Fun Fact January 31, 2022.
Today we celebrate our shipments arriving in tact. According to National Day Calendar dot com, it’s National Bubble Wrap day! In 1957 a couple of engineers from New Jersery named Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes sealed two shower curtains together, creating a smattering of air bubbles, which they originally tried to sell as wallpaper. When that didn’t work out they tried to market it as insulation for green houses. Strike two of about 400. It wasn’t until 1960 that the products protective quality was discovered. IBM was the first major client of the Sealed Air Corporation, using bubble wrap to ship their new 1401 computers. For their efforts, in addition to the monetary rewards, Fielding and Chavannes were inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1993. The Veggie Tales gang even did a song about Bubble wrap. Listen to the podcast here; https://theriver953.com/lonnies-fun-fact/
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Fun Fact November 19, 2021.
A bit of hyperbole today. You’ve probably heard, and may have even said, “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” The idiom dates back to the 1700’s and the origin is not clear. You can interpret it in a couple of ways. One is that you could actually eat an entire horse, which of course is impossible. Another is that you could eat the rear end of a horse, again not likely. The fact that you’d eat any part of a horse is doubtful, not to mention frowned upon by Western culture. The phrase basically means you are very hungry. There are a lot of people in our neighborhoods who are hungry, maybe even hungry enough to eat a horse. You can help. We’re not asking you to bring a horse, or any part of one, to the Camping For Hunger bus, but we would appreciate a nonperishable or monetary donation. The bus is parked at 1106 Elm Street in Front Royal or you can make a safe and secure donation at The River 95-3 dot com. Listen to the podcast here; https://theriver953.com/lonnies-fun-fact/
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Fun Fact November 18, 2021.
Have you ever had your druthers? What exactly are druthers and how does one get them? According to Vocabulary dot com, Druthers are things you have the right or chance to do. When you have your druthers, you can do what you want. This word always appears in the plural form and usually in a phrase like “If I had my druthers…” It refers to a preference, wish, or desire. If you had your druthers, maybe you would sleep till 11 every day. The word druthers has it’s origin in the US, first cited in the January 1870 edition of Overland monthly and Out West magazine. It is most likely a shorting or contraction of the phrase I’d rather or would rather. If I had my druthers, I’d fill the Camping For Hunger bus until nothing else would fit. Listen to the podcast here; https://theriver953.com/lonnies-fun-fact/
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Fun Fact November 17, 2021.
Winter is coming and that’s a bad thing if you are cryophobic. Cryophobia is the fear of the cold, or cold things. Cryo is a combination form meaning icy cold or frost. You may have heard of cryogenics. A similar phobia is frigophobia. Fridge from the Latin word for cold, frigus. Here in the US frigophobia is virtually nonexistent. While still rare in other countries, it seems to be a culturally-related phobia in Chinese populations in Asia. Whether cryophobic or frigophobic, winter is not your favorite time of year and you may even have a aversion to cold things or even cold food. I wonder if that includes ice cream. I don’t think I could be a frigophobic, I love ice cream. Listen to the podcast here; https://theriver953.com/lonnies-fun-fact/
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Fun Fact November 16, 2021.
Tool time Tuesday and today we’re getting a precise measurement. I had the need to measure the diameter of a round piece of metal, more specifically the sway bar on my truck. There are several ways to get a close measurement, but if you need it to be more accurate you’ll need a micrometer. I had a small micrometer in my collection, but it was too small for the task at hand, so I purchased a larger one. The one I bought is an analog micrometer, not a fancy digital one, but for what I needed it worked great. It measures in both inches and millimeters. The tool basically has a sliding portion that allows you to measure an outside diameter on one side, an inside diameter on the other side and the ability to measure depth with a probe that slides out the end. A pretty handy little tool to have in your tool collection. Listen to the podcast here; https://theriver953.com/lonnies-fun-fact/
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Fun Fact November 15, 2021.
He went really fast today! According to History dot com, it was on November 15, 1965 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, 28-year-old Californian Craig Breedlove sets a new land-speed record, 600.601 miles an hour, in his car, the Spirit of America. The car cost $250,000 and was powered by a surplus engine from a Navy jet. He actually drove across the desert twice that day, since international world-record rules require a car to make two timed one-mile runs in one hour. Officials log the average speed of the two trips. During his first trip, Breedlove traveled at a rate of 593.178 mph; during his second, the first time any person had officially gone faster than 600 mph, he traveled at a rate of 608.201 mph. “That 600 is about a thousand times better than 599,” he said afterward. “Boy, it’s a great feeling.” Listen to the podcast herehttps://theriver953.com/lonnies-fun-fact/
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Fun Fact November 10, 2021.
Today is not your day if you suffer from Sredaphobia. Sredaphobia is the fear of Wednesdays. According to Phobia dot wikia dot org, scientists are not sure why this is but some people have an irrational fear of Wednesday. It seems to mostly effect people born in September or August. The most common reason is ocd and not liking that Wednesday is in the middle of the week and they think it shouldn’t exist in the first place. Nevertheless this is a real condition that plagues a very, very small number of people. Listen to the podcast here; https://theriver953.com/lonnies-fun-fact/
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Fun Fact November 9, 2021.
Tool time Tuesday, what’s your vice and does it have a grip on you? William Petersen, a Danish immigrant living in De Witt Nebraska, invented the first locking pliers in his blacksmith shop in 1924. He began selling them from the trunk of his car to farmers and people in surrounding towns. He patented his new idea and called it Vise-Grip. Vice Grip locking pliers are available in many different configurations, such as needle-nose locking pliers, locking wrenches, locking clamps and various shapes to fix metal parts for welding. They also come in many sizes. Listen to the podcast here; https://theriver953.com/lonnies-fun-fact/
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