Know & Love
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Is there any Christmas character more iconic than Santa Claus? The belly o’ jelly, the tress-dressed face and the bright red suit with snowy fur all wrap up to create the jolliest man we know.
While you can buy Coke anytime and almost anywhere, my favorite holiday brand is Santa himself. We can thank Coca-Cola for Mr. Claus as we know and love him today. In 1931, artist Haddon Sundblom introduced us, via The Saturday Evening Post, to who has become our quintessential image of St. Nick.
Coke’s website explains, "For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (commonly called "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"). Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of Santa that was warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human. For the next 33 years, Sundblom painted portraits of Santa that helped to create the modern image of Santa -- an interpretation that today lives on in the minds of people of all ages, all over the world.”
So this year, instead of leaving milk out with your cookies this Friday night, you might leave a bottle of Coca-Cola. Santa is sure to appreciate the caffeine kick; he’s got a lot of houses to hit, you know.
You can read all about Santa’s image and other Coke lore on Coca-Cola's website.
Merry Christmas, y'all!
The Many Faces of Google
I don't know about you, but for some reason it always makes my day when Google features one of their custom logos. For those of you that have managed to miss this occurrence, don't worry. You're bound to catch one eventually. While usually these alternative logos are in celebration of holidays and historic events, Google also commemorates birthdays of famous artists and scientists. A special colorless logo has appeared in recognition of major tragedies, and on Earth Hour the site switched its background to black symbolize "turning out the lights". Google Custom Search even hosts a landing page called Blackle, that serves as encouragement to users to save energy. It displays a black background and uses grayish-white font color for search results. Considering the popularity of the search engine, these colors supposedly consume less energy. But, more importantly, the site is a reminder for people to take small steps in their everyday lives to save energy.
Among one of the most fun Google logo alternatives was the recent observance of the 30th birthday of Pac-Man. This interactive logo contained an accurate recreation of the Pac-Man game that could be played in a browser. Google later released a permanent Google Pac-Man site. Another geeky way to have fun with Google is by designing your own home page at Google My Way. Give it a try. I promise you won't be disappointed!
Happy 50th Anniversary!!
The pill. No, not a pill, but THE pill. The pill that sexually revolutionized women and the control over their bodies. The pill that wrapped itself in religious dilemma and political controversy. The pill that to this day still raises concerns over morality and safety.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of this medicinal wonder. Often misunderstood, this hormonal remedy has walked a littered road of controversial backtalk and revolutionary movements. Therefore, like most things taboo, interesting, or just pretty, it has earned itself a Time magazine cover, adequately accessorized with a very detailed and fascinating article. I mean, I read the entire thing.
Whether you’re for it, against it, on it, or a boy, this article gives an intriguing outlook about the history of birth control as a concept, how it transformed into a drug, and ultimately how it became a way of life for many women...and, of course, the chaos that shadowed it.
Check out the Time article here, and leave your thoughts/feelings below.
FYI, today roughly 100 million women around the world use the pill.
Contributed by: Keri Lynch
Twitter is watching you.
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Although Animal Farm is one of my favorite novels, George Orwell really annoyed me with 1984. Well, just kidding, I really liked that book too. I was just bitter that he picked my birth year to predict a totalitarian world where privacy and civil rights didn’t exist anywhere. I mean, I thought 1984 was great year for a baby. Anyway, he might have been onto something, just a decade or two too early.
Though mainly non-partisan when it comes to politics, it was hard not to see the door to our liberties close slightly with the Patriot Act of 2001. A statue that allowed the government to selectively access telephone, email, medical and financial records to protect our “freedom”, it made everyone wonder … is anything private anymore? Well, not really. And with the crazy technological boom of the past decade, it’s made the line between what is private and what is public not only blurry, but pretty much invisible.
Insert the social media craze. Whether searching for a job, investigating a crime, or just trying to spread a plethora of fast knowledge, outlets such as Facebook and Twitter have become catalysts for studying human behavior and examining an individual’s thoughts. Now some of these thoughts are being filed into public record ... and studied.
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Administrative Professionals Week
Working in an office environment is great. There is fresh brewed coffee in the break room, your calls get transferred directly to your desk, your mail gets sent out promptly by simply dropping it in the Outgoing box, and you always have fresh pens and notepads at your disposal. It’s like magic. These little cohesive consistencies are what can keep each day from completely going up in flames, when chaos has engulfed everything else.
But it’s not magic. Well, it’s not wand-waving, spell enchanting magic, but it’s definitely something special. And it doesn’t just materialize on it’s own. There are a lot of hardworking individuals who are behind these seemingly simple tasks. But there is nothing simple, or easy, about being an administrative assistant. They, for lack of a better expression, are the glue, well for fun, let’s call them the super glue, that keeps an office and an office environment efficient.
This year, Aprils 18th to April 24th marks the National Administrative Professionals Appreciation Week, with Administrative Professionals Day landing on April 21st. Though you should always appreciate the hard work of your colleagues, especially your admins, this week is especially set aside for you to outwardly express your admiration and gratitude towards them for what they do.
Formally known as Professional Secretaries Week, before America got all politically correct in 2000 and updated the name/title, this evolving holiday was first created back in 1952 through the work of Harry F. Klemfuss, a New York publicist. He wanted to encourage more people, especially women, to consider careers in the secretarial field.
Fast-forward half a century, through civil rights and the bra burning years, the role of secretary as well as the gender has changed drastically. Administrative professionals are no longer Aquanet wearing, note-taking women, but serious business professionals. In fact, some prominent executive administrators are some of the highest paid people in corporate America. And they aren’t all women. Can we say Mark from Ugly Betty?
But whatever role they play in your particular office environment, they are the smile that greets you at the door and the ‘Have a nice day!’, as you leave. They are your organizational outlook and your personal reminder. They make your job easier.
So show your appreciation this week for one of largest workplace observances in any way you can. Flowers, candies, gift cards, etc. … and who doesn’t like to be taken out to lunch?? I’m just saying …
How do you plan to thank your administrative professionals? Leave your thoughts below.
Contributed by: Keri Lynch
What's with April 15th?
Today marks the one blemish in April’s usually blooming record: Tax Return Day. Eh, well, April is also the beginning of tornado season, but I digress. A post office’s nightmare and a CPA’s dream, tax season gives a whole new light to mathematics and itemization. People find themselves scrambling through old shoeboxes for missing receipts and trying to mentally calculate volunteer work and “charitable” donations they can claim in hopes of squeezing every penny out of their return.
But why April 15th? Who chose this day to make people sweat an audit and pile themselves in papers? So I decided to dig around a little bit, and by a little bit, I went straight to Wikipedia. C’mon, everyone uses it, but no one wants to admit to.
According to the highly distinguished website, Congress was the one to put “tax day” on the calendar. When we, “America”, ratified the 16th Amendment in 1913, which allowed Congress to institute an income tax, they chose March 1st of the following year as the deadline for filing returns. However, with the Revenue Act of 1918, which I probably need to pick up a text book to see what that was about, they up and moved the date to March 15th. It wasn’t until 1955 though, that Congress finally settled on the April 15th deadline. I think it was because April is prettier, but apparently it was to spread out the workload for the IRS. It’s also rumored that the growing middle class was filing more and more returns and the government wanted a little more time to hold on to the money. Sneaky.
Although fulfilled with this great public encyclopedia knowledge about something that I still get my dad to do for me every year (yes, I’m 25), I also don’t want to spread lies. Therefore, I decided I needed to verify this information. After some intense Google searching, I stumbled across an article on CNN from April 15, 2002, which basically laid out the same information verbatim. And everyone trusts CNN.
So there you have it. That’s why April 15th is, well the day it is. So put the remote down, turn your laptop on and get to filling.
Contributed by: Keri Lynch
Candy Brands: Brach's
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What would Halloween be without candy corn? It has been enjoyed for over 100 years. According to Brach's, the top branded maker of candy corn, each year Americans buy enough Brach's candy corn that if the kernels were laid end to end, they would circle around the Earth 4.5 times. Brach's candy pumpkin, known by the trademark name "Mellow Cream" is the most popular candy pumpkin. They are popular both for their unique texture and for being fat free. Candy pumpkins are made using the same process used to make candy corn. The ingredients include corn syrup, real honey, and sugar.
Amusingly, candy pumpkins played a role in the U.S. Implementation of Daylight Saving Time. Since the 1960s, candy makers had wanted to get the trick-or-treat period covered by Daylight Saving. They believed if children had an extra hour of daylight, they would have more time to collect candy, which would boost candy sales. During the 1985 U.S. Congressional hearings on Daylight Saving, the candy industry went so far as to put candy pumpkins on the seat of every senator, hoping to win a little favor. Soon, Daylight Saving Time was extended through the first Sunday in November.
By: Ashley Popham
Say Peak-a-Boo
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It’s that time of year again…waiting to see if that little groundhog is going to see his shadow! In case you were not aware of the details of this special day here’s the gist of it. Every year on February 2nd , dating back to the 1800s, many gather in the traditional location of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to witness the local celebrity, Phil, peak out of hibernation. The groundhog seeing its shadow means six more weeks of winter, and no shadow means spring is around the corner.
Interested in how a rodent managed to achieve the power of deciding our destiny year after year, find
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Gen-Ed
What’s your generation?
Interbellum Generation (born 1901 - 1910)
Derived from the Latin inter- between and bellum- war, this generation was too young to have served in World War I, and generally too old for World War II.
The Greatest Generation (born 1901 - 1924)
This generation fought and/or kept the home front intact during World War II, honored by Tom Brokaw as the greatest generation any society has ever produced.
Silent Generation (born 1925 - 1945)
Too young to be world war two heroes, two old for the counterculture, this group is largely overlooked. Within it, however, exists American literary expatriates who lived in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, referred to as the Lost Generation.
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Word of the Day: Westinghousing
Westinghousing: a term used in the late 1800s for the death penalty administered by electrocution
Interestingly enough, the term Westinghousing is attributed to Thomas Edison, who famously competed against the Westinghouse Corporation in the "current wars" of 1887. So why would Edison give a competitor free publicity?
Thomas Edison had patented Direct Current (DC) electricity and with it, created the standard for electricity in the 1800s. The system was hugely inefficient, which opened the door for Nikola Tesla, a professional and personal rival to Edison, to devise a more streamlined technology. Tesla patented AC, or alternating current, and partnered with the Westinghouse Corporation to establish alternating current as the new standard for transmitting electricity.
In attempt to protect his royalties (and name), Edison launched an intense publicity campaign against Tesla's invention. When AC was put to use in electric chairs, Edison realized the power of name association and suggested that the process of electrocution be named Westinghousing.
It was a good try. In one word Edison had linked his competitor's name to a gruesome act, and also reminded consumers that AC was lethal, and therefore, potentially unsafe.
But Edison's branding tactics were not enough to overcome the simple fact that AC was the superior method of electricity distribution. Tesla's alternating current became the standard and (among many other inventions) is still in use today.
Contributed by: Maghan Cook