I can't believe Count Chocula wasn't on the list! :)
The top 10 selling cereals: 1) Honey Nut Cheerios. 2) Kellogg's Frosted Flakes. 3) Honey Bunches of Oats. 4) Cheerios. 5) Cinnamon Toast Crunch. 6) Special K Red Berries. 7) Frosted Mini Wheats. 8) Lucky Charms. 9) Fruit Loops. 10) Raisin Bran.
I can't believe Count Chocula wasn't on the list! :) The earliest known pocketknife (it had a bone handle), was found in Austria, dating back to around 600 B.C.
Raggedy Ann is a character created by an American author (Johnny Gruelle), that appeared in a series of books he wrote and illustrated for young children. The story came to life when he created the Raggedy Ann doll in 1915, to coincide with his new book series. The doll became a huge hit and so did his books.
In 1920, the author introduced Raggedy Andy as Ann's brother. Following the success of the first doll, Raggedy Andy dolls were marketed and they too were popular. At this point the author and toy inventor, had a large market with both boys and girls. Full disclosure: I admit I chose this story because I owned a Raggedy Andy. I gave him up when I left for the Navy as they wouldn't allow me to take him to boot camp. :) Flannan Isles Lighthouse (75 feet tall), is located on a small island near Scotland, and it was officially lit in 1899. It served as a crucial navigational aid on waters that were dangerous to get through because of the massive rocks jutting out into the surface of the ocean. They also had a foghorn that they'd blow when visibility got too low. Besides the lighthouse, the construction engineers built other buildings as well, including a church for those who stood duty at the lighthouse.
Three men were sent to the island to maintain the lighthouse in six-week rotations. Three would be dropped off and three picked up. During the switch in crews, they'd work together to get new supplies up to the lighthouse which meant they had to carry food and water for the men and fuel for the lighthouse, up a 148-foot cliff. These keepers of the light were then stuck on the island until the next crew showed up six weeks later. The men who worked at the lighthouse worked by themselves in eight-hour shifts. They had to possess many skills sets as a lot of their work involved keeping the engines running that kept the light lit and rotating. On December 26, 1900, a ship was passing near the island at night and they noticed the lighthouse wasn’t working which was very unusual. When they docked their boat on the island, no one greeted them. They went to the living quarters of the men who were working there, and they were gone. Everything appeared to be in its place, but the men had vanished. They scoured the island and used the foghorn to try and bring the three missing men in, but nothing worked. Their disappearance is a mystery to this day. In 1925, the Flannan Isles Lighthouse received ship to shore radio which was a big deal back then. In 1971 the lighthouse became automated; basically, no longer needed daily assistance of personnel. The light is produced by burning acetylene gas which is stored in large tanks, so it receives a constant fuel supply and there’s a timer and sensor for nighttime and foggy weather conditions. It’s controlled by computers back on the mainland. The light is a bright one, providing light up to 17 miles. Here’s to all those who have been and who are now, keepers of the light. We’ll never know how many lives have been saved by having a light for guidance on the darkest of nights. The oldest bottle of wine, with wine in the bottle, ever found was uncovered excavating a Roman Legionnaires tomb in Germany. Because the tomb was very extravagant, it's assumed that this Roman officer was very important. Although they say wine gets better with age, when it's aged around 1,600 years, I'll pass.
The top five wealthiest actors are: 1) Shah Rukh Khan. He's an Indian actor and the producer of dozens of Bollywood movies. India being around four times larger than the U.S., gives him a bigger market to work with. 2) Closely behind Shah's financial figures is Tom Cruise. 3) George Clooney. He's been in several famous franchise movies but a large portion of his money is due to business dealings. 4) Mel Gibson. He not only had the blockbuster movies he participated in, but also has directed and produced many popular movies. 5) Adam Sandler. Probably the only actor to have had so many films panned by critics that turned into cult classics (i.e. Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy, Mr. Deeds, etc.). Most people would probably never guess how successful Adam is. What I love about him is that he is the antitheses of Hollywood actors. He's more likely to be seen at an Outback Steakhouse than a fancy Hollywood restaurant; mostly because he's always in shorts. :)
Before the announcement of my receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Physics, I thought I'd give you a heads-up. I started thinking about Newton's Third Law and realized he made a mistake. Here's a summation of his theory: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."
Now for those of you who are married, you know this isn't true. Take Maggie's and my relationship. I promise you that her reaction to something I did wrong, blows up in my face way beyond Newton's theory of an "equal," response. Anyhow, that's my story. They are going to repeal Newton's Third Law based on my findings. :) There's a first time for everything but I also think it's good to remember that someday there will be a last time for everything. So let's make sure and make the most of everything that is truly important, because we can't be sure if it's going to be our last time doing it.
Democrats are trying everything they can, to make it appear that the deal President Trump's team put together with Mexico was a bad thing. They're saying that Trump is hurting relations with other countries through using our leverage like a bully. How outrageous! Of course we're going to use our leverage in negotiations; we'd be idiots if we didn't.
Yes, Mexico liked President Obama more than Trump, and I think it's a great sign. The Obama Administration was allowing billions of dollars to leave our economy through horrific trade deficits with Canada and Mexico. These countries loved him, why not, he was giving away our store. Our GDP loses ground with every bad trade deal which means we have less money in our economy to grow it. I've written about GDP before and the fact is, if anyone around the world want's to know our economic strength thus leading to many benefits including great interest rates on loans, then it's right there in our GDP number. The bottom line is that Democrats are trying once again to take away the wins from the Trump Administration. Their problem is that only their hard-core followers will believe what they're saying. Even members of their own Party are starting to question information they're given because of the lack of proper vetting. If it's a bad story about President Trump, it leads, no questions asked. They don't want to get burned, like so many have, of adding narrative to a fake news story. It's difficult to overcome when your painted as a bad source of information. CNN and MSNBC sure have been called out and their ratings have dropped substantially. It's fairly hard to lose a listener or viewer, the fact that these two networks have lost so many of them, is actually a good sign that some people still care about as unbiased news as possible. I guess the major reason why these leaders of the Democratic Party do what they do, is that they don't believe a simple truth, and that is, IRS agents have better approval ratings than Democrats and Republicans serving in the House and Senate. They just don't have the credibility they believe they have. A Pew Research poll was released that showed most people believe that politicians and activist groups, are more of a problem when it comes to fake news, than the mainstream media.
Of note as well from the poll, is that only 20% of Democrats believe the mainstream media is biased about the Republican Party and more specifically, President Trump. With their distorted view of reality, there's no way possible to influence these people with common sense and logic. They are sheep for the Democratic Party. The are pawns in a chess game that leaders of their Party are playing. Very sad. |
Author: John Mann |