“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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Hi, and welcome to the final fact day for this year.
There is a mixture of random bits and pieces along with some seasonal offerings, so hopefully you will find something of interest.
Enjoy.
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Norwegian scientists have hypothesized
that Rudolph’s red nose
is probably the result of a parasitic infection
of his respiratory system.
(Oh boy!!!)
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In December 1843 Charles Dickens
published a little novella
about a grumpy old curmudgeon who
rediscovered the true meaning of Christmas
after being visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve.
He called it ‘A Christmas Carol’ and
it was a resounding success,
so much so that in the succeeding 171 years
it has never been out of print
and has been made into many movies
and television shows.
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The skin of a polar bear
is actually black
which helps them to trap heat.
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Christmas has its roots in pagan festivals
such as Saturnalia (December 17-December 23),
the Kalends (January 1 – 5, the precursor to the
Twelve Days of Christmas),
and Deus Sol Invictus or
Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun (December 25).
The Christian church heartily disapproved
of such celebrations and co-opted
the pagans by declaring December 25
as Christ’s day of birth,
though there is no evidence
Christ was born on that day.
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In 1999, a single stroke of lightning
instantly killed a whole soccer team.
The eleven players were all between
twenty and thirty-five years old.
This freak accident happened during
a match held in the eastern province of Kasai, in Congo.
The strangest thing of all, however,
was that the players from the home team
came out of this tragedy unscathed.
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In some of the Greek islands,
instead of a piling their
presents under a Christmas tree,
many families still put their gifts
in a wooden fishing boat
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YouTube can be found in sixty-one countries
and across sixty-one languages,
with almost 75 percent of its users
living outside the US.
It’s estimated that more than 1 billion users
use YouTube each month
mainly for entertainment.
According to Alexa rankings
YouTube is the third biggest
(i.e., most powerful) website in the world
trailing behind only Google and Facebook
and ahead of online giants such as
Yahoo, eBay, Wikipedia, Amazon, and, PayPal.
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Each year more than 3 billion
Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. alone.
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Until the Lincoln Cathedral was
built in England in 1311,
the Great Pyramid of Giza
held the title for the
world´s tallest man-made structure.
It held the record for an incredible
and unparalleled 3871 years!
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According to data
analyzed from Facebook posts,
two weeks before Christmas is one of
the two most popular times
for couples to break up.
However, Christmas Day is the
least favorite day for breakups.
Contrary to popular belief,
suicide rates during the Christmas
holiday are low.
The highest rates are during the spring.
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Mickey Mouse on Mercury?
Measuring 105 kilometers across (65 miles),
a striking resemblance to Mickey Mouse
can be found on Mercury’s southern hemisphere.
It is attributed to an accumulation
of craters over a long period of time,
or else Mickey was originally a Mercurian!
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Christmas trees have been
sold in the U.S. since 1850.
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The demented Roman Emperor Caligula
once ordered his troops
to go to war with the sea.
He made troops return with
seashells as plunder of war
against Neptune.
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The British wear paper crowns
while they eat Christmas dinner.
The crowns are stored in a tube
called a “Christmas cracker.”
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George Frederick Handel’s
great Christmas oratorio,
“The Messiah”,
was first performed in 1742,
in Dublin.
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fasab 
You always keep up your standards to the end! I liked your pagan festivals facts – so true. Thanks for the information as usual!
Thanks for stopping by during this celebration week.