271, 272, 273, 274, 275

Thursday I learned about the Blue Man Group. The BMG has been around since the 80s. The big sticks that they swing around, "airpoles," are actually boat antennae. Uh, there's a lot more, obviously. I mean, I saw their show at Nationwide, so I experienced them firsthand which is a kind of learning, right? And I skimmed their Wikipedia entry even though it's like really long. It was a fun show.

Friday I learned the history of jumping in Mirror Lake before the OSU-Michigan game. I guess it's really only officially been going on since the 90s. Here is a crappy article on it from The Lantern.

Saturday I learned about rust. God, that's boring. This is like a joke blog entry. But I really did learn about rust. I used this article instead of the Wikipedia entry because the Wikipedia entry had like big long chemical equations and this one is all in normal dumb people words. The reason why rust is a problem is that the iron oxide molecule is bigger than the regular iron molecule, so it puffs up and gets flaky because it doesn't fit in its original space.

Sunday I learned that Are You Afraid of the Dark actually HAS been released on DVD. Waaaant...

Today I learned what a melodica is. It's a keyboard instrument that you blow into as you play. One of Feist's band members last night was playing one of these or something similar to it.

210, 211, 212

Saturday I learned that one explanation for why "the clap" is called "the clap" is that guys would clap their wang in between their hands in order to expel pus out of the urethra when they were all grody and infected. Yikes. Grossest thing ever. (Other less terrifying explanations include a shortening of the old French word "clapier" which meant brothel. Yeah. Let's go with that one.)

Sunday I learned why DVDs and CDs always come out on Tuesdays; or, I sort of did. There are a lot of explanations (see here and here): the timing of sales figure releases, slow business on Tuesdays, not having to stock the shelves on a busy weekend night, etc. I think, in the end, that it's all of these reasons combined with the fact that Tuesday has been the release date for many years now and it's just when people know to look for new stuff.

Today I learned that Skybus may start selling tickets to Cancun and Nassau beginning in October. Hmmm. I can has spring break?

167, 168, 169

Friday I learned that generalized itching without a rash can be a symptom of Hodgkin's lymphoma, so now I'm convinced that I have that.

Saturday I learned that season 3 of The Office is coming out on DVD on September 4. Season 3 was kind of disappointing to me, but I will still buy the DVD. They always have good extras. BUT GUESS WHAT ELSE. 30 Rock also comes out on DVD that day! Now that I'm excited about.

Today I learned the recipe for a "brandy Alexander:" 1.5 ounces of brandy, 1 ounce dark creme de cacao, 1 ounce of half and half or heavy cream, and 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg. Brandy Alexander is also an awesome, awesome song off of Feist's latest CD, The Reminder. Give it a listen.