I Don't Wanna Grow Up, I'm a Toys "R" Kid!

Nothing exudes nostalgia quite like Toys "R" Us.  I'm an adult now, but every time I walk into my local store I am instantly hit with a wave of memories.  The individual toys themselves have changed, but there are still Star Wars actions figures, Lego sets and of course, Pokemon cards.  It's amazing to me that many of the brands of toys I loved as a kid are still going strong.

Star Trek's Most Resiliant Redshirt: James Doohan

Paramount Pictures

Any fan of the original Star Trek knows that the minute a crewman wearing a red shirt is tasked with accompanying an away team to the surface of planet, somebody is about to die.  It was so common for "redshirts" to buy the farm it has since becoming a running joke.

Harry Potter and the Bizarre Bezoar

Warner Bros. Studio

Any wizard or witch worth his or her weight their salt knows that if their friend has just been poisoned by a potion the best thing in the world you can do for them is to shove a bezoar down their throat.  For heaven's sake even first years at the world-renowned Hogwarts School of Witchcraft of Wizardry know that.  Of course, the only reason that I, as a non-magical person (muggle) know this is thanks to J.K. Rowling's fascinating seven-part biography of one of the Wizarding World's most honored figures, Harry Potter.

Popcorn!

No film can be properly enjoyed in the theater without a nice, cold Coke and a large bucket tub of butter-drenched, artery-clogging popcorn.  Indeed, if you are like me you cannot imagine going to the movies without having popcorn to munch on.

Magikarpe Diem! (The Origins of Pokemon's Magikarp)

This wriggling mass of derp is Magikarp, Pokemon's ultimate useless Pokemon.  The only attack it was capable of learning the original games was "Splash", which was a completely useless move.  Actually, "Splash" was an erroneous translation of the Japanese word for "Hop" but that is neither here nor there.  Of course anybody who knows anything about Pokemon also knows that Magikarp eventually becomes this mass of epicness:

PlayStation: The Bastard Child of Nintendo and Sony

It's definitely up for debate, but I think it's safe to say that most people feel the SNES produced higher fidelity sounds than its main competition, the Sega Genesis.  That's because the SNES has a Sony sound chip in it.  Developed by Ken Kutaragi in secret due to the fact that Sony had zero desire to do anything related to video games, the chips success softened Sony executives enough to consider developing a CD-ROM add-on for the Super Nintendo called the Play Station.

3D is How Old?!

For the last few years Hollywood has desperately been trying to convince audiences that viewing movies in 3D is the ultimate way to experience a director's vision.  Personally, I think all 3D is good for is viewing movies through lenses that make everything darker and give me a headache, but that's just me.

Charles Wheatstone, the father of 3D...in 3D!

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

Whether you eat it plain, with character pasta or with some sweet, juicy bits of hot dog, I'm willing to bet that if you are reading this post you have eaten a fair bit of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.   This cheap meal has fed millions of economically conscientious (read poor) college students.  I have eaten more than my fair share of the neon orange pasta dish in my lifetime.  Truly we owe a debt that cannot be repaid to the man who brought this dish over to America.  Turns out every Louisianan has this man to thank for their being citizens of the United States as well.

America's Special World War II Tanks

Insignia for the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops

Imagine you are a German scout in the Rhine River Valley during waning days of World War II.  Your mission is to gather reconnaissance on an Allied unit near your unit.  As you sneak up on the camp you see a massive convoy of trucks and tanks in the distance.  You briefly question why the large convoy is so poorly camouflaged, but more importantly you realize your unit is in serious trouble, as they have no idea how much fire power the Allies have in the region. You hurry back to your unit to tell them you need to retreat in the face of such power.

The Flat Earth Myth is a Load of Crap

It is pretty common knowledge that, during the Dark Ages the prevailing belief was that the Earth was flat, and that if you took your ship too far you would fall off the edge into the abyss.  This was the prevalent belief because religion repressed any attempt to learn anything, because after all, if you know God created the universe what else matters?  Those poor surfs were duped by the oppressive governments and religious powers who championed myth and legend as viable explanations for how the nature of the universe, lest the common man become empowered by knowledge.  Thank heavens we live in a time when we don't have to take bullcrap at face value!

What do the Grinch and Tony the Tiger Have in Common?

Tony the Tiger is one of cereal's most recognizable mascots.  With an instantly memorable catch-phrase and an awesome personality, who wouldn't fall in love with the feline advocate of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes?

North Korea's Crazy Fake City

Kijong-dong is a North Korean city nestled in the demilitarized zone that lies between North and South Korea.   It is a farming community with a population of around 200 people, and it is the shining paragon of how wonderful modern life in North Korea is.  Except, there is nobody who actually lives in this city.

Why Red White and Blue?

With it being close to the Fourth of July, I thought I would show my patriotism by doing a little fun fact about the symbol of our nation, Old Glory.  Today I'm going to look at why the flag is red, white and blue and what the colors symbolize.

At first glance its easy to see why a young United States would pick the color scheme it did for their symbol. I mean just look at the flag of our mother-nation:

The King's Colours - The national flag of Britain during the 17th and 18th centuries. Source: wikipedia.org

While it's tempting to think that the United States simply ripped the colors off the British flag it should be known that there is meaning to the colors.  And indeed the iconography of the flag itself, I mean beyond the fact that the stars represent the States found in the union and the stripes representing the original 13 colonies.

The symbolism of the flag has two interpretations.  The first is the well known interpretation mentioned above.  The second is much less known.  According to the House of Representatives 1977 book about the flag: "The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun."

On June 14, 1777 a committee adopted a resolution for what the flag of the United States should look like.  They settled on a flag consisting of 13 stripes alternating between red and white with a union (the square in the left corner) that consisted of 13 white stars on a blue field, representing a new constellation.  Though the imagery was decided on, no meaning was given to the colors chosen.


In fact the colors were not given any symbolism until 1782 when Charles Thompson presented a design for the Great Seal of the United States, which looked like this:

Charles Thompson's original design for the "Great Seal" Source: wikipedia.org

Concerning the symbolism of the shield, Thompson had this to say:

The Escutcheon is composed of the chief & pale, the two most honorable ordinaries. The Pieces, paly, represent the several states all joined in one solid compact entire, supporting a Chief, which unites the whole & represents Congress. The Motto alludes to this union. The pales in the arms are kept closely united by the chief and the Chief depends upon that union & the strength resulting from it for its support, to denote the Confederacy of the United States of America & the preservation of their union through Congress.

The colours of the pales are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valor, and Blue, the colour of the Chief signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice. The Olive branch and arrows denote the power of peace & war which is exclusively vested in Congress. The Constellation denotes a new State taking its place and rank among other sovereign powers. The Escutcheon is born on the breast of an American Eagle without any other supporters to denote that the United States of America ought to rely on their own Virtue. 

So there you have it.  White signifies purity and innocence, red, hardiness and valor, and blue, represents vigilance, perseverance and justice.  On a side note, Congress modified Thompson's design slightly, changing it to a symbol you are probably a little more familiar with:

The final design for the "Great Seal"

Source: http://swampland.time.com/2013/07/04/why-the-u-s-flag-is-red-white-and-blue/

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Do you like video games from the 90s?  Check out my YouTube Channel  where I post videos exploring the totally rad games of the past! 

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William Wallace's Wardrobe Malfunction

"William Wallace kell'd fefty men. Fefty. Af'it was one!"

Braveheart is one of the most loved movies from the 90s, and for good reason.  Who doesn't love a good tale about standing up for FREEDOM and liberty?  Commies.  Commies don't like tales about freedom and liberty.  But I digress.

The picture above shows William Wallace flanked by British guards looking completely B.A.  What is it about him that looks so B.A, you may ask?  Well he's got a mane of wild long hair, a look of pure ice on his face despite being surrounded by enemies, and of course, he's wearing a kilt.

The Danish Tartan...because I'm 1/4 Danish.

The are very few things more epic than watching a 13th century Scotsman run into battle wearing a kilt.  The only problem is that no 13th century Scotsman ever ran into battle wearing a kilt.  That's because kilts weren't introduced in Scotland until the 17th century, about 300 years after William Wallace's death in 1305.

As for tartans, the patterns used in making kilts, they are much more ancient than kilts, with evidence present
of them existing in Scotland as far back as 320 AD.  Many people have been taught that specific tartans are assigned to specific clans in Scotland and have been for centuries.  In fact the assigning of tartans to clans did not start until the 19th century when a crafty weaver by the name of William Wilson decided that, instead of using numbers to identify his patterns, he would name them after clans, family names and towns in Scotland.  The trend caught on, in large part because of the intense nostalgia that reined in Scotland and Britain during the time, and now there are many families who use tartans as identifiers.  There is a national register for tartans where anybody from anywhere may register a new tartan, but the registry is not regulated in any way.



Source: The Early History of the Kilt

If you liked this article be sure to like and/or share it on Facebook, Google +, and Twitter.  Please feel free to follow this blog so you will never miss a Fun Fact of the Day!

Do you like video games from the 90s?  Check out my YouTube Channel  where I post videos exploring the totally rad games of the past! 

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If you like what you read/saw please take a moment to like me on Facebook  and follow me on Twitter!

The Origins of the Word "Soccer"

The Royal Engineers, one of the first Associated Football clubs. 

We've all heard it before, "Stupid Americans, why in the world do you refer to football as soccer.  The word doesn't even makes sense. Get with the program, Yanks!"  As it turns out, it was not the silly Americans who came up with the word soccer.  In fact the word originated in Britain. 

England had a number of "football" games which were rather popular back in the 19th century with Rugby Football ruling supreme.  In order to distinguish Soccer from the other "football" games a band of teams came together in October of 1863 and named their beloved game "Associated Football".  It was at this same meeting that the basic rules that govern the Beautiful Game were laid down.

Feeling that "Rugby Football" and "Associated Football" were too cumbersome in everyday speech, school boys began to abbreviate the names while adding the infamous Oxford "er", creating names such as "Rugger" or "Assoccer".  Eventually the name was shortened to just "Soccer" or sometimes "Soccer Football"

Charles Wreford Brown

Around the time Associated Football was formally organized, Charles Wreford Brown, a student at Oxford
allegedly began using the term "soccer" with his school friends. Legend has it that the popularity of the word sprang from this group of students, though the veracity of this story is questionable.

 As the years progressed Soccer Football was embraced by the masses, while Rugby Football's popularity declined.  And so around 1881 Soccer began to be referred to simply as "Football" while Rugby Football came to be known as "Rugby".

By the time Football made it's way to the U.S. American Football was already being embraced by the masses.  Thus, to avoid confusion Associated Football continued to be called "Soccer" while American Football came to be referred to simply as "Football".

Speaking of American Football...Why is it even called "Football"?  That is a subject for another "Fun Fact of the Day".

Source: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/06/the-origin-of-the-word-soccer/

Do you like video games from the 90s?  Check out my YouTube Channel  where I post videos exploring the totally rad games of the past! 

For all things 90s related and beyond be sure check out my other blog at www.theninetieskid.com. 

If you like what you read/saw please take a moment to like me on Facebook  and follow me on Twitter!