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Issue 790
YOU SAY ST. NICHOLAS, SNIPPETZ SAYS SANTA CLAUS: ALL ABOUT THAT JOLLY OLD ELF by Lindsey Harrison “For me growing up, Christmas time was always the most fantastic, exciting time of year, and you’d stay up until three in the morning. You’d hear the parents wrapping in the other room but you knew that also, maybe, they were in collusion with Santa Claus.” – Chris Pine, American actor “Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus lane.” Catchy tune, that’s for sure, and it’s just one of many Santa Claus tunes you’ve probably heard during this Christmas season. Truly, he is one of the most iconic figures of the holiday and while that may not sit well with everyone, given that the reason for the season is supposed to be about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, most of us still see the charm in the jolly bearded elf. But there’s one question that needs to be asked: what does a fat man wearing a red suit have to do with the birth of Jesus? The answer is not as obvious as we all would perhaps like it to be. It does give us at Snippetz an opportunity to probe into the history of Santa Claus, and that’s just what we’ve done! IT STARTED WITH ST. NICHOLAS We’ve all heard the tale about how Santa Claus evolved from St. Nicholas and in part, that is true. St. Nicholas obviously didn’t start out as a saint. It was his good deeds that earned him that title. It all began sometime around 280 A.D. when it is believed that Nicholas was born in Turkey, then called Myra. The fact that he was a real man is not debatable, however there are so many stories of his incredible kindness and generosity that it’s unclear which (if any) are true. Many of the stories say that he wandered the countryside distributing his inherited wealth to the people he encountered along the way. Others tell of how Nicholas acted as a savior of the people, in particular a trio of sisters who were about to be sold off for slavery or prostitution. Nicholas instead gave their father for each daughter so that she may be married rather than sold. Another story claims that St. Nicholas helped save a group of sailors during a terrible storm off the coast of Turkey. The men prayed to St. Nicholas to help them and supposedly he appeared on the ship’s deck and commanded the sea to settle down and the storm to dissipate. Regardless of what stories you’ve heard, they all stem from the knowledge that Nicholas eventually became a saint and was known as the protector of children and sailors, in part due to the story we just shared! Yes, we celebrate Christmas with his image, but St. Nicholas actually has his own feast day, Dec. 6, the day on which he died. In fact, the sailors at the Italian port of Bari still carry his statue from St. Nicholas’s cathedral out to the sea so that he may bless the ocean and ensure safe journeys for the upcoming year. WHAT ABOUT SINTER KLAAS? You’re probably wondering how in the world we got Santa Claus from St. Nicholas and the answer is fairly simple. The Dutch form of St. Nicholas is Sint Nikolaas, which was often familiarized to Sinter Klaas. It’s much easier to see how Sinter Klaas eventually evolved into Santa Claus. So that answers that. It was actually the image of Sinter Klaas, rather than St. Nicholas that made the first appearance in the Americas towards the end of the 1700s. A New York newspaper reported in December of both 1773 and 1774 that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor Sinter Klaas on the anniversary of his death and it could be assumed that enough mentions of “Sinter Klaas” during that time could lead to the name Santa Claus. RED IS A POWER COLOR Now, about that infamous red coat, bushy white beard and mischievous, yet jolly, personality. Initially, reports of Sinter Klaas indicated that he wore a blue three-cornered hat, a red waistcoat and yellow stockings. Other reports claimed that he wore a broad-brimmed hat and Flemish hosiery. But that doesn’t explain how he became labeled an elf who smoked a pipe and had magical powers to disappear up the chimney when he was done delivering gifts. The explanation to that mystery is really no mystery at all. It’s a combination of the works of a few famous men: Washington Irving, John Pintard, Clement Clarke Moore and Thomas Nast. Irving was the first to indicate that St. Nicholas was a jolly elf who smoked a clay pipe in a work of satirical fiction called “Knickerbocker’s History of New York” in 1809. Included in this fictional story were accounts that St. Nicholas used the chimney to enter and exit people’s homes to bring them gifts. John Pintard, founder of the New York Historical Society of which Irving was a member, wanted to commemorate St. Nicholas during the society’s first anniversary dinner for him on Dec. 6, 1810. Thus, he had an artist named Alexander Anderson create an image of St. Nicholas that depicted him giving gifts to children and leaving treats in their stockings that hung above the fireplace. Enter Clement Clarke Moore. In 1822, Moore wrote a long poem called “An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas.” Most people know the poem as “”Twas the Night Before Christmas” and in it, Moore described St. Nicholas in a very detailed manner. According to the poem, he was dressed in fur and carried a sack of toys. He had dimples and rosy cheeks, a long white beard and a pipe sticking out of his mouth. He had a plump belly “That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.” Additionally, St. Nicholas was described as a jolly old elf, a far cry from the average man who did good deeds to earn sainthood. Now, with all those images in mind, we come to Thomas Nast who, in 1881, created a cartoon of St. Nicholas for Harper’s Weekly. In it, Santa Claus, as he was now commonly being called, was a cheerful man with a big belly and white beard dressed in a bright red suit trimmed with white fur. Nast also depicted Santa as living at the North Pole in a workshop with his helper elves and his wife, Mrs. Claus. OTHER SANTA CLAUS SNIPPETZ
Issue 791
SNIPPETZ LOOKS TO THE NEW YEAR BY REFLECTING ON TRADITION... HAPPY NEW YEAR! by Lindsey Harrison “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” – Oprah Winfrey, American entertainer As we say goodbye to 2016 and welcome 2017, many of us set our sights on the future and what it has in store for us. We hope for increased financial success; we hope for peace; we hope for happiness; we hope for luck. Although there is really no way to know what exactly the new year will bring, people around the world follow certain traditions for various reasons, one of which is to ensure that the upcoming year is a good one. Those traditions, while sometimes obscure, make sense; they are performed in the hopes that our futures are somehow affected by those customs. Other traditions, like how people ring in the New Year, might not be as easily understood. The best part is that we at Snippetz can bring all those interesting New Year’s traditions straight to you, all in one place! It’s brand new year, why not spend it with Snippetz? IS THIS HOW YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO IT? Everyone has their favorite ways to spend New Year’s Eve. Some of us like to watch the ball drop in Times Square from the comfort of our own living room. Others of us like to be in the thick of it all, whooping it up with the hordes of people who head out to an event like the traditional ball drop to get a more up close and personal experience. But not all ball-drops involve a ball; some places have put their own spin on the New Year’s tradition. Here are some interesting ones:
STACKING THE DECK FOR A GOOD NEW YEAR As we mentioned before, many traditions around the world center more prominently around the idea that certain efforts can be made at New Year’s to bring about good luck for the upcoming year. Some make no sense, at least not to us, but others seem pretty darn ingenious. For instance, in Puerto Rico, it is believed that if you toss pots full of water out your windows on New Year’s, you’re additionally tossing out any evil spirits hanging around. Water plays a key role in New Year’s celebrations in Burma as well, although there, revelers aren’t tossing out water to get rid of evil spirits; they’re actually tossing water at each other as a blessing for good luck. Similarly, in Cambodia, celebrants wander the streets with squirt guns full of differently-colored water. The belief is that by squirting your friends and family with the colorful liquid, you are blessing them with a colorful future. Just was water plays a key role in the way that some countries ring in the New Year, food is a major element in many countries. Many of us have probably heard of the southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas and rice, called Hoppin’ John, as a way to ensure good luck and wealth for the upcoming year. Some families may even throw in some collard greens which are meant to represent paper money, while the black-eyed peas represent coins. Food is also important in Mexican and Cuban celebrations, which involves eating 12 grapes at midnight which is supposed to help bring about 12 months of good luck. In the Philippines, revelers load up their dinner tables with lots of food right at midnight which they believe will ensure a fruitful year. As with Mexico and Cuba, some people in the Philippines believe a magic number of a specific food, in this case seven round fruits, will bring luck. The round fruit symbolizes money and the number seven is considered a lucky number, as it is in many places. In China, food is a major element in their New Year’s celebrations as well and as with the Philippines, people in China believe the shape of the food they eat, in this case dumplings, represents a promise of wealth. The dumpling is said to look like a gold nugget. But that’s not the end of China’s New Year’s traditions. Celebrants will spend the several days prior the holiday cleaning their houses from top to bottom but must completely stop on New Year’s day. The belief is that good fortune accumulates in that time and people fear they will sweep that good fortune away if they clean that day. Perhaps Americans should adopt a similar tradition, but make it one they observe all year ‘round (kidding). Now, with all the cleaning going on in China, we can’t help but wonder what those people would think of the Danish tradition of throwing old dishes at their friends’ front doors. Apparently, the idea is that the larger the pile of broken dishes you have in front of your house, the more good will is being wished upon you and your family. But throwing dishes is not nearly as, shall we say, unique as the South American tradition of hanging a newspaper- and firecracker-stuffed dummy in front of your house on New Year’s. At midnight, one lucky person gets to light the dummy. The purpose of the tradition isn’t exactly clear but it’s certainly interesting. A less destructive tradition occurs in Vietnam when families plant a tree in the family garden on New Year’s Eve. The family then decorates the tree with red streamers and various bells in the hopes that evil spirits will be frightened away. A tree is nice, a dummy is strange, but what about plain old ordinary people? This may sound strange but in Anglo-Saxon countries, the family’s luck is determined by the first visitor to show up after midnight. Dark-haired men, for instance, are considered the luckiest. And in Japan, celebrants often decorate their homes with paper lobsters. The idea is that the lobster’s curved back is similar to that of a hunched-over elderly person, which they associate with longevity. However you choose to ring in the New Year, we at Snippetz hope you have a safe holiday and a prosperous new year! Issue 792
SNIPPETZ HAS THE CURE FOR THE WINTERTIME BLUES by Lindsey Harrison “People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.” – Anton Chekhov, Russian dramatist We are safely ensconced in the new year and in our part of the world, that means we’re also in the coldest, darkest part of the season, historically. Sure, the days are technically getting longer, but when the sun sets before 5 p.m., does that really matter? The cold weather often keeps us inside more than perhaps we’d like it to and now that the holiday season has passed, the gray winter days don’t hold the same merriment as they did last month. And let’s not forget the cloudy, bitterly cold days in which a frigid wind is about the only weather phenomenon we can expect to see. It’s true, this time of year can have a pretty Debbie Downer effect on many of us. But it doesn’t have to. There are ways to battle the wintertime blues and Snippetz has some great tips to hold you over until the spring! WHAT CAUSES THE WINTERTIME BLUES? It may seem logical that we all feel a bit down in the winter. Often, it has to do with the passing of the holidays. We spend months anticipating Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve but when they’re done and gone, there’s not much excitement to look forward to. However, there’s an actual physical cause to that melancholy feeling and it has to do with the disruption of our circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are essentially the reason why we sleep at night and are awake during the day. They are triggered by daylight, acting as a sort of instinctual alarm clock. Typically, the sun wakes us up early in the day and then sets in the evening after we’ve all spent a good portion of time awake. But when the sun sets earlier, like it does during the winter, those rhythms are out of whack. In the evening, when we would still have a few hours before we start to wind down and get ready for the night, our brains are taking the cue from the lack of sunlight to slow down, making us tired and lethargic long before our normal rhythms would make us. Of course, there’s also the fact that the cold weather makes many of us a lot less likely to be out and about, exercising like we should. Seriously, who wants to get frostbite just to work off that extra piece of pie at dessert? It’s no secret that exercise is essential to a healthy mental state so it really shouldn’t be a surprise that we feel a little more depressed when we can’t (or won’t) get the exercise we need. But that’s not all. After the holidays, when our homes are filled with friends and family, many of us don’t spend much time socializing. Sometimes we just feel overwhelmed from all the hustle and bustle and just need to recharge. However, many times, we simply don’t get out of the house to visit and enjoy each other unless we have a specific reason to, in no small part due to the cold weather. HOW TO DEAL WITH THE WINTERTIME BLUES It’s all fine and dandy to know what causes the wintertime blues but what good does it do us if we don’t know how to battle them? Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Here are some tips to defeating those Debbie Downer feelings:
While all of the above suggestions may do some good in bringing you out of a wintertime funk, there is an actual disorder that can’t always be effectively treated using these simple tips. Seasonal affective disorder is a real problem for many people and often requires the help of a specialist to battle the symptoms. Sometimes light therapy, which involves the use of a light box that simulates natural sunlight, administered a couple times a week or even once per day, is all it takes to get back on track. However, if you do suffer from SAD, you’ll want to consult a your physician to come up with an appropriate game plan, which could involve multiple methods to achieve maximum results. Issue 793
SNIPPETZ SAYS GOODBYE TO JOHN GLENN, A TRUE ROCKET MAN IF THERE EVER WAS ONE! by Lindsey Harrison “It has been my observation that the happiest people, the vibrant doers of the world, are almost always those who are using – who are putting into play, calling upon, depending upon – the greatest number of their God-given talents and capabilities.” – John Glenn, American astronaut Apparently, we didn’t make ourselves clear to the year 2016. Just as the year was coming to close, we were hit hard with more losses of amazing and beloved members of the human race. John Glenn happens to be one of them. You may not know much about him and that’s why Snippetz is here, to pay homage to an incredible man who literally was out of this world. Well, he went out of this world, being an astronaut and all. But the time has come for us to say goodbye to this great man and to look back with wonder and awe at the life he led and the accomplishments he achieved. With any luck, we can all hope to be half as courageous and admired. So without further ado, here is a look back at the life of astronaut John Glenn. EARLY LIFE Born on July 18, 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio, John Herschel Glenn, Jr. was the son of John and Clara Glenn. His father owned and operated a plumbing business called Glenn Plumbing Company in New Concord, a town close to Cambridge. He grew up with his adopted sister, Jean. Glenn graduated from New Concord High School in 1939 and went on to college to study engineering at Muskingum College. Although he completed all the other requirements for graduation from Muskingum, Glenn didn’t finish out his senior year in residence there, nor did he take the proficiency exam that would have secured his Bachelor of Science degree. He did, however, earn his private pilot license in 1941, as part of a physics course. It would be hard to deny that Glenn’s future self would benefit from that class, regardless of obtaining a degree or not! AND THE BATTLE BEGINS . . . It’s fair to say that Glenn’s decision not to finish college had nothing to do with laziness or apathy. In fact, he quit because the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, subsequently dragging the United States into World War II. Glenn enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps but wasn’t ever called to duty so he decided to switch branches and in March 1942, he enlisted with the U.S. Navy as an aviation cadet. For the next year, Glenn spent time in various locations around the country, completing his preflight and primary training. He also made another switch over to the U.S. Marine Corps during that time when the offer presented itself. Glenn completed his training in March 1943 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. By October of that year, Glenn received a promotion to first lieutenant and that following January, he shipped out to Hawaii where he would see his first real action of the war. From Hawaii, Glenn was sent to the Marshall Islands and from there, he flew 59 combat missions before returning to Hawaii. During those missions, his plane was shot five separate times by antiaircraft fire, earning him two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 10 Air Medals. In July 1945, as the war was finally coming to an end, Glenn was promoted to captain and in March of 1946, he was sent to the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in California as a regularly-commissioned officer. Between then and December of 1948 when he was able to return to the U.S., Glenn volunteered for various missions in North China and was transferred to Guam. Glenn served as a flight instructor at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas after attending as a student and was then sent to the Amphibious Warfare School at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia to study there for six months. By July 1952, Glenn had obtained the rank of major. It was about that same time that Glenn was sent to South Korea to fight during the last stretch of the Korean War. During his time there, he flew 63 combat missions and even earned the nickname “magnet ass” because he took so much damage from enemy fire, even returning from two separate missions with more than 250 holes in his aircraft each time. Even though he was apparently a favorite target, Glenn managed to shoot down several enemy aircraft in July of 1953, which actually amounted to the last aerial victories of the entire Korean War; the war’s armistice was signed on July 27, 1953. Glenn again received two more Distinguished Flying Cross awards and another either Air Medals. Glenn aspired to train and work as a test pilot and applied for flight test training while he was stationed in Korea. In January 1954, he got his wish and was sent to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River, graduating that July. He very nearly didn’t make it past his first testing assignment, however. During the test flight of a FJ-3 Fury, the cockpit depressurized and the oxygen system failed, almost killing him. That did not deter him, though and Glenn continued to work as a test pilot and he eventually wound up at the Fighter Design Branch of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics in Washington, D.C. from November 1956 to April 1959. A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS While he was stationed at the Bureau of Aeronautics, Glenn successfully completed the first supersonic transcontinental flight on July 16, 1957. That flight took him 2,445 miles from Los Alamitos, California to New York in 3 1/2 hours. But Glenn was also brushing up on other interests during his time in D.C., including reading anything and everything about space. When the opportunity arose for him to act as a test pilot at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia on a spaceflight simulator, Glenn jumped at it. The assignment also included a stint at the Naval Air Development Center in Johnsville, Pennsylvania, where he was subjected to high g-forces in a centrifuge and data was collected which was then compared to data collected in the spaceflight simulator. In 1958, NASA began recruiting astronauts and Glenn squeaked in just under the age cutoff of 40 years old. He was not a first choice because he didn’t have a science-based degree at the time of recruitment, but Glenn completed the necessary screening tests and was chosen as one of 32 pilots out of a 100-candidate field to move on to the next round of screening . . . and the rest is really history! Glenn was chosen for Project Mercury and developed the cockpit layout and design and the control functioning. Glenn was finally ready to take flight aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft that was launched on Feb. 20, 1962 after 11 delays during the countdown for various equipment malfunctions and/or improvements, and weather issues. When the spacecraft was finally launched and set into orbit, Glenn was tasked with a 30 minute test to see if he could fly the spacecraft manually. Luckily, he was so when the automatic control system failed at the end of the first orbit, Glenn was forced to manually operate the craft during the second and third orbits, as well as the re-entry. His first flight into space lasted 4 hours and 55 minutes. Glenn would go down in the history books as the first American to orbit the Earth, among many other incredible feats. Here’s to you, Mr. John Glenn, Jr. You will be missed. Issue 794
HERE WE GO AGAIN! SNIPPETZ BRINGS YOU ECCENTRIC RULERS: PART 2 by Lindsey Harrison “With power comes the abuse of power. And where there are bosses, there are crazy bosses. It’s nothing new.” – Judd Rose, American journalist Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, to our second installment of our Eccentric Rulers series! You may recall that we highlighted some unusual behavior exhibited by various powerful people over the years and lucky us, there is no shortage of loony rulers out there. So we’re back again, peeking behind the seemingly perfect façade to what really happened outside of the public eye. That’s not to say we don’t plan to introduce you to those blatantly eccentric rulers that could sometimes pose a liability to the people they ruled. Nor will we skip over those super scary rulers who, crazy as they may have been, managed to spend their time on the throne generally managing their subjects well. The great thing is that the variety of eccentric rulers through the ages will be a veritable goldmine of stories! So, without further ado, join Snippetz as we delve into the warped world of yet another set of eccentric rulers. FREDERICK WILLIAM I OF PRUSSIA (see photo above) It’s no real mystery why a king would be a bit overzealous in acquiring the best soldiers possible to act as his personal army. He likely wants to defend not only his crown but his country in general. For the most part, Frederick William I of Prussia was no different. He became king in 1713 and almost from the start, he began assembling his ideal military, which in his opinion, should be made of men standing 5 feet 11 inches or taller, which became known as the “Giant Guards of Potsdam.” Now, considering that he was a fairly frugal king, even paying the national sales tax like the rest of the country, and even established the first primary schools in his nation, Frederick William may have earned himself a bit of latitude when it came to judging his preferences in soldier height. But the requirement for being tall soon took precedence over actual skill; the king would often promote men based on their stature or their ability to recruit tall soldiers. OK, that’s a bit weird. Frederick William didn’t stop there, though. He even took it upon himself to force tall Postdam women to marry tall men with the thought that he could ensure an ongoing supply of giant soldiers to serve in his military. And let’s not forget that he often sent men to other countries to recruit, and sometimes outright kidnap, ideal specimens to bring back to Prussia. It didn’t matter if the men were priests or farmers or diplomats; if they measured up, Frederick William wanted them. LUDWIG II OF BAVARIA If the worst thing a king manages to do during his reign is a build a plethora of fairytale-like castles around his kingdom, that’s really not something to be concerned with. And to be honest, Ludwig II of Bavaria, who did just that, was really not too eccentric . . . at least at first glance. Sure, he liked to stay inside and commission plays and operas to be performed just for him. He was only 18 when he was crowned King of Bavaria in 1864 and also happened to be very, very shy. His upbringing left quite a bit to be desired and Ludwig soon learned that he preferred to be alone more often than not. But while being introverted, uninterested in politics or the military, and essentially a recluse may not be a big deal by today’s standards, it wasn’t quite acceptable for a king. And there’s no denying that nearly bankrupting your country because you like to build castles is not exactly wise, that wasn’t the reason why Ludwig was considered strange and even unfit to rule. No, that determination was linked to the assertion that he often spoke to people who did not exist, had terrible manners which apparently was unforgivable back then, and was often found enjoying a moonlight picnic in the company of naked, dancing men. In 1886, he was declared unfit to rule and removed from his throne only to wind up dead in a lake the next day. His legacy of impressive castles has actually become a quite successful tourist attraction nowadays; perhaps he wasn’t so crazy after all. IBRAHIM I OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE When your sultan is referred to as “Ibrahim the Mad,” you know things aren’t going well in the sanity department. Ibrahim I of the Ottoman Empire secured just such a title during his time in power from 1640 to 1648. But to be fair, when you spend the majority of your childhood and teen years locked in a windowless building nicknamed “the Cage,” there’s only so much sanity anyone can expect from you. But perhaps there should have been some sort of intervention when his older brother died, leaving Ibrahim the new sultan; honestly, dragging a 23-year-old man out of a virtual prison cell and then declaring him ruler of the empire isn't exactly good business. Ibrahim was notorious for the large harem of women he kept; large both in numbers and in sheer size. At one point, he demanded that his servants deliver him the largest woman they could find, and they returned with a 350-pound lady nicknamed “sugar cube.” Ibrahim was also incredibly greedy, to the point where he would have his servants break into his subjects’ houses and steal perfumes, clothes, anything he fancied at the time. But probably most disturbing was Ibrahim’s violence. Without going into detail, let’s just say 280 members of his harem drowned in a lake when they wouldn’t supply Ibrahim with some information he demanded. In the end, Ibrahim wound up in the Cage again after a coup was staged and he was ousted from power. He was killed shortly thereafter. JUANA I OF SPAIN Remember that whole “if your ruler’s nickname includes the word Mad in it, that’s not good” thing? Well, Juana I of Spain, also known as “Juana the Mad” was no exception to that assertion. She came to power in 1504 as the first Queen of the Hapsburg dynasty, and although all accounts indicate that she and her husband Philip of Burgundy were deeply in love, they were also a dysfunctional couple. He cheated on her every chance he got and she lost her mind with jealousy, paranoia and suspicion. In fact, Juana was so jealous that, in order to prevent Philip’s attentions from wandering to the other ladies in court, Juana began only allowing old and ugly women around her. Her desperation to maintain the top spot in her husband’s heart led her to consulting sorcerers and buying in to various supposed “love potions.” Sadly, Philip died after battling an illness of some sort, and Juana basically lost her mind from grief. She took to wearing all black and falling into uncontrollable sobbing fits. That isn’t exactly unheard of behavior for a grieving widow, but let’s not forget that she earned that “Mad” distinction somehow. Quite possibly, Juana earned it when she insisted that her husband’s coffin be opened time and again so she could kiss his dead feet. Or maybe when she forbade any women from going near his coffin, including nuns, for fear that he would cheat on her even after his death. If you can’t get enough of these eccentric rulers, Snippetz has plenty more to bring you so be on the lookout for the next installment in the coming weeks! Issue 795
TUT, TUT. SNIPPETZ SAYS YOU DON'T NEED TO BE AFRAID OF KING TUT'S CURSE by Lindsey Harrison “A lot of people don’t believe in curses. A lot of people don’t believe in yellow-spotted lizards, either but if one bites you, it doesn’t make a difference whether you believe in it or not.” – Louis Sachar, American writer Arguably one of the most popular Egyptian pharaohs of all time, King Tut, or more formally, King Tutankhamun, has been a source of intrigue and curiosity for people around the world for centuries. Much of it likely has to do with the young age at which he took the throne, but more on that later. In more recent years, like within the last century, there has been a lot of chatter about the supposed curse of King Tut’s tomb. As with the other pharaohs, King Tut was buried with lots of interesting items that were meant to aid him in the afterlife. Some were practical, or at least as practical as a material item intended for use by a deceased person can be, while others were definitely more for show. Regardless of the purpose of those items, the fact remains that they were all valuable to some degree or another and tomb-raiding was not just the premise of a video game. So, it probably comes as no surprise that a curse was supposedly placed on tombs in order to dissuade robbers from getting any ideas. However, above most of the other pharaohs and any of their related curses, the one associated with King Tut’s tomb is still fodder for conversation to this day. And you probably guessed that Snippetz couldn’t just sit back and watch all the fun, so we decided to raid the vast expanse of information available to see what’s what with the curse of King Tut’s tomb. CURSE SHMURSE . . . ? In ancient Egyptian times, pharaohs were essentially considered on the same plane as gods. The idea that someone might have the gall to not only desecrate a pharaoh’s tomb by breaking into it but also by stealing the precious items inside was an extremely disturbing idea to the people of Egypt. It was so disturbing in fact that a supposed curse was placed on the pharaohs’ tombs to keep people from making that mistake. Not all curses were the same and rumor has it that often the curse was not ever recorded or even placed somewhere for potential robbers to see for fear that just the physical representation of the curse would desecrate the tomb as well. However, some historians claim that a curse was engraved on the outside of King Tut’s tomb that stated: “Death Shall Come on Swift Wings To Him Who Disturbs the Peace of the King.” But it seems strange that of all the pharaohs, King Tut’s tomb would garner so much excitement and attention and there’s actually a pretty good reason for much of it. Not only did King Tut assume the throne at a young age, a mere nine years old, but he also died at a very early age as well. He was just 19 at the time of his death and it has been widely disputed that he was assassinated by his enemies who attempted to literally obliterate King Tut’s name from history completely. Obviously, their attempts failed because King Tut’s name lives on. But what about the curse? Well, it all started with the idea that Egyptian pharaohs’ tombs held loads of historically important artifacts that could help modern-day scientists learn more about these rulers. In the 1900s, Howard Carter caught “tomb-discovery fever” and arrived on the scene in Egypt, convinced that he could find an as-yet undiscovered tomb, in particular, that of King Tut. Carter persuaded the wealthy George Herbert, the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon from England, to fund his excursion and off he went on what would be a fruitless five-year journey. Just as the earl was preparing to call off the excursion, Carter announced he thought he had found King Tut’s tomb in 1922. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED . . . In early 1923, Carter managed to gain access to the tomb and opened a veritable can of worms when it came to the idea of the curse of the pharaohs. First on the list of curse-related events was the death of a yellow canary Carter had taken along. Carter’s excursion foreman, Reis Ahmed, claimed the canary was a golden bird that would lead the group to the tomb. But the night that Carter’s team actually found King Tut’s tomb, Ahmed had some sad news; the canary had been killed by a cobra. Carter didn’t think much of it and simply asked if the cobra was no longer inside the house but Ahmed had more to say about the bird’s untimely death: “The pharaoh’s serpent ate the bird because it led us to the hidden tomb! You must not disturb the tomb!” The second curse-related event occurred a few months later. Lord Carnarvon fell ill at a relatively young 57 years old. He was rushed to Cairo for treatment but died a few days later from an unknown cause. Speculation about his death’s relation to the curse started up when it was posited that he died from an infection from a mosquito bite on his cheek, which just so happened to correlate to a spot discovered on King Tut’s cheek when his sarcophagus was finally opened in 1925. Within six years of entering King Tut’s tomb, a total of 11 people connected with the excursion had died. All either died early or from unnatural causes. By 1935, once the press had gotten wind of the supposed curse, they chalked up 21 victims who died because of the curse. And there’s also the assertion that the moment Lord Carnarvon died, all the lights across the city of Cairo suddenly went out. Oh, and supposedly the lord’s dog had died that morning, also. Whether or not all (or even ANY) of those 21 deaths and mysterious happenings could be somehow traced back to the curse is debatable at best and an outright lie at worst. For the most part, the participants of the excursion lived long, relatively healthy lives. Carter himself never really experienced anything he could attribute to the curse either, even up until his death in 1939. One interesting thing about curses like this is that interest in them often cycles around with surprising results. For instance, in the 19702, when the King Tut exhibit came to the United States, a San Francisco police officer, who suffered a mild stroke while guarding over the pharaoh’s gold funeral mask, attempted to collect compensation by attributing his stroke to the curse. He did not win his case. AUTHENTIC CURSES FOUND ON ANCIENT TOMBS Whether or not the curse of King Tut’s tomb is real, there is evidence that an attempt was made in various other locations to prevent robbers from raiding the tombs by the placement of “curse” engravings. Here are a few examples of actual curses:
Issue 796
SNIPPETZ WILL MISS PRINCESS LEIA, AND GIVES A FINAL BOW TO CARRIE FISHER by Lindsey Harrison “What I always want to tell young people now: pay attention. This isn’t going to happen again. Rather than try to understand it as it’s going along, have it go along for awhile and then understand it.” – Carrie Fisher, American actor, author and mental health advocate Just when we all thought it was safe to say that we could end 2016 with no more losses, we got hit with a double-whammy right after Christmas. Carrie Fisher, perhaps better known as Princess Leia from the Star Wars series, and her mother Debbie Reynolds both passed within a day of each other. There is really no greater sadness than to consider that Carrie died unexpectedly and that her mother died from a broken heart over the loss of her beloved daughter. Although we at Snippetz had high hopes that 2017 would be a better, brighter year, we couldn’t just pretend like we didn’t have to say goodbye to these two impactful women. And for the multiple generations that grew up watching the Star Wars movies, it would be a figurative slap in the face not to honor Carrie Fisher and her career as an actress, author and mental health advocate. Let’s hope we can focus on much happier things in the following months of 2017 but until then, here’s a look back at the life and career of the exceptional Carrie Fisher. EARLY LIFE Born on October 21, 1956, Carrie Frances Fisher was the daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, both actors and singers in their own rights. She was born in Burbank, California and spent the majority of her youth in the Golden State. In 1958, Carrie’s younger brother Todd was born, but the happy family unit wouldn’t be together for long. Carrie’s parents divorced in 1959 and when her father remarried, he and his new wife Connie Stevens had two more daughters, Carrie’s half-sisters; Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher. As a young child, Carrie was a bookworm by anybody’s standards. In fact, her family actually bestowed her with that nickname since they often found her with her nose buried in a book, usually some classical piece or possibly poetry. Given her penchant for reading and obvious intelligence, it may be surprising to learn that Carrie never finished high school. Well, at least not in the typical way. She went to the Beverly Hills High School until she was 15 years old but that year, she secured a spot on-stage with her mom in the Broadway production of Irene. However, all that time on stage got in the way of her studies and she dropped out. Carrie was no dummy, though and that same year, she enrolled in London’s Central School of Speech and Drama (this bit of information is important, so keep it in mind for later). When she completed her time there, Carrie attended Sarah Lawrence College but didn’t graduate from there. FILM CAREER As we’ve already stated, Carrie Fisher was an incredible actress. Although many may not remember, she made her film debut in 1975’s Shampoo starring Warren Beatty, Julie Chrisite and Goldie Hawn. Star Wars was the second film in which she starred and it was a pretty good call on her part to take the role; but it wasn’t without some competition from some other big Hollywood names. In fact, Carrie won the role over more than 20 actresses, including following Hollywood hotshots: Farrah Fawcett, Cybill Shepherd, Jane Seymour, Jessica Lange, Meryl Streep, Sissy Spacek, Glenn Close, Anjelica Huston, Kathleen Turner, Geena Davis and Kim Basinger, to name a few. You may think that since she scored such an awesome role over so many other talented people, she would be ecstatic to go to work every day. Well, maybe not. For starters, Carrie hated the signature Princess Leia bagel bun hairstyle. Naturally, she didn’t complain, fearing that director George Lucas would fire her. And it wasn’t as if he didn’t have plenty of other women to choose from to play Princess Leia. OK, so she didn’t like the hair. Can you blame her? But millions of adolescent boys’ hearts around the world will probably break when they find out that she also hated the infamous gold bikini she wore while imprisoned by Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi. In fact, she said the stupid thing wouldn’t cooperate and said, “When I laid down, the metal bikini stayed up. So Boba Fett could see all the way to Florida.” Of course, Carrie wasn’t some prima donna who couldn’t handle herself on stage or on set. She said her favorite scenes were the ones in which Princess Leia and Han Solo verbally spare one another. But she was even more hardcore than that. She actually performed some of her own stunts; for example, when Luke Skywalker (a.k.a. Mark Hamill) swings with her to safety, neither had a stunt double. And just as pros do, they did the shot in one take. NOT JUST A ONE-TRICK PONY Like we said, Carrie Fisher was more than just an actress. She was a published author and actually won the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel for her 1987 semi-autobiographical novel, Postcards from the Edge. She also made a name for herself as a script doctor, someone who refines and polishes scripts to make them better. Carrie was also incredibly open about her struggle with drugs and bipolar disorder. Her bravery in talking about these tough parts of her life made her a mentor and role model to people around the world. Of course, nothing Carrie Fisher accomplished would have been possible without her mother, Debbie Reynolds. Debbie died one day after Carrie, to whom she had grown incredibly close in the later part of their respective lives. The pair even appears in Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, a documentary about their lives, including interviews with the two and an inside look at their behind-the-scenes lives through home videos and pictures. The film premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. CARRIE FISHER SNIPPETZ
Issue 797
SNIPPETZ SAY, PLEASE DON'T LET US BE MISUNDERSTOOD by Lindsey Harrison “Nobody’s perfect. And if you think they are, you’re sadly mistaken.” – Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Irish actor Words are hard. Especially words in the English language. So, it’s really no wonder that we sometimes say the wrong thing. Like Mr. Meyers said above, nobody’s perfect. But there is definitely an interesting part about our society that wants very badly to be right, even when we’re wrong. That desire extends into our everyday language, especially in phrases that we like to use. Some are sayings that we’ve heard over the years and somewhere along the line, things got mixed up. Others are just ingrained as silly sayings that we don’t really even think about when we say them, because if we did, we wouldn’t say them. Bottom line: misunderstood phrases are littered throughout our everyday conversation and, considering that, Snippetz decided it was time to dive in and sort out some of those commonly misunderstood sayings. ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE . . . We all know that talk about religion and what is said in the Bible can be super sticky ground. But one thing that seems to be a common theme when quoting Bible blurbs is getting the blurb wrong. Now, we aren’t going to go through the entire thing and hold a microscope over every phrase. We are fully aware that some translations use different terminology and that’s fine because that’s not what we’re looking at here. What we’re focusing on is a very popular saying that people often attribute to the Bible but that is never actually in there at all! You may have heard it . . . “God helps those who help themselves.” It’s a convenient phrase when you’re trying to get your lazy teenage daughter out of your basement and into some meaningful sort of career, but it actually came from the Aesop fable, “Hercules and Waggoner,” which was written in the 6th century B.C. So, what does the Bible say about helping yourself and what you can expect from God? Here are a few examples:
MARRIAGE IS WHAT BRINGS US TOGETHER, TODAY Wuv, true wuv, that bwessed awangement. Sorry. We went a little “Princess Bride” on you there for a second. But we are talking about marriage for this next misunderstood or misspoken phrase. It’s one you’ve all heard either in person or at least in one of thousands of romantic comedies put out by Hollywood, and it goes a little something like this: “If there be any among you who know of any reason why these two should not be joined together in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.” Maybe not exactly those words each time, but you get the idea. So, based on that statement, you would think it was intended as a time for a person in the audience to speak up if they objected to the marriage, right? Well, the in ancient Rome, this particular quote was not said as an invitation to audience members. It was an invitation to have the priest sacrifice an animal and consult said animal’s innards to determine whether or not the ceremony should proceed. For instance, if the sacrificial sheep’s liver had markings or discolorations on the right side, the ceremony went on as planned. If there were markings or discolorations on the left side, however, the wedding was canceled or postponed. Guess that liver just couldn’t hold its peace, huh? THIS, NOT THAT Here are some commonly misunderstood phrases that people pepper into their everyday speech and what they should actually be!
MISQUOTES One of the most infuriating things in the history of ever is when someone quotes a line or saying from a movie or from some historical figure incorrectly. Here are some common misquotes and their real counterparts: WRONG: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Ghandi RIGHT: “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do.” WRONG: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong RIGHT: “That’s one small step for A man, one small leap for mankind.” WRONG: “Mirror, mirror on the wall . . .” – the Wicked Queen in Snow White RIGHT: “Magic mirror on the wall . . .” WRONG: “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” – Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz RIGHT: “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” WRONG: “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” – William Congreve RIGHT: “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned/Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” WRONG: “Luke, I am your father.” – Darth Vader RIGHT: “No, I am your father.” WRONG: “All that glitters is not gold.” – William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice RIGHT: “All that glisters is not gold.” Issue 798
SNIPPETZ SAYS HOORAY FOR THE REAL HOLLYWOOD! by Lindsey Harrison “Hollywood is a dirty temptress that has stolen my wallet way too many times. It’s a great town, but at the same time, it’s a hustle.” – Alexandra Shipp, American actress Whoa. That’s pretty harsh, Alexandra. After all, without Hollywood, you probably wouldn’t be famous, right? But let’s be honest, we all know that Hollywood isn’t for everyone. Sure, it sounds fun to be out in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of the movie industry but here’s a question: have you ever considered that actors are good at what they do because they’re good at faking it? To be a good actor, you have to literally be good at lying. OK, so Hollywood is a town with tons of lying people who get paid to play dress-up every day, so what? Admittedly, that’s a bit of a bare-bones overview of the town but it’s accurate. However, the strangest thing about Hollywood is not the people that it attracts or the fact that everyone is lying to each other with a smile on their face; the strangest part is what the town was actually intended to be when it was founded. And we can tell you, it couldn’t be further from the Hollywood that we know today. Intrigued? Good. Keep reading as we at Snippetz take you back in time to the good old days when Hollywood was in its infancy to see what it was really meant to be! ONCE UPON A TIME... It may be difficult to picture a Hollywood that’s anything other than the glitzy, glamorous, star-studded town we have all become accustomed to. But the fact is, this mecca for movie stars was once just like any other little western town (see photo above - Hollywood 1903). Harvey Henderson Wilcox, a real estate tycoon from Topeka, Kansas, set his sights on the southern California landscape as a means to make more money. He purchased up tracts of land in the mid-1880s and quickly worked to determine what types of developments would work best on the land. Of course, the land was beautiful and perfect for just about any business venture. Wilcox and his wife, Daeida, had plenty of options for their newly-purchased property. But sad times fell upon the couple when their 19-month-old son died from typhoid fever in 1887. Wilcox himself suffered from the same affliction and actually lost the use of his legs due to it. Overcome with grief, the couple got into the habit of taking carriage rides throughout the countryside to take their minds off their pain and heartache. During one such ride, the couple happened upon a piece of land that on which grew orange groves and apple orchards. The Santa Monica Mountains provided the perfect backdrop for the property and Wilcox decided right then and there that this would be the site for his idea of a utopian town. BREAKING GROUND OR GROUND-BREAKING? Wilcox already knew what type of town he wanted to build. He purchased 120 acres on which he planned to build this new city and set to work establishing it as a preservationist society which stood against all modern excesses and vices. For instance, Wilcox firmly intended for his town to be free of alcohol, saloons, bordellos, anything that one might deem unsavory or immoral. Hoping to speed up the settlement process, Wilcox even offered free lots on the property to anyone willing to construct Protestant churches to anchor the town. Although Wilcox’s idea of a clean Christian town wasn’t exactly a novel idea, it certainly seemed like it could work. At least, that’s what Wilcox thought. In fact, his efforts to maintain its squeaky-clean image went on until about 1911. The problem was, no one else seemed to be on-board with his idea. By 1900, the town had a population of about 500, a post office, a newspaper, two markets and a newspaper. Compare that to the city of Los Angeles, located about 7 miles away as the crow flies, which had exploded to a population of 100,000. It seemed like the city Daeida had dubbed “Hollywood” was not destined to be the moral utopia Wilcox had planned it to be. LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! So, if Hollywood wasn’t a bustling metropolis, why in the world would the film industry ever think it was a good idea to set up shop there? After all, you need people to run the behind-the-scenes operations, as well as some good-looking people to take their place in front of the camera. The answer is the same as what you’ll get if you ask a realtor what’s the most important aspect in any property: location, location, location. Hollywood itself is nestled in the Cahuenga Valley which is lovely by all accounts. But consider the fact that, prior to Hollywood’s inception, the epicenter of the film industry was either New York City or Chicago, neither of which provided much variety in landscape. Additionally, both cities were notoriously cold in the winter months, just like any city in the upper half of the United States is. When the weather was cold, it made it difficult to shoot film because it was hard to be outside. And with both cities surrounded by other cities and developments, there wasn’t much space to expand to create large scenes for filmmaking. The longer daylight hours, which made shooting much easier and extended the working day was yet another draw provided by the western city. If Wilcox had lived past 1892, he would probably have died of a heart attack when it became clear that California, and the L.A.-Hollywood area was the new staging grounds for the film industry going forward. As far as he was concerned, his little haven was doing just fine, if not growing a bit slowly. But the film industry’s ascent on the town would change all that. When the Nest Film Company set up the first studio on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street, in the building that formerly held a tavern, other film companies had already begun sending members of their crews to the area to shoot various scenes. In fact, in 1908, Francis Boggs with Selig Studios had already jumped at the chance to shoot exterior film shots in L.A. for The County of Monte Cristo. As the film industry began infiltrating the small city of Hollywood, they weren’t exactly welcomed with open arms. Many of the town’s original residents, who still clung to the ideals put forth by Wilcox, didn’t want to see their town and the surrounding landscape transformed into yet another haven for sin. But there was no stopping progress and soon, the open acres became developments for housing and commercial buildings. WHAT’S WITH THE SIGN? The Hollywood sign, which was originally constructed to read “Hollywoodland” was actually an advertisement for a new subdivision near the top of Mount Lee. It was built in 1923 but soon fell into disrepair. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce decided to remove the last four letters of the sign and restore the remaining parts in 1943. Since then, the sign has had its good days and bad days but had remained an iconic part of the American film industry, regardless of its condition. Issue 799
SNIPPETZ STATES THESE ANIMALS AREN'T WHAT THEY SEEM by Lindsey Harrison “My dad’s idea of punishment was to dress me up in all green to disguise me as grass and then throw me in the pasture. Cows bit all over me.” – Bryan Callen, American actor Generally, the purpose of a disguise is NOT to get eaten, so it appears that Mr. Callen’s father may have had other motives when he tossed his son in the pasture dressed up as grass. However, since humans are at the top of the food chain, there’s really no need to disguise ourselves to keep from being eaten. Other creatures that aren’t so lucky have developed ways to hide from their predators to hopefully stay alive in a world that is rife with things trying to kill them. These disguises vary depending on the environment in which each creature is found. Sometimes it makes sense to just blend in while other instances call for a more overt gesture, such as looking incredibly inedible and disgusting. And let’s not forget the sneaky method of disguise used in hunting for prey. Either way, you have to admit it’s a pretty good plan and it has obviously worked for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Such a great track record deserves recognition which is why Snippetz decided to snoop around in the animal kingdom to identify some of the best animal disguises out there. ASSASSIN BUG While there are many subfamilies of insects that appear under the general title of assassin bug, the one we’re most concerned with is a type found mainly in Australia. This assassin bug has the interesting habit of using debris or other accessible items laying around to disguise itself in order to hunt for food. It is not uncommon for these insects to pile the bodies of dead ants on their own exoskeleton to covertly infiltrate an anthill. Once inside, the bug sheds its disguise and has itself a wonderful feast. BARON CATERPILLAR Caterpillars are interesting creatures but most definitely vulnerable, given that they have no exoskeleton or way to quickly flee from a predator. Granted, they eventually sprout wings when they develop into moths or butterflies. But until that time, the caterpillar stage of an insect’s life is a critical time not to be eaten. So, it just makes sense that certain species would invent ways to avoid detection. One such method is used by the baron butterfly in its caterpillar stage. Native to India and southeast Asia, the small caterpillars hatch with small spikes along their bodies that lengthen as they age. The spikes, called instars, perfectly blend in with the leaves on the plants they frequent, including mango trees. Their bodies even have a stripe down the middle that matches the center stem of the leaves. When they flare out their bodies across a leaf, they are virtually invisible! GEOMETER CATERPILLAR Geometer caterpillars are the caterpillar stage of the Geometridae moth and camouflage themselves in a similar manner to the baron caterpillars by blending into the vegetation on which they reside. The difference is that, instead of comfortably squishing flat against the middle of a nice, broad leaf, these caterpillars stretch themselves out from the leaf at awkward angles. Their grayish-brown color, coupled with bumps on their bodies that look like tree buds makes them look a lot like twigs and the awkward angle they hold for extended periods of time completes the overall effect. But imagine sitting in a super-uncomfortable position for hours on end: not fun. These bugs don’t think so either and they actually spin a supportive silk thread between a leaf or twig and their heads to they can relax a bit. LEAF-TAILED GECKO Although this sounds like a very specific type of gecko, there are actually eight different species consider leaf-tailed geckos. The leaf-tailed gecko is unique from other geckos in a few ways. First, its form of camouflage is considered “cryptic” meaning that it appears the same color and texture of bark or leaves. The leaf-tailed gecko employs a camouflage technique to do either, depending on the species. Ones that mimic bark will use shadows to blur the outlines of their body to blend into the bark better. Others are actually shaped much like a leaf. The tail of the gecko is relatively flat and broad, as is the head. When hunkered down in a pile of dead leaves, this species of leaf-tailed gecko appears to be just another couple of leaves. MERLET’S SCORPIONFISH Also known by several other names, typically including the term “lacy” the Merlet’s Scorpionfish, or Rhinopias Aphanes to be exact, gets that “lacy” description from the many long skin flaps and tentacles extending off its body. The overall shape of this creature is unusual, but paired with the skin flaps, the fish itself does look very lacy. And that lacy appearance helps it blend in with various oceanic vegetation found along the ocean floor or in coral reefs. These scorpionfish rarely swim and typically don’t leave the surface on which they hang out; instead, they scoot along the reef or ocean floor using walking and hoping movements with their pelvic and pectoral fins. Not only can they escape detection by predators, but they can also sneak up on prey and inhale them into their gigantic mouths in the blink of an eye. PYGMY SEAHORSE As with the Merlet’s Scorpionfish, the pygmy seahorse uses its unique appearance to mimic plant life in the ocean. However, the pygmy seahorse also has another advantage: it measures roughly one-half inch long. Aside from its enormous size (note the sarcasm there), this sea creature also looks astoundingly similar to the sea grasses, soft corals or sea fans in which it lives. It blends in so well, in fact, that it was only discovered by accident when a sea fan was taken into a laboratory in New Caledonia – a small collection of islands located in the southwest Pacific Ocean – for examination in 1969. Apparently, the scientists took the fan and its seahorse inhabitant without realizing it. Since then, several other species have been discovered, all of which are super tiny and super hard to see. TAWNY FROGMOUTH Not a frog, but a type of owl, the tawny frogmouth is remarkably hard to see when they venture out in the daytime (they are nocturnal like other owls). Naturally, their coloration helps but they also sit super still, close their eyes, stretch out their necks and compact them feathers down against their bodies to mimic a broken tree branch. Since their main source of food is insects, they have to venture out into the daylight and thus, put themselves at risk of being attacked by a predator. But not many predators are interested in a dead, broken tree branch. Perhaps evolution needs to catch up with these birds; it seems sort of counter-intuitive to have a nocturnal animal spend its days hunting for food when it should be sleeping. HOGNOSE SNAKE The hognose snake is a pretty interesting example of camouflaging because it not only attempts to disguise itself as a cobra when threatened by flattening out its neck and raising up high, it also has a way to deal with those predators who don’t fall for its trick. The hognose snake will roll over onto its back, stick out its tongue and play dead. The icing on the cake is the rotten smell it emits to mimic a decomposing snake corpse. Clever, clever. |
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