This is the Christmas, December 2024 edition of my fascinating facts newsletter, which includes a range of interesting topics. This includes writeups about the origins of sayings, the advent calender, Popeye and Monastic temples.

Fascinating Facts December 2024 Contents

You can download the full newsletter to read HERE, however some snippets are listed below.

Advent Calanders

Advent is the four weeks before Christmas. It can vary depending on the day Christmas falls. But most reusable advent calendars start on 1st December and count down to Christmas Eve–24th December. Advent is Latin and relates to the coming of Jesus. There are two mid-19th century claims to its beginning. One is German Protestants making chalk marks on doors or lighting candles to count the days leading up to Christmas. Others state it was originally started with candles lit by the Swedish and Norwegians. Find Out More…

Unusual Monastic Temples

The Taktsang Palphug Monastery and the Tiger’s Nest dates from the 8th century is a sacred Vajrayana Himalayan Buddhist site located in the Cliffside of the upper Park Valley in Bhutan. According to one legend, Guru Rinpoche flew to this location on the back of a tigress. Another legend states that a former wife of an emperor became one of his disciples and transformed herself into a tigress to carry him on her back to the present location. Find Out More…

Origins of Sayings

Many sayings stem from historical practices. Bouquets masked odor in rarely bathed brides, while dirty bathwater inspired “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Animals falling from thatched roofs led to “raining cats and dogs.” Thresholds kept straw from spilling outside, coining the term. Stews reused for days inspired “pease porridge,” and displaying bacon signified wealth, birthing “bring home the bacon” and “chew the fat.” Bread’s top crust for guests led to “upper crust.”

Fears of premature burial gave us “saved by the bell” and “dead ringer.” Wakes ensured the presumed dead weren’t buried alive, while laundry wringers and chalk slates birthed “through the wringer” and “clean slate.” Mischief and outdated tech inspired phrases like “paint the town red” and “hang up the phone,” preserving echoes of the past in modern language. Find Out More…

The V Sign

The V sign, often associated with “victory,” is commonly believed to have originated from English longbowmen at the 1415 Battle of Agincourt. According to legend, captured archers had their index and middle fingers severed by the French, leading the victorious archers to use the V sign as a defiant gesture. However, historical accounts, including that of Jean de Wavrin, suggest that the French actually threatened to cut off three fingers, not two, and there is no record of this threat being carried out. The first clear evidence of the V sign as an insult in the UK dates back to 1901, when a worker used it in defiance of being filmed. Find Out More…

Popeye

Popeye was created in 1929 by Elzie Crisler Segar based on Frank “Rocky” Fiegel for his Thimble Theatre comic strip. Introduced as a minor character, he was characterised as an impetuous yet introspective and humanitarian free spirit. With particular sympathy towards poverty-stricken individuals and orphaned children, he rapidly amassing popularity among the strip’s readership. Find Out More…

What happens worldwide in one minute?

As your minutes tick by, countless others are passing in different places and with different people. Have you ever wondered how many people are doing the same thing as you? If we could gather all the events happening around the world, what would it amount to? Here are some fascinating statistics for the next 60 seconds. To calculate these numbers, divide the annual total of a subject by 525,500, the number of minutes in a year. Keep in mind, these are just snapshots in time—every passing minute adds to the total. To see the numbers climb, visit Worldometers.

Did You Know?

• The deepest place on Earth is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, reaching a depth of 36,201 feet (11,034 meters), nearly seven miles deep.
• The longest river in the world is the River Nile, stretching 6,853 kilometers. Its waters are shared by 11 countries.
• Lobsters are not “biologically immortal,” but they produce an enzyme that repairs their cells and allows their DNA to replicate indefinitely.
• The deepest freshwater lake in the world is Lake Baikal in Siberia, with a depth of 5,315 feet (1,620 meters). Find Out More…

The Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness

Located in San Juan County, New Mexico, between Chaco Canyon and the De-Na-Zin Wilderness. The name “Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah” is a phonetic transliteration of the Navajo term “áshįįh łibá,” meaning “salt, it is grey” (grey salt). The area features multi-colored badlands, sandstone hoodoos, petrified wood, and dinosaur bones.

The region is characterized by eroded rocks in the high desert, with flat, sandy, uninhabited land drained by shallow washes that eventually flow into the San Juan River. Some parts of the land are within the Navajo Indian Reservation, while others are used for oil and gas drilling, though most remain empty. The wilderness is accessible via a network of dirt roads, many in good condition, though they may be less passable after recent rainfall. Find Out More…