March Madness HubNuggets: Celebrating Entertainment, Media, Games, Toys, Hobbies, and Scrumptious Food
March Madness had again descended at the clubhouse. Every member of the team was glued to their monitors and mouse buttons, searching out the the biggest sales and the lowest prices, intent on snapping up the best deals.
"What is it about March that brings out this shopping frenzy?" asked Maddie Ruud. Her eyes were aching from staring at her computer screen for seemingly endless hours.
"It really has nothing to do with the actual month of March," said Patty Inglish MS. "It's a clever media invention - a nifty, rhyming slogan that some advertiser dreamed up to help boost shopping during a period of traditionally low sales."
"Woo-hoo!" Simone Smith crowed excitedly. "Well, it works! I just found my favorite game, "Ninja Girl Meme" at a ridiculously low price! Color me happy!"
"But, Patty, March is a perfect month for Madness. Besides providing a great rhyme, it's chock full of inventions - games, airplanes, media devices, recipes..." Enelle Lamb said, looking up from her screen.
"You've clearly done your homework," said Jason Menayan. "What a perfect lead-in for our featured topics this week!"
Exotic Omelet
Fun facts on familiar foods...
"Hey, speaking of inventions, I've found out some really interesting things about foods and cooking," said RedElf. "In March of 1841 Orlando Jones patented cornstarch, and in March of 1990 Harold Osrow and Zvi Bleier received a patent for a portable ice cream machine."
"...and in March, 1994, the world's largest omelet (1,383² ft) was made with 160,000 eggs in Yokohama, Japan." KoffeeKlatch Gals laughed. "That's a lot of eggs," she added.
"Well, the yolk's on them," chortled ladyjane1. "They forgot to add onions, peppers, and cheese. Who's going to eat an omelet without onions, peppers, and cheese in it?"
RedElf and Gals started to giggle. "They didn't want to eat the omelet, lj," they said.
"I'm sure ladyjane1 knows that wasn't why the omelet was made," said ripplemaker, kindly, shaking a finger at RedElf and Gals. "Let's read the Food and Cooking entries, and vote for our favorites, shall we?"
Which one of this week's Food and Cooking nominees is your favorite?
- 28% Eating Out with Kids: Benefits and Tips
- 13% Recessionista in the Kitchen: A Week of Lentils
- 25% Chocolate and Its Effects: Good News For Chocolate Lovers
- 6% How to Make Cooler Corn
- 26% My Five Favorite Foods from Nicaragua: Eating my way through the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes
- 2% Becoming Vegan - A Journey to Health
This poll is now closed to voting.
The Food and Cooking Nominees
- Eating Out with Kids: Benefits and Tips
Eating out in restaurants with kids has many benefits. This article describes how eating out can help your kids try new foods, train them in proper restaurant behavior, and provides a much needed break from the kitchen. It also gives tips for making - Recessionista in the Kitchen: A Week of Lentils
An economical cooking challenge: we all have those collections of dried beans, legumes, cereals sitting along the top of our pantry. This article will give you healthy, easy - and delicious - recipes that will dwindle your supply of lentils. - How to Make Cooler Corn
Cooking Corn in a COOLER - Are you Serious... You BET!! Cooler Corn is a fun and easy way to cook corn on the cob for a large crowd. It's so easy that you will ask yourself "Why didn't I think of that?!" - My Five Favorite Foods from Nicaragua: Eating my way through the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes
Without fail, the question arises. Or maybe I should call it an assumption rather than a question. I’ll be visiting friends and family from the US, and we’ll inevitably be talking about life in my current home of Nicaragua. At that point, if any...
March "Hooping"
More "March" Inventions
"I've got a good one" said Patty, jumping into the fray with her customary gusto. "The Hula Hoop is an ancient invention - in fact, "hooping" as the game used to be called, was used by the Greeks as a form of exercise. Hoops have been made from metal, bamboo, wood, woven grasses, and even vine.
Hooping was introduced in Great Britain around the 1300s, with homemade hooping toys becoming very popular. In the early 1800s, British sailors witnessed hula dancing in the Hawaiian Islands. Hula dancing and hooping looked similar and eventually, the names of the exotic and the familiar were united into "hula hoop."
On March 5, 1963, American Arthur Melin, one of Wham-O's founders, received a patent for his version of the "Hoop Toy." His company sold twenty million Hula Hoops® in the first six months of that year."
"In March, 1910 Rose O'Neill copyrighted her Kewpie doll, " Maddie added. "Let's see what our nominees in this next category have to say about games, toys, and hobbies!"
Which one of this week's Games, Toys, and Hobbies nominees is your favorite?
- 36% A Birthday Party for Batman - Pinata, Food, & Games
- 7% The Difference Between a Comic Book Store and a Typical Book Store
- 19% We Made Fun From Junk
- 3% Comic Book Storage
- 28% How to Breed Different Dragons on Dragonvale
- 7% Ways to Stop the Addiction to Video Games: Excessive Gaming/Good or Bad
This poll is now closed to voting.
The Games, Toys, and Hobbies Nominees
- A Birthday Party for Batman - Pinata, Food, & Games
If your little super hero loves Batman, try these fun party theme and game ideas at your child's next birthday party. - We Made Fun From Junk
Growing up on a farm, we made our own fun. We used junk to make our toys.
March Media
"March" Media Tidbits
The team had no sooner finished reading and voting for their favorites in the second topic than ladyjane1 announced her latest find.
"I just scored front row seats at an off-Broadway revival of "Titanic: The Musical," she said. "...and don't bother telling me to take an umbrella or water wings, you two," she added, scowling at RedElf and Gals.
KoffeKlatch Gals and Redelf grinned at her - ladyjane1's scowls weren't very fierce. Besides, they'd both won tickets through a media promotion in their local newspaper. As they shared the good news that they could all see the show together, it was Enelle's turn to add her "March Media" tidbits.
"Did you know that in March of 1895, the grandfather of modern motion pictures, Frenchman Louis Lumière, patented a motion picture machine called the Cinematographe - a portable motion-picture camera, film processing unit and projector all in one?" she asked. "As well, in March, copyrights were registered for each of the following:
- 1933: "42nd Street" the movie
- 1944: Abbott and Costello's "Baseball Routine", also known as "Who's On First"
- 1956: "West Side Story"a musical play by Leonard Bernstein, and Woody Guthrie's song, "This Land Is Your Land"
- 1963: "To Kill A Mockingbird" the movie, based on Harper Lee's novel
In March of 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their first bed-in for peace at the Amsterdam Hilton. creating a major media event." Enelle smiled. "Now, if we're done with shopping and March Madness for the day, let's see what the hubs in this last category can add to our knowledge of Media & Entertainment."
Which one of this week's Entertainment and Media nominees is your favorite?
- 10% The End of The Amazing Fact: "Now which side is that pesky fuel tank on?"
- 10% Why You Should Never Say Macbeth In A Theatre
- 45% 10 Types of Students - Humor
- 13% A Very Guilty Pleasure: Criminal Minds, A Review
- 8% Those Darn Hippies and the Disco 70s!
- 15% Zombie Warfare Preparation: The Best Strategy Against a Zombie Attack
This poll is now closed to voting.
The Entertainment and Media Nominees
- Why You Should Never Say Macbeth In A Theatre
Many actors consider the play Macbeth to be cursed. This article looks at where the superstition arises from and how the curse of Macbeth is manifested - A Very Guilty Pleasure: Criminal Minds, A Review
A spoiler-alerted, in depth examination of the show Criminal Minds. This review goes over its criminal aspects, and its tv-show aspect with a conclusion containing an out of ten rating and a recommendation with warnings for squeamish viewers. - Zombie Warfare Preparation: The Best Strategy Against a Zombie Attack
Undead strategies Okay, so the dead are walking the earth. What do you do? You are now against an enemy that for the first time in human history can wage “total warfare”. It does not tire. It does not sleep. It does not require food. It does...
What's a HubNugget?
Voting for their favorite new HubNuggets hubs was a way for hubbers to support and celebrate new-to-us writers through the weekly HubNuggets contest:
- About the HubNuggets Program
Each week 18 great Hubs written by new Hubbers were nominated in the HubNuggets contest. We invite the HubPages community to vote for their favorites, and the winners were featured in our newsletter. - HubPages continues to welcome and celebrate new writers
The HubNuggets Team: SimoneSmith, KoffeeKlatch Gals, Patty Inglish MS, Maddie Ruud, Jason Menayan, ripplemaker, RedElf, ladyjane1, Enelle Lamb
© 2012 RedElf
