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Well,nI found out that today there are two very strange “holidays.” Thenfirst one celebrates anyone named, nicknamed, or called Bubba.
Well,nI found out that today there are two very strange “holidays.” Thenfirst one celebrates anyone named, nicknamed, or called Bubba.n
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| Former President Bill Clinton was called Bubba. |
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nTherenwas a character in the movie Forest Gumpncalled “Bubba,” but I didn’t realize that bubbancomes from the word brothernand is a common nickname for the first boy of a family. Actually, innsome places, being called “Bubba” actually tells other peoplenthat you are the oldest son.
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Onnthe other hand, you might be called Bubbe,nBubby, or Bube—andnthat means that you’re a grandmother, not a brother. This word isnYiddish (a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin). Strictlynspeaking, bubbe meansngrandma, but it cannalso be used as a warm title for any elderly woman. n
Onnthe other hand, you might be called Bubbe,nBubby, or Bube—andnthat means that you’re a grandmother, not a brother. This word isnYiddish (a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin). Strictlynspeaking, bubbe meansngrandma, but it cannalso be used as a warm title for any elderly woman. nn
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nSonI think we should celebrate Bubbas and Bubbes today!
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nYelln“Fudge” at Cobras Day
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Ournsecond weird “holiday” is super silly. Everyone who lives innNorth America—that is, north of the Panama Canal, in America—isnurged to go outside at noon local time and yell “Fudge!” n
Ournsecond weird “holiday” is super silly. Everyone who lives innNorth America—that is, north of the Panama Canal, in America—isnurged to go outside at noon local time and yell “Fudge!” nn
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nWhy?nyou may ask.
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nWell,nsupposedly fudge makes cobras gag, and even hearing the word makesnthem take off. So all the cobras thinking about sneaking across thencanal or across the ocean, into North America, hear our shouts andntake off, going back to wherever they came from.
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nUh….okay?
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SonI got to wondering…hmmm…are there cobras in South America?
SonI got to wondering…hmmm…are there cobras in South America?n
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nNo,napparently not. (Other than in zoos and such unnatural places, ofncourse!)
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nCobrasnlive in Africa, southern Asian, and on some islands in SoutheastnAsia. There are no cobras native to North America, but there are nonennative to South America, either.
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nButnyou want to know what’s scary? Some people have bought Burmesenpythons as exotic pets and then let them go when they get tired ofnthem (or when the snakes get too large to be comfortable pets). Andnsome of those pet-python-releasers live in Florida. Unfortunately,nthe pythons are liking the Florida Everglades, and there are nownbreeding populations, which are an unwelcome and dangerous additionnto the Florida wetlands. There are also rumors about king cobrasnbeing seen in the Everglades—again, because they were exotic petsnthat were released. If that’s true, we need some brave Floridians tongo shout “Fudge!” at the edges of the Everglades, please.
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n(Justnjoking! I’m sure cobras have no interest in or aversion to fudge!)
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversary of communications inventions (wires and wireless)
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nGeochemist Clair Patterson’s birthday
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