~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
November 16, 2014

★~  Todays Quote: I’m Jewish. I don’t work out. If God had wanted us to bend over, He would have put diamonds on the floor.” Joan Rivers

★~ Fast Food Day:

The concept of ready-cooked food for sale can be attributed to the Ancient Romans. In many cities, street stands or “thermopoliums” (small pub-like shops) offered hot sausages, bread, and wine to patrons on-the-go. Thousands of years later, in 1867, the first American fast food restaurant opened in New York. It was a hotdog stand on Coney Island!

There are over 300,000 fast food restaurants in the United States alone, making it nearly impossible to drive down the road without going by at least one fast food chain restaurant.

Need more proof of the popularity of fast food? In 1970, U.S. consumers spent $6 billion on fast food. Thirty years later in 2000, U.S. consumers spent $110 billion!

Tip: Always keep your eyes on your fries.

★~ Button Day:

Buttons, offer everyday pleasures. Their little faces turn up agreeably, asking for personality to be impressed upon them. Buttoning oneself up is a slower, contemplative act; unbuttoning someone else, deliciously more so. Pressing buttons still delivers everything we love in the world to us.  The button—with its self-contained roundness and infinite variability—has a quiet perfection to it.

Do we have any button collectors?

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1907 – Oklahoma, the Sooner State,  was admitted to the Union.  The U.S. flag would bear 46 stars after that, until New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912. OOOOOOOK-LAHOMA!

♥~ 1939 – Al Capone was freed from Alcatraz — after having served seven years, six months and fifteen days, and having paid all fines and back taxes.

♥~ 1958 – 6.4 inches of snow fell on Tucson, Arizona, catching autumn golfers by surprise, to be sure…

♥~ 1974 – NBC-TV began a two-night showing of the award-winning motion picture, The Godfather, starring Marlon Brando. The film represented the highest price paid for a movie shown on TV. NBC paid Paramount Pictures $10 million for the showing of the picture, a deal Paramount “…just couldn’t refuse.”

♥~ 1975 – Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears rushed for 105 yards in a game against the San Francisco 49ers. It was Payton’s first game of 100 plus yards. He did it 77 times throughout his career and added two 200-yard games, as well.

♥~ 2010 – A rare pink diamond was auctioned in Switzerland for a record $45.6 million to London jeweler Laurence Graff.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1916 – Daws Butler cartoon voiceman: Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Elroy Jetson, Beany and Cecil, Captain Crunch; died May 18, 1988

♥~ 1958 – Marg Helgenberger actress: C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation, Ryan’s Hope, China Beach, Through the Eyes of a Killer, Fallen Angels, Fire Down Below, Gold Coast, Perfect Murder, Perfect Town

♥~ 1967 – Lisa Bonet actress: The Cosby Show, A Different World, Angel Heart, Bank Robber

★~ Diamond Gallimaufry:

♥~ Diamonds are the birthstone for the month of April.

♥~ The ancient Romans and Greeks believed that diamonds were tears cried by the gods or splinters from falling stars, and Romans believed that Cupid’s arrows were tipped with diamonds (perhaps the earliest association between diamonds and romantic love).

♥~ Diamonds are billions of years old—in some cases more than three billion years old.

♥~ Diamonds form about 100 miles below ground and have been carried to the earth’s surface by deep volcanic eruptions.

♥~ Diamonds are made of a single element—they’re nearly 100% carbon. Under the immense heat and pressure far below the earth’s surface, the carbon atoms bond in a unique way that results in diamonds’ beautiful and rare crystalline structure.

♥~ The word diamond derives from the Greek word “adamas,” which means invincible or indestructible.

♥~ Diamonds are the very hardest natural substance. The only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond.

♥~ Diamonds have been valued and coveted for thousands of years. There is evidence that diamonds were being collected and traded in India as early as the fourth century BC. In the first century AD, the Roman naturalist Pliny is quoted as having said, “Diamond is the most valuable, not only of precious stones, but of all things in this world.”

♥~ Ancient Hindus used diamonds in the eyes of devotional statues, and believed that a diamond could protect its wearer from danger.

♥~ Many ancient cultures believed that diamonds gave the wearer strength and courage during battle, and some kings wore diamonds on their armor as they rode into battle.

♥~  During the Middle Ages diamonds were thought to have healing properties able to cure ailments ranging from fatigue to mental illness.

♥~ The countries that are the main sources of diamonds have changed over time. India was the world’s original source of diamonds, beginning in the 1400s when Indian diamonds began to be sold in Venice and other European trade centers. Then in the 1700s India’s diamond supplies declined and Brazil became the world’s major source of diamonds, until the late 1800s when a huge diamond reserve was discovered in South Africa. Today, diamonds are mined in many parts of the world. All of Brilliant Earth’s diamonds originate from mines in Canada, Botswana, Namibia, and Russia.

♥~ The largest diamond ever discovered was called the Cullinan diamond, and weighed in at an amazing 3106 carats, or 1.33 pounds. Discovered in 1905 in South Africa, the mine’s owner and the South African leaders gave the diamond to King Edward. The Cullinan was eventually cut into nine large diamonds and 100 smaller ones, and the three largest of these are on display in the Tower of London as part of the crown jewels.

♥~ The first known use of a diamond engagement ring took place in 1477, when Archduke Maxmillian of Austria gave Mary of Burgundy a gold ring featuring an M spelled out in diamonds.

♥~ Lab-created diamonds possess the identical chemical structure and physical properties as diamonds mined from the earth. Even professional gemologists can’t tell the difference between lab-created and mined diamonds without extensive testing using specialized equipment. Brilliant Earth carries a wide selection of lab-created diamonds.

♥~ Scientists have discovered a planet that they believe is composed mostly of carbon, and is one-third pure diamond! Discovered in 2004, the planet orbits a nearby star in the Milky Way, and is named “55 Cancri e.” Perhaps even more amazing, scientists have discovered a star that is essentially a diamond of ten billion trillion trillion carats. They named the star Lucy after the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”

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Yep, that is my teen up top. Sometimes Lab pups need a lift. The wild man look can be attributed to Movember. In November men are encourage to skip shaving to bring awareness to men’s health issues. And, you know, just to look all scraggly and cool at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

Cole (my teen) has a cold and I am on the verge of one so we are going to lay low today. We’ll sip green tea and let the pups run a muck.  Stew and homemade bread for dinner.  Have a super Sunday.

Odd Loves Company,