I learned a lot about Lawrence (Wikimedia Commons)
To round out 2013, I’m sharing random facts I discovered this year.
Feel free to chime in!
Historical
- Once put into motion, it was physically impossible to recall the Russian call up of reservists–thus World War I.
- Lawrence of Arabia was illegitimate, as were his four brothers.
- Biddy Chambers was nearly deaf in her left ear.
- The last casualties from World War I died only five years ago–four people picked up an old mustard gas shell and it exploded, killing them all.
- British men signed up for the Army at Scotland Yard in 1914 London.
Research-wise
- You can learn facts from Pinterest you cannot find on Google! (Check out my Egypt scenes!)
- A lot of people have written books about World War I.
- Truffle oil is expensive
Book Selling facts
- *Each book you write is like a child and while you don’t want to favor any of them (particularly when you are marketing four in one year).
- Sometimes you have to write the most popular genre just to keep your head above the water.
- *While writing a novella for a collection may not be as glamorous as having your name by itself on the cover, it’s a whole lot more fun and easier to sell with eight others!
2013 Book Reading
- You don’t have to finish a book just because you started it. (Thanks, Jamie Chavez!)
- Just because it’s a best-seller doesn’t mean it’s worth reading.
- My time is valuable. If I don’t like a book I can quit reading it.
- Sometimes a first impression isn’t quite right. If the world adores a book, maybe you should give it a second chance. (Loved Code Name: Verity, once I gave it a second chance!)
- At least one book made a better movie: Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.
Blogging
- The words “nudist” and “colony” attracted a lot of readers in 2013.
- “Free gift” works wonders, too. 🙂
- Traveling makes it easy to come up with blog posts. 🙂
Travel facts
- Lufthansa is an excellent airline and a fine way to get to Scotland, even if you have to fly to Germany first.
- The Airbus is a comfortable jumbo jet, even if you’re stuck in the middle of five seats.
- Nyquil enabled me to sleep on a 2013 flight to Europe.
- *alking (hands free) to a close friend makes a three-hour drive go quicker.
Personal
- The body really is a giant chemical experiment
- My husband likes Brussel sprouts
- Dancing shoes make you spin faster, but are slippery
- If you’ve never worn makeup and you’re about to appear on television, enlisting your friendly neighborhood Mary Kay expert can help.
Odds and Ends
- A toothbrush should be replaced every six moths, especially one with tough bristles.
- Facts: tough bristles begin to fray into microscopic hairs that do damage on the cellular level to your gums.
- Even when your dog is blind and spends most of her days sleeping, once she’s gone you’ll miss her.
Spiritual
If Jesus came to earth only to heal people, he could have set up a hospital in Jerusalem and spent his days so doing.
Or, better yet, just waved his hand and announced “everyone is healed.”
Because he didn’t do so, he probably had another purpose in mind, like maybe obedience to his father’s will to demonstrate God’s love to all?
My free will gives me one basic choice: to follow God or not follow God. (Binary, right? Computer jocks should love it).
Amazing.
What facts did you learn this year?
Tweetables:
Random facts learned in 2013. Click to Tweet
I liked reading your list of random facts. I learned a few things and you did all the research. GRIN. I would love to have a copy of the Pioneer Christmas cookbook. I love trying new recipes. I am trying a new recipe for Cracklin cornbread today.
Thanks, Jan. The cookbook will be on its way in the next day or two via MailChimp.
What a list! Truly, you’re a Renaissance Woman!
The most important thing I learned in 2013 is that I can endure a lot more than I thought I could. A serious illness can be an excuse for giving up, or it can simply be a part of life.
To say it’s given wisdom would be overreaching, but it has changed my perspective. In some respects for the better – I’m more compassionate to those who are far worse off.
But in some ways, for the worse. Like Tacitus’ centurion, I tend to be all the more relentless because of what I endure on a daily basis. This translates in practical terms as a hardness of demeanor that some find un-empathetic.
I also learned that when drilling small steel parts on a drill press, they should really be clamped, and not held with fingers. The bit can hog in and turn the workpiece into an efficient little circular saw, to the detriment of one’s epidermis.
But then, I seem to re-learn that one every year.
My machinist son cringed when I read the last lesson learned with the drill–he knows that one, too!
You’ve learned some challenging things this year, Andrew. Here’s to a better 2014.
I learned that I need to lean on God more to get me through the rough places in my life and to do it often. thank you
Amen.
I am ‘trying’ to learn how to live with people who are losing memory, the ability to grasp conversations , any desire to be happy at all, and always looking on the dark side of life.
I like to read your posting on fb, and find each subject interesting and sometimes educational. I would like to read the book Pioneer Christmas stories.
Donna Litherland
Those are enormous challenges, Donna, but it sounds like you’re looking for the best solutions. Blessings to you and thanks for your comments. We’ll be sending the cookbook soon.