9 Childhood Games.

Do you remember the games you played as a child?  I do!  We played tag, Capture the Flag, Dodge ball, even Cowboys and Indians and so many others.  Don't worry, in our version, the Indians always won.

Now, I see so many kids whose idea of games is something on their digital device.  They don't know the games we played as children.  I remember so many and am sad they are not as well known.


1.  Jacks appears to have been around since ancient Greece except back then they used small bones or rocks. Originally, they were known as Knuckle Bones.  For a bit, the kids were playing their version of jacks but it was different than the one I played as a child. I suspect, it evolves as each generation plays it.

2. Red Rover was another game I played as a child.  We had two lines of player and the idea was to try to break through the other line after they chanted something about 'sending so and so over".  There are two theories as to its origin.  First thought is that it represents the 1828 steamboat of the same name that took people back and forth across the river while the other thought is that it was a taunt chanted by English children against the Vikings.

3. Blind Man's Bluff has been around for several centuries and variations can be found in almost every country.  It is said to be a favorite of King Henry VIII's court  during Tudor times.    References to the game have been found as early as 1590 in a play.

4. Do you remember Tetherball?  The game with a ball attached to a rope that you hit and it wound around the pole it was attached to? there are two theories to its origin.  First it is thought it is an off shoot to the Maypole celebrations of long ago or second, it was developed from a game by the Tartars but in reality it appears to have been invented in 1875 in Britain before it spread to the United States in 1881 or so.   In 1895, a man from Oxford University was given credit for its creation.

5. Kickball has only been in existence about 100 years.  It was invented in 1917 in Cincinnati, Ohio by the supervisor of the Parks department.  At the time, it was known as Kick Baseball or Soccer Base because it was based upon Baseball but without batting. It was adopted quickly by P.E. teachers all over the United States and became a standard part of the curriculum by the 1920's.

6. Hopscotch, a game many of us played as youngsters, has a history dating from the early Roman times when the courses were 100 feet long and used to train soldiers while in full gear.  It is believed the game accompanied the Romans when they invaded Britain and the children there took the game and made their own version which is closer to what we play today.  The earliest record of it in the United States dates back to the 1677 edition of Poor Robin's Almanac. 

7. Marbles was not a game I played with I grew up but I know others did.  There are indications of marbles being played as early as the Pharaohs or the Aztec's based on archeological finds but the version played now only became possible when mass production of marbles started in the early 20th century around 1917.  The rules vary according to where its being played and by whom.

8.  Capture the Flag is a game whose origins are lost in the mists of time but it is thought to have begun by children who were imitating battlefields.  Historically, battles ended when the flag was captured or lowered in surrender.  It appears many of the rules evolved over time but I can't find when the rules were first printed.  It is known the Boy Scouts have played the game for over 60 years.

9. Farmer in the Dell appears to be German in origin.  It is said the game started as a courting game played by adults as early as 1820 but was brought to American by German immigrants.

There are other games, I may explore another time.  Have a great day and let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  

Why November? Why Tuesday?

Its that time of the year again, when national voting of some sort happens.  One always knows that there is an election on the first Tuesday of November but when did that start? When did the time become nationalized?

Originally, elections could be held within 34 days of the first Wednesday in December.  States had the right to choose the date within that month span. 

The main reason for this change is that with elections spread out over a month, it was quite possible that the results of the early elections could change voters minds and change the results of the elections. Furthermore, in the first election they wanted elections to be completed before the Electoral College met on the first Wednesday in December in 1792. 

However in 1845, Congress changed the laws so presidential elections had to happen on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November.  This was done to avoid having elections on the first of November which all Saints Day.

Tuesday was chosen for a very practical reason in 1845.  Much of the economy was agriculturally based and farmers needed to be able to get to markets on Wednesday and church was held on Sundays.  Add in the fact that most voters had to travel up to a day to get to the polling place, the best day to hold elections was  Tuesday. 

In addition, November was the perfect month because it fell between harvest and the winter months. They couldn't have it any earlier or it might interfere with planting, caring, or harvesting crops.  Any later in the year, and people might not be able to get to polling places.

The first election, this law applied to came three years later in 1848 when Zachery Taylor beat Lewis Cass in the presidential election.  Then in 1872, Congress moved the House of Representative elections to the same day as presidential elections. Then when the 17th amendment was enacted in 1913, it too was covered by the first Tuesday in November election rule.  If you aren't sure, the 17th amendment is the one covering the number of senators assigned to each state.

To accompany the set national election day, they also moved the beginning of the Electoral College from December to the second  Monday in January beginning in 1887 but another change on this was made in 1936 so all Electoral College members meet in their respective states on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December to vote.

So now you know why the election is always in the beginning of November.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

The Origins of Children's Nursery Rhymes

  I'm sure you remember reading children's nursery rhymes at some time in your life.  It might have been as a child or to your own children but you've read them. 

I remember one of my teachers mentioning that many of the children's nursery rhymes began as political satire or societal  commentary.  Of course, I didn't really believe her because, well as a teen, I knew better.

A few years later, I discovered she was right after all.  So today, I'm exploring the origin of several of those children's nursery rhymes.

1.  "Baa Baa Black Sheep" has someone asking them if they have any wool and of course they do but its only for the master, dame, and the last for a little boy who lived a bit a way.  Most scholars agree this is about a tax on wool, introduced about 1275 in England as part of the Great Custom. The tax was split between the king, the church, and the farmer leaving little for anyone else. 

The melody used when this is sung comes from an 1761 French tune, although its first known appearance in print happened in 1731At one point, people believed the poem actually had racial connotations which led to the poem being banned and a more politically correct version written but this allegation has never been proven. 

2." Goosey, Goosey, Gander" made its appearance in 1784.  Although it seems to be a fun rhyme, it was actually written about religious persecution when priests had to hide themselves in order to say their prayers in Latin because that was against the law.  At this point catholic practices were banned so they often hid in holes away and if found could be executed along with those who harbored them.

3. "Jack and Jill" seems so cool when you think of a couple of kids who end up falling down a hill but it appears the rhyme refers to King Charles I who tried to reform the taxes on liquid measures but when Parliament turned his suggestions down, he changed the amount in liquids to half and quarter pints.  The popular names for the half and quarter pints were Jacks and Gilles.  You might find a reference to this rhyme being about Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette going to the guillotine but that the rhyme showed up in 1765, about 30 years before this event.

4.  "London Bridge is Falling Down" a wonderful ditty we sang as I was growing up and I vaguely recall some sort of dance we did to it but no one is certain for sure what it refers to.  The most popular theory is that this refers to Olaf II of Norway, a Viking, who came to London around 1014 and supposedly destroyed the London Bridge but there is no real proof of this.  It dates back to 1744.

5. "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" seems to ask about a garden growing.  Unfortunately, the rhyme is actually about Queen Mary I of England, nicknamed "Bloody Mary". She believed so much in Catholicism that she  killed hundreds of Protestants over a five year period. Silver bells and cockle shells were the name of torture tools of the time, not gardening items. The rhyme did not appear until 1744.

6.  "Three Blind Mice" appeared in 1805 and seems to be about three Protestant bishops who plotted to overthrow Queen Mary but were discovered before they could succeed.  As punishment, they were burned at the stake.  Scholars believe the term "blind" refers to their religious beliefs.

7. In 1840 "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" first showed up. According to sources, this song is about female prisoners at England's Wakefield Prison who were walked about a mulberry tree for their regular exercise sessions. 

8. "Rock a Bye Baby" is said to be about the child of King James II and his wife.  It is believed the child was not actually theirs but another who was brought in to replace their child.  The rhyme is said to be from 1765 but the claim cannot be substantiated one way or the other.

9. "Ring Around The Rosie" has two possible origins.  The most widely known theory is that it refers to the 1665 Great Plague that killed about 15 percent of the population.  The "rosie" is the rash associated with the plague and the posie is a handful flowers designed to keep the smell down and protect the holder.  The other theory says the song developed when dancing was outlawed in many Protestant areas in Britain and North America.  The younger ones got around it by playing ring games without musical accompaniment. This is a fairly recent rhyme dating back to around 1881.

10. "Old Mother Hubbard" is said to have been written about Cardinal Thomas Wosley who refused to grand King Henry VIII so he could marry his current favorite, Anne Boleyn. This refusal lead to the Cardinal's downfall.  It made its appearance in 1805. 

Hope you like this.  I'll do more later on when I've had a chance to check others out.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

6.

Other Days

Some Days

10 Odd and Unusual Hotels.

This is a saying there is a hotel out there for everybody.  I'm the one who looks for a hotel that is relatively inexpensive with either a kitchenette or comes with breakfast.  I once stayed at a place advertising a continental breakfast but what I got was a packaged muffin and a cup of coffee.  Not my idea of breakfast but it worked.

Other people love the more expensive hotels that offer fine dining, rooms with the best sheets, etc.

Then there are the people who look for adventure when booking a hotel room.  These hotels are more for the unconventional person or those who want adventure.

1.  Are you a fan of Lord of the Rings?  If so head off to Boulder Canyon, South Dakota to check out the Hobbit House designed with 16 foot ceilings, round doors and windows.  In addition, there are hobbit slippers, inscriptions in Elvish, Sauron mask along with a gauntlet cradling the one ring.  The place is actually part of a four bedroom vacation home.

2.If you are in Paris, you could always stay in a shark proof room at the Aquarium de Paris.  The room contained inside a glass capsule about 33 feet down inside a 3 million liter tank. The room sleeps two and while down there, there are 35 man-eating sharks swimming in the water above the tank. 

3. On the other hand, you can headup to Quebec City in Canada to stay at the Hotel de Glace made completely out of 30,000 tons of snow and 500 tons of ice.  The Hotel has 44 themed suites plus an array of things such as saunas, fireplaces, ice sculptures, snow carvings, etc to make your stay even better.  Be warned ahead of time that the hotel is only in operation for 3 months.

4. If you'd prefer staying in caves, head over to Turkey to stay at the Yunak Evleri hotel composed of caves dating from the 5th and 6th centuries.  The caves have been redesigned into 40 luxurious suites stone fireplaces, carved windows and doors, etc. 

5. In Stockholm, Sweden, someone took a retired 747 and re-purposed it into the Jumbo aka Sky Hostel.  It has 25 suites, each one about 64 square feet, and over head storage.  There is a first-class lounge, bar, deck, cockpit suite and even a suite where the engines used to be.

6. Want something really different? Head over to Berlin to stay at the Propeller Island City Lodge also referred to as the Upside Down Hotel.  This hotel specializes in the odd room such as the coffin room complete with coffin to sleep in, the green leather suite, the mirrored room, the upside down suite where everything is on the ceiling instead of the floor and other crazy rooms.

7. Have you ever wanted to sleep in Jail without committing a crime?  You have a choice of two possibilities. The first used to be the Charles Street Jail in Boston but it was purchased in 1972, renovated and reopened as the Liberty Hotel.  Now you can in a place with exposed red brick walls, chandeliers,  beautiful arched windows, the bar lounges complete with jail bars, and you can go anywhere as long as you have a cell key aka your room key.

8. The other choice is to stay at the Longholmen hotel aka the Prison Hotel.  This hotel allows people to be "inmates" for the day complete with "jail breaks" and gang riots.  Visitors has the choice of staying in a regular suite or in a locked cell with the proper type of prison doors, barred windows, and bunk beds.  To ensure the experience is proper, inmates are issued prison gear and are guarded by jail guards.

9. On the other hand if you are a techy geek type person, you can stay at Henn-na Hotel in Japan with robots and humanoids who replace the receptionists, porters, room check-in, etc but there are humans around as back up just in case something happens.

10.  If you like to stay at inexpensive places, go to Austria for the Das Park Hotel made out of repurposed sewer pipes.  The rooms are just large enough for a bed, lamp, power outlets, blankets, and a bit of storage but if you have to use the restroom, you'll need to use the public ones nearby but you get to choose what to pay for the night.

I hope you found some of these places interesting and might intrigue you enough to check them out.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to her.  Have a great weekend.

14 Facts About Alice in Wonderland.

Alice in Wonderland is classic that is still in print and has been made into several movies.  Last week I told the story of how the book came to be but today I'm going to share some interesting facts about the book and the author, some you are probably unaware of.

1.  Alice the main character was named after Alice Liddel, daughter of the dean of Christ Church College, the same place Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) taught Mathematics.  He knew the whole family.

2. The children kept asking him to tell them the story of Alice again and again until he finally wrote it down for Alice Liddel as a Christmas gift in 1864.

One year later, he self published the book which had doubled in length from the one he presented Alice Liddel.  The expanded version had the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat which did not appear in the earlier one.

3. Carroll hired a prominent artist of the time to provide illustrations for his book but John Tenniel was not happy withe they way they came out in the first printing so Carroll dumped all the books and used more than half of his yearly salary to have the book reprinted.

4. In 1903, two British filmmakers made Alice in Wonderland into the first movie version.  It was only 12 minutes long but it was the longest ever made in the United Kingdom.  One of the filmmakers played the Frog Footman while his wife played both the White Rabbit and The Red Queen.

5.  The title Alice in Wonderland was not Carroll's first choice for a title but it was the one he went with.

6. The original illustrations were first drawn on paper, then carved into wood, before being made into metal electrotype reproductions for the printing press.

7. Many of the events were based on Alice's real life such as the reference to the Mock Turtle receiving lessons in sketching and drawing from someone who came once a week.  This actually referred to her own tutor.

8. When Carroll included the Dodo it was actually a reference to himself.  The name is based on his real last name of Dodgson which came out as Do-do-dodgson due to his stammer.

9.  The original book "Alice's Adventure Underground" belongs to the British Library and seldom leaves it.  This book is the one he hand wrote and gave to Alice for the early Christmas gift.

10. Lewis Carroll is given credit as the first person to work with manufacturers to bring related products such as a postage stamp case with Alice's picture on it.  He also authorized other products such as her image on a cookie tin.  In addition, he reproduced a facsimile of "Alice's Adventure Underground" for sale and a shorter version for younger children.  He was ahead of his time.

11. After reading Alice in Wonderland, Queen Victoria asked him to dedicate his next book to her.  He did but it was one of his math books, not the sequel to Alice.

12.  Carroll suffered from a rare neurological disorder which was not discovered until 1955.  The disease causes strange hallucinations in which the size of objects are distorted so the sufferer often feels bigger or smaller than they really are.  The disease was named "Alice in Wonderland" syndrome or Todds syndrome for the doctor who discovered it.

13. In 1931, China banned the book because animals should not use human speech.

14. The tree the Cheshire Cat sat in can be found in the garden at Alice's house in Oxford.

Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.