Have You Seen a Sugar Plum?

Last month, as I coasted through the Starbucks drive-thru, I saw this on their menu:

Really? Is this just a mind control experiment?

As I pondered this some more, I started to wonder just what Sugar Plums really are. I've heard of them as a child during Christmas, but have I ever seen one or tasted one? Has anyone seen a Sugar Plum tree? I was starting to feel a bit duped since it seemed to be "out of season" when it was first on the menu board - perhaps some kind of mind control going on here?

Looking into this, I saw that even Starbucks might be confused if it is a sugar plum, sugar-plum or a sugarplum. According to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1608, a "sugarplum" was defined as “something very pleasing or agreeable, esp. when given as a sop or bribe.” Ok.....a sop or bribe...(yes, A Tale of the Morgue from 1840 gives context)...the mystery deepened:

Clearly, everyday use of the word "sop"

But - then I recalled the line “visions of sugar plums danced in their heads” from Clement Clark Moore’s A Visit from Saint Nicholas - dancing just like Justin Bieber!!! This was never something dancing in my head - though, I do wonder about this guy below and just what was being added to Christmas candies:

Suspicious dealer of vapes and plums

Then, dare I say, there's the mysterious Sugar Plum Fairy! Tchaikovsky's first Nutcracker seemed to fall flat - especially with this report from 1906:

The Sugar-plum Fairy resented!!!!!

....a very inauspicious beginning! I think that St. Nich gave her more than just some smokes (he looks quite smug - like "I just tripped out the Sugar Plum Fairy"). 

I'm now sure this is all a hoax and this final image is proof that we all should be wary of anything sugar-plummy (be sure to look behind you and never stay in a cabin in the woods)!!!

PS - Happy 14th Anniversary - Museum-H (or is it MuseumH... or Museum H??)

Heuristic: Unnatural (mind-control)

The Year 881 is Unclear, Ba Ba Yi

For some reason I started thinking about the year 881. Why that year, you might ask? I can't really say -- only that it came to me as a question to ponder. We know a lot about the year 81 - Rome is flourishing under Titus and Domitian - and 1881 - Kansas prohibits the sale of alcohol. Even 81 BC seems to have more information.

See! We even know what Titus looked like!  (We all know guys like that! imperiumromanum.pl)

So, do we know anything about the year 881? And why did this magical number just jump into my head? It seems the Vikings were quite the deal in 881 - wreaking havoc on Europe much like things we all witnessed in Lord of the Rings.

like this!

But, for 881, in my head I just saw castles, serfs, skirmishes, kingdoms, muck and religious zealots. There had to be something there - some event or famous person. Here's a map around that time for help

It's, of course, a myopic view of the West as being the most important part of the world in 881 (I'm sure the Chinese had sailed much of the Pacific and had gunpowder by then). This isn't a history lesson however - its more about 881. 

Digging deeper I found one direct reference to that year- "A.D. 881. Raghallach, abbot of Bangor died." in the book Monasticon Hibernicum: A History of the Abbeys, Priories, and other Religious Houses in Ireland. (Monasticon! The Comic-Con of the 800s??)

After searching around a bit more I found the gem I was looking for - Charles the Fat! What a name - crowned in 881 as emperor of the Carolingian Empire (basically the Frankish region on that map). Why that name?

I was initially excited about that name and what it might mean for something in 881 but discovered he probably wasn't fat and was only nicknamed that about 300 years later. This is the best I can do...

Charles the Fat

He seems pretty uneventful and doesn't match his nickname, so let's move on....but......one last historical note - check out this historical drawing of the vikings around that time - a bit of a image myth buster, eh?

marauding vikings

As usual I'm rambling - but, perhaps I mistook 881 as being a year (even though there were a few oddities there - I may PS this post in the future when 881 pops up somewhere....)

Interestingly, 881 is a prime number and also a "sacred angel number" according to this post. Look at what it means:

The message of the 1 and 8 combination is telling you that you are nearing the end of a significant phase of your life. Powerful changes and opportunities abound and you are in a position where you are able to command your desires. If there is some part of your life that is not flowing as you'd like, know that it will soon be healed or replaced with better things. 

Did I tune into something from the spiritual world?!? Strangely, my birthday month and day have the numbers 8 and 1 which could be a sign. Could Museum H be in for something bigger and better (preferably 881 posts)?

I will ponder this some more - but, in closing, I discovered that 881 is also used in Chinese text chatting - 8 in Mandarin is pronounced 'ba' and 1 is 'yi' - actually a bit more like 'eee'. So, saying 881 is 'ba ba yi' is a pun for 'bye-bye'! 

 So, 881 my friends, and time for me to go watch my favorite film:

Heuristic: Natural (number)