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[IceWizard]

Wednesday 13 April 2016

Thomas Jefferson Day



National Thomas Jefferson Day is observed annually on April 13.

This day honors the birth of the third President of The United States, Thomas Jefferson, who was born April 13, 1743.

Most known as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a stalwart of democracy. While not much an orator, his pen cut quite a swath of ink through correspondence, documents, journals and manuscripts. Those who write, tend to read. Jefferson was no different.

He had a vast library of 6,500 volumes. Jefferson was not only a lawyer but a scientist of agriculture, paleontology, and astronomy. Immensely curious, he kept detailed records of the weather and eventually established weather observers across his home state of Virginia.

Jefferson served as minister to France, Secretary of State in President Washinton’s Cabinet and ran for President for the first time in 1796 only to be elected Vice President to his opponent, John Adams due to a flaw in the Constitution.

Four years later the same fault in the document caused a tie within the same party between Aaron Burr and Jefferson with Jefferson assuming the Presidency.

And

National Scrabble Day



Scrabble Day 2016:
23 things anyone who has ever played Scrabble knows to be true


People say that Monopoly can tear families and friends apart, but what about Scrabble? Because it’s all fun and games until someone pulls a 60 point word out of the bag…

01. There’s always one player who’s vocabulary far exceeds everyone else and they become the one everyone tries to compete with.

02. And there’s also always one player who consistently puts down words under 10 points, so everyone just lets them do their thing.

03. They’re usually the same player who has to get help towards the end of the game.

04. AND they’re usually the same player that sets things up for someone to hit the triple word score. AMATEUR MISTAKE. Well, unless you go after them, then it’s like the crack of the Scrabble world.

05. Everything is all fun and games until someone puts down a word and scores themselves 60+ points, and then suddenly it all turns sinister and competitive in a way you didn’t know possible.

06. Especially when it’s a word you aren’t familiar with, so you’re left torn and confused about what to do.

07. So you have to decide if you want to risk challenging them OR risk letting them have the points and probably winning the game.

08. When you get a Q, X or Z towards the beginning of the game and you’re totally pumped for trying to set it up on a double word/letter score.

09. However, if you get one of these towards the end of a game you’re crying inside because it’s probably going to be taken off of your end score.

10. The feeling of dread when you pull your letters out at the beginning of the game and you get all vowels. FML.

11. Or even worse, having all consonants and being the first person to put a word down. “Well this is off to a fab start, isn’t it?!”

12. We all know the struggle of trying to figure out which two letter words are acceptable and which aren’t.

13. And there’s always one person playing who refuses to let anyone look it up. “Is it QI or IQ?!” “IF YOU DON’T KNOW THEN YOU CAN’T PLAY IT.” Dick.

14. The feeling of total outrage when someone puts a word down where you were going to go. Of course, you have to let them know about it immediately and call them a name (of course, the level of insult depends on relation to you, because you can’t call your Grandma a cock).

15. The feeling of panic when you need to pee but you’re not sure if you trust the other players not to look at your letters.

16. So then you decide to take your letters to the bathroom with you, it’s safer that way.

17. There’s always one player (probably you) who feels the need to neaten up the tiles on the board after every go.

18. The agonisingly long time it takes to get round to your go once the game gets serious and people start with serious tactics. “Dad, it’s literally been like 20 minutes. Just put a word down.”

19. The horrifying moment when you’re winning and someone drops a 40+ points word and takes over your spot.

20. The added responsibility of ensuring the board is open enough for people to put words down, whilst still trying to nab all the double/triple word scores for yourself.

21. And the anger you feel when you set up a new section of the board only to have people steal all the double/triples in the new section. You’ve been fooled.

22. The injustice you feel when you have to swap all of your letters because you can’t go anywhere.

23. And finally, the disappointment that sets in when all the letters are gone from the bag and you’ve got no chance of pulling things back into your favour.

Sigh.