Goodbye, Miss Barbara

I've always been fascinated with Bob Greene's memories of growing up in the 1950s in all-white, clean-cut Bexley, Ohio. His "Be True To Your School" used his diary of 1964, which covered part of his junior and part of his senior year, and gave those of us who never lived in that era a glimpse at what high-school days were like then, at least in a very comfortable, well-off town in the middle of the nation.

He often, in columns and books, mentions Miss Barbara, his kindergarten teacher. She apparently taught every kid in town and never forgot a name or a face. Even after retiring, she was in the lives of schoolchildren as a crossing guard. When Bob's friend Jack, he of ABCDJ fame, died, she was in the church at the funeral, and reached out and touched Bob's hand.

She died recently, and of course he memorialized her with a touching column.

Awesome effort!

The unspoken hierarchy of Spider-Man reward stickers. Heh.

Paint by number

I'm always fascinated by the names of paint colors, and this article talks about the people who get to name them, and how the names are getting further and further away from what the color actually looks like.

Not sure I would ever buy a color called "Tornado Watch," but that may just be my Midwestern upbringing.

Golden arches

This urban legend isn't true, but I have to say, for a serious topic, it has a kind of funny punchline. WTF is that arch made of?

Junk from the Dollar Store

Matt at X-E reviews a bag of stuff he got at the dollar store.

Awesome writeup as always, and this is my favorite bit: "I have a thing for pineapple-themed glasses. We all have our totem animals, but I don’t see why it should stop there. This is my totem glass. Even though it’s not a glass, or even made of glass. Gah. I need an editor."

Mother of the bride

Oh, Martha. Really? This is just sad.

Busy signal

Honestly? I don't much miss phone calls, and this is a big part of why: "If I suddenly decide I want to dial you up, I have no way of knowing whether you’re busy, and you have no idea why I’m calling. We have to open Schrödinger’s box every time, having a conversation to figure out whether it’s OK to have a conversation. Plus, voice calls are emotionally high-bandwidth, which is why it’s so weirdly exhausting to be interrupted by one."

Baby on board, something something, Burt Ward

There's a creepy urban legend about the invention of those Baby on Board signs.

Life among the Nacirema

Fascinating article about the history of the Nacirema (American backwards) and our devotion to things like charm boxes (medicine cabinets), mouth rites (teethbrushing) and more.

Bott's dots!

Do you know Bott's Dots? Here's the cool history, and yes, they were named for their creator.

Rob taught me the name for these lane markers since he grew up in California. We have them in Seattle, but they would never work in Minnesota, since a snowplow would scraaaaape them right off the road.

Sophia and Aiden, Isabella and Jacob...

...these are the names of the people who will be choosing our nursing homes, people.

Here are the top 100 baby names (100 boy, 100 girl) for 2010, according to Baby Center.

I know a LOT of kids with these names, both kids of friends and relatives and Kelly's daycare classmates. Thankfully, Kelly isn't on the list. It had its day (thanks to "Charlie's Angels") and is content to just be a good ol' name, not trendy, no grandma-y.

Also, that "Neveah" name drives me BONKERS. It's "Heaven" backwards, I get it, but COME ON. Makes you want to name a kid LLeh.

Yard sale agony

Jenny was smart not to buy these things. (Although I kinda dig Happy Jesus on a Boat!)

And she makes a really good point about the destruction of a perfectly good word in "cougar," saying those schools will probably join the "beaver" (and "Trojan") schools who always have to say "Well, it didn't have that meaning back when the school was founded!

Month by month

Kind of sobering to see your life (expectancy) laid out in months.

Via the Presurfer.

Bike Patrol

The Bike Patrol is a beautiful online comic about childhood from Garry, the guy behind the wonderful Retroist, and his artist friend Christopher. It's just lovely. I hopt to remember to check back when they add more pages.

That's not fair! Tough, says the U.S.

I found this BBC piece fascinating -- an American living in Britain writes about how Americans are more likely to respond to charges of "That's not fair!" with "Tough, get used to it" than Brits are.

Not sure I agree with him 100%, but it's thought-provoking.

''In America, it won't do much good to sit weeping that 'it's not fair!' when destructive change comes to your front door. You will get little sympathy. ... When events crush you, you are expected to pack up your belongings, move somewhere else and start over."

Triceratops never existed?

What the heck? Triceratops is one of the best dinosaur names there is, and now you say it may never have existed?

Digging a hole to China

You can't dig a hole from anywhere in the US and end up in China. You'd hit the Indian Ocean.

But somehow that doesn't sound as cool to an American kid with a shovel and a lot of time on their hands.

(Via OMG Facts.)

Don't tase me, bro, Tom said Swiftly

Can this be true?

According to Wikipedia, the name "Taser" came from the title of a 1911 Tom Swift novel, and stands for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle."

Seriously? Seriously? Because if true, that may be the coolest thing ever about Tasers.

It's true, according to the Taser.com home page.

You can read the Tom Swift book online for free via Project Gutenberg. Here's a direct link to a Web version.

Eatin' purple people sure is fine

It wasn't that the Purple People Eater HIMSELF was purple, it was that the people he ATE were purple.

Except for these guys. They weren't picky about the team colors of the people they ate. And I love that Alan Page is now a Minnesota Supreme Court Justice.

Why is there a lamppost in my kitchen?

Why is there a lamppost in my kitchen? And a cooktop on my table?

Via Flashbacks on Twitter.