Hey, Daydreamers!

Where’s the best place to lie down or even catch a few Zzz’s in the middle of the day? Well, the living room sofa is often a popular place. There’s also the obvious and overdone bed. Comfy recliners and rockers can be great for this situation, but even they take a backseat to one simple contraption.

Today we celebrate the best place for a quick snooze: the hammock. Swaying in a summer breeze, hammocks typically deliver an incomparable level of luxury. Its simple design can be deceiving as it’s often surprising just how comfortable you are in a hammock. Today is National Hammock Day.

Tried and true, the hammock has been around for many centuries (about a thousand years, maybe more). Evidence suggests that the hammock was conceived and created in what is now Mexico. It was the Mayan civilization of the Yucatan Peninsula that invented this simple, swaying apparatus for sleep.

Never really intended for anything but sleep and relaxation, hammocks are thought to have been the Mayan’s sole sleeping structure. While the Mayan’s may have invented hammocks, they weren’t the only ones to enjoy them. It’s surprising to discover that—even back in those days—trade routes among native tribes were so far-reaching; they stretched from Central America to Brazil.

Hammocks quickly became, not just a popular trading item, but THE thing to sleep on. You wouldn’t dream of not owning a hammock back in those days. What would you sleep on?!

Nowadays, we typically sleep through the night on our beds. Even so, hammocks haven’t gone away. You’ll see them randomly set up between two trees in a yard or even in the bedroom of a really cool kid.

I fondly recollect the one tied up on the solarium of my friend’s apartment building. It was large enough that my friends and I would lie sideways so four of us could fit on it, swaying back and forth and staring up at the stars.

Hammocks are magical. So, if your yard is blessed with one—go appreciate it! If not, go make friends with someone who owns one or get one for yourself. In honor of National Hammock Day, Everything Summer Camp has started to carry these ingenious sleeping mechanisms. Get them now while they’re on sale and enjoy your Hammock Day. Thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, History Buffs!

I think one of the best sensations in life is when that perfect summer breeze comes and goes whispering past you, up against you, and, sometimes, seemingly THROUGH you. It’s great being swept away in a cool breeze or even a strong, gusting zephyr.

Since the first summer, people have always desired that feeling of airflow—a concentrated breeze. Pharos and kings were fanned with giant palms while hand fans were a cheap means of cooling yourself since ancient times. But nowadays, we have the convenience of fans run on electricity.

These days, fans are an essential summer item found in pretty much every home. But things weren’t always so. In fact, electric fans didn’t even exist until sometime around 1883. Fans made at this time had fully-exposed blades and inner workings. They were expensive and found only in large offices or wealthy homes.

It took roughly ten years before motor enclosures and fan cages came along, not so much as a safety measure for the user but more so for the protection of the fan and its expensive blades. In another ten years they figured out how to make them oscillate back and forth.

Other improvements were made along the way, but the game-changer for the electric fan finally came along in the 1930s. Better materials became available for wrapping wire which allowed for the use of smaller wires which in turn allowed for manufacturing smaller motors. While already in some homes, this benefit brought the fan to every home.

With the onset of air conditioning, the market for fans went way down. Over the years, however, fans have remained because of their ability to adapt. Using cheaper materials like plastic instead of metal as well as introducing different shapes like the box fan for windows and tower fans for optimal air flow.

Everything Summer Camp is happy to offer such innovative shapes and designs for personal fans like our Funky Flexi-Fan, the Squeeze Breeze Water Misting Fan, the Desktop Fan, and the Deluxe Fan/Light. These fun electric fans are always handy on those hot days at camp!

Thanks for reading, Fan Fans and stay cool.

- John

Hey, Gamers!

Today is National Video Game Day. From Tetris to Mario, Donkey Kong to Madden NFL, the world of video games has exploded with booming popularity and growing possibilities. No matter what your style is, chances are there’s a video game out there that you would enjoy. Even for people who prefer a more active pastime, there are games like Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Sports for interactive and active entertainment.

So how did video games begin? Well, that’s not so easy to answer. First, you have to define what a video game is or else you might go all the way back to Goldsmith and Mann’s Cathode Ray Tube in 1947. This device used screen overlays as there wasn’t any ‘video’ back then. Other attempts were made at interactive electronic games along the way but the first real video game console was released in 1972.

Ralph Baer’s Magnavox Odyssey, by all technical terms, became the first video game console. So how come you never heard of it? Because it failed in a horrible way since the Odyssey was only compatible with Magnavox television sets and each console could only play ONE GAME!

Baer’s dream of an interactive television set may have flopped, however, it did launch the video game craze that was to follow.

In 1972, Atari Inc. was founded which led to major success in the arcades. Pong, the first arcade game to catch on caught on indeed, becoming a giant hit. Still, the wait lasted until 1977 for Atari to come out with a game console for home entertainment when the Atari 2600 was released. Up until the Atari, home consoles like the Odyssey were only able to play the one game they were programmed to play.

With incomparable sharpness in graphics and heightened possibilities, video games have grown in diversity to establish its own genres. The advancements they’ve made are impressive to say the least—it’s no wonder they’re so celebrated. With an interesting foreseeable future in virtual reality, video games are sure to continue astounding us for quite some time.

Thanks for reading, Game Fans! 

- John

Everyone at Everything Summer Camp has at least dabbled in the realm of video games. Read on to see all our favorites…

Mark:
The original Legend of Zelda for Nintendo
After the game came out I was in a race with several friends to see who could finish the game first. I remember my Mom waking up around 5 am on a Saturday morning, finding me playing Zelda and being surprised that I was up so early. What she didn’t know at the time was I had never gone to bed!

Matt:
R.B.I. Baseball (NES)
I grew up playing it. I can even recite all the teams and most of the lineups from each team. From the quirky music to the unbelievable graphics this game will forever be a true classic.

Nate:
Mario Kart
I grew up playing it on SNES with my brother and neighbor; now I play it with my kids on the Wii.

Kristy:
Super Mario World for Super Nintendo.
It is my favorite because growing up my brother and I were allowed to spend Friday nights conquering as many levels as we could while eating our favorite pizza (Fatboy’s Pizza) and other junk food. I still own our Super Nintendo along with the game and will break it out once in a while. I still have to blow in the game and the Super Nintendo to get it to work!

Brian:
My current favorite game is Mario Kart 8.
It’s easy to pick up, and really fun to play with others—online, or by yourself. You can play for five minutes or five hours, so it’s very friendly to people with busy schedules.

John:
Mario 2
This game was originally a Japanese video game called “Doki Doki Panic.” The Mario makers simply placed their characters over the ones in the original game. I beat it for the first time very recently. It is my very favorite game.

Mel:
Wheel of Fortune
They’ve got Pat and Vanna on there just like the show! I also like to play Family Feud on the Wii!

Teresa:
Candy Crush
Like every owner of a smartphone, this game sucks me in every time!

Missy:
(Unable to pick a favorite, Missy offered a slew of her old favorites):
Between the arcade and the Atari, I loved playing Centipede, Asteroids, Space Invaders, Enduro, Pong, Pitfall, and Donkey Kong.

Myron:
My family used to have an Atari and the original Nintendo when they came out. I remember playing Mario—probably the first one. I don’t think I ever made it to the second level, though!

Chelsea:
Call of Duty
Currently, Black Ops 2 is my favorite to play.

Dawn:
Pacman
This is the only video game I’ve ever cared to play. Well, and Mrs. Pacman, of course.

Hey, Fried Chicken Fans!

Previous Celebrity at Summer Camp, Zac Brown, says in a famous song of his, “You know I like my chicken fried.” I think this line speaks for most folks when it comes to our preference of how to make chicken, after all, there’s a day dedicated to this method of poultry preparation. Yesterday was National Fried Chicken Day.

There’s something about biting through that crispy outer layer of breading and into a juicy mouthful of chicken that will always leave you wanting more. People have been frying things (like eggs, potatoes, fritters, and, of course, meats) for a very long time—at least as early as the 1st Century, yet some evidence points as far back as 9000 years ago.

Due to a lack of cooking equipment, only some cultures were able to fry foods. Many cultures had no means of extracting oil, nor did they have a vessel that could hold the oil under such extreme heat. In fact, it’s theorized that frying foods was first born along with the invention of pottery. Pottery pieces provided a container for hot oil in which to fry different foods.

As time marched on, technologies advanced frying methods and made resources that had been hard to acquire now easy to obtain. Fried foods quickly grew in popularity across the whole world and fried chicken became a fast favorite (with fried potatoes—French fries—a close second).

There’s typically a level of fear that goes along with preparing fried chicken. It can be messy, unsuccessful, and (dealing with extremely hot oil) potentially dangerous. Still there have always been people throughout time who are unafraid to rise to the task. Harland Sanders was one. But you probably know him better as the Colonel.

To make money in the desperate times of the Great Depression, Colonel Sanders started selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant, located in Corbin, Kentucky. In 1952, Sanders opened the first KFC franchise which would quickly sweep the country, offering an alternative to the already accustomed hamburger.

It’s never too late to celebrate so go grab some fried chicken for yourself today to celebrate National Fried Chicken Day. And thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Summer Lovers!

What says ‘summer’ more than the Fourth of July? Well, maybe summer camp, but after that I think our Independence Day really drives summer home. No matter what you do today, be it participating in a parade, enjoying a carnival or fair, attending a picnic, a concert, a baseball game, a get-together, or simply admiring the explosive colors in the night’s sky, on July 4 you know it’s SUMMER!

Happy Fourth!

Our modern celebration of Independence Day may be a familiar sight but before 1776, the fourth of July was just another date on the calendar. Back then, the colonists, despite their move in 1620 to ‘The New World’—an attempt to claim their independence—still found themselves under the rule of King George and the government of Great Britain.

As unfair taxation and other conflicts grew between the colonists and the rule of King George, the colonies held a Continental Congress to resolve the matter once and for all. A Virginia statesman named Richard Lee is known for his words in a meeting on June 7 of 1776,

“Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

Pretty different from the way we speak today, Mr. Lee was simply saying that the colonies were able to govern themselves and didn’t need Great Britain to do the job.

It was these words that set the wheels in motion. A committee was formed to draft a document stating the colonies’ case for freedom from Britain’s reign. The five members of the committee included John Adams, Roger Sherman, Ben Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson. It was Jefferson who actually wrote the document.

After days of careful examination and minor revisions, the document was finally completed on July 4 and the majority of the colonies voted in favor of it. Independence Day celebrates the day that the colonies adopted our Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The document collected signatures of our founding fathers—first and foremost, the signature of John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, who signed in large print supposedly so “King George can read that without spectacles!”

So, from everyone here at Everything Summer camp, enjoy your Fourth of July, from sea to shining sea.

- John