USE YOUR NOODLE
Happy National App Day! Every proverbial indoor cat's favorite place to distract themselves, Apple's App Store was first unveiled in 2007 alongside the first generation iPhone, the idea of the App Store dates all the way back to 1983 when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs first conceived of a database where software could be purchased over calls. Wild!
Today is also a big day for all the Spaghetti-O fans out there — happy National Noodle Ring Day! If you've noticed a decline in the popularity of noodle rings in recent decades, you're not wrong — appreciation of noodle rings has taken a back seat thanks to the ubiquity of mac & cheese. But today is when you can make a stand for the appeal of the humble noodle ring! If only there were a way to get them delivered to your door...
Phew! Glad the Doctor is on the case.
GIF via Doctor Who / BBC
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PROCRASTINATORS TAKE NOTE: Friday 12/15 is the last day we can ship orders via USPS* and reasonably guarantee** delivery of orders ahead of 12/25 using First Class service. Monday 12/18 is the cutoff for shipping Priority service packages that will likely arrive in time.
While we can still ship after next Monday and those packages may arrive in time, your best bet if you want to order tees or hoodies or towels or messenger bags for gifts is to place those orders RIGHT NOW so we have time to print & ship them later this week.
We have more leeway with our books and Delve Decks that are ordered through next weekend, but please manage your expectations and/or build yourself a flux capacitor and go back in time to place your orders earlier.
* Please don't reply to this berating us for using USPS instead of FedEx or UPS. They have similar deadlines for more expensive services.
** Pre-Christmas delivery is not on the list of ACTUAL guarantees that includes Death and Taxes. Gifts don't burst into a pile of dust if they are delivered on 12/26 or 12/29 or any other date. If a later-than-expected delivery "ruins" someone's holiday, they didn't deserve a gift in the first place and Yule Cat would like a word with them.
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Alright! Let's kick off the week with a few famous December 11th birthdays and historical facts:
• In 1816 Indiana became the 19th U.S. state. Happy birthday, Hoosier State!
• In 1901 Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first transatlantic radio signal, from Cornwall, England to Newfoundland, Canada
• In 1972 Apollo 17 became the sixth and final Apollo mission to land on the Moon
• Birthday noodle rings all around for: Lawyer, politician, and Founding Person George Mason of Bill of Rights fame (1725), French composer & conductor Hector Berlioz (1803), Canadian brewer & businessman John Labatt of Labatt Brewing Company fame (1838), astronomer Annie Jump Cannon (1863), farmer Walter Knott of Knott's Berry Farm fame (1889), cartoonist Marge of Little Lulu fame (1904), blues singer-songwriter Big Mama Thornton (1926), illustrator John Buscema of Marvel Comics fame (1927), multifaceted Puerto Rican entertainer Rita Moreno (1931), jazz pianist McCoy Tyner (1938), actress & comedian Teri Garr of Young Frankenstein, Tootsie, Mr. Mom, and Friends fame (1944), singer-songwriter Brenda Lee of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" fame (1944), singer-songwriter and bassist Jermaine Jackson of The Jackson 5 (1954), singer-songwriter and bassist Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe (1958), actress & comedian Mo'Nique (1967), rapper & actor Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def (1973), actor & comedian Roy Wood, Jr. (1978), and actor Rider Strong of Boy Meets World fame (1979)
• Pour one out for: Singer-songwriter and soul music legend Sam Cooke (d. 1964), model and pinup icon Bettie Page (d. 2008), and author & vampire enthusiast Anne Rice (d. 2021)
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OK, scroll on down to learn a bit about fellow Boredwalk fan Karen! If you're feeling even moderately outgoing and would like to be featured in an upcoming Monday email (and are a customer with some Boredwalk tees, tanks, hoodies, towels, bags, books, or Delve Decks to show off), just reply to this and let us know and we'll send you some fun questions!
We'll be back here in your inbox on Wednesday with some more random holidays to observe, historical tidbits to acknowledge, and fun links to entertaining content! Until next time...
Peace, love, and ordering snacks without leaving the house,
Matt
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Karen looking more than OK in her Living My Okayest Life tee!
• What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
I am the President and CEO of a national trade association focused on energy policy. I've come to realize my dream job is to be retired. No matter what job I've chased and gotten, I've hated it within a year or two. I think I just hate working.
(Editor's note: As a co-founder myself this is both reasonable and relatable!)
• What's your biggest pet peeve?
A lack of self-awareness. People who go through life without any consideration as to how their actions (or lack thereof) affect other people.
• What keeps you up at night?
Mostly my job but also how the world, as we knew it, is ending before our very eyes.
• What's a book you think the Boredwalk community should read?
I really loved Untamed by Glennon Doyle. After a lifetime of trying to be "a good girl," it was refreshing to be encouraged to be my authentic self.
• If you could have any super power what would it be and why?
To be invisible. Having the ability to observe without being seen and causing havoc with no accountability!
• You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?
Clumsiness. No matter what you do, you will always spill something or fall down in front of people.
• If you could make a mundane wish (meaning, a wish for something seemingly inconsequential that you still believe would benefit you immensely), what would it be for?
To not be afraid. Not necessarily to be courageous, but just to stop being afraid of everything so it doesn't hold me back from taking bold action.
• What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
Seeing the Northern Lights and the Milky Way without light pollution.
• What is something you wish you could go back in time and say to your younger self?
Let your freak flag fly. Everyone else is just as insecure as you are. The misfits are ALWAYS more interesting.
• Clear up a misconception (about your job, where you are from, some other topic you know a lot about).
I live in Washington, D.C. Washington (the political hellhole) is not the same as the District of Columbia (a wonderfully vibrant city with awesome people). Looking at you, red states!
• Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
Personal Twitter: @only1iknowkm
Professional Twitter: @KarenOnaran
Instagram: @karenonaran
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