It’s November 8th, the birthday of Patti Page, aka the “Singing Rage,” and one of the biggest-selling pop singers of the 1950s.
Page could sing it all, from country songs like “Tennessee Waltz” to novelty hits like “How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?”
She sold hundreds of millions of records, appeared in movies, hosted television shows for not just one but three major networks, and she lent her voice to a singing bottle of maple syrup.
Let me explain. Page and her husband Jerry owned a farm in the community of Bath, New Hampshire. They alternated time between the farm and a place in California.
The farm had a stand of maple trees, and so they decided to start learning how to tap the trees, collect the sap and boil it down into syrup.
They started making and selling Patti Page 100% Pure Maple Syrup – and the bottles didn’t just have her name on them, they had her voice, too.
The tops of the syrup bottles had little chips in them, so that when you opened them up, you’d hear the unmistakable voice of Patti Page, belting out a song she’d recorded just for syrup aficionados.
You have to think that, after that, Mrs. Butterworth wanted to book some studio time to cut her own album.
I am no great shakes when it comes to chess, but I may start spending more time with the game after the release of Skyline Chess.
The rules are the same as traditional chess, but the pieces are all buildings from the skylines of major world cities. And then can play against each other. London vs. New York. Paris vs. Dubai.
Of course, city life doesn’t come cheap and neither do these sets – the luxury bronze editions of the game costs upwards of $3,800.
Maybe I could just rent a rook for a couple minutes?
And remember, if you don’t remember the rules of chess, you can always – wait for it – check.
Patti Page: A Singing Rage, Who Had Her Own Singing Syrup Bottle (NHPR)
Patti Page Singing Maple Syrup Cap (NH Magazine on YouTube)
Beautiful Chess Sets Based on Iconic City Skylines (Laughing Squid)
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Photo by National Nuclear Security Administration via Wikicommons
