Lucky?

Every year, May 23rd rolls around.

And every year, May 23rd is Lucky Penny Day.

And every year, on May 23rd, I fail to find said Lucky Penny.

This year is no exception.

But, I did find this one back in January. And I'm thinking...

...if this one is truly a Lucky Penny, I'm not sure the luck is exactly on the side of the good 'ol U. S. of A.:

...And It All Started With The Gold Rush, a Tall Tale, and a Really, Really Crappy Road

You may already know that May 13th, 2010 marks the first day of the 82nd annual Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, held annually the third weekend of May. And you may even know that this particular event is tied to Mark Twain's famous story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. But I bet you don't know the story behind the story, which is always the best part, don't you think?

Thar's Gold (an' Stories) in Them Thar Hills
In 1865, when then-unknown Mark Twain visited a tavern in the California mining town of Angels Camp, he heard a tale about Jim Smiley - an unabashed gambler who'd bet on anything, a frog named Dan'l Webster - which was rumored to be able to out-jump any frog alive, and a mysterious stranger - who offered a bet ol' Smiley couldn't refuse. Some folks say the tale is true and certain. Others aren't so sure. And at least one other soul informed Mark Twain that the story he heard that day was nothing more than a several-thousand-year-old Greek fable, recycled.

A Bit of Backstory...
Angels Camp was founded by Henry Angel in 1848. By the height of the Gold Rush in the 1850's, Angels Camp boasted nearly 4,000 gold miners. In those days, Angels Camp was exactly that: a mining town consisting of nothing more than rows of tents flanking narrow dirt roads, which were rutted and muddy from years of wagons and stagecoaches rumbling about. Gradually, though a proper town began to grow up around these humble beginnings, the woefully subpar roads remained unchanged. By 1927, residents had had enough of this bouncing and jouncing travel through and mud and dirt, so they passed a measure to finance a paved main street.

...And the Birth of a Jubilee
In 1928, the Angels Camp Boosters - a community service organization formed in 1925 and still in effect today - wanted to celebrate their smooth achievement. A visiting minister, Reverend Brown, suggested using Twain's by-then-famous Jumping Frog story as the theme of the celebration. The Boosters agreed, and the very first Jumping Frog Jubilee was held May 19-20, 1928, right on the new pavement. Some 15,000 folks attended the festivities, and the very first contest winner was "Pride of San Joaquin," jockeyed by Louis Fisher of Stockton. The winning jump measured 3 feet, 6 inches.

Eighty-two Years and Thousands of Frogs Later...
The Jumping Frog Jubilee has continued each year since, with the only exception being 1933 (on account of the Great Depression). By 1938, the celebration had morphed to such large proportions that it was combined with the Calaveras County Fair, and the festivities were moved from Angels Camp's main street to Calaveras County's fairgrounds. Today, the event has grown to 35,000+ folks attending, and 2,000 or so Frog Jump contestants. Qualifying jumps are held throughout the Jubilee days, with the top 50 frogs/jockeys competing on Sunday for not only bragging rights, but also the coveted grand prize of a bronze plaque installed on the famed Frog Hop of Fame in Angels Camp.

Jumping to Glory
The current world frog jump record (yes, world record - people and their frogs fly in from all over to compete in the Jumping Frog Jubilee) is held by "Rosie the Ribeter," who jumped 21 feet, 5.75 inches in 1986, with the encouragement of jockey Lee Giudici of Santa Clara, CA.

Frog jumping is a fun, but also serious challenge: many of the folks who compete for frog jumping glory are part of family teams spanning three generations of competitors over as many as 50 years. Case in point: this year's contest - with the 2010 theme "Celebrating the Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain!" - finds the Bozo Frog Team vying for an unprecedented 4th consecutive frog jumping victory.

Living Vicariously
Can't make it to this year's festivities? Not to worry. Here are two videos to help you live (at least a little) in the moment.

This one shows snippets of the actual Jumping Frog Jubilee:





This one briefly re-tells the famous Twain tale, gives some insight into life in Gold Rush towns, and illuminates a bit of the Jumping Frog Jubilee competition and the folks who live it:





Finally, if you (like me) just can't get enough of all things jumpy and froggy, check out the sources listed below. And have a very, very happy Jumping Frog Day!

Sources:
Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee
Calaveras County Fair & Jumping Frog Jubilee - Official Site
Frogumentary.com - Home page for a documentary film all about the Jumping Frog Jubilee. Click around - lots of great pages on this site: rules of the contest, location, history...all great stuff. The videos above are snippets from that documentary, titled, Jump.
Frog forecast: Lofty leaps likely if Mother Nature cooperates - ThePineTree.net - A Calaveras County newsletter-type site with brief info about this year's contest, and interesting links to other Twain and frog and jubilee and local news info.

Are You Hairball Aware?

Cat owners will tell you they have more than their share of Hairball Awareness, especially when they unexpectedly "find" said hairball with the bottom of their bare foot. While that is certainly so, I have recently discovered that hairball production is not the sole proprietary domain of cats. And in honor of April 30, 2010 being National Hairball Awareness Day - celebrated (?) on the last Friday in April every year - let me share with you what I have learned.

Not Just for Cats Anymore

That's right. Hairballs are not just cat fancy. Cows get them, too. So do goats and other cud-chewers. (Note to self: remember "cud-chewer" for the next time I need a really good insult.)

People can get hairballs, though it's not common, and we can't expel them as easily as a cat. In fact, we can't expel them at all. Hair cannot be digested or passed by the human gastrointestinal tract, nor can it be vomited up. When a hairball gets large enough to block things up, surgery is often the only way to get it out.

More Than Just Hair

When is a hairball not a hairball? When it's made of something else, of course. Doctors call a mass of stuff that gets stuck in the gut a bezoar (say "BEE-zor"). And each type of bezoar has a specific name. Oh, yes, there are types. Five of 'em:

• Trichobezoar - hairball (Think: what's left in your shower drain after your shower, only bigger. Much, much bigger.)
• Phytobezoar - ball of non-digestable food parts, like celery, grape skins, saurkraut, or gum. (Interestingly, a new medical treatment for this particular bezoar is meeting with some success: ingesting Coca-Cola in a prescribed manner. Yep. It seems the carbonic and phosphoric acids in this popular soft drink can dissolve some phytobezoars, if they're not a serious case.)
• Diospyrobezoar - specialty phytobezoars made of persimmon parts. (I've never eaten a persimmon. Now, I probably never will.)
• Pharmacobezoar - formed from amassed pill capsules
• Lactobezoar - mass of undigested milk, most commonly found in pre-term babies on highly concentrated formula

Middle Ages Snake Oil Salesmen?

Though most of us wrinkle our nose and let out an involuntary "Ewwwww" when we think of hairballs, people haven't always thought they were cringe-worthy. Let's do a bit of connect-the-dots, and you'll see how.

• First dot: the word "bezoar" comes from the Persian word pâdzahr, which means "protection from poison."
• Second dot: The Middle East - which includes what was then known as Persia - introduced 11th century Europe to ground up animal hairballs (a.k.a. bezoars), which were believed to cure poisoning, epilepsy, and the plague. In fact, bezoars remained a popular medicinal remedy right up through the 18th century.
• Third dot: China has used cow bezoars for 2,000+ years, most notably to treat diseases of the mouth. (Is it me, or has China done just about everything well before everyone else? I guess when a culture has been around as long as China's has, they have a lot of "been there, done that" moments.)

So. Bezoars as medicine. If I follow this correctly, stuff is put in the mouth - that may or may not be food - and is swallowed. The may-or-may-not-be-food gets stuck in the gut. This continues until the accumulated may-or-may-not-be-food is compacted and has to be removed from the gut (one way or another). Then, the may-or-may-not-be-food (which is now a bezoar) is dried out, ground up, and put back in a mouth - yours, to be precise. All to make you feel better.

I'll never understand medicine.

And now go forth, secure in the knowledge that - cat owner or no - you are truly Hairball Aware.

Sources:

National Hairball Awareness Day - Educate Your Human (no longer a live site)

Happy Hairball Awareness Day - Popsci.com

National Hairball Awareness Day - Boston.com (no longer a live site)

Note: The source below has interesting information on hairballs, but be aware that there are photos of actual hairballs from both animals and people. At the bottom of the page are three photos of a surgery that show removal of a rather large hairball from a person. Please use discretion before sharing this one with the kiddos, or if you are in any way squeamish.

National Museum of Health and Medicine Online Exhibit: "Hairballs: Myths and Realities behind some Medical Curiosities"

Something to Jump Around About

First, I'm not who you think I am. My name is Sonic, and my mom is letting me be Guest Blogger for today. I like frogs, and April is National Frog Month, so I decided to research frogs. Here is what I found out:


Know Your Frog and Toad
No, no. Not the book! I mean the real things. Did you know all toads are actually frogs, but they do have some ways to tell them apart? You can find frogs everywhere in the world except Antarctica. You can find true toads every place but Australasia, polar regions, Madagascar, and Polynesia. You can also find toads in Australia and some South Pacific Islands, but they aren't there naturally. People brought them there. Frogs tend to lay eggs in clusters, and toads tend to lay eggs in long chains. Frogs have smooth or slimy skin and like wetter places, but toads have dry and warty skin, and prefer dryer places. Frogs have long, webbed hind feet for jumping and swimming, and toads have short hind legs for walking instead of hopping. (I did not know that before!)

Just Frogs
Here's some cool stuff I learned about frogs:

• A frog can change the color of its skin depending on what's around it.
• Frogs can lay up to 4,000 eggs all at one time.
• Frogs have teeth, but only in their upper jaw.
• The African Giant is the biggest frog there is. It can grow up to 26 inches long and weigh up to 10 pounds!
• Bullfrogs can live for 30 years!
• Frogs get their water by absorbing it through their skin, instead of drinking it.
• A group of frogs is called an army.
• Only male frogs can croak.

Ways to Celebrate
I wondered how I could have fun during National Frog Month. I found a few suggestions at a now-gone eHow article named "How to Celebrate National Frog Month":

1. Make a frog pond in your backyard, so you can watch them close up.
2. Learn the life cycle of a frog.
3. Visit a wet place where a frog might like to live, and see if you can find any to watch and listen to.
4. Play leap frog.

You could also visit the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy's National Frog Month blog page. It has a link to a Frogs and Toads crossworld puzzle that you can print and fill in.

I think frogs are cool! I hope you do, too.

Sources:
Frog or Toad?
Cool Frog Facts
Frog Life Cycle - Fun Frog Facts

Hearken! Talk Like Shakespeare Day Approacheth.

Greetings, mistress or sirrah! Allow me to tell thee my name: Eclipse Firebright. Thou canst perchance tell I am not thy regular blogger, and t'would you believe it? I'm not! I am, rather, the belov'd daughter of this blog's most noble usual scribe. So get it through your head, you idle-headed foot-licker! I am guest blogging for Take Thy Daughters and Sons to Work Day, and hark, for there is a reason for my curious (and partially insulting) tongue. April 23rd is Talk Like Shakespeare Day!

Indeed, t'will be Talk Like Shakespeare Day, introduced to the world in 2009 by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in honor of what many historians believe to be the Bard's birthday - April 23rd. Many of you may have seen or read his great works, and noticed the curious dialogue. In fact, Shakespeare is single-handedly responsible for introducing over 2,000 words to the English language!

Want to join the fun? Learn more about this day from the National Day Calendar, and here are a few things to try:

1. Say "thou" or "thee" instead of "you," and "ye" for "y'all".
2. All dudes are sirrahs, girls mistresses, and friends cousin.
3. No longer call tormentors jerks. Try jackanapes, canker-blossoms, and poisonous bunch back'd toads.
4. Don't use "it", only use "t", like 'tis, 'twill, and 'twon't.
5. When in doubt, add "eth."
   
   
   
   

Now that you know how to talk like Shakespeare, you must learn to insult like him. Yes, insult. Ol' Bill and his Elizabethan era buds thought up some pretty potent insults, and enjoyed them immensely. If you want to study up on the insults slung by one of history's biggest meany mouths, try The Encyclopedia of Immaturity, by the Klutz company. Page 169 has a whole do-it-yourself chart of ready made Shakespearean insults. Need a comeback fast? Head on over to Shakespearean Insult Generator, which you can use to get the perfect insult in seconds.

So now, thou hast mastered talking like Shakespeare. Not bad for a spleeny folly-fallen bladder! As the greatest Bard and insulter in history once penned, "All's well that ends well..."

Web Sources:

Talk Like Shakespeare.org (no longer a live site)

Talk Like Shakespeare Day A Complete Guide

St. Louis, Chicago Celebrate Shakepeare's Birthday (no longer a live site)

Book Source:
Title: The Encyclopedia of Immaturity: How to Never Grow Up - The Complete Guide

Authors/Illustrators: The Editors of Klutz

Pages: 412

Reading Level: Ages 8+

Publisher and Date: Klutz, a subsidiary of Scholastic Inc.

Edition: School Market Edition

Language: English

Published In: United States

Price: $19.95

ISBN-10: 1591745438

ISBN-13: 978-1591745433

How Does One Define the Indefinable?

April 9th will soon be upon us. And you know what that will mean...only 6 days left to pony up your taxes. April 9th also happens to be National Cherish an Antique Day. Which begs the question:

When is "antique" status officially attained?

And the answer is:

It depends.

Surely, you weren't expecting a more cut-and-dried result? That hardly ever happens here at Bugs and Bunnies, and besides, where's the fun in only one possibility?

As it turns out, there are several definitions out there for "antique," and which one you use depends on the situation in which you happen to be. ChaCha.com, for instance, answers the question this way:

"Since 1980, the unofficial definition of an antique is anything made before the outbreak of the Second World War."

If that's the case, then technically, both of my grandmas are antiques. While it's true that at least one of them loves any excuse for a party, I'm pretty sure both of them may be a smidge offended to be the guests of honor at a "Cherish an Antique" party. Even if it does have the word "cherish" in it.

You know what, though? I'd still like to throw them that party. I'll figure out what to call it later. For now, we need to delve deeper into this definition-of-antique thing.

On ehow.com, it says that in 1930, the United States legislature defined "antique" as anything older than 100 years. 100 years? That totally leaves my grandmas outta this antique gig. (But not by much...) A bit further on, it says that anything old - that is newer than 100 years - is defined as a "collectible." So, according to this, while my grandmas don't qualify as antiques, they can join Club Collectible.

But a consolation prize isn't really what we're after, so let's keep looking. Besides, "antique" has a much nicer ring to it, don't you think?

Unfortunately, further digging just makes things even murkier. Answerbag.com lists Webster's definition of "antique" as:

"belonging in the past."

How's that for arbitrary? Even so, maybe we can hammer this one out. Let's see: I have one grandma who owns a computer and an email account - and knows how to use both. And my other grandma is totally old-school, relying almost solely on actual, handwritten letters and cards to keep in touch. It seems in this case, then, that only the grandma who's holding on to the past gets to join the Antique Par-Tay.

Well. I'm gonna recuse myself on this one. A granddaughter can't choose between her grandmas. It's unseemly.

Moving on, we have about.com, which defines "antique" thusly:

"a work of art, piece of furniture, or decorative object made at an earlier period, and according to many customs laws, at least 100 years ago."

Well, now. This one just up and slams the door in my grandmas' faces all kinds of ways. My grandmas are not furniture. My grandmas are not objects - decorative or otherwise. And my grandmas are not 100. (Yet.)

Oh! Hey! Possible loophole: Sometimes, my grandmas wear flowery blouses or hats, or jewelry. Donning any of those could designate the wearer as "a work of art," couldn't it? This might be the one, I think. I mean, nobody wants to be a Grandma Basher, now, do they?

Oh, all right. That may be a teensy bit of a stretch. But I really wanna throw my grandmas a party on National Cherish an Antique Day. Luckily, I have one last option to check out. A quick Google search for "definition of antique" brings up a whole page of definitions. This one caught my eye:

"...any piece of furniture or decorative object or the like produced in a former period and valuable because of its beauty or rarity."

Hmmm. Produced in a former period and valuable because of its beauty or rarity. This could work. My grandmas are both women of, shall we say, a very certain age. My grandmas are both just lovely, inside and out. Plus, they're the only two women in the entire world whom I can call "Grandma." That, my friends, makes them not only rare, but also much more valuable than any old antique.

And I cherish them both.

A Word (or Several) about the Wee Folk Known As Leprechauns

With St. Patrick's Day now upon us, the spotlight is firmly aimed at those mischievous wee folk: the leprechauns. Well, it would be, if they were easy to spot. And to have any hope of spotting them, you have to know where to start looking.

There are two schools of thought regarding the leprechauns' whereabouts: those who believe they're global inhabitants, and those who believe they can only be found on the Emerald Isle itself. (There is also the ever-present skeptical school of thought that refutes the leprechauns' existence entirely. Since I'm not One of Them, let's just ignore that school, shall we?)

Regardless of location, leprechauns are known to be wily, quick-witted, solitary, and none too pleasant. So why would you want to find a leprechaun? Well, legend has it that these Irish fairies are the self-appointed guardians of ancient treasure left behind by Viking raiders who marauded through Ireland eleven centuries ago. To find that well-hidden treasure, you first have to find a leprechaun. No easy feat, that, but rumor has it that you may be able to do it by listening for the sound of his cobbler's hammer.

If you manage to catch one, keep your eyes glued to the little man. Courtesy and fairy law binds the leprechaun to tell the truth, but only as long as his captor adheres to courtesy, as well: looking the leprechaun straight in the eye, and never looking away. If his captor looks away, even for a fraction of a second, the leprechaun is freed from any obligation, and will vanish.

If you manage to maintain eye contact, there's another wrinkle: though the leprechaun is honor-bound to tell the truth, he has no restrictions against trickery whatsoever. You must have a sharp mind to be able to match wits with a leprechaun if you hope to even get a glimpse of his gold, let alone get your hands on it.

Good luck!

Since not all leprechaun searchers are treasure hunters of the monetary type, here are some offerings for treasure hunters of the cerebral type:

Ireland's County Tipperary is home to a famous fairy ring, where it is said that leprechauns have been seen for centuries. It's near the town of Thurles, in a meadow known as the Glen of Cloongallon, on the ancestral family farm of the Coogans. The ring is an enormous dark green circle roughly 500 feet across. In the center stands six ancient stones "taller than a man," topped by a capstone even larger.

On the edge of this ring stands an oak tree believed to be over six centuries old. Legend says the leprechauns, who enjoyed its shade, saved this tree at a time when Irish oaks were being cut down in order to build the navies of England's King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth.

If you'd love to see the wee folk in their native land, but can't make the trip in person, point your browser to IrelandsEye Leprechaun Watch, where you can actually see the fairy ring via a live webcam hidden in that 600-year-old oak, and maybe even spot a leprechaun with your very own eyes, all without ever leaving your living room. Note that Ireland is five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so to see anything, you'll need to view the webcam during Ireland's daylight hours. If you see any leprechauns, there is a link on the page to report what you saw, as well as read about what others have spotted. And if your visit comes during Ireland's nighttime hours, never fear. You can click over to a page where you can view a panoramic video of the whole fairy ring area, to see what it looks like during the day. Click around the rest of the site, too, and find all kinds of info about leprechauns and Ireland's other fairy folk, and even download an official Leprechaun Watch certificate to commemorate your virtual visit. Very cool.

For those lucky enough to actually be in Ireland, as either citizen or tourist, you can learn all about leprechauns by visiting the brand new, first-of-its-kind-anywhere-in-the-world National Leprechaun Museum. It just opened on March 10, 2010, in the heart of Dublin, Ireland. Visitors will learn all about leprechauns, their folklore, and their place in history, as they go through the museum's guided tour of 12 rooms that - via optical and physical illusion - shrink them down to leprechaun size to experience life from the leprechaun's perspective. Says the museum's designer/director Tom O'Rahilly, via interview in ArtDaily.org:

"Irish culture is famous the world over - even Walt Disney came to Ireland to look for leprechauns. However, not may people know the real stories behind the country's folklore. We want to give visitors an experience to remember, taking them to the heart of Irish identity and imagination, telling the amazing tales that make up Celtic culture and offering some surprises and new experiences along the way."

And for those who just need something silly on St. Paddy's Day, I leave you with these: discover what your leprechaun name is by visiting The Learning Station, but before you leave me, be sure to watch this very sweet three-year-old's giggle-worthy take on leprechauns:

However you choose to spend the day, whether searching for leprechauns, visiting museums, or sharing a laugh, I wish you a very happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sources:
How to Catch a Leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day (no longer a live site, but was a fun resource)
National Leprechaun Museum

Leprechauns - the facts (no longer a live site, but was a fun resource)
History of Shamrock, Leprechaun, and the Blarney Stone

IrelandsEye.com - The Leprechaun