10 WEIRD FOOD LAWS

I came across a list of 10 weird laws concerning food and today I'd like to share them with you.  And weird doesn't even begin to describe the absurdity. Perhaps comical is a better word. :)

1)  Greene, New York:  It's against the law to eat peanuts and walk backwards down the street while a concert is playing.

Apparently it's okay when a concert is NOT playing. How about this? Is it okay to walk backwards down the street while a concert is playing if you're eating cashews rather than peanuts? With peanuts, perhaps people were dropping the shells on the sidewalk and making a mess, but what does that have to do with walking backwards during a concert? And are we talking only outdoor concerts or does that apply to walking in front of a concert hall where a performance is in progress? There had to be some reason for the lawmakers to actually spend time on this and vote to make it a law. I wonder what the reason could have been?

2)  Massachusetts:  At a wake, mourners may eat no more than three sandwiches.

This totally baffles me. Why would there be a law governing how much people are allowed to eat at a wake? And for that matter, why does it apparently apply only to sandwiches and not other food?

3)  Beech Grove, Indiana:  It is forbidden to eat watermelon in the park.

So, for everyone enjoying a summer picnic in the park, you're breaking the law if watermelon is part of your meal? Did rival picnic groups end up in a watermelon fight thus causing the ban? Did Gallagher show up with his watermelon smashing sledge hammer? Honeydew melon and cantaloupe are okay but not watermelon? Again, one can only wonder what happened to result in such a weird law.

4)  Riverside, California:  One may not carry a lunch down the street between 11 and 1 o'clock.

First, I'm assuming this means 11AM and 1PM as in the normal period thought of as lunch time. But the purpose of the law? Was there a time in Riverside's history when gangs of hungry people prowled the streets during those hours looking to steal a lunch from some unsuspecting pedestrian? Gangs that did not pose a threat at 10:45AM or at 1:15PM? Gangs that were only concerned with lunch and not dinner?

5)  Maryland:  It's against the law to eat while swimming in the ocean.

Another assumption—this relates only to people and not to anything that actually lives in the ocean, which makes it a gray area for Aquaman? Apparently it's okay to eat while swimming in a lake, pond, river, or swimming pool. Again another assumption—you have discovered some type of food that can stand up to all that water? And you don't mind ingesting whatever bacteria/germs are in that water as part of your snack? I can intellectually understand the concept of food in the ocean attracting some sort of unwanted predator, but wouldn't the person be a similar type of temptation?

6)  Marion, Ohio:  It's a violation to eat a donut while walking backwards.

Again the prohibition on eating something specific while walking backwards. What is it with the walking backwards stuff? So, people living in Greene, New York, who want to eat their peanuts while walking backwards need to travel to Marion, Ohio, and people in Marion, Ohio, who want to eat their donuts while walking backwards can do it in Greene, New York?

7)  Carmel, New York:  It's illegal to eat ice cream while standing on the sidewalk.

Hmmm…is it okay to eat the ice cream while walking backwards as long as you aren't standing still?

8)  Rosemead, California:  Eating ice cream in public with a fork is prohibited.

My first thought is…who eats ice cream with a fork.  But, moving beyond that. Apparently it's okay to eat ice cream while walking backwards as long as you aren't using a fork.

9)  California:  It is illegal to eat an orange in your bathtub.

Now they've gone too far! Bad enough to mess with what you're allowed to eat in public, but in the privacy of your own bathroom? How is it possible to even enforce this law? Knowing that eating the orange while in your bathtub is illegal, close the bathroom door and cover the window so no one can see that you're actually in the tub while eating your orange.

10)  Boston, Massachusetts:  It is illegal to eat peanuts in church.

Does this apply to anything happening in a church building such as a social gathering of some sort or only to a church service? It would seem to me that it would be inappropriate to be eating anything during a church service. Again the peanuts are being taken to task. I guess that means it's legal to eat them while walking backwards down the street while a concert is playing since it's Boston rather than Greene, New York.

Well…that's the list I found of 10 Weird Food Laws.  Seems to me they should all be taken off the books as frivolous and basically unenforceable laws.

Say Goodbye To Summer And Hello to Autumn

Wednesday, September 23, 2015, marks the official end of summer and start of autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere—the Autumnal Equinox.

Earlier in September in my little corner of the world provided a delightful taste of the fall weather to come.  That crisp feel in the air with cooler temperatures replacing the heat and dryer air shoving aside the retched humidity of summer.  That change to cool dry air brought a renewed vigor, a revived energy to replace the lackluster feeling resulting from the summer heat and humidity...at least for me.  (Do you get the impression that I don't function well in heat and humidity?)

Just as I love the renewal of life in the spring—bright green new leaves on the trees, colorful flowers, the awakening of nature from winter's long hibernation—I also love the change of the leaves to their brilliant array of fall colors in autumn.  This year we've exceeded our average amount of rainfall, so I'm hoping for a more colorful autumn than we've had the last couple of years.

I can say with all sincerity that I'm happy to welcome the end of summer.  Oh, yeah…also happy to welcome the start of fall.  But it's mostly the end of summer's heat and humidity that thrills me. I do have to admit that the summer of 2015 was definitely milder than the previous two summers, only a few days of 100 degree and over temperatures.  However, we did have many super high humidity days.  Ugh!

Welcome autumn...I'm thrilled to see you!  But, on the other hand, I'm hoping for a mild winter.

What Your Handwriting Reveals

Graphologists claim that your handwriting can reveal clues to your personality. There are many small details that provide clues to your personality in addition to several generalizations. Let's see if any of these observations ring true for you.

Small handwriting is associated with being studious, shy, meticulous and concentrated.

Large handwriting is associated with being an outgoing, attention-loving person.

Average handwriting is associated with being well-adjusted and adaptable.

Wide spacing between words means you enjoy your freedom. It also means that you don't typically enjoy large crowds and you don't like to be overwhelmed.

Narrow spacing between words means that you can't stand being alone and you tend to crowd people.

Having rounded letters is typically associated with being artistic or creative.

Having pointed letters can mean you are intense, intelligent, curious and aggressive.

People who write with connected letters are associated with being logical and systematic.

Crossing the very top of the 'T' generally means you have good self-esteem, are optimistic and ambitious.

Crossing the middle of the 't' generally means you are confident and comfortable in your own skin.

Leaving open letters (like not closing an 'O') typically means you are expressive, social and talkative.

Writing a closed letter 'O' indicates you are a private person and an introvert.

If the dot on your 'i' lands high above the letter, you are considered to be imaginative.

If your dot lands to the left of the letter 'i,' then you might be a procrastinator.

If the dot is perfectly over the 'i,' you are considered to be detail-oriented, empathetic and organized.

If the dot of your 'i' has a circle, then you are considered to be a visionary or child-like.

If the dot looks more like a slash, then you might be overly self-critical.

So ... what does your handwriting say about you?

24 Historical Quotes That Proved To Be Very Wrong

Statements are made, then the reality follows.  Here is a list of 24 historical quotes probably believed when they were first spoken but have since been proven to be very wrong.

24)  "There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable.  It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will."

  --Albert Einstein, 1932

23)  "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."

  --Decca Recording Company on refusing to sign the Beatles, 1962

22)  "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.  The device is inherently of no value to us."

  --Western Union internal memo, 1876

21)  "Reagan doesn't have that presidential look."

  --United Artists executive after rejecting Reagan as lead in the 1964 film THE BEST MAN.

20)  "Train travel at high speed is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia."

  --Dr. Dionysius Lardner, 1830

19)  "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

  --Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

18)  "X-rays will prove to be a hoax."

  --Lord Kelvin, President of the Royal Society, 1883

17)  "Everyone acquainted with the subject will recognize it as a conspicuous failure."

  --Henry Morton, president of the Stevens Institute of Technology, on Edison's light bulb, 1880

16)  The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty—a fad."

  --The president of the Michigan Savings Bank advising Henry Ford's lawyer not to invest in the Ford Motor Co., 1903

15)  "Television won't last because people will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."

  --Darryl Zanuck, movie producer, 20th Century Fox, 1946

14)  "No one will pay good money to get from Berlin to Potsdam in one hour when he can ride his horse there in one day for free."

  --King William I of Prussia on trains in 1864

13)  "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home."

  --Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), in a talk given to a 1977 World Future Society meeting in Boston

12)  "If excessive smoking actually plays a role in the production of lung cancer, it seems to be a minor one."

  --W.C. Heuper, National Cancer Institute, 1954

11)  "No, it will make war impossible."

  --Hiram Maxim, inventor of the machine gun, in response to the question "Will this gun not make war more terrible?" from Havelock Ellis, an English scientist, 1893

10)  "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value.  Who would pay for a message sent to no one in particular?"

  --Associates of David Sarnoff responding to the latter's call for investment in the radio in 1921

9)  "There will never be a bigger plane built."

  --A Boeing engineer after the first flight of the 247, a twin engine plane that held ten people

8)  "How, sir, would you make a ship sail against the wind and currents by lighting a bonfire under her deck?  I pray you, excuse me, I have not the time to listen to such nonsense."

  --Napoleon Bonaparte, when told of Robert Fulton's steamboat, 1800s

7)  "The idea that cavalry will be replaced by these iron coaches is absurd.  It is little short of treasonous."

  --Comment of Aide-de-camp to Field Marshal Haig, at tank demonstration 1916

6)  "I must confess that my imagination refuses to see any sort of submarine doing anything but suffocating its crew and floundering at sea."

  --HG Wells, British novelist, in 1901

5)  "The world potential market for copying machines is 5000 at most."

  --IBM, to the eventual founders of Xerox, saying the photocopier had no market large enough to justify production, 1959

4)  "It'll be gone by June."

  --Variety Magazine on Rock n' Roll, 1955

3)  "And for the tourist who really wants to get away from it all, safaris in Vietnam."

  --Newsweek, predicting popular holidays for the late 1960s

2)  "When the Paris Exhibition [of 1878] closes, electric light will close with it and no more will be heard of it."

  --Oxford professor Erasmus Wilson

1)  "A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth's atmosphere."

  --New York Times, 1936

Right now, somewhere in the world, there is a prominent person making a statement about some new emerging innovation that will give future generations a good chuckle.