Saturday, January 15, 2011

The 2nd Post

I'm back already! So much to share with you all.

I was asked by the family to recount the story of why I added this fact to my last post:
5) Many people believe that food items cooked with liquor will be non-alcoholic, because alcohol's low boiling point causes it to evaporate. However, a study found that much of the alcohol remains: 25% after 1 hour of baking or simmering, and 10% after 2 hours.
The reason is that when I was younger (I think in 4th or 5th grade) I went to a Christmas party at my aunt's house. They had this delicious chips and dip combo, and I was munching away at it - until my brother-in-law, Mike, told me it was beer cheese dip. This caused me to burst out crying, thinking I had something with alcohol in it that I wasn't supposed to have. (I keep wondering if I was in a health unit at school or something - who knows.) Pretty sure this happened again when I learned why my slice of tiramisu was so soggy.

Needless to say, it is still a fun joke in the family for whenever we have a meal that you cook with some sort of alcohol. "Now don't worry Kayla - you won't get drunk from the tequila chicken!"


Back to the list now!

Lucretia, Rembrandt 1666 (At the Minneapolis Art Institute)
It is even better in person.
1) This is my favorite painting - probably of all time - not just for the amazing beauty and artistic skill it must have taken to create, but for the story.
This story is romanticized, but I want you all to know there is some fact to this. Historians have found that a woman, named Lucretia, was involved in an incident like this, which led to the revolution and the eventual overthrow of the Roman monarchy.
Lucretia was the wife of a distinguished man of Rome, as well as a daughter of a well bred family. She was very true to her husband and loved him with all her heart. When her husband was off at war, she hosted the current king of Rome and his son at her house.
At the bar that night, the king and his son quarreled over the values of wives and if they were true. The king decided to place a bet by visiting Lucretia to see what she was doing - the king won the bet, for Lucretia was found weaving with her ladies.
The following night, the king's son snuck into her bedchamber, and gave her two options: to sleep with him and become his queen some day, or to be killed along with one of her servants and live in shame after he told her husband he found her having adulterous sex. Lucretia, fearing what her husband would think, slept with the king's son.
The next day (this is what the picture depicts) Lucretia stabbed herself in the stomach and called her father and brother up to her chamber. While she lay dying she explained why she did this to herself, and to tell her husband she loved him. With her last breath, she proclaimed: "Pledge me your solemn word that the adulterer shall not go unpunished."
It is said that this rage against the prince's actions led to the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, and the installation of the Roman Republic.

Isn't that such a haunting picture now that you know the sad story?

2) 

This is SO COOL. This history teacher makes all sorts of music videos to modern music, with lyrics about important historical events! This is the French revolution video, to the tune "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga. I had to show this because in my American history class, one of our main focuses is how to teach history in a cool new way. Um - this is COOL. If you like it, she has some other great videos, including "Black Death", to the tune of "Hollaback Girl" and "Mary, Queen of Scots" to the tune "Jenny from the Block".

3) While Plato is considered one of the preferred philosophers for the Catholic Church, I am convinced none of the Catholics actually read his works. What few people choose to not realize in his works is when he refers to a lover, he is speaking of a younger boy (Hmm, I think the Church has something against that!) In ancient Greece, homosexuality was a common act, that was actually recommended and embraced. In tradition, an older man would take a younger boy to "teach him the ways of the world" - now, not JUST sexually. They were also usually apprentices and educated by these older men. But sex was apart of it - and in some of Plato's writings on beauty and love, he refers to this union between two men as something much more pure and lovely than just a human seed in a woman's belly.
Take that, church.

I'm sorry, you will have to speak into my good ear. It is in my pocket.
4) Vincent Van Gogh (the artist who cut off his ear, for those who don't remember!) suffered from epilepsy and manic depression. For his 'medication' Van Gogh relied on absinthe, but the toxin in it actually worsened his epilepsy more than if he went unmedicated. 


5) Johnny Carson once caused a near month long toilet paper shortage in the U.S. in December of 1973.  During his show, he said, “You know what’s disappearing from the supermarket shelves? Toilet paper… There’s an acute shortage of toilet paper in the United States.” Americans promptly went out and bought up every piece of toilet paper they could find. Supermarkets tried to ration it, but to no avail. By noon the next day, pretty much all the nation’s supermarkets were sold out.
After several days of toilet paper shortages due to this hysteria, Carson went on the air to try to explain it had been a joke and apologized. But because the shelves were almost always empty of toilet paper at this time, whenever some would come in, people would buy it all and hoard it. This toilet paper shortage lasted a full three weeks.

I'll be back with more random knowledge soon. :]


Remember, if you need a cheat for remembering artists, this is awesome.
(I hate to say this, but I actually think of this picture in my college art class)

4 comments:

  1. Haha, I already knew about the Johnny Carson story. Pretty funny :]

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  2. Love the video---someday I can imagine you being in costume teaching your class--you obviously will know how to keep your kid's attention! Love the story of Lucretia too!

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  3. You go girl! My side aches from laughing so hard. Great blog! I already have a short cut on my desk top so I can get my daily dose of Kayla humor and insight.

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  4. How exactly does one live in shame after being killed?

    Tehe. Just kidding, I enjoy your blog almost as much as I enjoy being nitpicky!

    -Jessalee

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