The man, the myth, the legend...

Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or simply “Santa” is a legendary figure who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of the good children on Christmas.

You know this.  But did you know how the American version of Santa Claus came to be?

The American version of Santa Claus – and the world that surrounds him including Mrs Claus, Rudolph and the North Pole – is a combination of a historical figure, many different legends, the work of American writers and illustrators and yes, the advertising creations of corporations.

Click onward to see how what we currently know as Christmas and the legend of Santa Claus came to be.  After reading this, you’ll be prepared to answer any and all childrens’ questions about who Santa Claus really is and where he comes from.

It all started with a man who lived 1,700 years ago in what we now know as Turkey…

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From baby carriage to umbrella stroller: a complete history.

The stroller is one of the most important (and expensive!) purchases a parent can make. But if you’ve ever been in a store with an unruly toddler you know the importance of strapping the kid down in a stroller. Maybe that’s what strollers are? A socially approved method for restraining your child?

Almost nothing beats the convenience of a stroller. It not only restrains and transports children, but it can carry all your baby gear as well. As any big city mom can attest, life without a stroller would not be a life worth living… or something like that.

Since the beginning of time, really, babies have been transported in a number of ways. But where did it all start?

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Actual Nazi flags captured during WWII via CTS56's flckr photostream.

Here’s a little tidbit about me: I was a German major in college. In fact, my father was a German professor at the University of Tennessee, and he made me privy to the atrocious crimes of the Nazi party as a very early age. As such, I knew all about the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler and the concentration camps. Like anyone with a moral compass, I had tremendous difficulty reconciling what happened during World War II. As such, I grew obsessed with German culture and wondered how it was possible that an entire country could allow for an evil man like Hitler to become their leader.

At some point, every parent must try to explain life’s horrors to their children. And I suspect in the not-so-distant future, I’ll be attempting to explain World War II Germany to my oldest daughter. With the recent exposure that Eva Braun has received, however, I’m wondering if that day will come sooner rather than later. Life Magazine has recently published never-before-seen photos of Eva and the carefree, fun-loving woman depicted in them stands in stark comparison to the dark world she was a part of.

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In a move that many claim is nothing short of an attempt to rewrite history, Texas School Board members have approved changes to that state’s K-12 social studies curriculum.  The proposed changes are sweeping and have a decidedly conservative bent that has drawn criticism from those find the content to be historically inaccurate and dismissive of the contributions of minorities.

This week, the Texas School Board members are meeting in Austin for community input and a final vote on the new textbooks.  The outcome of these meetings will likely have an impact far beyond the Lone Star State.  Because Texas is the second-largest textbook buyer in the country, what they approve is often incorporated into the curriculum of other states.

But California isn’t waiting to see what happens at these meetings.  They don’t want these books ending up in the hands of their students are have introduced legislation to prevent that from happening. Continue reading »

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Two doctors, mid-18th century London, are pioneering a brand new field of medicine and hiring henchman to kill their patients so they could conduct experiments on them.

It sounds like a Hollywood historical hit, but it’s not.

William Hunter and William Smellie really were pioneers in the field of obstetrics, and they laid the groundwork for many of today’s childbirth practices.  In fact, according to The Observer, Hunter helped deliver George IV, son of Queen Charlotte, in 1762, and Smellie has been called the “father of British midwifery.”

But a new study suggests that as brilliant as the two Williams were, they were also cold-blooded killers willing to sacrifice the lives of heavily pregnant women to further their research.

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Are children’s book authors’ lives as squeaky clean as the tales they crank out to bookstores? The other day, I misplaced my better nature and took to the Internet for some research. As it turns out, even the authors of some of the most endearing and cherished children’s classics kept some sordid secrets that didn’t make it on the bio page.

Aesop

The granddaddy of kid’s lit, Aesop’s Fables (like “The Tortoise and the Hare” and “The Ant and the Grasshopper”), ensured him adoration for hundreds of generations. Too bad everyone back in the 6^th century B.C. hated his guts.

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But they didn’t necessarily say better personality…

According to research coming out of the University of Exeter, males have more distinct personalities than females. That includes other beings than humans; the research found the results consistent across all species observed including house sparrows.

And why are males such drama queens? Continue reading »

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