~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥
April 22, 2012

★~ Today’s Quote: We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.  ~Native American Proverb

★~ Earth Day:

Today is Earth Day! Every year on April 22, more than 1 billion people in 175 countries participate in Earth Day events. It is the largest civic observance in the world, and its purpose it to raise awareness about important environmental issues.

The first Earth Day took place in 1970. After witnessing the affects of an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson organized a grassroots “environmental teach-in” on college campuses across the country. Many people believe that this first Earth Day celebration marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement.

To celebrate Earth Day, plant a tree, help clean up a beach or park, or just take a walk and feel gratitude for our beautiful blue orb and the support she us offers 24/7.

Happy Earth Day!

★~ Jelly Bean Day:

You may have had your fill at Easter, but these little egg-shaped candies are always hard to resist.

No one really knows where jelly beans came from, but jelly bean researchers believe that they are descendants of the Turkish Delight, which has been around since at least the mid 1800s. Jelly beans have been part of Easter since the 1930s, thanks to their egg-like shapes. Every Easter Sunday, they share basket space with hard-boiled eggs, chocolate bunnies, and marshmallow Peeps. But today, jelly beans stand apart from the rest of the traditional Easter treats because Friday is Jelly Bean Day.

How does one celebrate Jelly Bean Day? The best way, of course, is to enjoy some jelly beans! If you live in my neck of the woods, head to Wisconsin to the Jelly Belly Factory. Cousin Carla, Cole, and I went last July and enjoyed a short tour followed by a long time sampling the unlimited flavors of Jelly Bellies in the factory store. It was a silly and fun way to spend a couple of hours after I got over being almost poisoned by a piece of gum Cousin Carla had given me on the ride to the factory.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1931 – A contraption known as the autogyro landed on the lawn of the White House. Before the Secret Service could come out with guns blazing, President Herbert Hoover shook hands with pilot, James G. Ray, and gave him a trophy! Don’t try this today.

♥~ 1970 – The first Earth Day was observed — with the purpose of reclaiming the purity of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the environment we live in. With the slogan “Give Earth a Chance,” Earth Day continues to be celebrated on this anniversary or on the vernal equinox.

♥~ 1972 – Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke walked and rode on the surface of the moon for seven hours, 23 minutes.

♥~ 1978 – John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd made their first ever appearance as The Blues Brothers when they appeared on US TV’s ‘Saturday Night Live’.

★~Born Today:

♥~1906 – Eddie Albert (Edward Albert Heimberger) actor: Green Acres, Teahouse of the August Moon, Roman Holiday; died May 26, 2005

♥~ 1923 – Aaron Spelling Emmy Award-winning executive producer: Day One, AT&T Presents [1988-1989], And the Band Played On [1993-1994]; Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place; died June 23, 2006

♥~ 1936 – Glen Campbell – Grammy Award-winning singer: By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Gentle on My Mind, CMA Entertainer of the Year [1968]; Galveston, Wichita Lineman, Southern Nights, Rhinestone Cowboy; TV host: The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour; actor: True Grit, Norwood, Strange Homecoming

♥~ 1937 – (John Joseph) Jack Nicholson Academy Award-winning actor: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest [1975], Terms of Endearment [1983], As Good as It Gets [1997]; Five Easy Pieces, The Shining, Batman, Broadcast News, Chinatown, Easy Rider, Prizzi’s Honor, The Witches of Eastwicke, Little Shop of Horrors, A Few Good Men

♥~ 1950 – Peter Frampton guitarist, singer: Show Me the Way, Do You Feel Like We Do, I Can’t Stand it No More.

★~ Did You Know: 

♥~ The earliest recorded advertisement for jelly beans appeared during the Civil War, when a candymaker named William Schrafft promoted sending them to Union soldiers on the battlefield.

♥~ Traditional jelly beans are flavored on the outside, but not the inside. The chewy center is the same sugary pectin whether the shell is red, green, or yellow.

♥~ Jelly beans are often used to screen pregnant women for gestational diabetes. Subjects are asked to consume 18 jelly beans in two minutes. Afterward their blood sugar level is tested to see if it falls within a healthy range.

♥~ It takes 7 to 21 days to make a jelly bean.

♥~ There are 130 calories and 37 grams of sugar in one serving of jelly beans which equals about 35 jelly beans.

♥~ Most jelly bean assortments include eight flavors.

♥~ In the early 20th century, a “jelly-bean” was slang for a man of style and no substance.

♥~ Peak jelly bean season is Easter, because of its egg-like shape.

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Sheesh. I admit it—we don’t even recycle. Chicago does not require it, or make it easy, but we do try to do our part in other ways. For example, there was the fist fight I started between a taxi driver and another driver after the taxi driver threw his litter out of his car window. I do not tolerate litter bugs! I can also recycle plastic bags very efficiently in any number of ways. Cole and I did see an amazing stainless steel recycling garbage can yesterday at the Container Store. This garbage can was so sophisticated that your hands never had to come in contact with it; a simple wave of your finger over the sensor popped the lid right open. Of course I spend more time in the garbage than the dogs do, searching for stuff I have thrown away by accident, so touching the garbage can lid has never been a biggie for me. This stainless steel wonder of a garbage can had me intrigued until I saw the whopping $200 price tag hanging discreetly off the side and decided that a plastic under-the-sink garbage can was plenty fine enough for my family. Now, if it had a sensor that yelled every time Cole passed by, “EMPTY ME,” followed by, “Hey, buddy I need a clean bag!” I might have considered $200 a bargain.

More pursanality reviews will be posted later today, so I hope you will stop back by and add your comments to those of our amusing reviewers. Odd Loves Company!

I will leave you with this joke to recycle with your family, friends, and fellow citizens today . . .

Why did the jelly bean want to go to school?

He wanted to be a smartie!