Trivia, Humor & Satire

Jewish trivia quiz: Toilet paper

One of the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic is a shortage of toilet paper, which is a result of people hoarding, as well as the fact that everyone is using their home bathrooms exclusively, rather than also using bathrooms at work, or at stores, restaurants, and other public facilities. A few years ago an Israeli company, the Gefen Team, worked with Lily, an Israeli toilet paper brand that is a division of Kimberly-Clark, to produce a product to aid in the use of toilet paper. What was this product? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Imagine Trump wanting to ‘make Judaism great again’

I like to imagine President Trump being so eager to implement his latest “incredible” idea that he’s been giving it attention equal to what he’s granted two other favorite initiatives. The new project involves his making personal calls to rabbis across the country and urging them to resume live religious services immediately in order to begin to “make Judaism great again.” (Satire by Joel H. Cohen0

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Joel H. Cohen, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Doggie Diary

Today marks one month since Governor Newsom ordered the lockdown in California.  Although the news is full of stories about how humans are coping with confinement, little attention has been paid to how having them at home 24/7 affects us dogs.  I hope my diary entry fills this lacuna. [Humor column by Elona Baron as told to Laurie Baron]

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire

How Shakespeare might have described Covid19

Now is the springtime of our confinement
Made mournfully frightful by the toll in New York.                                                                                             
A surfeit of time spent alone in our homes
Sheltering in place and bending the curve.  …
[Parody by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire

The bageling code — ‘bred of affection?’

It may seem to be gastronomic heresy to invoke a communications system  named for a taboo leavened-bread item during Pesach. But this one is legit and  kosher any time. It’s “bageling, a usually subtle —  sometimes not-so-subtle — device by which a Jew discreetly but deliberately finds out whether another is Jewish, and how an individual lets others know that he or she is Jewish. [Joel H Cohen]

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Joel H. Cohen, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Jewish trivia quiz: The Beatles

Fifty years ago (April 10, 1970), the Beatles officially split up. Their popularity, however, has not waned. At an online auction last week, an ashtray used by Ringo Starr at Abbey Road Studios sold for $32,500 and a drawing by John Lennon and Yoko Ono called Bagism sold for $93,750. The handwritten lyrics of the song Hey Jude sold for $910,000, nine times the pre-auction estimate. What was the Jewish connection to that song? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Trivia, Humor & Satire

What Fauci may really think when Trump speaks

“I’ve presented him with the best data I have.  I put it on charts and graphs because I know he doesn’t read.  Now if I can only convince him it is not fake news.”” “If he thinks there’s nothing to lose giving Covid19 patients with hydroxychloroquine because it cures malaria, I’d like to persuade him to let me inject his vocal chords with Botox assuring him it will protect him from coronavirus because it removes wrinkles and lessens migraine pain.” [Satire by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Retelling the Canine Story of Passover

Book 1 Genesis
Book 1 Genesis — In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and carved out spaces for dog beaches and parks.  God created Dog in his/her own temperament to make sure Adam and Eve and their descendants never felt alone and to bring them their fig leaves and sandals in the morning.  When Adam and Eve violated God’s command not to eat from the Tree of Wisdom, they and their dogs were expelled from the Garden of Eden, and dogs were required to wear leashes. {Elona Baron, in memory of Ozzie, as told to Laurie Baron]

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Jewish trivia quiz: Passover and the coronavirus

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted Jewish life in every area, but probably the most significant is in regard to acceptable religious practices. Synagogues and Jewish communities across the religious spectrum have struggled with questions of the acceptability of live-streamed or Zoom services, whether kaddish can be recited with a virtual minyan, or what limits to place on funeral attendance and tahara (ritual preparation of the body). Upcoming Passover seders present many unique challenges as well. Which of the following is an example of exceptions to normal practice being allowed by religious authorities during this upcoming Passover celebration? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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Jewish Religion, Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Imagining a seder at President Trump’s

The imaginary seder planned by President Trunp won’t take place, even virtually, until later this week, but it already has received one rave review — from the president. “Remarkable, incredible,” he tweeted about his creation. “There’s never been anything like it,’ and then he added, “I can promise you, crooked Hillary or Obama never had anything close to this.” [Satire by Joel H. Cohen]

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Joel H. Cohen, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Love in the Time of Coronavirus

I’ve can’t see her face
Her mask is cotton and not lace.                                                                                                        
No lips or nose
On which to gaze.    
During this pandemic phase. …                           

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Lawrence Baron, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Trivia, Humor & Satire