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Word of the day this Friday the 13th: friggatriskaidekaphobia

It wouldn’t be a queer planet if we didn’t have odd information and the word of the day, friggatriskaidekaphobia, lives up to being odd and/ or queer.

So what is friggatriskaidekaphobia? It’s fitting that we introduce you to this world on Friday the 13th, because according to Wikipedia; friggatriskaidekaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th:

The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia (Frigga being the name of the Norse goddess for whom “Friday” is named and triskaidekaphobia meaning fear of the number thirteen), or paraskevidekatriaphobia[1][2] a concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή, meaning “Friday”), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς, meaning “thirteen”) attached to phobía (φοβία, from phóbos, φόβος, meaning “fear”). The latter word was derived in 1911[citation needed] and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953.[3]

Here are some other interesting facts about Friday the 13th that I picked up on Wikipedia as well.

  • In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year.
  • Any month’s thirteenth day will fall on a Friday if the month starts on a Sunday.
  • According to folklorists, there is no written evidence for a “Friday the 13th” superstition before the 19th century.

 

I hope you aren’t spooked too badly this Friday 13th!

 

Republican Presidential wannabe Rick Santorum’s connection to anal sex

Although Republican Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum isn’t leading the polls and doesn’t seem to be the GOP frontrunner by any means, his last name, “Santorum” is popular among search engines.  So why is everyone Binging or Googling “Santorum”?  That’s because if you do search for “Santorum” you’ll find the conservative Republican has some ties to anal sex.

In Google’s search results, for example, you’ll find that the first result for “Santorum” leads to spreadingsantorum.com.  Spreadingsantorum.com even falls higher than Rick Santorum’s wikipedia page and the official Santorum for President website, RickSantorum.com.

By clicking the link to spreadingsantorum.com, you’ll find the website provides you with the following definition of “Santorum”:

Santorum 1. The frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex. 2. Senator Rick Santorum.

So how in the world did Rick Santorum’s last name turn into a “frothy mix of lube and fecal matter?”  You can thank the creator of the “It Gets Better Campaign”, Dan Savage.

Motherjones.com explains:

Santorum’s problem got its start back in 2003, when the then-senator from Pennsylvania compared homosexuality to bestiality and pedophilia, saying the “definition of marriage” has never included “man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be.” The ensuing controversy prompted syndicated sex columnist Dan Savage, who’s gay, to start a contest, soliciting reader suggestions for slang terms to “memorialize the scandal.” The winner came up with the “frothy mixture” idea, Savage launched a website, and a meme was born. Even though mainstream news outlets would never link to it, Savage’s site rose in the Google rankings, thanks in part to bloggers who posted Santorum-related news on the site or linked to it from their blogs. Eventually it eclipsed Santorum’s own campaign site in search results; some observers even suggested it may have contributed to Santorum’s crushing 18-point defeat in his 2006 campaign against Bob Casey.

Dan Savage says his website defining “Santorum” hasn’t been updated in a while, however, it still show up as the first result when you google “Santorum” and it is on the first page of results if you type “Santorum” into Bing.

The term “Santorum” has actually be picked up by the Urban Dictionary which definies the term as:

The sometimes frothy, usually slimy, amalgam of lubricant, stray fecal matter, and ejaculate that leaks out of the receiving partner’s anus after a session of anal intercourse. Named, by popular demand and usage, after legislator Rick Santorum because of his homophobic political statements.
The Urban Dictionary even uses Santorum in a sentence for those who don’t get it:
“That move was about as slick as santorum!”
It seems like Rick Santorum is knee deep in santorum, and his chances of getting out of this one are almost as likely as his chances of becoming President.

Things that make you go hmmm…How did Groundhog Day start, and why do they think that a groundhog can predict the weather?

Q: How did Groundhog Day start, and why do they think that a groundhog can predict the weather?

A: German tradition holds that if the sun comes out on Candlemas, the precursor to Groundhog Day, the hedgehog (or badger) will see its shadow and six more weeks of winter will follow. When German settlers came to Pennsylvania they continued this tradition, using groundhogs instead of hedgehogs to predict the weather.

The first official Groundhog Day was celebrated on February 2, 1886 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The legendary first Groundhog Day trip to Gobbler’s Knob was made the following year by a group of groundhog hunters who dubbed themselves “The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.” A local newspaper stated that Phil, the Punxsutawney Groundhog, was the one and only official weather prognosticating groundhog. The groundhog’s full name is actually “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.” It was so proclaimed by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club in 1887, the same year they declared Punxsutawney to be the weather capital of the world.

Phil’s fame began to spread and newspapers from around the world began to report his predictions. Growing legions of fans started making the trek to Punxsutawney every February 2. With the release of the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray, the crowds began to number in the tens of thousands, even though the movie was actually filmed in Woodstock, Illinois. Phil’s yearly Groundhog Day predictions are actually even entered into the Congressional Record!

For most of the year, Phil lives in a climate-controlled home at the Punxsutawney Library. He is taken to Gobbler’s Knob and placed in a heated burrow underneath a simulated tree stump on stage before being pulled out at 7:25 am on Groundhog Day to make his prediction.

Phil is reputed by townspeople to be more than 100 years old, surviving beyond a marmot’s normal life span thanks to the strong constitution of his wife, Phyllis, and a steady diet of Groundhog Punch (obviously a euphemism for groundhog Viagra – note the big smile on Phyllis’ furry face).

Most major television stations across the country, as well as the big screen in Times Square, broadcast the official Groundhog Day ceremony.

When asked about the other weather predicting groundhogs around the country, Alan Freed, Webmaster for Punxsutawneyphil.com and Groundhog.org,  says “We’ll take ‘em seriously just as soon as a major motion picture is created in their honor!”

Source: http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/punxsutawney/a/groundhog_day.htm

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