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Hey Guys,

When I was a kid and I saw the ice cream man on my street, I ran toward it like a bat out of hell. Now that I’m older, my opportunities to chase the ice cream vender around the block are all too rare. Fortunately, I do have access to the next best thing: Girl Scout cookies.

I recently took delivery of a few boxes from a coworker whose daughter enlisted in the Scouts. It all got me wondering — when did this cookie tradition begin? In the old days, did Girl Scouts make the cookies themselves? And who makes ‘em now?

According to the organization’s official website, the Girl Scouts began in 1912. However it wasn’t until 1917 that one particular troop began to sell cookies as a way to pay for their activities. The Mistletoe Troop out of Muskogee, Oklahoma sold home-baked cookies in the local high school cafeteria in December of 1917. They didn’t know it then, but they were starting something very special.

As the Girl Scouts expanded, so too did the sales of cookies. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, young girls, with the help of their mothers, baked sugar cookies to sell. In 1936, according to the Scouts, the national organization “began the process to license the first commercial baker to produce cookies that would be sold by girls in Girl Scout councils.” Interestingly, sales of the cookies stopped during World War II, due to a national shortage of flour, butter, and sugar.

These days, Girl Scout Cookies are sold all over the country, especially the ever-popular Thin Mints. They account for roughly 25% of all Girl Scout Cookie sales. In second place — the caramel and coconut-flavored Samoas with a formidible 19%. Two big bakeries churn out the cookies for the Girl Scouts: ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers.

Got a favorite flavor? What about requests for future varieties? I’ve always wondered why they don’t sell chocolate chip cookies. Seems like a rather odd omission…

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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Hey Guys,

Anyone who has seen “Mary Poppins” might think that “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” is the longest word in the English language. And, if it were a real word, it might be the longest. But gibberish does not a word make. So, what is the “real” longest word in English? Let’s consult our old all-knowing friend, the Web.

A quick Yahoo! search on “longest word in English language” led me to this page from the Oxford Dictionary. The language enthusiasts listed a slew of candidates for the longest word in the English language. Some contenders: radioimmunoelectrophoresis (length: 26 letters; definition: no clue, but probably something medical), floccinaucinihilipilification (29 letters; “the estimation of something as valueless“), and antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters; “opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an established church“).

All hilariously long words, but according to the Oxford Dictionary, one word trumps ‘em all: the little used “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.” That’s 45 letters, kids. Dictionary.com explains that it refers to “a lung disease caused by silica dust.” The word is, thankfully, quite obscure, so some might argue that it doesn’t count. However, Oxford explains that the word (which I refuse to re-type) is included in its dictionaries. So, I say the title belongs to it.

How about the longest English word that’s only one syllable? Again, I turned to the Oxford Dictionary, and it didn’t let me down. Apparently, there are several nine-letter words that hold the record. They are, in no particular order of loquaciousness: screeched, scratched, scrounged, scrunched, stretched, straights, and strengths.

Phew, got all that? Do you guys have a favorite word you like to drop in conversations to make you seem smart? Whenever I’m looking to impress somebody I like to haughtily say the word “thus” whenever making my point. When I want to be passive aggressive, I drop the word “actually” as often as possible. Got any other tricks for impressing and annoying others with language? Please leave a comment below. And thus, you will be heard.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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Hey Guys,

Whenever I can’t sleep (thankfully a rare occurrence, I’m only half awake right now), I imagine myself skiing down a giant mountain without a care in the world. Usually I’m snoring my head off in no time. Conventional wisdom says you should “count sheep” when you need some shut eye. How in the world did this get started?

In a way it makes sense. When you can’t sleep, it’s likely because you’re stressed out or distracted about something. What better way to stop focusing on your worries than by doing something totally monotonous, like, say, counting sheep. A video from the Bay Area’s CBS 5 explains that this does work for some people.

But why sheep and not lions or frogs or labradoodles? The experts at The Word Detective speculate that the tradition dates back to “at least the mid-19th century.” The Phrase Finder actually goes a step further, finding a quote from 1854 that may have started the tradition. In “Way Down East,” by Seba Smith, the author writes, “He shut his eyes with all his might, and tried to think of sheep jumping over a wall.”

Another blog from Haaretz.com, an Israeli newspaper, sites a book called “Illustrations of Political Economy” by Harriet Martineau. In the book, she writes, “It was a sight of monotony to behold one sheep after another follow the adventurous one… the recollection of the scene of transit served to send the landowner to sleep more than once, when occurring at the end of the train of anxious thoughts which had kept him awake.”

There is another, non literary, theory for why we count sheep. According to an article from The New York Times, “some authorities think it may have to do with a tallying system devised by shepherds in ancient Britain.” And, interestingly, a study mentioned in the same article found that folks who were told to count sheep in an effort to fall asleep actually took longer. People who pictured a relaxing scene like a beach fell asleep “an average of 20 minutes sooner than they did on other nights.”

Got any of your own tips on falling asleep quickly? Please leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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Hey Guys,

I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next paranoid nutcase. And, if you ask me, few conspiracy theories are as juicy as Area 51. That’s the infamous location believed to be near Roswell, New Mexico, (but is actually located closer to Las Vegas, Nevada) where many believe the U.S. government has proof that UFOs exist.

Like all good conspiracy theories, the lack of definitive evidence is beside the point. After all, if there was proof, there wouldn’t be a conspiracy, right? No, what’s cool about Area 51 are the theories and explanations. Heck, even the name “Area 51″ is bit steeped in secrecy.

According to HowStuffWorks.com, one theory surrounding the name “Area 51″ is more popular than the rest. The facility apparently borders the Nevada Test Site (NTS), a testing ground for atomic bombs. The NTS divided this land into a grid, numbered one to 30. The theory states that Area 51 (while not part of the actual grid), borders on Area 15. “Many say the site got the name Area 51 by transposing the 1 and 5 of its neighbor.” Side note: not everybody called it Area 51. Some higher-ups called it “Paradise Ranch” in an effort to make it sound more appealing to military employees who didn’t want to leave their families for weeks at a time.

The debate over Area 51 started back in 1947 after “something” crashed near Roswell. In the years since, news agencies like the Los Angeles Times and ABC have interviewed former employees about what really went down. One ex-engineer, Thornton “T.D.” Barnes, used to work on spy planes, one of which traveled at 2,000 mph. As it zoomed through the sky, the plane would cause light flashes. He believes that’s how the rumors of E.T. and ALF living at Area 51 got their start.

What do you guys think about Area 51 and aliens? Is the government hiding something? Personally, I have my doubts. I just don’t think the government would be able to keep a big secret for so long. Disagree? Feel free to write a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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Hey Guys,

Most new cameras have something called “red eye reduction” for flash photos. It’s a feature that keeps folks looking like regular human beings and less like they’ve been possessed by Lucifer. But what causes red eye in the first place? And how do new cameras keep eyes looking normal?

The aptly named “HowStuffWorks.com” explains why people get red eyes in flash photos. The red eyes get their color “from light that reflects off of the retinas.” So, “what you see is the red color from the blood vessels nourishing the eye.” If not for the blood vessels, the light would bounce back as white.

A blog entry from Strange Questions goes into a bit more detail. Apparently red eye is more frequent among people with “light blue eyes, light skin, and light hair.” Additionally, compact cameras are more likely to cause red eye. The smaller the camera, the closer the lens is to the flash. And the closer the lens is to the flash, the more likely you are to get red eyes.

Fortunately, many cameras have “red eye reduction” that helps people look a bit more normal in flash photos. HowStuffWorks.com explains that in order to make this feature work, the camera fires off two flashes. The first flash, which goes off right before the photo is snapped, causes the pupils to contract. That reduces red eye. The second flash goes off when the shutter opens.

There are other ways you can limit red eye. If the flash is detachable, try holding it away from the lens. Another method, according to HowStuffWorks, is to try aiming the flash at the ceiling and rely on reflected light. Thanks to digital cameras, you can always snap another photo if these methods don’t work.

Got any of your tips for taking better photos? By all means, leave a comment below. I just got a new camera and it has more settings than my TV has channels. I could use all the help I can get.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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