Weird things I wonder about: WHY butt pockets?!!

13 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Fun Facts, History, Humor

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blue jeans, California, denim, Elizabeth Fais, Elvis Presley, Film, Gold Rush, Happy Days, Henry Winkler, History, Jacob Davis, James Dean, jeans, Levi Strauss, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Nonfiction, Rebel Without a Cause, Television, The Fonz, The Misfits

Wonder is the seed of knowledge.
—Francis Bacon

Well…if this is true…I’m in trouble, because I wonder about some pretty weird stuff sometimes.

Like WHY are butt pockets standard issue on jeans? Seriously, WHY??! You’re just going to sit on whatever is in those pockets…eventually. Nowdays that’s likely to be your smart phone! It makes no sense.

I must admit that wondering about the absurdity of this design decision is what prompted my research into the history and origin of blue jean pockets. So, maybe the knowledge-thing applies here after all. Francis Bacon didn’t say how valuable the knowledge had to be.

The Method Behind Butt Pocket Madness

To understand the reasoning behind (no pun intended) the nonsensical placement of jean pockets, we have to go back to when blue jeans—as we know them today—were first created.

Levi Strauss followed the Gold Rush to California in 1853, where he established a dry goods store. One of the items he carried was blue industrial strength cloth known as denim. A Nevada tailor, by the name of Jacob Davis, bought some of Strauss’s denim and put rivets at pocket corners and other stress points to make them stronger. Davis couldn’t afford to patent the idea on his own, and contacted Strauss with a business plan. The patent was granted to Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss & Company on May 20, 1873, and blue jeans were born.

Prior to Levi Strauss’s blue jeans, people wore overalls for messy jobs and manual labor, such as construction, farm work, and painting. These jobs were generally performed while standing, so pocket placement was intended to make it easy to carry and retrieve tools. Blue jeans were originally intended to be worn for the same type of work, and initially were called waist overalls.

Form follows function. No sitting on jobs, where you carry tools in your pockets. Blue jeans were solely used for doing tough jobs for 80 years, until the mid 1950s.

From Work-Horse Wardrobe to Fashion Forward Fame

What happened to change the fate of the work-horse blue jeans?

James Dean happened.

The blue jeans fashion craze caught fire with James Dean’s signature t-shirt, leather jacket, and blue jeans look in the movie Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Young men across the country copied it immediately.

How did the blue jean fad catch on with young women in a time of poodle skirts and pearls?

Marilyn Monroe started the feminine blue jeans trend when she wore them in the movie The Misfits. Her character joined up with a group of cowboys, and she sported the quintessential female version of James Dean’s Rebel Without a Cause outfit.

In the following decades, Elvis Presley, Marlon Brando, and Henry Winkler (as The Fonz in Happy Days) fanned the flame of the blue jeans fashion frenzy. A trend that’s still burning bright.

THAT my friends is WHY we wear jeans with pockets on our backside.

I wonder what Levi Strauss would think of us carrying a computer—with more power than the one that put the first man in space (and took up an entire floor of a building)—in one of his back jean pockets? I think he’d probably design a more functional garment for that purpose. But that’s just me.

Funny phrases that make you ask, “For real?”

06 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in colloquialism, Fun Facts, idiom

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Best foot forward, colloquialism, cut the rug, Dancing, Elizabeth Fais, English, funny phrases, Head over heels, Herbert Lawrence, idioms, Indiana, King John, Like nobody's business, old movies, old-movie stars, Oxford Englis Dictionary, P.G. Wodehouse, sayings, Shakespeare, Sir Thomas Overbury, The Lebanon Patriot, Uptown Funk

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve tackled some of the idiosyncratic idioms Americans use on a daily basis. English is my first language, and I’m bemused on a regular basis by many of these expressions. If you think about the actual words, and not the implied meaning, you can’t help but ask, “For real?”

Put your best foot forward ~ make a good impression

I always wondered WHY one foot would be better than the other? As if you’d have a clown shoe on one foot and a fancy dress shoe on the other.

But I digress…

Today this phrase is often used with regards to making a good impression when meeting someone for the first time, such as a job interview or a social gathering. It also can also mean putting your best efforts into taking on a new task.

Like this little gosling…

There is some argument over when this phrase originated. Some claim “Always put your best foot forward” dates back to 1495. Others insist the phrase was first recorded in 1613 in a poem by Sir Thomas Overbury.

However, what most people do agree upon is the misuse of “best” when comparing only two items. “Best” assumes there are three or more items. The correct usage is “better”, as in Shakespeare’s King John (1585): “Nay, but make haste; the better foot before.” I don’t know about you, but I’m not arguing with Shakespeare.

Head over heels ~ excited, madly in love

Today this phrase is typically used to describe someone who’s madly in love, as in “head over heels in love.” But…for real? Where do you usually find your head?

This phrase actually originated in the 14th century as ‘heels over head’, meaning doing cartwheels or somersaults.

The first recorded use of “head over heels” appeared in 1771 in Herbert Lawrence’s Contemplative Man.

However, the first recorded reference to love didn’t appear until June 1833 in an Indiana newspaper, The Lebanon Patriot:

About ten years ago Lotta fell head over heels in love with a young Philadelphian of excellent family.

Like nobody’s business ~ to an extraordinary degree

This is another phrase that—if you think about it too much—makes no sense whatsoever. No surprise…the origin of “like nobody’s business” is as elusive the literal meaning.

The Oxford English Dictionary claims that P.G. Wodehouse first used the phrase in 1938: “The fount of memory spouting like nobody’s business.” It’s speculated that “like nobody’s business” was a popular phrase in the 1920’s and 30’s, used as a replacement for something more shocking. The light-hearted, carefree spirit of the times embraced humor and originality of other phrases, such as “the cat’s pajamas” and “the bee’s knees”.

If someone says you’re doing something “like nobody’s business”, it’s most likely a compliment to your energetic enthusiasm. Like these old-movie stars cutting the rug (dancing) like nobody’s business!

The Making of Santa Claus

13 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Fun Facts, History, Holiday

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Clement Clarke Moore, Coca~Cola, Diedrich Knickerbocker, Harper's Weekly, Miracle on 34th Street, Montgomery Ward Company, Norman Rockwell, North Pole, North Pole cancellation, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Santa Claus, Saturday Evening Post, Sinterklaas, The Night Before Christmas, Thomas Nast, Washington Irving

Santa Claus, the cultural icon we know today, was made in America. I knew about the real Saint Nicholas, but was surprised to discover that the “jolly ol’ guy in the red suit” was an American literary creation and marketing manifestation.

Many faiths share the custom of gift giving around this time of year. Which is why it’s kind of amazing that the predominant icon for the season is a fictional character created in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [PC: Moi, taken at Filoli]

The Original St. Nick

St. Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek saint from an area that is now Turkey, who had a reputation for putting coins in the shoes that were left out for him. As the patron saint of children, he was most often associated with giving them gifts.

One of the many generous deeds attributed to Saint Nicholas was providing dowries for the daughters of three impoverished families, so the girls could wed. In those days, a woman without a dowry was unlikely to marry, and then her fate was often to be sold into slavery (read: prostitution). [Public Domain: Saint Nicholas]

Santa Claus ~ Literary Creation

Early Dutch settlers brought Sinterklaas to America, and the name first appeared in print in 1773 as “St. A Claus.” However, it was not until the 19th century that the Americanized Santa Claus came into being.

Washington Irving gave Americans the first detailed information about the man we would come to know as Santa Claus. In 1809, writing under the pen name Diedrich Knickerbocker, Irving described the St. Nick’s arrival on horseback each year on the Eve of Saint Nicholas (December 6th).

A few years later, Clement Clarke Moore created the Americanized Santa Claus in his 1823 poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas—today known as The Night Before Christmas. Moore gave Santa’s reindeer names, described Santa’s mannerisms, and even introduced his leaving your house by up the chimney.

Marketing Manifestation

The American image of Santa Claus came into focus with illustrator, Thomas Nast. Nast’s drawings for the Christmas issues of Harper’s magazine from the 1860s to the 1880s were of a rotund man with a white beard, wearing a red suit. Nast even added the details for Santa’s workshop at the North Pole and his list of good and bad children of the world. [Public Domain: Thomas Nast illustration of Santa Claus]

Norman Rockwell further popularized the American image of Santa Clause with his many Santa themed covers for the Saturday Evening Post. Then in the 1930’s, Coca-Cola created illustrations for an advertising campaign that turned Santa’s red suit into the cultural icon it is today.

Rudolph (the ninth reindeer) with his red, shiny nose, was invented by an advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward Company in 1939. [Public Domain: Two covers for the Saturday Evening Post by Norman Rockwell]

Written Into Reality

With Santa Claus a predominant image in national media, children across America began to write him letters. The letters to Santa piled up at post offices, where some postal workers took it upon themselves to answer the letters and even fulfilling the requests.

Hollywood played on this theme in the 1947 classic, Miracle on 34th Street, cementing the image of the jolly ol’ guy in the red suit as a “very real” holiday icon.

To make Santa and his workshop even more real, the USPS provides a service where you can get a North Pole cancellation stamp on a card or letter. I’m not kidding.

To obtain a North Pole cancellation stamp:

Write a letter to your child and sign it From Santa.
Put the letter in an envelope and address it to your child.
Add the return address SANTA, NORTH POLE.
Affix a First Class stamp to the envelope.
Place the complete envelope in a larger envelope with the appropriate postage (to cover the extra weight), and address to:
North Pole Postmark
Postmaster
4141 Postmark Dr.
Anchorage, AK 99530-9998

For more about how writing letters to Santa became a standard practice, read Alex Palmer’s A Brief History of Sending a Letter to Santa in Smithsonian Magazine.

The Cats Behind the Mouse ~ Disneyland’s Feline Cast Members

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Cats, Disneyland, Fun Facts

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@DisneylandCats, Alley Cat Allies, Becky, California Adventure, Cats of Disneyland, Disneyland, Disneyland Cats, Disneyland Hotel, Elizabeth Fais, Fantasyland, Feral Cats, Francisco, Frontierland, Giovanni, Grizzly River Run, Magic Kingdom, Rancho del Zocalo, Sleeping Beauty's Castle, TNR, Trader Sam's, Trap Neuter Return, Walt Disney

There are no words for the irony. Feral cats were original inhabitants of the Magic Kingdom…the place that started with a mouse.

Original Rulers of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle

When Disneyland opened in 1955, the interior of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle was empty. Later, when Walt Disney decided to build a walk-through attraction inside the castle, they discovered a significant number of feral cats had claimed it as their royal home. Unfortunately, there was also a huge infestation of fleas.

Homes were found for all the castle cats, the place was treated for fleas, and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle became the walk-through attraction we know it as today. Everything was good. That is, until rodents began to take over the park. Again…the irony.

No one had taken into consideration that the castle cats provided a much needed service–they kept the park free of unsavory vermin. So, when a new group of feral cats found their way onto Disneyland property, they were allowed to stay. These cats were trapped, neutered, then returned (TNR) to their home “land”, to maintain a stable (cat) population.

It’s no spoof, I’ve got proof!

Today, the Disneyland Resort (Anaheim, California) is home to approximately 200 feral cats. Disney neuters, feeds, and provides medical care for the cats, and in return the cats keep the park free of rodents and other vermin.

Feral cats have a home – outdoors! And although they appreciate a can of cat food, they don’t want to snuggle with you on your couch. ~Alley Cat Allies

Feral cats are not socialized to people, and prefer to stay out of sight. I recently visited Disneyland with the intention of photographing some of the resident feral cats. Intention is the operative word. I managed to get pictures of 9 of the 200 feral cats, and consider myself extremely lucky. Here’s proof of Disneyland’s most elusive ca(s)t members.

Becky ~ Rancho del Zocalo restaurant, Disneyland

Early one morning, I caught Becky climbing up to her perch atop Frontierland’s Mexican restaurant, Rancho del Zocalo. The way she poses, you’d think she knows the Bougainvillea backdrop compliments her complexion.

Francisco & Friend ~ Grizzly River Run, California Adventure

Francisco (left) hangs out at Grizzly River Run in California Adventure, and is one of the friendliest of Disneyland’s feral cats. He’s been known to come near the fence to give park guests excellent photo-ops. His** friend (right) came out too, but stayed at a distance in camouflage.

**Most tortoiseshell cats are female, as are calico cats. However, there are rare male tortoiseshell and calico cats. Likewise, most orange tabby cats are male, yet I have a friend with a female orange tabby.

Giovanni & Friend ~ California Adventure

Giovanni (left) hangs out at the Wine Country Trattoria restaurant (California Adventure) behind the upstairs terrace. His friend (right) hugged the rock wall far in the distance, pausing only long enough for me to snap a picture before darting out of sight.

Disneyland Hotel Feline Cast Members

Cats also patrol the property around the Disneyland Resort hotels. I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, and found a few shy cast members luxuriating in the bushes surrounding the pool and Trader Sam’s on the warm, sunny afternoons.

I learned the names of some of Disneyland’s cats from talking with cast members when I visited the Park.

Crazy Colloquialisms: More expressions that make you go, “Huh?”

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in English, Fun Facts, Writing

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brass tacks, cat's pajamas, colloquialism, doornail, Elizabeth Fais, English, hell or high water, idioms, language, Tad Dorgan, Universal Studios

Anyone who learns English as a second language is a hero in my book. Seriously. There are so many rules that only apply half the time. And then there are the wacky phrases that get tossed about at whim, that have little or nothing to do with what is actually meant. I was confused by these colloquialism when I was young, and English is my first language.

So here’s a few more translations for idiotic idioms…

The Cat’s Pajamas ~ wonderful, remarkable

The Cat’s Pajamas is one of the sillier colloquial conundrums. I first heard this expression when I was in grade school, while watching a black-and-white movie from the 1930’s. It’s disturbed me ever since.

The cat’s pajamas describes someone or something that is wonderful or remarkable. The American cartoonist, Thomas Aloysius “Tad” Dorgan, is credited with creating this whimsical phrase. The hipsters in the 1920’s used this expression to describe a person who is the best at what they do, or a person who was fun to be with. More recently it was popularized by the movie The School of Rock, starring Jack Black.

The cat’s pajamas is one of a handful of slang animal-centric expressions that came out of the 1920s. Others include the Bee’s knees, the canary’s tusks, and the flea’s eyebrows. Don’t worry. I won’t go there. (c) Can Stock Photo

Come Hell or High Water ~ a great difficulty or obstacle

Anyone determined to accomplish a task no matter what, will do it “come hell or high water”. It doesn’t matter how hard the task, or the odds against their success. They will get it done. Stubborn to the point of stupidity, but always in their favor.

This is an American expression, yet no one has discovered a clear derivation. Some think it may be an outgrowth of “the devil and the deep blue sea”. But that seems like a stretch, if you ask me.

The earliest reference of “come hell or high water” was in the Iowa newspaper, The Burlington Weekly Hawk Eye, on May 1882. This seems fitting, as the saying rings with hardy Midwestern spirit.

The phrase became popular in movies in the early twentieth century, especially in Westerns. Cattle drives often involved crossing rivers and the large expanses of dry dusty plains. [Photo by moi: Western movie set, Universal Studios (CA) backlot]

Get Down to Brass Tacks ~ hard facts

This phrase dates back to the turn of the nineteenth century, with its first appearance in January 1863 in a Texas newspaper. Other early occurrences are also from Texas, so it’s assumed that’s its place of origin. There are a couple of possible derivations for the phrase, and both refer to actual brass tacks.

The first theorizes that the brass tacks are the ones used in upholstery. Brass tacks have long been used in making furniture, due to their aesthetic appeal and ability to withstand rust. But that’s as far as the explanation for that theory goes. There’s no logical explanation that relates the meaning of the phrase to the brass tacks used in upholstering.

The most reasonable theory is about the brass tacks used as a measuring device for selling lengths of material in the old haberdashery trade. Measuring fabric by arm length wasn’t very exact. So to be more accurate, shopkeepers inserted brass tacks along the edge of their counters. When a customer purchased fabric, the cloth was measured along the counter using the distance between the brass tacks to determine the price. Hence the phrase, getting down to brass tacks. (c) Can Stock Photo

Dead as a Doornail ~ devoid of life, unusable

This expression always bothered me. Of all things to compare death to, why a doornail? It made no sense. If it had to be a nail, why not a coffin nail?

Amazingly enough, the first reference of this phrase dates back to 1350. It appears in both the The Vision of Piers Plowman, and a translation by William Langland of the French poem Guillaume de Palerne. By the 16th century, the expression had become popular in England thanks to the lines Shakespeare gave the rebel leader Jack Cade in King Henry VI. Dickens kept the popularity growing by using the phrase in A Christmas Carol.

You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

Doornails are large-headed studs that, in much earlier times, were used for strength instead of decoration. The practice was to hammer the nail through, and then bend the protruding end over to secure it. This process is called clenching, and is probably why a doornail can be considered dead. After a doornail is clenched it can’t be used again. Sounds true to me. How about you? (c) Can Stock Photo

Confounding Colloquialisms: Expressions that make you go, “What?”

28 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Fun Facts, Humor, Writing

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Americanism, Bite the dust, colloquialism, Elizabeth Fais, Independent as a hog on ice, informal expressions, Till the cows come home, Two shakes of a lamb's tail, Writing

A colloquialism is a word, phrase or other form used in informal language.

Parents can say some pretty weird things. My father grew up in Iowa, the heart of the Midwest, so some of the things he said seemed weirder than normal to us California-kids. Like the time he scolded my sister at the dinner table, saying she was “As independent as a hog on ice.”

Our reaction: “Huh?” (Could’ve been, “WTF?” but we weren’t allowed to swear.)

Seriously. We’d lived in Southern California all our lives and had never seen ice or hogs in real life. We just stared. He took our stunned silence for acceptance and compliance, which was probably a good thing. For a lot of years, I assumed the hog-on-ice thing was an my dad’s own home-grown Iowanism. That is, until I started on my writing journey.

When I started writing, I started to notice all the odd informal sayings we used every day. I knew the implied meanings from the context in which they were used. But the meaning itself? Not so much. That’s why I decided to take on a handful of these oddball sayings…

“As independent as a hog on ice” Flailing about

Strangely enough, I’m not the only one who has been confused by this saying. This phrase has been baffling people for decades. Yes, decades! Etymologists started searching for an explanation from the time it first appeared in the mid 19th century. In 1948 Charles Earle Funk titled his first book of word origins “A Hog on Ice”. His foreword contains a seven (7!) page narrative of his inconclusive quest for the roots of this phrase.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the phrase as “denoting independence, awkwardness, or insecurity.” That about sums it up for a hog that’s slip-n-sliding across the ice, much like Thumper and Bambi in the Disney animated feature. “You’re doing it your way, and making a mess of it,” was what my father meant by his independent-as-a-hog-on-ice speech.

Time magazine usage in 1948, “They like to think of themselves as independents … independent as a hog on ice.”

“In two shakes of a lamb’s tail” Fast, really fast

In general usage, it is easy to infer that this phrase means “a very short period of time”.

But why a lamb’s tail, of all things, to measure time by? Seriously. A little historical sleuthing uncovered that this is phrase is a distinct Americanism that dates back to the early 1800’s.

Apparently, a lamb can shake its tail pretty darn fast, much faster than other animals. Who knew? The term crossed “the pond” during the World War I, and became popular as British army slang.

“Bite the dust” ~ To die

I always associated this phrase with westerns. So I was not too surprised to discover that it was made popular by American westerns of the 1930’s. Picture a cowboy falling to the ground after being shot, and quite literally biting the dust when he lands face down. Because of its association with westerns, I was completely taken aback that the phrase actually dates back thousands of years before, to Homer’s Iliad. The following translation was made by American poet, William Cullen Bryant, in 1870:

His fellow warriors, many a one, fall around him to the earth and bite the dust.

Some might say that Bryant introduced the phrase in his interpretation of Homer. But I’m not going to argue that point. It works for m.

The phrase also appeared in the mid 1700’s in Tobias Smollett’s translation of Alain-Rene Lesage’s novel “Gil Blas (1715-1745):

…we make two of them bite the dust.

Again, the accuracy of the translation could be open to debate. However, I think it’s interesting that traces of the phrase date so far back.

“Till the cows come home” ~ A very long time

If you grew up in a city with no exposure to cows or farm life, this phrase makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. That’s because the expression alludes to cows’ fondness for extended leisure time out at pasture where there is lots of green grass to munch on. The cows would only rush back to the barn when their udders hurt and needed milking.

The phrase originated back in the late 1500s to early 1600s. But again, it was the cinema of the 1930s that made the expression popular. Groucho Marx used it in Duck Soup (1933) when he said to Margaret Dumont,

I could dance with you till the cows come home. Better still, I’ll dance with the cows till you come home.

Images: morguefile.com

What’s your favorite confounding colloquialism?

Ernest Hemingway was a “Cat Lady”

19 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Amazing but true!, Cats, Fun Facts

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American author, Cat Lady, cats, Elizabeth Fais, Ernest Hemingway, Florida, Hemingway Home and Museum, Key West, polydactyl, six-toed cats, writers

Yes. It’s true. Hemingway, one of the manliest men to ever hit the literary scene loved cats. A plethora of them. 40-50 six-toed (polydactyl) cats still roam his Key West, Florida estate.

40-50 cats = Cat Lady

I don’t mean to dis The Man, nor the furry family of six-toed cats he adopted. Quite the opposite. I consider the “Cat Lady” title a badge of honor. It means the person is a kind soul who helps animals. And let’s face it. We could use more kindness in the world. Being a “Cat Lady” is more about kindness than the number of cats in a person’s care. Photo of a six-toed cat next to Hemingway’s typewriter at the Earnest Hemingway Home and Museum.

Hemingway’s Six-Toed Cats

One of Hemingway’s first feline companions was a six-toed white cat named Snowball, which was given to him by a ship’s captain.

It is thought—though not proven—that some of the many cats who currently live on the Hemingway Home and Museum grounds in Key West could be descendants of Snowball. After all, Key West is a small island. Which makes it entirely possible that more than a few of the cats that inhabit the island are related. Photograph of Hemingway with sons Patrick and Gregory with kittens, from Wikipedia.

What is a polydactyl cat?

Normal cats have five toes on each front paw and four toes on each hind paw. A polydactyl cat can have as many as eight toes on their front and/or hind paws. Polydactyl cats are not a particular breed. The six-(or more)-toed trait can appear in any breed, Calicos, Tabbies, Tortoise Shell, etc. They vary in shapes, sizes, colors and personalities. What they have in common is a genetic mutation.

Cats with this genetically inherited trait are most commonly found along the East Coast of North America (in the United States and Canada) and in South West England and Wales. Throughout history, polydactyl cats have been popular as ship’s cats. their extra toes aid them in climbing and hunting thereby helping to control rodents on ships. Being good “ship cats” contributed to the spread of polydactyl cats. Photo of one of the polydactyl cats at the Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West, Florida. This particular cat has 26 toes!

No one knows for sure whether the polydactyl genetic trait originated in New England, or was brought there from Britain. However, there is evidence that the polydactyl trait spread as a result of cats that were carried on ships originating from Boston, Massachusetts. The prevalence of polydactyl cats in various other ports correlates with the dates those ports first established sea trade with Boston.

Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Florida

The Key West, Florida home Ernest Hemingway and his wife Pauline purchased in 1931 was originally built in 1851. The Spanish Colonial style mansion was in a serious state of neglect when the Hemingways took ownership. Luckily, they saw beyond the disrepair to the grand architecture. The Hemingways immediately took on a massive restoration and remodeling that turned the home—built from rock excavated from the property—into the National Historical Landmark that thousands of tourists visit and enjoy.

I don’t know about you, but visiting Hemingway’s Key West home is on my bucket list, for a number of reasons. If you’d like to learn more about the estate, click the following links for information on the Hemingway home, gardens, tours, and of course … the cats. Image from Wikipedia.

Moonwalk Mastery … Before Michael Jackson

19 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Dancing, Fun Facts, Moon

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Apollo Theater, Bill Bailey, Billie Jean, Cab Calloway, Dancing, Dick Van Dyke, Elizabeth Fais, Marcel Marceau, Michael Jackson, Moon, Moonwalk, MTV, New York City, tap dancing, The Buzz

There’s a glorious full moon tonight … a marvelous night for a moonwalk. No, not on the surface of the moon … the dance move Michael Jackson made famous in 1983.

For anyone who’s too young to remember Michael Jackson, or is just unfamiliar with the illusive dance technique, the moonwalk — when done well — creates the illusion of the dancer sliding backwards while attempting to walk forward.

But just like the moon in tonight’s sky, the moonwalk was around long before Michael Jackson…

Who invented the Moonwalk?

Proof-positive recordings only go as far back as recording technology. I, however, wouldn’t be surprised if the moonwalk originated centuries before the first film recording. Anyway…

Here’s what we know for sure:

Cab Calloway, the famous jazz singer and bandleader, was recorded moonwalking back as 1932. Calloway is noted to have said that back in the 1930s, the dance move was called “The Buzz”.

Dick Van Dyke performed a moonwalk move in the 1950’s, in his “Mailing A Letter On A Windy Corner” comedy skit. Then in 1955, Bill Bailey, a well-known tap dancer, was recorded moonwalking in a performance at the Apollo Theater in New York. [image: Bill Bailey moonwalking, at the Apollo Theater, NYC, 1955]

Americans weren’t the only ones to incorporate the enigmatic dance move into their routines. The famous French mime, Marcel Marceau, used the moonwalk throughout his career, starting in the 1940s. In Marceau’s famous “Walking Against the Wind” routine, he moonwalked as he pretended to be pushed backwards by a gust of wind, as he tried to walk forward.

There were more contemporary performers, such as David Bowie, who performed the moonwalk before Michael Jackson busted the move on MTV in 1983. Still, there’s no question that Michael Jackson was the one who made the moonwalk famous for our generation, and a few more to come.

Michael Jackson Moonwalk: In Slow-Mo (MTV)

Pretty awesome. The first time I saw that move I thought, “I want to learn how do that!” And now, with the help of YouTube, we CAN!

Here’s How to Moonwalk Like Michael Jackson

Lost History: The Revolutionary War in New York’s Central Park

04 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Fun Facts, Lost History, New York's Central Park

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Battle of Brooklyn, Blockhouse No. 1, British Army, Central Park, Central Park Conservancy, Fort Clinto, General George Washington, General Henry Knox, Harlem Meer, Kips Bay, McGown's Pass, New York City, Nutter's Battery, Revolutionary War, War of 1812

“Lost History” Blog Series

I did quite a bit of research in an around New York City’s Central Park for my young adult (YA) novel. I was amazed by the history there, some of which is all but lost. The stories I uncovered were so fascinating, I’ve decided to do a blog series on them.

The Lost History blog series isn’t connected to my YA novel, except for the Central Park location. These are stories rich in character that deserved to be told and remembered. [image: morguefile.com]

The Revolutionary War in Central Park?

It’s hard to think of present-day Manhattan as anything but the leader in finance, theater, art, fashion and other trends for the nation, if not the world. Yet, if you venture into Central Park to the top of the bluffs south of the Harlem Meer, on the winding paths amidst the craggy promontories … you’ll be standing where history was made in America’s Revolutionary War.

The Revolutionary War in Central Park?

I admit, I was somewhat dumbfounded when I first learned this fact. It was as incongruous as dinosaur bones beneath Los Angeles (in tar pits beneath La Brea Avenue).

Before Central Park was built, the land east of the bluffs was marshy and impassable. Travelers on their way to New York City had to follow a narrow gorge through the bluffs. A path that was originally an Indian trail.

This path later became known as McGown’s Pass (sometimes called McGowan’s Pass), after the family that owned a nearby tavern. McGown’s Tavern is another bit of Lost History I’ll share with you in another post.

This 1776 map shows McGown’s Pass and Kingsbridge Road, around the start of the British Occupation. [image: Wikipedia]

McGown’s Pass: Strategic High-Ground

After General George Washington’s defeat at the Battle of Brooklyn (1776), he moved most of his troops north through McGown’s Pass. Then on the morning of September 15, 1776, British troops landed in Kips Bay (near present-day 34th Street), staged for an invasion. Washington, who was headquartered at the Morris Mansion on West 160th Street, lead his troops south through McGown’s Pass to counter the invading forces.

Washington and his troops were outnumbered, and retreated to the west. The British Army held McGown’s Pass and built a fortification there, so as to control the troops that went in and out of the city. When the Revolutionary War ended seven years later, colonial soldiers (under the command of General Henry Knox) marched back through McGown’s Pass, and into Manhattan to liberate the city.

McGown’s Pass circa 1868, image: Wikipedia

The Blockhouse and The War of 1812

Remembering the earlier (British) occupation of McGown’s Pass, Americans claimed it as a lookout point during the War of 1812, in anticipation of another British invasion. A series of fortifications were built at this tme, including Blockhouse No. 1 (remains are still visible on a hill in the North Woods), Fort Clinton, and Nutter’s Battery (remains of these are visible along the north side of the pass). Four-foot high defensive walls (breastworks) made of earth were created to connect the fortifications. However, the British never invaded. [image: Central Park Conservancy]

The Blockhouse stands high on “The Cliff” and is Central Park’s oldest building. At one time, the square stone structure had a sunken wooden roof and mobile cannon. Today the Blockhouse is empty, roofless and securely locked.

The following map shows present-day McGown’s Pass and Blockhouse locations in Central Park. East Drive follows the original path through the McGown’s Pass.

McGown’s Pass is a reminder of the role New York City played in the history of the American Republic.

Happy 4th of July!

Let’s Talk Turkey: Fun Gobbler Facts

16 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Animals, Fun Facts

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Disneyland, Elizabeth Fais, Fun Facts, Thanksgiving, Turkeys

Thanksgiving can be stressful, especially when you’re forced into making small talk with Aunt Beulah and Uncle Ogden who you haven’t seen in decades and don’t have a flea bit in common with besides a few random genes.

Never fear! This post will save your sanity, while it dazzles Beulah and Ogden with a wealth of tantalizing facts. You’ll see!

15 Things You May Not Know About Turkeys

Benjamin Franklin wanted the Turkey to be the national bird of the United States instead of the Bald Eagle.
It is NOT TRUE that domestic turkeys are so dumb that they will look up at falling rain until they drown.
Turkeys lived almost ten million years ago.
The wild turkey is native to Northern Mexico and the Eastern United States. [image: wild turkey, Wikipedia]
The turkey was domesticated in Mexico and brought to Europe in the 16th century.
Baby turkeys are called “poults” and are tan and brown.
Wild turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 miles per hour, and run up to 20 miles per hour. Domestic turkeys have been bred so they cannot fly.
Turkeys can see color and detect movement at almost a hundred yards away.
The ballroom dance the “turkey trot” was named for the short, jerky steps that turkeys take.
Wild turkeys spend the night in trees. They especially like oak trees.
When fully mature, turkeys have 3,500 feathers.
The phrase “talk turkey” means “to get down to business”, and originally came from an anecdote from the early 1800s.
There are three cities in the United States named after this holiday bird: Turkey, Texas (population 492), Turkey Creek, Louisiana (population 357), and Turkey, North Carolina (population 269).
Live Thanksgiving turkeys have been presented to presidents since the Lincoln administration. However, it wasn’t until the first Thanksgiving of President George H.W. Bush, in 1989, that a turkey was officially pardoned.
Starting in 2005, Presidentially pardoned turkeys were flown to Disneyland, where they served as grand marshals of the theme park’s annual Thanksgiving Day parade and live out the rest of their lives at Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland.

NOTE: For all you animal enthusiasts, I spoke at length with the animal care Cast Members at Big Thunder Ranch when I was at Disneyland. They assured me that any animal at Big Thunder Ranch is only available to the public for minimal periods of time. Then they rotate the animals back into their private areas and bring out new animals, so they don’t get stressed from over exposure to the public.