Winter is officially here in the Northern Hemisphere. If it doesn't feel like it yet, grab a snow globe - we'll tell you how they got their start. Plus: in Newburgh in Fife, Scotland, they turn sketches by local kids into a set of holiday light sculptures.

Was the Snow Globe Invented by Accident? (Snopes)

A Scottish Town’s Annual Competition Invites Its Youngest Artists to Design ‘Wonky’ Holiday Lights (Colossal) 

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No meeting has ever been bigger than the one that happened today in 1970, when the King of Rock and Roll met the President of the United States. We'll explain how it happened. Plus: around this time of year, animal lovers in New York City gather at a mostly secret spot inside Central Park to decorate a pet memorial tree.

December 21, 1970: Elvis Presley Meets President Richard Nixon (National Portrait Gallery) 

The Secret Christmas Tree for Pets in Central Park (Untapped New York)

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Today in 1946, the release of the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life.” It took a while for the movie to win its spot in the top ranks of holiday films - and the story on which the movie is based also took a little while to make its way into the world. Plus: that pool built under the gym floor in the movie? That's real.

It’s a Wonderful Life was Based on a “Christmas Card” Short Story by Philip Van Doren Stern (Today I Found Out)

Jimmy Stewart Owed His Most Memorable Holiday Performance to World War II (HistoryNet)

The Pool in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is Real (Aqua Magazine)

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Today in 1972 Apollo 17 returned from the moon. One of the lunar samples was sliced up and shared with every American state and hundreds of countries... except that we aren't quite sure where some of those rocks are now. Plus: if you’re anywhere near Cocoa Beach, Florida this holiday weekend, watch for the Surfing Santas!

Louisiana’s missing moon rock found by Florida man recycling wooden plaques into gun stock (The Advocate - Baton Rouge, LA)

Finding lost moon rocks is his mission (Los Angeles Times)

Surfing Santas In Cocoa Beach 

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Today in 1778, the birthday of Joseph Grimaldi, the guy who basically invented clowning as we know it today. Here's some of his story. Plus: congratulations to the winner of the 2023 International Wedding Photographer of the Year Contest, and to the bird who helped make the winning photo happen.

Here We Are Again!—How Joseph Grimaldi Invented the Creepy Clown (JSTOR)

10 STRANGE LONDON MEMORIALS AND THE HISTORY BEHIND THEM (Look Up London)

Bird Landing on Bride’s Head Wins 2023 International Wedding Photographer of the Year Contest (My Modern Met)

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For drivers in very snowy places, winter is time to put snow chains on car tires. It’s neither easy nor fun - but a new concept from two automakers could change that, by embedding snow chain-like paddles right into the tires. Plus: St. Charles, Missouri now has its own Soda Museum and Arcade!

Hyundai’s New Push-Button Snow Chains Are Right Out of a James Bond Movie (The Drive)

Massive soda memorabilia collection opens to the public in St. Charles (FOX2Now)

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For National Monkey Day, the story of Jack, a baboon in South Africa who was so smart he worked for a railroad for nine years without a single mistake. Plus: The Arizona Daily Star is printing a page in each day’s paper this week that's unique wrapping paper designed by an artist from Tucson.

Stranger Than Fiction: Jack the Signalman (Knoxville Daily Sun)

These wrapping paper designs were created by Tucson artists (Tucson.com)

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A project out of the University of California - Davis uses images from a very well known navigation system to help slow the spread of invasive species. Plus: in the late 19th Century, a guy thought he could keep horses from freaking out around cars with something he called the Horsey Horseless.

Google Weed View? Professor Trains Computer to Spot Invasive Weed (UC-Davis)

The 50 Worst Cars of All Time (TIME via Archive.org) 

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Today in 1906 a vote in Congress put an end to one of President Theodore Roosevelt’s top priorities: simplifying the way we spell words. Or, as he would have preferred, spel wurds. Plus: around this time of year a zoo in Japan starts offering warm water baths to their capybaras.

Teddy Roosevelt’s Bold (But Doomed) Battle to Change American Spelling (History.com)

Birthplace of the Capybara Hot Bath Celebrates 40 years of Rodent Relaxation (Spoon + Tamago) 

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One of the most popular Hanukkah traditions these days is latkes, though this delicious part of the Festival of Lights has definitely seen a few changes over the years. Plus: this afternoon in Marengo, Indiana, Caroling in the Cave.

How Latkes Became Hanukkah's Favorite Food (HowStuffWorks)

Everything You Know About Latkes Is Wrong (The Atlantic)

Caroling In The Cave/Marengo Cave (Visit Indiana)