The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American adult animated sitcom. It was created by cartoonist Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company.

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DEVELOPMENT

Matt Groening's original plan was to pitch an animated version of his bleak Life in Hell comic strip series, which he wrote from 1977 to 2012. It starred Binky the rabbit, who lives in Los Angeles and hates his life. It also features Mr Simpson, Binky's anthropomorphic dog boss.

However Groening decided against his initial plan at the last moment, and came up instead with a dysfunctional family sitcom while sitting outside producer James L Brooks’s office.

The Simpsons started life as short gags on The Tracy Ullman Show beginning on April 19, 1987. Groening submitted only basic sketches to the animators and assumed that the figures would be cleaned up in production. However, the animators merely re-traced his drawings, which led to the crude appearance of the characters in the initial shorts.

In 1989, a team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour prime time entertainment series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show made its debut on the Fox television network with the episode Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire on December 17, 1989.

THE SHOWS

Bart Gets an 'F', the first episode of season 2, is the most-watched episode in The Simpsons' history with around 33.6 million viewers.

Michael Jackson voiced a psychiatric patient in an episode in the third season. He was credited as John Jay Smith.

A 10-year-old boy's life was saved from choking after his friend performed the Heimlich maneuver that he learned from The Simpsons third season episode Homer at the Bat.

Lisa the Greek originally aired on January 23, 1992.  The episode aired only a few days before Super Bowl XXVI, and correctly predicted that the Washington Redskins would win the game.  When the episode was rebroadcast in '93 and '95 it was redubbed and again predicted the winners.

In 1993, Gunter and Ernst—a parody of Siegfried and Roy—were mauled by a tiger on The Simpsons. In 2003, Roy really was mauled.

Every then-living ex-President of the United States - Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan  - was offered a guest role in The Simpsons episode Krusty Gets Kancelled, which premiered on May 13, 1993. Only Ronald Reagan responded to the offer, politely declining.

The Simpsons episode Itchy and Scratchy Land, first aired on the Fox network on October 2, 1994. The episode was written in response to new, stringent censorship laws that were being put in place at the time. Fox had tried to prevent the inclusion of Itchy and Scratchy cartoons in the show, prompting the writers to make the episode as violent as possible.

Bart to the Future, the seventeenth episode of the eleventh season, originally aired in the United States on March 19, 2000. The show mentions billionaire Donald Trump having been President of the United States at one time, sixteen years before Trump actually successfully run for the position.

When You Dish Upon a Star, the fifth episode of The Simpsons' tenth season, originally aired in the United States on November 8, 1998. The show lampooned 20th Century Fox as a division of The Walt Disney Company. Nineteen years later, Disney indeed made a deal to purchase the studio from Rupert Murdoch.

MUSIC

The Simpsons theme music was composed by Danny Elfman, the former lead singer for rock group Oingo Boingo and husband of actress Bridget Fonda, in just three days. He also wrote the themes for shows like Desperate Housewives and the scores of a long list of movies.

The Simpsons released an album in 1990 and the lead single "Do the Bartman" was a worldwide hit. I
"Do The Bartman" was co-produced by Michael Jackson, who also provided background vocals and was a huge fan of the show. Following his death Fox played the video before an episode as a tribute to Michael.

THE CHARACTERS 

The Simpsons includes a large array of characters. According to Matt Groening, the show adopted the concept of a large supporting cast from the Canadian sketch comedy show Second City Television.

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Homer Simpson, voiced by Dan Castellaneta, is the only character with dialogue in every episode of The Simpsons.

Homer Simpson's hair and ear, when seen from the side, spell out the initials of Matt Groening.

The original idea behind Marge Simpson's blue beehive hairstyle was to conceal large bunny ears for a reveal that she was secretly a rabbit from Matt Groening's comic strip "Life in Hell." The gag was intended to be revealed in the final episode of the series, but they weren't expecting the show to last for so long.

Wikipedia

Lisa’s first word was “Bart” and Maggie’s was “Daddy”, and Bart said “Ay caramba!”

Matt Groening named his show The Simpsons because he thought it was funny to have the word simp (short for simpleton) in their name.

Bart Simpson's name is an anagram of BRAT. His full name is Bartholomew Jojo Simpson.

Krusty the Clown was originally supposed to be Homer Simpson's secret identity, which is why he looks like Homer with clown make-up.

Ralph Wiggum was not canonically made to be Springfield Police chief Clarence's son until season 4. The two characters were developed independently and only later the writers decided to make them father and son.

Clarence and Ralph Wiggum got their surname from the maiden name of the mother of Matt Groening.

Homer Simpson shares a first name with Groening's father, who was born in Saskatchewan, and Marge's first name comes from Groening's mother Margaret. His real-life sisters are named Lisa and Maggie.

Although many Simpsons characters are named after Matt Groening's family members, he refused to name the Simpsons' Grandpa after his own grandfather, Abraham, leaving it to other writers to choose a name. Coincidentally, they chose Abraham, unaware that it was the name of Matt's grandfather.

Milhouse's name originates from Richard Nixon's middle name, Milhous, which according to Groening was the most unfortunate name he could think of for a kid. Later in the series, it was also revealed that Milhouse's middle name was Mussolini.

Ned Flanders' last name comes from Flanders Street. in Portland, Oregon, the hometown of Matt Groening.

Wikipedia

Maggie Roswell, the voice of Maude Flanders, requested a $4,000 raise to cover increasing commute costs from her home in Denver to Los Angeles, but Fox only offered $150 instead. This dispute is what led to Maude being killed off in the 1999 episode titled, "Alone again, Natura-Diddily". Roswell returned to The Simpsons in 2002 after reaching a deal with producers to allow her to record her lines from her home. Since returning, she has voiced Maude in flashbacks and as a ghost.

Roberto Gómez Bolaños, the inspiration for The Simpsons' Bumblebee Man, is so popular that reruns of his show ' El Chavo del Ocho' from the 1970s-80s still get an average of 91 million daily viewers around the globe.

FUN SIMPSONS FACTS 

The Simpsons is the longest-running scripted prime time TV series in U.S. history, the longest-running US sitcom and the longest-running US animated program.

In 1990, First Lady Barbara Bush criticized The Simpsons as “the dumbest thing I've ever seen." Marge wrote a letter to her, in character, politely telling her not to be so judgmental and explaining that her family tried their best. Mrs Bush later apologized for her “loose tongue”.

There is a specific clause in The Simpsons' contract that the network can't give notes, make cuts or exert creative control over episodes, meaning the producers have free rein to poke fun of Fox itself.

The Simpsons live in Springfield but which Springfield is a mystery. There are 34 places named Springfield in 25 states in the United States, but the writers of The Simpsons have never revealed what state Springfield is in.

A panoramic view of Springfield (as seen in The Simpsons Movie)

When The Simpsons is broadcast in Arabic, because of Islamic customs, Homer drinks soda instead of beer.

The Simpsons Movie was banned in Myanmar because the colors red and yellow are banned in films there.

 The actor James Finlayson's catchphrase "dohhhhhhh!" inspired Homer Simpson's frustrated cry of ‘D’oh!’ Dan Castellaneta was to utter an "annoyed grunt" while recording for the Tracey Ullman Show, so he said "dohhhhhhh". Matt Groening felt that faster would be better and Castellaneta shortened it to "D'oh!"

In French episodes of The Simpsons, Homer’s catchphrase of ‘D’oh!’ is dubbed as ‘T’oh!’

Homer Simpson’s catchphrase “D’oh” was added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2001, without the apostrophe.

On The Simpsons, the actual Simpson family has said 47% of the show’s dialogue.

The Simpsons are yellow because Matt Groening thought it would be a perfect way to catch the attention of people flicking through their channels looking for something to watch.

The Simpsons' couch gag is frequently used by the show's writers to make the show longer or shorter, depending on the length of the episode itself.

The Simpsons is the only animated TV series to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

When Bart prank calls Moe's Tavern on The Simpsons, he dials the number 764-84377, which spells out "SMI-THERS."

Gwen Stefani's brother Eric was originally the keyboardist for No Doubt but left to become an animator for The Simpsons.

Alf Clausen served as the only composer for The Simpsons, from 1990 until 2017. As the composer, Clausen was responsible for creating the music for each episode of the show. He would write the music throughout the week and then record it with his 35-piece orchestra on Fridays.

On one occasion, Clausen faced an especially demanding workload. He was tasked with writing 57 musical cues in just one week. Despite the challenging nature of this assignment, Clausen was able to rise to the occasion and complete the task at hand.

Here is a list of songs used on The Simpsons.

Source Daily Express, Global News

O. J. Simpson

EARLY LIFE 

Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson was born July 9, 1947 in San Francisco, California.

Simpson in 1990

OJ Simpson's father was a well known drag queen, who died of aids in 1986.

FOOTBALL CAREER 

O. J. Simpson originally attained stardom as a running back at the collegiate and professional levels.

He played professionally in the NFL for 11 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills from 1969 to 1977, but also for the San Francisco 49ers from 1978 to 1979.

In 1973 O. J. Simpson became the first player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.

In 1975, People magazine described Simpson as "the first black athlete to become a bona fide lovable media superstar".

Simpson holds the record for the single season yards-per-game average, which stands at 143.1.

Simpson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

Simpson acquired the nickname "Juice" as a play on "O.J.", a common abbreviation for "orange juice".

ACTING CAREER 

After retiring from football, Simpson began new careers in acting and football broadcasting.

Simpson in 1990 visiting American troops during lead-up to the first Gulf War

Simpson played T.D. Parker in the television series 1st & Ten: The Championship from 1986 to 1991.

O.J. Simpson was at one stage going to be the Terminator, but was cut because the director couldn't imagine him as a ruthless killer.

In 1995 he won the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his role in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.

MARRIAGE  

Simpson met Nicole Brown in 1977, while she was working as a waitress at the nightclub, The Daisy. Although still married to his first wife, Marguerite, Simpson began dating Brown. Simpson and Marguerite divorced in March 1979.

Simpson and Brown were married on February 2, 1985 and they had two children, Sydney and Justin.

Simpson, Nicole and Austen Feb 1986 at Honolulu Hawaii. Photo by Alan Light,

Simpson pleaded no contest to spousal abuse in 1989 and Brown filed for divorce on February 25, 1992, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason. The pair attempted to reconcile the following year.

LEGAL HISTORY

In 1993 on Seinfeld, Elaine wanted her boyfriend to change his name from a serial killer’s (Joel Rifkin) to something normal. Reading a football almanac, she suggests O.J.

Nicole Brown Simpson and her waiter friend Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death on June 12, 1994 outside Nicole's condominium in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles.

Simpson was a person of interest in their murders and on June 17 he became the object of a low-speed pursuit in a white Ford Bronco SUV; TV stations interrupted coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals to broadcast the incident live.

Domino's sold as many pizzas during OJ Simpson's car chase as it did on Superbowl Sunday that year.

He was tried for the murder of his wife and Ronald Goldman in 1994. The criminal court in Los Angeles, California found that Simpson was not guilty of those murders the following year.

When the prosecution had Simpson try on the leather glove whose wearer had committed the murder,  he struggled to pull the evidence comfortably over his hand. That led defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran to utter the iconic line, "If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit" — a turning point for the defense in the lengthy trial.

It is now believed that the reason OJ Simpson's gloves did not fit during his trial was because he stopped taking his arthritis medication two weeks before hand causing his hands to swell.

During OJ Simpson's verdict announcement trading on the New York Stock Exchange dropped 41% and that so much work stopped across the world to watch, an estimated $480 million was lost in productivity.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin's first words to President Bill Clinton upon meeting in 1995 were, "Do you think O.J. did it?"

In 1997, Simpson was found liable for their wrongful deaths in a civil trial brought by the two victims' families, but to date he has paid little of the $33.5 million judgment.

A man bought and melted down O.J. Simpson's Player of the Year trophy to make pins for people who donated to battered women's shelters.

Simpson gained further notoriety in late 2006 when he wrote a book titled If I Did It. The book, in which Simpson allegedly puts forth a "hypothetical" description of murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, was withdrawn by the publisher just before its release.

The book was later released by the Goldman family and renamed If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer, with the word "If" greatly reduced in size to make the title appear to read I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.

In September 2007, Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas and charged with the felonies of armed robbery and kidnapping. 

The Jury on the OJ Simpson trial were sequestered for 265 days. Additionally, it involved involved extreme isolation and constant supervision.

He was convicted on all counts and sentenced to 33 years imprisonment, with a minimum of nine years without parole.

Simpson served his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada before being released from prison on October 1, 2017.

Simpson paid less than 1% of the $33.5 million civil judgment against him for the wrongful death of Ron Goldman.

Simpson died of prostate cancer on April 10, 2024, aged 76.

Silver

Silver is an extremely malleable and ductile metal. In chemistry, silver is element 47, a transition metal. It has an atomic weight of 107.86 a.m.u. Its symbol is Ag, from the Latin word for silver, argentum.

A pure (>99.95%) silver crystal, synthetic electrolytic. By Alchemist-hp 

HISTORY 

Silver was one of the seven metals of antiquity that were known to prehistoric humans.

In early Egyptian history, silver was more valued than gold because silver was less often found in nugget form.

Silver has been used for many thousands of years by people all over the world, for jewellery, as money. Notable silver coins through the centuries include the Greek drachma, the Roman denarius, the Islamic dirham and the Spanish dollar.

In 1191 King Richard I of England used chains made of silver to imprison the ruler of Cyprus because he had promised not to place him in irons.

Judas was paid thirty pieces of silver for his betrayal of Jesus.

16th C fresco painting of Judas being paid thirty pieces of silver. By Berrucomons 

Modern tinsel was invented in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1610, and was originally made of shredded silver.

One example of the luxury of Versailles during Louis XIV's reign was that even the chamber pots were made of silver. In 1689 these chamber pots were melted down to finance the French king's war against Britain and other European nations.

With the discovery of America and the plundering of silver by the Spanish conquistadors, Central and South America became the dominant producers of silver.  Peru, Bolivia and Mexico have been mining silver since 1546, and are still major world producers.

The richest source of silver in the history of mankind was the Cerro Rico de Potosí in the Andes. Between the 16th and 18th century, 80% of the world's silver supply came out of this mine.

The term "taco" originally had nothing to do with a food dish. It was a slang term for explosives workers used in the Mexican silver mines. The explosives were pieces of paper wrapped around gun powder and placed in the crevices of the rocks.

In the 19th century, primary production of silver moved to North America, particularly Canada, Mexico, and Nevada in the United States.

The first successful silver mill in North America began operations in 1860. The mill was in Virginia City, Nevada, which sprang up as a boomtown with the 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode, the first major silver deposit discovery in the United States.

View of Virginia City, Nevada, from a nearby hillside, 1867–68

The largest silver urn in existence is actually one of a pair used in 1902 by the Maharaja of Jaipur, India to transport Indian water for his personal use during a voyage to England to attend the coronation of King Edward VII. The National Geographic magazine stated the urns each contained over 10,000 ounces of pure silver.

PRODUCTION
The metal is found in the Earth's crust in the pure, free elemental form ("native silver"), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite.

Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.

The abundance of silver in the Earth's crust is 0.08 parts per million, almost exactly the same as that of mercury.

Silver rocks are found mostly in Canada, Mexico, Peru, and the United States, but the chief ores are sulphides, from which the metal is extracted by smelting with lead.

Silver as a metal. By Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com 

The world's greatest producer of silver is Mexico. It produces 5,600 tonnes per annum.

Although Argentina's name means "Land of Silver," there is actually very little of it in the country. It was misnamed by explorers who thought they saw silver there.

USES

Silver is one of the best metallic conductors of both heat and electricity, and it's most important compounds are the chloride and bromide which darkens on exposure to light, the basis of photographic emulsions.

Silver is used for tableware, jewellery, coinage, electrical contacts and electroplating, and as a solder it makes good metallic joints at 720 degrees centigrade.

Silver necklace Pixiebay

FUN SILVER FACTS

Silver is one of the few words in the English language that does not rhyme with any other word.

Source Hutchinson Encyclopedia

Silk

Silk is a very fine fiber obtained from the cocoons of silkworms. The fabrics are renowned for their luster, drape, and handle.

Bed covered with silver By Wikipedia Loves Art participant "Opal_Art_Seekers_4"

HISTORY

The origin of silk production and weaving is ancient and clouded in legend. The industry undoubtedly began in China, where, according to native record, it existed from sometime before the middle of the 3rd millennium.

According to legend, Silk's textile origins date back to 2640 BC in ancient China. Hsi Ling Shi, the wife of the Yellow Emperor, Xi Ling-Shi, went for a walk among damaged mulberry trees and noticed glistening threads attached to worms eating the plant's leaves.

There are differing accounts about how long it took before Xi Ling-Shi and his wife realized the silkworms cocoons could be harvested into silk, but one version recounts the Empress dropping a cocoon into her tea and watching it unravel into silken threads.

According to tradition, Hsi Ling Shi invented the loom and applied it to the production of highly prized silk fabrics. She is a popular object of worship in modern China, with the title of 'Silkworm Mother' (Can Nainai).

Loom Pixiebay

The earliest known silk from bombyx mori was found in a bamboo basket unearthed by archaeologists in China. Other pieces in the same basket were from wild silkworms. The fragments date from between 2850 and 2650 BC.

The dyeing of silk using natural dyestuffs was practiced by the Chinese as far back as 2600 BC. A Chinese text from that date lists natural dye recipes for silks..

Picture below shows Woven silk textile from tomb no 1. at Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan province, China, from the Western Han Dynasty, 2nd century BC.

By drs2biz - DSC02641, Wikipedia

The rearing of silkworms (sericulture) originated in China before 1100 BC. It was the Shang people of the Far East who learned to cultivate the silkworm. They wove its fragile filaments into very delicate fabrics. The silks were cut and sewn into flowing garments with long, loose sleeves.

The Emperors of China strove to keep knowledge of sericulture secret to maintain the Chinese monopoly. Because poor people could not afford real silk, they tried to make other cloth look silky. Women would beat on cotton with sticks to soften the fibers. Then they rubbed it against a big stone to make it shiny. The shiny cotton was called "chintz." Because chintz was a cheaper copy of silk, calling something "chintzy" means it is cheap and not of good quality.

After Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, trade with the Far East by way of Susa developed and figured silks from China found their way into the homes of wealthy Greeks. The silk trade became so extensive that the major set of trade routes between Europe and Asia came to be known as the Silk Road.

Sericulture reached Korea with technological aid from China around 200 BC and India by AD 140.

The Japanese discovered the secret of how to make silk from silkworm cocoons in about AD 300 that a secret mission from Japan succeeded in penetrating China. The members of the mission obtained silkworms and brought four Chinese girls back to Japan to teach the Japanese the art of sericulture and the uses of silk.

Silkworm Pixiebay

In AD 552 two Persian monks sent to China by the emperor Justinian I succeeded in bringing back to Constantinople a small supply of silkworm eggs concealed in hollow canes. Constantinople became the center of the silk trade and retained that position until the 11th century.

The Ancient Mongol warriors were said to have worn silk vests, as an arrow hitting it does not break the silk but ends up embedding the arrow in the flesh wrapped in silk, allowing the arrow to be removed by gently teasing the silk open.

Italy was the most important producer of silk during the Medieval age. The first center to introduce silk production to Italy was the city of Catanzaro during the 11th century in the region of Calabria. The industry gathered momentum in the 12th and 13th centuries after Roger II of Sicily attacked Greek cities in 1146 and brought captive silk weavers back to Palermo.

King Louis XI brought silkworms, looms for silk weaving, and expert weavers from Italy to France during his reign from 1461 to 1483. The French monarch ordered mulberry trees, for the propagation of silk worms, to be planted round Paris, Tours and Orléans.

Silk was introduced to the New World in 1519 when Hernando Cortés brought silkworm eggs and mulberry trees to Mexico from Spain.

Thousands of French weavers left France in 1685, when Louis XIV outlawed Protestantism by revoking the Edict of Nantes. They fled to England, Switzerland, and Germany and helped to develop silk manufacturing in those countries.

By the mid-1860s, the silk industry in France was being ruined by disease attacking the silk worms. The chemist Louis Pasteur was asked to help and he worked on this problem for six years. His solution on locating a tiny parasite that was infesting silkworms and the mulberry leaves that were fed to them was drastic: Destroy all infected worms and infected food. This was done and the silk industry was saved.

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

Silk that is made by the silk worm is made up of two main proteins, sericin and fibroin. Fibroin is the structural center of the silk and serecin is the sticky material surrounding it. Fibroin is made up of the amino acids Gly-Ser-Gly-Ala-Gly-Ala and forms beta pleated sheets. Hydrogen bonds form between chains, and side chains form above and below the plane of the hydrogen bond network.

Raw silk of domesticated silk worms, showing its natural shine. By Armin Kübelbeck

The high proportion (50%) of glycine (which is a small amino acid) allows tight packing. Tight packing makes the fibers strong and resistant to breaking. The tensile strength is due to the many interseeded hydrogen bonds. When silk is stretched, the force is applied to these many bonds, and they do not break.

The shimmering appearance of silk is due to the triangular prism-like structure of the silk fibre, which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles, thus producing different colors.

FUN SILK FACTS

Silk is produced by several insects, like silk worms but generally only the silk of moth caterpillars has been used for textile manufacturing.

In the first month of its life, a silkworm puts on 10,000 times its birth weight.

Silk is mainly produced by the larvae of insects undergoing complete metamorphosis, but some insects such as webspinners and raspy crickets produce silk throughout their lives.

An inch-thick rope of spider's silk can withstand up to 140,000 pounds of pressure.

The "silk" of a spider is stronger than steel threads of the same diameter.

During World War II, the silk of black widows was used to make crosshairs in guns used by the U.S. Army, due to its durability and strength.

An average spider will spin more than four miles of silk in a lifetime.

A strand of spider silk long enough to encircle the whole Earth would weigh just over a pound.

Pixiebay

Sea silk is a highly prized unique material made from the highly endangered Noble Pen Shell clam. The only person who knows the ancient craft is an elderly Italian woman, Chiara Vigo..

Sources Compton's Encyclopaedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, History World

Silent Night

Disaster hit the church at St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Austria when the church organ broke down just before the Christmas of 1818. The priest, 26-year-old Father Josef Mohr, realized it couldn't be repaired in time to provide music on Christmas Eve. He recounted his troubles to his friend, a headmaster and amateur composer named Franz Gruber, while giving him as a present a poem he had written two years earlier. Gruber was so taken by the rhythm of the poem that he came up with an instrumental accompaniment,

On Christmas Eve 1818 there was music after all at St. Nicholas. Mohr played his guitar while the pair sung the song. It was the first public performance of "Stille Nacht" or "Silent Night".

Silent Night Chapel in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. Photograph by Gakuro

When the organ builder, Carl Mauracher, finally did show up to repair the St. Nicholas organ, he was given a copy of the "Silent Night" composition and brought it home. From there, traveling folk singers got a hold of the tune and began incorporating the carol into their repertoire. The first edition was published by Friese (de) in 1833 in a collection of Four Genuine Tyrolean Songs.

"Silent Night" didn’t find universal fame until the 1850s when it became a favorite of the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm  IV.

As the song gained popularity throughout Europe, Franz Gruber composed several different orchestral arrangements. He donated all profits from the carol to local charities for children and the elderly, and eventually died penniless in 1863.

Autograph (c. 1860) of the carol by Franz Gruber

An Episcopal priest John Freeman Young, then serving at Trinity Church, New York City, wrote and published in 1859 the English translation that is most frequently sung today, translated from three of Mohr's original six verses.

Bing Crosby’s version is the third best-selling single of all time.

On Spotify there are over 26,000 different versions of "Silent Night," meaning you could listen to a different rendition of the carol every night for 72 years.

A version titled "A Very Silent Night" was released as a Christmas single by the New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in 2007. It was recorded at frequencies too high for humans to hear, but the song is audible to most dogs. It proved very popular in New Zealand, where it topped the singles chart, raising about $20,000 for the SPCA.

Music licensing company PPL announced in December 2010 that this carol tops the list of Britain's "most recorded Christmas song of all time." Said Mike Dalby, Lead Reporting Analyst at PPL: "Silent Night is a beautiful carol which encapsulates the feeling of Christmas entirely. Everyone from punk band The Dickies right through to Sinead O'Connor has recorded it, which exemplifies just how much it resonates with all different types of artists."

Source Much of this material was originally written for Songfacts

Sikhism

HISTORY

In Punjab, north India, a 30-year-old poet and mystic Guru Nanak (April 15, 1469 – September 22, 1539) experienced two days of mystical ecstasy. He was inspired to start a movement, which sought to combine Hindu and Muslim elements in a single religious creed. He called his followers Sikhs- the Punjabi for disciples.

Guru Nanak died in the Punjab in 1539. Nanak was followed as Guru (teacher) by a succession of leaders who converted the Sikhs into a military confraternity which established itself as a political party.

Guru Nanak with Bhai Bala, Bhai Mardana and Sikh Gurus

Amritsar, site of the Golden Temple and center of Sikhism, was founded by Ram Das Sodhi in 1577. The Golden Temple in Amritsar is the most visited temple in all of the Sikh faith. It is covered in gold.

Sikhism took on a distinct identity in 1699, celebrated by Vaisakhi. This is when Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, founded the Sikh warrior community called Khalsa.

Guru Gobind Singh (December 22, 1666 – October 7, 1708), was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs at age nine, As well as founding the Khalsa, his other notable contributions to Sikhism also include introducing the Five Ks, the five articles of faith that Khalsa Sikhs wear at all times. Guru Gobind Singh also continued the formalization of the religion, wrote important Sikh texts and enshrined the scripture the Guru Granth Sahib as Sikhism's eternal Guru.

Portrait of Guru Gobind Singh, holding a falcon and escorted by Sikhs

Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhs, was first installed at the Golden Temple on September 1, 1604. Granth is a Hindi word, which means "book" and it contains the writings of each of the ten gurus. The Guru Granth Sahib is worshiped as the Supreme Authority of Sikhism and is considered the eleventh and final guru of Sikhism.

Illuminated Guru Granth Sahib folio

BELIEFS

The Sikh faith is the world's ninth largest religion, with more than 30 million followers. Its main tenant is adherence in the teachings of the religion's founders, the 10 gurus, from 1469 to 1708.

Sikhs make up 0.39 percent of the world population, approximately 83 percent of whom live in India.

Sikh pilgrims inside the Golden Temple By Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy

About 76 percent of all Sikhs live in the north Indian State of Punjab, where they form a majority (about two-thirds) of the population.

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion, that believes in one God. They believe everything is a part of God and God is a part of everything. The goal of life is to focus on being at one with God, which is attainable by meditation, prayer, good deeds and noble action. The thing that is keeping people from reaching union is bad karma, which is caused by pride, anger, greed, emotional attachment and ego. Once an individual discovers the god within and stops searching elsewhere then he can reach salvation.

Vaisakhi is an important festival celebrated by Sikhs, celebrating the founding of Khalsa in 1699. Vaisakhi, also known as Basaki, is the harvest festival in the Punjab region. It is celebrated on the first day of the Basak month, in the Sikh calendar.

Each male Sikh is distinguished by the "Five Articles of Faith", 5 Ks, things Sikhs wear at all times: These include a kesh - uncut hair and beards (necessitating the wearing of turbans). The Sikh never cuts or trims any hair as a symbol of respect for the perfection of God's creation.

A Sikh is expected to carry a Kanga, a small comb that is to be used twice daily to keep the hair in clean and healthy condition. Combing their hair reminds Sikhs that their lives should be tidy and organized.

Kanga, Kara and Kirpan: three of the five Sikh articles of faith by Harisingh 

A Sikh is required to wear a Kachera, a pair of breeches that do not go below the knee. It is a reminder to stay away from lust and attachment.

Another part of the "Five Articles of Faith" is the requirement to carry, the Kirpan, a curved dagger at all times. The short, often dagger-sized sword is to remind the Sikh that he is to defend against repression of the weak.

A Sikh is expected to wear a Kara, a steel slave bangle on the dominant arm to remind him to always remember the Guru before undertaking any action.

Sign language

HISTORY

Sign languages have always existed in deaf communities. In ancient texts we see authors commenting about deaf people and sign language.

One of the earliest written records of a sign language is from the fifth century BC, in Plato's Cratylus, where Socrates says: "If we hadn't a voice or a tongue, and wanted to express things to one another, wouldn't we try to make signs by moving our hands, head, and the rest of our body, just as dumb people do at present?"

Many medieval monks were forbidden to speak at meals. So an elaborate sign language evolved. Monks that were forbidden to communicate with their hands talked with their feet instead.

Native Americans created a universal sign language that allowed two thirds of all Indigenous tribes to communicate across most of North America, hundreds of years before Europeans invented a sign language of their own.

In the western world, the first studies dedicated to sign languages date from the 17th century. In 1620, the Spanish priest Juan Pablo Bonet published Reducción de las letras y arte para enseñar a hablar a los mudos (‘Reduction of letters and art for teaching mute people to speak’) in Madrid, a text about teaching deaf people to speak, using gestures as a tool.

An engraving in Juan Pablo Bonet's book 

The language of signs created by Bonet was used by Abbé Charles-Michel de l-Épée (November 24, 1712 - December 23, 1789), to create a finger-spelling alphabet in the 18th century. This alphabet has changed very little since then, and is still used today in France and North America.

Even before l-Épée developed his alphabet, a 200-strong deaf community in 18th-century Paris were already used Old French Sign Language, and could read and write in French. This was a great advance, because it proved that deaf people could be educated and didn’t needed speech to think and learn.

It is said that the Abbé de l'Épée stumbled across two sisters communicating in signs and, through them, became aware of the Parisian signing community. Épée saw their signing as beautiful but primitive, and he set about developing his own unique sign system ("langage de signes méthodiques"), which borrowed signs from Old French Sign Language and combined them with an idiosyncratic morphemic structure which he derived from the French language.

Epée founded the world's first free school for the deaf, in Paris in the early 1760s. The students there were taught Épée's French sign language and alphabet. As deaf schools inspired by Épée's model sprung up around the world, the language was to influence the development of many other sign languages, including American Sign Language.

Charles-Michel de L'Épée (1712-1789).

Helen Keller (1880-1968) lost her sight and hearing at 19 months, probably from scarlet fever or meningitis. As a child, she developed her own sign language to communicate with her parents. She went onto become a world renowned political activist and crusader for the handicapped.

International Sign (IS), an international pidgin sign system was first used, at the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) congress in Bulgaria in 1976. Today, it is the sign language used at international meetings such as the WFD congress, events such as the Deaflympics and in video clips produced by deaf people and watched by other deaf people from around the world,

FUN SIGN LANGUAGE FACTS

The sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s funeral was accused of being a ‘fake’, as he made meaningless hand gestures that did not reflect established signs.

In 2003 British Sign Language was recognized as an official British language.

Two men and a woman signing. By David Fulmer from Pittsburgh

Papua New Guinea's government has officially endorsed sign language as the country's fourth official language, alongside English, Tok Pisin and Motu.

Deaf people who speak the US sign language ASL are unable to understand those who speak BANZSL, the sign language used in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. There is only a 31% overlap between the two languages, meaning that even though their respective countries speak English, their deaf communities are unable to communicate.

Until 1979, deaf kids in Nicaragua were stigmatized and barred from normal school. With deaf schools opening, teens developed a unique language, after rejecting the sign language the teachers attempted to teach. Within six years younger students joining were fluent and versed in the new sign language, stunning linguists. It is now the official sign language of Nicaragua.

The Nicaraguan Sign Language is the only language created to have been recorded from its birth.

Just as some people talk in their sleep, sign language speakers have been known to sign in their sleep.

Babies can learn sign language well before they learn to speak and this can help them will full language later on.

Apes can learn sign language and communicate using it.