🌊 SURF 'N TURF 🏝️
-THE BORACAY ISLAND LIFE-
Explore fascinating money facts revealing how currency is made, priced, and remembered, uncovering surprising stories behind everyday payments, pricing tricks, and financial systems worldwide.
US bills use a cotton linen blend for durability, pennies cost more to mint than their value, salary traces back to salt allowances, and left digit bias makes 19.99 feel cheaper, proving money design and psychology quietly shape daily financial decisions.
Even ATMs use four digit PINs due to memory limits, credit cards began from a forgotten wallet, and famous Monopoly money claims evolved over time, showing how human habits and history influence modern financial systems.
Some interesting facts about money.
• US Paper Money Composition: US paper money is not actually made from paper. It is a durable blend of 75% cotton and 25% linen. This specific composition is what allows the currency to survive common mishaps like going through a washing machine cycle.
• Cost of Manufacturing Pennies: It costs the US government nearly three cents to manufacture a single penny. Due to this cost exceeding the face value of the coin, the government loses millions of dollars every year just by producing them.
• Origin of the Word "Salary": The word "salary" originates from the Latin word salarium". This is because Roman soldiers were notably paid partially in salt, which was a vital commodity essential for preserving food at the time.
• Psychology of Pricing: Prices like $19.99 feel significantly cheaper than $20.00 because our brains process information from left to right. The brain encodes the price as "19 and change" rather than associating it with the round number 20, making it seem like a better deal.
• Monopoly Money vs. Real Currency: Every year, the company Parker Brothers prints more money for the board game Monopoly than the US Treasury prints in real currency for actual circulation.
• ATM PIN Length: ATM Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) are typically four digits long. This standard was set because the inventor's wife mentioned she could only reliably remember four numbers, despite the inventor originally wanting a six-digit system.
• Invention of the First Universal Credit Card: The first universal credit card, known as the Diners Club card, was invented in 1950. The idea came about after a businessman forgot his wallet at a restaurant and faced the embarrassment of not being able to pay his bill.
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Explore fascinating money facts revealing how currency is made, priced, and remembered, uncovering surprising stories behind everyday payments, pricing tricks, and financial systems worldwide.
US bills use a cotton linen blend for durability, pennies cost more to mint than their value, salary traces back to salt allowances, and left digit bias makes 19.99 feel cheaper, proving money design and psychology quietly shape daily financial decisions.
Even ATMs use four digit PINs due to memory limits, credit cards began from a forgotten wallet, and famous Monopoly money claims evolved over time, showing how human habits and history influence modern financial systems.
Some interesting facts about money.
• US Paper Money Composition: US paper money is not actually made from paper. It is a durable blend of 75% cotton and 25% linen. This specific composition is what allows the currency to survive common mishaps like going through a washing machine cycle.
• Cost of Manufacturing Pennies: It costs the US government nearly three cents to manufacture a single penny. Due to this cost exceeding the face value of the coin, the government loses millions of dollars every year just by producing them.
• Origin of the Word "Salary": The word "salary" originates from the Latin word salarium". This is because Roman soldiers were notably paid partially in salt, which was a vital commodity essential for preserving food at the time.
• Psychology of Pricing: Prices like $19.99 feel significantly cheaper than $20.00 because our brains process information from left to right. The brain encodes the price as "19 and change" rather than associating it with the round number 20, making it seem like a better deal.
• Monopoly Money vs. Real Currency: Every year, the company Parker Brothers prints more money for the board game Monopoly than the US Treasury prints in real currency for actual circulation.
• ATM PIN Length: ATM Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) are typically four digits long. This standard was set because the inventor's wife mentioned she could only reliably remember four numbers, despite the inventor originally wanting a six-digit system.
• Invention of the First Universal Credit Card: The first universal credit card, known as the Diners Club card, was invented in 1950. The idea came about after a businessman forgot his wallet at a restaurant and faced the embarrassment of not being able to pay his bill.
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🇵🇭📍Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City, Philippines 
Long-gestating construction on Barcelona’s famed Sagrada Familia reached a milestone this week when workers completed the upper section of its highest tower—a monument to Jesus Christ that makes the fantastical building the tallest church in the world.
Work on the architect Antoni Gaudí’s masterpiece commenced in 1882, and only one of its towers reached completion by the time he died in 1926, at the age of 73.
But as reported by The Guardian, the chief architect for the project called last Friday—when a 56-foot cross was lifted into position—“a joyful day, wonderful for all the people who have made it possible.” Construction is expected to continue for a decade or so, but The Guardian called it “nevertheless a day full of emotion for a city that has lived with Gaudí’s unfinished work for generations.”
Read more: 
Every year between January and April, a massive culinary phenomenon takes over the United States.
Girl Scout Cookie season is an intensely awaited period where millions of boxes are sold nationwide.
The tradition began in 1917 when a local Oklahoma troop baked simple sugar cookies to finance their activities.
Explosive demand quickly forced the shift to commercial bakers. Today, buyers remain fiercely loyal to specific builds.
Some wait all year for the rich coconut and caramel layered Samoas, while others buy in bulk to stock up on the absolute best seller, the crisp chocolate coated Thin Mints.
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Fishy weekend ...I think. Had lost all track of time, days of the week and such. 
🤿 "Something wicked this way comes"
GM 🌄
Proof of walk this morning with Amigo and Cypher at Whitesand Beach ⛱️ 
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On this day in 1983, the Michael Jackson single “Beat It” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at #78 (February 26)
Asked about “Beat It” in Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Songs issue, Michael Jackson said:
I wanted to write the type of rock song that I would go out and buy.
But also something totally different from the rock music I was hearing on Top 40 radio."
And when producer Quincy Jones made contact with Eddie Van Halen to ask him to do a solo on the track, Eddie thought he was getting pranked!
After establishing that the call was legit, Eddie used a Hartley–Thompson amplifier borrowed from guitarist Allan Holdsworth and recorded his guitar solo; free of charge, with his name low-key buried in the inner sleeve credits.
“I did it as a favor", he said, telling Q Magazine: “Everybody (from Van Halen) was out of town and I figured, 'who's gonna know if I play on this kid's record?' I didn't want nothing.
Maybe Michael will give me dance lessons someday."
Fellow guitar legend Steve Lukather (who played on the track with his Toto bandmates Steve and Jeff Porcaro) recalled, "Initially, we rocked it out as Eddie had played a good solo—but Quincy thought it was too tough.
So I had to reduce the distorted guitar sound and that is what was released."
According to Quincy Jones, "I said, 'I'm not going to tell you what to play, the reason you're here is because of what you do play…' So that's what he did.
He played his ass off."
The result was one of the most celebrated solos in modern rock…
According to Rod Temperton, who wrote the title track to “Thriller”, a mystery blaze broke out in the control room as Eddie van Halen played his guitar solo.
“Eddie was playing and the monitor speakers literally caught on fire," recalled Temperton to Q magazine.
“The speaker caught fire and were all thinking, like, 'This must be really good, this solo!'
The technicians had to race into the control room with fire extinguishers and put it out."
The song went all the way to #1 in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Belgium, #2 in Australia, France, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland, and #3 in the UK.
“Beat It” won 1983 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance.
Rolling Stone ranked “Beat It" #185 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2021.
#beatit, #MichaelJackson, #eddievanhalen, #quincyjones, #thriller, #stevelukather, #jeffporcaro, #grammywinner, #grammyawardwinner, #80smusic, #dailyrockhistory, #thisdayinmusic, #onthisday
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This week in 1978, the Gerry Rafferty LP “City to City” debuted on the UK Albums Chart at #48 (February 25)
It was Rafferty's first solo release in six years—and first release of any kind since 1975—due to his tenure in the band Stealers Wheel and subsequent legal proceedings which prevented Rafferty from releasing any new solo recordings for the following three years.
The album also went to #3 in Australia and Germany, #5 in the Netherlands, #6 in the UK and New Zealand, and #9 in Sweden and Austria.
“Baker Street” was the worldwide smash hit that drove the album to the top, but it also produced two other US Top 40 singles, "Right Down the Line" (#12), and "Home and Dry" (#28).
The iconic sax riff in “Baker Street” was played by Raphael Ravenscroft, for which he was paid the going session musician rate at the time of £27.50.
The cracking guitar solo in the song was played by Hugh Burns.
Rafferty once commented on how profitable his biggest song had been, saying: "Baker Street still makes me about £80,000 a year. It's been a huge earner for me. I must admit, I could live off that song alone".
For “Baker Street”, Rafferty received the 1978 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.
#citytocity, #gerryrafferty, #bakerstreet, #homeanddry, #rightdowntheline, #70smusic, #raphaelravenscroft, #classicrock, #70srock, #dailyrockhistory, #thisdayinmusic, #OnThisDay
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It might seem bold — but in the deep ocean, red is the perfect disguise.
Sunlight can only penetrate so far beneath the waves, and red wavelengths are the first to disappear. By the time you reach the deep sea, there’s no red light left.
That means red animals actually appear black in the darkness — helping them stay hidden from predators and prey alike.
Learn more about animals of the ocean depths: 
📍 Citadel of Dinant, Wallonia, Belgium 🇧🇪
Dinant looks like someone designed a town specifically for reflections. The Citadel sits on a 100-metre limestone cliff, the bulb-shaped spire of the Collegiate Church of Notre Dame rises beside it, and the whole scene doubles in the River Meuse on a still evening 🪞. It's almost too symmetrical to be real.
This small Walloon town punches well above its weight in history. It's the birthplace of Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone, and you'll find oversized painted saxophones lining the bridge as a tribute 🎷. The Citadel itself has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times over 900 years, and you can reach the top by cable car or by climbing 408 stone steps.
Most people pass through Dinant on a day trip from Brussels or Namur, which means by late afternoon the riverfront empties out. That's when you get this shot.
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𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐀 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬…
𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐀 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡.
Berlin’s Kirche am Hohenzollernplatz is a landmark of Brick Expressionism, built 1930–33 from dark clinker brick.
Designed from Ossip Klarwein’s plans within Fritz Höger’s office, it turns sacred architecture into pure geometry—fluted brick “towers,” a razor-straight cross, and an entrance cut like a Gothic wedge.
𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫: Matthias Süßen
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🔦 
🧠 
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On this day in 1968, the Otis Redding single “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” debuted on the UK Singles Chart at #37 (February 27)
The song co-written by Redding and Steve Cropper from the LP “The Dock of the Bay” went on to peak at #3 in the UK, New Zealand, and South Africa, #7 in Canada, #13 in Ireland, and #29 in Italy.
It also became the first ever posthumous single to top the charts in the US, after Redding tragically passed away in a plane crash on December 10, 1967.
It was recorded by Redding twice in 1967, including once just three days before his death.
The album “The Dock of the Bay” was also the first posthumous album to reach #1 on the UK Albums Chart.
Redding started writing the lyrics to the song in August 1967, while sitting on a rented houseboat in Sausalito, California, then later in Memphis completed the music and the rest of the wistful lyrics with guitarist Steve Cropper.
In a September 1990 interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Cropper recalled:
“Otis was one of those [guys] who had 100 ideas….
He had been in San Francisco doing The Fillmore. And the story that I got, he was renting a boathouse, or stayed at a boathouse or something, and that's where he got the idea of the ships coming in the bay there.
And that's about all he had: "I watch the ships come in and I watch them roll away again."
….If you listen to the songs I collaborated on with Otis, most of the lyrics are about him. [...] Otis didn't really write about himself but I did.
……..’Dock of the Bay’ was exactly that: ‘I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay’ was all about him going out to San Francisco to perform.”
After Redding's death, Cropper mixed "Dock of the Bay" at Stax Studios.
He added the sound of seagulls and waves crashing to the background, as Redding had requested, recalling the sounds he heard when he was staying on the houseboat.
Booker T Jones from Booker T & the MGs plays keyboards on the track.
When Otis was still alive, there were discussions of contracting the Stax gospel act the Staple Singers to record backing vocals, but this was never carried out.
He considered the song unfinished, and planned to record what he considered a final version, but never got the chance…
It didn’t matter; the song became an enduring, timeless classic.
In 1969, Otis Redding’s most successful song won two Grammy Awards: Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
In 1998 the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
In 1999, BMI named the song as the sixth-most performed song of the twentieth century, with about six million performances.
"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" was ranked #26 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the second-highest of four Redding songs on the list, after "Respect" (Aretha Franklin’s version).
There have been many cover versions of this classic released by prominent artists, including Michael Bolton, Glen Campbell, and Sammy Hagar.
Hagar’s version version features the song's co-writer, Steve Cropper, on guitar and members of the band Boston—Brad Delp, Sib Hashian and Barry Goudreau—on backup vocals.
The Reddings, who included two of Otis Redding's sons, released a version which charted for nine weeks starting in June 1982, peaking at #55.
#dockofthebay, #otisredding, #stevecropper #60smusic, #grammyawardwinner, #grammyhalloffame, #bookertjones, #dailyrockhistory, #sanfranciscobay, #thisdayinmusic, #onthisday
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IKN Nusantara is designated as the future capital city of Indonesia. 
🇮🇩
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𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐀 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐀 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞.
Arts et Métiers was redesigned in 1994 into a copper-clad, riveted “steampunk” capsule—complete with portholes that hint at gears and inventions, nodding to the nearby Musée des Arts et Métiers.
Daily commute… but make it retro-futurism.
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TasteAtlas Gourmet: World's Best Chocolates - Sao Paulo, Brazil
www.tasteatlas.com/best-rated-chocolates-in-sao-paulo
Mission Chocolate Luisa Abram Kopenhagen Baianí Chocolates Chocolat du Jour DENGO Luzz Cacau
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"It's a good day to dive". 🤿
Pura Vida 🏝️
#akuana gear #scubadiving#cavediving #naui #techdiver #scubadivingaddicts #scubagirls #scubarevolution #scubaworld #scubagear #scubadivinglife #scubadivers #wetsuit#ccr#rebreather#divingtrip #shoredive
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📍 Casa Batlló, Barcelona, Spain 🇪🇸
There is not a single straight line on this building. Casa Batlló is Antoni Gaudí's 1906 renovation of an apartment block on Passeig de Gràcia, and at dusk, when the interior lights flick on, the facade turns into something alive 🐉. The roof is scaled like a dragon's spine, the balconies look like skull masks, and the shimmering mosaic tiles shift colour depending on where you stand.
Locals call the block it sits on the "Block of Discord" because three rival architects, Gaudí included, each designed a building here trying to outdo one another. Gaudí won. The interior is just as wild: bone-shaped columns, a light well tiled in graduating shades of blue, and not a single right angle in the entire stairwell.
Book the first or last entry slot to avoid the crush. The evening visit includes a rooftop experience where you can stand on the dragon's back and look out over the city lights ✨.
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