Happy National Knock Knock Joke Day

“Knock knock!
“Who’s there?”
“Boo!”
“Boo Who?”
“Don’t cry. It’s just me!”

That’s my favorite knock knock joke, and it fits the season, but there are soooooooo many not-so-funny knock knock jokes that are almost like rites of passage!

There is no official history of who or how the knock knock joke started. Some credit William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, written around 1606. Others claim the origins came from a Henry Bett 1929 book, The Games of Children: Their Origin and History. The author refers to a knock knock joke as a kid’s game called “Buff.” In 1934, a newspaper columnist first published this joke in a newspaper:

Knock knock.
Who's... Read More

Happy National Chocolate Day

Happy National Chocolate Day!

Everything, and I mean everything, is better with chocolate! I like plain milk chocolate, but I’ll enjoy dark chocolate if I must. I also like chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered bacon, cherries, bananas, or... chocolate covered everything!

Did you know the top four chocolate producing countries in the world are the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium, in that order? U.S. chocolate is a $20+ billion business. A weird fact is none of the major chocolate producers are major growers of cocoa, and none of the major cocoa-growers are major chocolate manufacturers.

Did you know this gross fact: A... Read More

“Negotiate in Good Faith” – really?

Conversation starter: An issue came up in my community where appointed committee members say, “We negotiated in good faith!” Yes, based on data provided to them, the leadership direction/agenda provided, they probably did.

If a person is given a task that impacts public spending and/or trust, is there or should there be an expectation that “negotiating in good faith,” means making decisions based on data and information gathered beyond what others (who are invested in the outcome) say is true or not true?

Does “negotiating in good faith” mean a person is not accountable for negative end results? (This is not for ranting on political parties or specific... Read More

Was it the Cow?

October 8 is the anniversary of an enduring story that has survived since 1871:

“Late one night, when we were all in bed, Mrs. O'Leary lit a lantern in the shed. Her cow kicked it over, then winked her eye and said, ‘There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight!’"

This legend stands the test of time as an explanation for the Great Chicago Fire where more than 300 people were killed and almost 100,000 people were left homeless in the 3.5-square-mile fire that destroyed 17,450 buildings. Financial losses totaled more than $200 million in 1800’s dollars. The fire was a “perfect storm”... Read More

Time to Celebrate Firsts for Women

October is time to celebrate these historical firsts for women:

  • In 1976, I was terrified to enter high school as Barbara Walters became the first woman co-anchor of a major network evening news program.

  • In 1983, while I was planning my wedding, Dr. Barbara McClintock received the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

  • In 1984, I was pulling all-nighters studying for finals while Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan was the first U.S. woman astronaut to walk in space during the Space Shuttle Challenger flight.

  • In 1993, I watched in awe, wishing it was me, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the second woman U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

  • That same... Read More

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