by B.L. Unkel | Jan 8, 2022 | Writing
Yes, Christmas of 2021 is in the books, and Christmas of 2022 is still almost a full year away, but indulge me, please, while I share a few more interesting Christmas Did You Knows. The Little Ice Age Depending on who you ask, the period known as the “Little...
by B.L. Unkel | Dec 25, 2021 | Holidays
The first recorded mention of “Christmas” is in 1038. The word came from “Cristes Maesse,” meaning “mass of Christ.” The Bible doesn’t tell us Christ’s birthdate, but a Pope back in the mid-fourth century designated December 25 as the day to celebrate His birth....
by B.L. Unkel | Dec 18, 2021 | Baking
Fairy floss. A magical name for a delightful, wispy spun-sugar delicacy. As early as the fifteenth century, chefs in Italy made spun-sugar desserts. But being a very labor-intensive process, the sweet wasn’t cheap and so could only be enjoyed by the rich. It wasn’t...
by B.L. Unkel | Dec 11, 2021 | History
Most of us have heard someone say: When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. In other words, when something bad happens, turn it into something good. The Halifax explosion mentioned in last week’s “Did You Know Anyone Can Be a Hero,” definitely qualifies as something...
by B.L. Unkel | Dec 4, 2021 | History
At approximately 8:45, on the morning of December 6, 1917, two ships collided in the Canadian harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The collision wasn’t bad, nothing more than a minor fender bender. But some of the barrels of highly flammable fuel, stored on the deck of the...
