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10 Smart Ways to Lower Your Heating Bill This Winter
Lower your heat bill this winter by trying these 10 tips. (No, piling on the sweaters and blankets is not among the list.)
The Shortest Route for Seeing Nearly 50,000 Historic Places in One Trip
This is the shortest route for seeing nearly 50,000 historic places in one trip.
23 Surprising Facts About Love Actually
Love Actually, the romantic comedy directed by Richard Curtis and commonly revisited during the holidays, initially contained 14 love stories. Four, however, were cut between the scripting phase and post-production. Here are 22 other facts about the intertwining tale of love and loss in London.
A female doctor from Brazil, after being fed up from burglars jumping over her fence and steal her belongings, tapped dozen of HIV-infected syringes atop her metal fence with a warning board saying, ”Wall with HIV positive blood. No trespassing.” 10
The holiday season is the most nostalgic time of year, so it only makes sense that the most popular Christmas songs are from the 1940s and ’50s. To really put a retro spin on the season, we gathered up 15 songs from even earlier—the ’10s, ’20s, and ’30s. And while they might not be coming directly out of a record player, they’re sure to put you in a very merry sepia-tinted mood.
Perhaps the most traditional song on this list, its performers—the Edison Mixed Quartet (also sometimes referred to as the Edison Concert Band)—also recorded a few similar-sounding Christmas tunes during the early 20th century.
OK, this isn’t a song—but we just had to include this 1922 bit that does end with a rendition of “Jingle Bells.”
If you’re a music lover, you know (and love) Bessie Smith, but you might not have heard this holiday track, which combines Smith’s soaring vocals with delightfully jazzy horns and piano.
We’ve included a few blues tracks here, because, hey: the holidays are the best time to be cheerful—and depressed.
Vernon Dalhart was an important figure in the early days of American folk and country music—even with a background in opera. He auditioned for Thomas Edison and, over the course of several years, recorded hundreds of songs for Edison Records under a number of pseudonyms. After that, Dalhart began to record country songs, becoming a household name with 1924’s “The Wreck of the Old 97.”
If the name didn’t tip you off, here’s another blues track. And if you find yourself in need of more, click on over here, here, here, here, here, and here. Yes, there are a surprising number of great blues songs about the holidays, and these somber tunes will definitely bring you joy.
While the Christmas music of the ’40s and ’50s would start to make its way into the studio, much of the earlier music of the holidays still had that live, big band sound—including this 1930 recording.
This is the kind of song you might expect to hear in a Christmas special for kids (which is a total compliment).
A very cheeky song honoring the age-old question you’ve never thought to ask: “Does Santa Claus sleep with his whiskers over or under the sheet?”
An instrumental track that’s perfect for you if orchestra swells are what really get you in the holiday spirit.
“Swingin” might actually be the best way to describe this 1936 jazz carol.
This song is sometimes listed as “What Will Santa Claus Say? (When He Finds Everybody Swingin’),” which is a pretty fun image to conjure if you ask us.
This 1936 Christmas song sounds a bit like a scene out of an old Disney movie—and tells the tale of all the little girls who dream of being the fairy on top of the tree. (It’s OK, we’ve never had that dream either.)
Before “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” there was “I Want You For Christmas.”
Don’t let that creepy preview image above fool you: This 1939 song is a sweet ode to all the things we already have (with some not-so-subtle nods to the turmoil happening around the world at the time).
December 13, 2016 – 8:00am
| Questions: | 5 |
| Available: | Always |
| Pass rate: | 75 % |
| Backwards navigation: | Forbidden |
“Sho”veling Snow
Monday, December 12, 2016 – 11:26
Just in time for your Star Wars movie marathon: The Death Star popcorn maker promises to make a hefty bowl of popcorn in minutes (and it will look great next to your R2-D2 French press and Darth Vader nutcracker).
To get started, simply take off the top, which doubles as a popcorn bowl. Then, scoop in the desired amount of popcorn kernels with the included tool, turn on the device, and watch as your snack comes flying out of the air chute. The Death Star popcorn maker uses hot air to cook the kernels instead of butter or oil so it promises healthier, guilt-free popcorn.
It can hold about half a cup of unpopped kernels, which makes eight cups of cooked popcorn. You can pick one up on ThinkGeek for $50 or check out its R2-D2 branded counterpart.
December 13, 2016 – 6:30am
Scratch names off your list without splurging! Here are 11 sure-to-please gifts priced at $50 and under.
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Perfect for the stargazer in your life, this handheld gadget serves as a portable planetarium, allowing viewers to easily map the night sky. All they have to do is enter a latitude and the current date and time to locate and identify the stars above them.
Find It: Amazon
Ensure that her detailed manicure is long-lasting. This pint-sized nail kit will provide your giftee with everything needed for a DIY gel manicure. In addition to a tiny LED drying lamp, the set includes a nail file, nail polish remover pads, a bottle of gel polish, and a cuticle stick.
Find It: Amazon
With just the sound of their voice, your favorite techie can command the Echo Dot to play music, set an alarm, turn on a light, tell a joke, and even order a pizza while they’re in the shower.
Find It: Amazon
Even if the weather outside is frightful, this high-quality set of grilling tools is perfect for the outdoor cook, and features a personalized engraving on its lightweight bamboo case.
Find It: Amazon
For the budding architect on your list: This 37-piece set set, created in Illinois, is a rustic upgrade to the classic wooden toy. The project, made of hand-printed maple, is meant to evoke Abe Lincoln’s boyhood home.
Find It: Uncommon Goods
This convenient kit by beauty purveyors Glossier includes four new limited edition products essential for a cocktail party prep: lip gloss, eyeliner in soft black Graphite, Haloscope highlighter, and pink nail polish.
Find It: Glossier
For the fitness fanatic in your life, the Polk Boom Bit offers killer sound quality in a pint-sized package. It’s waterproof, easy charged via USB, and perfect for the music-lover on the go.
Find It: Amazon
These spherical soaps from Uncommon Goods promise to “take earthlings to a relaxing galaxy far, far away.” They’re designed to look like the planets of the solar system (and Pluto) and come in 9 different calming scents evocative of each, like Mercury’s Moroccan Spices with Activated Charcoal and Neptune’s Black Raspberry and Vanilla.
Find It: Uncommon Goods
Perfect for the avid binge-watcher, the Roku Streaming Stick provides access to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and more. With its quad-core processor, it makes catching up on shows more streamlined than ever.
Find It: Amazon
This set of cocktail accessories is ideal for the aspiring mixologist. In sleek gold-brushed stainless steel, the collection includes a coil strainer, bottle opener, stirring spoon, two jiggers, a serrated knife, and ice tongs.
Find It: CB2
To please the technology enthusiast in your midst, look no further than this lightweight, wind-resistant drone. Recommended for ages 14 and older, this space-age flying machine can do flips, fly for 7 minutes at a time, and comes equipped with a HD camera.
Find It: Amazon
December 13, 2016 – 6:00am
Harris & Ewing via The Library of Congress // Public Domain
The Obsessed, Feuding Searchers Still Looking for Amelia Earhart. They have their own competing theories, evidence, interpretations, and even lawsuits.
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These are the 10 worst Christmas songs. With videos so you can judge them yourself.
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Artificial People. Meet some early computer-generated personalities that left a mark.
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How Scientists Accidentally Found the Man With the Largest Healthy Testicles. The “nugget of knowledge” was found buried in the methods section of a medical research paper.
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5 Places You Never Knew Were Penal Colonies. The old-school solution to crime was to export criminals to far-flung territories.
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Explore the curious (and sometimes creepy) traditions of funeral foods. The after-funeral buffet evolved from more gruesome practices.
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Portion Sizes: America vs. France. It’s a matter of quantity vs. quality.
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Stunning Photos From the Peary-Henson North Pole Expedition. The 1909 expedition got plenty of pictures, but did not see Santa Claus.
December 13, 2016 – 5:00am
The pain—and humiliation—of getting hit in the head with a soccer ball during gym class fades with time, but Gavin and Dan, a.k.a. The Slow Mo Guys, decided to re-create the mortifying moment as adults and immortalize it in slow motion.
For the uninitiated, the Slow Mo Guys are YouTube sensations that film chaotic moments (examples: rapidly cooled glass exploding, a fire tornado twisting through the air) in slow motion, using high-speed cinema cameras. In their latest video, the duo fill a soccer ball with water, and Gavin hurls it at Dan’s face.
To the casual bystander, the painful moment occurs too quickly to register Dan’s reaction—but a camera filming the impact at 2800 frames a second captures how the heavy sphere impacts the daredevil’s face, causing his cheeks, lips, and nose to undulate as he recoils in pain.
Watch the painfully fascinating process below, in 1000x slow motion.
Banner image: iStock
December 13, 2016 – 3:00am