This picture has been used before but it is fitting for today and I really didn’t have a better picture to go with this piece, which is about exercising my brain, essentially.

(Sunday Paper, Year V, Issue 50)

At the beginning of the year I learned a fact and I decided I’d write it down.

Then I thought, ‘Maybe it would be fun if I just wrote down all of the things I learned over the course of the year.’

I thought it would be a fun little thing - I like learning, and I thought it would be interesting to see what is ‘new’ to someone who has been around for 40-plus years.

Then, of course, the year took a turn, and I still learned things but in some cases I stopped writing them down.

I got back to it, though, and compiled a little list, which I’ll share with you as one of the final few posts of the year.

Maybe you’ll be like, “I can’t believe you didn’t know that!”

Or maybe you’ll learn something new as well.

Either way, I hope you enjoy it.

Also worth noting, these are more in the vein of ‘general knowledge’ things I’ve learned this year. I also came to learn a lot about myself or more personal things due to the events of the world…those will be in next week’s post.

OK, buckle up for some fun facts, because even I was impressed again by some of these as I was putting together this post:

Orthopaedics started with the treatment of children with polio…the pedi (like pediatrician) prefix is kind of in there and now, as you may or may not know, it’s the category of medicine dealing with the spine and joints. (The ‘pedi’ part of this and the history of the word was the new info for me, and I think it’s what spurred me to start writing down new information this year.)
Coyotes and badgers are known to hunt together. (I don’t remember where I saw this but it could have been along with a cute picture somewhere on social media. Or a college football game with those mascots or something else, who knows?)
Duncan Sheik (remember him?) now does a lot of music for Broadway shows (when there are Broadway shows).
I think I read this in a book about the Revolutionary War but I don’t fully remember how long ago we’re talking: “Sappers” were people who went ahead of marching armies breaking off sharp branch edges. (And I have since learned that there are still sappers, and their role now is to go ahead and look for mines and such.)
George Washington was close to leading a provisional army if necessary during the Adams administration.
Manja is thread covered with broken glass used on ‘fighter kites.’
Heath Robinson is the U.K. version of Rube Goldberg. (People say about complex situations, “That’s a real Heath Robinson.”
There are 41 Broadway theaters in New York. (This was as of April 9, so clearly I read this in an article about the shutdown.)
“Carrots help you see better” is sort of a myth that has its roots in the British defense against German air raids during World War II.
This one was unfortunately something many of us learned this year: R naught (I can’t figure out how to insert a superseded [is that the right word?] 0.)
‘Platen’ is the name for the roller on a typewriter.
I have a note to myself: Re-learn “cribbage”. I didn’t really do that even in the pandemic. I’ll get there eventually.
Esther Forbes (the author of ‘Johnny Tremain,’ one of my favorite books ever) was born in Westborough, and lived in Worcester. (Those are both in Massachusetts.)
In colonial Boston, there was an ordinance prohibiting dogs larger than 10”…to protect hanging butcher’s meat.
I learned what a ha-ha wall is! If you don’t know this I suggest you look it up. It’s fun.
Iowa is the only state whose two-letter abbreviation is both vowels.
Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida and is also the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. (I am trusting myself that I fact-checked this when I took this note. It’s so hard to believe.)
Mars has 2 moons - Phobos and Deimos. (One is 9 miles [across, I guess], the other is 17.)
‘Guiding Light’ was put on by Proctor and Gamble to promote and advertise Duz - a soap! Hence, SOAP OPERA!!!
Dogs and cats secrete an oil that provides Vitamin D when ingested orally. That’s why they lick themselves. (So now, whenever the dog licks herself, my youngest daughter says, “Get that Vitamin D!”)
Elana Ferrante is a pseudonym!
I learned about the existence of The Baseball Reliquary after its founder died and I read his obituary.
Sag Harbor was the first point of entry for immigrants in United States history. (I learned this from a crossword clue.)
Veteran’s Day was celebrated on the fourth Monday in October from 1971-1975.
The residue of wine-making (stalks, seeds, stems, pulp that remain after pressing grapes) is called grape marc.

Notes

*Feel free to add something you learned in the ‘general knowledge’ category either in the comments below or on the Facebook page. I always love hearing from you all and am always interested in learning something else new.

*As always, you can Like the Facebook page here or follow me on Twitter here.

*We’re revisiting some of the old embarrassing holiday posts from years past in the “Every Week On Wednesday” posts. If you’re not already following the Facebook page you’re going to want to do so to check those out.

*Listen, I don’t know how this is going to go, but I am giving the Zoom comedy a shot in the coming days. I’ll be doing one show Thursday night and then another next Tuesday. Maybe next week I’ll update you on how the Thursday one went and whether I feel I’m worth checking out on the Tuesday one.

*Usually I’m in the Christmas spirit right about now but I’m having trouble with it this year. I feel way behind on all the little things that make the season somewhat stressful…and just generally not feeling it right now. I don’t know if that’s unique to me or if many people are feeling that way this year…but it seems to be a particularly tough stretch of this particularly tough longer stretch.

*Hey sports fans: It’s been kind of a busy baseball off-season so far, which is kind of fun to see. You may or may not be aware the Mets are under new ownership, so it’s exciting thinking about how they might get in on the action and hearing what they’re rumored to be doing so far.

*Fun fact: I have yet to take my winter coat out of the closet. I mostly go from car to door when I’m out so it’s not like I have needed it badly…but I do take the dog out quite often and it’s been cold enough that I should take it out. I guess I’m just testing how long I can hold out with layers of hooded sweatshirts. It’s the little challenges that keep me going sometimes.