INSPIRATIONAL: Don’t be affected by skepticism … … 

Thursday, December 25, 2025

See caption

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_Virginia,_there_is_a_Santa_Claus

In 1897, Philip O’Hanlon, a surgeon, was asked by his eight-year-old daughter, Virginia O’Hanlon, whether Santa Claus existed. His answer did not convince her, and Virginia decided to pose the question to The Sun.[7] Sources conflict over whether her father suggested writing the letter,[8] or she elected to on her own.[7] In her letter Virginia wrote that her father had told her “If you see it in The Sun it’s so.”[8] O’Hanlon later told The Sun that her father thought the newspaper would be “too busy” to respond to her question and had said to “[w]rite if you want to,” but to not be disappointed if she got no response.[9] After sending the letter she looked for a response “day after day”.[9] O’Hanlon later said that she had waited for an answer to her letter for long enough that she forgot about it. Campbell theorizes the letter was sent shortly after O’Hanlon’s birthday in July and was “overlooked or misplaced” for a time.[10][a]

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Church’s response began: “Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age.” He continued to write that Santa Claus existed “as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist” and that the world would be “dreary” if he did not. Church argued that just because something could not be seen did not mean it was not real: “Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.” He concluded that:[23]

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“Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.” — Francis Church in The Sun on September 21, 1897

So true!

I always use “electricity” when I have to respond to any child’s question about reality.

Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, The Great Pumpkin, an honest politician, or jumbo shrimp … … … … 

“Well, I am an electrical engineer and I KNOW electricity is real, but I can’t see it.  Why can’t other things, that we can’t see, be real?”

It’s worked for me so far, and I can’t imagine what I’ll say then. 

Merry, Happy, or just Seasonal Greetings, what ever you celebrate.

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INTERESTING: Why do cows align the way they do?

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Grazing Cows Naturally Align Themselves With?

The North Star, The Wind, The Sun, The Magnetic Poles

Correct!

Cows grazing, oriented North along the Earth’s North/South magnetic axis.

Answer: The Magnetic Poles

They might not be known the world over as the brightest creatures, but cows sure know how to keep an organized herd. Whether you’re watching a grazing herd in North Dakota or New Zealand, there’s one thing cows excel at: orienting themselves, en masse, along the axis of magnetic North/South.

Although scientists don’t have a definitive answer as to why cows align themselves with the magnetosphere, there are several theories: it coordinates movement among herd members, facilitates escape from a predator, ensures herd members are grazing the land efficiently by moving in the same direction together, and it may help the cows better map out their physical environment if they consistently orient themselves in the same direction.

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How little we understand the physical world we live in.  “Grazing efficiently” seems correct but it’s by no means factual.

I continue to be amazed at “factoids” that have no explanations.

We know so little.

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