The earliest stoves were open hearths, essentially controlled indoor campfires used for both heating and cooking thousands of years ago. Ancient Romans used built in stone ovens called fornax to bake bread, some of which were heated by underground fires similar to early central heating systems. The word “oven” comes from the Old English word…
Things I Like: The Muppet Show (2026 TV special)
As a millennial, I wasn’t around for the premiere of The Muppet Show back in 1976. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 50 years, and now Disney has brought it back for what’s supposed to be a one-time special. However, it’s being treated as a backdoor pilot. If there’s enough interest and goodwill, they…
Fun Facts and Trivia About The Poet Homer
Homer’s existence is uncertain. Some scholars believe he may represent a poetic tradition or school rather than a single historical person. He is traditionally credited with two of the greatest epic poems in Western literature, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Homer may have lived sometime between the 12th and 8th centuries BCE, but the exact…
Our Experience With Birthday Parties at Pump it Up (Greenville SC)
Pump It Up is a bounce house type of place in Greenville, South Carolina, but I actually remember my niece Izzy having a birthday party at the Spartanburg location back in 2020. I had never been to the Greenville one until recently, when my son Alex’s preschool friend Faith had her birthday party there. The…
Fun Facts and Trivia About The Chemical Element Niobium
Niobium has the chemical symbol Nb. Its original name was columbium. It is a transition metal found in Group 5 of the periodic table alongside vanadium and tantalum. Niobium is named after Niobe, a figure from Greek mythology and the daughter of Tantalus, linking its name to the related element tantalum. For over 100 years,…