Florida upside down kind of looks like the Grinch. Who knew the 27th state, consisting of mostly geologically young, low-lying plains, had such strong feelings about Christmas?

FYI: “Capricornus” usually refers to the zodiacal constellation, and “Capricorn” usually refers to the astrological sign. Capricorns would want you to get that right.

December 21 is the winter solstice, which means that in the Northern Hemisphere: - The path of the Sun is farthest south in the sky - The Sun travels the shortest path, giving the day the least daylight and the longest night - Things can only get lighter from here

All I want for Christmas is…a painting of a mouse riding a lobster. Christmas cards during the Victorian Era tended to be rather unusual, reflecting an offbeat sense of humor before Christmas iconography had solidified into what it is today. Let’s shake this tree down. 🧵⬇️

Feel free to use this as your OOO message for the rest of the year:

Reindeer generally stick to a plant-based diet, and in winter, they rely on high-carbohydrate lichens called reindeer moss, which they reach by digging craters in the snow. Bacon-wrapped scallops would certainly be a treat.

During most kidney transplants, the diseased kidneys are not removed. The new kidney is added to the lower abdominal area to allow easy connection to the bladder.

Happy Hanukka/Chanukah/Hannukah! Because it’s a transliterated word from Hebrew, there are many different spellings for the holiday (24, according to the OED). All are acceptable, but if it’s spelled with a “Ch,” the first sound is still “H” (cc: Smokey Robinson).

Happy 100th birthday to Dick Van Dyke. Among his diverse jobs in show business, from 1947–53 Van Dyke and a partner played in nightclubs with a comedy pantomime act, billed as the Merry Mutes. Lucky for us, he didn't stay mute very long. www.britannica.com/biography/Di...

Counting the number of times a cricket chirps in 14 seconds and adding 40 will tell you the temperature in Fahrenheit. Your phone will also give you this information.

Yule ≠ Christmas Yule is one of the oldest winter solstice festivals, with origins among the ancient Norse thousands of years ago. Although today it’s heavily associated with, and even confused with, Christmas, the celebration existed long before Christianity. 🧵⬇️

Faith Hill describing a kiss:

Medieval alchemists associated the 7 known metals with the 7 classical planets: Gold- the sun Silver- the moon Quicksilver- Mercury Copper- Venus Iron- Mars Tin- Jupiter Lead- Saturn Because of this association, quicksilver is still called "mercury" today.

velociraptor = distanceraptor / timeraptor

Who DOESN’T unwind with facts about tortoises, Greek gods, and the world’s oldest manufactured instrument??

One hundred years of Grand Ole Opry. Grand Ole Opry is a country music show in Nashville that debuted as a radio broadcast on November 28, 1925. It is the longest-running weekly radio program in the world, and it put Nashville on the map as the center of country music. 🧵⬇️

There are thin tubes that connect the corner of your eye to your nose. The tears that don’t run down your face will drain into your nose, which is why your nose runs when you cry. Keep the tissues close as you pivot to romantic holiday movies this season.

Among Native Americans and First Nations peoples, the planting combination of corn, squash, and beans is known as "Three Sisters." In Central America and Mexico, the practice is known as milpa, and it dates back thousands of years. 🧵⬇️

One popular Thanksgiving tradition is making a wish while breaking the fulcrum of the turkey, more commonly known as the wishbone. 🧵⬇️ (NOT HIM)

Release the transcripts @MoBamba.

On November 24, 1971, a man using the name Dan Cooper boarded a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle. This marked the beginning of a legendary but unsolved heist, a cold case that’s among the most infamous criminal mysteries in American history. 🧵⬇️

Since Sagittarians can be hard to pin down, we thought you’d want to know that the zodiacal constellation of Sagittarius can be found in the southern sky between Capricornus and Scorpius, at about 19 hours right ascension and 25° south declination.

19th-century scientists reading Joseph Lister's idea that surgeons could prevent infecting their patients by washing and disinfecting their hands before surgery:

We hope everyone flies free this weekend. BTW, the name Elphaba is a reference to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" author L. Frank Baum.

Never beating the “they have an unhealthy amount of illustrations of British family crests from the early 14th century” allegations.

A flamingo named Frankie recently escaped a British wildlife sanctuary and has been spotted in Northern France. Frankie flew the 172 miles despite her clipped wings. FWIW, here’s how far that is. Ed. note: You cannot drive through the English Channel.

If the forest can rebuild after being burned, so can you. (Ideally in less than 150 years.)

Astronaut Chris Hadfield said outer space smells like gunpowder and burnt steak. Yankee Candle, your newest seasonal scent has arrived.

Octopuses have nine brains—one in their head and one in each of their eight arms, which are all capable of acting independently. But humans invented Extra Toasty Cheez-Its, so our brains are pretty cool, too.

Moss: Private Investigator Due to their unique traits, mosses have been used as forensic evidence to determine how a crime occurred, sometimes even linking a person to a very specific location. 🧵⬇️

New nightmare fuel just dropped. A gigantic spiderweb was recently discovered in an underwater cave on the Greece-Albania border. The web spans about 1,000 square feet and houses more than 110,000 spiders. TBH, the underwater cave feels like overkill.

Medical services are Cuba’s most valuable export. The country leases about 50,000 doctors to dozens of foreign nations each year. In addition to improving global relations, the program brings in billions every year to the Cuban government.

In December 2022, a picture of Lionel Messi celebrating that year's World Cup win became the most popular Instagram photo ever. The previous record holder? A stock photo of a plain brown egg.

The longest government shutdown seems to be close to ending. Here's what you need to know.

Fifty years after sinking, the Edmund Fitzgerald freighter remains the most famous shipwreck in the Great Lakes. The mystery surrounding the Fitzgerald’s demise captured the public’s imagination, and the tragedy has been immortalized in song, books, and documentaries. 🧵⬇️

Vampire bats produce an anticoagulant called draculin that helps them feed on blood without it clotting. Scientists are studying possible human uses for the blood thinner, so if you overhear a nurse ordering you a dose of draculin, don’t be (too) afraid.

In 2006, scientists found a fossil they believed belonged to a teenage T. rex. It was recently identified as a completely different, smaller tyrannosaur species, but we now can’t stop thinking about teen T. rexes and how much attitude they must’ve given their parents.

“I did not kill the president. The doctors did that. I merely shot him.” —Charles J. Guiteau, charged with the death of President James A. Garfield, 1882 Let’s get into it. 🧵⬇️

Grazing animals like goats and sheep have rectangular pupils. As the animals raise and lower their heads to eat, their eyes automatically rotate so that their pupils remain parallel to the ground. How does this help them? 🧵⬇️

If you're mad about Daylight Saving Time, you could blame Benjamin Franklin, who first suggested the practice in 1784. His cheeky theory was that if people rose with the summer sun, they wouldn’t have to buy so many candles. Let your lower paraffin bills comfort you today.

“Ohtani,” in Japanese, means great or large valley. “Shohei” means balanced or peaceful flight. Shohei Ohtani’s longest home run ever was a 469-foot peaceful flight out of a great valley on October 17, 2025.

If you thought the story of Frankenstein was intense, wait until you hear about the life of its author. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s personal life was fraught with death, life, and a summer of volcanic ash. Buckle up. 🧵⬇️

Which lucky KPop Demon Hunter is going to get Delusion–Frensen??

More people have walked on the Moon (12) than have been born in Antarctica (11).

From the 1970s to the present there have been 22 government shutdowns, ranging in duration from 1 to 34 full days. Here's some information about the timeline of a government shutdown from day 1 to a month in.

Hurricane Melissa has become the third category 5 storm to form in the North Atlantic basin in 2025. The last time three or more category 5 hurricanes appeared in a single North Atlantic hurricane season was 2005. Is the number of hurricanes increasing? 🧵⬇️

More peanut exposure = fewer peanut allergies For decades, parents had been advised to avoid exposing young children to peanuts to prevent allergic reactions. In 2015, those recommendations flipped, and ten years later, we are seeing the results. 🧵⬇️