Always Learning

Last night I learned that Zachary Taylor's daughter, Sarah Knox Taylor (1814-1835) was married to Jefferson Davis before he became President of the Confederate States of America. Davis was second in command to Taylor during the Black Hawk War when Sarah met and fell in love with him and although Taylor admired Davis for his soldiering skills, he was opposed to the match. I suppose to appease Jackson, Davis resigned from the Army and married Sarah on June 17, 1835. Unfortunately, both of the newlyweds contracted malaria, and she died three months later. He remarried in 1845 and later became President of the Confederate States. (I have smart friends, don't I?)

Beans, beans, beans

The more you eat...
I just learned that Pythagoras promoted bean-eating abstinence. (Thanks for telling me this, Ben.) Or did he?

Evidently there's a passage about this directive in the book "Moby Dick". I didn't get the joke at the time (actually, didn't even remember it) but now I do.

What A Drag It Is...

Someone lost her DMV identification card today. We looked for it for an hour at the Library. I think I know how that flight steward felt...where's my escape chute?

Leggo My Lego

Buildings out of Legos at the Building Museum.
It would've looked better with King Kong.

October Comes In September (18th)

From the Internets:

Why is Oktoberfest in September?

The answer goes back to 1810 during the dark days of beer drinking before refridgeration (sic).

In those days in Germany beer would never be brewed in the summer months. The batches would never turn out good.

The last batches were usually made in March. These last batches would have higher alcohol content to take advantage of alcohol as a preservative.

Traditionally there would be a big fest starting on the last Saturday in September till the First Sunday in October. The purpose was to drink up the old stocks of beer to make room for the new brew that would be make after harvest. The tradition goes back to the 15th and 16th Centuries.

The first official Oktoberfest was held in 1810. Crown Prince Ludwig threw a big party to celebrate his wedding to Princess Therese on October 12, 1810. The party was open to all. Everyone liked it so much they kept having the party every year.

So now how shall I celebrate Oktoberfest on September 18th?
We'll make a pretzel.