Today is all about learning new things.

LEARNING CENTER: MOTTOS

A lot of the time we will go to a movie and the ads start coming on the screen. Many times, we sit through an elaborate advertisement and then question how it even relates to the product they are advertising. So, we started wondering how products got their motto or tag line.  

U.S. Postal Service: Surprisingly, the U.S. Postal Service has no official motto. The famous “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night” line was written about Persian mail carriers almost 2500 years ago.

Nike: “Just Do It” – This slogan was created by Dan Wieden of the ad agency Wieden+Kennedy in the 1980s. It works as a motivational catch phrase for athletes but it actually came from the last words of a convicted murderer awaiting execution by firing squad! Good example of how you never know where your next good idea will come from.

Yellow Pages: “Let Your Fingers Do the Walking” – We read that before the Yellow Pages were developed, people had to walk from shop to shop to see what services they provided. After those big yellow books came out one could “walk” to the shops using one’s fingers. Of course now, everything is online so maybe the motto should be “let your mouse do the surfing.”

M&Ms: “Melt in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand” – This motto is another example of one that still works well. The not melting is explained by the special sugar coating that prevents them from melting in your hand but the motto also lets you know in advance that these little yummy nuggets are so good they won’t last long enough in your hand to melt anyway.

LEARNING CENTER: MONOPOLY

Lately we’ve been reminiscing about our childhood at least once a week. There are always things that one of us remembers and the other has forgotten about but the one thing we’ll ALWAYS remember is the fun we had (and still have) playing games. And one of those games is Monopoly.  We were reminded about this when we came across this fact: The winner of the Monopoly World Championship receives $20,580—the same amount as the Monopoly money that comes with the board game. We didn’t even know that there was a World Championship so Barbara decided to watch a documentary, “Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story.”

Barbara: I was surprised at all that I learned. Some quotes from Monopoly lovers are “It’s the most dynamic game in the world”, “It’s the only game where you can bankrupt your friends and they will still be your friends”, “It brings out the very best in people and the very worst.” One theme that went through the film was how playing Monopoly was a time when families and friends got together, talked, and laughed, etc. People really connected. Someone questioned that with social media everyone has a ton of connections but are they really connected to anyone? Everyone agreed it brought back the best memories of family and childhood. Over 40 countries have national championships and then come together for the world championship.  There were so many facts that I can’t list them all but I highly recommend the film (free on Prime) to anyone who has played or still wants to play.