KWBaker

For the first time since 2019, Ottawa Comiccon returned this past weekend. More than 40,000 people headed to the EY Centre in Ottawa to celebrate the convention's return. Cosplayers, some who had been waiting three years to show off their stuff, were all over, and Geeks Are Sexy was there to document them. The participants were in a dancing mood, so here are some of them gettin' down to "Struttin'" by Thumpasaurus. This is just a tiny sample of the awesome costumes that were on display, so you'll want to check out the photo gallery from Ottawa Comiccon 2022 at Geeks Are Sexy. I hear there may also be other videos to come. A good time was had by all.

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It's a drink that's far better than the reputation the precedes it.

Here’s what to know—including some surprising facts—about the miniature predators slithering around the landscape

The post Baby Copperhead Season Is in Full Swing appeared first on Garden & Gun.

“The biggest thing that people get wrong about the South is that they think all Southern accents are the same”

The post Nicholas Sparks on His New Book, Southern Stereotypes, and His Favorite Spots in Florida and North Carolina appeared first on Garden & Gun.

While scoring a hard-to-find bottle is a thrill, there’s a wealth of flavors to explore

The post Six Coveted Fall Bourbon Releases—and Alternative Sips to Try appeared first on Garden & Gun.

The Federal Reserve is the central bank in the United States, and there is an equivalent to the Federal Reserve in almost every country throughout the entire world. Central banks across the entire world—including the European Central Bank—the International Monetary Fund, the World Economic Forum, and all of these global institutions are talking about creating a centralized digital currency—a form of digital currency that they could issue, track, restrict, and essentially, use to control the citizens. However, at the same time that these central bankers are talking about issuing these centralized digital currencies, they are doing something else behind the scenes. They are purchasing massive amounts of physical gold....

Atlantans is a first-person account of the familiar strangers who make the city tick. This month’s is Edward Morgan, as told to Xavier Stevens.

No rescue is the same when it comes to bees: They can be anywhere you can imagine, from 30 feet up in a tree to the tarmac of the airport. I think it’s amazing that people call me to rescue bees in the first place. Even though they are terrified, people don’t want to hurt the bees because they know they are good for the environment.

Four years ago, I got into bees for myself and the money. I bought some off Craigslist because I knew they would be good for my family farm and our garden, but I knew nothing about beekeeping. Like anyone else, I was scared to death to go anywhere near them. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I realized, after my first sting to the face, that I was slightly allergic. My wife and everyone I knew laughed at me.

For the next three months, I tried to learn as much as I could on my own, reading books at the library and watching YouTube videos. I learned to be comfortable around them, how to approach a hive and understand when bees are agitated. A friend of mine encouraged me to apply to host an Airbnb Experience for beekeeping. I was accepted as a basic beekeeping course, and it took off. After six more months of learning on my own, I joined the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association. It broadened my horizons of what I can do with bees; three years later, I sell bees, make my own honey, teach classes, and rescue bees.

This April, I received a call from a woman in Alaska about her shipment of bees that was rerouted to the Atlanta airport. She told me there were 200 crates that she believed may be damaged and letting out bees. I packed up everything—beehives, vacuums, and food for the bees—and rushed to the airport. When I arrived, I realized the 200 packages, filled with around 10 million bees, weren’t damaged but were placed in a situation where they couldn’t survive. After a small amount of bees escaped, the packages were set out on the tarmac with their cages reaching 90 to 100 degrees, placed upside down. The bees had no access to their food. I could see there was no movement in many of the packages. The bees were dying.

After deliberating with the owner and Julia Mahood, one of the top beekeepers in the state, we decided it was best to give away the bees in hopes that some would survive. Once we sent out the message for people to pick up the bees, I was blown away by the response. The only pressure I felt during the entire experience was trying to keep up with the number of phone calls. In 45 minutes, dozens of beekeepers showed up at the airport and somehow found me on the tarmac to save these bees. The story became much bigger than I anticipated. At the next bee club meeting, the members applauded me. Someone sent me a postcard from Michigan thanking me. I took home one crate of bees from the airport with five packages in it. Only two packages and one queen survived, so after a week of nursing the bees back to health, I merged them. They are doing well on my farm.

Beekeeping is so much more than the farm and the money. Bees allow me to help the environment, and I can offer up my help to rescue them. I meet amazing people that I may never meet otherwise. I teach people about bees and break down their fear through my classes and the Airbnb Experience. The best part is that I’m still learning. I hope to become a master beekeeper one day, but I’ve been busy with a full-time job. Sometimes, it’s hard to sit down and crack that book open to study. It feels crazy that bees—something I stumbled into—have opened up my world.

This article appears in our September 2022 issue.

The post The Apiarist: Edward Morgan on rescuing bees and breaking down your fears appeared first on Atlanta Magazine.

 

As told to Mara Reinstein

During the second season of Atlanta, we did an episode called “Helen” that involved two characters played by Donald Glover and Zazie Beetz going to this German-themed place called Helen. I wasn’t there for the shoot, but I remember thinking that we must have built a set for the episode. Then, as we were wrapping season four in the summer of 2021, I decided to put “Helen” in my GPS and take the journey from Atlanta. You drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains and then you come to this rustic little town built to look just like Germany. I was in absolute awe! It’s like this place shouldn’t exist! I’ve been there about five times now, and I think of it as this hidden oasis. Everyone there is so chill and delightful with that Southern hospitality. I’ve literally had people tip their hat at me. I walk down these alleyways and go into little shops like the Sock Shoppe, where I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on socks. There’s this restaurant called Hofbrauhaus, which is right next to the Chattahoochee River. You’re eating potatoes and sausage right on the water. The Old Bavaria Inn serves all kinds of bratwurst and rice and beans. So does Two Tire Tavern. I have a little fudge addiction, so I go into Kopper Kettle Fudge. Or you can get a candy apple at Hansel & Gretel Candy Kitchen and walk around the streets like you’re at a fair. I went in the fall because the leaves were changing colors and I wanted to go zip-lining through them. It was incredibly beautiful. That’s also the time of Oktoberfest, and it feels like you’re drinking beer right in Germany. I’ve gone rafting there, and you can do putt-putt golf. I’ve sent so many photos to Donald and everyone at the show and they’re always confused, like, “Why are you there?” But man, I really love it because I can just turn my brain off and be myself. I get them all socks.

________________________________________________________

Emmy and Tony-nominated actor Brian Tyree Henry currently stars in the big-screen drama Causeway with Jennifer Lawrence. 

This article appears in the Fall/Winter 2022 issue of Southbound.

The post My South: Actor Brian Tyree Henry on Helen, Georgia appeared first on Atlanta Magazine.

When it comes to consumer tech, there’s a huge list of things that can drive us all bananas. 

Take your slow Wi-Fi. You can’t stream, you can’t join a video meeting, and it always happens at the worst time. Tap or click for clever ways to speed up your home’s connection. 

What about wading through thousands of photos, looking for the one you want? Tap or click for a quick shortcut, along with four more smart tech fixes — like a hidden way to know a scammer is calling without picking up your phone. 

Our smartphones help us get a ton done, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to chuck them out the window sometimes. Here are the top complaints I hear about and ways to fix them. 

5 WAYS TECH CAN HELP YOU FEEL SAFER AT HOME

1. Your screen brightness keeps changing 

Apple's Face ID does more than unlock your phone. It also can tell when you're paying attention to your phone. If you look away, your screen dims, and your alert volume also decreases. 

The fluctuating brightness can be frustrating. You can switch this feature off.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Face ID & Attention. 

Turn off Attention Aware Features. 

On Android, adaptive brightness or auto-brightness uses a sensor to adjust the screen based on your environment. Sometimes it works well, but not always.

Steps will vary based on your phone’s model, but here’s a starting point.

Go to Settings, then Display. 

Look for Adaptive brightness and toggle it off. 

SECURITY 101: The smart trick to know when your phone’s camera or mic is being used 

2. The person you’re talking to can’t hear you 

When you're on a call, your iPhone monitors the noise around you and tries to cut it down, so the person you're talking to hears you better. It’s a neat feature, but it might lead to "Wait, what did you say?" too often. 

First, check your microphone volume. Press the volume up button on a call to adjust this. You can turn off the noise cancellation feature if people still have problems hearing you. 

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual and switch off Phone Noise Cancellation. 

Another tech annoyance: 5 ways to help Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant to understand you better 

3. You don’t want the bloatware 

Android phones are notorious for coming preloaded with apps you don’t want or need. These extraneous programs slow down your phone and consume storage space and battery life. 

There are a few ways to get rid of the bloat. 

Remove apps from your Android phone: 

Open the Google Play Store app. 

At the top right, tap your Profile icon. 

Tap Manage apps & devices > Manage. 

Tap the name of the app you want to delete, then select Uninstall. 

Some apps can’t be deleted. You can disable them by long-pressing on the app and tapping the Disable option — or you can hide them on some Android phones. 

Hide apps by tapping and holding the app and dragging it to the bottom of the screen to the Remove from home screen box. This doesn’t remove or disable the app; it just moves it out of view. 

Hide apps from your Samsung phone 

Open your App drawer, then tap the three dots in the top right. 

Open Home Screen Settings (or just Settings). 

Select the Hide apps option. 

Choose the apps you want to hide. 

Confirm via the Apply or Done button. 

Losing your texts is a nightmare. Don’t be that person. Here’s how to save text messages on iOS and Android before it’s too late. 

4. Your group text is too chatty 

Group messages are a fantastic way to stay in touch with friends and family, but the constant pings can be too much. Here’s how to silence conversations on your iPhone: 

Open Messages, then tap and hold a conversation. 

Tap Hide Alerts. 

You can also do this within the conversation by tapping the name(s) at the top of the screen and then switching on Hide Alerts. 

That’s a helpful option, but you’ll still get notifications if someone mentions you in a group text. You can turn this type of notification off, too.

Go to Settings > Messages. 

Scroll down to Mentions and switch off Notify Me. 

On Android, steps to hide conversation alerts will vary based on your phone’s model. Try this: 

Open Messages, then tap and hold a conversation. 

Tap the three-dot icon in the top right corner. 

Select Mute notifications to open up settings for that contact or conversation. 

Apple secret: This might be the best iPhone feature you never knew existed 

5. You miss the home button 

The iPhone 8 was the last model with a home button. That was a long time ago, but I know change is hard, and you still might miss it. You can't install a physical home button on your phone, but there's a feature that lets you come close: 

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch. 

Turn on AssistiveTouch. A button will appear on your screen. 

Under Custom Actions, change Single-Tap, Double-Tap and Long Press settings. 

If you want the closest home button experience, set Single-Tap to Home, then drag the button to the middle-bottom of your screen. 

Now, whenever you tap that virtual button, you’ll be taken to your home screen. Neat! 

ARE HACKERS IN YOUR PHONE? HERE’S HOW TO FIND OUT

Keep your tech-know going  

My popular podcast is called "Kim Komando Today." It’s a solid 30 minutes of tech news, tips, and callers with tech questions like you from all over the country. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. For your convenience, hit the link below for a recent episode. 

PODCAST PICK: Amazon police plans, flying taxis, robotic manicures 

In this episode, get a $10 manicure from a robot, change this secret Google Maps setting, and watch out for flying taxis. Plus, Amazon tests police stations as package pickup points, WFH jobs that pay $20/hour, and YouTube will let creators offer paid video courses next year. 

Find my podcast "Kim Komando Today" on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast player. 

Just search for my last name, "Komando." 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

What digital lifestyle questions do you have? Call Kim’s national radio show and tap or click here to find it on your local radio station. 

You can listen to or watch The Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet, television or computer. Or tap or click here for Kim’s free podcasts.

Copyright 2022, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products I believe in. 

Learn about all the latest technology on The Kim Komando Show, the nation's largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today's digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. 

For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com

Forgetful travelers and would-be smugglers lose. You win.

Used (but reinvigorated) boots, denim jackets and more round out the brand's resale-oriented fall campaign.

The Tiny Cast Iron Always Pan will fry an egg in the most adorable way possible.

A bay-breasted warbler weighs about the same as four pennies, but twice a year makes an extraordinary journey. The tiny songbird flies nearly 4,000 miles between Canada's spruce forests and its wintering grounds in northern South America.

"Migratory birds are these little globetrotters," said Jill Deppe, the senior director of the migratory bird initiative at the National Audubon Society.

A new online atlas of bird migration, published on Thursday, draws from an unprecedented number of scientific and community data sources to illustrate the routes of about 450 bird species in the Americas, including the warblers.

AS BALD EAGLE MAKES MIRACULOUS COMEBACK IN US, AUTHOR REVEALS THAT HUMANS 'REDEEMED OURSELVES'

The Bird Migration Explorer mapping tool, available free to the public, is an ongoing collaboration between 11 groups that collect and analyze data on bird movements, including the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, the U.S. Geological Survey, Georgetown University, Colorado State University, and the National Audubon Society.

For the first time, the site will bring together online data from hundreds of scientific studies that use GPS tags to track bird movements, as well as more than 100 years of bird-banding data collected by USGS, community science observations entered into Cornell's eBird platform, genomic analysis of feathers to pinpoint bird origins, and other data.

"The past twenty years have seen a true renaissance in different technologies to track bird migrations around the world at scales that haven't been possible before," said Peter Marra, a bird migration expert at Georgetown University who collaborated on the project.

The site allows a user to enter a species — for instance, osprey — and watch movements over the course of a year. For example, data from 378 tracked ospreys show up as yellow dots that move between coastal North America and South America as a calendar bar scrolls through the months of the year.

Or users can enter the city where they live and click elsewhere on the map for a partial list of birds that migrate between the two locations. For example, ospreys, bobolinks and at least 12 other species migrate between Washington, D.C. and Fonte Boa, Brazil.

As new tracking data becomes available, the site will continue to expand. Melanie Smith, program director for the site, said the next phase of expansion will add more data about seabirds.

NEW BIRD SPECIES IS IDENTIFIED IN REMOTE AREA OF CHILE IN SOUTH AMERICA

Washington, D.C. resident Michael Herrera started birdwatching about four months ago and was quickly hooked. "It's almost like this hidden world that's right in front of your eyes," he said. "Once you start paying attention, all these details that were like background noise suddenly have meaning."

Herrera said he's eager to learn more about the migratory routes of waterbirds in the mid-Atlantic region, such as great blue herons and great egrets.

Georgetown's Marra hopes that engaging the public will help spotlight some of the conservation challenges facing birds, including loss of habitat and climate change.

BIRD FLU CLOSES GEORGIA ANIMAL SANCTUARY UNTIL SEPT. 30

In the past 50 years, the population of birds in the U.S. and Canada has dropped nearly 30%, with migratory species facing some of the steepest declines.

Seiko's 1965 Diver's Watch has been re-interpreted in this Save the Ocean Special Edition, thoroughly tested by photographer and water lover Nick LaVecchia.

Women make up nearly 90% of residential cleaners in the United States and are often an overlooked market segment. Tech startup Spritz has honed in on their value with a Web3 business-in-a-box platform that automates cleaners' operations and offers loyalty rewards and stakeholder opportunities.

Two models of the variant will be sold, one of which can be entered in organized races.

Smart locks are powerful, connected and help keep you safer. We tested models to find the best.

The annual return of Negroni Week offers a reason to explore variations (how about a Japanese version?) as well as classic incarnations of that perfect cocktail.

Well, there are now lists for everything — including popular dog names. I was surfing the web and looking for more stuff to order when a list popped up — the Most Popular Dog Names. I had to look — and could not find Cameron anywhere. Who made this list? On the list I noted…

The post Dog Names appeared first on Sporting Classics Daily.

The brand's new Rangeline Touring Coach has everything you need to live out on the open road.

Actor Brian Baumgartner will forever be known as the world’s most loveable loser, Kevin Malone, from the hit NBC show The Office, and in recent years he has come to not only accept that, but embrace it.

If your current sofa is looking a little worse for wear, here are the best places to buy a couch, including West Elm, Article and other top furniture brands.

"The official Palace beekeeper, John Chapple, 79, told MailOnline how he travelled to Buckingham Palace and Clarence House on Friday following news of The Queen’s death to carry out the superstitious ritual," telling the bees QE2 had died.https://t.co/7ZnRefH9NX

— Dirt Doctor (@HowardGarrett) September 10, 2022

There are many rituals and traditions surrounding the death of a monarch, and they are now being carried out in the UK following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday. That includes one that goes back hundreds of years, but is pretty obscure these days. On Friday, 79-year-old John Chapple, the royal beekeeper, went around to all the royal beehives and broke the news to the bees.

"Telling the Bees" is a custom explained in a previous post that was once both a common courtesy to household members who toiled to provide food for the family, and a superstition to keep bad things from happening. Chapple went to beehives at Buckingham Palace and at Clarence House, tied a black ribbon around each hive, and explained to the bees in each hive that the queen had passed on, and that their new master is King Charles III. He assured the bees that they will be treated well. Chapple hopes to be the one who continues to care for them. Read more about the royal beekeeper and his duties at The Daily Mail. -via Boing Boing 

COLUMBUS, Ohio — How does a leader’s personality play into their ability to lead a nation during military operations? New research out of The Ohio State University concludes that U.S. presidents with high levels of narcissism tend to govern during prolonged wars, and often put their own selfish interests above the needs of the state. The…

The post Narcissistic U.S. presidents prone to keeping country at war longer appeared first on Study Finds.

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Dear Bob,

Interesting. At first, I guessed Ducati’s Chief Engineer Massimo Bordi probably decided to use a dummy cylinder because he already had a stack of V-twin engine cases lying around, but that idea is quickly out the window when you remember the super lightweight Supermono in fact got its own cases, made from magnesium even.

For background, the limiting factor for most single-cylinder engines is rpm; one big piston rising and falling by itself is (was) hard to balance past 6000 rpm or so, which means debilitating vibration coursing through bike and rider just before something breaks. The easy solution of course, is more and smaller pistons. But for some reason, Sound of Singles got to be a really competitive series around about the late ‘80s, and Ducati wanted in.

Bordi first addressed the vibration issue by simply using a dummy piston in a 90-degree Ducati L-twin (the vertical one in this case) without a head. But lugging along an extra piston that did no work also created drag, horsepower loss, and resentment from the working piston. No good for a racing motor. And that’s when Bordi settled on the doppia bielletta, or double connecting rod system. He didn’t invent it, he just adopted it for the Supermono from a diesel application – Falloon says it’s the first time it was used on a gasoline engine.

Though the Supermono got its own cases, the real work on the four-valve heads and the rest of the top end had already been done on Ducati’s groundbreaking liquid-cooled fuel-injected 851 and 888 L-twins. With vibration controlled, the Supermono’s lone oversquare cylinder was then cleared for take-off toward 11,000 rpm just like those Twins, unheard of for a Single. 

BMW, too

That’s right, BMW did sort of the same thing with the dummy connecting rod in its 2008 F800 engines, one of its least inspiring efforts. Even a dummy connecting rod can’t do much for a big old-school 360-degree Twin, except to slightly quell its buzz.

Ten years later, in 2018, BMW realized the error of its ways and ditched the dummy rod for a 270-degree crank design with a balance shaft spinning two counterweights down low ahead of the crank. Much more aurally pleasing and more fun to ride, too.

It’s good to know a good thing when you see it, and Yamaha’s first FZ-07 engine, in 2015, was (and is) a great thing. BMW’s was the sincerest form of flattery.

But we digress…

When it comes to powerful, smooth-running Singles, nothing we’ve ridden compares to KTM’s LC4 Single. The last 690 Duke we dynoed extracted nearly 70 rear-wheel horsepower from its lone 105mm piston (80mm stroke), which was exactly the same power as the above-mentioned MT-07 it beat out in that 2016 comparison, along with a Suzuki SV650. Just as light weight was the Supermono’s money maker, the 345-pound Duke absolutely fat-shamed the 397-lb Yamaha and the 430-lb SV. In fact, that 2016 model year was when KTM really perfected the bike’s 693 cc Single.

Our beloved Brasfield, a human E-string of vibration detection, came back from the bike’s launch singing its praises: The new 690 engine is otherworldly smooth. Yes, a high-frequency tingle moves into the pegs and the grips vibrate at super-high rpm, but in the real-world usable range where the engine spends most of its time, the result of the KTM engineers’ efforts is astoundingly obvious. Out on the road, the pulse felt from the engine feels more like that of a Twin than a Single. At highway cruising speeds of around 80 mph and higher, I downshifted from sixth to both fifth and fourth in search of the vibes that made the old Duke unsuitable for any extended highway use, without ever finding them.

Answer the Question! 

Nobody knows why Massimo Bordi chose the dummy connecting rod scheme instead of internal counterbalancers, which were already common in the 1980s. So we interrupted MV Agusta R&D Director Brian Gillen’s vacation. 

Who tells us: 

Sources of primary vibrations in multi-cylinder engines can be attributed to three major imbalances:

– translational forces due to the piston, wrist pin, rings and roughly 1/3 of the connecting rod mass.

– rotational forces due to the crankshaft counterweights, crankpin and roughly 2/3 of the connecting rod mass. 

-– rotational moment due to the off-set between the cylinder centers

The Supermono project originally had a dummy piston on the vertical cylinder (without a cylinder head) to mimic the primary balance of a v-twin.  But, the friction created by this second piston robbed a lot of power. They then came up with the idea of substituting the “translating” mass of the vertical piston with an additional connecting rod to eliminate the sliding friction of the second piston and rings. This allowed Bordi and his team to balance the first order primary vibrations at a relatively low cost and complexity. 

Following the technical presentation, Brian said what we all long suspected:

Bordi’s thoughts were to always be different, to stand out from the crowd.

Also, never underestimate the power of office politics. Massimo Bordi won the internal debate about producing the Supermono, and conceptualized a range of light, inexpensive motorcycles that might flow from it. Others in management were less convinced. From this article at couredesmo, we learn that Claudio Domenicali, who was general manager of product and head of Ducati Corse at the time (and CEO now, and whose first job at Ducati was project leader and track engineer on the Supermono), said: Single cylinders are missing something. They vibrate too much and don’t convey that adrenaline thrill when you open the gas.

Okay, then. L-twins it was for the next three decades. But I think the neighbors across the border in Austria have proven how good a Single can be. Really, extremely good. And light. What might have been…

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Send your moto-related questions to AskMOAnything@motorcycle.com. If we can’t answer them, we’ve taken the Hypocritic Oath and at least will attempt to do no harm in the time it takes to seek out a believable answer. And remember, we’re not real journalists, we’re motojournalists. These answers are for entertainment purposes only. Ask your doctor if you’re healthy enough to read MO.

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The post Ask MO Anything: Why didn’t the Ducati Supermono just use Normal Counterbalancers? appeared first on Motorcycle.com.

Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Queen Elizabeth II spent 70 years of her 96-year-long life reigning over the British Isles and the Commonwealth. During her extraordinary lifetime, Elizabeth II broke the record for the most currencies printed featuring one ruler. And despite the fact she carried very little (if any) cash in her signature Launer patent leather top handle bag, she ranked as the wealthiest Queen on the planet. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mind-boggling facts about one of the most fascinating figures of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The WWII Truck Mechanic

During World War II, Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth Windsor) became the first female royal family member to serve in the military. As inductee No. 230873, she volunteered as a truck mechanic with the Auxiliary Territorial Service. This role required passing a six-week training course and earning the rank of Junior Commander. Along the way, she learned how to read maps, repair engines, and pass a military driving test.

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The Sisters Partying in Disguise

On May 8, 1945, the streets of Great Britain flooded with people ready to celebrate the end of World War II in Europe. Among the revelers were future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Margaret, who gained permission from their parents to get festive with commoners. But there was one condition: They had to go incognito and remain unrecognized. In 1958, Elizabeth described the scene, “I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief… I think it was one of the most memorable nights of my life.” This incredible story inspired 2015’s A Royal Night Out.

Ration Coupons for a Royal Wedding Dress

In 2017, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Having married in 1947, two years after the end of World War II, they considerably toned down the pomp and circumstance associated with royal nuptials. Times remained austere, and Elizabeth used ration cards to purchase her wedding dress, receiving 200 extra from the government. Countless brides-to-be also mailed her their cards, but she sent these back to the original donors since it was illegal to transfer card ownership to another person.

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Traveler Without Driver’s License or Passport

The most well-traveled monarch to reign in Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth II visited more than 100 nations, some multiple times. For example, she traveled to France 13 times and spoke French fluently, thanks to her childhood governesses. She also visited Canada a whopping 22 times. Despite so many whirlwind adventures, she didn’t hold a passport or a driver’s license because, as sovereign of Britain, she was the only person in the nation who didn’t require these documents.

More Than 200 Official Portraits

Most of us have never posed for a painted portrait and never will. The closest we get is picture day in school. But the life of a monarch includes LOTS of image snapping. All told, Queen Elizabeth II sat for more than 200 official portraits — both photos and paintings — leaving many lasting impressions for her family and nation. The first portrait she ever sat for was in 1933 at seven. For context, that was six years before The Wizard of Oz came out in theaters!

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And Over 1,200,000 Cards Written

Serving as the sovereign leader of a nation comes with many weighty duties. But did you know card writing was among them? During her reign, Elizabeth II sent more than 300,000 birthday cards to Brits celebrating their 100th birthday. And she penned more than 900,000 messages to couples commemorating their 60th wedding anniversaries. While it’s a shame she didn’t make it to 100 herself, she and Philip did celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary and many more.

A Mountain of Corgis

The Queen loved her precious corgis, owning more than 30 of these short-legged shepherding canines throughout her lifetime. The love of these big-eared, foxy-looking little critters began when she was seven and encountered a friend with one. After begging her father for a similar pup, Elizabeth named the little guy Dookie. Then, in 1944, she received another corgi named Susan for her 18th birthday, sealing her lifelong devotion to the breed. Among her other iconic pets were Monty, Candy, and Lissy, and they received royal treatment, including chef-prepared meals and visits to pooch psychologists!

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The Royal Bagpipe Wake-Up Call

Thanks to Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II’s great-great-grandmother, royal wake-up calls have long included a surprising element: 15 minutes of playtime by royal bagpipers. The pipers performed outside the Queen’s window at 9 a.m. sharp every morning for decades, whether she resided at Windsor, Buckingham Palace, Holyroodhouse, or Balmoral. Apparently, a quarter-hour of boisterous drones does the trick, no snooze button permitted.

A Veritable Animal Menagerie

Although corgi dogs remain synonymous with Queen Elizabeth II, most people don’t realize she also owned TONS of wild animals. As Her Royal Highness, Elizabeth laid claim to all whales, dolphins, and mute swans in the United Kingdom’s territories. Although it’d be easy to assume her love of animals motivated the tradition, it stems back to a decree from 1324, which declared whales and dolphins “fishes royal.” As for mute swans, they’ve been prized as delicacies for feasts and banquets since the 12th century, entitling them to protection from the Crown. But these are just the beginning when it comes to the royal menagerie, which also includes a colony of bats!

Two Birthday Parties a Year

Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday was in April, but her official party happened annually on June 11. Why the yearly delay? Because of previous sovereigns whose birthdays occurred during the cold-weather months. No matter how devoted subjects have been to their monarchs over the centuries, the United Kingdom is notorious for harsh winters. So, 260 years ago, the British designated June 11 as the official monarch’s birthday. The event is marked each year by Trooping the Color, which includes 1,400 parading soldiers, 400 musicians, and 200 horses.

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Portrayals in 100 TV Shows and Movies

As the longest-reigning Queen in British history, people have remained intrigued by Elizabeth II since her birth on April 21, 1926. So, it’s little wonder that various actresses have played the iconic leader in at least 100 dramatic depictions on the silver screen and in television dramas. Among the most famous are those by Helen Mirren in The Queen (resulting in an Oscar win for Mirren) and Claire Foy for Netflix’s The Crown.

The Need for Countless Hats

Her Royal Highness drew a crowd wherever she went. People lined up for hours to catch a glimpse of Her Royal Highness on parade. So, she quickly developed the habit of wearing eye-catching hats wherever she went. Sophie, Countess of Wessex, explained, “She [needed] to stand out for people to say… they saw a bit of The Queen’s hat as she went past.” But this created another problem. Members of the Queen’s staff started betting on which colors she’d wear next based on the hats lying around. So, the royal dresser, Angela Kelly, started leaving random “decoy” hats at royal residences to ensure no one but she and the Queen knew which ensemble would debut next.

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A Lasting Legacy

At her 21st birthday, four years before she would be come queen, Elizabeth stated, “I declare before you that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service, and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” Of course, she could have never known just how long that service would be. After all, nine out of 10 people living on the planet today were born after she became queen!

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By Engrid Barnett, contributor for Ripleys.com

Source: Mind-Blowing Facts About Queen Elizabeth II

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