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It's Arbor Day!
By Chris Petry Arbor Day has a marketing problem. Think about it. Spirit Halloween begins opening their doors in August. Millions phone in dinner reservations and purchase heart-shaped chocolate boxes for their significant others on Valentine’s Day. Americans from the Atlantic to the Pacific and North to the Arctic Circle will let off fireworks on July 4th to celebrate their independence.
April Showers, May Flowers & All That Jazz
By Chris Petry Well, we’ve officially reached the month of April and you know what that means. Yes, it’s time to don a blue pinstriped suit and umbrella like Gene Kelley in “Singing in the Rain” and wrap yourself around a light post. If 1950s musical references are lost on you, let’s just say we’re in for a lot of rain. Probably. Or, maybe not? Despite the ol
Happy St. Patrick's Day Ohio!
By Chris Petry This year, St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Monday. Ordinarily, the prospect of any holiday falling on a Monday is enough to make anyone recoil in horror and dread. After all, one still needs to report to work first thing Tuesday morning. Then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before there’s any time to catch up on lost Zzzs. Of course, a lot of people will just ramp up the
It's Valentine's Day
By Chris Petry Well, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Love is in the air. Or something like that. I’ll probably just order a pizza, watch my usual double feature of My Bloody Valentine (1981) and Valentine (2001) and sob because nobody loves me. No! This is the year I finally take charge of my life and feelings. I’m all I need! Me! And pizza. This just in, my bloodwork reveals tha
Snowflake Science
By Chris Petry As the song goes, “If you’ve got no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.” Well, unfortunately, most of us do have places to go. Namely work. If it wasn’t for the early morning commutes, no one would hate the snow. Of this I’m convinced. So, let’s just forget about all the driving nonsense for a moment, I guess the shoveling too,
What's with Ginger Bread Homes?
By Chris Petry As of this writing, the Federal Reserve has enacted its third interest rate of the fiscal quarter. These rate cuts coming after two years of steep increases. While rates will fall even more in 2025, current projections indicate it will be much more gradual and deliberate. No matter what, rate decreases will almost certainly be welcomed by the home buying public. While it
Holiday Cookies by State
By Chris Petry Last month, we reviewed Google’s state by state breakdown of the most popular Thanksgiving side dishes. For the Winter Holiday season, we thought we’d see what search analytics revealed about the most popular Christmas side dishes. Well, turns out that data’s not quite in yet. However, they did analyze the most popular Christmas Cookie search for each state. Whi
Winter Train Ride
By Chris Petry For today’s topic, let’s rewind the clock back to 1802. In Shropshire, England, on the Welsh border, inventor, engineer (and wrestler interestingly enough) Richard Trevithick, introduces the world’s first steam locomotive. It’s hard today to really explain the revelatory nature of that moment but suffice it to say, the world was forever changed. T
Hotels of Ice
By Chris Petry If you’re ever in Quebec City between January and March, you can book a room at North America’s premier and, until 2012, only ice hotel. What is an ice hotel, you ask? No need to overthink it. It’s literally a hotel made of ice. Which is why bookings are only guaranteed within the aforementioned three-month period where temperatures and precipitation permit its
Most Popular Thanksgiving Dish in Every State
By Chris Petry A couple of days ago, I ran across this article from Delish where they discuss the release of Google’s Annual trends results for the most popular Thanksgiving side dish is each state. I personally look forward to seeing what recipes people are searching for the holiday season. The reasons are many. For one, I might discover or rediscover a dish I haven’t had in a long
