Check out These 7 Interesting Facts About Roald Dahl

Were you a fan of James and the Giant Peach when you were a kid? How about The Witches or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

One man was responsible for those tales and many more that we devoured during our childhoods (and after): Roald Dahl.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Although he passed away nearly 30 years ago, Dahl remains a literary giant that kids and adult still read on a regular basis. Here are 10 facts about the great author.

1. Writing was not his best subject

A teacher once said about Dahl, “I have never met anybody who so persistently writes words meaning the exact opposite of what is intended.”

2. He served in World War II

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Dahl was a fighter pilot with the Royal Air Force. He crashed his plane in Libya during the war, which inspired him to start writing.

3. He got into some spy games

Dahl supplied intelligence to an MI6 agency called the British Security Coordination along with fellow officers Ian Fleming and David Ogilvy.

4. Quentin Tarantino adapted his work

Dahl’s short story “Man from the South” has been adapted for the screen three times: twice for Alfred Hitchcock Presents (in 1960 and 1985) and by Tarantino for the segment he directed for the film Four Rooms in 1995.

5. Dahl’s first children’s book was inspired by his time in the military

Photo Credit: Amazon

Dahl’s book The Gremlins was published in 1942 and was about a bunch of mischevious creatures who mess with the Royal Air Force’s planes. The rights for the story were purchased by Disney, but it was never made into a film.

6. His first published piece was a bit of an accident

Dahl was assigned to Washington, D.C. to work as an assistant air attaché. Author C.S. Forester interviewed Dahl about his experiences in the war. Dahl wrote some notes about his time during the war, and Forester was so impressed he didn’t change a word. The Saturday Evening Post published the article on August 1, 1942. Dahl was paid $1,000 for the story.

7. He wrote a lot of stories for adults

Dahl is best known for his children’s books, but he also wrote for Harper’s, The New Yorker, and even Playboy. He also wrote about dark subjects including wife-swapping, promiscuity, suicide, and adultery. Who knew?

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September 17, 2018

Waffle House Can Help You Measure the Severity of a Natural Disaster

Over the course of the Hurricane Florence news coverage, the term “Waffle House Index” has been used quite a few times. The chain restaurant is so prevalent across the country, and their locations are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so FEMA uses it as a barometer to see how bad a storm is affecting an area.

Photo Credit: Facebook,Waffle House

Former FEMA administrator Craig Fugate said, “If a Waffle House is closed because there’s a disaster, it’s bad. We call it red. If they’re open but have a limited menu, that’s yellow … If they’re green, we’re good, keep going. You haven’t found the bad stuff yet.”

Photo Credit: Flickr,mikeporterinmd

If a Waffle House location is having trouble getting supplies, then FEMA knows transportation has been slowed down because of a storm. If only some of the menu items are available, there might have some utilities and not others. If a Waffle House restaurant shuts down and locks its doors, FEMA knows that the weather is really, really bad because many of them will stay open even in the worst weather to help first responders.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

What a brilliant concept. So remember, if you live near a Waffle House and you’re having a storm, see what’s going on there to get a good idea of how bad the weather might get.

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September 17, 2018

A Vision of Isolating Technology from 1906…

Punch, the British weekly magazine of humor and satire, seemed to have a talent for uncanny predictions of distant technologies to come. See for example this vision of the Skype-like “Telephonoscope” from 1879. 00

September 17, 2018

There’s an 1,800 year-old Roman…

There’s an 1,800 year-old Roman version of present day Swiss Army Knife, complete with folding spoon, fork, spatula, pick, spike and knife. It was made mostly from silver, so it has held up pretty well. The spike might have helped in extracting the meat from snails, and the spatula in poking sauce out of narrow-necked […]

September 17, 2018

In 2012 a scientific study…

In 2012 a scientific study predicted a 39 inch rise in sea level along the North Carolina coast over the next century. In response, North Carolina lawmakers passed a law banning the use of scientific predictions of sea level rise when considering new developments along the coast. 00

September 17, 2018

The word “procrastinate”…

The word “procrastinate” comes from Latin meaning “to put off until tomorrow” and there is another word “perendinate” that means “to put off until the day after tomorrow”. For some people, procrastination is more than a bad habit; it’s a sign of a serious underlying health issue. For example, ADHD , OCD , anxiety, and […]

September 16, 2018

8+ Kitchen Hacks To Ease Your Stress in the Kitchen

There’s bound to be few tasks in the kitchen that make you think hiring a cook might not be such a bad idea, even if you’re someone who enjoys their baking and cooking,

Check these hacks out, and thank me later for all of the extra time you’ve got on your hands!

#10. Boil eggs in the oven.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Line a muffin tin with paper cups, then put an egg in each one. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and heat the eggs for 30 minutes, then submerge them in ice water for 10 minutes. I’m definitely going to try this one!

#9. Help your greens out.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

I don’t know about you, but nothing grosses me out faster than wilted greens in a salad. You can help yours stay perky longer by lining a plastic container with paper towels, tossing in DRY greens, then covering them with more paper towels. Simple and effective!

#8. Don’t watch your pot – but bring it to a boil faster.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

First off, remember to use only as much water as you’ll need to do accomplish the task at – the more water, the longer it takes to boil. Second, pop the lid on the pot and let the steam help you heat the water faster. Voila!

#7. Get creative (and neater) with your pancake making.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Instead of using a million measuring cups, spoons, and bowls to get a fairly simple batch of pancakes done, try mixing everything in a gallon plastic baggie, the cutting off one corner and using it to pipe the batter. This way you can even make fun pancake shapes!

#6. Help your avocados ripen faster.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

If you’re like me, you love avocados…but you have trouble getting them at just the right time. We often buy them a little too firm and then wait (and I always forget about them until they’re bad). If you want to hurry them along for a planned meal, just seal them in a paper bag for a couple of days. If you add an apple to the bag, the ethylene gas it gives off will also help the ripening process along.

#5. Rejuvenate your stale bread.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

This trick doesn’t work for slices, but if you’ve got whole loves or baguettes that have gone stale, try it: Simply run the loaf under water (briefly) and then toss it in a 325 degree oven for 6-7 minutes. The steam from the evaporating water will rehydrate your bread while keeping the crust nice and crisp!

#4. Peel ginger with a spoon.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Because of the odd shapes fresh ginger root comes in, a spoon is often more effective than a peeler for getting into all those nooks and crannies.

#3. Keep your brown sugar soft.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

There’s nothing more annoying than pulling out your brown sugar for a recipe and finding it hard and crumbling. You want to make sure you’re storing it in an airtight container, for starters, but you can also toss in marshmallows, bread, or slices of apple to absorb extra moisture and keep it soft and yummy even longer!

#2. Keep your grill clean with an onion.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Grills need to be scraped clean now and again, and it turns out that an onion cut in half is the perfect way to do it. Just make sure your grill is nice and hot to help loosen things up, then slide the onion half over the grill flat-side down with a fork. It’s all natural (and won’t smell half bad, either).

#1. Rescue your fresh herbs from the trash.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

You’d be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t agree that fresh herbs are preferable to dried ones, but when it comes to waste, the former can be a bummer. If you’ve got herbs about to wither and mold in the fridge, toss them into some olive oil to make yourself an herb-infused topping.

Alternatively, you can freeze them with oil or melted butter in ice cube trays and use them in future recipes.

h/t: Mental_Floss

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September 16, 2018

15 Reasons to Hug Your Left-Handed Friends

Lefties are still in the minority, so let’s take a moment to remember that being different can present some challenges. International Left-Handers Day was August 13th this year, and chances are everyone has at least one special lefty in their life that reminded them we should be celebrating. My grandpa was a lefty and took every chance he got – through words, mugs, and apparel – to remind the world that he was superior to us boring righties.

#15. Oh, the humanity!

Photo Credit: Twitter

#14. Pro-tip worth filing away.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#13. It’s like the mirage in the lefty desert.

Photo Credit: Bored Panda

#12. Hey that’s quite the classy hack right there.

Photo Credit: Bored Panda

#11. Bonus: You learn how to read backward!

Photo Credit: Reddit

#10. She was excited about her new ice cream scooper. Until…

Photo Credit: Reddit

#9. Who knew you could adjust the shortcuts?

Photo Credit: Tumblr

#8. Just imagine being the cause of all the seating chart stress!

Photo Credit: Twitter

#7. Related to genius.

Photo Credit: Reddit

#6. The care and feeding of the lefty in your life.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#5. Why AREN’T you??

Photo Credit: Tumblr

#4. Cheated by the fork-knife.

Photo Credit: Tumblr

#3. It’s always the little things that turn into big things.

Photo Credit: Tumblr

#2. Dreams vs. Reality.

Photo Credit: Tumblr

#1. Those are for other people.

Photo Credit: Twitter

h/t: Bored Panda

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September 16, 2018

10 Super Weird British Foods

The British have some pretty interesting food and drinks that you can’t find anywhere else.

Despite being staples of their diet, many of those items don’t translate to the rest of the world, and people around the globe find them to be downright weird. Take a look at these 10 examples from people who shared their thoughts on Buzzfeed.

1. Crisps in a roll

Photo Credit: Instagram,such.a.flannel

“The weirdest British dish is without a doubt crisp rolls. A dry roll. With crisps in them?! Why?!”

2. Spotted dick

Photo Credit: Flickr,Brad Lauster

“What is spotted dick and why is it called that? Is it named after someone? I’m confused.”

3. Scotch eggs

Photo Credit: Flickr,Brian Malcolm

4. Brown sauce

Photo Credit: Instagram,peacockdrums

“A food defined by its colour and category. They didn’t even both to name it!”

5. Chips with vinegar

Photo Credit: Flickr,LearningLark

6. Mince pies

Photo Credit: Flickr,Yortw

“Once my British friends and I made a savoury pie with minced meat (ground meat) and I called it a mincemeat pie and they were like ‘oh actually…’ because apparently that’s WRONG!?!?”

7. Sausage rolls

Photo Credit: Flickr,Alpha

“Why are y’all so obsessed with sausages and sausage rolls? Specifically from Greggs. What’s so great about Greggs?”

8. Black pudding

Photo Credit: Flickr,Andy2Boyz

“Being an American with an English boyfriend, I spend a decent amount of time in north west England. Can’t wrap my head around black pudding. Pig’s blood and cereal? And it’s at every breakfast place ever there.”

9. Yorkshire puddings

Photo Credit: Flickr,Rob Friesel

“They are awesome, but so weird, like weird-shaped savoury pancakes.”

10. Beans on toast

Photo Credit: Instagram,slimming.world.abby

“Yeah i don’t get the whole ‘mushy carbs on top of toast’ thing, i.e. beans on toast, fried potatoes on toast, etc.”

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September 16, 2018

Women Share Their Terrifying Stories of Being Stalked in Public

Maybe it’s been in a bar, at the movies, or walking down the street, but every woman has likely had an experience where a random male stranger has made her uncomfortable, at the very least. At the extreme (but not uncommon) end of the spectrum are the men that have made us want to run away or send a desperate text to a friend or loved one.

Women have even come to expect this when they go about their business alone in public and yet, for men, it can be hard to comprehend how prevalent these encounters are. That’s one reason these tweets, and the women who were brave enough to share their experiences and face the backlash, are so important.