Trivia

[kristina]

Sorry Riki, it is not Seinfeld.

You are almost there, CebuShan, this was an excellent thought and very close.

Evangelista Torricelli is famous for inventing the barometer,
but the person I am thinking of, also from the 17th century but from a different country,
became very famous for his practical experiments with a vacuum (which in effect is nothing)
and he devised several interesting objects working on a vacuum.

He is specifically connected with only a vacuum and the use to which it could be put.
The most famous experiment which he devised, is said to have been carried out in 1657,
and re-created for the first time in Britain on 18th March 2000 in Devon.
It involved the pulling apart by two teams of horses two hemispheres naturally sealed together
purely because there was a vacuum (nothing) inside and atmospheric pressure outside.

[kristina]

...It seems another clue is necessary,

so I mention the “Magdeburg experiment”...

[galvo]

Krtistina, your Magdeburg clue leads me to say Otto von Guericke.

[kristina]

Yes galvo, it is the inventor, scientist and politician Otto von Guericke (1602-1686).

[galvo]

 A seasonal question:

What Christmas food is made from "marsh-whorts"?

 

[cariad]

A seasonal question:

What Christmas food is made from "marsh-whorts"?

No idea, but cannot wait to find out. Is it a drink? I am trying to remember the name of that alcoholic beverage for Christmas time. I'll think of it....

[galvo]

Well, cariad, I guess you could drink it.

[Riki]

I'd drink the stuff my mom makes, but I'll eat the marsh-whorts as is.. *G*

It's cranberry sauce

[cariad]

I'd drink the stuff my mom makes, but I'll eat the marsh-whorts as is.. *G*

It's cranberry sauce

Ahhhh! That makes sense. Sounds nicer than bog-whorts I suppose!

I must use this new information to scare the children.  Kids! No dessert until you finish your marsh-whorts!

[galvo]

Correct, Riki. The floor is yours.

Cariad, tell the young 'uns that, if they don't eat their vegies, they'll get marsh-whorts on their bottoms!

[Riki]

Cariad, tell the young 'uns that, if they don't eat their vegies, they'll get marsh-whorts on their bottoms!

*LMAO*

My dad used to call them that.  I think it was a way of grossing us kids out, so that he could have more. *LOL*

ok, sticking with the holiday theme..... I actually looked this one up out of pure curiosity one day..

The couple in the song Winter Wonderland build a snowman and pretend it's Parson Brown.  Who (or what) is Parson Brown?

[cariad]

Cariad, tell the young 'uns that, if they don't eat their vegies, they'll get marsh-whorts on their bottoms!

The couple in the song Winter Wonderland build a snowman and pretend it's Parson Brown.  Who (or what) is Parson Brown?

From the lyrics, I always assumed that a Parson was some sort of religious marriage officiant, a minister or similar.

[KarenInWA]

Cariad, I think that holiday alcoholic beverage you speak of is egg nog...

Riki, as for Parson Brown, I have no idea. I always thought he was just the snowman in the song!

KarenInWA

[galvo]

"Parson Brown" is the term used to talk about a typical angelican priest of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. "Parson Brown" is not an actual person (though he might have been at some time), but a figure of speech, like "John Doe" is an unidentified male.

[Riki]

Cariad actually got it..

what I found was that a Parson was a traveling minister who went around to different towns that didn't have a regular minister to marry people or baptize children.  The article I read thought that Brown was just a surname

[cariad]

Cariad actually got it..

Well, that's not something I hear everyday.... (I do think galvo was also correct because there may be several theories.)

All right, keeping up with the holiday theme:

Who/what is Krampus? And for extra points (last chance to raise your scores before receiving your final grade):

What is the English translation of that word?

[kristina]

 “Krampus” usually accompanies St. Nicholas (St. Nikolaus) on the evening of 5th or 6th December in the Alpine Region
(Switzerland, Germany, Austria) and he is known to be “the grumpy one” who points out naughty children to St. Nicholas and to the parents.

The precise translation of “Krampus” is a bit difficult, I only have known him to be the “grumpy one”.

 “Krampus” is also known as “Knecht Ruprecht”, (“Servant/helper/Knight Ruprecht”)
and in Tyrol he has been known as driving away evil spirits,
and/or he is the “Bogeyman” or even "the little devil".

But “Krampus” is mainly known just as the helper of St. Nicholas whose job it is to point out naughty children,
whereas St. Nicholas brings presents and is very mild and good minded.

[cariad]

Whoa, that was way more detailed than I knew or expected! Gold star for that one.

I had read that Krampus translated to 'claw' Maybe it's a slang term or from a specific dialect....

Your go, Kristina.

[kristina]

Thanks Cariad.
 
Keeping up with the holiday theme:

In the Russian community many girls are given an icon of St. Nicholas (Nicolai, Kolya, Mykolai).

Why is that so?

[okarol]

But “Krampus” is mainly known just as the helper of St. Nicholas whose job it is to point out naughty children,
whereas St. Nicholas brings presents and is very mild and good minded.

  I've been good!

[galvo]

Ha!

[kristina]

...Here is  a clue:

Legend has it that St. Nicholas helped a poor man
 
who had three daughters but could not afford a dowry for them...

[CebuShan]

Wild guess: Is it in hopes of getting married in the New Year?

[kristina]

Sorry, CebuShan, your answer is only partly right.

There is one other aspect to this legend which makes St. Nicholas's involvement important.

[galvo]