Ever heard the phrase, “Bah! Humbug!” around Christmastime & wonder what it means? The most famous examples of the phrase come from Charles Dickens’s timeless 1843 tale, A Christmas Carol, in which the curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge regularly proclaims “Bah! Humbug!” when referring to Christmas. Since Scrooge particularly hates the otherwise happy holiday, it’s easy to…
Mistletoe is a strange plant. Certain varieties are poisonous, with their toxic white berries being able to cause a variety of digestive issues. It’s also a parasitic plant, attaching itself onto other trees to steal their water & nutrients. Mistletoe seeds are then dispersed by birds that eat its berries, allowing the plant to grow…
Most families that celebrate Christmas here in the US leave out cookies & milk for Santa & carrots for his reindeer. But is that a worldwide habit? What do other countries provide as snack food for Santa? Well actually, the big guy doesn’t spend his entire 24-hour present-delivery schedule eating only cookies & milk. Santa…
Ever been tempted to pour some bourbon into your coffee, or a little vodka into your O.J., the morning after an alcohol-fueled night out? Basically, combating your hangover with more alcohol, better known as “hair of the dog”? Why do we call it that? And does it really work? The full phrase, “the hair of…
