What did you learn today TIL

[watcher1]

I learned things go on upstairs when I'm not up here and I don't disapprove nor approve.   

Things? Like fun things? 

Depends on what kind of fun you mean. 

You know, not what June Cleaver ever thought of doing. Or maybe she did?   

[ChirpingGirl]

 

[watcher1]

Did anyone ever tell you that you have sexy eyes? 

[ChirpingGirl]

Did anyone ever tell you that you have sexy eyes? 

Yes. 

[ChirpingGirl]

I've also learned that it's best I accept the passage of time and that I gently knock on doors from now on.  

[MissBarbara]

On Sunday a friend and I took the subway over to Brooklyn to visit Green-Wood Cemetery.

It's an amazing place. It opened in the 1830s as part of the Rural Cemetery Movement, where cemeteries were designed on the outskirts of cities as both burial grounds and places where people could come and visit. Green-Wood is enormous, larger than Prospect Park (it's the green area to the left of the "27"):




Since it was designed as a place to spend time in the country, it is beautifully landscaped, and it has many roads and paths to walk down. During out stroll, I noticed this grave:




It's a bit hard to see from this picture, but the gravestone says that it contains the graves of "The Children of Walter and Agnes Shay," and their are four children buried there: Cussie (10), Baby Howard (1), Bertie (5) and Wallie (7). The words carved on top of the stone read, "God has taken our buds to blossom in heaven."

While life expectancy was much lover in the 19th century than it is today, and childhood death was a fact of life, what makes it especially poignant is that they all died within a few days of each other, in late March and early April 1888.

I knew that there was a massive blizzard that struck New York City in the late winter of 1888 that dropped 50" of snow on the city, and I assumed that was what caused their deaths. But when I got home and looked it up, I found that the Blizzard killed as many as 500 people in the city, but it occurred 3-4 weeks before these children died.

I was able to find Walter Shay's obituary, and it notes that he died in Brooklyn in 1916, and that he was survived by his wife Agnes, and by three children, Percy, Pearl, and Mabel. Agnes died in 1930, and her obituary also mentions Percy, Pearl, and Mabel. But neither obit makes any mention of the other four children. I also found Walter Shay in the 1910 Census, and there it notes that Pearl and Mabel were born in 1876 and 1879, so they were alive when their four siblings died (Percy was born in 1895).

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything more about the Shay family. And while New York City was regularly stricken by various epidemics throughout its history -- including cholera, typhoid fever, smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis, yellow fever, and various forms of influenza -- I couldn't find any record of an outbreak in the early spring of 1888.

[_priapism]

Brooklyn Heights, March 13, 1888.  The day Baby Howard died:

[msslave]

Interesting post Miss B. And... thanks for the photo too.

I have lots of relatives buried in New England. Some going back to the 1600s. I'm sorry I never visited and sought them out.

Cemeterys' hold so much history.

[watcher1]

That the first toy ever advertised on American television was Mr. Potato Head, in 1952.

[ChirpingGirl]

That a 4 year old Latina can put a plastic tiara on her head and be absolutely convinced she rules the universe and doesn't have to listen to me. 

[watcher1]

Since summer has just started and hot weather brings to mind ice cream and other cooling treats, I learned today that 4,000 years ago, Chinese people enjoyed a kind of frozen syrup. Centuries later, around 400 B.C., sharbat was a popular treat in the Persian Empire. This cold drink featured syrups made from cherries, quinces and pomegranates that were then cooled with snow. The modern words "sherbet," "sorbet" and "syrup" can trace their linguistic recipe origins back to sharbat.

[MissBarbara]

Since summer has just started and hot weather brings to mind ice cream and other cooling treats, I learned today that 4,000 years ago, Chinese people enjoyed a kind of frozen syrup. Centuries later, around 400 B.C., sharbat was a popular treat in the Persian Empire. This cold drink featured syrups made from cherries, quinces and pomegranates that were then cooled with snow. The modern words "sherbet," "sorbet" and "syrup" can trace their linguistic recipe origins back to sharbat.

That's a great historical anecdote!

And that's what killed U.S. President Zachary Taylor in 1850.

On July 4, 1850 -- a scorching hot day -- Taylor delivered several speeches at Independence Day celebrations. When he finally got back to the White House, he was so hungry and thirsty that he at a massive quantity of iced milk with cherries and other fruits. He woke up the next morning with severe stomach pains, which continued for the following four days. Taylor died the following day.

For 150 years, Taylor's death was clouded with mystery. His doctors diagnosed cholera, but others asserted that he had been poisoned with arsenic. His symptoms closely resembled those of arsenic poisoning. That rumor persisted for years, with some even claiming he was deliberately poisoned by his political enemies, making him the first president to be assassinated.

Then in 2014, an autopsy was performed on a small tissue sample. The pathologists determined that there was no more arsenic present than in any other person at that time, and that neither were mercury, lead or any other toxic metal. Their conclusion was very prosaic: Taylor died of severe gastroenteritis -- brought on by consuming that large quantity of what was essentially bad ice cream.

[watcher1]

In the summer of 1790, George Washington reportedly spent hundreds of dollars on ice cream. Thomas Jefferson developed a taste for ice cream while serving as ambassador to France. When he returned home to Monticello, he built his own ice house so he could have ice cream any time he wanted. First Lady Dolly Madison was the first to serve strawberry ice cream at the White House during her husband's second Inaugural Banquet in 1813.

[purpleshoes]

I learned that the IRS (Internal Revenue Service for our non-US members) can't accept checks if they're written for more than a certain amount.

The paragraph below is copied verbatim from the 2019 Form 1040-V:

No checks of $100 million or more accepted. The IRS can’t
accept a single check (including a cashier’s check) for amounts
of $100,000,000 ($100 million) or more. If you are sending $100
million or more by check, you will need to spread the payments
over two or more checks, with each check made out for an
amount less than $100 million.

In case you're wondering, I won't need to send two or more checks but it's good to know just in case. 

[Shiela_M]

I learned that the IRS (Internal Revenue Service for our non-US members) can't accept checks if they're written for more than a certain amount.

The paragraph below is copied verbatim from the 2019 Form 1040-V:

No checks of $100 million or more accepted. The IRS can’t
accept a single check (including a cashier’s check) for amounts
of $100,000,000 ($100 million) or more. If you are sending $100
million or more by check, you will need to spread the payments
over two or more checks, with each check made out for an
amount less than $100 million.

In case you're wondering, I won't need to send two or more checks but it's good to know just in case. 

And in case you're all wondering, I am accepting checks of over $100 million.

[staci]

Today is the 40th anniversary of the movie "Airport". Iconic in so many ways that even today very funny and enjoyable. The infamous scene labeled "I speak Jive" is at last causing consternation.


"While Airplane! is filled with gags that are funny in every age, some jokes play very differently in 2020 versus 1980. That includes moments like the “I speak jive” sequence, which might strike contemporary audiences as being out of step at a time when the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests are shining a light on the way race is addressed in Hollywood comedies from the past and present."

[msslave]

Airport and Airplane are two different movies. I'll forgive you the typo.

"Airport", released in 1970, 50 years ago was a serious drama disaster movie. The airport was Chicago in the script, yet the filming was done at our Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. The film makers were hoping for one of our Minnesota blizzards, yet the weather stayed clear and plastic snow was used.

I remember reading about the filming in the paper. The producers got special permission to hire extras by race. They wanted to have the same racial mix as would be found at the Chicago airport. Again, wonder how that would fly today.

[ChirpingGirl]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVJPB3W54Tc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0j2dVuhr6s

[watcher1]

Today is the 40th anniversary of the movie "Airport". Iconic in so many ways that even today very funny and enjoyable. The infamous scene labeled "I speak Jive" is at last causing consternation.


"While Airplane! is filled with gags that are funny in every age, some jokes play very differently in 2020 versus 1980. That includes moments like the “I speak jive” sequence, which might strike contemporary audiences as being out of step at a time when the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests are shining a light on the way race is addressed in Hollywood comedies from the past and present."

Wow! 40 years?  Hollywood, I think, has always tried to push the limits with their movies. I am a big fan of the Turner Classic Movie channel and some movies made back in the 30s and even the 40s make me uncomfortable to watch at how they portray Black characters but that was the way life was perceived back then, no matter how wrong we think of it today. Should all such movies be banned?  Not necessarily. I think today Gone With The Wind is being criticized, and probably rightfully so, but should banning be the way to go?  And not only Black characters have been put in a not too flattering light either. Portrayals of many Mexicans in Hollywood movies have been less then flattering. As are Asians. Many ethnic and racial groups have been denigrated by Hollywood.

If anything, BLM has put the spotlight on how Hollywood portrays ethnic groups. Hollywood should wise up and produce movies that everyone can enjoy, while not belittling or stereotyping.

[watcher1]

And in case you're all wondering, I am accepting checks of over $100 million.

I thought you only accepted cash?