~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
February 15, 2013

 

★~ Today’s Quote: “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it in himself.” Galileo Galilei

★~ Lupercalia Day:

In Ancient Rome, the festival of Lupercalia was held on February 15. In legend, the twin founders of the city, Romulus and Remus, were thrown into the River Tiber on the orders of their usurping uncle Amulius. The babies washed ashore by a wild fig tree and were found by a she-wolf, who suckled them and raised them with her mate. Years later they were found, living feral, by the shepherd Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, who took them in. Upon reaching adulthood, they discovered their true identities and set out to avenge themselves on their wicked great-uncle. Having killed him, they founded the Eternal City (Rome).

Once restored to their regal position, the brothers rediscovered the den they were raised in and called it the Lupercal (the wolves’ cave). It became a sacred site along with the remains of the shepherd’s hut. The Lupercalia ritual in Rome was held in the cave.

An order of priests gathered before the Lupercale on the Palatine hill and sacrificed a dog for purification and a pair of young male goats for fertility. The hides of the goats were then cut into strips, dipped in blood, and taken around the streets of Rome. These bits of hide were touched to fields to insure fertile livestock and women as a way of encouraging fertility in the coming year. Girls and young women would line up on their route to receive light lashes from goat skin whips. After the priests concluded the fertility rites, young women placed their names in a jar, and the men drew names in order to choose a partner for the rest of the merry-making celebrations.

Lupercalian festivities continued until Pope Gelasius I outlawed them in 494 CE. The Church instituted the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, and the feast day of St. Valentine was added to the calendar two years later. The habit of sending love tokens on this date is rooted in the festival of Lupercalian — although it might be hard to see the connection between cute little Valentines and slapping women with bits of dead goat.

★~ Gumdrop Day:

Just when you thought you’d had your fill of that six-pound heart shaped box of chocolates, it is National Gumdrop Day.

Two stories are circulating about who invented them; it’s either Percy Trusdale in 1801 or Hans Reigal in 1922. Either way, they’ve been around a long time. Gumdrops have been immortalized in games (Candy Land’s Gum Drop Mountain) and song (“If All The Raindrops,” a tune popular with Cub Scouts and Barney the Purple Dinosaur). Gumdrops have captured the imagination of cooks who’ve used them in cakes, cookies, fudge and bread. And, the Apollo 9 command module was nicknamed Gumdrop for its stumpy cone shape, and delivered to Cape Kennedy in a blue cellophane wrapper.

Eileen Karluk, co-owner of Carl Fischer Candies in Lawrenceville, Ga. has stocked gumdrops for every one of her 28 years in business. While other candies have come and gone, gumdrops have stuck around. Why the lasting appeal? “Because they’re good! And they’re not expensive,” Mrs. Karluk says. “Back in the old days, people used to string gumdrops and use them as Christmas garland.”

Celebrate gum drop day with, a game of Candyland or if you are so inclined make a gum drop topiary the perfect addition to your Easter decorations.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1758 – Mustard, was advertised for the first time in America. Who do you think was responsible for bringing mustard to the U.S.A.?  It was Benjamin Franklin. We wonder whether Ben preferred the yellow or the dark mustard — and what he would have thought of the many uses of mustard in haute cuisine. Click here for more fascination mustard facts.

♥~ 1764 – The city of St. Louis was founded by businessman Pierre Laclède and his 14-year-old stepson, Auguste Chouteau. Laclede took young Auguste on his journey up the Mississippi to establish a trading post at the place where the Mississippi and Missouri came together. They stayed at a French fort about 50 miles south of what is now St. Louis, and looked for land. In November of 1763, Laclède found the place he wanted, a limestone bluff, and he marked trees and then went back to the fort for the winter. He told family and friends, “I have found a situation where I am going to form a settlement which might become, on the finest cities in American–so many advantages are embraced in its site, by it’s locality and central position, for forming Settlements.”  The river broke up in February, the return with about 30 friends to the marked spot to start clearing land on February 15, 1764.

♥~ 1965 – The red-and-white Maple Leaf flag first flew over Canada

♥~ 1966 –  The last piece of the Gateway Arch was put in place, 600 feet over the city of St. Louis, Missouri. The Arch has become the most visible symbol of St. Louis, established on February 15th, 1764 (^) .

♥~ 1969 – Sly and the Family Stone started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Everyday People’, their first No.1.

♥~ 1975 –  Linda Ronstadt went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘You’re No Good’, the singers only solo chart topper out of 12 other top 40 hits.

♥~ 2005 – The first full day of operation You-Tube, but there were no videos to watch until the following April, when founder Jawed Karim posted a clip of himself visiting the San Diego Zoo.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1564 –  Galileo Galilei: Italian natural philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. In honor of Galilei…The picture above is supernova remnant W49B. It is located about 26,000 light-years from Earth, and as we see it it is approximately 1,000 years old. Compared to other supernova remnants of similar type and age, it is distorted in an usual way. Astronomers believe that it is distorted because it is in the infant stages of of forming a black hole – the very first time this has been observed. More info: http://cnet.co/15edIBZ and full size picture.

♥~ 1820 – Susan B. (Brownell) Anthony suffragist: 1st American woman to be pictured on a coin: the Susan B. Anthony dollar; died Mar 13, 1906

♥~ 1905 – Harold Arlen, composer. His music is everywhere! Though he is most noted for composing the songs for the film “The Wizard of Oz,” particularly Over the Rainbow, which was recently named the Number One Song of the Century, he has written over 400 songs including favorites like: It’s Only A Paper Moon, Stormy Weather, I’ve Got the World on A String, and Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive.

♥~ 1951 – Melissa Manchester singer: Don’t Cry Out Loud, Midnight Blue, You Should Hear How She Talks About You

♥~ 1951 – Jane Seymour (Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg) Emmy-award winning actress: Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman [1996], Onassis: The Richest Man in the World [1988]; Live and Let Die, Somewhere in Time, East of Eden [TV], Lassiter, War and Remembrance

♥~ 1986 – Amber Riley,  actress: Glee

★~ Did You Know: TGIF FUN (links I liked this week) 

♥~ Danish sperm bank transports samples by sperm-shaped bike.

♥~ Border Collie herds men to the pub

[youtube]http://youtu.be/y07at1bU89Q[/youtube]

♥~ Worst Nail Art Ever 

♥~ Things were going rather swimmingly at the 2013 LPGA Australian Open on Thursday. Lydia Ko was busy doing her thing — you know, leading the golf tournament again — and the weather was cooperating quite nicely. Then things got incredibly weird. Play was stopped at the 2013 LPGA Australian Open today due to a kangaroo delay.

Is there a ruling on bipedal hopping animals blocking your approach shot? Furthermore, did anyone else know that kangaroos travel in herd

♥~ A couple of years ago, photographer Kelli Higgins and her husband adopted a 10-year-old boy. Recently, as she was preparing for a photo shoot of a newborn, the boy expressed some disappointment that they didn’t have any baby pictures of him. So Kelli and her son went to her studio and took care of that lack… Click for pictures 

♥~ And finally this funny….Thanks Marylee 

#

TGIF. It is a tail wagging weekend at camp and Cole is off school for mid-winter break next week. We don’t have any fabulous vacation plans but I’m sure we will stay amused. Is it a three day weekend for you?

Odd Loves Company!