S10E08: Christmas Special

Let’s get into the festive spirit with our special co-host Anna Ploszajski as we explore festive facts, Christmas chemistry, and merry materials! We make some predictions for the year ahead, and of course there’s a collections themed holiday song to bob along to. Happy holidays! 00:02:43 Hideous treasures all around us 00:11:13 Christmas tree decorations – old and new! 00:22:31 Tinsel themed nightmares 00:26:42 Lights, candles, and twinkly stuff 00:34:25 Tableware for days 00:40:21 Cakes and puddings 00:42:34 Christmas crackers 00:49:10 Fake snow and leaky snowglobes 00:53:23 Last year’s predictions and ones for 2022 01:01:11 Rocking Around the Christmas Tree (Museum Version) Show Notes: - Find out more about Anna’s work: https://www.annaploszajski.com/ - The aroma of Christmas trees: https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/12/19/christmastrees/ - Mr Bean vs the ornaments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W91IK06uv5E - The evolution of tinsel: http://www.compoundchem.com/2017advent/2017advent24/ - How silvering is achieved: https://www.compoundchem.com/2017/09/06/silver-mirror/ - S09E05 Dynamic Objects: https://thecword.show/2021/05/19/s09e05-dynamic-objects/ - S02E08 Food: https://thecword.show/2017/11/29/s02e08-food/ - V&A blog about the history of crackers: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-christmas-cracker - Christmas cracker chemistry: https://www.compoundchem.com/2013/12/24/christmas-cracker-chemistry/ - How wrapping paper is made: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Wrapping-Paper.html - Fake snow chemistry: https://www.compoundchem.com/2017advent/2017advent7/ - Museum Freelance network closes: https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2021/11/museum-freelance-network-to-close/ - Go buy Anna’s book: https://www.annaploszajski.com/book - Jenny reviewing Anna’s book in a previous episode: https://thecword.show/2021/05/19/s09e05-dynamic-objects/ *** Rocking Around the Christmas Tree: the Museum Version (lyrics by Jenny Mathiasson and Morgan Fox; vocals by Skye) Skulkin' around the gallery At the Christmas working do Watching for spills that you can see Or objects gone askew Walkin' around the Christmas tree Let pheromone pest traps swing Later we’ll sneak some extra tea And we’ll do some tidying You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear Voices going, where’s that dolly? Pop that object on this trolley Wrappin’ things up in acid free For a popular display Everyone chattin’ happily Raiding gift shop and cafe You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear Voices going, where’s that dolly? Pop that object on this trolley Walkin’ around our objects store Seein’ a thing not put away Finally hoovering the floor Roll on the holiday! *** Support us on Patreon! http://www.patreon.com/thecword Hosted by Jenny Mathiasson, Kloe Rumsey, and Anna Ploszajski. Intro and outro music by DDmyzik, used under a Creative Commons Attribution license. Made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. A Wooden Dice production, 2021.