Believe it or Not.

When listing things there is a convention that the first item is introduced as first rather than firstly, although the following items can be said to be secondly, thirdly, fourthly, etc.

The reason for this is that first early on had a role as an adverb, and the use of firstly, though established by the 17th century, was felt to be an unnecessary affectation. Today this rule is considered outdated and a variety of sequences are sometimes used.

Firstly I want to thank those of you who left comments on the blog yesterday. It's always nice to hear from you.

Secondly I have a problem and since we're friends, as Joan Rivers often said, "Can we talk?"

On Monday November 17th I wrote about Grandson Nick and confusing his birthday with the expiration date of my yogurt. Nicks birthday is November 13th and I thought it was the 15th, the date the yogurt spoiled. 

Are you with me so far? 

So I wrote about a thousand words and ended the entry with this sentence: 

And I'm sorry I told you I though it was the 13th. I assure you that will never happen again.....I hope.

See the problem? His birthday IS the 13th. The wrap-up conclusion statement should be I'm sorry I thought it was the 15th. Writing the correct date defeats the entire purpose of the piece. And I can't correct it on some of your notifications.

If you get Email updates through Blogger, Feedburner or Feedproxy you may be getting early publications prior to me catching errors and making edits. So if you read something (assuming you even notice) that seems odd or off, it just may be.

If that does happen I suggest clicking the link on the bottom of your Email page and go directly to the blog.

I have been working on this issue off and on for several weeks and I only understand 10% of what I read. I tried to use more of my brain but I got a headache.

I remember the day Bobbie Levitt told me wrestling wasn't real, I was five or six at the time. 

My family lived around the corner from Irving's Barbershop where I spent hours playing with jukeboxes stored in the back. Some were ornate pipe organs from large movie palaces while others were control and command centers of interstellar space ships. 

I also had a never ending supply of comic books. I taught myself to read at a very early age but even before that I would follow the story through pictures. 

I had a very vivid imagination.

So there I was sitting in the lower converted sun porch of a two family flat watching the cape wearing (just like a super hero) wrestler Gorgeous George throw his Georgie Pins out to the audience when Bobbie said, "It's all fake you know."

"Is not."

"Is too."

Bobbie lived across the street and he was older than me. Maybe he was right but I refused to believe him.

Here it is, sixty years later and I'm still naive.

How times have changed.

Modern historians dispute the popular misconception that the chastity belt, a device designed to prevent women from having sexual intercourse, was invented in medieval times. Most existing chastity belts are now thought to be deliberate fakes or anti-masturbatory devices from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The latter were made due to the widespread belief that masturbation could lead to insanity, and were mostly bought by parents for their teenage children.

Cake does sound better than brioche.

Marie Antoinette did not say "let them eat cake" when she heard that the French peasantry were starving due to a shortage of bread. The phrase was first published in Rousseau's Confessions when Marie was only nine years old and most scholars believe that Rousseau coined it himself, or that it was said by Maria-Theresa, the wife of Louis XIV. Even Rousseau (or Maria-Theresa) did not use the exact words but actually Qu'ils mangent de la brioche ("Let them eat brioche [a rich type of bread]"). Marie Antoinette was an unpopular ruler; therefore, people attribute the phrase "let them eat cake" to her, in keeping with her reputation as being hard-hearted and disconnected from her subjects.

And I think I have dental issues.

George Washington did not have wooden teeth. His dentures were made of gold, hippopotamus ivory, lead, animal teeth (including horse and donkey teeth) and probably human teeth from slaves.

I'm a tad less than 5'7" and I'm short but I don't rule a country.

Napoleon Bonaparte was not short; rather he was slightly taller than the average Frenchman of his time. After his death in 1821, the French emperor’s height was recorded as 5 feet 2 inches in Frenchfeet, which is 5 feet 7 inches. Some believe that he was nicknamed le Petit Caporal (The Little Corporal) as a term of affection.

This is a perfect example of my trusting ways; I always thought it was the cow.

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was not caused by Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicking over a lantern. A newspaper reporter invented the story to make colorful copy.

It's easy to understand why going out for "sour rice" isn't popular.

Sushi does not mean "raw fish", and not all sushi includes raw fish. The name sushi means "sour rice", and refers to vinegared rice or any dish including vinegared rice; raw fish is a common inclusion, but not a necessary one.

Following the passage of recent laws convince stores in certain areas have reported a spike in Twinkie sales.

The Twinkie does not have an infinite shelf life; its listed shelf life is approximately 45 days (25 in its original formulation) and generally remains on a store shelf for only 7 to 10 days.

The Chinese think these cookies are indicative of American cuisine and we gave them fast food too.

Fortune cookies, despite being associated with Chinese cuisine in the United States, were in fact invented and brought to the U.S. by the Japanese. The cookies are extremely rare in China, where they are actually seen as symbols of American cuisine.

Early cookies had messages like "Buy Toyota" before anyone knew what a Toyota was.

Any endeavor can lead to important, thought provoking information. 

Egg balancing is possible on every day of the year, not just the vernal equinox and there is no evidence of a relationship between astronomical phenomena and the ability to balance an egg. The tradition of balancing eggs on a particular date originates in China, when it was reported on by Life magazine in 1945. However, it was reported in 1987 that Frank Ghigo was able to balance some eggs on every day from February 27 to April 3, 1984. At the same time, he also found that "...some eggs would simply never balance, on the equinox or otherwise.

So a guy with a sharp sword is starring you down. What now?

Bulls are not enraged by the color red, used in capes by professional matadors. Cattle are dichromats, so red does not stand out as a bright color. It is not the color of the cape, but the perceived threat by the matador that incites it to charge.

After living among these creatures for several years Pliny married one named Gertrude.

Ostriches do not stick their heads in the sand to hide from enemies. This misconception was probably promulgated by Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79), who wrote that ostriches "imagine", when they have thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of their body is concealed.

This information was published following a 3-year-study by the Mattlin School of Ichthyology. 

The notion that goldfish have a memory span of just a few seconds is false. It is much longer, counted in months.

In time for the holiday season, you don't need to worry about killing Fluffy, just buy extra paper towels with that beautiful plant.

Poinsettias are not highly toxic to humans or cats. While it is true that they are mildly irritating to the skin or stomach and may sometimes cause diarrhea and vomiting if eaten an American Journal of Emergency Medicine study of 22,793 cases reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers showed no fatalities and few cases requiring medical treatment. According to the ASPCA, poinsettias may cause light to mid-range gastrointestinal discomfort in felines, with diarrhea and vomiting as the most severe consequences of ingestion.

While watching a sleepwalker always steer them away from the stairs.

Waking sleepwalkers does not harm them. While it is true that a person may be confused or disoriented for a short time after awakening, this does not cause them further harm. In contrast, sleepwalkers may injure themselves if they trip over objects or lose their balance while sleepwalking. Such injuries are common among sleepwalkers.

Who would have guessed?

Eating less than an hour before swimming does not increase the risk of experiencing muscle cramps or drowning. One study shows a correlation between alcohol consumption and drowning.

Now I can stop worrying about that haircut and manicure.

Hair and fingernails do not continue to grow after a person dies. Rather, the skin dries and shrinks away from the bases of hairs and nails, giving the appearance of growth.

Makes me wonder how they know.

Swallowed chewing gum does not take seven years to digest. In fact, chewing gum is mostly indigestible, and passes through the digestive system at the same rate as other matter.

Is this true for Words with Friends?

There is no physiological basis for the belief that having sex in the days leading up to a sporting event or contest is detrimental to performance. In fact it has been suggested that sex prior to sports activity can elevate the levels of testosterone in males, which could potentially enhance their performance.

Except when men have sex, then they use much less than 10%.

People do not use only ten percent of their brains. While it is true that a small minority of neurons in the brain are actively firing at any one time, the inactive neurons are important too. This misconception has been commonplace in American culture at least as far back as the start of the 20th century, and was attributed to William James, who apparently used the expression metaphorically.

Learn from this. Do not hang out on the top of the Empire State Building. Look what happened to King Kong.

The idea that lightning never strikes the same place twice is one of the oldest and most well-known superstitions about lightning. There is no reason that lightning would not be able to strike the same place twice; if there is a thunderstorm in a given area, then objects and places which are more prominent or conductive (and therefore minimize distance) are more likely to be struck. For instance, lightning strikes the Empire State Building in New York City about 100 times per year.

So use more of your brain, always close your mouth when looking up and watch where you step. 

Toilet waste is never intentionally jettisoned from an aircraft. All waste is collected in tanks which are emptied on the ground by toilet waste vehicles. Passenger trains, on the other hand, have indeed historically flushed onto the tracks; modern trains usually have retention tanks on board and therefore do not dispose of waste in such a manner.