At this point you may want to skip the unnecessary calories and just drink the oil - but not too much. Mussolini used to use this as a torture for his political enemies.
Another reason Hanukkah feels better than Christmas - Yes, Rivka'le, there is no Santa Claus.
The third Friday of December is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. The first Christmas-themed sweaters made an appearance in 1950, produced on a grand scale and quickly becoming popular, but it wasn‘t until the 1980s that the unique piece of clothing made a cultural impact, after appearing in different TV sitcoms.
Shockingly, nearly six million dollars are spent during the holiday season on ugly Christmas sweaters.
More holiday trivia: Japanese people traditionally eat at KFC for Christmas dinner.
Although the percentage of christian people in Japan is less than 2%, every Christmas, kids and grown-ups head to the closest KFC to enjoy some fried chicken – the closest food to turkey that you can get in Japan. It’s all thanks to a successful “Kentucky for Christmas!” marketing campaign in 1947. First aimed at foreigners, KFC offered a “Christmas dinner” that contained chicken and wine – a meal that remotely resembled the food expats and tourists had at home. After a huge success, Kentucky Fried Chicken started promoting this offer every year, until the fast food chain became strongly associated with the holiday season.
December 19, 1961 -
Released in time for the holidays, the star-studded Stanley Kramer film, Judgment At Nuremberg, opened in New York City on this date.
Maximilian Schell's Oscar for Best Actor makes him the lowest-billed lead category winner in history. He is billed fifth, after Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, and Marlene Dietrich.
December 19, 1971 -
The pilot for the hit family series The Waltons, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story premiered on CBS-TV on this date
While all of the child actors would reprise their roles for the subsequent TV series The Waltons, of the adult actors only Ellen Corby would do so.
December 19, 1971 -
A Clockwork Orange premiered on this date, originally with an X rating. Censors objected more to the sex scenes than the violence.
Alex performing Singing in the Rain as he attacks the writer and his wife was not scripted. Stanley Kubrick spent four days experimenting with this scene, finding it too conventional. Eventually he approached Malcolm McDowell and asked him if he could dance. They tried the scene again, this time with McDowell dancing and singing the only song he could remember. Kubrick was so amused that he swiftly bought the rights to Singing in the Rain for $10,000.
December 19, 1979 -
Robert Benson's family drama Kramer vs. Kramer starring Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, and Justin Henry premiered in the US on this date.
The stenographer in the courtroom scenes was a real one. In between takes, Dustin Hoffman would chat with her and he asked her if she worked on many divorce cases. She replied that she used to, but was burnt out by the experience, as she found them to be too emotionally painful. Instead she had moved to homicide cases, which she said were much easier to handle.
December 19, 1987 -
The Pet Shop Boys had their third UK No.1 single with their version of Always On My Mind, on this date.
The duo had performed a version of Always on My Mind on Love Me Tender, an TV special commemorating the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, their performance was so well-received that the group decided to record the song and release it as a single.
December 19, 1997 -
The movie, Titanic was released in theaters on this date. This movie would become the most financially successful movie in U.S. history, grossing approximately $1.8 billion worldwide (until the release of Avatar in 2009, which grossed an astounding $2.075 billion. Avatar was conveniently directed by Mr. Cameron as well.)
Due to the long theatrical run of the movie, Paramount had to send out replacement reels to theaters that had literally worn out their copies.
December 19, 2001 -
New Line Cinema released The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (based on the epic 1954 novel by J.R.R. Tolkien,) directed by Peter Jackson and starring a very large number of people, premiered in the U.S. on this date.
Director Peter Jackson gave one each of the rings used in the movies to Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis as a gift when the shoot was finished. They both thought they had the only one.
December 19, 2014 -
After 2,058 episodes, Craig Ferguson ended his time as the host of The Late Late Show on CBS TV, on this date.
In the cold open, Ferguson performed Dead Man Fall's song Bang Your Drum accompanied by Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick (plus dog Lily), Jack Black, Kristen Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Carell, Don Cheadle, Kristin Chenoweth, Marion Cotillard, Tenacious D, Jeff Daniels, Ted Danson, Kat Dennings, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Hale, Carl Edwards, Cedric the Entertainer, Jon Hamm, Sean Hayes, Samuel L. Jackson, Rashida Jones, Toby Keith, Jimmy Kimmel, Mila Kunis, Lisa Kudrow, Jane Lynch, Justin Long, James Marsden, Matthew McConaughey, Mary McCormack, Joel McHale, Tim Meadows, Metallica, Kunal Nayyar, Geoff Peterson, Regis Philbin, Ray Romano, Bob Saget, William Shatner, Michael Sheen, Quentin Tarantino, Josh Robert Thompson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Henry Winkler, Shailene Woodley, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Larry King, Angela Kinsey, Betty White, Thomas Lennon, Secretariat, and Ferguson's bunny and alligator puppets.
Rocking out the holidays - ladies first
Today in History:
December 19, 1154 -
Henry was 18 when we met and I was queen of France ... We shattered the commandments on the spot.
December 19, 1733 -
Benjamin Franklin, writing under the pseudonym of Poor Richard, published Poor Richard's Almanack on this date.
The book, filled with proverbs and parables, was published continuously for 25 years and became one of the most popular publications in colonial America, selling an average of 10,000 copies a year.
December 19, 1777 -
These are the times that try men's souls.
General George Washington led his ragtag army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter on this date.
December 19, 1903 -
On this date, the Williamsburg Bridge was opened in New York City. It was America's first major suspension bridge using steel towers instead of the customary masonry towers.
It was built to alleviate traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge and to provide a link between Manhattan and the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Taking over seven years to complete, the 1,600 foot Williamsburg Bridge was the world's longest suspension bridge until the 1920s.
December 19, 1922 -
In a Sheffield, England, courtroom, accused bigamist Theresa Vaughn admitted under oath that in the past five years she had acquired 61 husbands in 50 cities throughout England, Germany and South Africa, averaging a marriage a month.
And you think you've been busy.
December 19, 1928 -
The first autogyro flight in the U.S., piloted by H.F. Pitcairn, was made on this date.
December 19, 1941 -
Twelve days after Pearl Harbor, Franklin D. Roosevelt under authority of Congress, created the Office of Censorship. The bureau had discretion over communications with foreign countries. Participation by domestic publishers was "voluntary."
December 19, 1972 -
Apollo 17 completed their mission and splashed down in the Pacific on this date.
With this return to earth, the Apollo program of manned lunar landings ended.
December 19, 1974 -
Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States after a House vote. Rockefeller was the second person appointed Vice President under the 25th Amendment – the first being Gerald Ford (the man for whom he was serving as Vice President.)
After the proceedings, Rockefeller celebrates by vigorously copulating with three of his assistants in the Warren G. Harding memorial cloakroom.
December 19, 1998 -
Oh, the irony - President Bill Clinton was formally impeached by the House of Representatives for lying under oath and obstruction of justice in the investigation of his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Clinton was not required to leave office despite being impeached by the House, since the Senate acquitted him of both charges.
Before you go - ACME wants you to stay safe this Holiday Season
Tip no. 647: For some reason Washington DC and the desert areas of the Southwest attract floating saucer crafts. Avoid travel and stay indoors.
Psst - did you get your unadorned aluminum pole yet? Supplies are limited.
And so it goes
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