DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

    In recent years, modern witches have become more and more accepted. Some of them play on many of the old concepts of a traditional 'witch', but by and large the stereotypical image of a broom riding crone with a point hat does not match at all with the reality. So where is it that this image came from? Many of the common 'wicked witch' images are derived from periods of time when a witch was considered to be a catch-all term for a person who had a pact with demons or the devil himself. These are just a few of the origins for the iconic 'witch'.    Conical Hats - Medieval woodcuttings showed any number of variations on what witches wore, so where did the conical black hat with the wide rim originate? The witches hat became known as it is now somewhere between Victorian times and the turn of the century. They became common in the illustration of evil witches in children's stories. Why did it become thus? That is less clear. There are a number ...

  The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual American competitive-eating competition, which is run as a publicity gathering event by Shea Communications. It is held each July 4 at Nathan's Famous Corporation 's original, and best-known restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island , a neighborhood of Brooklyn , New York . In 2011 over 40,000 spectators attended the event, and an additional 1.949 million viewers watched it live on ESPN television.    The contest has gained public attention in recent years due to the sudden stardom of Takeru Kobayashi , his subsequent rivalry with American Joey Chestnut , and the current controversy over Kabayashi's contractual dispute and absence. In the ninety-sixth annual contest, held on July 4, 2011, four-time-defending champion Chestnut won his fifth title by consuming 62 hot dogs and buns (HDBs) in ten minutes. Recently he was beaten by Kim B with 65 hot dogs in 10 minutes The contest was telev...