Fun Facts

1. If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.


2. Cats sleep 16 to 18 hours a day.


3. When you die, your hair still grows for a couple of months.


4. Mario, of Super Mario Bros. fame, appeared in the 1981 arcade game, Donkey Kong. His original name was Jumpman, but was changed to honor the Nintendo of America's landlord, Mario Segali.


5. If you have enough water to fill a million goldfish bowls, you have enough to fill an entire stadium.


6. Ben & Jerry's send the waste from making ice cream to a local pig farm, because the pigs love the stuff.

7. The average person has over 1,460 dreams per year.


8. Owls are the only birds that cannot see the color blue.

9. Shakespeare spelled his name many different ways.

10.'Q' is the only letter of the alphabet that does not appear in the name of any of the 50 American States.


Sources: http://www.begent.org/funfact.htm
              http://www.sotruefacts.com/

This Day in History...

Good Afternoon Students, this is Dr. Cooper. Today is a Friday and I greatly enjoy Fridays, so I will be sharing some interesting historical facts of no importance. Every day is full of historical events, including November 8th. Here are some things you might not know happened on November 8th...

• 1889- Montana becomes a state.
• 1895- Scientists discover the X-ray
• 1917- Lenin, Stalin, and Trostky become the rulers of Russia/Soviet Union.
• 1923- Hitler attempts to take over Germany by holding three officials hostage in a beer hall...he is arrested the next day.
• 1942- American and British forces invade Northern Africa as part of Operation Torch.
• 1960- John F. Kennedy is elected President.
• 1965- Great Britain abolishes the death penatly.

November 8th Birthdays:

• Bram Stoker, author of Dracula. (1847)
  
• A bunch of people on Wikipedia that I've never heard of.

November 8th Deathdays:

•  Two popes with complicated names that both  begin with A. (618 & 995)
• John Milton, English poet. (1674)
• Norman Rockwell, some painter guy. (1978)
• Who am I kidding? You don't know these people...

November 8th Holidays:

• World Radiography Day
• World Urbanism Day  

 OK so maybe nothing extremely....cool happened on November 8th. But hey, I don't make the calender.
I am feverishly at work writing new, exciting, and informative articles for our school newspaper. Be sure to check them out when they arrive! Also, I have nine raffle tickets for an iPad Mini in case anyone wants to buy some. So please do your patriotic duty and purchase a raffle ticket for $5....Thank you.
Oh and by the way, come back next week to see my historical article about the 1970 Oregon Exploding Whale Incident...

Sources:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_8 
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Pictures: http://www.123rf.com/photo_15385596_shape-3d-of-montana-map-with-flag-isolated-on-white-background.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy
 http://www.fakecard.com/pokedex/pokemon/164.shtml

Its Almost Here!

Everyone knows the general idea of how thanksgiving came to be. We all know about the pilgrims and the Mayflower and about how the Wampanoag Indians helped them survive. And we all know, of course, about how they all shared the first Thanksgiving feast together and how it has been celebrated ever since.


(Photo courtesy of
 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Ask-an-Expert-What-was-on-the-menu-at-the-first-Thanksgiving.html)



Thanksgiving, however, was not given an official date until 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it to be held each November (http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving). That's more than 200 years!

Here are some other fun facts about the holiday (http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/videos#bet-you-didnt-know-thanksgiving).

1.) Since 1989 each president has pardoned a turkey for Thanksgiving, allowing it to live through the holiday.

(Photo Courtesy of
http://www.sogoodblog.com/2007/11/21/pardoned-turkeys-were-going-to-disney-world/)

2.) The Pilgrims almost had to have had venison on the first Thanksgiving, but turkey is actually unlikely.

(Photo courtesy of
http://www.nndb.com/people/913/000101610/)

3.) Sara Josepha Hale, who also is likely to have written Mary Had A Little Lamb, campaigned for the holiday until Abraham Lincoln made it an official holiday.

Another fun fact includes this (http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/videos#history-of-the-thanksgiving-holiday).

 4.) The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924.

Questions on everyone's mind?

Lately, I have been wondering things that maybe you have been wondering as well. I will post them, and if you have answers please leave them in the comments! Also, any questions you may have leave in the comments too!

http://www.nndb.com/people/192/000026114/matt-leblanc-2-sized.jpg

• Did we ever stop #Kony2012? I watched the very long video and whatnot, but this issue did not carry on to #Kony2013. 
• What happened to Matt LeBlanc? Better known as Joey Tribbiani from Friends, where has he been? Jennifer Aniston is making it big for herself,  Courteney Cox is making terrible movies, Matthew Perry has his own TV show, and I don't even know about David Schwimmer anymore. 
• When are people going to move on from the '90s? So you're a '90s kid, and that's good because so is everyone else in high school this year.
• How do the kids in Home Alone's parents forget him so often? I understand maybe leaving your kids home alone, but Home Alone for four sequels? That's a bit ridiculous. 
• Do blondes really have more fun? Not a question I find myself asking, just trying to end a stereotype with this one. 
• Do #1 pencils even exist? Has anyone honestly ever used a #1 pencil? 
• Why can't women put on mascara with their mouth closed? Being a woman myself, I find this task quite difficult... 
• Who was the first person to think to milk a cow, and what was going through his/her mind? See these dangling things coming from Bessie? I'm gonna go squeeze them and see what comes out. 
• Why do fast food drive-thru places never give you enough sauces? Say you're at Taco Bell, and you order three tacos. You ask for mild sauce, and the employee only puts two sauces in your bag. The math is simple, if three tacos have been ordered, three sauces were expected!

http://www.jacquettetimmons.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/questions-March2012.jpg

I'm not saying that these questions run through the mind often, I'm just saying that they should be answered.

sources:  http://www.imdb.com/find?q=Home+Alone&s=all

http://random06.tripod.com/id33.html

No Shave November

No need to waste time shaving anymore! Grow the thickest, blackest beard you can for the entire month of November in celebration of No Shave November.

Below is a brief history courtesy of: http://noshavenovember.weebly.com/history.html

     No one really knows the history and other traditions associated with No-Shave November. For this reason, a massive research effort was put forth by Fool's Gold employees, carnival workers, ZZ Top, the Amish community and fictitious character Grizzly Adams. The following is the result of months of in-depth research, stubble, five o'clock shadows, and enough ingrown hairs to upset a Yak.

     The first documented beard was found on cave drawings, located in the fertile crescent of the modern day Middle East. Apparently during these dark times, there were few razors and none with four blades and a conditioning strip. If a man wanted to shave his beard, he would visit the nearest village dentist and borrow "the beard sword," which traditionally was a four foot long rusty blade.

     From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, November beards were common because the extra facial hair was believed to ward off evil spirits, invading foreigners, and the plague. Men were still forced to shave during the remaining 14 months to impress the fair maiden of his dreams. If a man rescued a fair maiden she would give her hand in marriage if he looked "kissably soft."

     These trends turned tradition continued through the discovery and foundation of America until the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln worked to pass laws officially recognizing No-Shave November; however he was never successful. His famous Gettysburg Address given in November of 1863, was originally titled "The Gettysbeard Address" and was supposed to encourage all men to grow beards that were fuller and hairier than the beards of the Confederacy. General Ambrose Burnside was given his rank simply because he had what Lincoln called "a bada** beard."

   In recent years, men everywhere have taken up the November past time of beard growing. In the early 1970's, students rebelled against Nixon's clean shaven policies. In the 1990's, Grunge music and fashion furthered No-Shave November. So far, the twenty-first century has advanced the tradition beyond the back woods and local pub.(The Oredigger.No-Shave November.)

Macy's Day Parade

       Macy's Day Parade is just 29 days away. 

The 87th Anniversary Thanksgiving Parade returns to kick off the with its giant balloons, floats of fancy, marching bands, performance groups and of course Santa Claus. Parade starts at 9:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day and last until 12 p.m. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will step-off at 77th Street and Central Park West. The procession will travel down to Columbus Circle, turn onto Central Park South and march down a new path via 6th Avenue/Avenue of the Americas to 34th Street. At 34th Street, the Parade will make its final turn west and end in front of Macy’s Herald Square. A Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere, the motto of the Macy’s parade has stood for 86 years and will continue to usher in the season of joy for years to come. More than 44 million people watch the parade on television each year. It was first televised locally in 1939 as an experimental broadcast.

http://cititour.com/NYC_Events/Macys-Thanksgiving-Day-Parade-2013/7564

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy's_Thanksgiving_Day_Parade

http://www.examiner.com/article/macy-s-87th-annual-thanksgiving-day-parade-2013-information

Dr. Cooper: Why Pokemon X and Y is Inadequate

Good Afternoon students, this is Dr. Cooper. Halloween is just around the corner, but a History-Of-Halloween post just didn't seem appealing to me, so I am writing an OP-ed instead.
As all of you are surely aware by now, Pokemon X and Y were released this month for 3DS, Nintendo's newest console (which received tepid reviews). Reception, surprisingly, has been overwhelming positive.
Fans are calling it the greatest Pokemon game ever...except me. As a lover of History and Tradition, I do not like major change. This year has been filled with many changes from the (temporary) disappearance of Twinkies, to my favorite SNL actors leaving, to the recent elimination of the McDonald's Dollar Menu. But Pokemon is where I draw the line. Being a person who was an elementary school kid during the age of the Gameboy Advance (and later the original Nintendo DS), I grew up with Pokemon. Though they underwent many changes during the transition to DS from Gameboy, I still loved them. I stopped after Platinum, however, because I felt it was becoming too much. To this day I'm still implementing a one-man boycott of Black and White. When rumors for X and Y started swirling on the Internet, I of course wanted to see what new "improvements" had been made to the franchise. I was not pleased with these "improvements" and here is why.

The Graphics

Pokemon is well known, even defined, for having classic 2D sprites in every generation, defying the 3D transformations of other Nintendo stars like Mario and Zelda. But now in these new games, the entire format has been changed to 3D graphics. Everything looks completely different.While 3D graphics work well for other games, they are not fit for the 2D world of the Pokemon franchise. You've basically just made an entire new game. While Nintendo probably did this to increase sales and popularity for the 3DS, it is a sad, sad break from tradition.

More Pokemon

X and Y introduces roughly seventy or so new Pokemon. While this isn't nearly as bad as the 156 that were made for Black and White, it's still bad. There are now over 700 different Pokemon, making it difficult for even the most hardcore player to remember all of them, not to mention all the types and moves. Sure, variety is good, but there has to be a stopping point eventually. I was OK with Generation III Pokemon, and even Generation IV, but it has simply gone too far now. We must remember, Pokemon is still a children's game. How can you expect children to know the names of 700 individual Pokemon? Plus if they can, then why can't they remember the names of every president or every element?...


Battles

With more and more stuff to do in X and Y, there's less emphasis on the main component of Pokemon- battling. Now you can play with your Pokemon, feed them, groom them, ride them, make videos or pictures, and go on unimportant side quests...all of which detract from the original objective of training and fighting with your Pokemon. Sigh...

Mega Evolutions

The amazing Mewtwo...forever ruined.

What I dislike most about Generation VI....Mega-evolutions. A new ability has been introduced, which allows certain Pokemon, under certain conditions, to "Mega-Evolve" and temporary change form for one battle. Basically a ripoff of Digimon. I don't like Digimon. Many Pokemon have been revealed to have Mega-Evolution forms, some even have two. For the life of me I simply don't see the point of it. Pokemon are assumed to be the equivalent of animals, so how can holding an item turn them into some freaky monster Power Ranger-wannabe form? It's supposed to make the Pokemon stronger in battles, but that's what normal evolutions are for. Plus it gives an unfair disadvantage to the opposing trainer if they don't have a Mega-Pokemon. Also, some Pokemon just simply weren't meant to evolve. My most hated addition? Mega-Mewtwo. Mewtwo was already epic to start with, not to mention being a legendary Pokemon. Why evolve him?

My reaction to Mega-Mewtwo...

So there you have it, my opinion of X and Y....Undoubtedly 97% of all Pokemon fans will love these new games. But not me. The one positive outlook on this is that Pokemon will not be going away anytime soon. As I look back, I realize that Pokemon has gone on to the next generation, and must adapt to meet their new tastes. I'm not happy with it, but I understand their reasoning. So good luck Nintendo. Live long and prosper.

Sources: http://www.pokemonxy.com/en-us/root/
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_X_and_Y

Pictures:   http://www.gengame.net/2013/01/why-pokemon-needs-to-be-3d/
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/10/the-2ds-pokemon-x-and-y-and-nintendos-wavering-commitment-to-stereoscopic-3d/
http://inside.anime-expo.org/games/2013-06/pokemon-xy-vs-pokemon-yellow-2d-or-3d/
http://minterc93658.wordpress.com/page/10/
 http://www.3dstination.com/pokemon-x-y-meet-mega-charizard-y/
http://pokemmo.wikia.com/wiki/File:Mega_mewtwo.png
  http://www.gifbay.com/gif/just_found_out_the_government_shutdown_means_no_panda_cam-89309/