Here’s Why ‘Jingle Bells’ Was Originally Written for Thanksgiving
From the delicious desserts to dazzling decorations, the holiday season is a time to celebrate. Of course, celebrations often involve music, and Christmas is certainly synonymous with several familiar tunes. But ironically, one of the most popular Christmas carols around was originally written for a different holiday altogether. Both kids and adults around the world...
The Traditional Reason Many Jewish Families Eat Chinese Food on Christmas
Ed Schoenfeld, the owner-operator of RedFarm, an Asian-fusion dim sum restaurant with two NYC locations, and Decoy, a West Village shrine to traditional Peking duck, compares his Christmas Day-business to a holiday miracle: “I think on that day we do more business than many restaurants do in three months. We serve all day long, we...
150 Years Later, “Little Women” Endures
The world has changed in unimaginable ways since Little Women was first published in 1868 – which is why it’s all the more interesting that people are still intrigued by and enamored with the story a hundred and fifty years later. We know that it is, because in less than a year’s time, the BBC...
Melting Siberian Permafrost Reveals a Mysterious 18,000-Year-Old Puppy
There’s not much that people love like they do dogs – and it turns out that maybe humans haven’t changed all that much in the past 20,000 years. At least, not when it comes to puppy love. Scientists believe the male animal, found near the Indigirka River in Siberia, was around 2 months old when...
Dentist Prosecuted for Extracting a Patient’s Tooth While Riding a Hoverboard
Going to the dentist can be really scary, but it helps if you truly trust your dentist to take care of you while you’re in that chair. One dentist is being prosecuted for betraying that trust – by riding a frickin’ hoverboard during an operation. I mean, what?? Seth Lookhart, a dentist in Alaska, extracted...
The History of the “Shiny Brite” Christmas Ornament
Your grandmother probably had box-loads of these beautiful, brightly colored and extremely fragile ornaments. You can also find them in antique and vintage stores, and, if you’re lucky, thrift stores. They’re called Shiny Brite, and the story behind them is rooted, surprisingly, in war. Shiny Brite originated with a German toymaker named Max Eckardt. Eckardt...
