A lot of great things came out of the St. Louis World Fair in 1904. Dr. Pepper soda was introduced during the Fair, as well as puffed wheat cereal, and possibly iced tea.
But the most famous food that came from the international exposition was the ice cream cone.
According to legend, a Syrian immigrant named Ernest Hamwi decided to help out a young ice cream vendor he was working next to at the fair.
Hamwi was a pastry vendor who sold a dessert called a Zalabia, which was a crisp, sugar-coated waffle. He rolled one of the waffles while it was still soft and let it cool in a cone shape.
The new World’s Fair Cornucopia was an immediate hit, and the idea traveled home with attendees of the Fair to all parts of the globe.
So for your upcoming birthdays, consider having ice-cream cones instead of birthday cake in celebration of the cone’s 105th birthday!
Here at The Official Birthday Blog, we love a good theme party. So we were thrilled to hear that when Jessica Alba, the star of movies like Sin City and The Fantastic Four, turned 28 earlier this week, she threw an 80’s themed birthday bash for her fifty nearest and dearest.
Guests played games like Connect Four and Chinese Checkers, while listening to the best of Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince.
Alba and her husband Cash Warren even made appropriate costumes an entry requirement, which meant guests like Rosario Dawson and Sarah Silverman showed up in their best dated ensembles.
To throw your own 80’s themed birthday party, think about the following ideas:
- Decorations: Think bad 80’s prom. Twisted streamers, neon balloons, and glitter everywhere will help create the right mood.
- Food: You can’t go wrong with the best of retro candy. Have pop rocks, Fun dip, and fruit roll-ups to feed your guests’ nostalgia. For a healthier option, try fruit slices cut into fun shapes like stars and hearts or ants on a log (peanut butter spread on celery sticks with raisins on top).
- Costumes: Leggings, oversized neon tops, and high top sneakers create a great 80’s look for women. For men, try acid washed denim paired with shiny shirts or outrageous ties. And don’t forget your hair!
When comedian Jerry Seinfeld made an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman last year, he made it clear that his tolerance for birthday parties was nonexistent:
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That’s right: Happy Birthday Samuel Morse. You hadn’t forgot your Morse Code, had you?
Morse’s birthday was actually yesterday, and Google celebrated it with a confusing trick to many, reskinning the Google homepage with a morse code logo. There probably couldn’t have been a better celebration of his life, than putting his stamp on what is one of the largest information exchanges in the world.
Google is really getting into the birthday spirit. Last week, it celebrated William Shakespeare’s birthday with a cartoon logo.
The Telegraph has more:
Visitors to the search engine’s home page this morning were met with the code “–. — — –. .-.. .” instead of the usual Google logo.
The witty doodle is intended to honour Samuel Finley Breese Morse, the inventor of the single wire telegraph, who was born on April 27, 1791.
The talented painter who was admitted into the Royal Academy, Morse only turned his hand to inventing in 1832, after meeting an expert in electromagnetism on a sea voyage.
He later patented his idea for a transmitting messages over electrical wires, which quickly became the standard method of swift long-distance communication. Every letter of the alphabet was translated into a combination of dots and dashes in the code to which he gave his name.
Google regularly releases versions of its logo to mark major world events and anniversaries. It is particularly keen to honour scientific discoveries, and has in the past produced doodles to herald the launch of the Large Hadron Collider and the birthdays of Albert Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci.
Planning a birthday party for kids is a lot of work. On top of invitations and the guest list, you need to think about what’s going to happen once the party starts—what are the kids going to do for a couple of hours? What will they eat?
Consider combining the last two questions for a fun birthday party idea. Instead of hiring an entertainer or planning activities to keep your young guests occupied, plan to have then help prepare the meal or snack you’re serving.
While a make-your-own-sundae bar or cupcake decorating is always fun, think about serving miniature pizzas for a main course. The kids can decorate with the toppings of their choosing. You might even get them to use bright colored veggies!
In addition to giving your guests something fun to do during the party, allowing them to participate in the food prep might allay the concerns of picky eaters.
DisneyFamily.com has a great guide to getting started, with fun topping ideas.
Get decorating, and good luck!
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Happy birthday, Shaq!
This weekend, my 12-year old daughter and her friends are hosting a surprise birthday sleepover for one of their friends whose mother lost her very short battle with lung cancer this past July. Each year, her Mom would have a huge sleepover birthday party for her which all the girls looked forward to. This will be the first birthday she will have without her Mom and it will probably be difficult for her and her Dad and brothers.
