Ernest Hemingway is a highly respected American novelist of the early 20th century. Even while he was alive, he had admirers who probably wanted to meet him personally and have a small chat about writing. That's what Arnold Samuelson did as a 22-year-old in 1934. He hitchhiked from Minnesota all the way to Key West, just to meet Hemingway.

When he got there, he only expected to talk with the man for a few minutes and be on his way back home. He stayed for a year with Hemingway, and wrote a book titled "With Hemingway: A Year in Key West and Cuba" which was published in 1984, three years after Samuelson's death.

While there, Hemingway gave Samuelson a list of books that he believed any writer should have read as part of their education. It included books by Russian writers Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the American poet E.E. Cummings, the Irish novelist James Joyce, and the English novelist Emily Brontë.

Apart from that, Hemingway also gave Samuelson a few other tips on becoming a good writer. These included advice such as competing with dead writers and stealing from the things you read. These, and other words of advice from Hemingway on Flashbak.

(Image credit: Flashbak)

The above photo shows all the fifteen incarnations of Doctor Who. The show has been on air for the past 60 years, excluding a brief ten-year hiatus. What has kept the show alive for such a long time may very well be the brilliance of its premise. That is, whenever the Doctor dies, the character simply regenerates into a new body, a new Tardis, and new companions. Out with the old, in with the new, so to speak. However, if you take another look at the photo above, you will notice that Doctor Who just broke that premise.

David Tennant, who played the Doctor from 2005 to 2010, has returned as the Fourteenth Doctor. This was originally planned with Tennant returning for a special and then, during that special, he would morph into the Fifteenth Doctor, stripping away his old self, and living on as the new one, which will be played by Ncuti Gatwa.

This is where the show pulled an unexpected plot twist on everyone, which some argue may be ruining Doctor Who's premise altogether. Instead of dying off and passing the baton to Gatwa's Doctor, Tennant's Doctor split into two, Tennant and Gatwa, essentially saying that Tennant's Doctor will exist simultaneously with Gatwa's.

As Gatwa's Doctor goes on adventures, Tennant's will just be living in suburbia, like any retired person. Some may regard this move similar to the MCU's multiverse, and perhaps, moving toward that direction may stir some fans' nostalgia for previous doctors, and possible cameo appearances.

Some argue that the concept of regeneration and leaving the past behind is one that has been the cornerstone of Doctor Who, and trying to change that now, just seems self-indulgent. Although I doubt people will stop watching the show simply because it decided it's time to alter its premise.

(Image credit: BBC/Wikimedia Commons)

Minnesota is choosing a new state flag, and thousands of designs were submitted. They've been winnowed down to three finalists, all with very simple designs, which do not include surfer Sasquatch. CGP Grey is very much into vexillology, and believes most of our state flags should be redesigned to get away from the "state seal on a blue background" theme. That's exactly what Minnesota is doing, even though their new seal is a vast improvement. When the Minnesota flag submissions were announced, Grey was quick to post a video about them, but it was limited to his Patreon members. Now he's eager to register his opinions on the three finalists.

Grey named the finalists Star Rise, Old Wavy, and Polaris Tricolor. He has a definite favorite, and gives us the many reasons why he approves. As much as you may like modern elements in a new flag, one of the most important considerations for a particular design is how it will hold up over the next 100 years. We will see if the Minnesota legislature takes Grey's points to heart when they select their new flag.

Update: Grey's pick is also the Minnesota commission's pick. The bad news is that they will probably change it.

Over the last couple of decades, American have been immersed in the phenomenon of the Christmas romance movie, which are all very much alike but people watch them like they are consuming comfort food. A similar but much older genre of Christmas entertainment can be found in the United Kingdom, where the Christmas murder mystery is a thing. Murder mystery novels rose in popularity in the early 20th century, as they put the reader into the role of detective, trying to figure out whodunnit. Anything that popular is bound to eventually have a Christmas version, and that happened in the 1930s, and again, and again.  

The Christmas mysteries are now known as "cozy crime" stories, because the elements are so familiar, and the plots follow a standard crime investigation that leads to the murderer's reveal at the end. While murder and Christmas aren't the most natural pairing, such novels have become beloved in the land that gave birth to them. Every year, mystery fans look forward to the Christmas stories they've become used to. Read how this strange but common genre of fiction came about at Atlas Obscura.

Many fantasy fans look at J.R.R. Tolkien as the grandaddy of the genre. He certainly put in the work, with years of world building and research behind each plot in his many works. His Magnum Opus was The Lord of the Rings, an epic adventure that comprised three volumes, plus the prequel book The Hobbit. Tolkien even manufactured languages for his characters. But Tolkien was not the first to use the elements of fantasy in his stories. Many ancient legends included elves, magical rings, dragons, swords, and wizards. Other parts of The Lord of the Rings incorporated historical characters and events. Although Tolkien did not invent these elements, he was a master at bringing them to life in his writing, weaving them together in a convoluted quest told in poetry and prose that enchanted millions, and continues to do so today. The author's lifetime of travel, study, experience, and keen observation all contributed to what The Lord of the Rings came to be. Weird History looks back at the sources of these elements that Tolkien used so well.

Eighteenth-century explorers in the Pacific Northwest, around the Salish Sea, observed that native people kept a certain breed of domestic dog and harvested its fur to spin and weave into cloth. The Salish woolly dog was a small and beloved pet, which produced a fibrous fur that proved to be much warmer than sheep's wool. The woolly dogs were an emblem of the Skokomish Nation and represented wealth.  

As Europeans settled in the PNW, the woolly dog went extinct in the late 1800s. We have blankets and fabric made from their fur, but only one example of the breed itself, in a pelt saved from a dog named Mutton, which was sent to a Smithsonian representative in 1859. In 2021, evolutionary molecular biologist Audrey Lin began a DNA study of Mutton's pelt. The DNA analysis revealed the woolly dog's genetic lineage, the Skokomish breeding traditions, and the fact that it had 28 genes controlling the production of its unique fur. Lin even found evidence of Mutton's diet, and how it varied from dogs raised by natives. You'll find the full science paper here. -via Metafilter

(Image credit: Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History)

From the time that George Washington took his oath of office on April 30, 1789, until today, the Bible he laid his hand on has remained intact and been kept in good condition.

The story goes that prior to the oathtaking rites, everything was well-prepared and had gone smoothly, except, nobody brought a Bible. The only one at hand nearby was the Bible at St. John's Lodge. They hurriedly got it, opened it on a random page, and George Washington took his oath.

St. John's Lodge No. 1 Foundation asserts that none of that was by accident, pointing out that the Masonic Bible had been used intentionally to remain neutral from any denominational squabbling, and that the page used for the oathtaking was also carefully chosen.

How it survived more than 200 years, being made from vegetable-based inks, is not exactly described, but it remains intact and is currently at the possession of St. John's Lodge. When not being used, the lodge lends it to the Federal Hall in New York to be displayed.

As a testament to the Bible's longevity, four other presidents have used it during their inauguration - Warren G. Harding, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush. It had also been used for other events such as at Zachary Taylor's funeral procession and Abraham Lincoln's lying in state.

(Image credit: Ramon de Elorriaga/Wikimedia Commons)

We have heard of how brutal it is to have lived in ancient Rome, not less for the underprivileged and lower classes of society at the time. Slaves in ancient Rome were treated like property, and often subjected to various forms of cruelty such as corporal punishment, torture, and summary execution.

Depending on how their masters viewed them and their perceived value to the household, they were either given the bare essentials for them to survive, or much worse conditions than that. Archaeologists at the Pompeii Archaeological Park have discovered signs of the latter, possibly.

In the ruins of a bakery-prison, there were hints that the slaves of that household had been put to work grinding grain to make bread. The room itself was narrow, with a high window secured with iron bars, leading to the house's atrium, making it difficult for the slaves to leave. Furthermore, indentations on the floor suggested that animals had been in the room with the slaves to work in the milling area.

The archaeologists also found remains of three individuals in the bakery room, suggesting that at the time Mount Vesuvius erupted, these people were trapped inside, left to fend for themselves.

(Image credit: Pompeii Sites)

Jimi Hendrix had had two albums before the 1968 release of Electric Ladyland. From the covers of his first two albums, it seems as though the record companies struggled to find a great angle of presenting Jimi Hendrix.

In his album, Are You Experienced, the cover featured the band shot with a fisheye lens. Seems groovy enough, it has its own charm. Then came the second album, Axis: Bold As Love, which featured the members of the band again, with a Hindu backdrop showing Vishnu and his avatars.

Hendrix commented how disrespectful it was seeing that the three of them were in no way related to what was shown on the cover.

Finally, with Electric Ladyland, Hendrix wanted to have a bit more input. So he wrote a letter to Reprise Records stating exactly what he wanted to include on the cover as well as the layout and typography. The recording company ignored his letter below and came up with the cover as shown above.

The UK cover was completely different and used a picture taken by David Montgomery of 19 naked women. Hendrix stated how he preferred Linda McCartney's photograph depicting two children in Central Park. In the end, what the art directors chose was what the recording companies put out.

Montgomery shares the story behind the UK cover and how his own artistic decisions were also ignored by David King, the art director, on Flashbak.

(Image credit: Flashbak)

I rarely use emojis in online conversations, and even when I do, I tend to use the same set of emojis so I don't really take notice of the rest. However, one scientist, Jennifer Anderson, an expert of aquatic fungi and a microbial ecologist, shared with two Italian ecologists, Stefano Mammola and Francesco Ficetola, her gripe with the lack of representation for other organisms, such as aquatic fungi, in emojis.

The thought captivated Mammola and Ficetola, so they set on a quest to find out just how many organisms from the tree of life are represented in emoji. Their findings, recently published on iScience, showed that there were 112 organisms depicted in emojis, based on the online catalogue of emojis, Emojipedia. Out of the 112, 92 were animals and 16 were plants.

These scientists assert that many endangered species lack awareness and attention from the general public, and that's even reflected in emojis. The idea is that if they can bring attention to organisms like the flatworm or arthropods, then conservation efforts may be given more attention.

Despite this, over the years, the scientists found that emoji biodiversity has been increasing. In 2015, only 45 animals were available as emojis, but in 2022, that figure rose to the 92 that they found from their study.

Whether or not having more emoji biodiversity will ramp up conservation efforts directly or indirectly is up for debate. Perhaps people may become curious about these organisms from emojis, and help raising awareness for them. That's if majority of the general public even use emojis in the first place.

(Image credit: Emojipedia/X)

How much blood sanitary pads, tampons, and other menstrual products actually absorb is a question that many researchers still struggle answering because the way tampon manufacturers have historically tested their products' absorbency led to inaccurate results.

Instead of using actual blood to test the capacity of these menstrual products, manufacturers used blue saline solution just as many period ads, like the one below, have depicted throughout the years. However, when studies were conducted to test how much tampons actually absorbed, results have shown that they absorbed more blood than indicated.

This inaccuracy in testing procedures can cause a lot of misdiagnoses or the inability to even figure out whether a woman has any underlying health conditions. Excessive bleeding may be a sign of something serious like endometriosis, fibroids, polycystic ovary syndrome, or infertility. But it's nearly impossible to determine how much women actually discharge based on how many tampons or sanitary pads they use.

Efforts are being made, however, to rectify the situation with a study that used real blood to test how much tampons, pads, cups, discs, and even period underwear can absorb. This study was conducted by a team of researchers from Oregon Health & Science University, and they used expired blood from the university blood bank to perform their tests.

Although it is touted as the first ever study to use real blood, a previous study had already been conducted by Nancy Reame, a nursing professor, which did the same thing. However, it was largely ignored since the FDA had approved the absorbency tests which used saline.

Now, more researchers are following in the footsteps of Reame, and are even going further by trying to figure out how the bleeding stops.

(Image credit: Natracare/Unsplash)

I love eating those chocolate-coated marshmallow treats, also called chocolate teacakes. They combine the soft, fluffy texture of marshmallows, and the sweetness of the chocolate which accentuates the muted flavor of the mallow.

Back in the 1950s, the Royal Air Force included these chocolate teacakes into their ration packs. Everybody loved it. And they made an interesting discovery about these teacakes: they expanded as the aircraft climbed higher altitudes. They noticed that at 15,000 feet, the marshmallow started bursting out of the chocolate coating. Despite this, the flavor wasn't compromised. You basically got more out of the treat than when you started.

One incident, however, burst everybody's bubble, no pun intended. While on a flight, a captain and a student pilot unwrapped one of these teacakes and left it on the instrument panels. Then, the captain pulled an emergency depressurizing switch, which caused the teacakes to explode. The chocolate splattered on the windshield, the control panel, and the pilots' uniforms.

Needless to say, the RAF banned marshmallows from being brought into any aircraft ever again.

(Image credit: Twid/Wikimedia Commons)

We've seen how well rock songs mesh with Christmas classics, like mashing up Brenda Lee with AC/DC and mixing "Deck the Halls" with Black Sabbath's "War Pigs." It doesn't stop there. DJ Cummerbund brings us a masterful mashup for Christmas, with Jose Feliciano singing his classic "Feliz Navidad" to the bangin' tune of "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol. He calls it "Rebel Navidad." But that's just the beginning. This song also incorporates recordings from Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Rob Zombie, Terrence Gene Bollea, Wham!, Martijn Brattinga, and Rush. The more, the merrier!

The winners of Netherlands' annual Worst Slogan of the Year contest might also be called the best slogans of the year, depending on your point of view. A slogan with a naughty pun is remembered, and that's what's most important. The top three in this year's poll are all English puns. The grand prize (a custom tile) goes to the bicycle rental company Tuut-Tuut in Castricum, North Holland, for "Put the Fun Between Your Legs." Makes plenty of sense. Second place went to sewing machine company Rijkers Naaimachinespecialist for "Have a naai’s day!" It's not naughty, just fun. You have to know that the Dutch word "naai" means "sew," but more than 90% of Netherlands residents know both languages. A pet store called 4cats took third place with "Everything for your pussy!"

There are more slogans and bad puns from the contest you can read at NL Times. -via Boing Boing

(Image credit: Google Maps)

Our gingerbread house takes the cake this National Gingerbread Day! Deanna with the Tax Office really topped herself this year with her Gingerbread @bucees. You can see her creation at the tax office location in Georgetown, 904 S. Main St. pic.twitter.com/4TYiM9mhpx

— Williamson County (@wilcotxgov) December 12, 2023

Buc-ee's is a chain of roadside convenience and hunting supply stores. We Texans regard them as the ultimate place to stop on road trips for gas, food, and sparklingly clean bathrooms. There is devout brand loyalty to the chain and people commonly sport clothing with the iconic Bucky the Beaver logo on them.

Deanna Vaters, an employee of the county north of Austin (where Buc-ee's locations are thick on the ground) and her husband made this gingerbread model of a nearby Buc-ee's complete with model cars and lights. They made many of the human figurines to resemble her co-workers.

-via Dave Barry