1) Where did the American custom of Mother’s Day begin?

2) What flower is associated with Mother’s Day?

3) Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for _____.

4) What is the average age for first-time moms in the United States?

5) What percentage of moms in the U.S. are single parents?

6) How do children in Serbia celebrate Mother’s Day?

7) What ancient Roman festival is considered a forerunner of Mother’s Day?

8) What year was the first Mother’s Day celebrated in the United States?

9) Which U.S. president made Mother’s Day a national holiday?

10) How many diapers does the average mom change during the first three months of motherhood?

ANSWERS:

1. West Virginia: While some countries have a multi-century history of celebrating mothers, the modern American version of the holiday didn’t begin until the early 20th century when Anna Jarvis organized the first Mother’s Day service of worship and celebration at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia, which serves as the International Mother’s Day Shrine today.

2. Carnations: Everyone knows that giving flowers on Mother’s Day is a time-honored tradition, but did you know that carnations are the official Mother’s Day flower? Pink carnations represent gratitude and love. Dark red carnations signify love and affection. And white carnations are traditional flowers to wear in remembrance of a mother who is no longer living.

3. Restaurants: According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day is the most popular day of the year to eat in a restaurant. In a survey conducted by the association, 51 percent of mothers said they prefer to eat out on the holiday because they do most of the cooking at home and dining out gives them a much-needed break.

4. 27 years old: The average age of first-time mothers has risen dramatically since 1972, when it was 21. Today, the average first-time mother is 27 years old.

5. 24%: According to Pew Research Center data, about one in four, or roughly 24 percent of mothers in the U.S. are raising kids without a spouse or partner.

6. Tying Mother up: Serbia has what is probably one of the most unusual Mother’s Day customs. Children creep into their mother’s bedroom first thing in the morning and tie her up! In order to be released, it is customary for mothers to bribe their children with treats. However, it should be noted that mothers aren’t the only ones tied up on their special day. A week earlier, on Children’s Day, children are tied up and must agree to behave before they are released.

7. Hilaria: The Romans celebrated Hilaria on March 25 in honor of Cybele, an Anatolian mother goddess known as Magna Mater (“Great Mother”). The manner of celebration during the time of the republic is unknown, except that Valerius Maximus mentions games in honor of the mother of the gods. At the time of the empire, there was a solemn procession, followed by all kinds of games and amusements, including a masquerade.

8. 1907: Ann Reeves Jarvis was a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War. She and Julia Ward Howe (author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”) spent years campaigning for the creation of a “Mother’s Day For Peace” where mothers would ask that their husbands and sons were no longer killed in wars. After Ann’s death in 1905, her daughter took up the fight, and the first American Mother’s Day was celebrated in 1907 at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church.

9. Woodrow Wilson: In 1908, the U.S. Congress rejected a proposal to make Mother’s Day an official holiday, joking that they would also have to proclaim a “Mother-in-law’s Day”. But just six years later, in 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating that Mother’s Day be held on the second Sunday in May as a national holiday to honor mothers.

10. 700: In the first month of life, newborns average up to 8 to 10 diaper changes per day. And over the first three months (the newborn stage), babies go through about 700 diapers.

So…how did you do?

SOURCE: usefultrivia.com

REMEMBER: Moms are cool…but GRANDMAS RULE!

Today is George’s birthday—born May 6, 1961—and I had a whole post about him with some interesting facts about his life, because I respected George’s attitude on aging as a movie star.  He didn’t want to dye his hair or get plastic surgery, because people always look a little off when they try to recapture their youth, he said. 

Then just recently I read this article where George makes the comment that it might be time to FORCE JAB people with the vaccine.  Suddenly an individual making their own choices was not a good option for George.  Sad.

The time has come to force-jab every unvaccinated person in the United States, according to Hollywood actor George Clooney who declared his support for “mandatory vaccines, period” during a red carpet interview.

George Clooney Says It’s Time To Force-Jab Every Unvaccinated Person In America

Today is Carol Burnett’s birthday (born April 26, 1933) and I found an article on Glamour.com detailing 10 things we may not know about this famous comedienne. 

From Glamour:

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Carol Burnett

Jim Carrey wrote Carol a fan letter when he was 10 years old. Kristin Chenoweth wrote her one as well, but she didn’t send it!

Carol admitted to not watching much network television but being obsessed with cable TV. In fact, what is Carol watching right now? “Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards on Netflix. The Newsroom also.”

One of Bob Mackie’s most memorable designs from The Carol Burnett Show—the Scarlett O’Hara curtain dress—is in the Smithsonian. As for the other costumes? Carol has some of the sequined jackets in her closet. Oh, and how’s this for size? Mackie designed upwards of 60 to 70 costumes a week!

Carol wanted her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to be in front of the theater she used to be an usher at.

She hates to shop! When Kristin Chenoweth asked her where she got her outfit, Carol replied, “Oh, I don’t know! I think it’s like 40 years old!”

Carol’s signature send-off is tugging her ear at the end of every performance. So how did that get started? “It was for my grandmother, who always wanted me to say hi to her [on TV].”

Carol was not the typical show-off kid. “I was very shy and didn’t really get started until I got to UCLA.”

In fact, guess what Carol wanted to be. “I wanted to be a cartoonist, actually, and have my own comic strip!” I don’t doubt that would have been funny, but I’m sure glad she ended up on the path she did!

Carol keeps her incredible shape (at 80 years old, no less!) by doing Pilates twice a week, swimming, and “not eating a lot. But what I eat is good.” Whatever she does, it works. Her legs are incredible!

Her own mother didn’t think Carol had a future in the business. According to Carol, “I think I knew I was funny when I was playing with my best friends. Then I would make all these faces in the mirror all the time. My mother would say, ‘I don’t know why you’re doing that. Nothing is going to ever come of it.'” Sorry, Mom.

SOURCE: GLAMOUR.COM By Jessica Radloff

Today is National Look-A -Like Day!  I guess if we’re celebrating an obvious made up day, we can post some obvious made up photos as well…LOL (Are these really actual owners of these dogs?  DISCLAIMER: NO IDEA!)

Some examples:

Enjoy your day!

Montana

The temperature in Loma once climbed from -54 degrees F to 49 degrees within 24 hours—the largest one-day hike ever recorded.

Nebraska

About 80 percent of the world’s sandhill crane population alights on Nebraska’s Platte River during the cranes’ annual spring migration, bringing with them thousands of bird-watchers.

Nevada

From 1951 to 1992, a swath of land about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas was used for hundreds of nuclear weapons tests.

New Hampshire

This state’s license plates—bearing the slogan “Live Free or Die”—are made by prison inmates.

New Jersey

When it comes to the Garden State, remember two things: horses and divorces. New Jersey has more horses per square mile than any other state, including Kentucky, and the lowest divorce rate in the country.

New Mexico

According to New Mexico state law, “idiots” are not allowed to vote. The statute doesn’t give a clear definition of who fits that description.

New York

Twice a year, the setting sun aligns perfectly with the Manhattan street grid, illuminating the borough’s east-west streets with an orange glow.

North Carolina

The Biltmore Estate, in Asheville, is the largest privately-owned home in the country, with more than four acres of floor space and 250 rooms (including 35 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms).

North Dakota

In 2007, North Dakota nabbed the Guinness World Record for Most People Making Snow Angels Simultaneously. The State Historical Society of North Dakota organized the event and rounded up 8,962 people on the Capitol’s lawn to participate.

Ohio

Half of the presidents who died in office were from Ohio: William Harrison, James Garfield, William McKinley, and Warren G. Harding.

Oklahoma

It appears to serve up the only official state meal: a heaping plateful of fried okra, squash, cornbread, barbecue pork, biscuits, sausage and gravy, grits, corn, strawberries, chicken-fried steak, pecan pie, and black-eyed peas.

Oregon

It boasts the nation’s fastest talkers, according to an analysis of consumer phone calls placed to businesses across the country.

Pennsylvania

This state’s name is spelled Pensylvania on the Liberty Bell. The Constitution uses one n in one section and two n’s in another.

Rhode Island

The smallest state in the country shares a state water border with New York.

South Carolina

The Angel Oak Tree, located near Charleston, is estimated to be one of the oldest living things in the country. It produces a shadow that covers about 17,000 square feet.

South Dakota

Catching some z’s must be easier in South Dakota, which one survey found is the least sleep-deprived state in the country.

Tennessee

On a clear day, seven states are visible from Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga. But you don’t have to look further than Chattanooga for the largest freshwater aquarium in the world.

Texas

The phrase “Don’t mess with Texas” originated in 1985 as the slogan for a campaign meant to combat littering. It has gone on to be a very famous line within the state and even appears on the crest of the USS Texas submarine.

Utah

The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry holds the highest concentration of Jurassic-era remains ever found. More than 12,000 dinosaur bones (and one egg!) have been excavated since the 1920s.

Vermont

Don’t visit the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Derby Line unless you’re prepped for travel. The stage is in Canada, while the fans watch from Vermont; the entrance is in the U.S., while the stacks are in lumberjack country.

Virginia

Virginia ranks number one in patriotism among the 50 states, according to one WalletHub survey, which based its list on factors like military and civic engagement.

Washington

The world’s largest building by volume—Boeing’s final assembly factory in Everett—spans 98.3 acres and 472 million cubic feet. Seventy-five football fields could fit inside.

West Virginia

In 1776, a group of residents asked the Continental Congress to create a 14th colony called Westylvania, including parts of West Virginia and surrounding areas; the plea was ignored.

Wisconsin

When the state dance is the polka, it’s awfully convenient that A World of Accordions, a museum with more than 1,000 types of squeeze-boxes, is also found in the state.

Wyoming

There are only two sets of escalators in the entire state.

SOURCE: READER’S DIGEST

Reader’s Digest has a whole bunch of these articles which are interesting but perhaps not all are “astonishing” …lol

Alabama

The only state whose official drink is an alcoholic beverage (Conecuh Ridge Alabama Fine Whiskey, originally distilled by legendary moonshiner Clyde May).

Alaska

The state is known for fishing, mining, and oil, but its latest industry is peonies. Peony farms blossomed from zero in 2000 to more than 200 in 2014 and currently, they grow around 1.5 million stems a year.

Arizona

The state that produces enough cotton each year to make two T-shirts for every American (that’s 599 million tees).

Arkansas

Famous for its diamond trade, Arkansas is the only state where tourists can search for diamonds in their original volcanic source. At Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park, tourists can dig through fields maintained by the park and are allowed to keep any diamonds they discover. The park also offers a complimentary identification and registration of the gems.

California

If it were a country, it would have the eighth-largest economy in the world, beating out Italy, Russia, and India.

Colorado

Although Congress intended the state to be a perfect rectangle, its surveyors wandered a bit off course. A tiny kink in the western border disqualified it from rectangle purity.

Connecticut

The first phone book was published in New Haven in February 1878, containing just 50 names. Similarly, Connecticut’s Hartford Courant is the country’s oldest continuously published paper, per Mental Floss.

Delaware

The state with the most generous laws regarding company ownership has been the model for Cayman Islands and other offshore tax havens.

Florida

The remains of an 8,000-year-old human civilization were found buried in a peat bog here. The bodies were so well preserved that human brain tissue was found in a woman’s skull with her DNA still intact.

Georgia

Just outside Atlanta, the picturesque community of Serenbe requires each of its 200-plus homes to include a porch.

Hawaii

The only state covered entirely by its own time zone, Hawaii-Aleutian, also doesn’t observe daylight saving. 

Idaho

Boise celebrates the New Year by dropping a 16-foot-tall steel-and-foam potato in the state capital. Every year, thousands of “spec-taters” gather to watch.

Illinois

In 1887, engineers began to reverse the flow of the Chicago River to stop pollution from contaminating the city’s water supply. The reversal was complete in 1900.

Indiana

At 8 p.m. on March 31, 1880, Wabash became the first city in the world to be lit by electricity—via four “Brush lights,” invented by Clevelander Charles F. Brush.

Iowa

The world’s largest painted ball resides in Alexandria: The 4,000-pound baseball with a 14-foot circumference is the creation of Michael Carmichael, who began the project more than 50 years ago after dropping a ball in paint; he now adds another coat or two every year.

Kansas

It’s the state that was proved to be—quite literally—flatter than a pancake. Scientists tested the flatness of the state against the topography of a pancake. On a zero- to-one scale of perfect flatness, Kansas was flatter, with a score of 0.9997. The pancake scored only 0.957. But it’s worth noting that Kansas isn’t the flattest U.S. state. That title goes to…Florida.

Kentucky

Underground vaults at Fort Knox hold one of the largest stockpiles of gold in the country. Not many people have seen the stash, though—and some even question whether the 27.5-pound bars, worth $6 billion, truly exist.

Louisiana

A last-second home-team touchdown at Louisiana State University in 1988 sent the fans into such a frenzy that the victory registered as an earthquake on a local seismograph.

Maine

Maine is the loneliest number: the single state whose name is just one syllable, the lone state that borders precisely one other state, and the only state whose official flower, the pinecone, is not a flower.

Maryland

It’s the wealthiest state in the country, as measured by median household income.

Massachusetts

Sixteen of the top 25 windiest U.S. cities are located here. It’s a good thing Boston has the T to protect people from cold and windy weather. In fact, Boston established the country’s first subway system in 1897, per Mental Floss.

Michigan

The Great Lake State offers the highest recycling refund in the country—10 cents per bottle or can. Unfortunately, a Seinfeld episode alerted out-of-staters to Michigan’s generosity, sparking a scheme that costs the state millions every year.

Minnesota

This Land of 10,000 Lakes technically has more than 11,000. Oddly enough, you’d be wrong if you said that state had the most lakes. It’s neighbor Wisconsin has over 15,000, but both of those pale in comparison to Alaska, with more than 3 million lakes.

Mississippi

Dashing hatmaker John B. Stetson made his western creation at Dunn’s Falls after the Civil War, forever changing cowboy style.

Missouri

Thanks to St. Louis and snacks popularized at the 1904 World’s Fair, Americans can now throw back giant quantities of Dr. Pepper, cotton candy, iced tea, waffle cones, and frankfurters.

SOURCE: READER’S DIGEST

Today’s category is…TAXES!  I found these trivia questions at TaxMama.com and I brought everything…including all her links to corroborate her answers! Enjoy!

 OK My Friends, here goes:

1)    What 11^th century noblewoman rode through town, naked, to protest her own husband’s tax increase on his tenants?

2)    Which president started the practice of releasing his tax returns? (Bonus: Where can you find copies of presidential tax returns)?

3)    When did the checkbox for the Presidential Campaign Funds contribution first appear? (Bonus: Does checking the box reduce your refund?)

4)    What is the first recorded instance of taxation – and where?

5)    What famous band had a hit record with a song about taxation?

6)    How many U.S. states have no personal income taxes at all on individuals?

7)    What day brings the most fatal traffic accidents?

8)    What tax led to the famous Boston Tea Party?

9)    What is the most physically invasive tax ever?

10) When was the first tax return form created in the United States?

Did you have fun? How many answers did you know?

Not sure? See below for the answers with links to the source of the information.

And remember, you can find answers to all kinds of questions about tax trivia and other tax issues, free. Where? Where else? At www.TaxMama.com.

Answers:

1) Lady Godiva – there’s even a Peter and Gordon song about this.

2) President Nixon – and the TaxHistory.org site. For more interesting tax history information – visit the Tax History Museum.

3) First appeared on the 1973 tax return as a $1 contribution (up to $3 today). And no, it doesn’t cost you a dime.

4) First known information comes from Mesopotamia about  4,500 BC, then in Egypt around 3,500 BC. (And yes, although taxation was mentioned in the Bible, the Bible wasn’t written by Moses until around 1400 BC.)

5) The Beatles, written by George Harrison – The TaxMan for the 1966 album, the Revolver.

6)  7 states – Alaska, Washington state, Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, Texas, Florida. 2 of the states shown do have taxes on certain common investment income (dividends and interest) – New Hampshire and Tennessee. Alaska not only doesn’t have an income tax – they pay you to live there.

7) On Tax Day, there are typically more fatal traffic accidents than on any other day of the year.

8) The Stamp Act on American Colonists. It was a tax on every single piece of paper they used, however small. Can you imagine what that would cost us today?

9) The Droit de Seigneur – the right of a lord, king or noble to bed a woman, about to be a bride, before her wedding day.

10) 1913 – do you want your own copy, courtesy of TaxMama®? Want to wear it?

SOURCE: TaxMama.com

How did you do?

Today is not only National Puppy Day, it’s also Cuddly Kitten Day!  Prepare for cuteness overload!

Spot 10 differences:

Find the Easter Eggs…how many do you see?

Find the hidden pictures.

So…how did you do?

Today is Bruce Willis’ birthday and I enjoy so many of his movies, but Die Hard, Hudson Hawk and The Last Boy Scout are 3 of my favorites!  I found this article on Mental Floss—fun facts about Bruce.

From Mental Floss

On March 30, 2022, Bruce Willis’s family members, including ex-wife Demi Moore and their three daughters, posted a joint statement to their social media accounts announcing that Willis would be retiring from acting due to a recent health diagnosis.

“Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” the statement read. “As a result of this and with much consideration, Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”

From his turns as unlikely action hero John McClane in the Die Hard series to smaller supporting roles in 1994’s Pulp Fiction and 1995’s Nobody’s Fool, Willis has consistently surprised audiences with his eclectic career choices. For more on Willis, including his recording career and how he made movie history with 1988’s original Die Hard, keep reading.

Bruce Willis was born in West Germany.

Walter Bruce Willis, the son of a military man, was born on March 19, 1955, while his father was stationed in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany. Just two years later, parents David and Marlene Willis moved to Carneys Point, New Jersey, where he spent part of his time in both high school and at Montclair State University trying his hand at acting. After his sophomore year, Willis decided to leave college and head to New York City to pursue a performing career.

Bruce Willis may have been one of the best bartenders in New York City.

While auditioning for acting roles and scoring the occasional break—he appeared in an off-Broadway play, Heaven and Earth, in 1977—Willis tended bar at Chelsea Central on New York City’s Upper West Side. According to actor John Goodman, who knew Willis before either of them became famous, Willis was notable even then. “Bruce was the best bartender in New York,” Goodman told The New York Post in 2017. “He kept an entire joint entertained all night. He just kept the show going. He was amazing.”

Bruce Willis was cast in Moonlighting even though ABC thought the role was “uncastable.”

Willis had done only some stage work and bit parts in movies like 1980’s The First Deadly Sin with Frank Sinatra and 1982’s The Verdict with Paul Newman before he went in to audition for ABC’s Moonlighting, a send-up of detective dramas. At the time, the role of David Addison was proving so difficult to cast that the network was looking to pay creator Glenn Gordon Caron, director Bob Butler, and co-star Cybill Shepherd to abandon the project. Then Willis auditioned, beating out 3000 other hopefuls and securing the part. The series ran from 1985 to 1989.

Thanks to Die Hard, Bruce Willis changed Hollywood salaries forever.

While doing Moonlighting, Willis spent his hiatus shooting feature films like 1987’s Blind Date with Kim Basinger. But it was 1988’s Die Hard that cemented him as a big-screen attraction. The action film about a New York City cop trapped in a Los Angeles skyscraper with his estranged wife and a group of terrorists was a hot commodity, and 20th Century Fox agreed to pay Willis the then-astronomical sum of $5 million for the role. (Richard Gere and Clint Eastwood were also considered.) At the time, major stars like Tom Cruise and Michael J. Fox were getting roughly $3 million a picture. The payday for Willis had other performers taking notice, and salaries reportedly went up as a result.

“It was an enormous amount of money at the time,” Willis told Entertainment Weekly in 2007. “And I was a TV actor! The day after I signed the deal, every actor in Hollywood’s salary went up to $5 million.”

The Bruce Willis movie Hudson Hawk was based on a song.

Following Die Hard, Willis was a proven box office commodity that could help projects get made. In 1991, he starred in Hudson Hawk, a critical and commercial disappointment about a jewel thief with a love of music who is hired to steal from the Vatican. The film was based in part on a song written by musician Robert Kraft in 1981. Kraft knew Willis, then a bartender and actor, and shared it with him. Over the years, the two continued to shape the song, adding characters and stories. Eventually, it wound up in the hands of screenwriters Stephen De Souza and Daniel Waters.

Bruce Willis all but disappeared in Nobody’s Fool.

In contrast to conventional wisdom of the era, Willis parlayed his success as an action hero into opportunities to work with actors and directors he found interesting—even if it meant taking a small supporting role. (Willis spent just 22 minutes onscreen in 1994’s Pulp Fiction as boxer Butch Coolidge.) For 1995’s Nobody’s Fool, he passed on his normal $15 million fee to take $1400 a week since it meant working with Paul Newman. (Newman had forgotten the then-unknown Willis was a bit player in Newman’s 1982 film, The Verdict.) Because Willis felt so strongly Nobody’s Fool was Newman’s film, he opted out of having his photo included in the press kit and his name wasn’t in the production notes.

Bruce Willis had his own cartoon series.

In 1996, Willis lent his voice to Bruno the Kid, a syndicated animated series about an 11-year-old spy named Bruno who convinces his handlers he’s really an adult. “Bruno” was Willis’s nickname growing up as well as the name of his musical alter ego. In 1987, Willis released an album, The Return of Bruno, along with a cable special. The cartoon lasted one season.

Bruce Willis never finished shooting one of his movies.

In 1997, Willis started shooting Broadway Brawler, a romantic comedy about a washed-up hockey player falling in love. Just 20 days into shooting, Willis used his powers as producer to fire director Lee Grant, Grant’s husband and producer Joe Feury, cinematographer William Fraker, and wardrobe designer Carol Oditz—all reportedly over creative differences. The problems continued even after replacement director Dennis Dugan was brought on board. Rather than continue to waste money on the $28 million movie, studio Cinergi opted to shut it down. Cinergi’s parent company, Disney, absorbed the production costs in exchange for Willis agreeing to star in three Disney movies: Armageddon (1998); The Sixth Sense (1999), Willis’s biggest hit to date; and The Kid (2000).

SOURCE: MENTAL FLOSS