Bruce's Smorsasborg

  Ferdinand von Zeppelin (German: Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin; (July 8. 1838  -- March 8, 1917) was a German general and later inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airships. His name became synonymous with airships and dominated long-distance flight until the 1930s.  A couple of airships named for him: There were even some U.S. postage stamps showing the airships: These were issued by the post office in 1930 for mail to be carried aboard the airships from the United States to Germany. Of course what most folks remember about these airships is the Hindenburg disaster. On May 6, 1937, the German airship Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed while attempting to land at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, resulting in 36 deaths and marking the end of commercial airship travel.  The airship had remarkable refinements for its passengers. Here are some photos: The ship even had a piano: To meet the strict weight limits of a lighter-than-ai...

 Found this amusing magazine, Celebrity, on the Internet archive. Article is titled "What Every Man Should Know About Love,' authored by Evelyn "Treasure Chest" West. Enjoy! If you are terrific with other girls, keep it to yourself. Your date won’t be interested. Where a man rejects love gradually, women think nothing of rejecting it suddenly. She may pretend she hates to break a man’s heart, but secretly she doesn’t even feel it’s worth an apology. If you don’t want to be a woman’s slave, then don’t borrow money from her. It is beneath a woman’s dignity to respect a man who has to borrow from her. If you are married, bear in mind that girls would rather flirt with you than a single man. This is especially true if your wife is present, as women like to hurt each other. In order to impress you, a woman would rather break out with a rash sipping champagne, than enjoy, with no ill affects, a cold glass of beer. If you take a flirt to your apartment—never leave her alone...

 By Bruce Shawkey One of the reference books I always kept on my shelf was the World Almanac. Turns out it has had a long and interesting history, as detailed in this wiki entry. The first edition of The World Almanac was published by the New York World newspaper in 1868 (the name of the publication comes from the newspaper itself, which was known as the World). Published three years after the end of the Civil War and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, its 120 pages of information touched on such events as the process of Reconstruction and the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. Publication was suspended in 1876, but in 1886, newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, who had purchased the World and quickly transformed it into one of the most influential newspapers in the country, revived The World Almanac with the intention of making it "a compendium of universal knowledge." The World Almanac has been published annually since. During World War II, The World Alman...

 By Bryce Shawkey Interesting article on coinage from an old book, "A Million of Facts and Correct Data in the Entire Circle of Sciences," published in 1833, sort of an early version of "The World Almanac and Book of Facts," which is still being published today, incidentally.  -------------------------- MONEY AND COINS. Whatever represents property, and is portable, is called currency. When currency is abundant or cheap, property is high or dear in currency; and when less in amount, property is cheap in currency. Paper is a better and more convenient social currency, if secured, and of steady amount, than the precious metals; and among different nations, any commodity which one possesses and the other wants, is equivalent to the commodity of gold or silver, for payment and exchange. Silver was first coined by Phidon, king of Argos, about 880, the epoch of the building of Carthage, and about 140 years after the building of Solomon's temple. The most ancient known...

Many fantasize about living in a different decade or even a different century other than the one they were born into. Many people choose postwar America. Sure, people think of this when they think of 50s America. But this was also 50s America: So, there is good and bad in every period of history. But I think of it every now and then, because I don't particularly like living in the era of Donald Trump. Yes, of course there are many great things about living now, including the technology that allows me to write this blog. But every day, I am reminded that a convicted felon was elected -- by a considerable margin no less -- president of the United States. 

 How to be the perfect waitress is the topic of this book, by Anne Frances Springsteed. The book, published in 1894, is 130 pages long and covers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and supper. Supper is distinguished from dinner when it is necessary to gain time for an evening entertainment or when for other reasons a shorter instead of longer meal is desirable. I'll quote a section from breakfast because this is often my favorite meal of the day.  Breakfast  Oranges. Pearled Oats with Cream. Lamb Chops. Creamed Potatoes. Bread. Hot Muffins. Butter. Coffee. Milk. Cream. or Hot Milk.  The breakfast given is a usual one in many households. Learn to serve this properly, and it will be easy to make changes where ideas vary as to comfort and convenience. To serve the breakfast given there will be needed : Napkins, tumblers, salt cups, pepper boxes, salt spoons, butter plate and knife, bread - and - butter plates, bread plate, bread knife, bread board, muffin dish, water ...