After a few chilly late fall days, the weather in Lily Pad has started to warm back up. getting out of bed this morning was much easier than it has been and I was eager to go for my morning swim. While the water was colder than I like, it did serve a usual purpose...waking me enough to get in the kitchen to prepare breakfast for my morning guest, The Dharma Frog.
As the tea was steeping, I set the table. Just as I was dishing up the food, Dharma arrived, hungry as usual. "Mmmmm. Something smells good, my boy! I'm famished!" He sat down, I poured the tea and he helped himself to a large portion of food.  After taking a few bites and a few sips of the still-steaming tea, he asked, "Irwin, do you what today is?" I had to admit, I didn't. "It's Wednesday, Sir." was the only answer I could come up with. "Well, it is that, but it is also World Kindness Day. I do think it's a pity that we need to have a day to remind us to be kind to one another but, that said, it's good that we have this reminder. The world needs more kindness every day." "Is that what my lesson is on?" "Yes, Irwin. It is. A frog's kind word does more than a fat fly for kindness is food for the soul."
My curiosity was peaked so I, of course, wanted to learn more about how the power of kindness impacts us as well as others. What follows is the synopsis of my dear teacher's lesson.
Dharma asked me to think back on a time when someone was kind to me. How did I feel? Then he asked me to think back to a time when I was kind to someone else? How did that feel?  He encouraged me to look into my heart and notice the feelings. I encourage you, dear reader, to ask yourself these two questions and look into your own heart. Notice that warm fuzzy feeling? That is kindness feeding your inner being. Feels pretty good, doesn't it?
Kindness makes a lasting impression on both the receiver as well as the bestower of that kindness. While Dharma stopped to eat a little more of his breakfast, I remembered a quote by David Orr, a professor of Environmental Studies and Politics, "The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it.”
Dharma explained that kindness is part of the human (and frog) existence. From birth, and even before, infants depend on their caregivers to provide for their needs. Therefore, kindness is "sewn into the fabric of human DNA." And everyone has an opinion about how best to improve the world but, it turns out, few want to practice that kindness in their own backyard. World peace won't be achieved by overthrowing bad governments. "It will happen when humanity raises its consciousness beyond that of fear and hatred." 
Then, Dharma said something that hit home. "Kindness is not something that demands hard work. It originates from the simple act of doing not harming others." That's it. That is the very simple key to making life better for everyone; do no harm. Three small words and eight little letters. And all it involves is judging less. "Irwin, the ego is quick to judge when it is victimized and hurt, so it retaliates in revenge. Kindness, however, bites its tongue. It does not seek to be right but to preserve peace of mind." I thought to myself, "How easy is that?"  Difficult, at first, to be sure. The ego is powerful. But with a small amount of training, it can become our servant and not our master.
If you still need a few more reasons why you need to be kinder, try these out. "Kindness has many benefits including increased happiness and a healthy heart. It slows down the aging process and improves relationships and connections, which indirectly boosts your health." So, in essence, kindness not only feels good, it DOES good, as well! And kindness benefits the giver more than it does the receiver. I think that's true of any gift we give.
Some folks believe that being kind shows weakness. In reality, the opposite is true. "It’s important to delineate between kindness and being a doormat to others. You can be kind and assertive when others attempt to profit from your kindness. We should in no way undermine our self-worth at the expense of others, but simply practice kindness while upholding your integrity." "Dharma," I asked, "How will I know if I'm standing up for myself or if I am being abusive to someone?" "That's an excellent question, my boy! An important lesson in kindness involves asking yourself: ‘How would I handle being the recipient of this?’ If it doesn’t feel good avoid the behavior." 
My lesson this morning flew by and before we knew it, Dharma was running late to his next appointment. But before he left, he gave me this wise advice. "Incorporate the smallest acts of kindness into your everyday life and notice the ripple effects. The Butterfly Effect in Chaos Theory asserts that a tiny event in one region of the globe can have a substantial effect somewhere else. Always remember that, Tadpole. Happy World Kindness Day." "I promise I'll remember that, Sir. And Happy World Kindness day to you. Thank you for this most inspiring lesson."
I have some sad news to share. Due to a lack of financial resources, today will be the end of my blog, as well as my website. For over 4 years, it's been both a pleasure and an honor to write for you. It is my fondest hope that I have brought you a little joy as well as a little knowledge with the words that I've written here. You all have been more than kind to me and I think it's fitting that I must end my work today on World Kindness Day. So from me and Dharma, Little brother, Quigley, and all the rest of us here in Land of Lily Pad, for the last time, I wish you a good day and
​                                                                    PEACE.

https://medium.com/the-mission/how-the-power-of-kindness-impacts-your-life-and-others-f8f5a895400

Just like with humans, some critters are predisposed to live longer than others. And, too, there's luck that plays into that, especially for animals. I thought it might be kind of fun to take a look at a few of the longest living creatures on earth. I was surprised at many on this list. See if you are, as well.
1,  The Queen Termite - 50 years. One normally thinks of insects as living only a few days, or at most a few weeks, but if you're a particularly important bug all the rules go out the window. "Unmolested by predators, termite queens have been known to reach 50 years of age, and the kings (who spend pretty much their entire lives holed up in the nuptial chamber with their prolific mates) are comparably long-lived."
2.  The Koi Fish - 50 years. "Some koi individuals have been reputed to live for over 200 years, but the most widely accepted estimate among scientists is 50 years, which is still a lot longer than your average fish-tank denizen."
3.  The Macaw - 100 years. These beautiful birds "have human-like life spans, surviving for up to 60 years in the wild and 100 years in captivity. Ironically, even though macaws have unusually long life spans, many species are endangered, a combination of their desirability as pets and the devastation of their rainforest habitats."
4.  The Cave Salamander - 100 years. This guy wins the award for longest-living amphibian. "If you were asked to identify an animal that regularly hits the century mark, the blind salamander, Proteus anguinus, would probably be close to last on your list: how can a fragile, eyeless, cave-dwelling, six-inch-long amphibian possibly survive in the wild for more than a couple of weeks? Naturalists attribute P. anguinus' longevity to its unusually sluggish metabolism—this salamander takes 15 years to mature, mates and lays its eggs only every 12 or so years, and barely even moves except when seeking out food." (Which is doesn't need very much of!)
5.  Humans - 100 years. Okay that may be pushing it but people are the longest-living primates and do, pretty regularly these days, reach the century-mark. "There are about 500,000 100-year-olds in the world at any given time—that it's easy to lose sight of what an astonishing advance this represents. Tens of thousands of years ago, a lucky Homo sapiens would have been described as "elderly" if she lived into her twenties or thirties, and until the 18th century or so, average life expectancy rarely exceeded 50 years."
6.  The Bowhead Whale - 200 years.  "As a general rule, larger mammals tend to have comparably longer life spans, but even by this standard, the bowhead whale is an outlier: adults of this hundred-ton cetacean regularly exceed the 200-year mark. Today, there are about 25,000 bowhead whales living in the northern hemisphere, a healthy rebound in population since 1966, when serious international efforts were made to deter whalers." I'm just glad I don't have to blow out the candles on his birthday cake!
7.  The Giant Tortoise - 300 years. "These turtles have lifespans that perfectly match their 500- to 1,000-pound weights: giant tortoises in captivity have been known to live longer than 200 years, and there's every reason to believe that testudines in the wild regularly hit the 300-year mark."
​8.  The Greenland Shark - 400 years. "If there were any justice in the world, the Greenland shark (Squalus microcephalus) would be every bit as well-known as the great white. Some of these adult sharks attain the weight of 2,000 pounds. But most notable thing about the Greenland shark is its 400-year lifespan, which can be attributed to its sub-freezing environment, its relatively low metabolism, and the protection afforded by the methylated compounds in its muscles." Heck, the Greenland shark isn't even considered mature until he reaches the century mark!
9.  The Ocean Quahog - 500 years. "A 500-year-old mollusk sounds like the setup for a joke: given that most clams are virtually immobile, how can you tell if the one you're holding is living or dead? There are, however, scientists who investigate this kind of thing for a living, and they have determined that the ocean quahog, Arctica islandica, can literally survive for centuries, as demonstrated by one individual that passed the 500-year mark (you can determine the age of a mollusk by counting the growth rings in its shell)."
10. The Endolith - 10,000 years. Really? I've never heard of these things, have you? "The term "endoliths" refers to bacteria, fungi, amoebas or algae that live deep underground in the clefts of rocks. Studies have shown that the individuals of some of these colonies only undergo cell division once every hundred years, endowing them with lifespans in the 10,000-year range."
And last but not least, the longest-living critter, that scientists are currently aware of, is (drum roll please)...
11. The Turritopsis Dohrnii - potentially immortal. "There's no really good way to determine how old your average jellyfish is; these invertebrates are so fragile that they don't lend themselves well to intensive analysis in laboratories. However, no list of the longest-lived animals would be complete without a mention of Turritopsis dohrnii, a jellyfish that has the ability to revert back to its juvenile polyp stage after reaching sexual maturity, thus making it potentially immortal."
Wasn't this some interesting stuff? How many of these longest-living critters did you know would make the list? I guessed a few of them but many came as a big surprise to me.
Wednesday is Dharma Day here on the blog, so please drop by again tomorrow for another of The Dharma Frog's valuable life lesson. Whatever he has to say, I'm sure it will be well-worth your time to read. Until then, enjoy your Tuesday and I wish you
                                                                   PEACE.

​Strauss, Bob. "The 11 Longest-Lived Animals." ThoughtCo, Jun. 13, 2019, thoughtco.com/longest-lived-animals-4142001.

Humans love to second-guess each other. They go around saying things like, "I'm sure he did this or thought that." In psychological terms, that is known as attribution; "a judgment you make about the cause of another person's behavior." Attribution theory explains the attribution process. Here's an example. You and your friend decide to meet and try out the new tea shop/cafe. At the last minute, your friend cancels. Do you automatically assume that something unavoidable came or is your go-response, "They're flaky." Do you assume that their behavior was situational...caused by external forces like a sick kid or a car that won't start? Or do you assume that their behavior is dispositional...caused by some internal characteristics? As it turns out there are several methods that psychologists believe come in to play when you quickly decide another's behavior. See if you can spot what you do.
According to Fritz Heider, a noted psychologist and author of the 1950s, behavior is a product of capacity and motivation. Capacity refers to whether a human is can enact a particular behavior—that is, whether his innate characteristics and his present environment make that behavior possible. Motivation refers to human intention as well as how much effort they apply. Heider believed that both capacity and motivation are necessary for a particular behavior to occur. Let's say you want to run a marathon. Your ability to do this will depend on your physical fitness and the weather that day as well as your desire to push through the race (your motivation).
Another theory on behavior is called correspondent inference theory. "This theory suggests that if someone behaves in a socially desirable way, humans do not tend to infer much about them as a person." For example, when you asked to borrow a pen and the person complies and gives you a pen, you aren't likely to infer much about them or their character. it's taken for granted that they'll let you use their pen. You'd do the same thing, right? "However, if your friend refuses to allow you to borrow a pencil, you are likely to infer something about their innate characteristics due to this socially undesirable response." According to this theory, humans do not conclude much about a person's behavior if they are acting in a particular role. case in point, a salesperson is friendly, outgoing, and helpful. You don't tend to think much about that behavior because it is expected of someone working in that capacity. 
"On the other hand, if an individual displays behavior that is atypical in a given social situation, humans tend to be more likely to attribute their behavior to their innate disposition. For example, if you see someone behaving in a quiet, reserved manner at a loud and boisterous party, you’re more likely to conclude that this person is introverted."
Yet another method of determining behavior is called Kelley's covariation model. According to psychologist Harold Kelly, "humans use three types of information when they’re deciding whether someone’s behavior was internally or externally motivated."
1. Consensus - Whether others would act similarly in a given situation; the generally-accepted way to behave in that situation
2.  Distinctiveness - Whether the person acts similarly across other situations. If a person only acts a certain way in one situation, the behavior can probably be attributed to the situation rather than the person.
3.  Consistency - Whether someone acts the same way in a given situation each time it occurs. If someone’s behavior in a given situation is inconsistent from one time to the next, their behavior becomes more difficult to attribute.
"When there are high levels of consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency, humans tend to attribute the behavior to the situation." But when there are low levels of consensus and distinctiveness, but high consistency, humans were likely to decide the behavior is due to something about the person."
​And, lastly, we have Weiner's three-dimensional model. "Bernard Weiner’s model suggests that people examine three dimensions when attempting to understand the causes of  behavior: locus, stability, and controllability.
1,  Locus refers to whether the behavior was caused by internal or external factors.
2.  Stability refers to whether the behavior will happen again in the future.
3.  Controllability refers to whether someone is able to change the outcome of an event by expending more effort.
According to Weiner, the attributions people make affect their emotions. People are likely to feel pride if they believe they succeeded because of an internal characteristic such as innate talent, rather than an external factor such as luck.  Interestingly enough, research on a similar theory, explanatory style, has found that an individual's explanatory style is linked to their health and levels of stress.
As I'm sure you've figured out from your own personal experience, you're not always accurate when you try to guess why someone is acting a certain way. Psychologists have identified two key errors that humans commonly make when attempting to attribute behavior.
1.  Fundamental Attribution Error:  This "refers to the tendency to over-emphasize the role of personality traits in shaping behaviors. For example, if someone is rude to you, you may assume that they’re generally a rude person, rather than assuming that they were under stress that day." Humans are quick to judge...but so are frogs!
2.  Self-serving Bias: This "refers to the tendency to give ourselves credit (i.e. make an internal attribution when things go well, but blame the situation or bad luck (i.e. make an external attribution) when things go poorly. According to recent research, people who are experiencing depression may not show the self-serving bias, and may even experience a reverse bias."
Have you spotted how you pre-judge someone's behavior? I sure have and it has given me pause for thought. Judging others never serves anyone well. And now that we know a little more about our individual thought processes, we can actively work to reverse...or at the least...slow down the way we view the actions of others. As we judge others, so are they judging us.
Please stop back by tomorrow for a look at a few of the longest-living creatures on earth. Who they are might surprise you! Until then, 
                                                                      PEACE.

​Hopper, Elizabeth. "Attribution Theory: The Psychology of Interpreting Behavior." ThoughtCo, Nov. 1, 2019, thoughtco.com/attribution-theory-4174631.

I like to end the week with a fun blog. Sometimes it'll be about my plans for the weekend. Other times, I'll write about something interesting and unusual that I've read. Today is a combination of those things.
This weekend, my little brother Quigley is participating in his school's annual Science Fair. Of course, the entire family will attend to cheer him on and to see what he and his classmates have been learning about in their science class. Quigley asked me if I'd help him come up with an unusual project, one that wouldn't be like anything else the school had seen before. And while I wasn't confident that was a possibility, over the years his school has seen just about everything, I did agree to help him do research and find something that was, at least, out-of-the-box. In doing the research, I came across a bunch of scientific facts that I found utterly fascinating, if not downright weird.
Here are a few of the best ones.
1.  When you crack a whip, it makes a sharp sound because the tip of the whip is traveling faster than the speed of sound. It is a sort of mini sonic boom!
2.  Shark teeth are as hard as steel.
3.  The only letter not used in the periodic table is J.
4.  Sunflowers are sometimes used to clean up nuclear waste and radioactive soil. Sunflowers can pick up radioactive isotopes, so as they grow, they suck the radiation up out of the soil. The flowers and stems are then radioactive. There's no word yet if they glow at night!
​5.  Sound travels about four times faster in water than in air.
6.  The billionth digit of pi is 9.
7.  The peanut is a member of the bean or legume family and not a nut.
8.  The prefix 'nimbus' in a cloud name means the cloud produces precipitation.
9.  Velociraptors were the size of turkeys, not the 6 to 7-foot beasts we've come to love from the Jurassic Park movies. those "raptors" are based on a dinosaur called Utahraptors.
10. The only two planets in our solar system that do not have moons are Mercury and Venus.
11. Hot and cold water sounds different when being poured. It's actually noticeable to the human ear if they pay attention. Water changes viscosity (aka thickness or stickiness) depending on temperature. Long story short, the colder the water the higher the pitch, whereas pouring something hot like tea or coffee, is going to have a lower more comforting pitch.
12. There are plants and animals considered to be "biologically immortal." While they can and do die, this is due to injury or disease. They don't really age, meaning that they don't break down and thus die from old age. Jellyfish and lobsters are two examples of these. PS. Lobsters also have blue blood. No, I don't mean that they're royal, or anything. Their blood is actually blue.
Have you guessed which one of these facts will be the basis of little Quigley's science fair project? If not, I guess you'll just have to attend and find out!
I hope you have a happy and safe weekend. And please plan on visiting me here again on Monday and every day next week. When you don't show up, you are deeply missed.
                                                                         PEACE.

​​Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Fun Science Facts." ThoughtCo, Sep. 18, 2019, thoughtco.com/fun-science-facts-604232.
https://list25.com/25-weird-science-facts-you-may-not-know/4/

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog on three ancient cities that still exist today and are well-worth visiting, either by dusting off your passport or by doing a little armchair traveling. As I mentioned in that blog from two weeks ago, I hoped to bring you a few more of these cities and today is the day I'll introduce you to a few more of them.
First up, is Cairo, Egypt. "For first-time visitors, it's a shock just how close the pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx are to Cairo's chaotic streets. With 22 million people, Cairo is one of the world's biggest cities, built around one of humanity's earliest urban centers.
Tombs at Giza date back 4,500 years, and the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities boasts an incredible collection from the Nile's earliest inhabitants. But the slightly less ancient parts of Cairo are also rich with cultural treasures. The current city was founded more than 1,000 years ago and has one of the world's oldest universities, a rich legacy of Islamic art, and Coptic treasures that are often overlooked." Personally, this is one place that I've long dreamed of visiting. Maybe one day.
Our next stop isn't that far away. It's the city of Persopolis, Iran. "Iran's openness to Western tourism in recent years has helped Persepolis regain its allure for visitors, even if international relations have once more become strained. The city was founded in 518 BC by Darius I, ruler of ancient Persia's Achaemenian Empire, and grew in grandeur until Alexander the Great sacked it two centuries later. Its most remarkable feature is an immense terrace of 125,000 square feet, partially carved out of Mount Kuh-e Rahmat (the Mountain of Mercy). Rulers built ever more regal palaces, temples and halls around the terrace, complete with an underground sewage system and cisterns for freshwater.
Despite a series of protective walls, rising to 30 feet high, Alexander laid waste to Persepolis, whose ruins were only rediscovered in 1618. Today, however, the city is one of the best examples of ancient architecture, especially for the slender columns that remain."
From here, we travel 7,558 km (4696 miles) to Kyoto, Japan. If Tokyo represents the part of Japan obsessed with technology and the future, Kyoto is the part that rakes the sand in Zen gardens and performs graceful tea ceremonies. That's not entirely fair -- Nintendo is based in Kyoto, just one part of the city's thriving tech scene. Perhaps closer to the truth is that as imperial Japan's capital for more than 1,000 years, Kyoto has found a way to respectfully preserve its old traditions while eagerly embracing the new as well. More than 1,000 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines temper the frenetic pace of modern life. Sites such as Nijo Castle, which dates back to 1603, draw people from around the world. Since the city was largely spared bombing during World War II, most are still in use.
Our last stop for this week is the fascinating city of Beijing, China. "China has invested heavily in eye-popping modern architecture for its capital over the last two decades, but with a past that stretches more than 3,000 years, the city has a deep history providing a rich legacy of art, architecture, and education. Just visiting the city's six UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, could take a week." Six UNESCO World heritage sites all in one city? Be still my heart! But visiting just these spots "would barely allow even a casual glance at the treasures inside the city's legion museums and galleries, much less the alleyways of the hutongs, old neighborhoods reinvented and sometimes rebuilt as a trendy center of the Beijing's modern life."
That's our tour for this week. In the next week or two, I hope to once again bring you a few more of these amazing and ancient cities. I enjoy learning about places for away from my home in Land of Lily Pad and I hope you enjoy learning about them, too!
Tomorrow, to close out my week, I have a fun blog planned so please stop back by. Until then, I wish you 
                                                                     PEACE.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-best-ancient-cities/index.html

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you probably know that my wise and wonderful friend, The Dharma Frog arrives every Wednesday morning with a valuable lesson for me on how to become a better frog. I've long wondered how Dharma got to be Dharma, so full of wisdom, kindness, and patience. I'm not, after all, the best student and can be both a little stubborn as well as dense. Yet week after week he continues to show up and share his views on how I can improve my life. I decided that this morning I would ask him how he got to be so wise.
After he arrived and we sat down to dine and the tea was poured, I opened the conversation with this, "Dharma, you've been coming here every Wednesday now for several years. The lessons you teach me are wise and very helpful. I am a better, nicer, smarter frog because of you. But I want to know is how you became so wise?" The look on Dharma's face was one of extreme pride. He was positively beaming! "Tadpole, a frog's wonder is the beginning of his wisdom. The fact that you are wondering about how we become wise shows me that you have, indeed, been paying attention to our lessons all these years. Frogs, humans too, I suspect, who aren't curious about the world around them will never attain true wisdom. Aristotle believed that it was wonder which led the first philosophers to philosophy. He surmised that anyone who is puzzled by the workings of life believes themselves to be ignorant. They then begin to philosophize to escape ignorance. In other words, my boy, wonder leads to thinking. And thinking, in turn, helps eliminate ignorance. Curiosity expands the mind. With expansion comes wisdom.  Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder. My boy, if Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas are correct in attributing philosophy—and, by extension, science, religion, art, and all else that transcends everyday existence—to wonder, then it becomes important to ask, what exactly is wonder? "By this point, I was riveted. I had to know more about wonder and the process of becoming wise.
Dharma explained that wonder "is a complex emotion involving elements of surprise, curiosity, contemplation, and joy. It is perhaps best defined as a heightened state of consciousness and emotion brought about by something singularly beautiful, rare, or unexpected—that is, by a marvel." 
"Dharma, are wonder and awe the same thing?" "They're very similar, my boy, but awe is more explicitly directed at something much greater or more powerful than we are. Compared to wonder, awe is more closely associated with fear, respect, reverence, or veneration than with joy. Awe is also less detached than wonder, which allows for greater and freer contemplation of the object. Does that answer your question, Irwin?" I was getting the idea but I still wanted to know more.
Wonder, according to my wise teacher, involves "significant elements of surprise and curiosity, both of which are forms of interest. And interest, or curiosity, is what leads to wisdom. To be curious about something is to desire knowledge of that thing. Knowledge extinguishes curiosity but not wonder."  And wonder can be excited by almost anything, natural phenomena, beautiful scenery, great achievements by others, or even by extraordinary facts. Wonder is expressed, says Dharma, by a bright-eyed stare that is sometimes accompanied by an opening of the mouth and a suspension of the breath. By drawing us out of ourselves, wonder reconnects us with something much greater and higher than our daily humdrum. Think of a child at Christmas. That is pure wonderment!
​Wonder entices us but, sadly, many humans do not open themselves to wonder, for fear that it may distract them, overwhelm their resources, or upset their equilibrium. 
​Dharma wrapped up my lesson on wonder with this. "To wonder is also to wander, to stray from society and its norms and constructs, to be alone, to be free. Society often dismisses wonder as childish and self-indulgent. Society wants us to simply accept 'what it' and to never question why or how. Adults don't have time for such nonsense. So much of that is true, my boy. Children brim with wonder. Life is full of interesting and curious things to investigate. That is how children learn about the world they live in. Until one day, that curiosity is drained out of them. Too often these days humans study, not for the sake not of learning or marveling but of improving their career prospects, and so they pass by the wonder and wisdom that might have saved them from needing a career in the first place."
Before he left my pad for the week, Dharma encouraged me to wonder more. To study something not because I think it'll help me earn more money or to do something better, but simply because I find it fascinating...whatever that "it" might be. Curiosity is a good thing. Wisdom comes out of it. My dear old teacher, The Dharma Frog, admitted to being curious about everything and that is, he speculates, why others like me, think he is so wise. He has spent his entire life in wonder. I want to be like that, too.
I hope you enjoyed learning about wonder and wisdom as much as I have. And please stop back by tomorrow when we'll visit a few more ancient cities that still exist today. it's never too early to start planning your next summer vacation!
Until we meet again,
                                                                     PEACE.

                                                          Wise is Wonder-ful!

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201412/study-wonder

For some time now, I've said that Tuesdays are tea-rific. They still are. But today we can add another adjective and say that Tuesdays (at least this one) is also tasty. Why? Because it's National Donut Day. With so many kinds to choose from, there's a donut to satisfy everyone's taste.
History disputes the origins of the donut...or doughnut as it is formally known. "One theory suggests Dutch settlers brought doughnuts to North America much like they brought other traditional American desserts. They receive credit for such desserts as the apple pie, cream pie, and cobbler." According to anthropologist Paul R. Mullins, an 1803 volume of an English cookbook included doughnuts in the appendix of American recipes. "However, the earliest recorded usage of the term doughnut is found in a short story in a Boston Times article about “fire-cakes and dough-nuts” published in 1808. A more commonly cited first written recording of the word is Washington Irving’s reference to doughnuts in 1809 in his History of New York. He described balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog’s fat. The author called them doughnuts. Today, these nuts of fried dough are called doughnut holes." 
Now, as promised, here are a few delicious donut facts to help you celebrate National Donut Day.
1.  Print ads for cake and glazed donuts and doughnuts existed from at least 1896 in the United States.
2.  George W. Peck published Peck’s Bad Boy and his Pa in 1900. It contained the first known printed use of donut. In it, a character is quoted as saying, “Pa said he guessed he hadn’t got much appetite and he would just drink a cup of coffee and eat a donut.”
3.  In 1919, the Square Donut Company of America was founded. Square donuts offer an easier to package product.
4.  Over 10 billion donuts are made in the U.S. each year.
5. At least 10 people living in the United States have the last name of "Doughnut" or "Donut."
6.  Voodoo Donuts in Portland, Oregan used to sell "medicinal" donuts that were dipped in NyQuil. The Pepto Bismol dipped donuts were also coated with crushed up Tums.
7.  Spudnuts are donuts that are made from mashed potatoes or potato starch instead of flour. For a while, they were hugely popular.
8.  The French used to call their version of doughnuts pets de nonnes, which translates into "nun farts." 
9.  There is some truth to the "cops love doughnuts" troupe. "Back in the 1950s, police officers on the graveyard shift would stop by doughnut shops—which were among the few establishments open late—to do paperwork and have a snack. Eventually, a reciprocal relationship developed: Doughnut shop owners welcomed the protection of police officers, and police officers liked having a place to chow down late at night, so the association stuck around."
10. Doughnuts were declared the "hit food" of the century by the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. 
11. Donuts were served to soldiers during World War I. "During World War I, Salvation Army workers would bring soldiers doughnuts and coffee in the trenches of France to cheer them up and remind them of home."
12. Per capita, Canada has more donut shops than any other country.
13. The largest donut ever made was an American-style jelly donut which weighed 1.7 tons. was 16 feet in diameter, and was 16 inches high in the center.
14. The Guinness World Record for the most donuts eaten at one sitting is held by John Haight who consumed an impressive 29 donuts in just over 6 short minutes! Amazing and terrifying at the same time.
15. National Donut Day was officially established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to raise much-needed funds during the Great Depression.
So there you have it; everything you could ever want to know about donuts. And if you have any doubt as to how best to celebrate this day, it would be, of course, to have a donut or two with your cup of coffee or TEA-rific tea.
Please come back tomorrow for another helpful lesson from my wise and wonderful friend, The Dharma Frog. But until then, I wish you
                                                                        PEACE.

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/november-5-2019-national-doughnut-day-national-love-your-red-hair-day/
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/71300/15-delicious-facts-about-doughnuts
https://mobile-cuisine.com/did-you-know/doughnut-fun-facts/

There are two systems for measuring and quantifying things; Imperial, which is used almost exclusively in the U.S. and metric which is used by everyone else. There is a third one, used only in Lily Pad, but other than the frogs who live there no one's ever heard of it so I won't bother to discuss it here. 
For measuring temperature, there's Celsius and Fahrenheit. The two are very different; case in point, 0 degrees Celsius is 32 degrees Fahrenheit...both signify the temperature at which water freezes (as well as my nose). But is there a point on those two very different scales where the temperature is the same? It turns out that there is a point where those two scales register the same temperature. But I'll get to the answer a bit later.
In addition to the U.S. four other countries use the Fahrenheit system for registering temperatures. They are Belize, Palau, Cayman Islands, and the Bahamas. If you travel at all, you know that it can be a pain trying to pack when the place you're visiting uses a different temperature scale than the one you use at home. So here is an easy way to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit. For example, let's use 18 degrees C. The formula to convert 18 C to Fahrenheit is 18 (or whatever the temperature is you want to convert) x 1.8 + 32 (18 x 1.8 = 32.4 + 32 = 64.4 or !8 C = 64 F, rounded down.
To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, use this formula (using 64 degrees F as our example)
64 - 32 divided by 1.8 (64 -32 = 32 / 1.8 = 17.777 (round up to 18 degrees)
Let's suppose you feel ill. You take your temperature and it reads 101.3 degrees F. What is that in Celsius? 101.3 - 32 = 69.3 divided by 1,8 = 38.5 degrees C. 
Converting Fahrenheit to Celsius (or vice/versa) isn't easy to do in your head but with a calculator, it's a snap, once you know the formula. So what's the magic temperature where Fahrenheit and Celsius are the same? It's - 40 degrees. Brrrrrr!
Please hop by again tomorrow. Not only is it TEA-rific Tuesday,  but it's also National Donut (or doughnut) Day. That makes it Tasty Tuesday, as well. And to celebrate this fun and fabulous food, I have a few fantastic facts about donuts to share with you. See you then! Happy new week.
                                                                       PEACE.

Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "What Temperature Does Fahrenheit Equal Celsius?" ThoughtCo, Jul. 3, 2019, thoughtco.com/fahrenheit-celsius-equivalents-609236.
https://blog.prepscholar.com/convert-celsius-to-fahrenheit

I had a very scary 24 hours as Count Frogula's hostage, but I am back...safe and sound...at least until next October 31st! And now on to the business of the day.
It's hard to believe that we're in November...ten months down and two to go. Many, including me, can argue that November and December are the two best months of the year. That's despite the fact that these months have fewer daylight hours and, generally, don't have the best weather. But the holiday season makes up for any shortcomings November (and December) may have. But November is about far more than Thanksgiving and official start of the holiday season. So without further ado, let's look at all the special days to celebrate this month!
NOVEMBER
1.  National Authors' Day, National Cinnamon Day, National Family Literacy Day, National Cook For Your Pets Day, National Brush Day.
2.  National Deviled Egg Day, National Bison Day.
3.  National Housewife's Day, National Sandwich Day, Daylight Savings Time Ends.
4.  National Chicken Lady Day, National Candy Day (Shouldn't that have been on 31, October?), Color The World Orange Day, Job Action Day, Traffic Directors Day.
5.  National Donut Day, National Love Your Red Hair Day.
6.  National Nachos Day, National Saxophone Day, National Stress Awareness Day.
7.  National Cash back Day, National Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day, National Men Make Dinner Day (No BBQ allowed!).
8.  National Cappuccino Day, National Parents As Teachers Day, National STEM/STEAM Day.
9.  National Scrapple Day (not, that's not a typo). Other that this, it's a free day so why not plan on celebrating something that's special to you?
10. Marine Corp Birthday, National Forget-Me-Not Day, National Vanilla Cupcake Day.
11. National Sundae Day, Veteran's Day.
12. National French Dip Day, National Pizza With The Works Except Anchovies Day, National Chicken Soup For The Soul day.
13. National Indian Pudding Day (This stuff is soooo good!), World Kindness Day (I vote to make this an everyday occurrence!)
14. National Family PJ Day, National Pickle Day, National Spicy Guacamole Day.
15. National Bundt (Pan) Day, National Philanthropy Day, National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day, National Spicy Hermit Cookie Day, National Raisin Bran Cereal Day, America Recycles Day. 
16. National Fast Food Day, National Button Day.
17. National Baklava Day, National Take A Hike Day, National Homemade Bread Day.
18. National Princess Day, National Vichyssoise Day (good hot or cold), Mickey Mouse Birthday.
19. National Carbonated Beverage With Caffeine Day, Play Monopoly Day.
20. National Peanut Butter Fudge Day, National Absurdity Day, National Educational Support Professionals Day.
21. National Gingerbread Cookie Day, National Stuffing Day, National Red Mitton Day, Great American Smokeout, National Rural Health Day. 
22. National Cranberry Relish Day. (Another nearly empty day for you to celebrate whatever you please!)
23. National Cashew Day, National Eat A Cranberry Day, National Espresso Day, National Adoption Day.
​24. National Sardine Day (I guess everything is entitled to have a special day, eh?)
25. National Play Day With Dad Day, National Parfait Day, Blase Day, Shopping Reminder Day.
26. National Cake Day.
27. National Tie One On Day (No, it's not what you think!), National Bavarian Cream Pie Day, National Jukebox Day.
28. National French Toast Day, National Day of Mourning, Thanksgiving, Turkey-free Thanksgiving. 
29. Electronic Greetings Day, National Day of Listening Day, National Native American Heritage Day, Black Friday, Buy Nothing Day (the anti-Black Friday Day), Flossing Day, Maize Day, Your Welcoming Day.
30.  Personal Space Day (After all the holiday company we need this day!), National Mason Jar Day, National Mousse Day, Computer Security Day, Stay Home Because You're Well Day, Small Business Saturday.
Whew! That's a lot of food to celebrate. But it all fits in with Thanksgiving which is, afterall, a day that we feast until we nearly explode!  No matter which days you choose to celebrate I hope this November is one to remember. And don't forget to come back by at the end of the month for a look at December's Special Days.
                                                                       PEACE.

                                                                         BOO!
It's me, Count Frogula. And again this Halloween I've taken Irwin hostage so that I can take over his blog and write about something that's important to me....scaring humans!
If you've ever wondered where the scariest places on the planet are, the best places to visit on Halloween, you've come to the right place. Today I have for you 
Count Frogula's Ten Scariest Places to Visit on Halloween.
10.  Poveglia Island, Venice, Italy. A short trip from Venice, the beautiful island of Poveglia has scars from being a quarantine zone for people suffering from the plague. Also, the island was used in the early 20th century as an insane asylum. Ghost hunters claim this spot is a hotbed of paranormal activity. Sure sounds like my kinda place!
09.  Ancient Ram Inn, Wotton-Under-Edge, England. This 12th-century inn is one of the oldest in the western world. It is believed to have once been a pagan burial ground and boasts that it is haunted by more than 20 spirits, including ghost children, a pagan high priestess, and an incubus. No, I don't mean the rock band. The other kind of incubus, the scary kind.
08.  Burg Wolfsegg, Wolfsegg, Germany. This 800-year-old castle in the municipality of Wolfsegg, Germany is, so it's believed, haunted by a “White Woman” who scares off any visitors who pass. The woman is rumored to be the ghost of Klara von Helfenstein who was reportedly murdered by her jealous husband.
07.  Lizzie Borden House, Fall River, Massachusetts. This allegedly haunted bed and breakfast is the sight of a gruesome and highly publicized murder that occurred in 1892. Although she was acquitted, Lizzie Borden was suspected of killing her father and stepmother with a hatchet in the unassuming home. Since then, guests have reported all manner of strange sightings in the house. What a great B & B! It just makes me want to spend the night there.
06.  Chateau de Brissac, Brissac-Quince, France. This towering castle is famously known as the place where Charlotte of France was murdered. According to the legend, Charlotte, the illegitimate daughter of King Charles VII, was killed by her husband, after discovering her affair. Visitors claim to have seen a “Green Lady,” because of the color of her dress, roaming the halls.
05.  The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado. This famous Rocky Mountain destination is known as one of the inspirations for Stephen King’s “The Shining,” but it has its own spooky past. Allegedly, the staff has encountered ghosts during their time there, such as a maid from Room 217 who is known to pack away guests’ clothing when they aren’t looking. The Shining is one of the most frightening movies ever made, am I right? And nothing says, "Welcome" like having your clothes packed by a ghostly maid.
04.  The Tower of London. No scary places tour would be complete without a stopover at the infamous Tower in the heart of London. Many famous people have called the Tower of London their final resting place. The infamous fortress has been steeped in tragedy for over 900 years and home to many ghostly sightings of English royalty, including Anne Boleyn and Mary, Queen of Scots. I guess if you have to be haunted by ghosts, it's good to know they're royalty!
​03. The Catacombs, Paris, France. The Paris Catacombs is truly one of the spookiest places in the world, with hundreds of miles of tunnels that served as a burial ground for Parisians in the 1700s. Official tours happen regularly, so it’s an excellent Halloween destination. Beware, however, the walls are made of human skulls and bones...it is NOT the place to visit for the faint of heart!  PS. It's where I've stashed Irwin for the next 24 hours. Poor little froggie......
02.  Hoia Baciu Forest, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. This forest is considered the most haunted in the world. Visitors often report intense feelings of anxiety and the feeling of being watched while traveling through the forest, and some of the most common sightings include ghosts, unexplained apparitions, faces appearing in photographs that were not visible with the naked eye, and even some UFOs.
And, finally, the place I believe to be the most terrifying in all the world.
01.  Corvin Castle, Hunedoara, Transylvania. If you’re looking for the inspiration for the original vampire myth, look no further than Vlad the Impaler. The bloodthirsty ruler was kept prisoner in Corvin Castle in Transylvania, where many strange sightings have been reported.  And this is the place I call, Home Sweet Home.
I hope you've enjoyed my little tour of my top 10 favorite places to haunt during the Halloween season. Perhaps one of them will inspire you to visit next haunting season. Until we meet again next year, I bid you farewell.
And I promise I'll let Irwin return tomorrow as soon as the sun comes up. But until then...
                                                           Be afraid. Be very afraid.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/holiday-travel/halloween/most-haunted-places-in-the-world?slide=608010#608010