It's Black Friday!

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

Happy Thanksgiving!

A History Lesson: The Great Depression

Even if you're not that "turned on" by history, you have to check out these color and black and white photos from the 1930s and 40s of life during the Great Depression, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Not only are they jaw-dropping and awe inspiring, but they will give you a whole new perception of life in that era.

Check Your Mental Acuity

Below are 9 simple questions. They're straight questions, with straight answers. No tricks. See how many you can answer before looking at the answers.

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backwards?

3. Of all the vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every years. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine. It hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters "dw", and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter "S".

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ANSWERS:

1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends -- Boxing.

2. The North American landmark constantly moving backwards -- Niagara Falls. (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)

3. The only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons -- Asparagus and rhubarb.

4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside -- Strawberry.

5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle? It grew inside the bottle. The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stem.

6. Three English words beginning with "dw" -- dwarf, dwell, and dwindle.

7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar -- period, coma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parentheses, braces, and ellipses.

8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh -- lettuce.

9. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with "S" -- shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, and stilts.

How well did you do?

Right Now You Can Get EENIE MEENIE at 45% Off!

But HURRY! This is a limited time offer!

Now you can get the best selling horror short by Gail Smith (Linda Mooney w/a) here at Fictionwise for 45% Off!

Something lives in the big black plastic garbage bag. Something that isn't human. Something that depends on the goodwill of others to provide it with food. Fortunately, it's not particular if its meal is dead, long dead... or alive.

What to Wear When Your Wife Has a "Honey-Do" List

Okay. Look again. Closely.
That's sooome couch. ;)

School Employees as per Jeff Foxworthy

You might be a school employee... if you believe the playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick.

You might be a school employee... if you want to slap the next person who says, "Must be nice to work 8 to 3:30, and have summers off."

You might be a school employee... if it is difficult to name your own child because there's no name you can come up with that doesn't bring high blood pressure as it is uttered.

You might be a school employee... if you can tell it's a full moon, or if it's going to rain, snow, hail, ANYTHING! Without ever looking outside.

You might be a school employee... if you believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today."

You might be a school employee... if when out in public you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior.

You might be a school employee... if you have no social life between August and June.

You might be a school employee... if you think people should have a government permit before being allowed to reproduce.

You might be a school employee... if you wonder how some parents MANAGED to reproduce.

You might be a school employee... if you laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the "lounge".

You might be a school employee... if you encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling, and are willing to donate the U-HAUL boxes should they decide to move out of the district.

You might be a school employee... if you think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

You might be a school employee... if you can't imagine how the ACLU could think that covering your students' chairs with Velcro, and then requiring uniforms made out of the corresponding Velcro, could ever be misunderstood by the public.

You might be a school employee... if meeting a child's parent instantly answers this question: "Why is this kid like this?"

You might be a school employee... if you choose a mammogram over a parent conference.

You might be a school employee... if you think someone should invent antibacterial pencils and crayons... and desks and chairs, for that matter!

You might be a school employee... if the words "I have college debt for this?" has ever come out of your mouth.

You might be a school employee... if you know how many days, minutes, and seconds are left in the school year!

(Thanks to Skyler!)

From the "You Learn Something New Every Day" Department...

In Relation to the Universe:

You can click on the pictures for larger versions and easier-to-read text.