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As Thanksgiving approaches, stores are beginning to gear up for their big holiday sales and “Black Friday”—one of the biggest (if not the biggest) shopping days of the year. With the economy slowly starting to recover from the recession, retailers are hoping for a prosperous shopping season, and shoppers are looking for a great deal.

If you’re not interested in battling the throngs of shoppers that flock to the stores on Black Friday, perhaps waiting for “Cyber Monday” is more your speed. Similar to Black Friday, Cyber Monday refers to the first Monday following Thanksgiving, when many shoppers return to their offices and click online to continue their holiday shopping. Many e-tailers offer free shipping, online discounts, and other deals on this day to lure shoppers to their websites.

With just 22 days until the start of Hanukkah and 36 days ’til Christmas, the holiday shopping season is nearly here. (Looking for a Black Friday Survival Guide? Stop by Shine for a few tips on how to weather the sales!)

Do you typically go shopping on Black Friday? If so, do you make it out for the early sales or do you visit the stores later in the day? Or, do you avoid the stores altogether and wait for Cyber Monday? Tell us your holiday shopping habits by leaving a comment!

In today’s economic downturn, holding onto a job has become, well, a full time job. With so many workers living in perpetual fear of the pink slip, I got to wondering how the term originated. Once upon a time, were workers given actual pink pieces of paper when they were fired? Seems almost too cruel to be true.

After a Yahoo! search on “pink slip origin,” I came across this interesting blog from the urban legend experts at Snopes.com. They delve into the history of the phrase and note that its origin has never been verified.

But the lack of evidence hasn’t stopped the theories. One of the most popular explanations has to do with Henry Ford. According to legend, back in the early days of Ford Motor Company, when an employee was performing substandard work, he or she would find a pink slip of paper in their cubbyhole. Pink slip meant do not come back.

Good story, but nobody knows if it’s really true. An interview with an editor from the Oxford English Dictionary on PublicRadio.org offers a similar explanation (or lack thereof). Despite historians having looked into the origin of the phrase, nobody has ever found an actual example of a pink slip of paper having ever been used to fire someone.

The editor does note that pink pieces of paper have long held connections to rejection. In the olden days, when a typographer made a mistake, he or she was given a note on pink paper. The theory: if a typographer got enough of those dreaded pink notes, he or she would likely have been shown the door.

There are plenty of stories online from people who say they were given literal pink slips, but apparently none have satisfied historians. Have any of you ever received an actual pink slip when laid off? The closest I ever came was a terse phone call from my boss when I was a teenager. I would have fired me, too.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Over the years, you’ve left literally thousands of comments on Mike’s blogs discussing his posts, suggesting new topics for him to post about, and engaging with other Answers community members.

Now, we’d like to invite you to continue the discussion on the Ask Mike Yahoo! Group, found here: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/AskMikeonAnswers/ – you’ll still find Mike’s posts here on the Answers blog, but will now have the opportunity of shaping future entries by joining the group and suggesting ideas for future posts!

Feel free to stop by the group, share your thoughts and suggestions, and who knows, maybe your ideas will be featured in the next “Ask Mike” column!

While a basic search (using the top search bar) will produce quick search results, the advanced search function will help you pinpoint specific terms within targeted categories.

Answers community member Calimecita is well known across the community for her expertise in Biology/Zoology and has worked with us to provide useful Answers tips from Answers users.  Read on for her tips:

“Using Advanced Search you can:

• Find questions that match specific words or phrases, and/or exclude specific terms
• Search questions or best answers only
• Search by category or subcategory
• Choose to search among all English vs. only your home portal questions
• Filter by question status (open, resolved, undecided)
• Restrict by question time frame

You also have the option of saving this search and making it your default “advanced search” for the future by checking the “Make this my default search” box.

Says Cali: “With Advanced Search, I can locate open questions about specific topics quickly and efficiently, without restricting myself to a single category. I’ve even set up a few Yahoo! Alerts based on the RSS feeds from these Search results, so that I receive those questions as emails.”

“When I need an Answer, I restrict my search to “Resolved Questions” only and use some of the other options, such as “search for exact phrase” and “none of these words”, to find very specific content (for example, information about turkeys that doesn’t involve Thanksgiving recipes, or a question about vampires – not the Twilight kind ).

I see lots of comments and requests in the Suggestion Board for ways to do these things – and many users don’t know that Advanced Search is the answer.”

For an even more in-depth look at what the advanced search feature can do for you, stop by Calimecita’s Unofficial Answers Tutorial, found here: http://calitorial.webs.com/searchsort.htm

Photo by mrmoorey

Recently, the rock band Aerosmith announced that it was “positively” seeking a new lead singer to replace Steven Tyler. Immediately following the news, sites like Yahoo! and Twitter saw a spike in searches for Steven Tyler, Aerosmith, and their hits. Joe Perry, lead guitarist for Aerosmith, vows to continue the band and is considering replacing Tyler with another lead vocalist. Then, a few days later, Tyler and Perry announced that Tyler was simply going on a two-year break.

Whatever Steven Tyler and Aerosmith’s future holds, for many bands, replacing the lead singer is the “kiss of death”—a sign that the end is near, because the lead singer often lends his soul to the band. Without him, the band often falters. But for some bands, changing the lead singer can signal the start of something new.

What do you think the future holds for Aerosmith? And can you think of a band that succeeded after the lead singer left? What about one that failed? Please be sure to tell us why you think they failed (or succeeded) when leaving your comment!

– Willeke, 71,306  points, Level 7, 66%

Every so often we,  the Yahoo! Answers Team see someone on Answers that goes above and beyond the norm, providing such great contributions that they deserve to be celebrated.  Previous contributors in this category include Spellbound, Tunisian Belle, Calimecita and Victor. This time the spotlight turns to Willeke, an expert in travel and… well, perhaps we’ll let her tell you in her own words.

Meet Willeke

“I am Dutch, still live in the village in which I was born.  It is not to far from Amsterdam, but completely separate, there are about 5 towns and a city between us and them. I have been a regular visitor in Amsterdam all my live though.”

“I work fulltime, and have some time consuming hobbies besides. One I can combine with going to work, I ride a recumbent trike, as my main transport. For longer distances I often use the train, as I do not have a driving license (out of choice.)”

“My main hobby is tying knots, I have done that ever since I was a child and still spend time on it. I am a member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers, which is a world wide organisation devoted to knots, their history, practical uses, new developments and everything else there is to know about it. Here is a link to their website.”

Discovering Answers

“It is through knots that I met Yahoo answers, March 28, 2007, I saw a knot question on the page of a Yahoo group I was (and still am) a member of. I was drawn into Yahoo! Answers by that and am here ever since.”

“When I started I did answer in Hobbies and crafts, knot related but also other crafts. Since then I have moved toward travel more. Netherlands and Other Europe, and train questions in several more spots on the boards. About Europe I answer general questions, about all the places I have been often enough to know what I am talking about. (Although I do use search often to refresh my memory for factual things.)”

“I like helping people, in searching for answers I have learned a lot. I do not ask questions, as most of the things I need information about are very specialist, and I go to where the specialists are. Or they have been asked before and I read the older questions and their answers.”

Some great Best Answers from Willeke

• What’s there to see in Luxembourg?
• How can I travel by train in Europe?
• Is Spain similar to all of her previous colonies?
• Any advice on good cheap hostels in France, Italy, Belgium, Germany?
• I’d like to do the river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest in mid March. What would the weather be like?
• What exactly is the big difference between a hostel and a hotel/motel or a boarding house and where can I find a list of hostels both in the United States and Europe?

Willeke on her fellow Answers contributors…

“I admire most top answerers in the European travel sections, but as there are so many, it is very hard to name only one. All have their knowledge and specialist areas and all are friendly towards each other. But one answerer that stands out to me, who I meet in several categories: Mariner31. Always good answers, friendly advice and mostly out of experience, not just from reading the book or website.”

Photo by mike 23

I’m a sucker for a good disaster movie.  Films like “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Children of Men,” and “Independence Day” were all fascinating and disturbing, but ultimately safe and cathartic ways to examine our fears about the end of the world. There’s a new disaster flick to add to the list, and if the pre-opening buzz is any indication, we’re in for quite a ride with “2012.”  The new film by Roland Emmerich focuses on the interpretation of the Mayan calendar which predicts that the current life cycle will end on December 21, 2012, speculating that a worldwide apocalypse will ensue.

Let’s face it — though scary, most “end of the world” prophecies are easy to dismiss.  I mean, so many have come and gone throughout history with nothing to show. Just within the last decade, there have been a handful of predicted apocalypse scenarios.  According to Nostradamus, we weren’t supposed to make it past 1999, and even if we did, Y2K was sure to do us in.  Why should  the 2012 prediction be any different?

Well, for one thing, the Mayas were different from, and perhaps a bit more knowledgeable, than some other doomsday foretellers. The Mayan calendar is almost as advanced as our own at predicting astrological phenomena like eclipses and alignments — a pretty amazing feat considering that they didn’t have access to telescopes, satellites, and the other advanced technology that we have at our disposal.  The Mayas chose 2012’s solstice as doomsday based on astronomical observations predicting a squaring-off between the powerful forces of Pluto and Saturn — a phenomenon that, according to my understanding, will indeed occur around that time.

But, to be fair, this same cosmic occurrence has happened many times before, most recently between August 2001 and May 2002, and we came through it just fine.  Much of the hype about 2012 is actually just that: hype.  Even modern Mayas are discounting the validity of the interpretation of their ancient calendar. But no one can deny that we, as a society, love a bit of suspense.  Fueled by Internet speculation, sensationalist authors and scientists, and, of course, the upcoming Hollywood blockbuster, anxiety about 2012 is certainly on the rise and will probably continue to pervade popular culture…at least until 2013 and the next big apocalypse prediction.

Do you believe in the Mayan prophecy regarding Dec. 21, 2012?   And if you knew it were true, how would you like to spend your next (and last) 3 years on earth?

The World Series, the Super Bowl, and college basketball’s March Madness are three of the biggest events in sports. They’re all so popular, that it’s hard to imagine ‘em being called anything else. Each term is now a part of the average American’s vocabulary, but who deserves the credit?

According to various sources across the Web, the Spalding Guide, a magazine put out by the sporting goods company, was responsible for coming up with the name “World Series.” Why the word “World,” when the first baseball teams were American? According to a blog from Road Side Photos, the National League’s Chicago squad and the American Association’s St. Louis team could both be considered champs back in 1887. So, “a more grandiose name was required to describe the postseason showdown” between the two leagues. The name “World Series” stuck.

The Super Bowl has an even more interesting history. A blog entry from Doc’s Sports explains that it was Lamar Hunt, one-time owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, who coined the phrase. Mr. Hunt came up with the “unofficial nickname” for the NFL-AFL World Championship Game after watching his daughter play with a “Super Ball” toy. After a few years, the name Super Bowl officially replaced the more formal “World Championship Game.”

And what of March Madness? Slate.com hosts an excellent article on how the name came to exist (and all the legal battles that would later ensue). Back in 1939, a chap named Henry Porter wrote an article called “March Madness” for the Illinois High School Association. Slate explains that “the phrase was confined to Illinois high-school ball until 1982, when CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger used it during his network’s NCAA tournament coverage.” The phrase “Final Four,” meanwhile, was coined by Ed Chay, a sportswriter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

On a somewhat related note, I’d like to pose a question to you guys–how did an Academy Award get to be named an Oscar? Got any ideas? Please leave a comment and link below.

Thanks for reading,

Thanks again for your patience during the outage and for all the great submissions.

If you didn’t get a chance to submit a Yamster, or want to take a look at some of the other nominees, be sure to stop by the Flickr pool, found here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/answershalloween/pool/

Grand Prize Winner – (500 points)

Cameron

Category Winners – (100 points)

Spookiest, X-Ellen-X

Best Effects,TechOfAJob

Best Classic Costume, ☸ ☥ ♡ ☮ ☯,

Photo by elana

As the leaves on the trees transition from green and gold to bright oranges and reds, my cravings shift from ice cream and cold sandwiches to soups and baked goodies. It’s time to fire up the oven instead of the barbecue, and to bake with reckless abandon. Along with the perk of fresh baked bread, cookies, and pumpkin muffins, the house smells delicious and the heat from the oven cozily warms up the place.  I especially like to add cloves to my autumn dishes, for that slightly warmer, spicier flavor. Fall cooking combines the delicious with the necessary. Our house isn’t all sugar and carbohydrates, however–I’m also a soup fiend.

There’s nothing that warms the body and soul like a bowl of soup on a chilly day, and I’m a fan of soups from around the world. I make borscht with fresh beets from our community-supported agriculture (CSA) box, which is enough to convert any beet-averse person to come to the purple side. I have my own version of chicken soup, where the secret ingredient isn’t just love, but also liberal amounts of ginger, a jalapeno pepper, and garlic. It comforts the soul, soothes the stomach, and is just what the doctor ordered whether or not you’re feeling under the weather. Just this last weekend, I was at the New York State Sheep and Wool festival, and had the most amazing lamb and barley soup, which I’m hoping to replicate at home.

I’m also experimenting with a recipe for Pho, the Vietnamese beef and noodle soup, but I haven’t quite perfected it yet. I love experimenting with recipes, because when they work out well, it’s amazing, and when my experiments in gastronomy end up to be disasters, they make for great stories.  We have a fully stocked take-out menu drawer for just these types of occasions.

What are you cooking this fall season?