“Hanako of the Toilet” has been a Japanese ghost story for at least 60 years - she is a phantom schoolgirl who inhabits the 3rd floor girls’ bathroom in public schools in urban Japan. She haunts the second toilet stall (from the left) and is often described as wearing a schoolgirl’s uniform or a red skirt and having bobbed hair.
Children dare one another to enter the second toilet stall (or a stall right next to it) and to knock or call out to Hanako three times. She will respond by whispering “yessss,” and some say that she will then appear in the toilet stall or even try to strangle the summoner.
The back story about the death of Hanako varies from region to region: hiding in the bathroom during an air raid (during WWII), being trapped or murdered in the bathroom when school was out of session, being killed by bullies at school, or being killed by an abusive parent.
“I do not even hate the color of the White in milk, like the color system of red and blue, belonging to the school in table tennis, hay fever have information such as.”
Foreign branding is the art of making a brand name sound attractively foreign.
The formula for making an ice cream/frozen yogurt name:
• Two words.
• First word two syllables, second word one syllable.
• Have at least one Z or S.
• The first word should end in N.
• Put a diaeresis ön top of ëvery third vöwel.
Häagen Dazs - An American ice cream company, founded in the Bronx in 1961. Neither word exists in any Scandinavian or Northern European language.
Frusen Glädjé - An American ice cream company, founded in 1980. Unsuccessfully sued by Häagen Dazs in 1981 for “stealing their fake Scandinavian idea.” Surprisingly, “frusen glädje” (without the accent) actually means “frozen joy” in Swedish.
Yogen Früz - An American frozen yogurt franchise founded in 1986. Neither the word “yogen” nor “früz” exists in any Scandinavian or Northern European language.
Freshëns - A frozen yogurt and smoothie franchise based in Atlanta, Georgia. Also known as “Yogurt Ventures U.S.A., Inc.” The word does mean “fresh” or “freshen” in Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian, but still sounds like a Scandinavian feminine hygiene product.
Every time I order Chinese Food, the question arises:
“Who the hell is General Tso of General Tso’s Chicken?”
For those of you inexperienced in the ways of General Tso’s Chicken - it is a deep fried chicken dish, usually spicy with a sweet sauce, and a near universal of American Chinese Food restaurants.
General Tso is actually General Zuǒ Zōngtáng - a military general of Qing Dynasty China and a native of Hunan Province. In 1860, Zuǒ served as a military leader during the Taiping Rebellion and is accredited for driving the Taiping rebels from Hunan and Guangxi Provinces.
According to Wikipedia, General Tso’s Chicken does not exist in General Zuǒ’s hometown of Xiangyin, nor in the Hunan province capitol of Changsha. Also, descendants of Zuǒ still living in Xiangyin report that they have never heard of this dish.
This dish first appeared in the American Chinese restaurant pantheon sometime in the 1970’s and may be a creation of American restaurants.
Though the art of engraving designs onto metal currency pre-existed “Hobo Nickels,” when the American “Indian Head Nickel” was released in 1913, the art form took off. Given the large size and relative low cost of the nickel, this became the canvas of choice among hobos - often adding a hat and scruffy beard to the Indian portrait, making him into a hobo.
Skyfish (also known as “rods” or “solar entities”) are a fairly recent cryptozoological phenomena - since the beginning of affordable video cameras. They appear as small semitransparent rods with ridged lateral membranes [top right and left photos, artist's reconstruction bottom left]. According to enthusiasts, they can only been seen through a video camera - they dart through the air at such a velocity that they are unseen by the naked human eye.
The reality: There is no record of anyone ever catching a skyfish, though a Chinese effort to catch them (in 2005) revealed ordinary flying insects. Given that all skyfish evidence comes from video footage - and first-hand observations from skyfish enthusiasts/idiots - the answers to the mystery are obvious: frame-rate, motion blur, birds, and insects. The combination of the slower frame-rate of most video cameras (50-60 fps) and the frequency of ‘wing-flap’ of insects and (small) birds in flight produces a blurred/elongated body with multiple wing-flap cycles within a single frame set. A similar effect can be seen in high speed footage of birds and insects in flight [bottom right photo].
How to Catch a Skyfish:
Bonus Round:
The stick used to catch skyfish is called a “spoodle.”
This sport is common throughout several east and southeast Asian cultures, usually involving the large horned beetles of the Rhinoceros beetle subfamily (Dynastinae), whose members include the awesome Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules) and the Atlas beetle (Chalcosoma atlas). The large “horns” of the males are used for territorial fighting, where they will wrestle in an attempt to topple one another, until one submits, retreats, or is knocked-off a perch. Fighting these beetles is a popular gambling sport throughout Asia, from Thailand to Hong Kong (another link).
In Japan, collecting and fighting these beetles is common among boys - Rhinoceros beetles are easy pets to care for. These fighting pets are common enough in Japan that one can even buy Rhinoceros beetles from streetside vending machines (photo from the Photomann gallery of Japanese vending machines), and there are many Japanese toys and models that relate to Rhinoceros beetle collecting. Also, this practice is the likely origin of the Japanese game Pokémon, which gained world popularity in the late 1990’s, and which focuses on the collecting, husbandry, and fighting of supernatural creatures.
There are also dire “blood sport” forms of bug fighting, involving more dangerous insects, arachnids, and crustaceans - as seen on the website Japanese Bug Fights! (sadly, sometimes the matches end in fatalities).
[Given that it is now the Chinese Year of the Rat, I thought this appropriate.]
A Rat King is not the King of Rats, despite what certain dippy ballets and Dungeons & Dragons geeks would have you think. A Rat King is a mythological creature composed of a mass of rats, stuck together by knotted and intertwined tails. This phenomenon is said to occur when rats nest together in large numbers and their tails somehow naturally tangle together. They are reported to move about as a single entity, running amock and scaring the sh!t out of everyone. This phenomenon/myth appears to be of European origin and the oldest report of a Rat King may date to 1564.
For examples of preserved (hoax) Rat Kings: Linkety - Link - Link
Perhaps only worse than a Rat King is the dreaded squawking Chihuahua King.
Today I was watching “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.” At the monsoon-destroyed ruins of Hotel Citroën on the island of Little Ping, Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) notes:
“What a shame. They had a bartender here, Kino, made the best Rum Cannonball I’ve ever tasted.”
The question comes to mind: Is this a real drink, or something invented by Wes Anderson? From internet discussions and references, it’s hard to tell if this drink actually existed before the movie. Based on an average of posted recipes, I made a Rum Cannonball (actual photo).
The Rum Cannonball
•1 part white rum
•1 part gin
•1 part orange juice
•1 part pineapple juice
•1 part lemon-lime soda
•1 part strawberry soda
Serve over ice with a key lime, pineapple, or tropical orchid garnish.
What does it taste like?: Not bad . . . fruity fizzy booze.
An alternate recipe also exists:
•2 oz rum
•Top-off with orange juice
•4-5 dashes of Angostura bitters
What does it taste like?: Not bad . . . rummy spicey o.j.
The modern American Santa Claus is the result of a huge mess of practices and figures that have collided at high speed throughout the ages. Here is a brief synopsis of the origins of the modern American Santa Claus, and a history of his evil assistant (who is all but gone in American culture), in an approximate chronological order:
Santa Claus: Saint Nicholas - The 4th Century Bishop of Myra (in modern-day Turkey), he was known for giving to the poor. In particular, he was known for providing the dowries for three impoverished sisters - sparing them of a life of begging and prostitution. Saint Nicholas became (among many other things) the patron saint of children. Many cultures honor him on December 6th, weeks before Christmas.
[Technically, this is a "what are they?" - three relatively obscure fruits that are now making appearances in American food products]
Aroniaberry (Aronia melanocarpa) - This berry is more commonly known as “Chokeberry” - a name that isn’t very marketable (thus “Aroniaberry”). A deciduous shrub from the wet woodlands and swamps of the American east, aronia berries have the highest concentrations of anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins (which have powerful antioxidant properties) of any known plant. However, aroniaberries taste like ass: all of the unpleasantness of pure cranberries, with a sickly-sweet/overripe finish of rotting plums.
Açai (Euterpe oleracea) - Pronounced “a-sa-i”, this grape-sized drupe actually comes from a species of South and Central American palm. This fruit is high in dietary fiber, contains the sexy omega-6 fatty acid linoleic acid, and is high in anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins (antioxidants). The pleasant taste of açai is somewhere in between cranberry and blueberry, but less powerful.
Dragonfruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus and Hylocereus undatus) - Also known as “Pitahaya”, “Pitaya,” and “Strawberry Pear,” it is perhaps the most spectacular fruit ever. Native to Central and South America, these fruits are produced by epiphytic (tree-dwelling) vine-like cacti. The skin of the ripe fruit is a vibrant pink, with either a pink flesh (H. polyrhizus) or a white flesh (H. undatus) with thousands of tiny dark seeds suspended throughout. The gelatinous flesh has the consistency of soft melon and its mild taste is a combination of subdued kiwi and strawberry. This fruit is primed to become trendy, due to its exotic look, its edibility, and its kick-ass name.
‘Woodlice’ [a.k.a. - 'Pill Bugs,' 'Sow Bugs,' 'Potato Bugs,' 'Roly-Polies'] are a common sight in piles of moist rotting wood, and are perhaps the most well known examples of an Isopod [an order of Crustaceans, they're related to crabs, lobsters, and shrimp].
If you’d like to see Bathynomus giganteus in person, you won’t need a submarine: the James R. Record Aquarium [Fort Worth, Texas] has live Bathynomus giganteus on exhibit.
“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” just may be one of the funniest damn television shows ever written. A detail in one of the episodes (season 2 - “The Gang Goes Jihad”) has caught the attention of several serious fans: a mysterious sandwich called a “Grilled Charlie.” Below are the results of my own reverse engineering analysis of a Grilled Charlie.
Its appearance and description in the show offer several good clues to its construction:
•Firstly, the instructions shouted by its creator, Charlie:
“A Grilled Charlie has peanutbutter last! Peanutbutter outside, chocolate inside! Butter inside, cheese outside!”
•Close inspection of the scene reveals a jar of JIF peanutbutter, a packet of American cheese slices (or cheddar), and a bottle of Hershey’s syrup next to the hotplate used to fry the “Grilled Charlie” (though other posted recipes erroneously indicate a chocolate bar).
Here’s a possible/probable way to create this: Step 1 - Butter the bejeezus out of one side of a piece of white bread. Place the piece of bread, butter-side down, onto a hot skillet (if you’re hardcore, your skillet is on a hotplate and you’re in a filthy apartment).
Step 2 - As the butter side is frying, place a slice of cheese (American or possibly cheddar) on the top of the bread and let it melt. Then flip the bread over and fry the cheese side (you’ll need a sh*tload of butter to pull this off properly). You’ll have to keep moving it so the cheese doesn’t burn off the bread.
Step 3 - Remove the butter-cheese slice and put a new white bread slice onto the skillet (make sure there is still sufficient butter in the skillet to fry it). Fry the piece of bread, and while it is frying put Hershey’s chocolate syrup on the top side. Flip the bread over and quickly fry the chocolate side (it will actually fry if you do it right). Remove from skillet.
Step 4 - Join the two pieces of fried bread, cheese on outside, butter and chocolate on the inside. Add JIF peanutbutter to the outside of the sandwich (not clear if it goes on top of the cheese or on the opposide side of the sandwich).
Step 5 - Eat warm, with cold beer. Then prepare for the heart attack.
It is surprisingly good - a nice combination of burnt cheese, chocolate and peanutbutter.
[For those of you who are not knee-deep in geekery]: Cthulhu (usually pronounced KThoo-Loo) is a sinister ancient deity from the works of early 20th century science fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft. Cthulhu is described as being gigantic and green, with rubbery skin, having an ‘octopus head’, a large belly, claws on its hands and feet, and thin wings emerging from its back. In Lovecraft’s universe, Cthulhu came to Earth (from somewhere in the distant cosmos) hundreds of millions of years ago and currently rests undead and “dreaming” among the remains of the buried alien city of R’lyeh, which lies beneath the most desolate area of the South Pacific (47° 9′ S, 126° 43′ W). In Lovecraft’s story “The Call of Cthulhu,” Cthulhu is described as contacting people in their dreams (usually in mid-March), and by these means Cthulhu generates cults of human worshippers around the world who await his eventual awakening; according to Lovecraft, the powerful leaders of the Cthulhu cult live “in the mountains of China.”
•The (insanely touristed) ancient Maya site of Chiche’n Itza’ in Yucatán, Mexico.
•The Christ the Redeemer Statue overlooking Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
•The Great Wall of China - “Keeping China Mongol-free since the 5th Century BC!”
•The ancient Inca citadel of Machu Pichu in Peru.
•The Palace Tombs of the ancient Nabataean city of Petra in Jordan - the apparent resting place of the Holy Grail in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
•The Roman Colosseum in <duh>Rome</duh>.
•The Taj Mahal in India.
Among the many losing candidates are: pretty much everything else in the world that is not those seven things.
The original/traditional list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World comes from Greek Poet Antipater of Sidon (~140 BC). All are destroyed except for the Great Pyramid at Giza:
•The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (at present day Al Hillah, Iraq).
•The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (at present day Ephesus, Turkey).
•The Statue of Zeus at Olympia (at present day Olympia, Greece)
•The Mausoleum of Maussollos* at Halicarnassus (*where the word mausoleum came from) (at present day Bodrum, Turkey).
•The Colossus of Rhodes (at the present day Greek Island of Rhodes).
•The Pharos (Lighthouse) of Alexandria (at present day Alexandria, Egypt).
•The Great Pyramid of Giza (nearby present day Cairo, Egypt).
To make sense of who is out there, I generated a nice chart of “the neighbors” in our outer Solar System (Photoshop generated images based upon color and composition data and/or estimations for each body; the data are very limited for some of these); nicknames are in quotes, and the satellites of each are depicted beneath their respective planet-thingy (click on chart to enlarge):
In recent years, our Solar System has become both smaller and bigger. I thought I would chose this subject as the “What Is It? of the Week” because it is a little confusing and I thought I’d sort it out.
Last year, the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto to the status of Dwarf Planet - the Solar System now only has 8 planets. A Dwarf Planet is defined as: 1). having an orbit around the Sun, 2). having sufficient mass to become a near-spherical shape, 3). not a satellite of another body in the Solar System (other than the Sun), 4). has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. Basically, a Dwarf Planet is a small planet with crap around it.
Much of the demotion of Pluto’s status can be attributed to the discoveries of Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David Rabinowitz. In recent years, this team has discovered several bodies in the Solar System large enough to be considered “the next planet” or to cause Pluto to be redefined as a member of an extensive community of smaller planet-like thingies orbiting around the Sun. Among the larger Pluto-like planet-thingies, the Brown team has discovered Eris, Quaoar, Orcus, and Sedna. To add insult to injury to Pluto, it now appears that Eris is around 27% larger than Pluto; Pluto is not even the largest of the Dwarf Planets. Poor Pluto has gone through a lot in the last year. Eris, a rocky iceball (or icy rockball), was discovered in 2005 (by Brown, Trujillo, and Rabinowitz) and until its official naming in Sept 2006, it was nicknamed <nerd>”Xena”</nerd> and its moon (now called “Dysnomia”) went by <nerd>”Gabrielle”</nerd>.
The Pollock, Pollack, Polish, or Retard Slapfight* consists of two or more opponents facing-off in a jousting match/slapfight with their arms held in a specific position: the left arm is bent so the left hand protects/covers the face, while the right arm is outstretched over the left arm and held outright as a slapping weapon. There are no specific rules regarding this fighting form beyond the understanding that both opponents must keep their arms in this position during melee and that combat must be accompanied by loud screaming. There is little or no information on the internet regarding this rare childhood martial art form; Blogadilla may be the first ever.
*A Note to the Politically Correct Reader: If you happen to be Polish or mentally retarded (or Polish and retarded), please do not take offense to this nomenclature. I didn’t name this, nor do I hold some official position as Namer of Late-70’s Early-80’s Childhood Games. It is clear that these terms come from a cruel era when kids freely taunted retards and the Polish. I can personally attest to the erroneous nature of these terms: I dated a Polish woman. She was brilliant and charming and insisted that this fighting form is NOT in the Polish martial arts repertoire (and she was also perfectly capable of screwing-in a lightbulb by her own means). Likewise, my previous experiences working with mentally challenged children revealed little natural ability or interest in this form of combat, despite my numerous efforts to teach them. They much preferred jumping onto my back without warning and spitting chewed-up cookie down the back of my shirt.
In the early 1950’s, French-Swiss architect Charles-Edouard “Le Corbusier” Jeanneret thought “There isn’t enough raw concrete and monotony in architecture these days.” Derived from the equally painful “International” architectural style of the 1940’s, Jeanneret named his new style “Béton Brut” (”raw concrete”), which came to be known as “Brutalism.” Brutalist architecture combines the glamour of raw poured concrete (the woodgrain pattern of the mold still visible on the concrete surface) with the playfulness of military bunkers and the repetetive geometric shapes of a Russian psychiatric prison. In the United States, many public buildings constructed during the 1950’s-1970’s reflect Jeanneret’s Brutalist influence - post offices, public schools, public libraries, and military installations. Prisons reflecting this style are purely coincidental. There are even Brutalist churches (photo below) - which makes one truly doubt the existence of God.
I wish to personally thank Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (a.k.a. - “Frank Lloyd Wrong“) for making my elementary school, junior high, and highschool careers even more grey and monotonous. Wikipedia photo gallery.
[This is the first of a weekly series.]
The eyes of the Japanese Daruma doll are left intentionally blank when made. The owner will then make a wish while painting-in the pupil of one eye (typically the right eye). When the wish has been fulfilled, the owner will paint-in the remaining pupil. The Daruma doll is typically displayed in a high visible location in the home or workplace - as a reminder of a goal or wish unfulfilled. The doll’s low center of gravity makes it naturally self-righting when toppled - supporting its association with persistence and optimism.
The Daruma doll - with grim countenance, moustace and beard, and absence of limbs - is based upon the historical figure BodhiDharma: the 6th century founder of Zen Buddhism (the Japanese name Daruma comes from Dharma). According to legend, BodhiDharma meditated for nine years while staring at a cave wall - he lost the use of his arms and legs to atrophy (thus the absence of arms and legs on the Daruma doll). He is known for his distinctive beard and moustache, and a harsh temper.
In recent culture: this figure was a design inspiration for Japanese Unazukin (”yes-no”) dolls and an evil cyborg Daruma appears in the action miniseries <kick-ass>”Afro Samurai“</kick-ass> (note: instead of using an Apple laptop, he appears to be using an “Eggplant”).
