Saturday, August 27, 2011

REPLICAS OF VINTAGE 1920's FIRE ENGINE TRUCKS

These replicas of fire engines of the 1920's give a person a good idea of what these brave firefighters had to work with. I once came very close to being burned in a car accident on September 10th, 1980. You never forget the date of these life altering events. ( May 27th posting, THAT LIFE CHANGING DAY FOR ME). I didn't mention the following event in that posting as there was a lot more I could dwell on ,but I would be remiss if my writings did not mention the man that helped to save my life that day. The accident had just occured and a trucker named Jack Turley saw that flames were shooting up between my legs from under the passenger seat. Luckily I was unconscious. Jack flew back to his semi transport for his fire extinguisher and crawled over the dead body of my friend Ian to put out the flames. It was a sad day but reflecting back to that time it is nice to know that there are people willing to risk their life to save another.MY EVERLASTING THANKS TO JACK TURLEY.




Trivia: Three U.S. towns are named Santa Claus.




Did You Know? A calf born with three nostrils on a farm in Cheiry, Switzerland became so popular because of her extra nasal feature that her owner guaranteed her a home at the farm instead of being sent to market with the other calves.( Just goes to show that sometimes when you stick your nose into things ,good things can happen.)

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

GODERICH TORNADO AUGUST 21, 2011 (OUR TOWN)

Our beautiful town was hit by an F3 tornado two days ago. What a disaster. We love our town and know it will come back to be the" Prettiest town in Canada." This is what Queen Victoria said many, many years ago. My wife and I were fortunate that we had no damage, just a lot of clean-up on our yard. Yet ,just a few hundred feet away the damage is immense. Here are some pictures. Pray for people that were hurt and also for the life of the salt miner that died.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

VINTAGE PLAYER PIANO ROLL MUSIC , EARLY 1900'S

These are player piano music rolls from the early 1900's. The player piano had an attachment that read the roll and actuated the keys of the piano. Very inventive in its time. They are still produced today and sold around the world. One company called Vocalstyle, founded in 1906, was the first to print song lyrics on the roll so a person or group could view them and sing along with the piano ministrations. To keep your warranty on the rolls, you had to place them in their boxes, in a cabinet containing a basin of water, during the winter months. This would prevent expansion and contraction of the paper. I know everyone out there always wanted to know this info , so now you have it. Thanks for looking.





Trivia: What U.S. symbol was first used as a television test pattern? Answer: A dollar sign. $$$$$





Did You Know? Hikers walking in a forest near Landshut, Germany found a mysterious looking bone. The police were summoned and it was found to be a hip bone with artificial joints.They could see no other remains, until they spotted a skeleton in a fir tree 36 feet above them. Investigations concluded that a 69 year old man had committed suicide when he climbed up the tree 30 years earlier and roped himself to a branch. He managed this despite having hip replacements, as the tree was then much shorter. As the tree grew, his bones fell to the ground. 

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

"WEIRD-OHS" 1960'S TOY MODELS AND MONSTERS "CAR-ICKY-TURES", TIN TOYS STREET RACING. YOU GOTTA SEE THIS

The weather was ideal for a street race today.I remember when we would all go out in the country on a not well travelled road and measure out a quarter mile stretch to race on. Well today was a good time to do just that. Roy Rogers was there to wave the winner on. Some guys always thought it was a good time to polish their wheels as there were a lot of girls at these races.


The contestants for the race are as follows:

     Daddy the Way Out Suburbanite
     Huey's Hut Rod
     Mama B. and Baby
     Frankenstein's Flivver
     Endsville Eddie
     Digger the Dragster
     Mummy's Chariot
     Wolfman's Wagon
     The Sooper Surfer
     The Drag Hag
     Dracula's Dragster
     King Kong's Thronester


On you mark, Get set------GOOOO

Now the race is on
And here comes Frankenstein's Flivver in the backstretch
Dracula's Dragster goin' to the inside
Daddy the Way Out Suburbanite is holdin' back
Tryin' not to stall
King Kong's Thronester is out of the running(flat tire)
Huey's Hut Rod is scratched for another race
The race is on and the Wolfman's Wagon
Is the winner and takes it all


Trivia: In Boise, Idaho's 1985 mayoral election, Mr. Potatohead received four write-in votes.
    
Did You Know ? The Austrian town of Raschala has a plaque on a stone where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once stopped to urinate by the side of the road. Each year, so many visitors flock to see the Mozart Pinklestein ("Mozart pee-stone") that the town has now arranged a festival of music and drinking in memory of the composer's unscheduled visit.
      

Monday, August 15, 2011

ORIGINAL VINTAGE "MONOPOLY" PIECES AND "CRACKER JACK" PRIZES

I remember playing the game "Monopoly" and using identical play pieces such as these. These are made of metal. Nowadays the play pieces are plastic. The same goes for the "Cracker Jack" prizes. They were fun and exciting to collect as a child. I still have fun gathering them up now. It must be the kid in me.




Trivia: A male spider's reproductive organ is located at the end of one of his legs.(I guess he has to watch his step)




Did You Know? As a part of a fall festival, women in the town of Winesburg, Ohio, compete in a husband-carrying contest.

Friday, August 12, 2011

GARDEN PESTS AND INVADERS IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN


The gardens that I have created were a labor of blood, sweat and more sweat. Now I find that strange things are starting to show up and take over. It is like an alien invasion. Ants are stealing my dirt and stones, dogs are making off with my flowers, vases appear and take plants, strange bugs fly around and a pick-up truck is taking off with a pot of flowers. When I spoke to my wife about it and showed her what was happening she didn't say much but she sure had a suspicious grin on her face. I am so perplexed. Maybe motion sensors and spotlights may bring an end to these unearthly occurances.


Trivia: Japan has far fewer flush toilets than any other modern industrialized nation.

Did You Know? Rotaokas, a language spoken by around 4,000 people on the island of Bounganville, Papua, New Guinea, has only 12 letters in its alphabet-A,E,G,I,K,O,P,R,S,T,UV. (not many swear words there I guess)

Thursday, August 11, 2011

NICE DAY FOR A DRIVE IN OUR 1969 PLYMOUTH FURY, CAR WAX SECRET TOO

We love to go for a spin around our town and usually end up at the beach. A man can't get things much better than touring in a nice classic car and have his classy wife next to him. Life is good.

P.S.: I used a wax on my car called "Nu Finish" .It is the best that I have ever used. And yet so simple. Just look at the shine on this 42 year old paint job.BEAUTIFUL! Just thought I'd let you know.

Trivia: Question: What's the fastest two footed animal on Earth? Answer: The ostrich.
Did You Know? Sixty-nine percent of the land in Great Britain is owned by just 0.6 of the population- this is mostly landowning families who have held their land since the 19th century.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

KINDER EGG SURPRISES AND TOYS

Kinder eggs. Some years back I started buying "Kinder Eggs" as a stocking stuffer for the kids and grandkids at Christmas time. As soon as I saw what was inside the eggs my lovely wife Karen noticed that they interested me. Well, guess what? The following Chrismas, Birthday, Fathers Day, Easter and etcetera I started getting these wonderful little eggs as a bonus to my other goodies. I think I got more enjoyment out of building the little creations in the eggs than the grandkids did. The chocolate egg itself is "scrump-diily- ishious."
Trivia: Emergency calls: In the U.S. you dial 911; in Stockholm, Sweden, you dial 90000.







Did You Know?  An apartment block in Lvov, Ukraine, has a crossword puzzle 100 ft (30 m) high filling the whole of one external wall. Clues to the crossword- which is 19 squares across and 34 squares high - are scattered around the city's major landmarks and at night fluorescent letters placed inside every square are turned on to reveal the solution. Neat eh?