Team Marco Polo

Deadword of the Day: Smittlish

Friday, October 23, 2020 by teammarcopolo

Smittlish: Contagious.

As in: Don’t come any closer, I’m smittlish!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Ames_Hazmat_suit_03.jpg/634px-Ames_Hazmat_suit_03.jpg

History Schmistory: October 23. Smurfin USA?

Friday, October 23, 2020 by teammarcopolo

1958: The Smurfs, a fictional race of blue dwarves, appear for the first time in a weekly French comic-strip by Peyo called Johan and Peewit.

http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/231/f/4/smurfs_are_three_apples_tall_by_smurfsteph-d5bob4f.png

That’s right, the Smurfs are actually French.

GO THERE! And tell us how they stack up…

Thursday, October 22, 2020 by teammarcopolo

The city of Anoka, Minnesota, has been celebrating Halloween festival style since 1920. Now they claim, with good reason, to be the “Halloween capital of the world”. And they have the mural to prove it…

http://anokahalloween.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/06/2014ButtonDesign.png

History Schmistory: October 22. “I wasn’t ready!”

Thursday, October 22, 2020 by teammarcopolo

1926: Smarty-pants J. Gordon Whitehead sucker punches legendary magician, escapologist and stunt performer Harry Houdini in the stomach several times, rupturing his appendix. Houdini refuses medical attention and goes on to perform what would be his final show, collapsing several times in the duration. He dies a few days later in a Detroit hospital on Halloween. And this time it was no trick (or treat.)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Houdini_in_Handcuffs,_1918.JPG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Jack_Dempsey,_Harry_Houdini_and_Benny_Leonard2.jpg

Cryptozoology Break! Ahool.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020 by teammarcopolo

Deep in the rainforest of Java, Indonesia, lurks a creature called the Ahool, first described in 1925, by Dr. Ernest Bartels, as a bat-like primate with claws, red eyes, grey fur, a 10 ft wingspan and a distinctive call; “AhOOOoool!” The Ahool is a beast that apparently prefers fish but would gladly devour some human flesh, as it was reported to have done in Zambia in 1956 to a poor, unsuspecting engineer who barely made it out alive. Stay out of the rainforest folks!

History Schmistory: October 21. UFO-snap!

Wednesday, October 21, 2020 by teammarcopolo

1978: Australian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes somewhere over the Bass Straight after reporting an unidentified aircraft hovering above him. Dude got jacked by some punk aliens.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/PurportedUFO2.jpg

History Schmistory: October 20. No worries, mate!

Tuesday, October 20, 2020 by teammarcopolo

1973: 10 years overdue and $95 million over budget, the Sydney Opera House finally opens, and quickly becomes the universal icon of Australia. That is, until Crocodile Dundee comes out.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Sydney_Opera_House_-_Dec_2008.jpg

GO THERE! Pumpkin-heads!

Monday, October 19, 2020 by teammarcopolo

This Saturday, if you love carving jack-o-lanterns and are anywhere near New Hampshire, the Keene Pumpkin Festival is your Halloween dream come true! And its “Orange Towers” are a pumpkin’s worst nightmare realized.