Where have I been?

I know you're wondering what is so important that has been going on in my life that has been keeping me from posting.

Well, to summarize it - last weekend my sweetheart left town for a day so I kept myself busy with friends and went to the Chesapeake Jubilee and taught Sunday School.

Then, last week was a hectic one at work (see previous post) and then Thursday I had another "acute" gallbladder attack. Boo. Friday I was back at work trying my hardest to get the June magazine out my door.

Now you're caught up to this past Saturday when we played a round of golf with friends (more to come on that one) and relaxed. Sunday was church and I went to the Pungo Strawberry Festival with some friends to see their daughter in a dance recital (and get out of the house so the sweetie could study). Sunday night we went for ice cream with a couple in our class - he just got home from an 8-month deployment on the Eisenhower last Wednesday. Yesterday was another blah-feeling day so I took it easy around the house and slept quite a bit.

And now you're to today and work's a little crazy for me because my boss and two other co-workers had to go home not feeling good. (Too much fun over the weekend, eh?)

So what's the story for me this week? Tomorrow is my work's scholarship breakfast at 7 am (UGH!) and Friday I have a surgical consult to see about this stupid gallbladder and the company's picnic right after (another UGH).

Our vacation can't come soon enough!

So now you're filled in, I'm moving on to random questions you've never thought about but will know the answers to after reading:

Q: How much money can you make off competitive SCRABBLE?

A: Sure, all board games dream of becoming famous, but none has surpassed the star-power of SCRABBLE. Invented in 1931 by out-of-work architect Alfred Mosher Butts, the game inspiringly overcame the definition of its name (scrabble literally means “to scrape or grope frenetically”) and went on to sell more than 100 million sets worldwide. The wild success of the game spawned the National SCRABBLE Association, a legion of 10,000 professional tournament players (not to mention their arsenal of 120,000 approved words), and more than 200 clubs across the United States and Canada. All of this culminates in the National SCRABBLE Championship, which is proudly broadcast on ESPN and featuring more than 850 letter lancers going head-to-head. Although it might be tough to become the “Rocky of Etymology,” amateur wordsmiths who think they have their frenetic groping down to a science can show up at one of 180 different NSA-sanctioned tournaments in an attempt to score one of 12 qualifying slots, giving them the opportunity to compete for upwards of $100,000 in total cash and prizes.

Q: Who’s the genius behind the Life Saver?

A: Now realize, we’re talking candy here, not flotation device (we did use the word genius, right?) Well, here’s the story. Before electric refrigeration became widespread and affordable (around 1920), summer was a bad time for chocolate makers. So when Ohio chocolate manufacturer Clarence Crane was looking for some non-melty revenue streams in 1912, he decided to develop a hard, peppermint candy that could withstand the summer heat. To make his candy even more summer-friendly (and to differentiate them from the traditional square mints) Crane shaped his invention like the life preservers seen on ocean vessels. Unfortunately, the candy innovator underestimated the American passion for food with holes and sold the brand to an ad salesman named Edward John Noble for a paltry $2,900 just before Life Saver sales began to skyrocket. The only change Noble made to the product was switching the packaging from thin cardboard (which made the candy taste, well, like cardboard) to its trademark foil. Between 1913 and 1987, over 33.4 billion Life Savers were sold.

Q: How come no one knows where Genghis Khan is buried?

A: Well, for good reason! Apparently those in charge of the burial were ridiculously cautious about not letting word get out as to the location of the site. It was on August 18, 1227 when Genghis, the most feared leader of the 13th century, was led to burial, with a procession of 2,500 followers and a mounted bodyguard of 400 soldiers (kind of like a Macy’s parade minus the floats). Anyone unfortunate enough to happen upon the procession was immediately put to death by the soldiers. When the procession arrived at a remote mountain location in Mongolia, 40 virgins were killed to provide dear Genghis with needed pleasures in the afterlife. Then, at the end of the funeral ceremony, the soldiers killed all 2,500 members of the procession. And when the 400 soldiers returned to the capital city, they were all immediately put to death by another group of soldiers. You see, because Khan was considered a god, it was of utmost importance that his site not be plundered. And what better way to ensure this than to make it so that those with knowledge would keep their mouths shut – permanently. So did anyone survive the expedition? Well, yes – a camel. The creature was spared so that she could find her way back to the site if Khan’s family needed to visit. Of course, the family had to be led blindfolded – if they knew the whereabouts, then they too would be put to death.

Q: What’s the greatest piece of art written about coffee?

A: Before we get going on the art, let’s chat about the worth of this delectable beverage. It’s estimated that about one-third of the world’s population consumes the dark, caffeinated deliciousness that is coffee. And for said deliciousness we can thank the farmers of the Islamic world, who first cultivated coffee plants in the early 15th Century. Perhaps this explains why Arabs were inventing algebra while Europeans were busy debating how many angels could fit on the head of a pin. It may also have something to do with why Europe’s Renaissance kicked into high gear in the 16th century (the same year coffee was introduced there). But as long as we’re giving coffee credit for fostering human innovation, add the masterpieces of composer (and noted java fan) Johann Sebastian Bach to that list. In 1732, Bach wrote “Kafee Kantate,” which told the comic story of a man who wants his daughter to give up drinking the beverage, but the woman refuses. Coffee, she sings, “is lovelier than a thousand kisses.”

And now you've been updated on me and made aware of some fun trivia. Happy Tuesday.