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Valentine Phantom
The Valentine Phantom, often referred to as the Valentine Bandit in media reports, refers to an unidentified individual or group who each Valentine's Day secretly decorate the downtown area of a city in the United States with a series of red hearts printed on sheets of letter-sized paper. The reports began in Portland, Maine, in 1985, and the perpetrators remained unknown until April 2023 when the identity of one of the leaders was revealed following his death. Speculation about the individual or group which decorates before dawn each February 14 is popular in conversation, and local media, and has emerged as an example of vernacular culture. History The earliest known occurrence was 1976 in Portland, Maine, and every year since, red hearts have appeared throughout the city on Valentine's Day morning. Beginning in the early 2000s, red hearts drawn on white sheets of paper have been attached to the doors of businesses along the Pearl Street business district in Boulder, Colorado ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friends Of The Vermont State House
The Friends of the Vermont State House is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the restoration, conservation, and interpretation of Vermont's historic State House, the seat of the U.S. state of Vermont's legislative branch of government. The organization works closely with the Vermont General Assembly, the Curator of State Buildings, the Office of the Sergeant at Arms, and other government officials to maintain the historic and symbolic dignity of the building. Membership is open to all, and the organization is self-governing. Mission statement The Friends of the Vermont State House describes it mission as "a non-profit corporation dedicated to the fulfillment of the Capitol building's full potential as the structure of first importance to Vermont. To accomplish this, the Friends focus on conservation and restoration of the Capitol's historic integrity and promotion of public appreciation of the building and its collections. We work in close cooperation with the Legislature and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter Traditions
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures define different dates as the start of winter, and some use a definition based on weather. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa. In many regions, winter brings snow and freezing temperatures. The moment of winter solstice is when the Sun's elevation with respect to the North or South Pole is at its most negative value; that is, the Sun is at its farthest below the horizon as measured from the pole. The day on which this occurs has the shortest day and the longest night, with day length increasing and night length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The earliest sunset and latest sunrise dates outside the polar regions differ from the date of the winter s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unofficial Observances
{{Short pages monitor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Practical Jokes
A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. A person who performs a practical joke is called a "practical joker" or "prankster". Other terms for practical jokes include gag, rib, jape, or shenanigan. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks or hoaxes in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being talked into handing over money or other valuables. Practical jokes are generally lighthearted and without lasting effect; they aim to make the victim feel humbled or foolish, but not victimized or humiliated. Thus most practical jokes are affectionate gestures of humour and designed to encourage laughter. However, practical jokes performed with cruelty can constitute bullying, whose intent is to harass or exclude rather than reinforce social bonds through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vermont Culture
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. Admitted to the union in 1791 as the 14th state, it is the only state in New England not bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the state has a population of 643,503, ranking it the second least-populated in the U.S. after Wyoming. It is also the nation's sixth-smallest state in area. The state's capital Montpelier is the least-populous state capital in the U.S., while its most-populous city, Burlington, is the least-populous to be a state's largest. For some 12,000 years, indigenous peoples have inhabited this area. The competitive tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Abenaki and Iroquoian-speaking Mohawk were active in the area at the time of European encounter. During the 17th century, French col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washington County, Vermont
Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. Named after George Washington, its county seat is the city of Montpelier (the least populous state capital in the United States) and the most populous municipality is the city of Barre. As of the 2020 census, the population was 59,807, making it the third-most populous county in Vermont, but the third-least populous capital county in the United States after Hughes County, South Dakota and Franklin County, Kentucky. Washington County comprises the Barre, Vermont micropolitan statistical area. In 2010, the center of population of Vermont was located in Washington County, in the town of Warren. History Washington County is one of several Vermont counties created from land ceded by the state of New York on January 15, 1777, when Vermont declared itself to be a distinct state from New York. The land originally was contested by Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Netherland, but it remained undelineated un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poe Toaster
Poe Toaster is the media sobriquet used to refer to an unidentified person (or probably more than one person in succession) who, for several decades, paid an annual tribute to American author Edgar Allan Poe by visiting the cenotaph marking his original grave in Baltimore, Maryland, in the early hours of January 19, Poe's birthday. The shadowy figure, dressed in black with a wide-brimmed hat and white scarf, would pour himself a glass of cognac and raise a toast to Poe's memory, then vanish into the night, leaving three roses in a distinctive arrangement and the unfinished bottle of cognac. Onlookers gathered annually in hopes of glimpsing the elusive Toaster, who did not seek publicity and was rarely seen or photographed. According to eyewitness reports and notes accompanying offerings in later years, the original Toaster made the annual visitation from sometime in the 1930s (though no report appeared in print until 1950) until his death in 1998, after which the tradition was p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Practical Joke Topics
This is a list of practical joke topics (also known as a prank, gag, jape or shenanigan) which are mischievous tricks or jokes played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks or hoaxes in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or other valuables. Practical jokes or pranks are generally lighthearted, reversible and non-permanent, and aim to make the victim feel foolish or victimised to a degree, but may also involve cruelty and become a form of bullying if performed without appropriate finesse. Practical jokes 0–9 * 2004 Harvard–Yale prank A * Alhokm Baad Almozawla * April Fools' Day * List of April Fools' Day jokes B * Berners Street hoax * Bingo Shooting Device * Black fax C * Caltech–MIT rivalry * Candid Camera * Capping stunt * Josiah S. Carberry * Chewing gum bug * Chinese finger trap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Same-sex Marriage In Vermont
Same-sex marriage in Vermont has been legal since September 1, 2009. Vermont was the first state to introduce civil unions on July 1, 2000, and the first state to introduce same-sex marriage by enacting a statute without being required to do so by a court decision. Same-sex marriage became legal earlier as the result of court decisions, not legislation, in four states: Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, and Iowa. Background Either by legislation or court decisions, Vermont was a leader among U.S. jurisdictions in protecting the rights of gays and lesbians in the 1990s. In 1990, it was one of the first states to enact hate crime legislation that included sexual orientation. In 1992, it added sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination statute. In 1993, the Vermont Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling established second-parent adoption rights allowing someone in a same-sex relationship to adopt his or her partner's biological children. When the Vermont General Assembly reformed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Times Argus
The ''Barre Montpelier Times Argus'' is a daily morning newspaper serving the capital region of Vermont. It was established in 1897. The newspaper claims that "80% of all adults in the Barre/Montpelier area read the Times Argus for local news, state government, sports, and advertising information.". History The ''Times Argus'' is the product of a union of the ''Barre Daily Times'' and the '' Montpelier Evening Argus'' in 1959. The ''Barre Times'' was founded by Frank E. Langley, a printer from Wilmot, New Hampshire. Langley and his wife printed the paper out of their house, with a news policy of "Barre first and the rest of the world after." The first edition came out on March 16, 1897, and cost one cent. Langley's son remembered playing on the floor while Mrs. Langley set type in their Barre home. In 1917, Langley encouraged his employees to become partners, and upon his death in 1938 six men became shareholders, including Alex Walker. Walker bought out his partners in 1958, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barre Montpelier Times Argus
The ''Barre Montpelier Times Argus'' is a daily morning newspaper serving the capital region of Vermont. It was established in 1897. The newspaper claims that "80% of all adults in the Barre/Montpelier area read the Times Argus for local news, state government, sports, and advertising information.". History The ''Times Argus'' is the product of a union of the ''Barre Daily Times'' and the '' Montpelier Evening Argus'' in 1959. The ''Barre Times'' was founded by Frank E. Langley, a printer from Wilmot, New Hampshire. Langley and his wife printed the paper out of their house, with a news policy of "Barre first and the rest of the world after." The first edition came out on March 16, 1897, and cost one cent. Langley's son remembered playing on the floor while Mrs. Langley set type in their Barre home. In 1917, Langley encouraged his employees to become partners, and upon his death in 1938 six men became shareholders, including Alex Walker. Walker bought out his partners in 1958, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
