Happy Memorial Day! I hope that nobody is reading this, and instead you're all out getting some fresh air and frolicking in the sunshine with your families. But if you do happen to find yourself with some extra web surfing time over the long weekend, below are a few links you might enjoy. (And lest this seem like it was an easy post to put together, I assure you that it was not, due to the fact that I tried to find cool stuff that Tito and Kevin had not already linked to -- quite a challenge indeed!)
1. A good place to start is the Wikipedia entry about Memorial Day. There's some surprisingly interesting stuff there, like the fact that it used to be called Decoration Day, because it was a day where women would go out and decorate the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers.
2. Speaking of the Civil War, one positive thing that came out of the tragedy was that it led to important advances in battlefield medicine. Here are five such innovations, including some fascinating stories about how they were developed.
3. Take a dive seven miles down into the ocean with this fascinating infograph. (Don't miss the box on the right that changes with updated information as you scroll.)
4. Check out MarineTraffic.com, otherwise known as "the website so awesome that it has forever ruined my dad's productivity." It shows the location of every ship on the ocean, its name, heading and speed. My dad writes: "To see something impressive, work the map over to the English Channel and click on the square south of Southampton."
5. If you get bored today you could always launch a Lego man into space and take a video of it, like these kids did.
6. In case you missed it over at LifeSite News, they have an inspiring story about a young woman who was born into terrible circumstances but is grateful to be alive.
7. Here is an amazing collection of photos taking in the early 1940s, using a high-quality film that makes them look like they were taken yesterday.
8. This video highlights seven "healthy" foods that have more sugar than a Twinkie. Next time you're at the store, read the labels on the food you buy -- it's amazing how often sugar is one of the first few ingredients!
9. For a visual treat, check out these beautiful photographs of confluences (places where rivers come together) from around the world.
10. No list of links would be complete without a video that combines magic and iPads.
I hope you all have a restful and safe Memorial Day!
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As I sit pumping milk for babies, I do actually have time to peruse these sites - what fun! I agree with your dad about the marine traffic site - so impressive (and if he likes real time world maps, he may also enjoy seeing where all the latest earthquakes are happening - http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/ ) And in light of your mom’s manifesto about snacks the other day, I was struck by the 1940s photos and 1. how well-dressed and attentive to appearance everyone is (no one is wearing PJs out in public at least), and 2. there is not an overweight, much less obese, person in the bunch. Although I think my favorite photos were the river confluences…thank you for making this daily chore so much more exciting today.
I hope you don’t mind if I suggest another link—my husband’s post on Memorial Day.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godandthemachine/2012/05/remembering-the-fallen/
Another good one is www.conservapedia.com
My aunts from Detroit still call it Decoration Day.
That more sugar than a twinkie post is interesting. Tomato sauce, yogurt, and smoothies don’t surprise me at all. I have never understood why anyone would eat most of the jarred tomato sauces on the market. With a few exceptions it tastes terrible and it’s so easy to open a can of crushed tomatoes and heat it up with some salt and garlic and oregano. Ditto for the disgusting yogurt they have here loaded with fake flavors and without the fat part of the milk (which is the healthy part). Get some good plain full fat yogurt and stir in a little maple syrup or honey and some fruit or unsweetened jam. Even forgetting the health profile, it tastes 20,000 times better than some pink stuff you get at the supermarket and it will save you a lot of money. Aside from the added sugar, any kind of smoothie or mixed drink you buy is going to have a lot of apple juice in it (even the healthy brands); who wants a banana-berry smoothie that tastes like apple juice? I don’t know why people can’t taste that these things are awful and not worth any amount of money.
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