Carl Pettit
Carl Pettit is a columnist, editor and writer working for an array of colorful publications. He specializes in cultural and social issues, as well as East Asia, politics and satire.
Everyone knows Christmas Day is all about tearing open presents, spending time with loved ones, gorging on lots of good food and celebrating the holiday spirit in general. Even though most of us have got the holiday thing down by now, some folks out there might not be aware of some of the unusual and history-making events marking Christmas Day and Christmas Eve in the past.
Christmas is almost upon us, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t have some fun with your holiday decorations. Maybe you’re the kind of person who waits until the last minute to set up your tree, or perhaps you’ve noticed some bare spots on the limbs just crying out for a few more ornaments. Or maybe you need a last minute activity to keep the kids busy while they wait for the impending arrival of Santa Claus. Nothing is more maddening for a child than the last few days leading up to Christmas, before all of their holiday loot arrives.
Christmastime should be about family, generosity and good cheer, but sometimes there are a few baddies lurking about to spoil everyone’s fun. We’re talking about nasty Christmas villains here. Thankfully most of them are merely figments of some storyteller’s imagination. But not all of them. There are always a few real life Yuletide rogues out there just waiting to make a mess of the winter holidays.
Most people are familiar with the massive, and very impressive, Christmas tree that graces New York City’s Rockefeller Center every year. This tree has come to symbolize the holiday season for millions of people, and is something of national icon, appearing as a backdrop in countless movies and television specials.
Thanksgiving is a time for the family to come together, tell stories, then sit down and feast on some tasty, belly-expanding deliciousness. Turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie are all Thanksgiving staples, but if you want to really spice things up a bit this year, we have some ideas.
These strange beasts aren’t custom cars built in someone’s garage. The plans for the odd looking motor vehicles featured here were actually drawn up by automobile manufacturers, for the most part, and put together on some kind of assembly line. The actual number produced might be small, but that doesn’t make them any less cool, or bizarre.
How low can you go? Tim Storms might be tired of that question, but he’d probably be willing to bet you a large sum of money (if he’s a betting man) that he can sing a heck of a lot lower than you, or anyone you know, can. Tim’s deep register is so low, in fact, that Guinness World Records named his voice as the lowest human voice on the planet.