90 million American toilets will be flushed during the Halftime Show

Believe it or not, some of you may actually be watching the Super Bowl later today. According to the Hass Avocado Board, almost 60 million pounds of avocados were shipped into the U.S. last week. Out of this amount of avocados, 93 percent were sourced from Mexico, 3.6 percent originated from California, 2.7 percent came from the Dominican Republic while Chile supplied 0.7 percent. Approximately 50 million individual avocados – are sold in preparation just for the game. To shovel that guac into gaping maws, approximately 14,000 tons of chips are used to scoop it up.



This year, the National Chicken Council predicts that folks will wolf down more than 1.45 billion wings during this year's Super Bowl, which is again up 2%, or 30 million wings, from last year. To put that in visual terms — 1.45 billion wings is enough for every man, woman and child in the United States to eat four wings each.



Americans will be washing down those snacks by drinking 50 million cases of beer.



Super Bowl LVII played on February 12, 2023 and broadcast by Fox in the U.S., was watched by more than 113 million viewers viewers in the United States, making it the third-highest-rated Super Bowl of all time. (Nielson rating were up even more even during the halftime show with Rihanna .) Nearly 18.8 million employees said they planned on missing work on Super Bowl Monday, otherwise known as “Super Sick Monday.”



This year, a study found that 10 million employees had the good graces to already requested the day off on Monday.

Enjoy the game


Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year. Some believe the second day is also the birthday of all dogs and remember them with special treats.

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The God of Wealth presides over a vast bureaucracy with many minor deities under his authority. A majestic figure robed in exquisite silks often he is pictured riding a black tiger, a golden yuanbao (ancient ingot used for currency) is always close to him. Legend says that every Lunar New Year, Tsai Shen descends from heaven to inspect his followers.

People eat dumplings to honor the god because the dumplings were thought to resemble yuanbao. Tsai Shen leaves for heaven on the second day of the Lunar New Year to report on whom should have good fortune in the following year.



Traditionally, it’s the time for married women to visit their parents. In ancient times in China, women usually didn’t visit their parents’ places much once they got married. People nowadays can do that at any time, this custom, to visit birth parents on second day of the Lunar New Year celebrations, remains.


We should wish George Washington, a very happy birthday,

but they've moved his birthday a couple of times - George was originally born on February 11, 1731, back went England was using the Julian calendar. No papist nonsense for them. In 1752, however, Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar which moved Washington's birthday a year and 11 days to February 22, 1732. To add insult to injury, we lumped his birthday with all other people who were president to the third Monday in February.

besides he's quite dead - so why bother


It's Peppermint Patty Day - No, not this one (but in case there's a lull in the conversation during the game - her real name is Patricia Reichart.)

This one



It's minty chocolatey goodness.


February 11, 1960 -
Jack Paar, temperament host of the Tonight Show, in a fit of pique, walks off his TV show when he is not allowed to tell a very lame joke about W.C.'s on this date.



Yes Jack, there is a better way to make a living than this, nowadays, you would be allowed to have your colonoscopy live while you're hosting a program.


February 11, 1963 -
Julia Child whetted America's appetite for better cooking when The French Chef first aired on WGBH in Boston, Massachusetts, on this date.



The show was done live to videotape from start to finish, leaving little room for mistakes. The resulting occasional accidents became a popular trademark of Child's on air presence, used as "teachable moments" to encourage viewers to relax about the task's demands.


February 11, 1970 -
The film version of the Terry Southern novel, The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo, and featuring the music of Badfinger, premiered in New York City on this date.



Peter Sellers gave Stanley Kubrick a copy of the original novel during the filming of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, in the hope Kubrick would want to direct an adaptation. While Kubrick passed on the idea, author Terry Southern became a key contributor to the Dr. Strangelove script, as Kubrick changed his approach from drama to comedy.


February 11, 1975 -
One of the most iconic films of the 70s, Shampoo, directed by Hal Ashby, written by Robert Towne and starring Warren Beatty was released on this date.



Lee Grant claimed in her 2014 autobiography that "everyone knew" Goldie Hawn and Warren Beatty were sleeping together, even though he was still involved with Julie Christie.


February 11, 1975 -
NBC-TV premiered the TV movie Sarah T: Portrait of A Teenage Alcoholic, directed by Richard Donner starring Linda Blair, Larry Hagman, William Daniels and Mark Hammill, on this date.



While Richard Donner was on a talk show discussing Superman, which he had recently directed, and was asked questions about his early directorial work. However, he couldn't remember the name of this film. He ended up calling it Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, which was directed by Randal Kleiser.


February 11, 1982 -
Hal Ashby's film of the US leg of a 1981 concert tour of The Rolling Stones, Let's Spend the Night Together, opens in New York, on this date.



The movie features footage from three The Rolling Stones' concerts staged in November and December 1981. These included one concert at the Sun Devil Stadium in Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (December 13th 1981) and two concerts at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey (November 5th & 6th 1981).


February 11, 1987 -
Morrissey's favorite Smiths' song went to No.1 in the UK indie charts with Shoplifters Of The World Unite, on this date.



The title alludes to the communist slogan "workers of the world, unite!" Morrissey has explained the meaning of the song as follows: "It's more or less spiritual shoplifting, cultural shoplifting, taking things and using them to your own advantage."

Another book from the back shelves of The ACME Library


Today in History:
February 11, 55 (this is an approximate date, as the people involved were literally at a dinner party, drinking wine from lead lined cups.)-
The emperor Nero was hosting a dinner when his 13-year-old stepbrother and rival Britannicus keeled over and died as the water used to cool his wine had been poisoned (his taster forgot to taste it) on this date.

Nero dismissed the murder by claiming that the boy suffered from epilepsy. The other dinner guests faced a dilemma. Should they take no notice and carry on tucking into their meal or should they call a doctor and risk offending the paranoid emperor.

Moral: always think twice about dinner invitations from Roman emperors.


On February 11, 1573, Francis Drake saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time on this date, and this is noteworthy, since 100's of thousands of West Coast living indigenous Native Americans saw it before they went to bed the night before.

And he still had time to create those delicious little cakes.


February 11, 1650 -
Rene Descartes, mathematician, drunken fart and philosopher best known for his statement "I think therefore I am", stops thinking on this date.



Queen Christina of Sweden (remember - the girl king - see December 18 ) persuaded Descartes to come to Stockholm. On this date, after only a few months in that cold climate, he died of pneumonia.

Kids let this be a lesson to you - never accept an invitation from transvestite royalty.


Friedrich Ebert was elected the first president of the German Republic on February 11, 1919.

President Ebert brought about the Weimar constitution that eventually resulted in Adolf Hitler's rise to power.

I bet he didn't see that coming.


February 11, 1929 -
The Lateran Treaty was signed on this date - Mussolini granted recognition to the Vatican in return for their support of his fascist dictatorship.



Bunkies, here's another lesson for you - entering a treaty with balding dictators can never lead to anything good.


February 11, 1938 -
BBC Television produced the world's first ever science fiction television program, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Capek play R.U.R., which coined the term robot.

The show was a thirty-five-minute adaptation of a section of the play, performed live from the BBC's Alexandra Palace studios. The BBC had no professional facility for recording programs in those pre-war days, so save a few on-set publicity photographs and reviews in the press, all records of this production are lost.


February 11, 1962 -
Sheryl Suzanne Crow, singer-songwriter, musician and Michael Jackson backup singer survivor, was born on this date.





When sending birthday wishes, don't bring up any of her exes.


February 11, 1963 -
American writer Sylvia Plath, committed suicide by asphyxiation from a gas stove (sticking her head in the oven) in London after her husband, English poet Ted Hughes, left her for another woman.



Assia Wevill, the woman for whom Hughes left Plath committed suicide 6 years later.


February 11, 1969 -
Our lady of the perpetual bad relationship and Aveeno spokesperson, Jennifer Aniston, once again single, was born on this date.





Jennifer deserves to be well and happy (Greek girls always have a special place in my heart.)


February 11, 1979 -
Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran, nine days after the religious leader returned to his home country following 15 years of exile on this date.



But 43 million people in the US try to seek salvation by watching Elvis! on ABC-TV on this date.



Most do not find it because they forgot to place one hand on the TV screen and the other hand upon their damp nether regions.

When will the damned ever learn!


February 11, 1986 -
Frank Herbert, author of Dune, died from pancreatic cancer on this date.



If only he had access to the spice Melange.


February 11, 1990 -
Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner for 27 years, was freed from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa on this date.



In April 1994, he was elected president in the first all-race elections. If only he had access to the spice Melange years earlier.


February 11, 2006 -
Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot Harry Whittington, a major Texas Republican insider, in the face while bird hunting on this date.



Almost immediately after being released from the hospital, a shaken Whittington, apologizes to the Vice President for getting in his line of fire. After this event, no one in Washington D.C. messed with Dick Cheney.



And so it goes