Monday links

Happy New Year! A happy and healthy 2018 to all.

A roundup of hangover science and cures.

The New Year’s Feast That Transformed Fools Into Popes and Kings.

Dave Barry’s 2017 Year in Review: Did that really happen? Previous such columns are available here.

Get your trebuchets, catapults, air cannons, and giant sling shots ready - January 3rd is National Fruitcake Toss Day.

New Year’s Day in Paris in the 1800s.

Hawaiian Airlines flight takes off in 2018, gets sucked into a vortex and lands in 2017.

The Year in Discovery: The 50 Greatest Finds of 2017.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include New Year traditions, history, resolutions, "best of" lists, and advice. 

Friday links

The Polish Doctors Who Used Science to Outwit the Nazis.

Today is the anniversary of the death of Genghis Khan: founder of the Mongolian Empire, prolific spreader of DNA, and climate change hero. Related: Why Genghis Khan’s tomb can’t be found.

The Archaeologist: gin infused with vintage Harley-Davidson parts.

The accidental invention of the Illuminati conspiracy.

Hundred-Year-Old Antarctic Fruitcake Found in 'Excellent Condition'

ICYMI, Thursday's links are here, and include a still-updating set of solar eclipse links and resources, a brief history of mooning, Davy Crockett's birthday, and a bunch of recipe videos in the styles of famous directors.

January 3rd is National Fruitcake Toss Day

In case someone gave you a fruitcake for Christmas, as a joke or otherwise.

How to Celebrate? Collect all the fruitcake you can. Find an empty space, and start tossing your fruitcakes. Feeling competitive? Compete for the highest or farthest throw.

Here's video of the 2013 event in Manitou Springs, Colorado, where it's thought that this holiday was first created and celebrated in 1995. This occurrence included trebuchets, catapults, air cannons, and giant sling shots:

Related: 

The classic drunken fruitcake recipe (Check the whiskey. Pour 1 level cup and drink. Repeat.)

15 Fun Facts About Fruitcake.

Wednesday links

December 21 is the winter solstice, the first day of winter, and the shortest day of the year. Here are science, history, and short video explanations of the celestial mechanics involved, plus descriptions of the concurrent celebrations of Saturnalia and Halcyon Days.

How The World Looked When Jesus Was Born, According to Roman Geographers.

A collection of downloadable templates for Star Wars snowflakes.

Classic Christmas drunken fruitcake recipe: Check the whiskey. Pour 1 level cup and drink. Repeat.

The 1914 Christmas truce.

The Origin of the Myth of the Poisonous Poinsettia. Related, why we kiss under the mistletoe and how the plant got that strange name (spoiler - it literally means "dung twig").

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include advice from ~1200 on how to survive the winter (don't forget to lay off the purging and blood-letting, and keep your hands and feet covered in wolf grease), the complicated history of humans and cats, an island where donkeys wear pajamas, and a map of the entire internet as of 1973, on one sheet of paper.

Monday links

Today is the winter solstice, the first day of winter, and the shortest day of the year.

All the Stuff British Soldiers Have Carried in Battle, From the 11th Century to Today.

How The World Looked When Jesus Was Born, According to Roman Geographers.

Classic drunken fruitcake recipe: Check the whiskey. Pour 1 level cup and drink. Repeat.

A collection of downloadable templates for Star Wars snowflakes.

The 1914 Christmas truce.

Here’s what happens when a flamethrower does battle with a firehose.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include lots of ugly Christmas sweaters (plus instructions for making your own), a Klingon Christmas Carol, why Japan is obsessed with Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas, poinsettia and mistletoe (which literally means "dung twig") science, and my personal favorite Christmas story: 'Twas the Overnight Before Christmas: The Merry Tale of How Air Cargo Deregulation Led To Amazon.

Classic Christmas drunken fruitcake recipe: Check the whiskey. Pour 1 level cup and drink. Repeat.

I actually know someone who likes fruitcake, but for most people it makes an excellent gag gift; the obvious advantage is that it can be re-gifted for years.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups dried fruit

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup nuts

1 gallon whiskey

1. Take a large bowl.

2. Check the whiskey to be sure that it is of the highest quality. Pour 1 level cup and drink. Repeat.

3. Turn on the electric mixer. Beat butter in large bowl.

4. Add sugar and beat again.

5. Check the whiskey again. Cry another tup. Or two.

6. Turn off the mixer. Break 2 legs and add to the bowl, along with the dried fruit.

7. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaters, pry it loose with a drewscriver.

8. Sample the whiskey again to check for consisticity.

9. Sift the salt. Or something. Who cares.

10. Check the whiskey again.

11. Sift the lemon juice and strain the nuts. Add one tablespoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever.

12. Grease the oven.

13. Set the cake pan to 350 degrees.

14. Beat off the turner.

15. Throw the bowl out the window and finish what’s left of the whiskey.

Related: here are 15 Fun Facts About Fruitcake. And, no matter how this turns out, you can always save it for January 3, which is National Fruitcake Toss Day.