Today is the last day of the year, and (does this come as a surprise to anyone) we were shooketh last week when we realized it’s also the end of an entire decade! Now that we’ve come out from under our respective rocks, reset those judgy eyebrows of yours. Even those caterpillars up bro. Look. Kris was shopping on December 23. It’s been a year, k? So we’re not here to just slam the door on 2019, but to remind you of some (though definitely not all) events that happened over the last ten years. Not all of it has been a blistering ride down that hot metal slide of life…some of it was quite amazing. A lot of it was forgettable. That’s why we’re here. To help you remember what color that dress really was, that one song about that one day of the week, when the world was supposed to end, and Fat Amy’s real name.
Ten points if you can figure out what Redd Foxx, Tuna Melts My Heart, and Ed McMahon have in common? Hint: nothing. We just make obscure references to them during our conversation. No big deal. As the other fox says, “moving on.” 10 points if you get THAT reference. This entire blog is a pop quiz. Yeehaw!
But of course, before we get into the heart of our retrospective, we ramble on about how Christmas was (good, decent, ok), a great new party game, and what it’s like to be the mother of a new teenage driver (gasp).
You can find a bigger and better list of all the memorable events from the last decade and year – from the intense to completely forgettable, depending on what you want to focus on, but the majority of our particular list came from goodhousekeeping.com’s November 2019 article “31 Things We Totally Forgot Happened This Decade” by Hannah Jeon.
And here’s the other list…the list of things we didn’t know anything about as we talked:
For that Hawaiian fake missile alert Kris couldn’t remember, here’s a great article by Sean Flynn from April 2018 at GQ.com on that scary incident. And it wasn’t Bob’s fault after all. Tsk, Kris.
Don’t know what the hell Pup’N’Taco was? It was a great little fast food chain from the 80’s and was one of Kym’s favorites. Find more information about it at We Miss the 80s. Yes we do, Rick. Yes. We. Do.
Disney’s movie The Black Hole came out December 21, 1979. You can watch it in all it’s 70’s Disney glory on Disney+ (not a sponsor…chyaaaaa AS IF).
You’re the best for reading our blog! Thank you so much for joining us here. Now to listen to our episode “Buhbye 2019!” on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Why did we call today’s episode “Summertime Clues”? Because if you listen you’ll discover we have no clue about anything in today’s show! We start of with such a great topic: The End of Summer. And we quickly derail just by talking about watermelon. Watermelon derailed us. Listen. You’ll get it. How could anyone not be confused by watermelon? We’re still baffled. And slightly unnerved. Even Google left us with more questions than answers. For shame Google. So, yeah, we talk about some interesting summer and August facts but for every new thing we tried to learn it seemed like we left with more stuff we needed to find out. We left the episode clueless. Ergo the title of the show. But redemption is here!! Thank goodness for this blog. Because the summertime clues blues have been cured! We have answers! We love the interwebs.
Does Hobby Lobby Sell Halloween Decorations?
Why yes, HL does sell Halloween decorations! HL definitely does not turn it’s back on guaranteed profit so gladly gives the public plenty of cute Halloween decor to choose from. Who knew? (DUH. Not us. Obviously.) For more details, check out Hobby Lobby’s website. But if you are into the horror, gory, gross stuff, sorry, you won’t find it. But because we are so excited about shopping for Halloween (and it is our pleasure to help you find that perfect witch, skeleton or spooky ghoul over the next month – yes, people, you only have one more month until OCTOBER) here are a bunch more opportunities to find what you want: Target Walmart Michael’s Home Depot Lowes Amazon Spirithalloween.com
Tenant vs. Tenet vs. Tennant
Kris knows these words are not only pronounced differently, they mean different things, and also she knows what they each mean. But occasionally Kris’ mouth and brain do not sync up, therefore when she thought “tenet,” she said “tenant.” It happens to the best of people. But mostly a lot to Kris. Just in case you were wondering: Ten·et /ˈtenət/ (noun) : a principle or belief, especially one of the main principles of a religion or philosophy. Ten.ant /ˈtenənt/ (noun) : a person who occupies land or property rented from a landlord. Speaking of lords… Ten.nant /ˈtenənnt/ (noun) : an actor, especially known for portraying the Doctor in Doctor Who, Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Demon Crowley in Good Omens, also referred to as David Tennant.
We’ll Take What is an Inflatable Snowman for $200
Kris was talking about putting a snowman decoration on her balcony for Christmas, but worried the neighbor would be pissed off. Just in case you were wondering – because, again, the thoughts in the head don’t seem to want to come to the mouth part of communication – that whole part of what kind of snowman would piss off the neighbor sort of disappeared into the ether. That would be an INFLATABLE snowman. Inflatable lawn decorations = motors = annoying noise = angry neighbor = no inflatable decorations on Kris’ balcony ever. Please note that very important keyword “lawn”…this is a big clue as to who should actually invest in those things.
Are We Heading for a Warm Winter?
We ponder if having a mild summer means we’ll have a hotter autumn and winter or will it be colder? According to this website, it’s pretty much impossible to tell, so, yeah, if you’re hoping for your autumn/winter seasons to be predicted by the kind of summer we’ve had, you’re going to have to wait til it gets here like the rest of us. Seriously read the article. The folklore behind some of the methods of predicting weather are hilarious and the author has fun describing them.
What Are the Days Between End of Summer and Beginning of Fall Called?
We still don’t know! But the British tabloid The Sun just might shed some…ah…sunlight on the whole reason why it seems there are a couple days between the end of summer and beginning of fall. See what we did there? We couldn’t help it. It was right there. WAITING to be said. The British like a good pun. Hey if you’re British and you liked that pun leave us a comment. Oh, here’s the article.
Is Watermelon a Fruit or a Vegetable?
Yep. Here we go. Well, it’s both, but if you’re from Oklahoma, you know watermelon is the OFFICIAL VEGETABLE of OKLAHOMA (if we could also underline that bold italic we would). Oklahoma. Ok.LA.Ho.MA! We don’t understand. Well, we do, it’s just…why? Couldn’t you have picked something less enigmatic? Why not something like…(thinking)…you know what, we don’t even know what’s real anymore, so fine. FINE. Watermelon’s a vegetable. Pluto isn’t a planet. Have your vegetable fruit melon. Have it. The upside to all of this malarkey is that if mom says “EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!” you can go slice a hunk of watermelon, eat it, and throw some gnarly trivia back at her that you DID eat your vegetable and you LIKED it even. Wipe your dripping mouth covered in watermelon lies on your shirtsleeve and then spit those seeds that aren’t fruit on the ground for emphasis. Watermelon is a vegetable. We just…we can’t…we…completely…no words…. But here’s a link to find out wayyyy more than you ever thought was possible to know about watermelon.
First Women’s Bathing Suits Were Made From…
…Wool or flannel. Because nothing says refreshing seaside shenanigans like 20 pounds of wet, stinky wool clinging to your body. We’re wondering how many women drowned from being dragged beneath the waves in such heavy neck-to-knee (or in the 1800’s, neck-to-ankle) swimwear. Thank goodness for the Olympics in the early 1900s, which made intercollegiate swimming an official sport and shone a spotlight on the unwieldy dysfunction of the woolen suits (for men and women). For more information on women’s bathing suit history, this is a nifty article.
Can Metal Fillings in Your Mouth Attract Lightning?
Well, if you’re old enough to have amalgam fillings still, your bigger concern should be the amount of mercury toxins that have been leaking into your body all these years. Seriousy, get those removed and replaced, stat. But as for lightning striking you because of those nasty metal fillings? It’s pretty much a no-go. We’re 99.9% sure of that because we couldn’t find an answer on the first page of the Google search, but we did find this entertaining thread in response to a question asking if lightning striking you would weld your teeth together because of those fillings. Again, we’re thinking if you’re hit by lightning, there are so many other things you’ll be worrying about. Like, breathing, living, etc. Oh, here’s the CNN video of the guy almost getting hit by lightning, and a link about the guy who got hit twice (spoiler alert: fake video. Sorry Kym).
What’s a Cross-Quarter Day?
There is SO much to answer this seemingly simple question. In a nutshell, cross-quarter days have pagan origins, are associated with fire, and are usually celebrated with festivals. Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas, and Samhain (halloooo Halloween!) are cross-quarter days. For details, read this great article on Cross-Quarter Days (and Quarter-days too. Don’t ask. We are linked-out).
What is an Indian Summer?
Is Kris right or is Kym right? Drumroll please: Well, we were both on the right track. An Indian Summer is a period of unusually dry, warm weather occurring in late autumn. It also means a period of happiness or success occurring late in life. We like that version and are rooting for our own personal Indian Summers happening sooner than later.
What Does .ws Mean in a URL?
It is the internet country code for Samoa. Sleep well dear friends.
Crepuscular (and Kris May be Psychic)
This is weird. In the episode as Kris tries desperately to pronounce the word crepuscular, she states (we are paraphrasing), “this is blog entry number 12” and IT IS! Go ahead. You know you’re going to count them. We’ll wait.
See? Anyway, welcome back. Kris is PSYCHIC! Or, maybe her brain does math subconsciously and she really is a numbers genius but doesn’t know it. Either way, CREPUSCULAR is pronounced kreh-pUSk-yooler and it means “of, resembling, or relating to twilight”. Please, use in a sentence. Ok. “Team Edward and Team Jacob fans are crepuscular” No? Drat.
Aside: the girl who says the word in the Google Dictionary sounds kind of creepy. Sorry crepuscular girl. We know you’re just trying to earn a living. But your voice is actually perfect for the word, so, clap clap clap clap clap.
Abolition of Slavery
Yes, Kris, “abolition” is the word you were looking for. And let’s all just take a moment to say HELL YEAH 13th AMENDMENT!
Ah Ah Ah Ah Stayin’ Alive Goat Swagger
For the record, we’re sorry if you Googled Goats Stayin’ Alive and found this video. Although we’re not really that sorry because screaming goats are hilarious.
Chewbacca Mom
And our last but totally favorite shoutout goes to Candace Payne, aka Chewbacca Mom! Here’s her website if you’re as much a fan of her pure joy and love of Chewie as we are. Added bonus! Here’s the video that started it all:
Here’s another video of an interview a year later in which she discusses making the viral video and how it changed her life for the better.
Finally…here’s some photos of the decorations Kris bought for bringing on the Autumnness:
Changed up the regular fake greenery for some more colorful fake flora. Hey. Kris can’t kill fake flowers.
Adorable retro camper ushering in Fall!
It’s never too early to be thankful.
Yes it’s too early for Autumn decorations. Why do you ask?
Here’s Mooch the Pooch’s tush which shows either a Batman or a Motorola insignia. You be the judge. Let us know in the comments below.
Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh BATASS! Mooch is either a spokesdog for Batman or Motorola…you decide.
And the candid moment Kris caught Rocky the Podcat contemplating life whilst sitting on a scale staring at the wall. Raise your hand if you relate. Also, we wish more than anything in the world she captured Rocky actually staring AT the wall. Hey, does anyone notice a pattern with Kris and Kym’s animals looking at walls? Just wondering if you’re seeing it too.
Sorry Rocky. I posted this on Instagram. No way I’m not posting this here too. Love you!
Check out our “Summertime Clues” episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Hello and Happy Tuesday! Today’s episode is a veritable hot-topic pie. We revisit last week’s episode by talking even more about powerful women in history as well as women today making history. We discuss the merits of California’s anti-plastic straw law, gush about Daylight Saving Time, marvel over the migration of millions of monarch butterflies, and update our stories on Coco Chanel and Jane Fonda with facts. Gasp. Then we “rrrrrrrrrrrrrr” hard-right turn into a full rant and FREAKING rave over the Lori Laughlin/Felicity Huffman/college admissions scandal (so much so Kris runs out of air mid-sentence). Then we wrap it all up with a spoonful of St. Patrick’s Day trivia. All the while wondering about the large amount of construction taking place below us during the entire episode. Question of the day: IS the construction downstairs actually the cover-up of a murder scene? You’ll just have to listen to find out. But first? Kym quacks us up with a mom-joke.
These ducks are gonna drop a beat right here.
Links and more information about what we talk about in today’s episode:
Investigative journalist Hal Vaughan’s biography about Coco Chanel, Sleeping With The Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War, can be found here and here. The New Yorker article interviewing Mr. Vaughn about the book can be found here. In that article, Mr. Vaughan states that Chanel was backed by the powerful Wertheimer family, which helped her reestablish her business in France after World War II.
The coffee Kris mentions is: Death Wish Coffee and we dare anybody to try it first and let us know what you think because Kris is a scaredy-cat (but may still have to try it anyway).
The Washington Post article about Jane Fonda can be found here and another article here and quotes from Ms. Fonda about those events here in a Snopes article.
A must-read Forbes article about the college admissions scandal with 30 facts that SHOULD highly disturb you can be found here. Some of the truly disgusting facts? Parents of high school students allegedly paid about $25 million total to help their children get admitted to various colleges and universities and the alleged scheme has been ongoing since 2011. Among those who have been charged: 33 are parents, 13 are coaches and associates of ring-leader William “Rick” Singer (based in Newport Beach, California) businesses, including two SAT and ACT test administrators. Schools impacted by the scandal are: Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, Boston University, Northeastern, UCLA, USC, University of Texas at Austin and Wake Forest. GRRRR with a capital GRRRRRR!
Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate-change activist you should be watching, is 16 years old. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Chloe-Mei Espinosa, the anti-plastic straw advocate from Southern California and another powerhouse you should be watching, is 12 years old. More information can be found here, here, and here.
Yes. Kris understands a spade on a deck of cards and a shamrock do NOT look alike. A club on a deck of cards and a shamrock do. #facepalm #hangheadlow.
This is a shamrock. It looks nothing like a spade. It does look like a club. These things…we know them.
Those two cards on the right? The left one is a club, the right a spade. Neither is a shamrock. Waiter? Check please.
Check out our “Waiter? Fact-Check Please!” episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Today we celebrate International Women’s Day 2019! Yes, it was March 8th, but we are promoting this year’s theme “Balance for Better” and encourage our listeners to share their favorite stories – personal or otherwise – with the hashtag #BalanceForBetter in all your social media platforms! The hope for this year is to bring about a more gender-balanced world, so share the achievements, courage, generosity, and journey of women who inspire you!
Our very favorite symbol of female strength! “We Can Do It!” poster for Westinghouse, closely associated with Rosie the Riveter, although not a depiction of the cultural icon itself. Model may be Geraldine Doyle (1924-2010) or Naomi Parker (1921-2018). ArtistJ. Howard Miller (1918–2004), employed by Westinghouse which used the poster for the War Production Co-ordinating Committee. Image source: Wikipedia commons, public domain – from scan of copy belonging to the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, retrieved from the website of the Virginia Historical Society.
We talk about the values internationalwomensday.com focus on in their efforts to educate about and encourage women’s rights globally, some disturbing statistics about women and girls around the world, and mention a few amazing women whose achievements have made living in today’s world a much better experience: Marie Curie, Susan B. Anthony, Soong Mei-Ling, Sacagawea, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Hedy Lamarr, among others.
We know we just scratch the surface with a small number of stories about powerful, world-changing women, because there are so many hundreds of thousands stories of amazing women in today’s world and throughout history: Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Ada Lovelace, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lady Diana Spencer, Amelia Earhart, Mary Seacole, Mother Theresa, Indira Gandhi…for a great read please go to biographyonline.net’s article about women who changed the world and become wildly inspired.
We wrap it up – or detour, yet again – by bringing up a controversial story (see correction below about Jane Fonda) which led to tackling some fairly deep issues about being accountable for wrongdoing, and how long should society continue to punish a person for their mistakes. Today’s episode is starts off about women’s rights, but we end up talking about justice in general.
Fact-checking and updates for today’s episode:
Please read the linked article on Hedy Lamarr mentioned above, but as a quick correction on Kris’ comment about Ms. Lamarr’s invention: Lamarr partnered with George Anthiel to invent “frequency hopping,” an unbreakable code that manipulated radio frequencies at irregular intervals, preventing third party interference. The invention had the potential to keep classified messages from being intercepted by enemy personnel signals; specifically, it was designed to prevent the Nazi’s from interfering with a ship’s torpedoes. Although she and Anthiel received a patent for their invention, they donated it to the Navy. The technology was too complicated to put into action during WWII, but it was implemented later during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The technology Lamarr invented was the beginning of the technology boom which allows us to use wireless communication. Perhaps Alexa should have been named Hedy? Hedy Lamarr died in 2002 of congestive heart failure, at the age of 85. Kris mistakenly thought she passed away at a younger age.
The actual lyric to the Disney song “Sister Suffragette“, composed by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, performed by Glynis Johns, Hermione Baddeley and Reta Shaw, from the film “Mary Poppins” is: “Take heart, for Mrs. Pankhurst has been clapped in irons again!” Kris mistakenly ((((kept)))) singing “Emmeline Pankhurst has been clapped in irons again!” Oh, Kris. Sooooooo close.
On Jane Fonda: the very popular story that Jane passed messages from POWs to the Vietnamese captors is an urban legend. While neither of us assert the allegations about Ms. Fonda as true, we do discuss her controversial actions during the war, including the possibility that she did pass notes. Please read details here and here .
Regarding Coco Chanel’s alleged Nazi affiliation, please read here and here.
For information about the Netflix documentary of women in India creating their own sanitary pads, “Period. End of Sentence,” please read here.
The artist who created the “We Can Do It” poster was J. Howard Miller, not Howard J. Miller.
Check out our “#BalanceForBetter” episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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