boondoggle

boondoggle [boon-dog-uh l, -daw-guh l] noun

1. a product of simple manual skill, as a plaited leather cord for the neck or a knife sheath, made typically by a camper or a scout.

2. work of little or no value done merely to keep or look busy.

3. a project funded by the federal government out of political favoritism that is of no real value to the community or the nation.

verb (used with object), boondoggled, boondoggling.

4. to deceive or attempt to deceive: to boondoggle investors into a low-interest scheme.

verb (used without object), boondoggled, boondoggling.

5. to do work of little or no practical value merely to keep or look busy.

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Only one govt. definition, per se, but other than #1, they all could apply to Congress and this administration.

Gnarly, dude

From Fiberosity:  I clicked on a link on another site that was supposed to go to a place that would show me how to clean the bottom of an iron with salt, but this is what I get instead.

Punt?  I think I'll go for it;  it's not as if it's 4th and 25.  THAT would be gnarly, dude.

First Earthling to Orbit The Earth

The first Earthling in space wasn't a human, but was Laika, a Soviet space dog. Laika died within hours of the launch due to overheating.

Laika was a stray dog found on the streets of Moscow and was chosen for her even temperament. Before the launch, one of the scientists took Laika home to play with his children. In a book chronicling the story of Soviet space medicine, Dr. Vladimir Yazdovsky wrote, "I wanted to do something nice for her: She had so little time left to live."

The first animals in space were fruit flies sent into sub-orbital trajectory by the U.S. in a captured V-2 German rocket in 1947.

Red Barns

Why are most barns painted red?

In the early days of America, most barns weren't painted because using the right sort of wood made painting unnecessary.  It was only later that old school methods of barn planning and building fell by the wayside and farmers started painting their barns to help preserve the wood.  Ferric oxide (rust), a primary component of red paint, is inexpensive and that appealed to the thrifty farmers of New England, where the practice began. (Rust also kills mold and other types of fungi)  Besides being cheaper than other colors, the red served a functionary purpose, in that the darker color absorbed the heat from the sun and kept the barn warmer in winter.

That said, barn colors often are fairly specific to certain regions;  white barns are common on dairy farms in Pennsylvania, Maryland and the Shenandoah Vally and is associated with cleanliness and purity. (and, for a while, whitewash was cheaper than red paint)  In tobacco regions, such as Kentucky and North Carolina, black or brown barns are the norm, where the darker colors helped heat the barn and cure the tobacco.

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Sources:

Mental Floss

Grit

The Old Farmer's Almanac

bel-esprit

bel-esprit [bel-es-pree] noun, plural beaux-esprits [boh-zes-pree] French

1. a person of great wit or intellect.

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Sure wasn't familiar with this word, and it makes me a little sad I don't fit the definition.

OTOH, I'm happy I'm not French!

Sleepwalk - Igor Presnyakov

Another version by The Ventures