Listen up, class... The coffee cup AL is fond of, is most likely a copy of a Victor mug. And therein lies a story... Navy guys being Navy guys, they like their coffee. In WW2, the U.S. Navy put out a contract for a heavy ceramic insulating coffee mug. The Victor company in New York, being in the electrical insulator business, knew how to make and fire insulating ceramic, so they bid on the contract. They got it. The mugs were heavy with an unglazed bottom that didn't easily slide around on a ship's table. After the war, Victor decided to attach a handle to the mug and the iconic diner coffee mug was born. And the Navy still used them. Victor probably made those mugs 40 years or more. A sidenote on a tradition with the mugs...If you were far enough up the feeding chain in the Navy where you could hang on to your own mug, the tradition became to never wash it. Rinse it out with water, but never wash with anything that would mess with the stain. You could tell how long a CPO or officer had been in, by how dark his mug was on the inside A 15-year guy might have a mug with a bronze interior. But back to our story...As with all things, the DamnChinese (one word, like DamnYankee) got into the business with cheap knock-offs. They could make, ship and sell at wholesale a mug for less than what the Victor company could fire the mug in the plant. Victor took the machinery out of use and it probably still sits in a warehouse, somewhere. So now, Victor mugs have become a bit collectible. There are even some colored ones and a few different designs that the company made up looking to increase sales. Look on the bottom for the word "Victor" stamped into the mug before firing. Since each worker had his own stamp, some employees would modify their stamps a bit, maybe taking off a leg off of the R or an arm off of the Y. That way they knew who made the mug. Now, the DamnChinese, being the clever Orientals they are, tended to stamp the word "Victory" on the bottoms of their knock-offs. Kinda hard to tell if you've got a Victor or a Victory (with a smudged Y) with just a glance. Which brings us to Etsey, Ebay and the local bric-a-brac shop...Because of the WW2 connection and because of the numerous Chinese mugs, people started to refer to the mugs as WW2 Victory Mugs, somehow fusing the American and Chinese mugs into a single style of mug. If you decide to buy one, do your research and make sure you are getting what you pay for. And enjoy your coffee...

Amazing animals.

@Mik said in They were right. They were wrong.: We've had five inches of rain the past two days. The back yard was a bayou until this afternoon. You know why they call it a bayou? 'Cuz it go bayou house...

@Axtremus said in Damn Rodent.: Punxsutawney Phil’s predictions are only right roughly 40% of the time. There is a 60% chance that Phil’s latest prediction is wrong. Never would have guessed you of all people would fall for the gambler's fallacy.

I don’t think two acres in a state the size of Nevada is going to affect borders for 1,000 or more years. Maybe longer.

@George-K said in Who are these people?: By the way, I apologize for my assumption that only one Y chromosome carrier is in that photo. My comment was based on the interns' appearance, and, of course, I could be wrong. Teh CrashTest doesn't kiss and tell. Well, strictly speaking he doesn't kiss.

@LuFins-Dad said in Declining Sperm Count: Not really unexpected in a world where 10% of men have ovaries. On the other hand, sperm counts among women have skyrocketed… Give that man a pearl necklace!

It looks like something designed by an engineer rather than a designer. Which probably explains it.

Don't forget the 6 murdered police officers.

Most are probably in a single account, bank or brokerage. Both will go bust when the Chinese attack or during Mr. Biden's second term whichever comes first.

Same nose.

Although maybe not perfect, it does not seem to be a bad law.

Yes, that was very interesting.

@Jolly said in Wonder Woman: You made over $10M in revenue, but you don't talk about your profit. Yup, kind of like gambling people who tell you that they won USD$XX thousand dollars last week at the casino. But they dont tell you how much they had to spend to "win" that $XX thousand dollars!!

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@Axtremus said in A Clear and Present Danger in Uganda: discrimination against Christians Nobody is dumb enough to compare Christians building hospitals, schools and churches to weirdos who can't tell the difference between digestion and reproduction spreading disease.

Have the special teams wear dresses. Eliminate instant replay.

Killjoy!

Waterfowl are not the smartest of birds. The Canadian geese around here just walk out into the middle of four lane roads, expecting everyone to stop. They usually do. I won't run over them, but I advance on them slowly, honking the horn. It's not good to teach wild creatures that traffic will stop for them.