Why Male Cats Are Called Tomcats

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

Male cats used to be called "rams" or "boars" until a popular novel was published in 1760 about a cat named Tom.  The Life and Adventures of a Cat has been attributed to the British author William Guthrie, but authorship hasn't been verified.  For more information click here.  For more terms relating to cats click here.

What did you learn today?

Fable Facts

Photo of Greek stamp depicting the Aesop's fable of the The Ass in The Lion's Skin and The Fox courtesy 123rf.com

Today's topic was requested by Isobel Keogh of Perth Scotland, @scots_perth on Twitter.

Fables are short stories that teach a lesson using animals or mythical creatures as the characters in the stories.  Aesop's Fables are arguably the best known fables in the western world, and have been translated into nearly every language.  Fables are found in nearly every culture inside and outside the western world, including Africa, Asia, Sumaria, India, and other countries.

What I didn't know about Aesop, the Ancient Greek writer of the eponymous fables, is that he was born into slavery and later granted freedom, most likely was of African decent, was said to have a speech impediment that was miraculously healed by a deity, was written about by Plato and Aristotle, and many people deny that he was an actual person.

There are many wonderful websites about fables.  Click here for an Aesop's Fables website that includes over 650 fables that are indexed and cross-referenced.  Click here for a website geared toward children that also includes fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

Thanks to Isobel Keogh of Perth Scotland, @scots_perth on Twitter, for today's topic!  What did you learn today?

Gorillas With Guns!

Photo of Six-Gun Gorilla courtesy simongurr.wordpress.com

Today's topic was requested by Mark Feldthusen from Copenhagen, Denmark, @feldthusen on Twitter.

In the 1930's there was a comic book character called Six-Gun Gorilla.  According to The Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, this silverback gorilla escaped from a circus-train wreck, strapped on guns, and traversed the Old West seeking vengeance.  This character was featured in a British paper of that time, and has been a contemporary subject for artists who update or reinvent fictional characters in a British forum called Whitechapel.  For more information click here.

Thanks Mark Feldthusen from Copenhagen, @feldthusen on Twitter for today's topic!  What did you learn today?

Farmer's Almanac History

Photo of antique almanacs courtesy 123rf.com


Wednesday was the first day of summer, and the summer solstice.  So, I went to The Farmer's Almanac for information, just as my grandparents and great-grandparents used to do. 

The Farmer's Almanac has been published continually since 1792, and there is something in every annual publication for everyone, no matter their occupation or location.

For more information click here and click here.  What did you learn today?

101st Birthday of NYPL

Photo of one of the NYPL lions, Patience and Fortitude, courtesy 123rf.com

101 years ago the New York Public Library was dedicated and opened for service.  At the time it was the largest completely marble structure in the U.S.A.  For more information click here.  What did you learn today? 

It's World Book Day!!

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

It's World Book Day, and there are lots of resources and give-aways at the World Book Day website!  For more information click here., and also here.

What did you learn today?

Consilience & World Ants

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

Two days ago I reviewed a wonderful documentary about origami I saw on Sunday.  One of the premises of this documentary reminded me of a wonderful book I read, which was published in 1998, "Consilience" by Edward O. Wilson.  In the documentary the relationship of origami to other fields of study was explored; in Wilson's book consilience is the unity of all knowledge bases from science to the humanities.

Dr. Wilson is from Alabama (as am I) and grew up near Washington, D.C. (I did not, although I visited several times in my youth) and near Mobile, Alabama (as did I).  As a young man he was very interested in natural history and entomology.  He has won several awards for his research and writings primarily in science. 

What I didn't know is that as a young man he attempted to survey all the ants of Alabama.  For a website that will give you information about ants in any region of the world click here. 

What did you learn today?

Book Banned in Germany

Photo of Alte Bibliothek in Berlin courtesy 123rf.com

Publication of Mein Kampf is banned by law in Germany.  This law was upheld today by a German court.  For more information click here.

Kids' Books for St. Patrick's Day

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St. Patrick's Day is less than two weeks away, on March 17, of course.  Here is a list of books for kids through age 12 about St. Patrick's Day crafts, history, and fiction:  click here.

WHO Helped Fund the American Revolution ?!?!

Photo of oil painting of French author Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799) by French artist Jean-Marc Nattier (1685-1766) courtesy Giraudon/Art Resource, New York, via EncyclopediaBritannica.com

I like Mozart's (1756-1791) operas, and think Beaumarchais's plays (from which the libretti for some of Mozart's operas are taken) are fabulous.  What I didn't know is that Beaumarchais "coordinated the initially secret French program to supply the nascent U.S. of A. with money and arms early in the Revolutionary War".  For more information click here.

What operas do you like?  (You may leave comments below.)

Famous Author...& Billiards Player!

Photo courtesy Mark Twain Museum

Today is the birthday of Mark Twain (1835-1910), one of my favorite authors and "characters", as we would call him in The South.  One thing I didn't know about him was that he was an avid billiards player.

The Most Peaceful Era in the History of the World

Photo of one of Edward Hicks' "The Peaceful Kingdom" paintings courtesy AllPaintings.org

According to the historical research by Steven Pinker, New College of the Humanities in London visiting professor and Harvard University experimental psychologist, we are now living in the least violent and most peaceful era in the history of the world.

For more information, see information on his book, The Better Angels of Our Nature, and his website, StevenPinker.com.

Steam Powered Church Organ

Photo courtesy freeimageslive.co.uk

Pope Sylvester II (946-1003), also known as Gerbert, built church organs powered by steam, a great innovation of the time, which eliminated having people force air through the organ pipes by physically operating bellows while another person actually played the organ keys.

He also constructed the precursor to Galileo's telescope, and became one of the first great collectors of books.

For more information, see the websites of Christian Classics Ethereal Library, and Encyclopedia Britannica.

Haunted White House

Photo courtesy CherylHarness.com

In addition to many former presidents, presidents' wives, a black cat, and a British soldier, probably the most widely reported spectre to haunt the White House is Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).  Many guests of the White House, including Queen Wihelmina of the Netherlands (1880-1962), has reported seeing him in rooms or in the halls.

Not only have ghosts been reported just sitting or walking in the White House, some have been seen hard at work.  Abigail Adams (1880-1962), wife of John Adams (1735-1826), used to do her own laundry, and has been reported hanging her laundry in the East Room to dry just as she did during the time she lived in the White House.

For more information, see this topic on the websites of Suite101.com, Haunted-Places.com, and History.com.  Also see the book by Cheryl Harness, Ghosts of the White House (photo above).

Can You Recite the Aeneid By Heart In Latin?

Photo:  Public Domain

James Garfield (1831-1881), 20th president of the United States of America, was a great intellect.  In addition to his accomplishments both greater and lesser, he could recite the entire Aenid by heart in Latin!

For more information, see the interview with Candice Millard about her book, Destiny of the Republic.

Tokyo Governor's Crazed Fruit

Photo courtesy of ProductWiki

Considered by some to be the Japanese equivalent of Rebel Without a Cause, Ko Nakahira's Crazed Fruit has long been one of my favorite movies (see View My Complete Profile near the bottom of this page).  It is a 1956 film based on the novel, Season of the Sun, by Ishahara Shintaro (born 1932), which won the Akutagawa Prize in 1955.  It is about the "Sun Tribe", which was a discontented-youth culture in 1950's Japan. 

What I didn't know was that one of the film's stars was the brother of Ishihara Shintaro, Ishihara Yujiro (1934-1987).  I also didn't know that Ishihara Yujiro became an icon of 1950's and 1960's Japanese films, and achieved a status in Japan much like that of James Dean in the United States.  I also didn't know that since 1999 Ishihara Shintaro has been governor of Tokyo.

Here's the Toronto Japanese Film Appreciation Pow-Wow blog about The Top Ten Films that Changed Japanese Cinema; Crazed Fruit is number six.

Here's an interview on FORA.tv with Donald Richie, writer, journalist, and a leading authority on Japanese films.

Maps and History

"The history and pre-history of the historical atlas are commonly understood in Western terms.  The first known historical atlas is generally given as the Parergon of Abraham Ortelius, published in Antwerp in 1579, initially as part of his general atlas, but from 1624 as a separate work. 

Yet it is also possible to draw attention to independent developments in China.  The first map in China dates from about 2100 BC and appeared on the outside of a ding (ancient cooking vessel), and a map of a graveyard produced between 323-15 BC was uncovered in a tomb in 1977.  Maps in China certainly became more common under the Western (or 'Former') Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 9), although very few have survived from before the twelfth century."

From page 2 of Maps and History: Constructing Images of the Past, by Jeremy Black, published by Yale University Press.

Epicurus, the "Garden Philosopher"

Epicurus of Sámos (341-270 BCE), the Greek “garden philosopher,” was an ancient sage who left us an enduring message of optimism. His philosophy conveyed the ultimate conviction that individuals can live in serene happiness, fortified by the continual experience of modest pleasures.  http://www.epicurus.info/

He is called the garden philosopher because in 307 or 306 BC in Athens he founded The Garden, a school named for the garden that served as the school's meeting place.