Did you know?

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Today is St. Patrick’s Day. For those of you who celebrate, enjoy the day! If any of you haven’t seen my St. Patrick’s Day story, you can find it here. 

Below please find some riddles for this holiday.

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Did you know that today is “Let’s laugh day”? Studies have suggested that laughter can help people relax and reduce stress. Laughing and being joyful can also have health and social benefits. With this pandemic going on all over the world, I think we might need some laughter in our lives so let's share some jokes, memes, riddles, etc.

Many Health Benefits

Medical studies have shown a few minutes of laughter can reduce blood pressure, increase immunity response of the body, and boost heart rate. Watching or reading something humorous before sleep can also help people sleep better and longer.

Laughing can even burn calories. Research has shown that 10-15 minutes of laughing can burn up to 50 calories.

Friendly People

People who laugh often are seen by their peers as happy and friendly. As a result, they tend to have more friends and are easily accepted as a part of different social groups.

How to Celebrate?

Here are some ways you can celebrate this happy “howl”iday:

Laugh out loud for a few minutes.

Spend some time reading jokes and funny stories.

Watch a funny movie.

Attend a stand-up comedy show.

Did You Know…

…that children laugh more than adults? An average toddler laughs about 400 times a day, while an average adult tends to laugh about 15-20 times a day.

All of the above came from here. 

This came from here but please feel free to ad your own memes.

What is the best thing to do when you have a hole in a boat and water is leaking inside? Make another hole to drain the water. - coolfunnyquotes.com 

Dear Math, please grow up and solve your own problems, I'm tired of solving them for you. - coolfunnyquotes.com 

 No, no, I'm listening, it just takes me some time to process so much stupidity all at once. - coolfunnyquotes.com 

 George Carlin on Germs

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History of National Puppy Day

Founder, Colleen Paige’s mission is to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year. It’s also an excellent opportunity to show off your dog’s supermodel side and give them some extra cuddles for all the joy they bring. So sit back and indulge in the endless stream of adorable puppy photos, but keep in mind that today might be the best excuse to bring home your own fluffy canine as your next best friend!

 

Colleen Paige first brought adoption awareness to a national level with National Dog Day in 2004, which was later adopted by the New York State Legislature in 2013. This day is celebrated on August 26 and is the day Colleen adopted her first dog, “Sheltie” when she was 10 years old. Since then, Colleen has inspired millions with her compassion and has brought worldwide attention to animals in need. She has shone a light on dogs putting their lives on the line every day for personal protection, for law enforcement, for the disabled, for our freedom, and for our safety. 

The above info came from here. 

If you have puppies please share your pictures with us here.

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March 27th is the annual observance of National Spanish Paella Day. A rice dish from Spain, paella has become very popular and is known around the world. It originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain.

At lunchtime, workers in the fields would make the rice dish in a flat pan over a fire. They mixed in whatever they could find – such as rabbits, snails, and vegetables. Later, for special occasions, chicken was added. Paella has spread to every region of Spain, as well as worldwide, using almost any type of ingredient that goes well with rice.

There are many versions of recipes of paella. Key ingredients are saffron and olive oil. Saffron is an essential spice that also turns the rice a beautiful golden color. (Info here)

LadyRaffie

Oh! I didn't know today was the National Day of the Paella!

You just made me want to cook one today 😍

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And when it's done can you please pack some up and ship it to me! I tried it once in a Spanish restaurant. @LadyRaffie do you have favorite recipe? Please share with us?

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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

10 Secrets Behind the Most Famous Magic Tricks Revealed

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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.