The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of  
Carolina Naturally

The 18th Xmas Tree ...! 

 

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Today in HIstory

1118		Afonso the Battler, the King of Aragon captures Saragossa, Spain, causing a major blow to Muslim Spain.
1812		Napoleon Bonaparte arrives in Paris after his disastrous campaign in Russia.
1862		Nathan Bedford Forrest engages and defeats a Federal cavalry force near Lexington in his continued effort to disrupt supply lines.
1862		Union General Ulysses S. Grant announces the organization of his army in the West. Sherman, Hurlbut, McPherson, and McClernand are to be corps commanders.
1865		Slavery is abolished in the United States. The 13th Amendment is formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution, ensuring that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude… shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
1915		In a single night, about 20,000 Australian and New Zealand troops withdraw from Gallipoli, Turkey, undetected by the Turks defending the peninsula.
1916		The Battle of Verdun ends with the French and Germans each having suffered more than 330,000 killed and wounded in 10 months. It was the longest engagement of World War I.
1925		Soviet leaders Lev Kamenev and Grigori Zinoviev break with Joseph Stalin.
1940		Adolf Hitler issues his secret plans for the invasion of the Soviet Union–Operation Barbarossa.
1941		Defended by 610 fighting men, the American-held island of Guam falls to more than 5,000 Japanese invaders in a three-hour battle.
1941		Japan invades Hong Kong.
1942		Adolf Hitler meets with Benito Mussolini and Pierre Laval.
1944		Japanese forces are repelled from northern Burma by British troops.
1951		North Koreans give the United Nations a list of 3,100 POWs.
1956		Japan is admitted to the United Nations.
1960		A rightist government is installed under Prince Boun Oum in Laos as the United States resumes arms shipments.
1965		U.S. Marines attack VC units in the Que Son Valley during Operation Harvest Moon.
1970		An atomic leak in Nevada forces hundreds of citizens to flee the test site.
1972		Nixon declares that the bombing of North Vietnam will continue until an accord can be reached (Operation Linebacker II).
1989		The European Economic Community and the Soviet Union sign an agreement on trade and economic communication.
2002		California Gov. Gray Davis announces the state faces a record budget deficit; the looming $35 billion shortfall is almost double the amount reported a month earlier during the state’s gubernatorial campaign.
2005		Civil war begins in Chad with a rebel assault on Adre; the rebels are believed to be backed by Chad’s neighbor, Sudan.
2008		United Arab Emirates holds it first-ever elections.
2010		In an opening act of Arab Spring, anti-government protests erupt in Tunisia.

Here are 5 reasons Jesus never existed

Here are 5 reasons Jesus never existed

Most antiquities scholars know that the new testament gospels are “mythologized history.”

Nothing Says Xmas like Aluminum

When I was a kid, I loved the fresh Xmas trees my parents put up, but I also wished that we could have a lovely space-age aluminum tree like the one my grandparents used, all nice and shiny, illuminated with a rotating light disc. It's one of the Xmas traditions that seem ancient now, but only began after World War II. Sarah Archer is the author of a new book, Mid-Century Xmas: Holiday Fads, Fancies, and Fun from 1945 to 1970. She explains where those those aluminum trees came from.

The company that produced the most aluminum for the war effort was Alcoa, but there were also some smaller companies, too, many of which were based in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, of all places, which was one of the big aluminum capitals of North America. Like a lot of mid-century Xmas items, including the acrylic rubber that coats Xmas lights cords, aluminum trees came from thinking about re-purposing a material produced for the military. The aluminum strips that were used to make the trees were originally designed for something called chaff, which was sprinkled over enemy territories to scramble radar because the little pieces of metal would diffuse the signal.
Many 1950s aluminum tree producers used Alcoa branding. The exterior of the box would say, “We proudly use Alcoa aluminum.” You could put ornaments on these trees, but one of the challenges of decorating them was not getting electrocuted, which was mentioned prominently in the how-to pamphlet that came with the tree. Because it was not safe to put electric lights on the metal, the companies distributing the trees would sell a rotating lamp that would shine different-colored lights on the tree to bathe it in magenta or purple.

That's not the only Xmas tradition that arose from the postwar Cold War era. Read about how our modern Xmas celebrations were shaped at Collectors Weekly.

Harvesting One Million Xmas Trees

Holiday Tree Farms in Corvallis, Oregon, ships a million fresh Christmas trees every year. All that harvesting takes place over only six weeks, and they must be shipped fast, which requires chainsaws, trucks, and helicopters.

(YouTube link)

Cut Christmas trees are more eco-friendly than artificial trees, but that doesn't mean you should throw out the artificial tree you already have. Throwing them out is a big part of the problem. But a real tree can be re-used, recycled, or composted, and there are more planted specifically for Christmas every year. -

World's smallest radio is the size of 2 atoms

World's smallest radio is the size of 2 atoms

10 Celebrity Airbnbs You’ll Want to Rent if You Can

Why would a celebrity rent out their home on Airbnb? Well, even if you're not desperate for money, you can't live in more than one house at a time, and extra houses can benefit by someone staying there occasionally. Most of these homes are available because the celebrity no longer owns them, some because they are deceased, like Orson Welles.

Not only was this gorgeous estate owned by Orson Welles, but it has also played host a wide array of celebrities, including David Bowie, Rita Hayworth, and Barbra Streisand. Today, you can rent the 3,000 sq. ft. home with 4 bedrooms/ 3 bathrooms and its 15,000 sq. ft. outdoor space for $595 per night, along with a $395 cleaning fee. While the home’s interior, including boutique bedrooms and spa-like bathrooms, is nothing short of spectacular, the outdoor space, which includes a lagoon pool with Jacuzzi and huge outdoor deck that overlooks Hollywood, is mesmerizing.

Nine other available celebrity Airbnbs are featured today, from simple childhood homes to a Caribbean island, at Housely.

94-year-old Texas oil heiress has spent the last 40 years giving away 75 percent of her wealth

This 94-year-old Texas oil heiress has spent the last 40 years giving away 75 percent of her wealth

Anne Frank may not have been betrayed and handed over to the Nazis

Anne Frank may not have been betrayed and handed over to the Nazis

A new study published Friday by the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam reveals that the teen may not have been sold out to the Nazis as once was previously thought.

Abortion Isn't Linked With Mental Illness

Abortion Isn't Linked With Mental Illness, Study Shows—but Being Denied One Might Be

Not Just North Dakota

Not Just North Dakota: Here Are 10 More States Where Activists Are Fighting Pipeline Projects

4 Signs You May Have Lost Your Will to Fight the Coming Tyranny of Dumbass Trump

Robert Reich: 4 Signs You May Have Lost Your Will to Fight the Coming Tyranny of Dumbass Trump

100 CEOs Have as Much Retirement Wealth as 41% of American Families

100 CEOs Have as Much Retirement Wealth as 41% of American Families

The Fakeness Of The Wingnuts' War On Fake-News Monitoring

I'm a little late getting to the story of Facebook's attempt to control fake news, but I see the wingnuts going all in on showy expressions of phony outrage that are clearly meant to set the terms of the debate over what Facebook is doing.

Princeton U. Men's Swim Team Suspended Over Racist, Vulgar Messages

The Princeton University men's swimming and diving team's season has been suspended after racist, vulgar and misogynistic messages were discovered on a university-sponsored electronic mailing list for the team.

‘Keep them in diapers’

‘Keep them in diapers’: Leaked audio allegedly reveals Michigan mayor cruelly mocking disabled people

Fetish shop workers chase off armed robber with sex toys

‘Really? I don’t have time for this’: Fetish shop workers chase off armed robber with sex toys

An armed robber in San Bernardino, California got more than he bargained for when he attempted to hold up the workers at Lotions and Lace ...

Bank Robber Left Plenty of Evidence

On Monday, a man walked into a bank in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and presented a robbery note to the teller. It said he was armed and demanded money. He left with several thousand dollars. But police were able to catch up with him.

• He had taken a cab to and from the robbery, and the taxi driver identified him from a photograph.  
• He left a gym bag with $2,700 in the cab. The bag has a tag with his name on it.
• He also left the sweatshirt he had been wearing, as identified by the teller.
• And his wallet, containing his ID.
• Also his discharge papers from a drug-and-alcohol rehab center, with a piece torn off that matched the note he gave to the teller.  

On Tuesday, police arrested 25-year-old Jamal Goodwin of Philadelphia, who was found with heroin, cocaine, and about $1,000 on him. Robbery and theft were only the beginning of charges lodged against him.

Scientists discover six new marine species hiding beneath the Indian Ocean

Scientists discover six new marine species hiding beneath the Indian Ocean

Animal Pictures