Dec 13

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Dec 13, 2018 Week: 50 \ Day: 347

86004 Today: H 46° \ L 23° \ Average Sky Cover: 5% 

Wind:  10 mph\Gusts:  23mph Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 67°[2010]   Record Low: -19°[1931]

Nov Averages: 43°\17°

Today’s Quote

Order and simplification are the first steps

toward the mastery of a subject.

Thomas Mann

Random Tidbits

The word "bodybuilding" was coined by a physical culturist working for the YMCA. Strength-training devotee Robert J. Roberts even allowed his employers to advertise their brand by running ads that included photos of his broad, muscular backside. "Bodybuilding" was a term he thought up in 1881.

Observances This Week

           

3-24
Andisop (Meterological Fiddling)   Link

10-17
Human Rights Week

Observances for Today

           

 Ice Cream Day

National Day of The Horse  Link
National Salesperson Day
Pick A Pathologist Pal Day Link

National Popcorn String Day

Violin Day

Today’s Significant Historical Events

1600’s

1694 The Royal Society censures Edmond Halley for suggesting in a paper titled 'Some considerations about the cause of the universal deluge' that the story of Noah's flood could be an account of a cometary impact

1800’s

1874 Hawaii King David Kalakaua is 1st king to visit the US as guest of Ulysses S. Grant at 1st US state dinner at the White House

1878 Joseph Pulitzer begins publishing "St Louis Dispatch"

1900’s

1901 Guglielmo Marconi sends the first transatlantic radio signal, from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland, Canada

1917 Rev Edward Flanagan forms Boys Town outside Omaha, Nebraska

1946 'Tide' detergent introduced

1946 UN accepts 6 Manhattan blocks as a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr

1955 1st prototype of hovercraft patented by British engineer Christoper Cockerell

1961 Adolf Eichmann is found guilty of war crimes in Israel

1963 Kenya (formerly British East Africa) declares independence from UK

1975 Sara Jane Moore pleds guilty to trying to kill US President Gerald Ford

1982 The "Snowplow Game": when a snowstorm holds a New England vs Miami game scoreless, Mark Henderson, a convict on work release, on Patriots coach Ron Meyer order, clears the path for John Smith's attempt, which wins the game for the Patriots, 3-0

1995 Amendment to make it illegal to physically desecrate the flag turned down by senate 63-36 (need 2/3 vote)

1997 Carlos the Jackal, "professional revolutionary", goes on trial in Paris

2000’s

2000 United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore

2017 Democrat Doug Jones defeats Republican Roy Moore for Alabama Senate seat in upset win marked by allegations of sexual misconduct against Moore

My Rambling Thoughts

Christmas is rapidly approaching. I’m keeping busy with lunches with friends, and still shopping. My cold kicked me off my original plans, but now I’m getting them done.

I have traveled to many places at the best time. Add France to that list. I did a river cruise there a couple of years ago. We started in Barcelona and ended in Paris. Neither countries political problems were hardly festering. Now as I watch the destruction taking place around France, I must wonder if some of the people we met are now out there protesting. We walked from our hotel to the Eifel Tower several times…early morning, mid-day, evening. There were lots of police and soldiers at the Tower but at no time did I see anything concerning. Not like that today.

I had the similar thoughts about the revolution in Egypt. I was there a couple of years before the revolution. When it started, I wondered which of the friends we met were involved in the rioting there.

When one travels, one meets lots of people who are part of the tourist industry for their livelihood. They want tourists to have a good time, spend money, and enjoy their country. I’m sure that when discord enters their world, they have some very tough choices to make.

Birthdays Today

@-  indicates age at death

90’s

96- Bob Barker,

American TV game show host (The Price is Right, Truth or Consequences), born in Darrington, Washington

93- Dick Van Dyke,

TV actor, comedian

80’s

89- Christopher Plummer,

actor

@88- Ed Koch,

American lawyer and politician (NY Mayor (D) 1977-89), Judge (People's Court), born in NYC, New York (d. 2013)

@83- John Jay,

US statesman and 1st US Chief Justice, born in NYC, New York (d. 1829)

@82- Frank Sinatra,

American singer (Strangers in the Night, My Way) and actor (From Here to Eternity) known as 'old blue eyes', born in Hoboken, New Jersey (d. 1998)

81- Connie Francis [Concetta Franconero],

American singer and actress (Where the Boys Are), born in Newark, NJ

@80- Edvard Munch,

Norwegian painter and print maker (The Scream), born in Ådalsbruk, Løten, Norway (d. 1944)

70’s

@79- Edward G. Robinson [Goldenberg],

Romanian actor (Double Indemnity, The Stranger, The Ten Commandments), born in Bucharest, Romania (d. 1973)

79- Dionne Warwick,

American singer (Solid Gold, Way to San Jose), born in East Orange, New Jersey

70-Ted Nugent,

guitarist

60’s

61- Steven Vincent Buscemi,

actor

50’s

@58- Gustave Flaubert,

French novelist (Madame Bovary), born in Rouen, France (d. 1880)

51- Jamie Foxx,

movie actor

20’s

29- Taylor Swift,

pop singer

Historical Obits Today

@-  indicates age at death

100’s

@101-1961 Grandma Moses [Anna M],

US painter

90’s

@93-1992 Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney,

American businessman and heir (Pan Am Airways)

80’s

@80±-1466 Donatello,

Florentine artist and Renaissance sculptor

70’s

@74-1924 Samuel Gompers,

American labor union leader (American Federation of Labor), cigar maker, uremia