Post-Mother's Day Post

Here are some Wow facts about Mothers that I didn't end up using for Mother's Day . . . 

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Youngest Mother

The youngest mother whose history is authenticated is Lina Medina (1933 - ), who delivered a boy by cesarean section in Lima, Peru in 1939, at an age of 5 years and 7 months. The child was raised as her brother and only discovered that Lina was his mother when he was 10. Medina has never revealed the father of the child nor the circumstances of her impregnation. A doctor who investigated the birth, Dr Escomel, suggested she might not actually know herself by writing that Medina "couldn't give precise responses". Although Lina's father was arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse, he was later released due to lack of evidence, and the biological father who impregnated Lina was never identified. Medina's son grew up healthy and died in 1979 at the age of 40.

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Top 5 youngest mothers: 

Lina Medina (age 5) 

Yelizaveta Gryshchenko (age 6) 

Anna Mummenthaler (age 8) 

Maria Eulalia Allende (age 9) 

Samantha Goodman (aged 10) 

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Oldest Mother

Rajo Devi gave birth to a baby girl in 2008, becoming the world's oldest mother. She gave birth, following controversial IVF treatment, at the age of 69, then nearly died from complications with the delivery. In 2013 she declared that having her daughter, Naveen, has made her stronger and helped her live longer. Rajo, who lives in the remote village of Hissar, India, with Naveen, her husband Ballo and his second, younger wife Umi, said: 'The only reason I am still alive in spite of my illness is Naveen. She is a gift to me from God and until I get her married I cannot afford to die. I will get her married when she turns 15-years-old, but until then I simply cannot die.'

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The oldest verified mother to conceive naturally is Dawn Brooke (UK), who conceived a son at the age of 59 years in 1997 while taking estrogen.

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Most Surviving Children

Bobbie McCaughey is the mother who holds the record for the most surviving children from a single birth. She gave birth to the first set of surviving septuplets - four boys and three girls -on November 19, 1997, at the University Hospital, Iowa, US. Conceived by in vitro fertilization, the babies were delivered after 31 weeks by cesarean in the space of 16 minutes. The babies are named Kenneth, Nathaniel, Brandon, Joel, Kelsey, Natalie and Alexis. 

The McCaughey septuplets (clockwise from left) Brandon, Alexis, Joel, Nathan, Kenny Jr., Kelsey and Natalie - along with parents Bobbi (left) and Kenny Sr. (right), on the NBC Today Show, approaching their 18th birthdays in November 2015.

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Shortest Interval Between Two Children

Jayne Bleackley is the mother who holds the record for the shortest interval between two children born in separate confinements. She gave birth to Joseph Robert on September 3, 1999, and Annie Jessica Joyce on March 30, 2000. The babies were born 208 days apart. 

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Longest Interval Between Two Children

Elizabeth Ann Buttle is the mother who holds the record for the longest interval between the birth of two children. She gave birth to Belinda on May 19,1956 and Joseph on November 20, 1997. The babies were born 41 years 185 days apart. The mother was 60 years old when her son Joseph was born. 

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Highest Recorded Number of Children

The highest officially recorded number of children born to one mother is 69, to the first wife of Feodor Vassilyev (1707-1782) of Shuya, Russia. Between 1725 and 1765, in a total of 27 confinements, she gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets. 67 of them survived infancy. 

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Highest Number of Children in Modern Times

The modern world record for giving birth is held by Leontina Albina from San Antonio, Chile. Leontina claims to be the mother of 64 children, of which only 55 of them are documented. She has said that because she had been abandoned as an infant, she had pledged never to give up any children. When aged between 59 and 62 at the time of an interview with the Times, she said she was open to the prospect of more children, though she recognised that it would be a struggle: "If God sends them to me, yes. But I'd like God to also consider me, now that I'm approaching old age." She had tried birth control with an intrauterine device but it was not a success: "I got pregnant anyway and nearly died ... I think it was a punishment from God for doing something I shouldn't." 

Because it was unable to verify the exact number of her children, in 1991 Guinness decided to de-list Leontina's record. She died of diabetes in 1998. By this time, however, the Chilean authorities had become suspicious of her claims after she had recorded the birth of yet another child in 1995, at the age of 69 (while only three women have ever been recorded as giving birth past age 660. A police investigation found that she had actually given birth to only 14 children. The remainder had been recruited from the streets, given to her by poor women, or donated by her cousins. According to police inspector Cristina Rojo, Leontina had perpetrated the fraud to claim food assistance from the Chilean government. She had systematically registered the children in rural civic offices that lacked computerised records, to avoid detection. One of the children was in fact the product of an incestuous relationship between her husband Geraldo and one of the couple's granddaughters. Geraldo, by then probably in his 90s, was said to be a fugitive, while the police were reported to be investigating a number of the couple's other children and relatives for having taken part in the fraud.

Quote(s) for the (Mother's) Day

Mother's Day

A happy day wish to all mothers everywhere, especially to the Byters who are mothers and to Kate. For those whose mothers are departed, let’s take a moment to also remember them and say mentally to ourselves “Even though you’re no longer here, I remember you and love you, Mum.”

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Some history:

Mother’s Day originated with Anna Jarvis (1864-1948) wish to honour her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, who died in 1905. Her mother had been a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War and who had created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues. Anna Jarvis wanted to honour her mother by continuing the work she started and to set aside a day to honour all mothers  Jarvis believed that mothers were "the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world".

As a result of her efforts, the modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908. Nonetheless that year the US Congress rejected a proposal to make Mother's Day an official holiday, joking that they would have to proclaim also a "Mother-in-law's Day". However, owing to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, by 1911 all US states observed the holiday, with some of them officially recognising Mother's Day as a local holiday, the first being West Virginia, Jarvis' home state, in 1910. In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother's Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honour mothers.

Although Jarvis was successful in founding Mother's Day, she became resentful of the commercialisation of the holiday. By the early 1920s, Hallmark Cards and other companies had started selling Mother's Day cards. Jarvis believed that the companies had misinterpreted and exploited the idea of Mother's Day, and that the emphasis of the holiday was on sentiment, not profit. As a result, she organised boycotts of Mother's Day, and threatened to issue lawsuits against the companies involved. Jarvis argued that people should appreciate and honor their mothers through handwritten letters expressing their love and gratitude, instead of buying gifts and pre-made cards. Jarvis protested at a candy makers' convention in Philadelphia in 1923, and at a meeting of American War Mothers in 1925. By this time, carnations had become associated with Mother's Day, and the selling of carnations by the American War Mothers to raise money angered Jarvis, who was arrested for disturbing the peace.

A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother—and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment.

— Anna Jarvis

Jarvis' holiday was adopted by other countries, and it is now celebrated all over the world.

Jarvis and her sister spent the rest of their lives and all of their inheritance battling the commercialisation of Mother’s Day. They trademarked the names Mother’s Day and Second Sunday in May to try and keep merchants from using them but there were too many merchants and too many lawyers. Commercial interests, especially the greeting card manufacturers that Jarvis particularly loathed, organised and launched a counter attack portraying her as demented and obsessed. Newspapers, which profited from Mother’s Day advertising, supported the merchants.

Jarvis and her sister were reduced to poverty as a result of their opposition to the commercialisation of Mother’s Day.

Anna Jarvis never married nor did she have any children. 

By 1944 she was placed in a sanitarium and she died in 1948, being buried next to her mother, sister and brother.

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Quote for the Day

The Beatles' White Album tracks, continued

Continuing a look at the tracks of the Beatles' White Album.

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Side 3, Tracks 1-3:

Birthday

Yer Blues

Mother Nature’s Son

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Birthday

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeIL6e0NpgE

Lyrics:

They say it's your birthday

It's my birthday too, yeah

They say it's your birthday

We're gonna have a good time

I'm glad it's your birthday

Happy birthday to you

Ah

Ah

Ah

Come on

Come on

Yes we're going to a party party

Yes we're going to a party party

Yes we're going to a party party

I would like you to dance (Birthday)

Take a cha-cha-cha-chance (Birthday)

I would like you to dance (Birthday)

Dance yeah

Oh

Come on

I would like you to dance (Birthday)

Take a cha-cha-cha-chance (Birthday)

I would like you to dance (Birthday)

Oh dance! Dance

They say it's your birthday

Well it's my birthday too, yeah

They say it's your birthday

We're gonna have a good time

I'm glad it's your birthday

Happy birthday to you

About:

"With 'Birthday' we had a few friends around and it was one of our party's birthday, can't remember who. Pattie Boyd was there, Terry Dolan, just a few mates. Normally we didn't have friends around to sessions so it was very unusual. We didn't know what song to do so we decided to make one up. We did what Roy Orbison had done with 'Pretty Woman’ and Little Richard had started with 'Lucille’, do-do do-do do-do do-do; Roy Orbison goes, do-do do-do DO-DO DO-DO- he just changes the end a little bit. We changed basically the same riff of Lucille and Pretty Woman into Birthday- do-do do-do do-do do-do…'You say it's your birthday.'"

- Paul McCartney, interview, 2008

"We thought, 'Why not make something up?' So we got a riff going and arranged it around this riff. So that is 50-50 John and me, made up on the spot and recorded all in the same evening."

- Paul McCartney, interview, 1968

"Paul was the first one in, and he was playing the 'Birthday' riff. Eventually the others arrived, by which time Paul had literally written the song, right there in the studio." 

- Chris Thomas, producer of the song (George Martin was away so Chris Thomas, his assistant, produced it)

"'Birthday' was written in the studio. Just made up on the spot. I think Paul wanted to write a song like 'Happy Birthday Baby' (sic), the old fifties hit. But it was sort of made up in the studio. It was a piece of garbage.”

- John Lennon, Playboy interview, 1980

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Yer Blues

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoKXCtkBufQ

Lyrics:

Yes I'm lonely wanna die

Yes I'm lonely wanna die

If I ain't dead already

Ooh girl you know the reason why

In the morning wanna die

In the evening wanna die

If I ain't dead already

Ooh girl you know the reason why

My mother was of the sky

My father was of the earth

But I am of the universe

And you know what it's worth

I'm lonely wanna die

If I ain't dead already

Ooh girl you know the reason why

The eagle picks my eye

The worm he licks my bone

I feel so suicidal

Just like Dylan's Mr. Jones

Lonely wanna die

If I ain't dead already

Ooh girl you know the reason why

Black cloud crossed my mind

Blue mist round my soul

Feel so suicidal

Even hate my rock 'n' roll

Wanna die yeah wanna die

If I ain't dead already

Ooh girl you know the reason why

About:

Although credited to Lennon and McCartney, it was written solely by John Lennon, while on retreat in India.

John used "yer" instead of "your" in the title so as not to be taken too seriously. The song is a good-natured jab at the British blues scene, at British imitators of blues artists. The song is half-satirical, and half-earnest. There was a British blues boom in 1968, causing debate in the press at the time as to whether white men could sing the blues.

“Yer Blues was written in India, too. The same thing up there trying to reach God and feeling suicidal.”

- John Lennon

“The funny thing about the [Maharishi’s] camp was that although it was very beautiful and I was meditating about eight hours a day, I was writing the most miserable songs on earth. In Yer Blues, when I wrote, 'I'm so lonely I want to die,' I'm not kidding. That's how I felt.

- John Lennon

“George had this idea that he wanted to do it in the control room with the speakers blasting, so that he got more of an on-stage feel... I remember that John Lennon came in at one point and I turned to him and said, 'Bloody hell, the way you lot are carrying on you'll be wanting to record everything in the room next door!' The room next door was tiny, where the four-track tape machines were once kept, and it had no proper studio walls or acoustic set-up of any kind. Lennon replied, 'That's a great idea, let's try it on the next number!' The next number was Yer Blues and we literally had to set it all up - them and the instruments - in this minute room. That's how they recorded Yer Blues, and it worked out great!

- Ken Scott, sound engineer

“Yer Blues, on the White Album, you can't top it. It was the four of us. That is what I'm saying: it was really because the four of us were in a box, a room about eight by eight, with no separation. It was this group that was together; it was like grunge rock of the sixties, really - grunge blues.”

- Ringo Starr

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Mother Nature’s Son

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuJ_aOyHexw

Lyrics:

Born a poor young country boy

Mother Nature's son

All day long I'm sitting singing songs for everyone.

Sit beside a mountain stream

See her waters rise

Listen to the pretty sound of music as she flies.

Find me in my field of grass

Mother Nature's son

Swaying daisies sing a lazy song beneath the sun.

Mother Nature's son.

About:

What a difference ins styles and influence: Lennon’s Yer Blues sandwiched between McCartney’s Birtjhday and Mother Nature’s Son. Milk and Scotch.

Written by Paul McCartney, Mother Nature's Son was inspired by a lecture on nature given by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India, although the song was mostly completed in Liverpool.

Mother Nature's Son was recorded during a tense period within the Beatles. McCartney worked mostly alone on the song; no other Beatles appear on the recording.

John Lennon and Ringo Starr were working on Yer Blues elsewhere in Abbey Road at the time that Paul McCartney was working on Mother Nature’s Son. They did, however, briefly enter studio two where McCartney was working. Lennon hated McCartney recording without the rest of the band.

“Paul was downstairs going through the arrangement with George and the brass players. Everything was great, everyone was in great spirits. It felt really good. Suddenly, halfway through, John and Ringo walked in and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. An instant change. It was like that for 10 minutes and then as soon as they left it felt great again. It was very bizarre.”

- Ken Scott

McCartney recorded 25 takes of Mother Nature's Son. He recorded his vocals and acoustic guitar simultaneously, and take 24 was judged to be the best attempt. 

“I seem to remember writing Mother Nature's Son at my dad's house in Liverpool. I often used to do that if I'd gone up to see him. Visiting my family I'd feel in a good mood, so it was often a good occasion to write songs. So this was me doing my mother nature's son bit. I've always loved the [Nat King Cole] song called Nature Boy: 'There was a boy, a very strange and gentle boy...' He loves nature, and Mother Nature's Son was inspired by that song. I'd always loved nature, and when Linda and I got together we discovered we had this deep love of nature in common. There might have been a little help from John with some of the verses.”

- Paul McCartney

“That was from a lecture of Maharishi where he was talking about nature, and I had a piece called I'm Just A Child Of Nature, which turned into Jealous Guy years later. Both inspired from the same lecture of Maharishi.”

- John Lennon

Quote for the Day

Funny Friday

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It's

so

for

Today, some Dad and Dave humour and some bushie items.

Long before Crocodile Dundee and long before the Beverly Hillbillies, there was Dad and Dave from Snake Gully. Dad Rudd and his son Dave were characters in the Steele Rudd stories of On Our Selection, which in turn gave rise to a long running Australian radio drama series (the days before television) which finished in 1953 when one of the leads, George Edwards, died. Ken Hall turned Dad and Dave into films with Peter Finch playing Dave. There is also a 1995 flick, Dad and Dave On Our Selection, which features Leo McKern as Dad Rudd, Geoffrey Rush as Dave and Joan Sutherland as Ma Rudd.

Apart from the humour of life in the bush and of yokels visiting the city, Dad and Dave jokes are also often about Dave and his girlfriend Mabel.

Caution: some of the humour is risqué.

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Dad and Dave were standing watching a dingo licking its privates. Dave said to Dad: 'Just between you and me, I've wanted to do that all my life.' Dad said: 'Go ahead, but I'd pat him a bit first. He looks pretty vicious to me.'

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Because he and Mabel were going to live with Dad and Mum when they got married, Dave wanted Dad to build a new dunny* to replace the existing dilapidated one. Dad resisted the idea strongly.

‘It’s been good enough for Mum and me for all these years, so it’s good enough for you and Mabel.’

Dave was determined, so he fitted a fuse and a cap to a plug of gelignite, dropped it into the dunny and retreated behind a stump to watch. He had just made it to the stump when Dad came out of the kitchen and headed for the dunny. He rushed from behind the stump and yelled at Dad to save him from a disaster. Dad thought he was trying to beat him to the dunny and put his head down and ran faster.

‘You young blokes ain’t as good as yer think you are,’ he yelled. Dad got there first and had barely entered the building when up it went. Ka-boom. Dave rushed to Dad’s aid and extricated him from the wreckage.

‘Are you all right, Dad?’ he asked

‘I’m all right son, but stone the crows, yer mother would have been annoyed if I’d let that one go in the kitchen.’

*For the benefit of overseas readers, ‘dunny’ is slang for ‘toilet’

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An old farmer was worried about his favourite bull. It was ignoring the cows. So he went to the vet and got some medicine. Next day he was telling a neighbour about it. 'I gave that Brahmin of mine one dose and within half an hour he had serviced eight cows.' 

'Blimey,’ said the neighbour, 'what's the stuff called?' 

'Well, the label’s come off the bottle,' said the farmer, ‘but it tastes like peppermint'. 

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Dad and Dave went to the Royal Easter Show in Sydney and were very interested in the new tractors that were on display. One salesman demonstrated his machine and then offered them a deal.

'You can have this model for $10,000, and I'll take off 10 per cent for cash.' They went away to discuss the deal.

'What’s he mean by take orf 10 per cent cash?' asked Dad. 'How much would he take orf?' 

'Gees, I dunno, Dad,' replied Dave.

'Listen Dave, you're in pretty good with that barmaid at the pub where we're stayin' and she looks like a pretty smart sort of girl. How about you ask her?' So Dave approached the barmaid. 

'Tell me, Dulcie, if I gave you $10,000 less 10 per cent, how much would you take orf?' 

'Jesus, Dave!' she said, 'If you gave me $10,000 less 10 per cent, I'd take off everything bar me garters and you could use them for stirrups.’

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Dave decided to take Mabel to the Snake Gully Café for lunch. Dave looked at the menu and said, "They've got sheep tongues on the menu, Mabel. I think I'll have that. What about you?" 

Mabel said, "No Dave, I couldn't eat anything that came out of an animal's mouth." 

"What would you like then, Mabel?” said Dave. 

Mabel said, "I think I'll have an egg."

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A swagman* who had tramped many kilometres along a rough outback track came to a small pub called the "George and the Dragon". He made his way around to the back in search of a handout but before he had time to ask, the publican's wife came on the scene and gave the tramp the greatest verbal thrashing of his life. She called him a lazy good-for-nothing loafer and added if he was hoping to get even scraps from the kitchen, he could forget it. The tramp just stood there in silence. 

'Well,' she snapped impatiently, ' now what is it you want? '

'I was wonderin ', said the man, 'if I could have a word with George?'

* Swagman: a person who walked from place to place carrying his bedroll and belongings (his 'swag'), often an itinerant worker

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And, for those who still want something different and visual . . . 

The secret wig farm of Donald Trump has been discovered on remote islands near the city of Tromso in Norway . . . 

Still don’t believe it, then look at the following pic . . . 

Nahh, that’s not true. 

It’s an indigenous species of grass that grows along the shores of those islands.

And, by way of a segue to Corn Corner . . .

Corn Corner:

Evidence has been found that William Tell and his family were avid bowlers. Unfortunately, all the Swiss League records were destroyed in a fire, ...and so we'll never know for whom the Tells bowled.

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A man rushed into a busy doctor's surgery and shouted "Doctor! I think I'm shrinking!" The doctor calmly responded "Now, settle down. You'll just have to be a little patient."

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I can't believe I got fired from the calendar factory. All I did was take a day off.

And a cheerio and get well soon wish to Kevin S and to my father in law Noel W, both recovering from being quite unwell.  Get well soon guys.

Oz Facts

More Australian history and fun facts sent to me by Graham.

Link:

http://pickle.ninemsn.com.au/2016/01/25/10/10/proposed-australian-flag-design

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30 Hours inside a dead whale to cure rheumatism

"The smell and heat were hardly bearable… great blasts of gas and horrible bubbles would gush out around us and make our hair stand on end," reported a putrid story in the Sydney Bulletin in 1896. The yarn described a bizarre, revolting cure for rheumatism: climbing inside the belly of a slaughtered whale for 20 to 30 hours to expose oneself to the corpse's healing "ammoniacal gases… of an overpowering and atrocious odour". The remedy was supposedly discovered near the New South Wales whaling town of Eden when a rheumatic drunk fell into a dead whale (as you do) and emerged hours later from the "huge mountain of decomposing blubber" feeling better than ever. Not only was the cure unlikely to work, it was also rarely practised — thankfully. 

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Christmas party in a WW1 hospital

When it came to Christmas in World War I's military hospital wards, every effort was made to ensure the wounded servicemen enjoyed themselves. Soldiers were joined by their army officers, nurses and doctors to celebrate the occasion. Wards were festively decorated, some with ribbons, others with images of Santa Claus and maps of Australia, and food was plentiful. It's not recorded precisely where or when this photo was taken, but elsewhere, the 2nd Australian General Hospital in Egypt celebrated Christmas Day 1915 with a traditional roast dinner, and even the doctors pitched in – one carved the turkey and ham, while another gave out beverages. 

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19th century miners cook up golden Christmas ‘cake’

In the late 19th century, immigrants were still coming to terms with what an Australian Christmas looked like. Absent were carols, snow and mistletoe, and in their place were picnics, sports and soaring temperatures. In the bush, new Australians gathered around night fires while travelling stockmen shared stories, and on the gold fields, mining companies celebrated with large "crushings" of gold. They would then exhibit these "golden Christmas cakes" in the windows of local banks. This illustration, published on January 1, 1872, depicts a cake after its crushing. The previous holiday season saw what was believed to be the largest ever golden cake produced in Victoria, weighing 106.7kg, then valued at £15,026.

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Santa rides an emu to department store’s famous toy fair

Foy and Gibson's, one of Australia's earliest department stores, was famous for its annual toy fairs, which boasted "unprecedentedly low prices", and holiday season attractions. Melbourne's Bourke Street store attracted customers with its rooftop carnival, complete with ponies, train rides and a ferris wheel that teetered so close to the edge of the rooftop that "it felt as if you were falling from the top of the building". Children could also meet Father Christmas, but it's doubtful he was as smartly dressed as this poster from the late 19th century suggests — or that he rode in on an emu. 

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Father Christmas rides an eagle on terrifying card

Santa Claus’s design has evolved over hundreds of years. By the early 20th century, the contemporary interpretation of a portly man with a bushy beard and furs had taken hold. What hadn’t, clearly, were his animal sidekicks of choice. While he might now prefer reindeer, Santa has been known to ride a goat named Ukko, a kangaroo, and even an eagle carrying a basket of presents in its talons. This poster for drapery firm Craig Williamson Pty Ltd features Santa riding one such eagle in service of a bad pun: "Our attractive show catches the eagle-eye of Father Xmas". The show caught the eye of Sidney Myer (of Myer department store fame), who bought the company in 1908. 

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Santa’s gift to children of men killed in WW2

Santa Claus swapped his sleigh for a yacht on Saturday, December 15, 1945. Disembarking at Point Walter, Perth, Santa delivered presents to the children of men killed during World War II. Before his arrival, the 109 Australian Convalescent Depot worked tirelessly to ensure that the Christmas party was a memorable one, organising a bevy of cakes and sweets, and a sports program including swimming and tennis. Over 1000 youngsters, wives and guardians were estimated to have attended the event. 

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Children celebrate Christmas near unfinished Sydney Harbour Bridge

On the afternoon of Saturday, December 6, 1930, Rear Admiral Evans and the officers of HMAS Australia II welcomed families onto their warship for the annual children’s Christmas party. The ship was moored at Garden Island, Sydney, and transformed into a festive playground, complete with slides and celebrities. While "Mickey the Mouse" thrilled youngsters, the great cannon on deck fired off salvos of multi-coloured balloons. The crane, usually reserved for munitions, carried children in a cage out above the ocean, in full view of the as-yet-incomplete Sydney Harbour Bridge (it opened in 1932). Its passengers included Rosemary Budge, the daughter of the secretary to the Governor of New South Wales, pictured on the left wearing glasses. 

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Santa steals a Christmas kiss from a nurse

In a bid to lift the spirits of children struggling with illness over the holiday season, Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital hosted an annual Christmas picnic in 1944. Children left the ward and bathed in the summer sun. While some years brought special attractions like camels, Santa was a constant. He dressed more like a wizard with cotton balls stuck to his robe than contemporary incarnations of the gift-giver, and in December 1944, he was certainly not afraid to get more than a little festive with a nurse. 

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Christmas train shortage forces well-to-do passengers into cattle cars

The opening of new lines meant the Victorian train network was placed under significant strain over the 1882 holiday season. A carriage shortage forced operators to resort to an old plan of utilising cattle trucks to transport Christmas "excursionists". This satirical cartoon, published in January 1883, poked fun at their uncomfortable predicament: "Christmas time must be a season of peace and goodwill to all the cattle who look contentedly at their tormentors being whirled away in the very vehicles in which they have so often suffered." 

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Cockatoo pie for Christmas dinner 

Prussian scientist Ludwig Leichhardt (pictured) was hailed as the "prince of explorers" in 1845 after he and his exploration party completed a 4800km journey from the Darling Downs to Port Essington. On Christmas Day 1844, midway through the expedition, he recorded in his journal that his party enjoyed a "Christmas dinner of suet pudding and stewed parrot" — possibly a cockatoo or a galah. Delicious. It was not unheard of for early settlers to put native birds on their Christmas dinner tables if domestic fowl was scarce. In 1834, the year South Australia was declared as a colony, local woman Mary Thomas described eating a traditional ham and cockatoo pie for Christmas.

Quote for the Day