Thursday 4-1

1 April 2010~~Week 14 of 2010: 91 days this year…274 remain

‡ Scottish Proverbs 

Better the day, the better deed

Fools make feasts and wise men eat them, the wise make jests and fools repeat them

• April’s Month Long Observances •

African American Women's Fitness Month☼Alcohol Awareness Month ☼Amateur Radio Month ☼Autism Awareness Month ☼Cancer Control Month ☼Car Care Month ☼Celebrate Diversity Month ☼Child Abuse Prevention Month☼(International) Cesarean Awareness Month ☼Couple Appreciation Month ☼Emotional Overeating Awareness Month ☼Fair Housing Month ☼Financial Literacy Month ☼ Frog Month ☼Global Child Nutrition Month ☼Grange Month ☼Holy Humor Month ☼Home Improvement Time ☼Informed Women Month ☼International Customer Loyalty Month ☼International Guitar Month ☼International Twit Award Month ☼IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) Month ☼Jazz Appreciation Month ☼Keep America Beautiful ☼Month of the Young Child ☼Month of the Military Child ☼National Arab-American History Month ☼National Child Abuse Prevention Month ☼National Card and Letter Writing Month ☼National Decorating Month ☼National DNA & Genomics & Stem Cell Education & Awareness Month ☼National Donate Life Month ☼National Garden Month ☼National Humor Month ☼National Kite Month ☼National Knuckles Down Month ☼National Landscape Architecture Month ☼National Occupational Therapy Month ☼National Parkinson's Awareness Month ☼National Pecan Month ☼National Poetry Month ☼Nationally Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) ☼National Sexual Assault Awareness Month ☼National Youth Sports Safety Month ☼Pharmacists War on Diabetes Month ☼Pet First Aid Awareness Month ☼Physical Wellness Month ☼Prevent Lyme in Dogs Month ☼Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month ☼Rosacea Awareness Month ☼School Library Media Month ☼Soy Foods Month ☼Straw Hat Month ☼Stress Awareness Month ☼Women's Eye Health & Safety Month ☼Workplace Conflict Awareness Month ☼World Habitat Awareness Month

• April Stuff •

BIRTHSTONE: Diamond (innocence) FLOWER: Daisy and Sweet Pea

April is the fourth month of the Gregorian Calendar, and was the second month in the Roman Calendar. Traditional entomology is from Latin for “To Open.” April may have some identity with Aphrodite. The Anglo-Saxons named it ‘Oster-monath’ or ‘Eostur-monath’ which has reference to Easter.

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1970 ►The AMC group introduced one of the first sub compact--Gremlin 
‡ Free Ramblings   

It is certainly time for April Fool’s Day. It seems to me so many politicians in our country and in Arizona have been doing April 1 Pranks most of this year. They never realized that the pranking was set aside for today. The first April Fool’s Day stated in 1760, right here in the good ol’ USA.

I have always enjoyed reading about successful pranks pulled on this day. Spending years in an Elementary School setting, I learned that kids do the usual pranks—your shoe is untied, there is a bug on your arm, etc. Here are some all time great pranks from around the world.

The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest: 1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop.

Sidd Finch: 1985: Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa."

Instant Color TV: 1962: There was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen.

The Taco Liberty Bell: 1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell.

San Serriffe: 1977: The British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic said to consist of several semi-colon-shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica.

Nixon for President: 1992: National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again."

Alabama Changes the Value of Pi :1998: The April issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0.

The Left-Handed Whopper: 1998: Burger King published a full page advertisement inUSA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers

New Species Discoveed: 1995: Discover Magazine reported that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had found a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying.

Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity: 1976: The British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation.

Guinness Mean Time: 1998: Guinness issued a press release announcing that it had reached an agreement with the Old Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England to be the official beer sponsor of the Observatory's millennium celebration. According to this agreement, Greenwich Mean Time would be renamed Guinness Mean Time until the end of 1999. In addition, where the Observatory traditionally counted seconds in "pips," it would now count them in "pint drips."

Flagstaff was very windy today…again. There were steady winds of about 25mph with gusts to 55mph. Not a nice day to be around. All that wind blew in some very ominous grey clouds. We have been told expect about 2” of snow. Great spring weather.

‡ A Quick Smile   

DEAR DIARY DAY 1: All packed for the cruise ship - all my sexiest dresses and make-up... Really excited!

DEAR DIARY DAY 2: Entire day at sea, beautiful and saw whales and dolphins. Met the Captain today - seems a very nice man.

DEAR DIARY DAY 3: At the pool today. Also some shuffle boarding and hit golf balls off the deck. Captain invited me to join him at his table for dinner. Felt honored and had a wonderful time. He is very attractive and attentive.

DEAR DIARY DAY 4: Won $800.00 in the ship's casino. Captain asked me to have dinner with him in his own cabin. Had a luxurious meal complete with caviar and champagne. He asked me to stay the night but I declined. Told him I could not be unfaithful to my husband.

DEAR DIARY DAY 5: Pool again today, got sun burnt, and went inside to drink at piano bar for rest of day. Captain saw me, bought me several large drinks. He really is charming. Again asked me to visit his cabin for the night. Again I declined. He told me if I did not let him have his way with me he would sink the ship. I was shocked.

DEAR DIARY DAY 6: Today I saved 2,600 lives. Twice.

‡ Random Fact   

The great pyramids of Egypt now stand a full three miles south of the spot where they were originally built. That's how much the earth's surface has shifted in the last 4,500 years.

‡ Puzzle   

State Mottos: Name the state with this motto

1 Ditat Deus (God enriches)

2 Eureka (I have found it)

3 Esto perpetua (Let it be perpetual)

4 Live Free or Die

5 Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable

‡ Side Show Stories   

SALT LAKE CITY - Police in Utah said a kitchen knife-wielding teenager whose attempt to rob a store failed ran off after asking a clerk not to call police or tell his mother. Salt Lake City police said teen brought items from the Maverik store to the counter and maneuvered to behind the counter while the clerk was ringing up the goods, KTVX-TV, Salt Lake City, reported. Police said the suspect attempted to hold a kitchen knife to the clerk's neck, but the worker turned around and knocked the teenager to the floor. The clerk told police the teenager pleaded with him before fleeing without the knife. "Don't call the cops, I will pay," the suspect was quoted as saying, "don't tell my mom." The worker told police the teenager fled the scene on foot.

‡ Calendar Information   

• Observance Weeks in April•

1-7

International Pooper-Scooper Week

Laugh at Work Week

Golden Rule Week

Medication Safety Week

Testicular Cancer Awareness Week

• 1 April Observances—US/UN/World •

One Cent Day

April Fools or All Fools Day

Boomer Bonus Day

International Tatting Day

National Fun Day

National Fun at Work Day

Poetry & The Creative Mind Day

Sorry Charlie Day St. Stupid Day

US Air force Academy Day

•1 April Observances—by country •

Burma : Bank Holiday

Christianity: Maundy Thursday: Holy Day: for feet washing

Iran: Islamic Republic Day

San Marino : National Day

Sri Lanka : Sinhal/Tamil New Year

Thailand: Civil Service Day

•Number One Songs in…

1955►The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Bill Hayes

1963►He’s So Fine - The Chiffons

1971►Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin

1979►Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits

1987►Small Town Girl - Steve Wariner

•Happenings on this Day •

In The Arts

1966 ►1st world festival of black art (Dakar Senegal)

In Athletics

1938 ►Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown NY

In Business or Education

1889 ►1st dishwashing machine marketed (Chicago)

1927 ►1st automatic record changer introduced by His Master's Voice

1946 ►Weight Watchers forms

1970 ►The AMC group introduced one of the first sub compact--Gremlin

1991 ►Iowa becomes one of the first states to allow riverboat gambling .

In Politics

1918 ►The Royal Air force is founded in England

1986 ►World oil prices dip below $10 a barrel

2003 ►Jessica Lynch is rescued from a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq

In Science/Religion

1748 ►Ruins of Pompeii found

1881 ►Anti-Jewish riots in Jerusalem

1960 ►The first U.S. weather satellite was launched. TIROS I

• 1 April Births •

Artists and Composers

Edward Austin Abbey, 1852, painter (Quest of the Holy Grail)

William Manchester, 1922, writer: The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964, A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance Portrait of an Age

Sergei Vasilievitch Rachmaninov,1873, Novgorod Provine Russia, composer (Prelude in C# Minor)

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

Wallace Beery, 1886, actor

Lon Chaney, 1883, Colorado Springs CO, man of 1000 faces, actor

Gordon Jump, 1932, actor (Arthur Carlson-WKRP, Growing Pains)

Ali MacGraw, 71, actress (Goodbye, Columbus; Love Story)

Rachel Maddow, 37, political commentator

Jane Powell, (Suzanne Burce) 81, actress (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)

Debbie Reynolds, 78, actress (Singin’ in the Rain, Mother)

Athletes

Libby Riddles, 54, first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Alaskan dogsled race

Business, Education Leaders

Sophonisba Breckenridge, 1866, scholar/teacher/social activist

Political Leaders

Samuel A. Alito, Jr, 60, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court

Scientists /Religious Leaders

Abraham H Maslow, 1908, US psychologist (humanistic psychology)

•1 April Obits •

Scott Joplin, 1917, ragtime composer (Sting), dementia @ 48

Marvin Gaye, 1984, shot by his father @ 44

Martha Graham, 1991, choreographer, @ 96

‡ ANSWERS to puzzle

1 Ditat Deus God enriches: Arizona

2 Eureka I have found it: California

3 Esto perpetua Let it be perpetual: Idaho

4 Live Free or Die: New Hampshire

5 Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable: North Dakota

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