The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of  
Carolina Naturally

The 16th Xmas Tree ...! 

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 210 countries around the world daily.   

   
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Today in History

1431		Henry VI of England is crowned King of France.
1653		Oliver Cromwell takes on dictatorial powers with the title of “Lord Protector.”
1773		To protest the tax on tea from England, a group of young Americans, disguised as Indians, throw chests of tea from British ships in Boston Harbor.
1835		A fire in New York City destroys property estimated to be worth $20,000,000. It lasts two days, ravages 17 blocks, and destroys 674 buildings including the Stock Exchange, Merchants’ Exchange, Post Office, and the South Dutch Church.
1863		Confederate General Joseph Johnston takes command of the Army of Tennessee.
1864		Union forces under General George H. Thomas win the Battle at Nashville, smashing an entire Confederate army.
1930		In Spain, a general strike is called in support of the revolution.
1939		The National Women’s Party urges immediate congressional action on equal rights.
1940		British troops carry out an air raid on Italian Somalia.
1944		Germany mounts a major offensive in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. As the center of the Allied line falls back, it creates a bulge, leading to the name–the Battle of the Bulge.
1949		Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung is received at the Kremlin in Moscow.
1950		President Harry Truman declares a state of National Emergency as Chinese communists invade deeper into South Korea.
1976		President Jimmy Carter appoints Andrew Young as Ambassador to the United Nations.
1978		Cleveland becomes the first U.S. city to default since the depression.
1998		The United States launches a missile attack on Iraq for failing to comply with United Nations weapons inspectors.
2003		The shrub signs the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which establishes the United States’ first national standards regarding email and gives the Federal Trade Commission authority to enforce the act.

Editorial Comment

This weekend is a busy one for us.
Our Saturday edition will be delayed until mid-day and will most likely be a fluff and fill issue (Read: lots of pictures) given the time we have as it appears at the moment but we may find the time to get it together for a complete albeit late edition.
Remember, as always ....

Have Fun and Be Happy

The Story of Dr. Seuss's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

by Eddie Deezen

In the early months of 1957, Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) had just had one of his biggest successes as an author. The Cat in the Hat, his previous work, was a huge seller, and now it was time for a follow-up Dr. Seuss book.
Geisel began work on How the Grinch Stole Christmas sometime early in the year. He wrote the book quickly, it was finished in a few weeks. "It was the easiest book of my career to write," he recalled, "except for its conclusion."
"I got hung up on how to get the Grinch out of the mess. I got into a situation where I sounded like a second-rate preacher or some bible thumper... Finally in desperation... without making any statement whatever, I showed the Grinch and the Whos together at the table, and made a pun on the Grinch carving "roast beast"… I had gone through thousands of religious choices, and then after three months, it came out like that."
The book now complete, Geisel sent the draft to Random House in mid-May of 1957. Seuss's wife, Helen Geisel, had been having ongoing medical problems and had suffered a small stroke in April of 1957. Nonetheless, she acted as the book's unofficial editor, as she was with previous Dr. Seuss books. How the Grinch Stole Christmas was dedicated to Theodor "Teddy" Owens, the one-year-old son of Geisel's niece, Peggy Owens.

So who was the Grinch in reality? In the story, the Grinch grouses that he has had to put up with the Whos "for 53 years." Theodor Geisel was 53 years old when the book was written and published.
Seuss's step-daughter, Lark Dimond Cates, stated in a 2003 speech, "I always thought the Cat (in the Hat) was Ted on his good days, and the Grinch was Ted on his bad days."
The original inspiration for the book had hit Geisel a few months earlier. According to Geisel: "I was brushing my teeth on the 26th of last December, when I noticed a very Grinchish countenance in the mirror. It was Seuss!"
"I wrote about my sour friend the Grinch to see if I could rediscover something about Christmas that obviously I'd lost."
Theodor Geisel's license plate on his car was "Grinch." Pretty obvious to see who the Grinch was in reality. As a sidebar, but interestingly, the Grinch was the first adult and the first villain to be the main character in a Dr. Seuss book.
Published at Christmas time in 1957, How the Grinch Stole Christmas received unanimous rave reviews. Kirkus reviews called the Grinch "easily the best Christmas cad since Scrooge." Book sales were brisk, and after 60 years, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is now regarded as a holiday classic.

In 1966, How the Grinch Stole Christmas gained a second life (and real immortality in pop culture) when CBS aired a TV special of the story. Legendary Warner Brothers cartoon director Chuck Jones took the helm for the special.
It was Chuck Jones who made the decision to give the Grinch his classic green color. According to Jones, the Grinch's shade of green derived from when he would rent cars in the Washington-Baltimore area. He said every car he rented always happened to be this particular shade.

Also in the special, the Grinch's eyes are originally red, to symbolize slyness, misanthropy and bitterness. By the end of the film his eyes turn blue, indicating a change of heart and an appreciation of the true meaning of Christmas.
Geisel was against animating the show (or any of his books), but for the special, Jones convinced him to take on the role of animator. Boris Karloff was cast in the film's title role. Karloff also took on the role of the announcer. Originally, Geisel protested against Karloff playing the Grinch, he thought he would be "too scary."
Geisel also composed the lyrics to all the shows songs. The theme song "You're a Mean One, Mister Grinch" was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes spokesman, Tony the Tiger.

(YouTube link)

Ravenscroft was not billed in the special's final credits. Because of this oversight, many, to this day,  falsely believe Karloff sings the song. Reputedly, when Geisel became aware of the oversight, he called Thurl and personally and profusely apologized.
Originally aired on December 18, 1966, How the Grinch Stole Christmas was a hit in the ratings. It remains a holiday classic and is broadcast on television each year at Yuletide. Sales of Grinch books, DVDs and videos continue to reap huge financial grosses annually. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is now not only a familiar part of Christmas, but has become a part of American pop culture.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
(DailyMotion link)

What's Actually Supposed To Happen When You Land On Free Parking?

Monopoly isn't the greatest board game in the world, but it does have one thing going for it that adds to the replay value- you can customize the game to add variety.

The most popular Monopoly "hack" is the Free Parking lottery- every time a player pays income tax or a fine that money is placed in the middle of the board, and the first person to land on Free Parking takes it all.
According to the rules Free Parking is a space where nothing happens, but since Monopoly can be pretty boring when played strictly by the book people have been making up their own rules since the game came out over 100 years ago.

(YouTube Link)

This video by Today I Found Out reveals some of the "wrong" ways people play Monopoly, which will probably just make you want to break the rules even more than before!

Google's Year In Search 2016

Google's year-end report for 2016 is available online. See what we were looking for in 2016. It wasn't all about the U.S. presidential election, and it wasn't all doom and gloom. But even some is too much.

(YouTube link)

Google has a breakdown of the year's top search terms by category globally and in each country, plus breakout trends by month, subject, or country, and even a map of search terms.

21 Things That Turned 21 in 2016

(YouTube link)

In this week's episode of the mental_floss List Show, John Green tells us about things that were born or developed in 1995. But it's much more fun to call then "things that turned 21 in 2016." No matter; thinking about how things from 1995 are getting "old" will make you feel old, whichever way we refer to them. 1995? Wasn't that just yesterday?

Don't leave your office computer on and unattended

As reported by Vice's Motherboard column:

Next time you go out for lunch and leave your computer unattended at the office, be careful. A new tool makes it almost trivial for criminals to log onto websites as if they were you... the new $5 tool called PoisonTap... can even break into password-protected computers, as long as there’s a browser open in the background...

“It’s entirely automated. You plug it in, you leave it there for a minute, then you pull it out and you walk away,” Kamkar told Motherboard in a phone call. “You don’t even need to know how to do anything.”

Not all hope is lost though. To prevent someone from hijacking your accounts with PoisonTap, the best solution is to “fill your USB ports with cement,” Kamkar says laughing.

People Who Will Say Anything to Win an Argument

People Who Will Say Anything to Win an Argument

Recount Fiascos Reveal the Profoundly Pathetic State of Voting in America

Recount Fiascos Reveal the Profoundly Pathetic State of Voting in America

Professor Who Criticized Dumbass Trump in Hiding After Death Threats

Professor Who Criticized Dumbass Trump in Hiding After Death Threats

Judge Orders Dumbass Trump To Court In Early January

Judge Orders Dumbass Trump To Court In Early January; Dumbass Trump Claims He Can’t Make It

Dumbass Trump can’t seem to stay out of court.

South Carolina Dumbass Trump 'Adviser' Gets Slapped With 30 Counts Of Ethics Violations

South Carolina Dumbass Trump 'Adviser' Gets Slapped With 30 Counts Of Ethics Violations

We can expect a lot more Dumbass Trump lackies to be hit with ethics violations over the next four years.

Wall Street Is Betting Billions on Dumbass Trump's Tweets

Wall Street Is Betting Billions on Dumbass Trump's Tweets

Pessimists – You Aren’t Alone in Feeling Down

Waiting for those tests results? Waiting to hear who won the election? And while waiting, does the feeling of dread start to creep in? Turns out, as the moment of uncertain news draws nearer and … Read more

Air pollution and neighborhood stress appear to harm aging brain

Even with key steps taken to decrease air pollution in recent decades, there are serious health effects connected to auto exhaust and other pollutants in the air we breathe, especially for older adults. Air pollution … Read more

Mystery of super flash solved

When astronomers and astrophysicists observe flashes of light in the dark sky, they assume they have seen a supernova. Possibly a star has burnt up its supply of nuclear fuel and collapsed, throwing off its … Read more

Winds of rubies and sapphires strike the sky of giant planet

Signs of powerful changing winds have been detected on a planet 16 times larger than Earth, over 1000 light years away – the first time ever that weather systems have been found on a gas … Read more

This Husky Thinks a Leaf Pile is the Best Toy of All Time

Many kids know the joy of jumping in a freshly-raked pile of leaves, but their joy is nothing compared to how absolutely thrilled  this husky is to see such a majestic playground made just for him.

(Video Link)

If that pile of leaves was any smaller, Butch would not only have less fun, but he would probably  already make way more of a mess, but because there are so many leaves, it's pretty hard to make much more of a mess.

Animal Pictures