You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

[Lee Stewart]

If you are wondering how much it costs to have one of these shipping container homes designed and built . . . Between $150K and $250K depending on how many containers you use (3 to 5). The insides are very impressive BTW.

[Lee Stewart]

In 1797, one of George Washington's estate managers suggested he open a whiskey distillery at Mount Vernon. Washington agreed, and by the time of his death in 1799, the distillery produced nearly 11,000 gallons of whiskey a year, making it the largest producer in America at the time. The distillery still churns out a limited number of bottles each year using its original recipe.

[Lee Stewart]

The Cherry Tree myth was invented by one of Washington’s first biographers, Mason Locke Weems, in The Life and Memorable Actions of Washington. The tall tale first appeared in the book’s fifth edition, published in 1806. Its purpose was to paint Washington as a role model for young Americans, proving that the man's public greatness was due to his private virtues (honesty, courage, etc.). In 1836, the story was recast as a children’s story.

[Lee Stewart]

Though the Polar Vortex is getting a lot of attention today (rightly so) let's not forget that Australia is still in the middle of it's greatest ever heat wave with daily temps above 112 degrees

[Lee Stewart]

"She's got a ticket to ride / But she don't care"

According to John Lennon, the title of this track from "Help!" harks back to the Beatles' early days in Hamburg, Germany, where prostitution was legal but streetwalkers were required to carry a document certifying a clean bill of health. John dubbed that certificate a "ticket to ride."

[Lee Stewart]

In the 1900s, Sears, Roebuck and Co. started the home-in-a-box trend with its catalog “kit homes.” Although Sears filed for bankruptcy in October 2018, its DIY houses will keep it’s legacy alive in neighborhoods across America.

Comprising more than 10,000 pieces and materials, the kits retailed for between $600 and $6,000 (equal to between $8,400 and $84,000 today) and were available in about 270 styles.

There’s no exact estimate of how many kit homes remain, but the company sold around 70,000 of them in the first half of the 20th century.

[Lee Stewart]

Something else you could order from your Sears catalog (until the government outlawed sales of automatic weapons): 45 cal. Thompson Sub Machine Gun.

[Lee Stewart]

Cruise Ship (unknown which)

[Lee Stewart]

Coffee comes from a flowering bush-like plant that grows cherries. Once ripened, they’re picked, processed and dried. Each cherry contains two or three seeds, which the average person would recognize as coffee “beans.” The plant’s fruit isn’t very pulpy, but it is edible. Taste depends on the growing area, climate, and other factors, but the general consensus is that they’re sweet like honey.

[Lee Stewart]

By the late 15th century, coffee shops were everywhere in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). The drink had become such a huge part of the Turkish culture that, according to legend, a law was created that gave any woman the power to divorce her husband if he neglected to provide her with an adequate amount of coffee.