Easter egg

Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are decorated eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tradition is to use dyed and painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as chocolate. Eggs, in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility, and rebirth.

History

The practice of decorating eggshells is ancient, predating Christian traditions. Ostrich eggs with engraved decoration that are 60,000 years old have been found in Africa. Decorated ostrich eggs, and representations of ostrich eggs in gold and silver, were commonly placed in graves of the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians as early as 5,000 years ago.

The Christian custom of the Easter egg, can be traced as far back as the early Christians of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ. The Christian Church officially adopted the custom, regarding the eggs as a symbol of the resurrection. The Roman Ritual, the first edition of which was published in 1610 but which contains texts of much older date, has among the Easter Blessings of Food, along with those for lamb, bread, and new produce, the following blessing for eggs:

My Little Pony

My Little Pony is an entertainment franchise developed by Hasbro which is marketed primarily to girls. It started as a line of plastic pony toys developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger and Steve D'Aguanno which have been produced since 1983. The ponies feature colorful bodies, manes and a unique symbol on one or both sides of their flanks. These are referred to in the two most recent incarnations as "cutie marks." My Little Pony has been revamped at least four times with new and more modern looks to appeal to a new market.

Following the original My Pretty Pony toy, introduced in 1981, My Little Pony was launched in 1983 and the line became popular during the 1980s. The original toy line ran from 1983 to 1995 (1992 in the US), and inspired animated specials, an animated feature-length film, and four animated television series.

The brand's sales increased many times over with the introduction of the fourth incarnation of the franchise, which started with the success of the 2010 animated television series. The brand grossed one billion USD in retail sales in 2014 and 650 million USD in retail sales in 2013.

Surprise

Surprise may refer to:

Science and mathematics

Places

Entertainment

Music

Albums

Silly String

Silly String (generically known as aerosol string) is a toy of flexible, sometimes brightly colored, plastic string propelled as a stream of liquid from an aerosol can. The solvent in the string quickly evaporates in mid-air, creating a continuous strand. Silly String is often used during weddings, birthday parties, carnivals and other festive occasions, but it has also proven useful militarily to detect tripwires.

Composition

The material is a synthetic-based resin which was originally formulated using the chlorofluorocarbon propellant Freon 12, one of a group of compounds believed to damage the ozone layer. Within a year of Silly String's introduction, the United States banned Freon 11 and 12. The manufacturers then changed the formulation to use permitted propellants.

History

Egg Hunt

Egg Hunt was a one-off band/project of long time friends and musicians Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, former singer and drummer of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat, respectively. During a 1986 trip to England's Southern Studios to discuss possible European distribution of Dischord releases with owner John Loder, the three decided to make a record together, and the project was dubbed "Egg Hunt" for festive reasons (it was Easter time). John took a seat in the producer's chair, while Ian and Jeff handled all the instruments.

Egg Hunt's only release, a self-titled 7", was, according to reviewer Ron DePasquale, an example of "experimental, post-hardcore" music. The song "We All Fall Down," appearing on the second side, was a song that Ian had originally written for his earlier band, Embrace, but it was discarded by that band. Although seemingly a small release in comparison to Dischord's significant catalog, this record is still a notable example of MacKaye and Nelson's songwriting abilities, as well as their chemistry together as artists.