DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

  The first of April isn't just another ordinary day.  Also known as April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day .  It is celebrated in a number of countries including America, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.    The origin of April Fool's Day is actually any body's guess, but it is known that it came to England from France or Germany in the mid 17th century.  At one time April 1st coincided with the New Year and was celebrated as such until 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII ordered the new Gregorian Calendar to replace the Julian Calendar.  With there being no computers, telephones and other speedy forms of communicating, word did not travel very fast in those days and therefore many people continued to celebrate New Years Day on April 1st, while some rebelled against this change in their old traditions.    With some embracing a new system and others fighting progress it is thought that those following the new system mocked the others who we...

  April Fool's Day is the one day of the year that serious minded people can go crazy without criticism.  Over the years there have been many great hoaxes that have occurred on or around this day of the year.  The Museum of Hoaxes put together a list of 100, this is a list of the top 15. In 1982, the Daily Mail reported that a local manufacturer had sold 10,000 "rogue bras" that were causing a unique and unprecedented problem, not to the wearers but to the public at large.  Apparently the support wire in these bras had been made out of a kind of copper originally designed for use in fire alarms.  When this copper came into contact with nylon and body heat, it produced static electricity which, in turn, was interfering with local television and radio broadcasts.  The chief engineer of British Telecom, upon reading the article, immediately ordered that all his female laboratory employees disclose what type of bra they were wearing. In 1974 res...

   Doing some shopping , but can't seem to find any ideas for the paranormal investigator in your life?  Here are some very helpful tips and things they may have on their wish lists to help them catch and record paranormal activity. Thermal Imaging Camera - Got a spare $10,000 laying around?  Yes, thermal imaging technology isn't cheap at all, but it is one of the best tools out there for collecting evidence of paranormal activity.  It senses any and all changes in the ambient air temperature in a room, and you can actually see the anomaly on the screen, outlined in the appropriate color.  It shows how cold or hot an area , object, or anomaly is.  You can find fine used equipment, but it will still set you back anywhere from $6,000 on up!! Infrared Video Camera - They aren't cheap either, but they are the best video cameras to capture evidence on either tape or digital, although most of the better models are digital.  Infrare...

History of the Iditarod    The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race first ran to Nome in 1973, after two short races on part of the Iditarod Trail in 1967 and 1969.  The idea of having a race over the Iditarod Trail was conceived by the late Dorothy Page .  In 1964, Page was chairwoman of the Wasilla-Knik Centennial and was working on projects to celebrate Alaska's Centennial Year n 1967.    She was intrigued that dog teams could travel over land that was not accessible by autos.  In the early 1920's, settlers had come to Alaska following a gold strike.  They traveled by boat to the coastal towns of Seward and Knik and from there, by land into the gold fields.  The trail they used is today known as The Iditarod Trail, one of the National Historic Trails as so designated b the U.S. Congress.  In the winter, their only means of travel was by dog team.    The Iditarod Trail soon became the major thoroughfare through Alask...

    You can't compare it to any other competitive event in the world.  A race over 1150 miles of the roughest, most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer.  She throws jagged mountain ranges, frozen rivers, dense forests, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast at the mushers and their dog teams.  Add to that, temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the Iditarod.    From Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast, each team of 12to 16 dogs and their musher, cover over 1150 miles in 10 to 17 days .    It has been call the "Last Great Race on Earth" and it has won worldwide acclaim and interest.  German, Spanish, British, Japanese and American film crews have covered the event.  Journalists from outdoor magazines, adventure magazines, n...

   The Calle Ocho Festival or "El Festival de la Calle Ocho", is a one day "rumba"- fiesta-that culminates the Miami Carnival.  This festival takes place in March each year between 27th avenue and 4th avenue, along Southwest 8th street, that is 23 blocks along "Calle Ocho" in "Little Havana" with activities for everybody.    Even thought this festival is not counted amongst the official Hispanic holidays, more than 1 million people attend this block party to participate, and to see top Hispanic artists perform at every street intersection at the designated stages.    You can hear salsa, reggeaton, merengue, bachata, balada, hip hop and more.  Personalities like El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Cellia Cruz, Oscar D'Leon, El Grupo Niche and many more have performed at the festival    "El Festival de la Calle Ocho", is one incredible party that in 1998 was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records for having the longest c...