Browsing: Beth Michaels

A Brief History On June 25, 1940, the day France surrendered to the Nazis, Germany began planning the invasion of Switzerland in Operation Tannenbaum. Digging Deeper Between June and October of 1940, a plan was worked out that called for German divisions to invade Switzerland from the North and for Italian divisions to invade from the South, with both sides annexing the respective German/French and Italian parts.  The operation kept getting delayed, however, and after the Allied invasion at Normandy on D-Day, it was cancelled for good. The Swiss knew the German were planning to invade them.  In fact, in…

A Brief History For starters, if you have never heard of the Christmas Pickle, do not feel bad!  The author herself only learned of the Christmas Pickle two years ago while she was living in Germany and was being visited by a fellow American who brought up the topic.  The friend hung a pickle-shaped ornament on her Christmas tree every year, and since she believed the tradition came from Germany, wanted to know more about it. Digging Deeper Various American Christmas traditions include: singing carols; hanging stockings over the fireplace; leaving cookies out for Santa; placing mistletoe over doorways; but some Americans apparently also hang an…

A Brief History In September of 2014, a female Columbian cyclist team created a stir when their uniforms, or kits as they are known in the cycling world, made the headlines.  Normally, such uniforms are commented on for their aerodynamic qualities, but these were literally “racy.”  And by racy we don’t mean good for racing…  With nude, or rather flesh-colored (beige, if you prefer being politically correct) material covering the torso and crotch, these uniforms were considered provocative and shocking. Digging Deeper The kit’s female designer, who also happens to be a team member, could not understand the outrage, stating the color of the material…

A Brief History On August 6, 2005, Creme Puff, the oldest cat to make it into the 2010 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, died at the age of 38!  Digging Deeper For those of you who have ever owned a cat, you know that 38 years is more than a ripe old age; it is next to impossible for any cat to reach.  In human terms, this particular cat made it to 169 years of age, an age certainly not experienced by any man or woman in modern history.   If your cat makes it to 15, that is already good, and every year beyond that is…

A Brief History On July 9, 1540, the marriage between Henry VIII and his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, was annulled. Digging Deeper Annulled on the basis of non-consummation of the marriage, the real reason Henry wanted the divorce was because he found Anne unattractive, if not revolting.  Yes, it sounds very harsh, but it was probably a bit of an exaggeration as Henry had to get his point across to morally win his case.  How could he possibly be expected to make love to a woman who did not turn him on?  Well, he should have asked his forefathers who…