Welcome to the Wannaskan Almanac. I hope to make this a unique and enjoyable experience. Do you know what a felsenmeer is? If not, be patient. All will be revealed! First off let's look at what makes March 27 so special. Today is American Diabetes Association Alert Day. Find out more about this important day here. It is also Education and Sharing Day. I think that is a little ironic because kids are probably on their way back from spring break about now and are sharing their lack of excitement in being back in school. It is also National Joe Day. I wonder if Chairman Joe knew about that! It is also Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day. This begs the question...is there anything about country music that is not quirky? Oh oh...I have offended country music fans everywhere!
On to this day in history. In 1964 the second largest earthquake ever recorded occurred. The Great Alaska Earthquake measured 9.2 on the Richter scale and cause a devastating tsunami.
In 1914 the first successful blood transfusion took place in Brussels. There seems to be a lot of things that happened in Brussels in history. I think that going there would be a good vacation idea...maybe to celebrate National Joe Day.
In 1513 Ponce de León first saw Florida. He was famous for supposedly discovering the fountain of youth...later renamed Oil of Ole.
Next up...birthdays! I decided to be a little bit modern today. The following people were born on March 27:
1963 – Quentin Tarantino, American director
1970 – Mariah Carey, American singer
1975 – Fergie, American singer (The Black Eyed Peas)
Here is a picture of a felsenmeer.
A felsenmeer is a flat, often arctic area, that is covered with angular boulders. There is a remarkable absence of felsenmeer landscape in Wannaska.
Now to the completely unnecessary, yet somehow unavoidable, discussion of interesting things this week in the world of a Middle School teacher. I discovered that none of my students know anything about Wint-O-Green Lifesavers and how they give off a spark when you chew them. I put our original lessons on hold and we spent several days working on examining this phenomena. The principal was a little put off when he learned that we had spent our yearly budget on Lifesavers, but in my opinion we dodged an academic bullet. I can't imagine a world devoid of Wint-O-Green Lifesaver spark enlightenment. Perhaps I am bragging, but I think I just saved the next generation. No need to thank me.
As usual, you can email me at ffefreekshow@hotmail.com . I would really appreciate a photo of any felsenmeer that you may have.
On to this day in history. In 1964 the second largest earthquake ever recorded occurred. The Great Alaska Earthquake measured 9.2 on the Richter scale and cause a devastating tsunami.
In 1914 the first successful blood transfusion took place in Brussels. There seems to be a lot of things that happened in Brussels in history. I think that going there would be a good vacation idea...maybe to celebrate National Joe Day.
In 1513 Ponce de León first saw Florida. He was famous for supposedly discovering the fountain of youth...later renamed Oil of Ole.
Next up...birthdays! I decided to be a little bit modern today. The following people were born on March 27:
1963 – Quentin Tarantino, American director
1970 – Mariah Carey, American singer
1975 – Fergie, American singer (The Black Eyed Peas)
Here is a picture of a felsenmeer.
A felsenmeer is a flat, often arctic area, that is covered with angular boulders. There is a remarkable absence of felsenmeer landscape in Wannaska.
Now to the completely unnecessary, yet somehow unavoidable, discussion of interesting things this week in the world of a Middle School teacher. I discovered that none of my students know anything about Wint-O-Green Lifesavers and how they give off a spark when you chew them. I put our original lessons on hold and we spent several days working on examining this phenomena. The principal was a little put off when he learned that we had spent our yearly budget on Lifesavers, but in my opinion we dodged an academic bullet. I can't imagine a world devoid of Wint-O-Green Lifesaver spark enlightenment. Perhaps I am bragging, but I think I just saved the next generation. No need to thank me.
As usual, you can email me at ffefreekshow@hotmail.com . I would really appreciate a photo of any felsenmeer that you may have.
A rare moment when I can tap into that Dutch minor of mine! I was intrigued by your "felsenmeer" and absolutely carried away with delight about the Wint-O-Greens. (I'm out to buy a supply this afternoon.)
ReplyDeleteFelsenmeer - In Dutch, "meer" means lake. (Fun Fact: Lake Superior = Het Bovenmeer) I couldn't figure out the "felsen" part. I looked it up in my Nederlands-Engels woordenboek and found instead "fel" which means fierce, sharp. This sounds like fantastic imagery for your felsenmeer - a fiercely sharp "lake" in this case of stones. Quite poetic.
Further etymological research gives credit to the German language. Unfortunately this word didn't make the cut in my edition of "The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Word Histories" or "A Certain 'Je Ne Sais Quoi:' The Origin of Foreign Words Used in English." But good news! "Fels" meaning "rock" and "Meer," meaning "sea," are both in my Langenscheidt Pocket German Dictionary. Not together in one word, but that's kind of how it is with German (and Dutch, too) - once you get a handle on the lingo, you can figure out many compound words by breaking them down.
See if THAT doesn't blow those middle school minds! :)
It would be fun to give words like that to students and see if they can figure out where they came from. Thanks for the comment Kim, and may your teeth create a sparkle.
Delete