An eclectic blend of a conversational Coffee Klatch with a sense of wonder, discovery, and intellectual playfulness, much like the historical Cabinets of Curiosities that housed rare artifacts, oddities, and treasures.
In this weekly newsletter, each issue opens a drawer to reveal something fascinating, funny, or thought-provoking. It’s part archive, part adventure!
Cabinet Drawer of the Week
The Flying Spaghetti Monster is the “deity” of a parody religious movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion. Pastafarianism began as a reaction to the teaching of intelligent design in public schools. I don’t think anyone seriously believes it; it’s just a parody.
It was first described in a satirical open letter written by Bobby Henderson in 2005 to protest the Kansas Board of Education’s decision to allow the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution. He demanded equal time in science classrooms for “Flying Spaghetti Monsterism” alongside evolution and intelligent design. The idea was that if people claim it’s a legitimate religion, then it should also be given equal time, to align with the BoE’s decision.
“Between the lines, the point of the letter was this: there’s no more scientific basis for intelligent design than there is for the idea that an omniscient creature made of pasta created the universe. If intelligent design supporters could demand equal time in a science class, why not anyone else? The only reasonable solution is to put nothing into sciences classes but the best available science.” – Justin Pope, Associated Press
Some beliefs of Pastafarianism include:
Creation – the Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe “after drinking heavily”, which accounts for the flawed Earth. All evidence for evolution was planted there by the FSM to be a test of its believers’ faith.
Pirates are “absolute divine beings” and are the original Pastafarians.
Friday are their holy days – every Friday – and they conclude their prayers with the word “R’amen.” 😁 They also celebrate “Pastover” which involves eating large quantities of pasta, and they only eat Ramen during “Ramendan.”
During the last couple weeks of December, they also celebrate “Holiday” in any way its members choose.
Members will often dress like pirates or wear a colander on their head, which was actually recognized in Austria as official headgear of Pastafarianism in 2011.
For more information, here is their website: https://www.spaghettimonster.org/
May you be touched by His Noodly Appendage.
In nomine pasta, et fuselli, et spaghetti sancti. Ramen.
Word to the Wise
Prosopagnosia – n. a neurological disorder characterized by the inability to recognize familiar faces, also called “face blindness”
Thoughts from the Nook
Egg balancing involves standing an egg on its end. While their general shape is curved, there are many slight imperfections which make it possible for most eggs to balance on one end.
No, there is no evidence that it’s easier on the vernal equinox or at the equator. That’s just an urban legend. The person’s breathing and even heartbeat are more of a factor than gravitational or other similar forces.
Japanese physicist Ukichiro Nakaya performed experiments and verified that eggs can be balanced easily at any time of year, and UofMinn astronomer Frank D. Ghigo confirmed it. It just takes a steady hand and patience. There are so many tiny bumps and dimples on eggs that, just by turning it slightly in different directions, it can be made to touch a flat surface on three points at the same time in many ways.
Trivia Espresso Shot
A penguin can reach depths of 550m in one dive. Typically, emperor penguins (the deepest-diving penguins) can plunge to 100-200m, but the deepest penguin dive on record was more than 550m.
Reference Desk
Antipodes /ăn-tĭp′ə-dēz/ are two points on the Earth that are directly opposite each other. It used to also be used for referring to other diametrically opposite things, mostly people, but the term is not used for that purpose in English anymore.
Examples include:
Christchurch, New Zealand & A Coruña, Spain
Hong Kong & La Quiaca, Argentina
Pago Pago, American Samoa & Zinder, Niger
An antipode map displays the point on Earth’s surface that is diametrically opposite to any given location, connected by a straight line passing through the Earth’s center. This kind of map or app can be a fun way to see what’s on the other side of the world from you.
Here are a few tools:
Dad Joke Cupboard
Did you hear about the queen who was only 12 inches tall? She was a great ruler.
Composer Corner
Johannes Ciconia (1370-1412) was a Flemish composer and music theorist from Liège in the northern French-speaking region of Belgium. He lived and worked mostly in Italy. He is recognized for blending Franco-Flemish and Italian musical influences in his compositions, contributing to the growing “internationalism” in music that would later be fully realized by composers like Guillaume Dufay.
His musical output includes secular works such as French virelais, Italian ballate, and madrigals, and sacred compositions like motets and Mass movements, some of which are isorhythmic. An isorhythm is a single fixed rhythmic pattern, typically long and complex, that is reiterated throughout the whole of a voice part, usually the tenor, in medieval song.
O rosa bella | Sus un fontayne | Una panthera | Doctorum Principum
Food Holidays This Week
Sun, Nov 2 – National Deviled Egg Day
Mon, Nov 3 – National Sandwich Day
Tue, Nov 4 – National Candy Day
Wed, Nov 5 – National Doughnut Day, National Eating Healthy Day, National Chinese Takeout Day
Thu, Nov 6 – International Stout Day, National Men Make Dinner Day, National Nachos Day
Fri, Nov 7 – National Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day, National Merlot Day
Sat, Nov 8 – National Cappuccino Day, National Harvey Wallbanger Day, National Shot Day, Cook Something Bold And Pungent Day
Sun, Nov 9 – National Chicken Sandwich Day, National Greek Yogurt Day, National Split Pea Soup Day, National Scrapple Day
From the Archives
Back in 1999, my Pfitz’s Pfunnies was an email list. We didn’t have YouTube. We emailed jokes and videos to each other. The very first video I remember sending out to people was a commercial from a company called Smart Beep, which made beepers (pagers). It was hilarious and is still one of my favorite funny videos. It was about a blind date and it’s truly a must-watch video!
Recipe Card
Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 Tbsp butter
2 cups chopped onion
1 lb mushrooms
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp dill
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup whole milk
3 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Sauté mushrooms and onions in butter, 15 minutes.
Add broth, wine, soy sauce and seasonings, simmer low, reduce by half.
Mix flour and milk, add slowly to pot. Simmer until thick, 10 minutes.
Stir in sour cream and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste.
Puzzle Pause
I always have a jigsaw puzzle going at home. This section has a photo of the current state of my current puzzle.
Voting Brackets
Our current voting bracket topic is Favorite Soups & Stews. We have four divisions: Chunky Meat Soups, Noodle or Bean Soups, Bisques or Cream Soups, and Seafood or Veggie Soups. The first round ends tonight and Round Two begins on Monday.
Our Voting Brackets are free and open to anyone in the world and we have a website for it: https://votingbrackets.com/. New rounds begin every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We have completed more than 140 brackets over the last seven years. Here is a full list of all the results back to the beginning.
Marginalia
“It’s just like Santa’s workshop! Except it smells like mushrooms. And everyone looks like they wanna hurt me.”
- Buddy the Elf in the movie Elf (2003)
The Index
Today’s curated list: Top 5 funniest Mel Brooks Movies
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
Spaceballs (1987)
History of the World: Part I (1981)
What are YOUR Mel Brooks movies? Feel free to discuss in the comments.
Next Time in the Klatch
• Emo Philips
Until next time, stay curious!