Friday 12/20/24
Celebrate:
Cathode-Ray Tube Day
Dot Your I's Day
Games Day
Go Caroling Day
International Human Solidarity Day
National Sangria Day
National Ugly Sweater Day
Underdog Day - It is a day for those who play second fiddle and haven't made it to the top.
Mudd Day - the birthday of Dr. Samuel Mudd, a man who harbored John Wilkes Booth in his home after President Lincoln's assassination, and who was accused of being one of the conspirators of the assassination.
The phrase "Your name is mud" did not come from Dr. Samuel Mudd, but he gave it new meaning. "Mud" referred to something worthless or unwholesome since the sixteenth century. By the eighteenth century, the word applied to people who were seen as foolish or stupid. It was also used to intensify phrases. For example, something could be said to be "as rich as mud." The word was also used as an epithet, and "Your name is mud" became a popular phrase.
–
New at the Theaters
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - The crew battle against Shadow. With the voices of Idris Elba, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter, Keanu Reeves, James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Adam Pally, Natasha Rothwell, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Alyla Browne, James Wolk, Shemar Moore, Krysten Ritter, and Lee Majdoub.
Mufasa: The Lion King with the voices of Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Kani, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Aaron Pierre.
–
48% of Americans don't plan to drink or smoke anything during the holidays. That's up from 42% when the same question was asked two years ago. Only 11% plan to do both, down from 13%.
For those that are drinking, people were asked "What will you drink the most this holiday?"
1. Beer, 22% of the vote
2. Wine, 21%
3. Eggnog, 19%
4. Mixed drinks, 17%
5. Straight liquor. 10% aren't messing around.
Only 6% said cider or spiked seltzer, and 5% said champagne.
--
A poll found the average American wasted 110 hours this year just searching for stuff to watch.
That's around four-and-a-half days' worth of time, or roughly 1% of your year that you'll never get back.
One in five people think it's harder to find something to watch today than it was 10 years ago, even though there's way more content.
The most common complaint was streaming services are loaded with too much old stuff you have to sift through. One in four also think there's too much original content being produced.
--
A new poll asked people what they use for a Christmas tree topper
45% of people say they have some kind of star and 21% have an angel.
11% of people say "something else" . . . 6% of people say they go the BALD route, with nothing on the top . . . and 14% don't even have a Christmas tree. 2% of people are "not sure" what they put on the top of their tree, which is a strange thing to not know.
They didn't ask what the "something else" might be, but there's a Reddit thread where people talk about their unique toppers. They include:
A bow.
A snowflake.
A Rudolph head.
A Santa Claus . . . Mrs. Claus . . . or a Santa hat.
"O"Cut up toilet paper rolls, covered in glitter."
"A turkey puppet."
"The baby Jesus . . . as an alien . . . and a star above that's a UFO."
Yoda from "Star Wars" dressed as Santa.
The Eye of Sauron from "Lord of the Rings"
See the thread here
--
The National Bird is the Eagle....right???
It's only ever been the UNOFFICIAL bird . . . until now.
78-year-old Preston Cook has been collecting bald eagle memorabilia for over 50 years. He amassed more than 40,000 eagle-related items. Then he donated them to the National Eagle Center museum in Wabasha.
He realized in 2010 that Congress had never passed true legislation to make it official, so he started lobbying politicians. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced the bill this June.
The House passed a bill this week to make it the official bird. The Senate already voted for it unanimously this summer. So now President Biden just has to sign off.
--
A woman in Ohio who loves Fireball whisky just turned 106. Her name is Florence Hackman, but people call her "Fireball Flo." She was also in the news last year when Fireball sent her a bunch of swag for her 105th.
–
If you are a certain age, you remember sitting down on Sunday nights to head to Cabot Cove and wonder why these people just didn't throw Jessica Fletcher out of town.
There's a "Murder, She Wrote" movie in the works, and sources say it's likely that Jamie Lee Curtis will star in it.
The original series ran for 12 seasons on CBS, from 1984 to 1996. It starred Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, a mystery writer who solved real-life murders. Angela died in 2022.
If you're thinking that Jamie is too YOUNG to play a character like Jessica Fletcher, here's your reality check:
Jamie is 66. Angela Lansbury was 57 when the show debuted.
Interesting trivia, they developed the show for Jean Stapleton.
--
Today's Useless Fact of the Day - Every British king or queen has a second birthday assigned to them if their real birthday isn't in the summer . . . so there's good weather for their birthday parade.
For example, Queen Elizabeth the Second's actual birthday was April 21st, but her "official" birthday was held on a Saturday in June. Same with King Charles. His real birthday is November 14th, but his "official" one was held on June 15th.
--
Check out the web version of this briefing, along with The Anniversary Song of the Day and more content, on the web at https://bribriny.wixsite.com/brianbriefing
Comments