Baker's Dozen Day

Isn't 'baker's dozen' an interesting expression.  Dozen may be one of the earliest primitive groupings.  It is also known as a devil's dozen or long dozen.   The expression came about with baked goods, as a way for bakers to avoid being blamed for shorting their customers.  Bakers had to sell goods by the dozen at a specific weight.  The expression evolved over the centuries to further variations around this intent. While most things aren't sold by the dozen anymore, we still an buy a dozen eggs.  This is common everywhere. They started out being sold by the dozen to match up with the Anglo-Saxon and Roman systems of measurement.  One egg could be sold for a penny or 12 for a shilling.  This persisted in the American colonies, after the revolution.  And it just stayed after that. What else is in the dozen group? 12 hours on a clock face 12 months in a year 12 signs of the zodiac 12 grades under college level  12 Tribes of Israel 12 Apostles of Jesus Sold by the dozen: roses, donuts, batteries 12 Days of Christmas  12 Olympians 12 Jurors on a jury Our Valentine's pictures today started at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota.

At the Ringling Museum

Ringling Museum     The historic mansion is a delicate beauty, with complex colours and textures in terra cotta, tile, and marble. Built with a similar intent - to create the most striking of private homes - as Biltmore and Hearst, this mansion is elaborate. The antique roof tiles come from Barcelona where John Ringling salvaged them and sent them home, filling two cargo ships. There were too many for the house, so some were sold to neighbours.  One can still see roofs that match Ca' d'Zan's. The house is Venetian in design. In keeping with the theme, Mable Ringling kept a gondola at the dock. After John Ringling's death, the mansion was neglected for decades.  Its transformation back to its original beauty was completed in 2002, with a six year effort to restore it. There is the Art Museum, Circus Museum, and also an 18th century Italian theatre on the ground.  It sits inside a new structure.  Ringling had it shipped from the Veneto to Florida in 1930.