When Audrey Geisel, the widow of Doctor Seuss, was selling the rights to How the Grinch Stole Christmas, she made sure that “any actor submitted for the Grinch must be of comparable stature to Jack Nicholson, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman.”

Children's Interests, Children's Literature, Movies /

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film) This article is about the 2000 live-action film known as “The Grinch” in the UK. For the 2018 computer animated film, see The Grinch (film). How the Grinch Stole Christmas (also known as Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas and simply The Grinch) is a 2000 American […]

When Audrey Geisel, the widow of Doctor Seuss, was selling the rights to How the Grinch Stole Christmas, she made sure that “any actor submitted for the Grinch must be of comparable stature to Jack Nicholson, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman.” Read More »

Meet Leo Marks, WW2 cryptographer, who was given a 20 minute training exercise on his first day at work which took him the whole day to complete. He had accidentally not been given the cipher key and ended up breaking a code that was meant to be secure.

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Leo Marks Leo Marks, who was codes and ciphers chief at the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the second world war, and worked closely with agents dropped behind enemy lines, has died aged 80. He also pursued a long and sometimes controversial postwar career as a writer for stage and screen, culminating in the film

Meet Leo Marks, WW2 cryptographer, who was given a 20 minute training exercise on his first day at work which took him the whole day to complete. He had accidentally not been given the cipher key and ended up breaking a code that was meant to be secure. Read More »

In 1953, Swanson overestimated the number of frozen turkeys that it would sell on Thanksgiving by 260 tons. The company decided to slice up the extra meat and repackage it–creating the first ever TV dinner.

Food & Drink /

How 260 Tons of Thanksgiving Leftovers Gave Birth to an Industry Had my hyperkinetic mother been inclined to meditate, her mantra would have consisted of two brand names: Birds Eye and Swanson. Mom was a working woman in the early 1950s, when that was far from the norm and, in suburban New Jersey, at least,

In 1953, Swanson overestimated the number of frozen turkeys that it would sell on Thanksgiving by 260 tons. The company decided to slice up the extra meat and repackage it–creating the first ever TV dinner. Read More »

Marconi believed, late on in life, that no sound ever dies completely. He dreamt of building a device strong enough to pick up the actual words of Jesus at the ‘Sermon on the Mount’.

Rock Music /

Viva Voce PERFECTING SOUND FOREVER: An Aural History of Recorded Music. Greg Milner. x + 416 pp. Faber and Faber, 2009. $35. The story goes that, late in his life, Guglielmo Marconi had an epiphany. The godfather of radio technology decided that no sound ever dies. It just decays beyond the point that we can

Marconi believed, late on in life, that no sound ever dies completely. He dreamt of building a device strong enough to pick up the actual words of Jesus at the ‘Sermon on the Mount’. Read More »

In 1972 legendary English songwriter Paul McCartney wrote the song, “Give Ireland Back to the Irish.” It was promptly banned from broadcast in the United Kingdom and not played by the majority of radio stations in the United States. However, it was the number one song in Ireland.

Rock Music /

Give Ireland Back to the Irish “Give Ireland Back to the Irish” is a song by the British–American rock band Wings that was released as their debut single in February 1972. It was written by Paul McCartney and his wife Linda in response to the events of Bloody Sunday, on 30 January that year, when

In 1972 legendary English songwriter Paul McCartney wrote the song, “Give Ireland Back to the Irish.” It was promptly banned from broadcast in the United Kingdom and not played by the majority of radio stations in the United States. However, it was the number one song in Ireland. Read More »

The Brussel sprouts grown today taste better because they are genetically different. In the 1990’s a Dutch research identified heirloom varieties that are less bitter and bred them to be tastier and have a higher yield.

Agriculture & Forestry, Food /

From Culinary Dud To Stud: How Dutch Plant Breeders Built Our Brussels Sprouts Boom Foods go in and out of style. Few of them, though, have gone through as dramatic a renaissance in their reputation as Brussels sprouts. For many years, they were scorned. Even Steve Bontadelli admits it, and he makes his living growing

The Brussel sprouts grown today taste better because they are genetically different. In the 1990’s a Dutch research identified heirloom varieties that are less bitter and bred them to be tastier and have a higher yield. Read More »

Greenlands five municipalities are named ”Much Ice”, ”South”, ”Centre”, ”The one with islands”, and ”Northern”, if you directly translate it from Greenlandic to English.

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Greenland This article is about the island and autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. For other uses, see Greenland (disambiguation). Greenland (Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaat, pronounced [kalaːɬit nunaːt]; Danish: Grønland, pronounced [ˈkʁɶnˌlænˀ]) is the world’s largest island,[d] located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is an autonomous territory

Greenlands five municipalities are named ”Much Ice”, ”South”, ”Centre”, ”The one with islands”, and ”Northern”, if you directly translate it from Greenlandic to English. Read More »

In 1987 when an SR-71 Blackbird lost an engine while flying Mach 3 over the Baltic Sea, four Swedish jets prevented it from getting shot down by the Soviets. The mission was declassified 30 years later, and the four Swedish pilots that protected the Blackbird were awarded the US Air Medal

Business & Industrial /

That Time A Crippled SR-71 Blackbird In Emergency Was Intercepted By Four Swedish Viggens After Violating Sweden’s Airspace An interesting Cold War episode worth 4 medals. During the 1980s, the U.S. flew regular SR-71 Blackbird aircraft reconnaissance missions in international waters over the Barents Sea and the Baltic Sea, the latter known as “Baltic Express”

In 1987 when an SR-71 Blackbird lost an engine while flying Mach 3 over the Baltic Sea, four Swedish jets prevented it from getting shot down by the Soviets. The mission was declassified 30 years later, and the four Swedish pilots that protected the Blackbird were awarded the US Air Medal Read More »

There was a Chinese man who faked his way into becoming a musician for the King of Qi without knowing how to play the instrument at all. He imitated movements of other musicians and was paid a good salary in the ensemble until the King died. The new King preferred solo performances, so he fled

Arts & Entertainment /

Chinese Idiom Story – Lan Yu Chong Shu In ancient times, there was a country called Qi. The King of Qi liked to listen to music, especially to yu [an ancient reed instrument]. At that time, he had 300 musicians who could play the yu. The king liked liveliness, and every time he listened to

There was a Chinese man who faked his way into becoming a musician for the King of Qi without knowing how to play the instrument at all. He imitated movements of other musicians and was paid a good salary in the ensemble until the King died. The new King preferred solo performances, so he fled Read More »

After the Scarecrow gets his diploma in The Wizard of Oz, he recites the Pythagorean theorem incorrectly.

Performing Arts /

Scarecrow (Oz) Ray Bolger, as the Scarecrow, The Wizard of Oz 1939. In the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow was played by Ray Bolger in what is arguably the actor’s most famous role. He was originally cast as the Tin Woodsman, but Bolger had always wanted to play the Scarecrow, he was

After the Scarecrow gets his diploma in The Wizard of Oz, he recites the Pythagorean theorem incorrectly. Read More »

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