Jingle Bells is A LIE!
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Jason Murphy is a novelist, screenwriter, and content creator. He lets his hobbies get the best of him.
This Week on The Strangerous Shorts
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These are the most popular Strangerous shorts from last week. In this first one, I make a noble attempt to ruin a Christmas tradition.
Jingle Bells
Unveiling the Origins of "Jingle Bells"
The iconic holiday tune "Jingle Bells" has become synonymous with the festive spirit of Christmas, but its origins are surprisingly rooted in Thanksgiving celebrations. In 1850, James Lord Pierpont, a young Unitarian minister in Medford, Massachusetts, penned the song, originally titled "One Horse Open Sleigh," to commemorate the town's annual Thanksgiving sleigh races.
Pierpont's spirited lyrics captured the excitement and joy of these wintertime gatherings, depicting a couple embarking on a sleigh ride through the snow-covered landscape. The song's catchy melody and lively tempo quickly gained popularity, spreading beyond Medford and eventually becoming a Thanksgiving staple.
By the 1860s, the song's association with Christmas began to emerge, likely due to its wintery theme and cheerful mood. The song's title was shortened to "Jingle Bells," and it became a regular feature in Christmas carol collections and performances.
Today, "Jingle Bells" remains one of the most recognizable Christmas songs worldwide, its enduring appeal transcending cultural and generational boundaries. Its origins, though rooted in Thanksgiving festivities, have become intertwined with the Christmas spirit, reminding us of the joy and merriment of the holiday season.
Here are the original 19th century lyrics:
Dashing thro' the snow,
In a one-horse open sleigh,
O'er the hills (fields) we go,
Laughing all the way;
Bells on bob tail ring,
Making spirits bright,
Oh what sport (What fun it is) to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight.
|: chorus :|
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what joy (fun) it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
A day or two ago
I tho't I'd take a ride
And soon Miss Fannie Bright
Was seated by my side.
The horse was lean and lank
Misfortune seemed his lot
He got into a drifted bank
And we— (then) we got upsot.
https://kslnewsradio.com/1937740/jingle-bells-was-originally-written-as-a-thanksgiving-song/
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jingle-bells-thanksgiving-carol/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingle_Bells
The song is about drag racing in your sleigh and picking up girls. Read that last verse again. He picked up Miss Fannie Bright and then oops! We drifted into snowbank. I guess we’ve got to sit here and cuddle for a bit.
Baby, it’s cold outside indeed.
I don’t try to ruin things. I don’t enjoy it.
Okay. Just kidding. I couldn’t type that without laughing. Sometimes its really, really fun to learn the truth about innocent things. This is still pretty innocent. Just don’t get me started on “Three Blind Mice”.
The elastic nature of meaning behind our art changes with the times, of course. Dante’s Inferno was more of a commentary about Italian politics than it was about demons, after all. Art gets repurposed all the time. Sometimes we no longer need the story a piece of art provides us, so we come up with another one.
Jimmy Carter and the Alien Encounter
In 1969, Jimmy Carter claims he saw a UFO. This was in Georgia, years before his presidency. One of the men he was with looked up and said, 'Look, over in the west!' And there was a bright light in the sky. Gradually, it approached them, but stopped just beyond the pines. Then the colors began to shift - blue to red to white. Then it receded into the distance.
While campaigning for president Carter said, “If I become President, I'll make every piece of information this country has about UFO sightings available to the public and the scientists.”
And ... there was nothing.
In a 2007 interview, Jimmy Carter explained that the UFO he witnessed in 1969 was likely a military aircraft from a nearby base and dismissed the idea of extraterrestrial visits to Earth. He denied any knowledge of a government cover-up and refuted rumors about the CIA withholding UFO information during his presidency. Further investigation suggested that what Carter saw was likely a cloud of barium released into the air as part of an air force study on the upper atmosphere near Eglin Air Force Base. There's also an unconfirmed legend suggesting that when Carter was told the truth about UFOs and their alleged role in creating world religions, he put his head in his hands and sobbed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter_UFO_incident
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/jimmy-carter-ufo-sighting
“Are aliens here?” has to be one of the number one questions Presidents are asked by the public, right? We’ve seen talk shows ask just about all modern presidents. They probably get sick of it. The sobbing part of Carter’s story is a nice little flourish that I don’t buy. It’s that one little moment at the end, that prestige, that turns the story on its head and makes it all worthwhile.
The truth is much more mundane. Carter saw a UFO. Like any thinking person, he said, “Let’s see if we can find out what that was before we call Giorgio.” And he found out it was nothing to be concerned about. While campaigning, he made a glib comment about disclosing the truth. And then nothing. That’s it. I’ll bet he didn’t even ask about it. There was a gas crisis to worry about, after all.
The Giant of Kandahar
I’m going to be honest with you. This is ridiculous. But here goes…
A supposed 13-foot giant lives in the desert of Afghanistan.
Yeah. I know. . .
A bunch of Rangers fought it. They shot it a bunch. A big helicopter came and took the giant away to some top-secret government lab.
The legend was debunked by Snopes. However, this debunking had the opposite effect in certain cryptid spaces, where people believe that the government is covering up the existence of the giant. L.A. Marzulli, a self-proclaimed supernaturalist, revived the story in 2016, claiming that the government was suppressing the truth of Biblical prophecies. Biblical scholars believe that the Nephilim tales, which are said to be associated with the giant, are metaphors and not based on reality. But others argue that the soldiers were forced to sign non-disclosure agreements to keep them silent. Allegedly, the Department of Defense denies any knowledge of the incident and that there are no official records of a special forces member being killed by a giant in Kandahar. The soldiers involved eventually broke their silence as they believed the public had a right to know the truth.
Okay.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/kandahar-giant
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/u-s-special-forces-killed-a-giant-in-kandahar/
Is there a person at the DoD or Pentagon or wherever whose job is to just answer the phone and say, “No. No, that’s not true. There was no giant/alien/wizard.”?
I’m not talking about Fox Mulder. I’m talking about a secretary who is just really tired of fielding these questions. The press department gets another doozy dumped in their lap and they have to hand it to Jennifer. It’s Jennifer’s job to respond to all of the crazy stuff.
Let’s be clear. This is either an amazing job or a really, really frustrating one.
RFID Skimming
In the age of contactless payments and embedded chips, concerns have arisen about the potential for unauthorized access to personal information through RFID skimming. This involves using a device to scan RFID-enabled cards, such as credit cards or passports, to capture sensitive data like card numbers and expiration dates. While RFID technology has revolutionized convenience, the fear of skimming has led to the proliferation of RFID-blocking wallets and purses.
However, the threat of RFID skimming is often exaggerated, and the effectiveness of these protective measures is questionable. Here's why:
Limited Range: RFID signals have a limited range, typically extending only a few inches from the card. This means that a skimmer would need to be in very close proximity to the card to capture its data. Crowded settings like public transport or shopping centers may seem like potential hot spots for skimming, but the chances of a skimmer being close enough to a card without being noticed are extremely low.
Security Enhancements: Modern RFID cards incorporate various security measures to protect against skimming. These include encryption methods, dynamic data exchange, and card verification mechanisms. These features make it significantly more difficult for skimmers to extract and utilize sensitive information.
Contactless Payment Protection: Contactless payment terminals also employ additional security measures, such as transaction limits and timeout features, to prevent unauthorized transactions. These measures further reduce the risk of skimming even if a card is somehow compromised.
RFID-Blocking Wallets: While RFID-blocking wallets may seem like a solution, their effectiveness is limited. The shielding materials used in these wallets can only block signals within a certain range. Additionally, these materials may not be able to effectively block all RFID signals, especially those from newer, more powerful readers.
Focus on Traditional Methods: Instead of worrying about RFID skimming, it's more important to focus on protecting against traditional card-related fraud methods, such as physical theft or phishing scams. These methods pose a far greater risk to cardholders than RFID skimming.
https://www.howtogeek.com/794397/are-rfid-blocking-wallets-worth-it/
It’s easy to make people scared of new technology. Right now, the amount of hand-ringing about AI is overwhelming. Now caution is merited, but … there are still people who sell gold plating for your mobile phone so that it doesn’t give you cancer. There are still people who are scared of microwaves. When Gutenberg unveiled the printing press, it was vilified. It was going to unleash a flood of information, too much information for society to handle.
It kind of makes me want to invent my own online fears just to see what will happen. And to see what I can sell to people to ameliorate their concerns.
BTW, did you know that the transmissions from the key fob for your car will turn you into a werewolf? I’ve got a key fob sleeve engraved with ancient Slavic runes of protection. You can find them on the counter at most auto parts stores. Because you can never be too careful when it comes to lycanthropes and your car.
The Strangerous Channel Updates
We’ve got a NEW ROLL FAST//DICE HARD coming up tonight at 9PM CST. It’s our Christmas episode, CHRISTMAS CHAOS: A JOLLY OLD CORPSE.
https://www.youtube.com/thestrangerous
Want to play a Christmas-themed Dungeons and Dragons game written and run by me? I’m running this limited short for the month of December. If you like it, it can be expanded into a full campaign.
https://startplaying.games/gm/jasonmurphy
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Even More Strange and Dangerous!
Do you watch Christmas movies? The onslaught of generic Christmas romance movies is a peculiar trend. Like … where do all of these come from?? Who makes all of these? Why are there so many??
If you’re looking for Christmas entertainment that doesn’t involve a workaholic woman from the city falling for a rugged, family-values-oriented small town guy, I’ve got you. Here’s an entire playlist I like to call “Christmas Garbage”.
See you next week, friends. And let me know if you encounter anything Strangerous out there you’d like for us to cover!