The rock band The Grateful Dead had originally been named the Warlocks. After discovering that there was already a band with that name, they chose their new name by way of Jerry Garcia picking a term out of a dictionary (reports differ as to which dictionary he used): “grateful dead” is defined as “the soul of a dead person, or his angel, showing gratitude to someone who, as an act of charity, arranged their burial.”
“Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress” is a letter by Benjamin Franklin dated June 25, 1745, in which Franklin counsels a young man. About older women being grateful, Franklin wrote, the Pleasure of corporal Enjoyment with an old Woman is at least equal, and frequently superior, every Knack being by Practice capable of Improvement.
Franklin also wrote that marriage is the most natural State of Man, and therefore the State in which you are most likely to find solid Happiness.
In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin describes how, when he was running away from his printer’s apprenticeship with his older brother, he told someone suspicious that he was actually running away from marrying a girl he’d gotten pregnant. (This was considered more acceptable at the time, at least by the man he was talking to.)
In July 1847, Benjamin Franklin, the first Postmaster General of the United States, and George Washington, the first President, appeared on the first two U.S. postage stamps, although not by name. They have since appeared on more U.S. postage stamps than anyone else.
For more: 1847: America’s First Stamps | National Postal Museum
The National Postal Museum is in Washington DC and it opened in 1993. The museum is located in the building that served as the main post office of DC from 1914 until 1986.
The museum’s atrium features vehicles used to deliver mail, including USPS planes, trains and automobiles.
Famous people born in 1914 include Joe Louis, Norman Borlaug, Hedy Lamarr, and Ralph Ellison.
George Westinghouse, best known for his creation of the railway air brake and for pioneering AC electrical power distribution, died in NYC in 1914. He was 67. He’s buried in Arlington National Cemetery, along with his wife Marguerite, who survived him by three months.
Electrolux, also known as Elektrolux AB, is a Swedish appliance maker based in Stockholm. In terms of untis sold, it is the second largest appliance manufacturer in the world, after Whirpool. In 1986 the company purchased White-Westinghouse Corporation. (On a personal note: my parents bought an Electrolux canister vacuum in 1963, and still used it as of 2019.)
The Swedish Chef is a Muppet character, originally created for The Muppet Show. The character, which is a spoof of television cooking shows, speaks in gibberish with a mock Swedish accent, while preparing ridiculous recipes.
The Swedish Chef was originally performed by both Jim Henson (who performed the character’s head and voice) and Frank Oz (who performed the hands). In a rarity for the Muppets, Oz’s real hands were visible (rather than inside puppet hands), to make it more feasible to manipulate real food and other items.
“Crø̈ønchy Stars” was a breakfast cereal made by Post, and featured the Swedish Chef on its box cover. It appeared on grocery shelves in 1988 and ran about two years before being discontinued.
The Swedes don’t find The Swedish Chef particularly funny, nor particularly Swedish. To them, he sounds more Norwegian; the “sing-songy” quality of his delivery is more consistent with the tonal nature of spoken Norwegian.
The Royal Norwegian Navy has about 4,200 active-duty personnel. The ship’s complement of a single US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier is about 5,000, including the personnel of its air wing.
The Royal Norwegian Navy has bar codes printed on the sides of their ships.
That way, when they come home to port, the harbormaster can Scandinavian.
-“BB”-
Norway has a rule that Swedish people aren’t allowed in their home until after the evening meal is complete. They call it “No Swedes before dinner.”
@knoodler do you have a cite for this? Because I do not think this is true.
I believe this stems from a viral 2022 social media trend known as #Swedengate. Searching on Swedengate yields this:
Originating from a Reddit thread, it sparked intense debate regarding Scandinavian hospitality, class, and food culture, with defenders citing efficiency and detractors calling it inhospitable.
No, it’s just a pun I came up with. I apologize if it’s improper to post it here, no disrespect to either Swedish or Norwegian folk. (I’m of Danish descent, so any remarks about pastries are welcome.)
I think that we went off the factual track with the bar codes on Royal Norwegian Navy ships post? I looked that one up and apparently it’s made up.
And it looks like the made-up Trivia Dominoes game has been inactive for over a month. It seems that players are missing it!
@knoodler I’m very fond of Danish pastry!
In play:
Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen was highly influential in his time; James Joyce learned Norwegian so that he could read the plays in the original.
Ibsen’s works are still frequently performed today, with Jessica Chastain in the title role of A Doll’s House on Broadway in 2023.
Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 play An Enemy of the People was also performed on Broadway in 2024, with Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli (perhaps best known for Succession and The Sopranos, respectively) in leading roles.
A castrato (plural: castrati) is a male singer who has undergone castration before reaching puberty, in order to keep his singing voice in a high range. Castrati were likely originally used as liturgical singers in the Byzantine Empire, but re-emerged as opera developed in the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy; operas were frequently written with the inclusion of a castrato singer.
The castration of young singers largely ceased during the 19th century, though a few male singers whose voices wind up not changing during puberty (even without castration, typically due to medical events or hormonal conditions) can still sing in that range. Modern performances of operas and other compositions which were written with a castrato role are now usually performed by female mezzosopranos, or male countertenors, in that role.
Per Wiki, “The term ‘Byzantine Empire’ was coined only after its demise [with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453]; its citizens used the term ‘Roman Empire’ and called themselves ‘Romans’.”