History Of Labor Day Holiday

The Labor Day holiday is celebrated on the first Monday in September.  This is the same day that Canada celebrates their Labor Day holiday.  This year, that date is September 1, 2025.

The history of Labor Day in the U.S. goes back to the labor movement of the late 1800s and became an official federal holiday in 1894, celebrated with parties, parades, and athletic events. Prior to 1894, workers who wanted to participate in Labor Day parades would forfeit a day's pay.

Over the ensuing decades, Labor Day has come to symbolize something else, too. In defiance of the Summer Solstice and Autumnal Equinox signaling the official beginning and ending of summer on the calendar, Labor Day has become the unofficial end of the summer season that unofficially started on Memorial Day weekend (the fourth Monday in May in the U.S.).

What led up to the creation of a holiday specifically designated to honor and celebrate the workers and their accomplishments? The seeds were planted in the 1880s at the height of America's Industrial Revolution when the average American worked 12 hour days/7 days a week in order to manage a basic living. Although some states had restrictions, these workers included children as young as 5 years old who labored in the mills, factories, and mines earning a fraction of the money paid to the adults in the same workplace. Workers of all ages were subjected to extremely unsafe working conditions in addition to insufficient access to fresh air and sanitary facilities.

Labor Unions had first appeared in the late 1700s. As America changed from an agrarian society into an industrial one, these labor unions became more vocal and began to organize rallies and strikes in protest of poor working conditions and low wages. Many of these events turned violent. One prominent such incident was the Haymarket Riot of 1886 where several Chicago policemen and workers were killed. Other rallies were of a more positive nature such as September 5, 1882, when 10,000 workers took unpaid time off from their jobs and held the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history when they marched from City Hall to Union Square in New York City.

It was another 12 years before Congress legalized the holiday. This was primarily brought about on May 11, 1894, when employees at the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. Then on June 26, the American Railroad Union called for a boycott of all Pullman railway cars thus crippling railroad traffic nationwide. To break the strike, the government sent troops to Chicago. The resulting riots were responsible in the deaths of more than a dozen workers. As a result, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in all states, the District of Columbia and the territories (several of which later became states).

And now, more than a century later, the true founder of Labor Day still hasn't been identified. So, for everyone enjoying this 3 day holiday weekend, you may not know who was responsible, but now you know why you have that additional day, why banks and public schools are closed, and why you don't have any mail delivery.  :) 

Crazy Things Confiscated By Customs Inspectors

Excluding the disruptions created by the Coronavirus pandemic, just getting on an airplane under normal circumstances is a cause for nervous tension due to full body scanners, intrusive pat-downs, long lines at airport security check points, and what seems to be a constantly changing list of what you can and can't take on the plane.  All-in-all, flying is not the fun experience it used to be.

And that's just on domestic flights.  You add to that the need to clear passport control and customs on international flights, both entering a foreign country and coming home, and it's enough to make your head spin.

There's certainly been enough written about what seems to be the ever changing TSA restrictions and requirements, so I won't dwell on those.  But I did find an interesting list of contraband seized by Customs inspectors around the world…a bit more than trying to sneak in an extra bottle of wine hidden in your suitcase on your return flight from France.

And here is that list.

10)  Shoes Stuffed With Heroin:  Smugglers might be a scheming lot, but that doesn't mean they always use their brains.  In October 2010, a 32 year old US citizen and her younger brother disembarked from a Caribbean cruise and were tagged by Customs for a secondary screening process.  When they opened the woman's luggage they found 15 pairs of 1980s style men's shoes…definitely suspicious items for a woman to be bringing back from the Caribbean.  They discovered over 6 kilos of heroin duct taped inside the shoes.

9)  Human Skulls:  Not the creepy Halloween decorations.  In September 2010, two American tourists had 6 human skulls confiscated from their luggage at the Athens International Airport in Greece.  They had purchased the 6 skulls at a souvenir shop on the island of Mykonos and thought they were fake.  They were charged with desecrating the dead.

8)  Tiger Cub:  The 3 month old tiger cub was found sedated and hidden among stuffed animal tigers inside a woman's luggage at Bangkok International Airport when the oversize suitcase went through an X-ray machine.  The woman was headed to Iran where the tiger cub could have brought in more than $3,000 on the black market.  The cub was sent to a wildlife conservation center and the woman faced wildlife smuggling charges and fines.

7)  Fake $100,000 Bills:  In 2009, agents confiscated two $100,000 counterfeit bills from a passenger arriving at New York's JFK Airport from Seoul.  In 1934, rare $100,000 bills were printed to be circulated between the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Banks.  The bills were never put into general circulation.  The man claimed to have found the bills in an old book belonging to his father.  The bills were turned over to the Secret Service.

6)  Cocaine Cast:  A leg in a cast can garner some sympathy, but it didn't work for a Chilean passenger arriving at the Barcelona, Spain, airport from Santiago.  Customs agents decided to spray the cast with a chemical that turns bright blue when it comes in contact with cocaine.  And it did.

5)  Bear Paws:  And I'm not talking about the pastry, either (which are actually bear claws).  In October 2010, a dozen genuine furry bear paws were confiscated from a Vietnam man's luggage in Ho Chi Minh City Airport upon his return from Hong Kong.  Bear paw soup is considered a delicacy.

4)  Snakes and Lizards:  You're familiar with the movie, Snakes On A Plane?  Well, in 2009 a would be smuggler taped 14 snakes and 10 lizards onto his body in an attempt to sneak them into Norway.  Oddly enough, it was a tarantula spotted in his luggage that led to a full body search.

3)  Bonytongue Fish:  Having an airline lose your luggage is an inconvenience.  However, it's even worse when you're smuggling fish in your suitcases.  In 2009 a man returning from Malaysia to his home in Queens, New York City, unfortunately did not have his luggage arrive on the same flight.  The next day a Customs agent doing random checks on lost luggage discovered 16 fish packed in individual plastic bags and cushioned with Styrofoam.  Considered good luck charms in Asian cultures, they sell for $5,000 to $10,000 apiece.

2)  Rhinoceros Horns:  Ireland is not where you'd expect to find pieces of safari animals.  Over a period of time in late 2009 and 2010, three Irish passengers were busted at Shannon Airport for smuggling 10 rhinoceros horns valued at approximately 500,000 Euros at the time, which at today's exchange rate (today being August 15, 2025, with the exchange rate of 1 Euro = $1.17 U.S.) is $585,000.  Rhino horns are often ground down and used as a prized ingredient in Chinese medicine.

1)  Snake Wine:  A glass of snake wine might not have the same appeal as a nice Merlot or Chardonnay.  But in Southeast Asian countries, a whole snake soaking in alcohol is a specialty.  In May 2009 a routine Customs inspection in Miami revealed a cobra and other poisonous snakes packed into a jar of liquid in an express mail package from Thailand.

It makes that additional bottle of Merlot or Chardonnay wrapped inside the sweater and stuffed into the corner of a suitcase not seem as bad.

13 Bizarre Pirate Traditions Most People Don't Know About

Pirates have a reputation for being ruthless bloodthirsty killers. They also developed some strange habits that made them infamous. Just like the Vikings who created odd rituals, pirates used codes to govern their lives on the high sea. Their code was an agreement among marauders that established a sort of law among the lawless.

Pirate Earrings Served A Practical Purpose

Pirate ships were outfitted with numerous cannons. Cannonballs were accompanied by a loud blast and were known to deafen. Pirates would hang wads of wax from their earrings to prevent this sound damage. They popped the waxy contraptions into their ears like a makeshift earplug when firing cannons.

Pirates spent their lives on the high seas but they didn't want to spend death at the bottom of an ocean. The infamous pirate earrings were actually insurance to make sure that they'd be given a proper burial. Whether gold or silver, the precious metal could be melted down and sold to pay for a casket and other funeral necessities even if a pirate's dead body washed ashore. Some pirates went so far as to engrave the name of their home port on the inside of the earrings so their bodies could be sent there for proper burial.

There were many myths about the otherworldly properties of pirate earrings. One tale claimed that they could prevent sea sickness while another suggested that the precious metals could cure bad eyesight. Many pirates believed that a gold earring could prevent a man from drowning, but that myth was disproved a number of times.

No One Ever Wanted To See The Pirate Flag

The Jolly Roger flag that flew from pirate masts was terrifying but the most dreaded sea flag was red. A ship hoisting a red flag warned its enemies that no mercy would be given to a captured ship. Everyone on board would be killed immediately. The red flag was sometimes called the Bloody Red and if it replaced a skull and crossbones flag, the pirates under siege might sometimes jump ship.

Pirates Weren’t All Missing An Eye—the Patches Had Another Purpose

Some pirates were definitely missing eyes. Other pirates wore eye patches for different reasons. By wearing an eye patch, they could always keep one eye adjusted to night vision. Pirates spent a lot of time going from the bright light above deck to the darkness below deck, especially when they were raiding ships or defending their own. If he lifted his patch before going below deck, a pirate could instantly see even if there was only a little light.

A Secret To Maintaining Blackbeard's Terrifying Facial Hair

Born Edward Teach, Blackbeard was arguably the most terrifying pirate in the world and he built his reputation on hemp. In the early eighteenth century, before Blackbeard captured any ship he'd weave hemp into his long dark beard and under his captain hat. Once he lit the hemp on fire, smoke billowed out from his face and made his opponents fear for their lives. In addition to his burning beard, Blackbeard also wore a crimson coat and carried at least two swords, pistols, and knives at all times.

Insurance Payments For Injured Pirates Came Out Of Everyone's Loot

Although experts debate just how democratic pirate groups were, they were surprisingly progressive when it came to the spoils of their enterprises. They created a sort of insurance fund for injured pirates. This meant that if a member of a group become injured, they were still able to reap the benefits of a successful campaign. Individual group charter articles identified the amount of loot to be paid to injured pirates. Spoils were gathered together in the aftermath of an attack. Injured pirates all received the amount specified in their charter, and the rest of the group divided the remainder among themselves.

Pirates Created A Drink That Prevented Certain Diseases

Credit for the invention of grog goes to sailors in the British Navy who first started making the drink some time in the 1600s. To avoid drinking slimy water contaminated with algae and microbes, the sailors mixed rum into their water. In 1731, the British Navy gave each sailor half a pint of rum per day. That was equivalent to over five shots of alcohol. Pirates borrowed the recipe for grog and made it legendary by adding lemon juice which helped prevent scurvy and sugar for a better taste.

Pirates Could Be Upstanding Members Of The Land-Side Community

The prevailing image of pirates has them as swashbuckling, lawless individuals who sail in groups on the open ocean and were despised by those who lived on land. But, while they were prone to violence and did exist mostly on the seas, pirates could still participate in family and community activities on land. There are records of prominent pirates, such as Captain Kidd, contributing to social organizations on land as "prominent members of Colonial society." For example, Captain Kidd helped found Trinity Episcopal Church and also commissioned a pew in the church specifically for his family.

Most Pirates Didn't Bury Their Treasure

Even though it's easy to picture a pirate burying treasure on a tropical island, only one pirate, Captain Kidd, was ever recorded as having buried treasure. Kidd deposited his loot off the coast of Long Island but the scheme backfired when an ally dug up the trove and used it as proof to convict Kidd of piracy.

There Were Women Pirates, Too

Women also took to the seas to make their fortunes. One pair, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, sailed together on the pirate ship Revenge in 1720. Anne Bonny even served as first mate. Some, like Mary Read, chose to dress as men to hide their identities. Unfortunately, their ship was captured and both women ended up in jail.

Walking The Plank Was Mostly A Myth

While there is some evidence pirates did use walking the plank as a form of psychological torture, there is not enough evidence to prove it was a widespread practice. It became popular thanks to the rise of pirates in entertainment in the 19^th Century. There were plenty of other ways pirates killed people, and some of it involved forms of torture. But for the most part, anyone they wanted to execute was killed quickly and swiftly.

The Most Famous Pirates Probably Weren't The Most Successful Pirates

In a strange but sensible irony, the pirates whose names have made their way through the decades of history to the present day probably weren't the most successful pirates. The pirates whose names we know were the ones who were captured and tried in court. The court proceedings were published making their exploits legendary.

Pirates Mostly Stole Booze and Weapons

There's a good reason why most pirates didn't bury their treasure. Unlike what was shown in movies, most of their loot wasn't gold and jewels. Pirates typically stole food, alcohol, and weapons, in addition to lumber, cloth, and animal hides—essentially whatever ships might be carrying across the Atlantic. Those goods weren't worth much if buried so pirates used them immediately or sold them.

Marooning People Was A Real Thing

Pirates did actually maroon people on isolated land masses when they did something wrong. It was considered one of the worst ways to die, because it was slow. Typically those marooned were disgraced pirates who violated the rules of a ship. He would be placed on an isolated sandbar with just the clothes on his back, a small portion of water, and a weapon. Pirates who were marooned had the option to kill themselves with their weapon, but it was widely considered cowardly. Some men actually managed to survive being marooned if they were rescued by a different pirate crew, but that was very rare. 

10 Things You May Not Know About Vikings

So…you think you know all about the Vikings?  Those seafaring Scandinavians who raided and settled coastal sites in the British Isles and beyond between the 9^th and 11^th centuries?  You've watched the movies and television shows, have been exposed to the caricatures and stereotypes.  But I'll bet there's a lot about the Vikings you don't know.

1)  Vikings Didn't Wear Horned Helmets

Forget all those Viking warrior costumes you've seen in those movies, television shows, and pictures seen with the characters wearing those elaborate horned helmets.  Descriptions from the Viking age don't mention it and the only authentic Viking helmet ever discovered is horn-free.  This concept seems to have originated with painters in the 19^th century, possibly inspired by ancient Norse and Germanic priests who wore horned helmets for ceremonial purposes long before the Viking Age.

2)  Vikings Were Known For Their Excellent Hygiene

What with all that boat rowing and decapitating their enemies, the logical assumption would be that Viking men must have stunk.  However, excavations of Viking sites have revealed tweezers, razors, combs and ear cleaners made from animal bones and antlers.  Vikings also bathed at least once a week, much more often than other Europeans of that time period.

3)  Vikings Used A Unique Liquid To Start Fires

The Vikings collected a fungus called touchwood from tree bark and boiled it for several days in urine then pounded it into a substance similar to felt.  The sodium nitrate in urine allowed the material to smolder instead of burn.  This gave the Vikings the availability of taking the fire with them on the go.

4)  Vikings Buried Their Dead In Boats

The Viking's boats were very important to them so it was a great honor to be buried in one.  It was believed that the vessels that served them well in life would see them safely to their final destination.

5)  Vikings Were Active In The Slave Trade

Many Vikings became rich through human trafficking.  They captured and enslaved women and young men while rampaging through Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Slavic settlements then sold them in giant slave markets in Europe and the Middle East.

6)  Viking Women Enjoyed Some Basic Rights

Viking girls married at age 12 and took care of the household while their husbands sailed off on adventures.  However, they had more freedom than other women of their era.  They could inherit property, request a divorce and reclaim their dowries if their marriage ended.

7)  Viking Men Spent Most Of Their Time Farming

Most Viking men swung scythes rather than swords.  True, some were callous pirates who only left their boats long enough to burn villages but most planted crops and raised cattle, goats, pigs and sheep on their small farms.

8)  Vikings Skied For Fun

Scandinavians developed primitive skis approximately 6000 years ago.  By the Viking age, Norsemen regarded skiing as an efficient way to get around and a popular recreation activity.  They even worshiped Ullr, the god of skiing.

9)  Viking Men Preferred Being Blond

Brunette Vikings, usually men, used strong soap with a high lye content to bleach their hair and in some regions also their beards.  These treatments also helped with a health and hygiene problem—head lice.

10)  Vikings Were Never Part Of A Unified Group

They probably didn't even call themselves Vikings.  The term simply referred to all Scandinavians who took part in overseas expeditions.  During the Viking Age, the land that is now Denmark, Norway and Sweden was a patchwork of tribes that often fought against each other…when they weren't busy creating havoc on foreign shores.

North America Before Christopher Columbus

I think the first thing to note is that, in spite of centuries of belief to the contrary, Christopher Columbus did not technically discover America. In three voyages to the 'new world' he never once set foot on the North American continent. His initial voyage was a search for a sea route to Japan and the far East. However, he unexpectedly ran into land way short of his initial goal. In three voyages, he never got beyond the islands of the Caribbean.

When Columbus arrived in the new world in 1492, later referred to as America, the land he supposedly discovered was not an empty vast wilderness. It was a land already inhabited. The natives of America had migrated across the Bering Strait and settled into warmer areas of the continent. More than 75 million people lived in the new world consisting of the North and South American continents, 25 million of whom lived in North America.

About 3 thousand years ago, 2 thousand years before Christ, the Hopi Indians who live in what is now New Mexico were building cliff dwellings, farming and creating villages. When Julius Caesar was conquering Western Europe, an Indian culture called the Moundbuilders were making huge structures out of the earth in what is now the Ohio Valley. One of these structures was said to be over three miles long. The area served as a trading post of sorts, where people came from the West, the Gulf of Mexico and the Midwest for trade and the exchange of goods. So you can see, a system of trade and commerce existed before Columbus even set sail in search of the new route to the far East.

The Iroquois occupied what is now Pennsylvania and upstate New York. They lived in villages and had a very sophisticated social system, which was in many ways superior to the European culture. The land was worked in common and it was owned by the whole nation. Women held a high place in the Iroquois culture. Family names were tied to the women, not the man. If a man married, he joined the family of his wife. Women farmed the land while the men hunted for fish and game.

Power was shared by men and women and the European concept of male dominance was absent in the Iroquois culture. Children were not punished harshly and were taught equality in possessions. This was in direct contrast to the severe society of the Puritans and what the Europeans brought to the New World. The Europeans were a society of rich and poor, controlled by priests, governors and male heads of families. The Iroquois society had no laws, sheriffs, judges or juries, yet boundaries of behavior existed. If someone stole food or shamed their family, they were banished until they had morally atoned for their actions. They had no written language. Their history was passed on by oral tradition. This kind of community lasted long after the native people (referred to as Indians by the European explorers) were conquered.

Although the Iroquois Confederacy's Great Law of Peace did not directly serve as the basis for the U.S. Constitution, it is widely acknowledged that their political structure and principles influenced the thinking of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America—specifically the Iroquois model of a confederation of sovereign nations, a system of checks and balances, and consensus-based decision-making resonated with some of the framers of the Constitution.

This was the land Columbus is given credit for discovering—a land whose people were already highly evolved and successful rather than the savages Europeans assumed them to be. 

The Dodo Bird

You've probably heard the expression 'dumb as a dodo bird.' Is a dodo bird really dumb? Or, for that matter, does the dodo bird even exist in real life? Some considered the bird to be a myth.

The dodo is an extinct flightless bird native to the island of Mauritius, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Not only were they flightless, their existence was also restricted to Mauritius because they weren't suited to the ocean. Unlike penguins, another flightless bird, the dodo did not have flippers or webbed feet allowing them to navigate the ocean.

The first recorded mention of the dodo was by Dutch sailors in 1598. During the ensuing years, it was hunted by sailors as a food source and also by invading species that arrived with the sailor's ships such as cats and pigs. Other invading species also included the rats that arrived as 'stowaways' on the ships. The last widely accepted sighting of a dodo was in 1662. Its rush toward extinction wasn't immediately noticed. Long held beliefs said the bird's extinction was due to over hunting by man.

Fossil remains show the dodo stood about 2-2.5ft tall and may have weighed 23-39 pounds. What the dodo actually looked like relies on paintings, drawings, and written accounts from the 17^th century. The portraits varied widely from one artist to another. Since only some of the illustrations are known to have been drawn from live specimens, the dodo's exact appearance is uncertain.

A large amount of subfossil has been collected on Mauritius, mostly from the swamp area. The extinction of the dodo less than a century after its discovery brought a considerable amount of attention to the previously unrecognized problem of human involvement in the disappearance of entire species. A recent concept holds that the extinction of the dodo bird was not due primarily to hunting my man. Since the dodo was flightless, its nests were on the ground rather than up in the tree branches. A more accepted theory is their extinction was greatly hastened by the raiding of their nests and destruction of their eggs primarily by rats that quickly colonized the island.

Current studies are under way to attempt the recreation/resurrection of the dodo from DNA found in a dodo skull combined with DNA from the dodo's closest living relative, the Nicobar pigeon.

The dodo achieved widespread recognition from its role in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. It has also become a fixture in popular culture, often as a symbol of extinction and obsolescence. 

Guest Blog Lynda Rees and her new release The Attic, A Flip or Flop Mystery

This week, I'm turning my blog over to a guest author--Lynda Rees. Lynda will be telling us about her writing and introducing us to her new release, The Attic, the latest addition to her Flip or Flop Mystery series. Release date for The Attic is scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, 2025.

Thanks so much, Samantha, for having me as a guest and allowing me to share the news about my newest release, The Attic, A Flip or Flop Mystery. I started writing the Flip or Flop Series with Flip or Flop, Murder House because my husband was a builder. He and I remodeled several houses together for resale. I write about strong women in dire circumstances and small-town heroines and heroes. So, Charli Owens was born. Charli is a professional female contractor who swore off good looking men until she butted heads with competitor Eli Lange. Charli is business and family focused, taking care of her younger brother since she was sixteen and trying to wrangle her unorthodox, retired, rock-n-roll singer grandmother. Eli is family focused, having sold his successful construction company to move to small town rural Sweetwater, KY to help his sister with her four-year-old daughter while her husband served in a war zone. He has never had time for romance, only work. Now he gets to focus on his craft instead of spreadsheets.

Book 1:  Flip or Flop, Murder House – Charli remodels the scene of a murder-suicide and finds more danger and intrigue than the law allows. 

Book 2:  Rock Starr Baby Daddy, A Flip or Flop Mystery – Gran’s baby daddy shows up on their doorstep to make amends for a bad breakup, unaware he’s Charli’s grandfather, or that he’s soon to be accused of two murders. 

Book 3:  The Attic, A Flip or Flop Mystery - Rehabbers Charli Owens and fiancé, Eli Lange, remodel an historic mansion suspected of being haunted. Secret tunnels, hidden chambers, unexplained happenings, and a killer on the loose ignite Charli's curiosity. Enlisting her ex-rock-and-roll singer grandmother’s help, she delves into clues police ignore. Unravelling the property's notorious history, they become embroiled in a murder case and a major criminal operation that puts Charli's life in danger. 

Coming Next:  Cold Case, A Flip or Flop Mystery

 

THE ATTIC INSPIRATION

As a child I played with a friend whose family had inherited an old mansion that had been in their family for many generations. The pre-Civil War home sat high above town about three miles uphill from the Ohio River. The owner of a huge plantation surrounding it built it as his family home. The house was unique for this tiny riverside town, and I found its notorious history and many hidden secrets within its walls fascinating.

Behind the house, the steep hill was a perfect location for our toboggan and sled riding, as long as we hit the right spot at the bottom and not the small creek. Beyond that lay another hill of heavy woodlands. As a mountain-born child, I was intrigued by the woods instead of fearful. I led many hikes through them to the lake on the other side. It had once, along with all of the property around it, been part of the plantation. It had been sold off and converted to a pay-by-the-day fishing lake.

The mansion had been converted into three apartments occupied by my friend’s family and her relatives. Windows were floor to ceiling leaded glass. The woodworking throughout was elaborate and hand carved, and at the fireplaces were a marvel to my young eyes.

The only parts of the house not inhabited, by the living at least, were the basement and the incredible foyer.

The three-story-high ceiling sported a carved round cornice that displayed the enormous crystal chandelier. The room was as large as my home’s living room, dining room, and kitchen combined. The floor was white marble, as were the steps on the swirling staircase that led to the second and third-floor landings. We dressed our Barbie dolls in evening attire and pretended they were strolling down them to meet their dates for the prom or some other elegant event.

A rock and mortar walled basement occupied the space beneath the whole house, but the rooms’ concrete floors were bone dry. Its hilltop location helped with this, I’m sure. Tunnels had been built with the intention of making it simple for workers to bring goods, water and ice into the house and refuse without disturbing the residents. My innate curiosity would have coaxed me to explore these caverns; had they not been long since sealed for safety. A gigantic, solid steel door attached to surrounding rock walls with bolts broader than my hand.

These tunnels are part of the fabric of our United States history. Escaping slaves from the south were slipped into the house where they were hidden away in secret rooms using concealed staircases until they could be ushered through the other tunnel that led the long distance to the banks of the Ohio River. From there, they loaded onboard boats and were taken across the water to freedom in Ohio.

My fascination with this house and its history has stayed with me throughout my life. It is the inspiration for my newest and thirtieth novel, a mystery called The Attic, A Flip or Flop Mystery.

In The Attic, rehabber Charli Owens, and her retired rock-and-roll singer grandmother delve into an eerie historic mansion’s notorious history and put their lives in danger.

Lynda Rees is available to speak to your reader or other group and can provide writing workshops on various subjects. If you need a speaker, reach out to her at lyndareesauthor@gmail.com . Join Lynda Rees's fan club to stay on top of the many works she has in the hopper for you. You will receive a free eBook at  https://preview.mailerlite.com/t1a6j6    

There’s more about the author and her work at https://www.LyndaReesAuthor.com  

The Attic is available in eBook and print at:

AMZ          Amazon.com: The Attic (A Flip or Flop Mystery Book 1) eBook : Rees, Lynda : Books

B&N          The Attic by Lynda Rees | eBook | Barnes & Noble®

It’s also available in audiobook at:

Direct         https://payhip.com/b/VN1Tl

Or wherever you buy eBook, print or audiobooks. 

9 DANGEROUS SCIENTIFIC WORK LOCATIONS

When you hear the word scientist, it usually conjures an image of a sterile room with a person in a white lab coat surrounded by test tubes, Bunsen burners, and beakers with bubbling lab experiments. But in reality, there are many scientists working in various fields of discovery whose lab is far removed from that stereotypical image—scientists who do their work in the field. I read an article about scientists who work on location rather than in a lab…the ones whose labs are out there, in dangerous places and situations where most of us would never go.

So, in no particular order, here are nine of these dangerous scientific work locations.

1)  Inside Volcanoes

When you think of geologists your first thought is usually the study of rocks and various landforms, something safe and basically stable. But for the branch of this particular science known as volcanology, things are definitely less stable and a certainly hotter. Having been to Mt. St. Helens, Washington, after the explosive eruption and viewing the devastation first hand, I'm very familiar with the story of David Johnston, the thirty-year-old volcanologist who was on duty at the time and was one of the fifty-seven people who died in the eruption. Volcanologists study the intense heat and chaos inside active volcanoes, and not long ago a team of three researchers descended inside the Marum Volcano on Ambrym Island off the coast of Australia to study lava flows inside. Wearing a heat-resistant suit, one of them descended 1200 feet into the volcano's crater to capture video footage of the lava's movement. Normally, scientists use robotic cameras mounted to small helicopters or drones to do this extremely dangerous work.

2) Tornado Country

The movie Twister gave us a good look at what storm chasers do, and those who live in the part of the U.S. referred to as Tornado Alley see the results of their work on the news when the storm conditions are present that produce tornadoes. Collecting data on storms is a tough process. Getting close to a tornado is risky even on a good day, and self-proclaimed storm chasers run that risk all the time. Even with technology such as Doppler radar giving us the overall picture of a severe storm, some scientists claim there is some data that can only be gathered at ground level. One of the most noted tornado researchers, Tim Samaras, routinely drove in front of tornadoes to place cameras and pressure sensors to record the velocities of objects swept up by the storm. Unfortunately, in 2013 Samaras, his son, and another storm chaser died in an Oklahoma tornado.

3) Biosafety Level 4 Labs

For the last few years, the news has been primarily about the Coronavirus/COVID which was elevated to the status of a pandemic with ultimately millions of people dying worldwide. Laboratories that deal with germs and diseases that can be dangerous or fatal to humans are given a biosafety rating from one to four. Facilities that deal with Level four are where the really bad stuff happens. One of the most notable is the NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) integrated research facility located at Fort Detrick, Maryland (pictured here). The laboratory is housed in a three-story office building—an airtight, pressurized environment restricted to only a select number of researchers. The facility has airlocks that separate it from the outside world and anything that leads outside the building, such as light fixtures or electrical outlets, is sealed in epoxy to prevent even a single germ from escaping. Scientists are given a seven-minute showering with virus-killing chemicals before they leave.

However, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under the control of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., did order a temporary "stand-down" of research activities at the facility. This pause in research, which began in late April 2025, halted all research activities and limited access to essential personnel only. While the facility was not permanently closed, the stand-down caused concern within the global health community due to the facility's role in studying high-consequence pathogens like Ebola and Lassa fever. 

4)  Underwater Caves

The ocean is a massive mystery to humanity, covering the majority of the Earth's surface. Even though it's part of our planet, we seem to know more about outer space than we do the depths of our oceans. One of the most interesting areas under the ocean's surface are known as blue holes, underwater caves that can reach as deep as six hundred feet below sea level. These caves have difficult topography. They vary in size from massive, sprawling caverns to holes barely big enough to admit a human. Diving there can be very dangerous with unpredictable currents. Despite the dangers, scientific rewards are huge with both biological and archaeological finds waiting to be discovered.

5)  Tree Canopies

Forest ecosystems are made up of distinct layers, each with its own climate and variety of plants and animals. It's a simple task to study the layers nearest the ground, but botanists have lots of questions about what's happening up above. And that's where canopy research comes in. Scientists at Humboldt State University climb to the top of trees that can exceed 350 feet in height, anchoring their bodies to the trunk. From that risky perch they can observe the canopy ecosystem…as long as they don't lose their balance. At the top of the trees, researchers have discovered a whole ecosystem of moss, lichens, and even whole new trees and bushes growing from dead stumps.

6)  Amundsen-Scott Station

Originally built by the United States government in 1956, the Amundsen-Scott Station sits squarely on the south pole. With temperatures ranging from minus 13.6 degrees Celsius (minus 56.48 Fahrenheit) on a nice day to minus 82.8 degrees Celsius (minus 181.04 Fahrenheit) when winter is in high gear, it's one of the most inhospitable regions on the planet. Even though blizzards and intense winds are common, astronomers spend months at the station because the six months of total darkness during winter makes Amundsen-Scott a perfect place to observe the night sky. Other researchers study the movements of the Antarctic ice sheet—the station itself moves about thirty-three feet a year as the ice drifts.

7)  Aquarius Lab

Operated by the National Oceanic and Aeronautic Administration, this deep-sea science station comes with a little twist. The human body is only capable of staying underwater for a short period at a time because decompression sickness (commonly referred to as the bends) can cause incredible damage when gas bubbles form in the body and disrupt tissue. Some scientists have long-term research projects that need to happen in deep water, so they do it at the Aquarius Lab. This facility rests on the sea floor outside of Key Largo, Florida, at a depth of fifty feet. Researchers spend up to ten days at a time underwater studying the nearby coral reefs.

8)  Inside Hurricanes

Here's another meteorological condition where some scientists like to get a little too close. The National Oceanic and Aeronautic Administration employs a number of flight meteorologists who take airplanes into the eyes of hurricanes to gather data on the storm's strength and direction. They use two planes—one is a Gulfstream G-4 that has the easy job of circling the storm's funnel, the second is a smaller propeller plane that actually penetrates the fast-moving wind to fly right to the eye of the storm. In addition to using Doppler radar on the plane's tail, they also release a device called a dropsonde that transmits pressure and humidity data.

9)  Outer Space

And finally…there is literally no environment as hostile to the human body as the vacuum of space. Long-term weightlessness has negative effects on muscle tone, bone density, and the immune system. Exposure to radiation in low-earth orbit comes at levels ten times higher than the normal dose on the Earth's surface. And there's also the fact that outer space doesn't have any of that oxygen stuff our bodies need in order to function—to literally stay alive. Experimentation in outer space has led to a number of fascinating discoveries in fields as diverse as astronomy and cancer medicine.

And there you have a sampling of dangerous locations some scientists refer to as their lab (minus those white lab coats, of course).

Fourth Of July Holiday—Some Trivia And A Fireworks Safety Quiz

July 4, American Independence Day holiday—on this date in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. The U.S. Constitution, the document that emerged from the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, is the oldest national constitution in the world.

This most American of holidays is normally marked by fireworks, parades, and backyard barbecues. Fireworks displays are common throughout the world and are the focal point of many cultural and religious celebrations. Fireworks were invented in ancient China to scare away evil spirits, as a natural extension of the Chinese invention of gunpowder.

With 4^th of July fireworks comes the concern for safety. A reality for the holiday is that fireworks cause thousands of injuries, and even some deaths, in addition to enough fires to make July 4 the day with the most reported fires across the United States according to the National Fire Protection Association.

So…how much do you know about fireworks safety? Here's a 9 question quiz to test your knowledge. Correct answers are at the end.

1)  How hot does a sparkler burn?

            a:  212 degrees

            b:  600 degrees

            c:  950 degrees

            d:  1200 degrees

2)  What portion of 4^th of July fires are caused by fireworks?

            a:  10 percent

            b:  35 percent

            c:  50 percent

            d:  90 percent

3)  Which age group has the most injuries reported from fireworks?

            a:  under 20

            b:  20 – 40

            c:  40 – 60

            d:  60+

4)  You should skip buying fireworks in brown paper packaging as that could be a sign that they're made for professionals, not consumers.

            a:  true

            b:  false

5)  If a pack of fireworks has not fully functioned, you should cautiously relight it.

            a:  true

            b:  false

6)  What's the best way to dispose of used fireworks?

            a:  throw in trash

            b:  use hose or bucket of water to soak them then throw away

            c:  bury them

7)  What is the most common fireworks injury?

            a:  fractures and sprains

            b:  contusions and lacerations

            c:  ear injuries

            d:  burns

            e:  eye injuries

8)  According to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission investigation, which of these were common reasons for fireworks injuries?

            a:  holding fireworks in the hand

            b:  mischief

            c:  debris or smoke from a malfunction

            d:  errant flight path from a malfunction

            e:  early or late ignition from a malfunction

            f:   all of the above

9)  Never light more than how many fireworks at a time?

            a:  1

            b:  2

            c:  3

And now, for those of you who want to see how well you did on the quiz—

1)         the answer is d…1200F degrees, hot enough to burn certain metals and ignite clothing.

2)         the answer is c…50 percent, when shooting fireworks keep a bucket of water or sand available.

3)         the answer is a…under 20, children 10–14 are more than twice as much at risk for fireworks injuries.

4)         the answer is a…true.

5)         the answer is b…false, any malfunctioning fireworks should be soaked in water then thrown away

6)         the answer is b…use hose or bucket of water to soak them and then throw them away

7)         the answer is d…burns

8)         the answer is f…all of the above

9)         the answer is a…light just 1 at a time.

A happy and safe holiday to everyone.

11 FAMOUS FEMALE SPIES FROM HISTORY

World War I poster

My blog this week is about female spies from the Civil War, World War I and World War II.  And four of them were genuine celebrities—three of them were famous at the time and one became famous later. They were popular and well known for something other than being spies.

So, without further ado and in no particular order, here's this week's list of eleven female spies.

11)  Violette Szabo—World War II

Ever heard of the video game Velvet Assassin?  The game was inspired by her story as a Special Operations agent.  Born in France, she and her family moved to London where she married a French soldier. When he was killed in battle two years later, she joined the service.  As a secret agent, she parachuted into France and planned the sabotage of a railroad, disrupted enemy communication, and passed along strategic information.  She was captured by the Nazis, tortured, and sent to a concentration camp where she was executed at the age of only twenty-three.  Her story became a book and movie titled Carve Her Name With Pride.

10)  Stephanie von Hohenlohe—World War II nazi spy

She managed to insert herself into high society wherever she went.  An affair with a member of the Austrian royal family resulted in her pregnancy.  She was quickly married off to a minor German nobleman.  After the marriage ended, she became a fixture in the London social scene and later was a go-between for the Nazi regime and high-placed sympathizers in England.  She was often called upon to offer advice and services to Hitler in spite of the fact that she was Jewish, a fact Hitler knew.  She followed a lover to the U.S. where she was considered so dangerous that she was detained until the end of World War II.

9)  Noor Inayat Khan—World War II

Known by the code name Madeleine, Russian-born of Indian and American descent, she served as a radio operator in the French resistance.  When the Nazis raided her communication headquarters, she avoided detection but was later betrayed and interrogated.  She was transferred to Dachau where she was killed at age thirty.  A book about her life, Spy Princess, was produced as a limited series.

8)  Belle Boyd—U.S. Civil War confederate spy

Known as Cleopatra of the Secession, she ran a hotel in Virginia.  As a girl she began working to defend the South, charming secrets out of Union soldiers stationed near the hotel then delivering them to Confederate officials.  Arrested, then freed, she eventually ended up traveling around the country telling her stories of espionage.

7)  Virginia Hall—World War II

Educated at Harvard and Columbia with a goal of joining the Foreign Service…until a shooting accident on a hunting trip resulted in a partial amputation on her leg and a limp when wearing her prosthesis.  She signed up for the British Special Ops and later for the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (the predecessor of the CIA).  She discovered and passed along important military information and trained resistance fighters.  On one mission she was forced to escape to Spain in winter through the mountains on foot.  A book about her was released in 2008, The Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America's Greatest Female Spy.

6)  Krystyna Skarbek—World War II

After the Nazi's invaded her native Poland, she volunteered for British Special Operations.  Under the name of Christine Granville, using her expertise as a skier, she transported information between Poland and Hungary through the mountains.  And she could be considered the original Bond girl—Ian Fleming is said to have based several of his femme fatales on her.  After retiring from Special Ops, she worked on a cruise ship and was killed in 1952 by a coworker whose advances she had rejected.

5)  Marlene Dietrich (movie star)—World War II

German born, she became a U.S. citizen in 1939.  She volunteered for the OSS and, in addition to entertaining troops on the front lines as did many celebrities, she also broadcast nostalgic songs as propaganda to German troops who were battle weary.  She was awarded the Medal of Freedom.

4)  Josephine Baker (nightclub singer/dancer)—World War II

From St. Louis, Missouri, she moved to France to escape the racial prejudice she had been subjected to in the U.S.  She became a French citizen.  As a popular and much loved entertainer in France, she used her celebrity working for the French resistance.  The Nazis were so dazzled by her that they allowed her freedom of movement without thinking to check her sheet music where French resistance secrets were written in invisible ink.  She helped to break down countless barriers for African-American women in her adopted country and also in the U.S. [she was an important figure in the U.S. civil rights movement].

3)  Julia McWilliams Child (TV's The French Chef)—World War II

She wanted to join the WACs or the WAVES but was turned down because of her 6'2" height.  So, she went to work for the OSS in research and development at their Washington, DC, headquarters.  She helped develop a workable shark repellent used by downed flight crews and later for the U.S. space missions with water landings.  She also supervised an OSS facility in China.  She handled countless top secret documents prior to becoming famous as television's gourmet cook.

2)  Hedy Lamarr (movie star)—World War II

Born in Vienna, Austria, she made her film debut in 1933's Ecstasy.  She fled the approaching storm clouds of war in Europe, landing a contract with MGM studios.  But she was more than just a pretty face and an actress.  She was also a brilliant mathematician with a unique ability in problem solving. In addition to using her celebrity to raise millions of dollars in war bonds, she was an inventor.  She teamed with Hollywood composer George Antheil and invented a frequency hopping method for steering a torpedo. Today, her invention is the basis for frequency hopping used for wireless phones in our homes, GPS, and most military communication systems.

And finally probably the most famous (or infamous) female spy of all time:

1)  Mata Hari—World War I

A spy legend so evocative that the mere mention of the name says it all.  James Bond certainly falls into that category, but he's a fictional character.  Mata Hari was real.  Born in the Netherlands as Margaretha Geertruida Zelle.  She responded to a newspaper ad seeking a wife, married an older man, and moved to Indonesia.  An unhappy marriage and a fascination with the local culture turned her into a performer named Mata Hari.  After her return to Europe, she became a sensation in Paris with her exotic dancing, skimpy costumes and sexy demeanor…wildly popular with some and scandalous with others.  During World War I she traveled freely throughout Europe and was ultimately accused of being a German spy.  She was arrested and executed by a French firing squad in 1917.  She claimed she was spying for the French, not the Germans.  Neither accusation (French spy or German spy) was ever conclusively proven but current theory says she was working for the French who decided she had become a liability.