May 20


FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Todays  Historical  Highlights
1631: The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years' War
1861: North Carolina becomes 11th & last state to secede from Union
1868: Republican National Convention, meets in Chicago, nominates Grant
1874: Levi Strauss markets blue jeans with copper rivets, price $13.50 doz
1900: 2nd modern Olympic games opens in Paris (lasted 5 months)
1902: Cuba gains independence from Spain
1980: In a referendum, 59.5% of Quebec voters reject separatism
1989: China declares martial law in Beijing
1990: Hubble Space Telescope sends 1st photograph's from space

Happy Birthday To:  

 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
Still a little hazy from the fires, but not as bad as yesterday.  Now we are up to almost 39,000 acres (60 sq mi) throughout the state. Luckily there are still no injures but the devastation to the forest and wildlife is substantial.

Chen Guangcheng, the blind legal advocate who made an improbable escape from virtual house arrest and sought refuge in the American Embassy has now landed with his immediate family in NJ.  More news that the Obama administration is on top of things. Chen has always spoken through a translator during this ordeal, so his studies at NYU should be unusual. Will he be taking EFL classes or will he have a translator or does he speak English and just has decided not to use it? Just wondering,

I cleaned up my patio, set up the furniture, used the leaf blower to remove lots of pine cones, small branches and pine needles. So looking forward to reading the Sunday paper out there tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the eclipse and they say that here in Northern AZ we will have a total eclipse about 6:30p. Many cultures have traditions and beliefs about what to do during and eclipse. Mine seems to be just not to look directly at the sun. I’ll have to head out away from my backyard mountain to check it out. Hope there aren’t too many clouds.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)
Brain Game—A close up picture of what?

NPR Sunday Puzzle
Given three words that rhyme with the three things that start with the same letter and are in the same category. For example, given "soxer," "facet" and "regal," the answer would be "boxer, "basset" and "beagle."
1.      Pays, mover, guarding:
2.     Flunky, deuce, house:
3.     Smurch, speech , salsa:
4.     Havens, shams, seders:
5.     Follow, lift, dawn—use 2 consonants in front:
6.     Mynah, Philly, glad—use 2 consonants in front:
7.     Steel, Tennyson:
Now just two words:
8.     Squeegees, words:
9.     Riot, Milton:
10.  Fillings, cute:

Riddle of the day
It's been around for millions of years, but it's no more than a month old. What is it?
Anagram: unscramblenumbers represent the number of letters in each answer word

Lifestyle  Substance     
Harper’s Index         
  • Number of working-age people for every person over sixty-five worldwide in 1950: 11.7
  • Number today: 8.6
  • Projected number in 2050: 3.9
Found on You Tube 
 The Hubble Deep Field: The Most Important Image Ever Taken  
Planet Earth—

Joke-of-the-day
A truck driver is driving along on the freeway. A sign comes up that reads “Low Bridge Ahead.” Before he knows it, the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under it. Cars are backed up for miles. Finally, a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks around to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, “Got stuck, huh?”
The truck driver says, “No, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas.”
Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
It takes almost twice as long to find something in your coat pockets when you are not wearing your coat. If you have a flight jacket or parka with more than four pockets, you can usually save time by putting it on just to look through the pockets.
Yeah, It Really Happened
 Lee Graber of Tallmadge, Ohio, USA, endured the weight of the heaviest bed of nails on his body. He was sandwiched between two beds of nails, with a weight of 752.5 kg (1,659 lb) placed on top for a total of 10 seconds on June 24, 2000. The weight was loaded on top of him using a crane.
England's John Evans achieved the world record for heaviest car balanced on head after he balanced a 159.6 kg (352 lb) Mini on his head for 33 seconds at The London Studios, England, on May 24, 1999.
Cyclist Wolfgang Kulovman from Germany set a world record after riding 2.6 miles (4.1 kilometers) in 3 and a quarter hours under the sea on a lead bicycle.
Russian athlete Omar Khanapiyev, 38, set a new world record for pulling weight with his teeth. He towed a Kuban oil tanker for 36.3 feet in a shipyard. The vessel's weight was 1,100 tons.                
Somewhat Useless Information   
Erno Rubik, a Hungarian scientist obsessed with 3D geometry, first envisioned the Rubik's Cube in 1974. It took him several years, however, to work out the complex interaction of the toy's elements. And even after creating a working model, Rubik found it difficult to market his new toy due to the political and economic atmosphere -- Hungary was deeply communist at the time. Finally, in 1979, Rubik the break he was looking for when the Rubik's Cube was featured at the Nuremberg Toy Show. It captured the imagination of toy enthusiasts everywhere, and by 1982, over 100 million cubes had been sold.It takes 80 feet of wire to make one Slinky. Invented by Richard and Betty James in 1945, over a quarter of a billion Slinkys had been sold worldwide by 2000.In an effort to promote pogo sticks, inventor George Hansburg arranged a number of publicity stunts, including a marriage performed on pogo sticks in the 1920 Ziegfeld Follies show. For the stunt, Hansburg himself taught all the Ziegfeld Follies girls how to pogo.
For AZ centennial celebration: town names
  • Amado, AZ: 11.2 square miles (29.0 km2), 2000 census 275 people, 70.91% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 1.09% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 26.18% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. 43.27% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
  • Arivaca, AZ: an unincorporated community in Pima County near the border, probably a Pima or Tohono O'odham village, abandoned after the Pima Indian Revolt of 1751  
  • Arizona City, AZ: 2010 census 10,475, 6.2 sq mi (16.0 km2) in Pinal County, the racial makeup of the CDP was 85.54% White, 1.14% Black or African American, 2.19% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 8.05% from other races, and 2.62% from two or more races. 16.56% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Calendar Information        
…Happening This Week:
15-21
National Dog Bite Prevention Week
National Educational Bosses' Week
National New Friends, Old Friends Week
National Police Week
National Transportation Week
World Trade Week
EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week
19-25
National Safe Boating Week

Today Is                                                                      
Eliza Doolittle Day
International Virtual Assistants Day
National Bike to Work Day
National Defense Transportation Day
Neighbor Day
Weights & Measures Day 


East Timor: Independence Day (2002 from Indonesia)
US: FL: Teacher's Day

Todays Other Events                                                             
Before 1000CE
325: 1st Christian ecumenical council opens at Nicaea, Asia Minor
à
1300’s
1310: Shoes were made for both right & left feet
1400’s
1493: A civil war battle among the Cakchiquel (Kaqchikel) Maya takes place today in Guatemala.
à
1600’s
1609: Shakespeare's Sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisher Thomas Thorpe
1639: Dorchester Mass, forms 1st school funded by local taxes
1700’s
1702: Franciscans have established the Mission of Santa Fe de Toluca at one of the largest Timucua villages in northern Florida. Apalachicola Indians fight a battle with Spanish and Mission Indians. Both side lose a considerable number of fighters before the Apalachicolas finally gain the upper hand.
1800’s
1830: 1st railroad timetable published in newspaper (Baltimore American)
1875: Intl Bureau of Weights & Measures forms by treaty
1892: Triple Alliance between Germany, Italy & Austria forms
1896: The six ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier falls on the crowd resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others
1900’s
1916: Saturday Evening Post cover features Norman Rockwell painting
1927: At 7:40 AM, Lindbergh takes off from NY to cross Atlantic for Paris
1927: Saudi Arabia becomes independent of Great Britain (Treaty of Jedda)
1932: Amelia Earhart leaves Newfoundland 1st woman fly solo across Atlantic
1948: 1st use of Israeli Air Force & 1st war victory, defeating Syrian army
1954: Chiang Kai-shek becomes president of Nationalist China
1959: Ford wins battle with Chrysler to call its new car "Falcon"
1959: Japanese-Americans regain their citizenship
1961: White mob attacks "Freedom Riders" in Montgomery, Alabama
1963: Sukarno appointed president of Indonesia
1985: US began broadcasts to Cuba on Radio Marti
2000’s
2002: The independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and 3 years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself was the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976)

Todays Birthdays                                                           
Remembered for being born on this day
Moshe Dayan, Israeli general/minister of Defense in 1915
William George Fargo, founder (Wells Fargo) in 1818
George Gobel, Chicago Ill,comedian/TV personality (I Love My Wife) in 1919
Dolley Dandridge Payne Madison, 1st lady (1809-17) in 1768
John Stuart Mill, UK, philosopher/political economist/Utilitarian in 1806
Seth Pomeroy, American gunsmith and soldier in 1706
James Maitland ‘Jimmy’ Stewart, PA, actor (Mr Smith Goes to Washington ,  It’s A Wonderful Life) in 1908
In their 70’s
Paula, [Jill Jackson], Tx, singer ( Hey Paula) is 70
In their 60’s
Cher [Cherilyn Sarkisian], El Centro, California, American singer and actress ( I Got You Babe,  If I Could Turn Back Time ) is 66
Joe Cocker, Sheffield England, rock vocalist (Little Help From My Friends ) is 68
In their 50’s
Susan Cowsill, Newport RI, rock vocalist (Cowsills-The Rain, The Park, & Other Things)is 53
Cindy Hensley McCain, wife of John McCain is 58
Bronson Pinchot, actor (Perfect Strangers, Beverly Hills Cop) is 53

Todays Obits                                                           
Christopher Columbus, explorer, dies in poverty, in 1506 of heart attack at 55
Max Klein, inventor (paint by numbers), dies in 1993 at 77
Hamilton Jordan, former Carter White House Chief of Staff dies in 2008 of mesothelioma at 63
Gilda Radner, comedienne ( SNL, Haunted Honeymoon), dies in 1989 of ovarian cancer at 42
Randy Savage, American Pro-Wrestler dies in 2011 of heart attack at 58
Randolph West, American biochemist, known for the Dakin-West reaction dies in 1949 at 59
Walter Winchell, columnist/narrator (Untouchables), dies of prostate cancer in 1972 at 75

Answers                                                                                                                                            
Brain Game: Close Up Picture

Riddle of the day
The moon
NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.      Pays, mover, guarding: Hayes, Hoover, Harding (Presidents)
2.     Flunky, deuce, house: monkey, moose, mouse (animals)
3.     Smurch, speech , salsa: birch, beach, balsa (trees)
4.     Havens, shams, seders: Ravens, Rams, Raiders (NFL Teams)
5.     Follow, lift, dawn—use 2 consonants in front: swallow, swift, swan (birds)
6.     Mynah, Philly, glad—use 2 consonants in front: China, Chile, Chad (Countries)
7.     Steel, Tennyson: veal, venison (meat)
Now just two words:
8.     Squeegees, words: Bee Gees, Byrds (60’s musical groups)
9.     Riot, Milton: Hyatt, Hilton (Hotels)
10.  Fillings, cute: Billings, Butte (cities in Montana)
Anagrams

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.
All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.
    And That Is All for Now 

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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.