Posts by Dr. Boli

FUN FACTS ABOUT THANKSGIVING.

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Turkey

The Plymouth Pilgrims invited their Indian neighbors to the first Thanksgiving, but the next year the Indians had a prior engagement, and ditto for the 399 years after that.

The first tin cans were made in the now-familiar shape so that they would exactly cover a log of cranberry sauce in its traditional cylindrical form.

The original Thanksgiving turkey was a last-minute substitute. The Pilgrims had intended to serve crêpes Suzette, but were disappointed to discover that no Suzette grew in the Massachusetts woods.

The so-called “stuffing” or “dressing” familiar on American Thanksgiving tables originated as spectacularly failed attempt at a turkey sandwich.

Marshmallows are a kind of fungus that grows on the surface of baked sweet potatoes, a well-known example of a symbiotic relationship.

A recent investigative report by the Dispatch found that 73% of all pies labeled “sweet potato” are actually pumpkin, and vice versa.

NEWLY DISCOVERED RENAISSANCE PORTRAIT.

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Once in a while Dr. Boli is privileged to bring before the world a long-hidden work of original art. Some time ago he revealed a newly discovered portrait from life of the great classicist Charles Anthon. Today he brings you another portrait, this one much older, discovered in a Renaissance folio with hand-colored woodcuts. In this case he has not been able to identify the subject, but he is confident that it is meant to represent somebody with whom the artist was well acquainted.

Bull with face in profile

The original woodcut, of course, represented the bull alone, illustrating the article De Tauro in the 1551 edition of the Historiae Animalium of Conradus Gesnerus. It was hand-colored, probably soon after the book was originally purchased. Some time later, a talented artist of the grotesque school, known for its combining of human with animal and vegetable forms, added the head in profile arising from the rearward parts of the animal.

What is the meaning of this unusual juxtaposition? Doubtless the artist meant to compliment his friend or patron by associating him with the power and nobility of the bull. Centuries later, we can no longer identify the subject of the portrait, but the intended compliment is legible to a wider audience than the artist could ever have imagined.

TONIGHT ON DUMONT.

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All for the Love of Diana. Dramatization of the true story of Albert Cardoon, whose dramatic fall from powerful state representative to member of Grant Borough council followed accusations of corruption involving a musical superstar. Starring Anthony Quagga as Albert Cardoon, Dame Wilhelmina Frimp as the Speaker of the House, Miss Diana Smoulder as herself in stock footage, and Theodore Naphtha as Miss Smoulder’s hurdy-gurdy.

THE TIME IS OUT OF IOYNT.

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The New Yorker misspells “prophecy” in a headline for an otherwise very good article on H. G. Wells. Apparently we are living in one of those dystopian futures Wells liked to imagine.

(Dr. Boli can think of no meaningful way to read “prophesy” as a verb here, but if any of his readers can work one out, they are welcome to explain the grammar of it in the comments.)

EASY PUZZLE FOR PITTSBURGHERS.

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Google Photos likes to remind us of what we were doing on this date one year ago, two years ago, five years ago, and so on. But, for the Pittsburghers in the audience, here is a puzzle that will not take you too long to work out. What evidence do we have from this picture that it might be easy to confuse Google’s chronology?

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY.

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On this day in 1863, Edward Everett delivered his famous Gettysburg Oration. Inspired by the gravity of the occasion, Everett orated for more than 13,000 words, running so long that President Lincoln, scheduled to follow him, had to cut his planned address down to less than two minutes.