- Humpday
Saturdays Are For Feasting
Happy HumpDay!!
Happy HumpDay!
Happy HumpDay! INSTAGRAM! INSTAGRAM! INSTAGRAM! Most HumpDay readers don't even realize that we have an Instagram that features pictures to go along with each week's newsletter. If you need some more reading material, check out the HumpDay website at HumpDayNewsletter.com and follow the official HumpDay Instagram!
Zooology
Somewhere in the desert, amongst the vast barren landscape, stands a single tree that sticks out from the dust and sand. On this tree are a small flock of animals but, they aren’t birds or squirrels but… goats (see picture linked below!).
It is a little-known fact that goats have excellent climbing skills that allow them to climb mountains and steep hills. These climbing abilities can also help goats make their way into trees and in the deserts of morocco goats use their climbing skills to survive.
The argan tree grows in the desserts of northern Africa and produces a delicious fruit that goats can’t get enough of. Because the argan trees grow to be about 30 feet tall, the tiny goats can’t reach the all of the fruit from the ground. Since the argan tree is one of the few sources of food in the dessert, its imperative that the goats get those fruit. Using their strong legs and hooves, the goats pull themselves up on tree branches and work their way from branch to branch to get access to the fruit at the top. The goats work their way through the entire tree and it is not unusual to see more than a dozen goats hanging out in a single tree.
If your ever stranded in the deserts of Morocco and you see a dozen goats hanging out in a tree (pun intended), its not a mirage and there are some tasty fruit nearby.
Goats Climbing Trees and Falling
Etymology
Whether you are having a Sunday funday, posting a throwback Thursday, or having a case of the Mondays, we all know the days of the week. But have you ever wondered what the word Monday means? Or Tuesday? Or what any of the days mean?
It turns out that the English days of the week were named somewhat inconsistently. The names Sunday and Monday come from the Sun and Moon respectively which has its origins in the Ancient Babylonian Empire. The next four days of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) are all named for Norse Gods. Tuesday is named for Tiu, the Norse God of war, Wednesday is for Woden (Odin), king of the Norse Gods, Thursday is named for Thor, a marvel superhero, and Friday is named for Frigga, Norse Goddess of love. The last day of the week, Saturday, was named for the Roman god Saturn who was the god of Fun and feasting.
The days of the week are such an important part of our daily lives that we don’t usually think about what the names of the days actually mean. Kinda cool that most of the days is named after a different god. It would be great if we acted like that god on their day. We could fight on Tuesdays or love on Fridays. In the case of Saturday, most of us already honor Saturn with our actions.
Jormungundar: The serpent that surrounds the world Space
History
The United States does not recognize an official national language despite the fact that nearly 80% of the country speaks the same language, English. While today the lack of a national language seems to coincide with the idea of the US being a melting pot, the real reason why the US doesn’t have an official language is much stranger.
In 1780, when the United States as a single, independent entity was being formed, John Adams (the 2nd president) suggested that English become the official language of America. At the time the colonies were mostly descended from England and nearly everyone in the 13 colonies spoke English. His request was practical and made sense for the young nation with British roots, but his motion was denied by the Continental Congress.
Also during this time, the revolutionary war was still raging and Britain was not very popular among Americans. The English language was seen as a source of British pride which made it the language of the enemy despite the fact that most Americans spoke English. Members of the Continental Congress were afraid that making the official language English would make America seem like it was still under British rule, so they squashed the John Adam’s proposal and chose not to designate a national language.
In addition to English, another language was proposed as a candidate for the official language of the U.S… Hebrew. When the pilgrims first left England and settled in Massachusetts they were trying to escape the influence of the Church of England. One way that they tried to eliminate British bias from their religion was to translate their English bibles back into their original language, Hebrew.
This act of eliminating British influence using Hebrew aligned with American’s desire to be seen as a separate and independent country from England. The idea of having Hebrew as the national language was popular among the American people because they saw it as breaking free from British rule. The problem was that most americans could not speak or read Hebrew so making it the countries national language would be incredibly impractical.
Eventually, it was determined that forcing American’s to learn Hebrew was more effort than it was worth and that it would be easier to not establish an official language. Instead, American’s added their own words, spelling and grammar to create a variant to English called American English. That is why some words like Color (Colour) are spelled differently in the U.S. compared to other parts of the world.
This Week in History
On this week in 1920, the U.S. Congress ratified the 19th amendment which provided women the right to vote. The ratification of this constitutional amendment came after nearly 70 years of women’s suffrage efforts fighting for equality among the genders. The 19th amendment marked a huge shift in the role of women in American society and was the first great victory in the quest for gender equality.
Help grow HumpDay! by sharing with your friends & family! Subscribe Today