A Brief History On September 24, we, well, or rather at least somebody somewhere, celebrate(s) the Festival of Latest Novelties! Digging Deeper As we continue our countdown toward this website’s official launch on 1 October 2013, we want to wish everyone a Happy Festival of Latest Novelties! The giving of novelty gifts goes as far back as the early modern period (1500s and 1600s).  During this time period, a French mathematician and astronomer named Pierre Hérigone (1580-1643) described an unusual goblet constructed in such a way that someone drinking it could in effect spy on others while taking a drink. …