Matter of Fact Monday: Thanksgiving

For this week's Matter of Fact Monday, here are some definitions relating to turkey, and thus to the theme of the week - Thanskgiving.


Caruncle - brightly colored growths on the throat region. Turns bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.


Gizzard - a part of a bird's stomach that contains tiny stones. It helps them grind up food for digestion.


Snood - the flap of skin that hangs over the turkey's beak. Turns bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.


Wattle - the flap of skin under the turkey's chin. Turns bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.

Source: Kid Zone

Matter of Fact Monday: Pineapples

I've been on a pineapple kick for about a year now, ever since I found a place to get one for between $1.99 to $2.49. So my post for this week's Matter of Fact Monday theme of FRUITS is pineapple.

1) We think of pineapple as naitve to Hawaii, but it is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay. It is thought that the Spanish introduced it to the Phillipines in the 16th century, and later to Hawaii and Guam.

2) The most popular pineapple sold in the U.S. is the Smooth Cayenne. The other three varieties sold in the America are the Red Spanish, the Sugar Loaf, and the Golden Supreme.

3) One cup of pineapple has about 135 calories and 33 percent of the RDA of Vitamin C.

4) A pineapple is ripe if one of its top leaves can easily be pulled out.

5) And most interesting...under the you can try this at home category...The bromelain content (enzymes found naturally in the juice and stems) in fresh pineapple keeps gelatin from setting, so you can only use canned pineaple in Jello-O. The canning processes destroys the bromelain.

Sources:
California Rare Fruit Growers

Health Diaries

Matter of Fact Monday

I present a variety of little known presidential facts here to go with the Matter of Fact Monday theme of PRESIDENTS:

1) As sheriff of Erie County, NY, Grover Cleveland once volunteered to serve as executioner. when Jack Morrissey was sentenced to death for killing his mother in 1872, Cleveland declared that he would handle the execution of Morrissey because he couldn't in good conscience impose that duty upon another. Cleveland was elected president in 1884, despite the fact that his opponents decried him as the "Buffalo Hangman."

2) President John Tyler was saved by his son-in-law's singing of a military song. He paused as he ws about to climb the ladder to return to the deck of the warship Princeton to see the third firing of what was the world's largest cannon, the Peacemaker. As the gun was fired, its breech exploded, sending shards or hot iron into the crowd. Six people were killed, including Tyler's Secretary of State and US Navy Secretary.

3) It was President Millard Filmore who in 1852, triggered the establishment of diplomatic relations with Japan. His purpose for the securing the treaty was to open trade and secure for the U.S. a place where it's ships could obtain supplies. Filmore, the 13th president, never ran for office. He was appointed when Zachary Taylor died in office and served 30 months.

Source: The Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told by Rick Beyer

Matter of Fact Monday: Arithmancy

The prompt for Matter of Fact Monday was anything to do with WITCHCRAFT. I chose Arithmancy, an ancient system of fortune-telling based on names and numbers. It is offered as an elective at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter novels.

1) Arithmancy is an ancient system of fortune-telling based on names and numbers. A is 1 and Z is 8. The name PETER, for example, would add up to a numeric total of 27 [P(7) e(5) t(2) e(5) r(9) ].

2) For make predictions, the final result must be less 9 or less. So in the case of Peter, which adds up to 27, add those two digits together to get 9 (2+7). If you add the two digits of a numerical name value and still get more than 9, then add them together again. For instance, a 58 yields a 13, which yields a 4.

3) The total of all the letters in a name gives a person's character number, or the general personality type of an individual. By adding the value of just the vowels in Peter, you would get 10, or 1, which is a person's heart number, which represents the individual's inner life and can indicate desires and fears hidden from others. Adding just the consonants would produce the number 18, or 9, which is a person's social number, the way they are perceived by the outside world.

OK...so here is what EDDIE D [5+4+4+9+5+4=31 (4)] yields:

Character 4 = Like a table that rests solidly on four legs, four indicates stability and firmness. Fours enjoy hard work. They are practical, reliable and down to earth; they prefer logic and reason to flights of fancy. They are good at organization and getting things done. Like the cycle of the four seasons, they are also predictable. They can be stubborn, suspicious, overly practical and prone to angry outbursts. The conflicts possible in "two" are doubled in four.

Heart 1 = This is the number of the individual, the solitary unit. Ones are independent, focused, and determined. They set a goal and stick to it. They are leaders and inventors. Ones find it difficult to work with others and don't like to take orders. They can be self-centered, egotistical, and domineering. They are often loners.

Social 3 = Three represents the idea of completeness or wholeness, as in the threesomes past-present-future and mind-body-spirit. Three indicates talent, energy, an artistic nature, humor, and social ease. Threes are often lucky, easygoing, and highly successful, but they can also be unfocused, easily offended, and superficial.

You can find out where you are here, the source of this fact post.

Matter of Fact Monday: SKY

A co-worker of mine is heavily into skydiving, so my post for this week's Matter of Fact Monday theme of SKY is about the parachute.

1. André Garnerin, on Oct. 22 of 1797, gave the first public demonstrations of the parachute. He was the first person to use theme regularly and successfully.

2. Garnerin, who leapt from a hot-air balloon just over a half-mile up, did not include an air vent at the top of his parachute, so he oscillated wildly in his descent.

3. The intent behind the invention: It was originally designed to enable people to escape from the early balloons during an emergency and to land safely.

SOURCE: Reference.com

Matter of Fact Monday: BASEBALL

This week's prompt for Matter of Fact Monday was baseball, and my facts are about the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, which is visited by more than 350,000 people a year.

1. Following the discovery of the Doubleday baseball philanthropist Stephen C. Clark, purchased the ball $5 with the idea of displaying the ball aqnd other artifiacts. With the assistance of Alexander Cleveland, the two garnered support for the establishment of a national baseball museum.

2. With the cooperation of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, the first class of former players was chosen to be honored. They were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson.

3. The Baseball Hall of Fame officially opened its doors on June 12, 1939. Of the 25 greats who had been elected to the Hall by then, 11 were still living. All of them attended the event, which took place as a part of the 100th anniversary celebration of baseball.

SOURCE: National Baseball Hall of Fame

Matter of Fact Monday: Holidays

Facts about Columbus Day:

It is generally accepted that Christopher Columbus was the first European to have discovered the New World of the Americas. Some researchers and proponents of other explorers, though, attribute the first sightings to the early Scandinavian Vikings or the voyages of Irish missionaries, which predate the Columbus visit in 1492.

Although America was named for Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, events honoring Christopher Columbus have been held in the U.S. since 1792. New York honored him with a statue then, and another in 1892.

• Out of pride for its native son, the Italian population of New York City organized the first celebration of the discovery of America on October 12, 1866.
  
  
• In 1869, when Italians in San Francisco celebrated October 12, they called it Columbus Day.
  
  
• In 1905, Colorado became the first state to observe a Columbus Day.
  
  
• In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed every October 12 as Columbus Day. Since 1971, it has been celebrated on the second Monday in October.
  

Source: US Embassy, Stockholm

More Matter of Fact Monday here

A New Meme: Matter of Fact Monday

There's a new meme out there that's a little different from most of what you'll find on the Web. It's not questions and answers or fill in the blanks, like so many.

It's called Matter of Fact Monday. The goal of the meme is for each of us to learn something new through the information posted by our fellow bloggers.

Here's how it works:

1) Visit Matter of Fact Monday to find the theme, always posted the Thursday before.

2) Post 3 to 5 facts on your blog about any subject in any way related to that theme. Be sure to note your source for those who'd like further reading.

3) On the Sunday Mr. Linky post, up by 6 p.m. EST (US), leave your link noting your participating entry for the week.

4) Visit your fellow participants over the next few days and offer your comments.

I'm just trying to get this started up. I hope you join in what could be a really interesting evening of blogging. Play for a couple of weeks. If you like what you see, please spread the word.