This Day in Music 1973, KISS Guitarist Ace Frehley Was Nearly Electrocuted

"Shock Me" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss on their 1977 album Love Gun. It was written by lead guitarist Ace Frehley, who made his lead vocal debut. The song was inspired by an event that took place during Kiss' Rock and Roll Over tour when he was nearly electrocuted.

Wikipedia

Listen to a 3,400 Year Old Melody

The Oldest Known Melody c.1400BC.

This unique video, features the 3400-year-old "Hurrian Hymn no.6", which was discovered in Ugarit in Syria in the early 1950s, and was preserved for 3400 years on a clay tablet, written in the Cuniform text of the ancient Hurrian language - The Hurrian Hymn (catalogued as Text H6) was discovered in Ugarit, Syria, in the early 1950s, and was preserved for 3400 years on a clay tablet, written in the Cuniform text of the ancient Hurrian language - except from a few earlier Sumerian fragmentary instructional musical texts from c.1950 BCE (Musical Instructions for Lipit-Ishtar, King of Justice) the Hurrian Hymn it is the oldest written song yet known, in History!

Sources: YouTube, I Fucking Love Science

Jólakötturinn, The Yule Cat

The Yule Cat (Icelandic: Jólakötturinn or Jólaköttur) is a monster from Icelandic folklore, a huge and vicious cat said to lurk about the snowy countryside during Christmas timeand eat people who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve.^[1] The Yule Cat has become associated with other figures from Icelandic folklore as the house pet of the giantess Grýla and her sons, the Yule Lads.^[2]

The threat of being eaten by the Yule Cat was used by farmers as an incentive for their workers to finish processing the autumn wool before Christmas. The ones who took part in the work would be rewarded with new clothes, but those who did not would get nothing and thus would be preyed upon by the monstrous cat. The cat has alternatively been interpreted as merely eating away the food of ones without new clothes during Christmas feasts.^[1] The perception of the Yule Cat as a man-eating beast was partly popularized by the poet Jóhannes úr Kötlum in his poem Jólakötturinn.^[3]

^{SOURCE: Wikipedia}

Krampus, The Other Side of Christmas

In Austro-Bavarian Alpine folklore, Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure who, during the Christmas season, punishes children who have misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards the well-behaved with gifts. Regions in Austria feature similar figures and, more widely, Krampus is one of a number of Companions of Saint Nicholasin regions of Europe. The origin of the figure is unclear; some folklorists and anthropologists have postulated a pre-Christian origin for the figure (see Germanic paganism).

Although Krampus appears in many variations, most share some common physical characteristics. He is hairy, usually brown or black, and has the cloven hooves and horns of a goat. His long, pointed tongue lolls out.^[2][10]

Krampus carries chains, thought to symbolize the binding of the Devil by the Christian Church. He thrashes the chains for dramatic effect. The chains are sometimes accompanied with bells of various sizes.^[11] Of more pagan origins are the ruten, bundles of birch branches that Krampus carries and occasionally swats children with.^[2] The ruten have significance in pre-Christian pagan initiation rites.^[2] The birch branches are replaced with a whip in some representations. Sometimes Krampus appears with a sack or a basket strapped to his back; this is to cart off evil children for drowning, eating, or transport to Hell. Some of the older versions make mention of naughty children being put in the bag and being taken.^[2] This part of the legend refers to the times that the Moors raided the European coasts, and as far as Iceland, to abduct the local people into slavery. This quality can be found in other Companions of Saint Nicholas such as Zwarte Piet. 

SOURCE: Wikipedia

Ēostre

Ēostre or Ostara (Old English: Ēastre, Northumbrian dialect Ēostre; Old High German: *Ôstara) is a Germanic divinity who, by way of theGermanic month bearing her name (Northumbrian: Ēosturmōnaþ; West Saxon: Ēastermōnaþ; Old High German: Ôstarmânoth), is the namesake of the festival of Easter.

Ēostre is attested solely by Bede in his 8th-century work The Reckoning of Time, where Bede states that during Ēosturmōnaþ (the equivalent of April), pagan Anglo-Saxons had held feasts in Eostre's honor, but that this tradition had died out by his time, replaced by the Christian Paschal month, a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

Wikipedia

Valentine's Day - The Real Story

The Flower Crowned Skull of Saint Valentine.

Historical facts tell us the Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae).^[9] 

Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred about AD 496 and was buried on the Via Flaminia.

Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian.

One legend tells us that Saint Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. 

Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. 

The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines").

Now Saint Valentine's Day is a far cry from its origins in torture, execution and martyrdom. The day certainly helps keep Hallmark and florists in business.

Happy Valentine's Day from The Twisted Radio Team, we hope you get flowers and confectionery as opposed to torture and execution!

Source - Wikipedia

On This Day in History - February 11, 1531 - King Henry VIII is Recognised Supreme Head of the Church of England

On this day in history, February 11, 1531 - King Henry VIII is recognised Supreme Head of the Church of England.

This mad Ginger King is a historical figure who continues to fascinate people today.

He bullied his way through his reign. 

He had a total of 6 wives, two of which lost theirs heads due to his paranoia and desperate need to have a son and heir.

Henry cultivated the image of a Renaissance man, and his court was a centre of scholarly and artistic innovation and glamorous excess, epitomised by the Field of the Cloth of Gold.

Late in life, Henry's physical health declined. 

He was covered with painful, pus-filled boils and possibly suffered from gout. His obesity and other medical problems can be traced from the jousting accident in 1536, in which he suffered a leg wound.

The theory that Henry suffered from syphilis has been dismissed by most historians. A more recent theory suggests that Henry's medical symptoms are characteristic of untreated Type II diabetes.^[139] 

Henry died at the age of 55, on 28 January 1547 in the Palace of Whitehall, 

In the words of Betteridge and Freeman, "throughout the centuries [since his death], Henry has been praised and reviled, but he has never been ignored".

Image source

Wikipedia..