Nostalgic Ads

Hi Puzzlers,

Have you seen our new 2012 catalog? It is filled with all our latest and greatest puzzles including over SIXTY new titles! Yes, that little factoid impresses me too. We want to keep you puzzling and that is why we are committed to finding the best images out there. As I was thumbing through the catalog, as I often do, I noticed a trend beginning; several of our current and yet to be released puzzles were about nostalgic advertising.

Just look at the Candy Wrappers or Cheers puzzles, both are filled with our favorite brand labels. Some of which are so recognizable that if the text were removed you would still be able to identify the product. Here is a quick test: What is the chocolate covered peanut butter cups called? What beer prominently features a famous American patriot who was also a brewer? If you guessed Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Sam Adams you are correct. Next in our wonderful line is the Yankee Magazine puzzle and our vintage collage of WWII posters puzzle complete with our favorite riveter “Rosie.” I’m hooked! I love them all!

And that my fellow puzzler is just what the advertisers wanted me to do. Find their product, idea or service and buy it!

Advertising dates back to antiquity. Ancient Egyptians used papyrus to make wall posters and flyers, while the ancient Greeks and Romans posted papyruses of Lost and Found advertisements. “Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia.”

During the Middle Ages most of the general population could not read, thus signs would have images associated with the service or craft instead of being written. Take for instance a cobbler, his sign would be a boot; the tailor would have a suit; and the blacksmith a horse shoe. To assist people in locating the whereabouts of the fruit and vegetable carts, propitiators would use street callers, AKA town criers, to advertise their location in the city square. This still happens today at stadiums and ballparks around the globe. Hot dogs! Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs here!

By the 17th century the need for education and reading became more apparent and advancements in printing allowed advertisers to produce the first handbills. “However, false advertising and so-called "quack" advertisements became a problem, which ushered in the regulation of advertising content."

“In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse was the first to include paid advertising in its pages, allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and increase its profitability and the formula was soon copied by all titles."

The intentional side effect of all this advertising is the nostalgia associated with old ads and the products, ideas or service. Just one look at an ad that ran when I was a kid brings me back to my childhood and memories of that time. Ah, memories and puzzling, can it get any better?

Happy Puzzling!

Halloween Part II

Hi Puzzlers,

Today we will take a look at some of the most popular superstitions and traditions associated with Halloween. I was shocked and amazed to see how many there are. It turns out that many of our common everyday "superstitions" are directly related to our ancestors and what they believed happened on Halloween.

The “Trick or Treat” saying originated in Celtic times. During this time it was common belief that mischievous fairies would dress as beggars and go door-to-door asking for food. If one was kind and generous the fairies would bestow fine rewards, but if one was stingy and refused, then the fairies would subject them to all sorts of pranks and acts of trickery.

The much loved Jack - O’-Lantern began as part of the Samhain celebration. Families would bring home hot embers from the communal fires in hollowed out turnips. Too funny, Jack-O’ Lanterns began as Turnip- O’-Lanterns! Marc, who works in our warehouse, shared with me the Irish tale of “Stingy Jack”. He told me his Gram would tell him the tale every Halloween. How cool is that! Your Gram telling you old Irish tales and folklore every year, PRICELESS!

Stingy Jack, a cheapskate as the name implies, liked to play tricks on everyone, including the Devil. One day Jack tricks Satan into climbing up an apple tree and then cuts crosses around the trunk to trap him. Jack then forces the Devil to promise to never take his soul. Once Satan agrees Jack removes the crosses from the tree and frees him. When Jack finally dies he is refused entrance in to Heaven because he has led a miserable and worthless life on earth. With nowhere else to go Jack heads down to Hell, but, in keeping with their agreement the Devil also refuses him entrance. “As Jack left the gates of Hell the devil threw him a hot ember to light the way in the dark. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed-out turnip and wandered off into the world.”

Next, it is on to the mystery of the BLACK CAT!!! During the Middle Ages when witch hysteria struck Europe, dread of cats, especially black cats rose. It was common belief that a black cat was a WITCH! Witches were thought to have transformed themselves into cats so they could prowl the city streets undetected. So if on crosses your path you are in for some bad luck.

Puzzlers, I don’t know about you but I’m getting the salt shaker out and throwing a pinch of salt over my left shoulder. One can never be too safe!

Happy Puzzling!

Halloween

Hi Puzzlers,

It is getting closer to one of my favorite holidays, Halloween. My front porch and yard have been decorated with all the traditional autumn favorites, as well as with, cute versions of spooky creatures like witches, ghosts, spiders and a stuffed Dracula. He looks like the Count from Sesame Street, very cute and friendly. With all my electronic decorations I need my own small power plant to keep them running. This fun holiday has been celebrated for centuries and has a rich history.

It is believed that the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, enunciated “sow-in” is where Halloween originated. This three-day festival, which was held annually, began on October 31st. It marked the end of the harvest and ushered in the beginning of winter. It was commonly believed that during this magical time, ghost, fairies, demons and the spirits of the dead were free to mingle with the living and travel into the under world.

Druid Priests would meet on hilltops and light fires into which they offered sacrifices of animals and crops to appease the gods. In the morning the priest would take a hot ember to each family who would then start a new cooking fire. These embers/fires kept the home warm and evil spirits out.

Villagers also lit bonfires and sacrificed animals, fruits and vegetables, to honor the dead and to assist them with their travel to the underworld. The fires also served to keep the spirits away from the living. “Many people would parade in costumes made from the skins and heads of animals representing various gods of nature.”

Some speculate that All Saints Day, a Catholic holiday normally celebrated on May 13th, was moved by Pope Gregory III to November 1st in 835A.D, as an attempt to take over the pagan holiday. Traditional animal costumes used to chase spirits away were banished and villagers were encouraged to honor deceased saints by dressing up as them. So this is how costumes became a part of Halloween, one mystery solved!

In our next blog we will look at all the superstitions and traditions associated with Halloween.

Happy Puzzling!

Oktoberfest Cheers!

Hi Puzzlers,

It’s October! This month associated is with the world’s most famous beer bash, Oktoberfest! The beer festival is held annually in Munich, Bavaria and Germany. It runs from late September to the first weekend in October and is one of the most famous events in Germany. It is also the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending each year. Today Oktoberfest isn’t just for Germans; it is celebrated in different towns and cities across the globe.

Bavaria’s Crown Prince Ludwig held the first festival in Munich. The festival was actually a celebration of Ludwig’s marriage to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810. The prince wanted the citizen of Munich to attend the festivities and help celebrate his marriage. WOW! This guy would have surely gotten my vote. The celebration was held on the fields in front of the city gate. After the first celebration the fields were renamed Theresienwiese ("Theresa's meadow") in honor of the Crown Princess. Today the locals have further abbreviated the name to "Wies'n".

Prince Ludwig an avid historian, modeled the reception after the ancient Olympic Games. Sporting events of all kinds took place throughout the day and a horse race in the presence of the royal family marked the finale. The horse race soon became the most popular event and in 1811 the first Agricultural Show was added as a way to improve Bavarian agriculture. Sadly, horse racing ended in 1960.

The first carousel and swings were set up in 1818, and in 1881 the city council approved the sale of beer and and the first grilled chicken stand. These small beer stands allowed visitors to quench their thirst and quickly became very popular. With the backing of breweries, landlords set up the first beer tents and halls in 1896.

“Since 1850, the statue of Bavaria has watched the Oktoberfest. This worldly Bavarian patron was first sketched by Leo von Klenze in a classic style and Ludwig Michael Schwanthaler romanticised and "Germanised" the draft. The statue was constructed by Johann Baptist Stiglmaier and Ferdinand von Miller.”

So what does one wear to the world’s biggest party? Well anything goes, but if you want to attend with local flair, guys are going to need to sport a pair of Lederhosen leather shorts and the gals needs to wear the traditional Dirndl dress. Drindles ,when worn properly let others know the wearer’s availability. A bow on the right above the apron means she is taken if it is on the left she is available. Ahh! Courtship made easy! Love it!

Oktoberfest celebrated its 200th birthday in 2010! This event is certainly on my bucket list how about you?

Happy Puzzling!