★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
June 10, 2013

★~ Today’s Quote: Beginning: “And now,” cried Max, “let the wild rumpus start!” Where the Wild Things Are (1963)

★~ Herb and Spice Day:

Spices and herbs have been used in foods for centuries. Archeologists estimate that by 50,000 B.C. primitive man had discovered that parts of certain aromatic plants help make food taste better, according to the American Spice Trade Association (ASTA). Spices were once so costly only the wealthy could afford them. In 11th Century Europe, many towns paid their taxes and rents in pepper. One of the reasons for Columbus’ voyage in 1492 was to seek a more direct passage to the rich spices of the Orient. What’s the difference between a spice and an herb? Herbs are leaves of low-growing shrubs. Examples are parsley, chives, marjoram, thyme, basil, caraway, dill, oregano, rosemary, savory, sage and celery leaves. These can be used fresh or dried. Dried forms may be whole, crushed, or ground. Spices come from the bark (cinnamon), root (ginger, onion, garlic), buds (cloves, saffron), seeds (yellow mustard, poppy, sesame), berry (black pepper), or the fruit (allspice, paprika) of tropical plants and trees. Click for more information on Herb and Spices 

Today add a Little Spice (and Herbs) to Your Life!

★~ Ice Tea Day:

Iced tea is an iconic summer beverage and one of the most refreshing elixirs known to man. There is something magical about the combination of brewed tea, sugar, mint leaves, and fresh lemon slices served over ice. Historians believe that people began serving cold tea sometime during the 19th century. The drink became popular when vendors started selling it at public events and the World’s Fair.

Sweetened or unsweetened, flavored or unflavored, celebrate Iced Tea Day with a nice, tall glass of your favorite iced tea!

Southern Sweet Iced Tea
Iced Tea Granita
Long Island Iced Tea
Peach Iced Tea

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1902 –  Americus F. Callahan patented (U.S. No. 701,839) what he called the outlook or see-through envelope. The rest, of course, is accounts payable history…

♥~ 1943 – The Ball Point Pen was patented  by Laszlo Josef Biro of Budapest, Hungary.

♥~ 1972 – Sammy Davis Jr. earned his place at the top of the popular music charts for the first time, after years in the entertainment business.  The Candy Man, stayed at the top for three consecutive weeks.

♥~ 1976 – Paul McCartney and Wings set a record for an indoor concert crowd as 67,100 fans gathered at the Kingdome in Seattle, WA to hear the former Beatle and his new group.

♥~ 1988 – An American clergyman claimed the TV cartoon character “Mighty Mouse” had been shown snorting cocaine. CBS producers denied the claim and said he was only sniffing flowers.

★~Born Today:

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

 ♥ ~ 1881 – Leo Tolstoy Author,  Tolstoy two greatest novels, were War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877)

♥~ 1895 – Hattie McDaniel Academy Award-winning actress: Gone with the Wind [1939]: 1st African-American to win Oscar; Judge Priest, The Little Colonel, Showboat, Saratoga, Since You Went Away; died Oct 26, 1952

♥~ 1915 – Saul Bellow Nobel Prize-winning writer: The Adventures of Augie March, Herzog, Mr. Sammler’s Planet, Dangling Man, The Victim, Henderson the Rain King; died Apr 5, 2005

♥~ 1922 – Judy Garland (Frances Ethel Gumm) singer: Over the Rainbow, The Trolley Song, You Made Me Love You, The Man that Got Away; actress: The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, A Star is Born, Easter Parade, The Harvey Girls, Judgment at Nuremberg; mother of Liza Minnelli and Lorna & Joey Luft; died June 22, 1969

♥~ 1928 – Maurice Sendak author, illustrator:  Sendak was discovered by legendary children’s book editor Ursula Nordstrom in the 1940s while working as a painter for window displays at F.A.O. Schwarz. He went on to publish more than 50 books, including “Where the Wild Things Are,” one of the most beloved children’s books of all time. Sendak’s works are known as complex and characteristically dark. His many awards have included the Caldecott Medal, the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the National Medal of Arts, and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

♥~ 1965 – Elizabeth Hurley, Model, actress: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Christabel, Orchid House, Passenger 57

★~ Good To Know:

♥~ The worlds most expensive pen is the Aurora Diamante Fountain Pen – $1.47 million. The fountain pen has around 2,000 diamonds encrusted all over its body, the nib of the fountain pen comes in gold. Only one Diamante pen is created each year by the manufacturer, making it a rare collectible.

♥~ More than 2 billion pens are manufactured in the United States annually.

♥~ There are 5 main kinds of pens used worldwide; ballpoint, fountain, soft-tip. rolling-ball and specialty pens.

♥~The first fountain pen was invented by L.E. Waterman in 1883, and had it patented in 1884.

♥~ The first ballpoint pen was invented by Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro in 1938, but the first patent belonged to John J. Loud in 1888.

♥~In World War II, pilots used ballpoint pens because they do not leak at high altitudes.

♥~The oldest surviving fountain pen designed by Frenchman M. Bion, dates back to 1702.

♥~ The first American patent for a pen was received by Peregrin Williamson, a shoemaker from Baltimore.

♥~ Today, 4 fountain pen producers have a monopoly on the market, Waterman, Sheaffer, Parker and Wahl-Eversharp.

♥~ In October, 1945, Milton Reynolds, after a previous visit to Buenos Aires where he discovered the Biro pen, (invented by Laszlo Biro) copied the product and launched his own massive campaign in New York City, $100, 000 worth in the first day.

♥~ Parker introduced its first ballpoint pen, called the “Jotter” to the market in 1954, superior to both the Reynolds and Eversharp versions. Because the “Jotter” wrote 5 times longer, annual sales came to USD 3.5 million.

♥~ The BIC Crystal, sells 14 million Bics daily world-wide.

♥~ Black ballpoint pens manufactured by Parker have a lifespan five miles long of writing before the ink dissipates.

♥~ Quill pens were first used circa 700 A.D. and were the popular writing choice for 1, 000 years.

♥~ The United States of America’s Declaration of Independence was written using an eagle feather quill pen by President Abraham Lincoln.

♥~ The pen used by President Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation was a steel dip one made by the French Company, Blanzy, Poure & Cie.

♥~ On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.

♥~ In The United States, the third largest writing instrument manufacturer is the Pilot Pen, and is the nest ever growing Company of this industry in the world.

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I love a good pen, but I don’t think I could handle the stress of  owning a Aurora Diamante, can you imagine standing in line at the post office or the grocery story, and someone asking, “May I borrow your pen?”   I think, I will stick with a Uni-ball sign0 black pen.

First day of summer vacation for Cole. Does anyone know where we can find a  pre 1975 VW volkswagen Beetle that needs to be rebuilt? You know, the cars they drove back in the old days! I’ll tell you more about later. . .

Do you have a favorite pen?

Odd Loves Company!