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Video: Fire Breathing Dragon at West Edmonton Mall
Dragons!
Historically, many cultures have had legends of dragons but it is interesting to note that they regard the dragon in different ways.
Chinese Dragons
In the Chinese culture, dragons are seen as a snake-like creature with claws that represent the 'yang' concept of daytime & fire. They are regarded as benevolent: rulers of weather & water that can help during times of flood or drought. They are an integral part of the Chinese New Year celebration. Oriental Dragons are so highly regarded that it is considered disrespectful to be a dragon slayer. In fact, even today it is considered a taboo so much that it is alleged that a Nike commercial featuring a basketball player slaying a dragon was censored by the Chinese Government. Check out the 'improved' version:
Oriental Dragon T-shirt:
Our air-brushed art collection features this vintage oriental dragon.
Native North America, South America & Central America Dragons
In these native cultures, dragons were regarded as serpent creatures but some were feathered. They represented the primal forces of nature and were magical beings that were wiser than humans. They were to be feared.
If you are interested in reading the stories behind some of these dragons, check out these links:
The Ojibwa seven headed dragon
Serpent T-shirt:
You've heard of the movie "Snakes on a Plane", but now the danger is more intense as they discover that it isn't just any snake but Quetzalcoatl back as he promised!
European Dragons
European dragons, especially during medieval times, are portrayed more dinosaur-like than serpent-like and possess wings and the ability to breathe fire. They usually live in a cave or lair.
It was considered to be an act of bravery and cunning to slay a dragon because of their size and intelligence. A dragon slayer was considered a hero because they protected people from being terrorized by the dragon & it took great skill the be successful. It was also believed that the dragon's blood possessed magical abilities & that they protected a treasure trove in their lair, so the dragon slayer would also become rich.
What would it take for a famous dragon slayer to change his profession? Here is an amazing short animation answering that question.
Dragon Slayer T-shirt:
Our ringer tee features a vintage picture of a dragon with "The Dragon Slayer" in celtic print. Click to see all shirts & merchandise available.
Check out our other t-shirts at LingoTshirts.com!
January 17th in History
1773 --- Captain Cook's Resolution became the first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle.
1871 --- Andrew Smith Hallidie of San Francisco, California received a patent for a cable car system. The public transportation system was put into operation in the city by the bay in 1873, providing a fast, safe way to travel up and down San Francisco’s steep hills. Hallidie didn’t just wake up one day and invent his cable car system. Hallidie realized the necessity for the cable car system when he saw a loaded horse-drawn San Francisco streetcar slide backwards on a slippery hill. It was a summer day in 1869, but the cobblestones were wet from the usual San Francisco dampness. The heavily weighted car dragged five of the horses to their deaths. The catastrophe prompted Andrew Hallidie and his partners to do something to prevent this from happening again.Coincidentally, Hallidie already had the basic product needed to produce his cable car system. His father had filed the first patent in Great Britain for the manufacture of wire rope. Although Andrew was born in England, he had moved to the U.S. in 1852. As a young man, he was able to use his father’s new, tough rope when he designed and built a suspension bridge across Sacramento’s American River. He also had used the wire rope to pull heavy ore cars out of underground gold mines on tracks. The light bulb went on and his wire-rope manufacturing plant (that he had already moved to San Francisco) began the process of making the new cable car system.A little known fact is that Mr. Hallidie didn’t call them cable cars at first. Originally, one took a trip on ‘the endless wire rope way.’ The cars ran on rails, pulled by an endless steel cable moving on a slot beneath the street surface. In fact, they still work the same way today.
1876 --- The saxophone was played by Etta Morgan at New York City’s Olympic Theatre. The instrument was little known at the time in the United States.
1893 --- Hawaii's monarchy was overthrown when a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate
1916 --- The Professional Golfers Association was formed in New York City.
1928 --- The fully automatic, film-developing machine was patented by A.M. Josepho.
1929 --- Popeye the spinach loving sailor first appeared in the comic strip 'Thimble Theatre.'
1945 --- Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg disappeared in Hungary while in Soviet custody. Wallenberg was credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews.
1961 --- In his farewell address, U.S. President Eisenhower warned against the rise of "the military-industrial complex."
1966 --- A U.S. B52 bomber carrying four hydrogen bombs collided with its refueling plane over Palomares, Spain, scattering radioactive plutonium over the area.
1971 --- Marvin Gaye sang the U.S. national anthem at SuperBowl V in Miami, FL.
1972 --- Memphis renamed Bellvue Street Elvis Presley Boulevard. All the new street signs disappeared immediately.
1984 --- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that using a home video recorder to tape movies and TV shows for non-commercial purposes did not violate federal copyright law.
1990 --- Near Alvin, Texas, 18-year-old Andrea Guerero found a man slumped over the wheel of his truck, administered CPR, and saved his life. She was returning home from a CPR certification exam, which she flunked.
1991 --- Operation Desert Storm began. The U.S. and its United Nations allies went to war to drive Saddam Hussein’s army out of Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf gave the go-ahead for bombing raids on Baghdad, followed a few weeks later by assaults with ground troops on Iraqi troops in southern Iraq and Kuwait.
1994 --- The Northridge earthquake rocked Los Angeles, CA, registering a 6.7 on the Richter Scale. At least 61 people were killed and about $20 billion in damage was caused.
1995 --- More than 6,000 people were killed when an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 devastated the city of Kobe, Japan.
1998 --- U.S. President Bill Clinton denied in a sworn deposition that he had an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
1999 --- In High Point, North Carolina, complaints began rolling in about the unfriendly policewoman on Eastchester Drive. She didn’t wave, she was sleeping, she was dead. Actually, she was a female mannequin, dressed in police clothes, helping to reduce speeds at a high-traffic intersection.
2006 --- The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Oregon's assisted suicide law by a 6-3 vote. It allows doctors to help mentally competent terminally ill patients end their lives.
On The Radio on January 17
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1961
1969
1977
1985
* information from KALW 91.7 San Francisco - listen online!
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