Swashbuckling, Stoners, and Shakespeare
- Humpday
- Mar 6, 2019
- 6 min read
Happy HumpDay!!
Is It Spring Yet?
Happy HumpDay! This week is the first full week of March and we at HumpDay are already looking forward to spring. It may not be green outside but, in just a couple weeks everyone will be wearing green for St. Patricks day. Hope everyone has started this month off on a good note. If you need a little pick me up, check out this weeks HumpDay newsletter. If you missed a week, check out the new website here and read every issue of the HumpDay Newsletter.
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We can't emphasize enough how easy it is to listen to an interesting story while commuting to work, cooking dinner or getting ready for bed. Try audible for free using the HumpDay link here and enjoy two free stories on us!
Literature
What do you see when you think about William Shakespeare? Do you see a middle-aged man with an extremely receding hairline, pencil thin mustache, and a huge ruffled collar? Well, unfortunately your image of the bard isn’t accurate but don’t worry, no one knows what he looks like.
There is only one picture that was known to depict Shakespeare. The picture was an etching of a balding man in Elizabethan attire created by an artist named Martin Droeshout (Dru-Shun). Droeshout was not a good artist. In his time, he was known as an inexperienced artist who really wasn’t gifted at drawing portraits. In fact, most of his portraits look alike despite them being of different people.
On top of the artist not being very good, the one portrait of Shakespeare was created 7 years after Shakespeare died. The artist was likely drawing based off people’s memories of Shakespeare and maybe using old sketches of the playwright as reference.
Because of the poor quality of the artist and the fact that the portrait was created after he died, historians aren’t confident that Shakespeare looked the way that we picture him. In all likelihood, Shakespeare, like other men of his time, did wear the ruffled collar, but the rest of his facial features are still debated by historians.
So if you see someone in a Shakespeare costume next Halloween, tell them they are historically questionable… then call them a nerd for dressing as Shakespeare for Halloween.
Pharmaceuticals
(Stoner voice) “Woah Dude! Have you heard about CBD oil? It’s totally a miracle drug man! It does everything. Relieves headaches, reduces anxiety and even cures cancer man. Its radical!!”
Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you have probably seen all sorts of products that include CBD oil. These products claim to treat a variety of symptoms like seizures, chronic pain and even cancer but, is CBD oil really a miracle drug or is it just another gimmick that people keep falling for?
For starters, CBD oil comes from the hemp plant which is similar to marijuana but not the same. Unlike marijuana’s main ingredient THC, CBD oil does not make you high, but it is supposed to have promising medicinal qualities. But what does the research say?
So far, extensive research has shown that CBD oil is extremely effective in treating a rare but serious form of epilepsy (uncontrollable seizures) that affects young children. The research was convincing enough that the FDA approved the first cannabis-based prescription drug which was a big deal because the federal government says weed isn’t legal, but they made an exception just for this drug. Unfortunately, there aren’t sufficient studies to support any other health claims for CBD oil. There are a handful of studies that show CBD oil may help with anxiety and pain relief but there isn’t nearly enough evidence to corroborate all of the claims that CBD oil products are making
So, what about the various creams, snacks, and dog treats that contain CBD oil? Do those have any promising medical properties? Short answer, no. Even if CBD oil did treat headaches or cure cancer, the products that advertise CBD oil contain a fraction of the amount of CBD oil needed to have any effect (about 1/5 of an average dose).
Other than prescription drugs for rare diseases, no one should waste their money on CBD oil products that claim to have magical healing powers. Almost all of those products are just as effective as taking snake oil for hair loss or using crystals to cure hemorrhoids. Any positive effects those products create will likely come from a placebo effect or some other source.
History
In honor of International Women’s Day this week, here is the story of one of the most badass women in history, Caribbean pirate Anne Bonny.
Anne Cormac was born in Ireland to a wealthy lawyer and his poor servant. Her parents had an affair and a child out of wedlock which forced them to flee Ireland and travel to America to settle in South Carolina. Anne grew up an only child with a very bad temper and a rebellious spirit. By the age of 13, Anne could be found drinking at the local pub and getting into knife fights with people who annoyed her.
When Anne was of age, her father tried to arrange a marriage for her, but rebellious Anne refused to settle down and instead she ran off to the Caribbean and married a poor sailor named James Bonny. The two lived on New Providence Island in the Bahamas which was a known sanctuary for pirates.
Anne loved her new life in the Caribbean, spending most of her days in the taverns making friends with local pirates as they came into port. She drank, fought, and gambled as much as any man on the island and soon she became just like one of the pirates that she hung out with. In 1718, when her husband got a job as a policeman trying to arrest her pirate friends, Anne left him for being a snitch and joined a pirate ship, becoming the first female pirate in the Caribbean.
She joined the crew of the pirate ship Revenge which was captained by a handsome and flamboyant pirate named Calico Jack. Anne and Jack bonded over their love of the pirate lifestyle and eventually began a relationship. Together, Anne and Calico Jack spent years attacking ships from the Bahamas to Jamaica, amassing an enormous fortune and developing a fearsome reputation as some of the most successful pirates around.
Pirates in the Caribbean were superstitious and believed that having women on board was bad luck (having bananas on board was also bad luck). When a crew member argued that Anne Bonny should be thrown off the ship because she would bring bad luck, Anne took out her sword and killed the man sending a message to the rest of the crew not to mess with her.
Eventually, Anne and Calico Jack’s luck ran out when they were attacked by multiple ships coming to arrest them. While Calico Jack and his crew was passed out drunk below deck, Anne fought back against their pursuers, firing cannons and cutting down men as they came aboard. The crew of the ship was captured by the Royal British Army and sentenced to be hanged in the Bahamas.
After Anne was captured, she was allowed to see her beloved Calico Jack one last time while in prison. In her final words to the man she loved, she said with disgust “If you would have fought like a man, you wouldn’t have to be hung like a dog” and stormed out of his cell never to see him again.
Anne escaped being hanged by claiming that she was pregnant. She was released from prison and eventually ended up back with her ex-husband John Bonny. He must have been crazy to take back his ex after she ran off with another man and became a murderous pirate but hey, the heart wants what the heart wants.
HumpDay Healthy Helpings
Who says comfort food can't be healthy? Try this skinny pasta dish and enjoy filling and healthy meal.
Calories Per Serving: 423 I Servings: 5 I Cook Time: 15 Minutes
This Week in History
On this week in 1875 in Montreal, Quebec, the first ice hockey game was played at the Victoria Skating Rink. Prior to this historic game, hockey had only been played on grass with no set boundaries or rules regarding numbers of players. The origins of this predecessor to ice hockey can be traced back to ancient Persia, but that game is more like what we know as field hockey today.
The first ice hockey game was played between students from McGill College and attracted 40 spectators. The new game included some changes to the existing field hockey rules like adding boundaries, limiting the number of players, and flattening the ball into a puck so it wouldn’t fly off the ice. After this game, ice hockey’s popularity exploded in Canada and eventually became one of the most popular sports in world.
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