The Learn Something New Every Day project: January 2018

My Learn Something New Every Day of 2018 project went well during its first month. As I explained in my last post, my goal is to recognize and record one thing I've learned at the end of each day. I'm sharing my lessons here, with the hope that you'll find some of them interesting or helpful too. 

Some days the information gleaned was useful and on others quite trivial, but for each day of January, I recorded a tidbit of knowledge I didn't have during the previous 24 hours. 

Note: This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and then make a purchase, I may receive a form of compensation. I only recommend products I believe in.

Perhaps the lesson that amazed me most and was reinforced to me repeatedly this month, is how very quickly puppies grow up! 

Ours has already tripled in weight and grown exponentially since we adopted her.

My List of January Lessons: 

For more in-depth information about some of these topics, more details can be found in my previous post about Week 1 of this project and in future posts (soon to be published on this blog). 

January

Week 1.

•  1. Puppy toys can come unstuffed.
•  2. How to unclog a vacuum. 
•  3. It’s a small world. Well, sort of. 
•  4. Use vinegar to poach an egg.
•  5. The best place to do a puzzle. 
•  6. The aloe vera plant is useful for more than just first aid for burns.
•  7. An interesting political idea.

Week 2.

•  8. It's easy to make excellent artisan bread with a lovely crunchy crust.

I will be posting full details on how to bake bread like this soon, in an upcoming post.

This is the bread recipe I have always wanted!

•  9. Puppies grow quickly. 

The photos above already prove this point, but I can't resist sharing two more. We think she's cute.

I've lost track of how many times we've been told, "Wow, she's going to be a big dog!"





• 10. There's an easy way to get a dog to take a pill without spitting it out.

• 11. I found a few new ways to use the "Notes" feature on my iPhone and MacBook efficiently. 

• 12. California just can’t seem to get a break. Fires, floods, and mudslides.

• 13. I keep thinking I've seen and heard it all regarding our American politics, and then something even more unbelievable is reported.

Whether or not the alleged vulgar language by our president is true, diplomacy has been non-existent. Former Vice President Joe Biden's comment sums it up best:

"It’s not how a president should speak. It’s not how a president should behave. Most of all, it’s not what a president should believe. We’re better than this."  (From a tweet by Joe Biden) 

• 14. Learning knife skills can be dangerous. 

Gordon Ramsey warned me about using a big chef knife the wrong way but his method of slicing with it safely was harder than it seemed. 

I've already learned a lot from this MasterClass cooking class (including how to get my knives really sharp), but maybe I should stick to cutting sweet potatoes with a paring knife, the way I always have.

Week 3

• 15. Puppies know lots of ways to make you laugh - a lot.

• 16. There's some technique involved in making a good cup of pour-over coffee

• 17. In his new book, Origin: A Novel, Dan Brown shows how to combine fact and fiction to create an entertaining novel. 

• 18. Everyone has some artistic creativity in them. (More on this later!)

• 19. A badly injured fingernail can be repaired by a manicure.

• 20. I always over-pack (even when I just take a carry-on.)

• 21. I figured out how to get library e-book loans delivered to my Kindle.                    

Week 4

• 22. Restaurants sometimes serve caffeinated coffee when you ask for decaf.

• 23. There is not always enough room on board for everyone's carry-on luggage.

•  24. A boar bristle hairbrush can add shine to your hair.

• 25. Watch out for falling debris when sitting under a palm tree!

• 26. There's a secret to making brown bread in a can. 

• 27. An Unconditional Surrender statue is located in Sarasota, Florida and I learned why. (More about this later!)

• 28. Sarasota, Florida is a very far away from Helena, Montana. 

It took 13 hours of flight time and layovers for us to get home. That's longer than it could take us to travel to Europe! Thank heavens for good books!                                                                                                                                               

Week 5

• 29. I read Imagine Me Gone and gained some insight into how depression can affect families.

• 30. According to a New York Times article, the 2018 State of the Union Address was the 3rd longest in the past 50 years. 

I found one fact in this article more interesting than the content of the address itself: until the words in the transcript are counted we won't know if this length was due to the number of words or the speed of delivery. 

• 31. The large urban city Cape Town in South Africa is running out of water.

Which of these 31 things most interests you? 

Have you considered doing a Learn Something New Every Day project of your own?