butter with watercress. Other tea rooms featured peanut butter and pimento sandwich and peanut butter on toast triangles with soda crackers.
In 1901, the first peanut butter and jelly sandwich recipe appeared in the Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science and Domestic Economics written by Julia Davis Chandler. She said to use currant or crab-apple jelly and called the combination delicious and as far as she knew, original.
Still, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich was an exclusive food, and its popularity among the masses was yet to come. As Grapelade and pre-sliced bread became popular, another breakthrough happened with peanut butter—commercial brands found a way to create creamier peanut butter that didn’t stick to the roof of the mouth so easily. And during the Great Depression of the 1930s, families discovered peanut butter provided a satisfying, high protein, less expensive meal.
But the major event that took the peanut butter and jelly sandwich over the top in popularity was WWII.
Peanut butter and jelly were on the U.S. Military ration menus in World War II. Peanut butter was a high-protein, shelf-stable ingredient and easily portable on long marches. Grapelade had already accompanied soldiers in the first world war and added a sweetness to the sandwich. With pre-sliced bread so easy to use, the natural inclination was to combine these three items, and before long the good ol’ PB&J was a part of the American soldier’s life.
When soldiers came home from the war, peanut butter and jelly sales soared. Kids loved it because it tastes great, parents loved how easy it was to make and how kids could make it themselves with pre-sliced bread. Many families and college students on a budget relied on PB&J.
You can read more here.
