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♪Happy Birthday To: ♪
Today’s Historical
Highlights
1611 - Word
"telescope" is 1st used (Prince Federico Cesi)
1614 - John Rolfe marries
Pocahontas
1799 - Napoleon
called for establishing Jerusalem for Jews
1828 - 1st edition
of Noah Webster's dictionary published
1841 - Edgar
Allen Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue," published
1853 - Harriet
Tubman began her Underground Railroad, helping slaves escape
1865 - President
Abraham Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater
1906 - Pres
Theodore Roosevelt denounces "muckrakers" in US press
1939 - John
Steinbeck novel "The Grapes of Wrath" published
1983 - Pres Reagan
signs $165 billion Social Security rescue
1992 - Court throws
out Apple's lawsuit against Microsoft
2003 - The Human
Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an
accuracy of 99.99%.
2010 - Icelandic
Volcano Eyjafjallajökull begins erupting from the top crater in the centre of
the glacier
Free Rambling
Thoughts
Windy and cloudy…sure looks like snow…weatherman now sez 3”-7” in the next few days…I’m set…ran some errands this
morning…can hold up for a week if
necessary. Probably a good thing, so I can get some spring cleaning done. Crazy
weather…tomorrow will be a high of
34, and by Wed. we’ll be back in the mid 60’s—temperature, not decade.
Expecting a relaxing
weekend. Sure hope it works out that way.
Game Center
(answers at the end of post)
Brain Game—A
close up picture of what?
NPR Sunday Puzzle
You are given the names of
people whom you had probably never heard of before 2008, but who sprang to
national or international prominence during the past 12 months. Who are they?
1.
Samuel Joseph Wertzberger:
2.
Michael Phelps:
3.
Rob Blagojevich:
4.
David Patterson:
5.
Dmitry Medvedev:
6.
Bernard Madoff:
7.
Usain Bolt:
8.
Rob Pattinson:
9.
Kazuo Kawasaki:
10.
Muntadhar al-Zaidi:
Riddle of the day
Mary was working in a
chemistry lab with a mixture of chemicals that was 90% water and weighed 20
pounds. After returning to the lab from a weekend break, she calculated the
mixture was now 50% water. How much does the mixture now weigh? For purposes of
this puzzle, assume the non-water part of the mixture was not affected by evaporation.
CLUE: More than 10 Pounds
Anagram:
unscramble—numbers represent the number of letters in
each answer word
Lifestyle Substance
Harper’s
Index
Rank of non-denominational
Christianity among the fastest growing in America during the past two decades:
2
Found on You
Tube
Saturn-The Planet
Planet Earth—
Joke-of-the-day
The teacher wrote on the
blackboard, “I ain’t had no fun all summer.”
“Now Paul,” she said. “What shall I do to
correct this?”
“Get a boy friend.” Paul replied.
Rules of
Thumb
Easy shortcuts to make
an ‘educated’ guess
At high speed, nothing stays in the same place for long. Aim your car at the spot where you see an accident start. Chances are the accident will have moved by the time you get there.
Yeah, It Really
Happened
There are lots of weird
laws on the books in America. Here are the craziest that technically could
still get you thrown in the slammer:
In Alabama, it is illegal
to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church.
In Lexington, Ky., you are
not allowed to carry ice cream in your back pocket. The reason? Back in the old
days, horse thieves were considered the scum of the Earth, but they were
clever. They would put ice cream bars in their back pockets in order to lure a
horse away from its owner. Then, if the thief got caught, he could just claim
that the horse followed him home, and he didn't actually steal it
An extremely outdated law
in Pennsylvania was originally enacted as a safety precaution. When people were
first starting to use automobiles, they had to share the road with livestock.
Therefore, if traveling at night, they were required to shoot the flares and
wait 10 minutes to ensure all cattle and horses had cleared the road. Even more
amusing, the rule also states that if a team of horses approach your vehicle
you must pull off the road and cover it up. If the horses are still startled,
you must "quickly and completely disassemble his motorized vehicle and
hide such under the nearest brush or shrubbery." Somehow, this silly law
is still on the books.
In Gary, Ind., you are not
allowed to enter a theater or public vehicle within four hours of eating
garlic.
You cannot have sex with a
porcupine in Florida.
In Miami, it is illegal
for a man to wear any kind of strapless gown.
It is illegal to kiss a
woman in Logan County, Colo. if she's sleeping.
Somewhat Useless
Information
San Francisco's Golden
Gate Bridge is painted a specific shade known as International Orange. The
bridge's designers felt that the orange hue blended best with the warm colors
of the land in the area and the cool colors of the sky and sea.
On May 30, 1883, with mobs
of people still crowding the promenade of the newly opened Brooklyn Bridge, a
woman tripped while walking and screamed. Others interpreted her scream to mean
that the bridge was collapsing, and the ensuing stampede resulted in 12 deaths
and scores of injuries.
The single busiest land
border crossing in North America is the Ambassador Bridge, which links Detroit,
Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. When the bridge first opened, it became a fad
for couples to exchange their wedding vows in the middle of it, until it was
pointed out that the area was technically a "no-man's land," neither
America nor Canada, and the marriage might not be valid.
Shortly after the Tacoma
Narrows Bridge opened in 1940, it earned the nickname "Galloping
Gertie," due to the way it undulated in the wind. On November 7 of that
year, owners of a nearby camera shop got word that the bridge was in trouble
due to high winds and captured footage of the bridge as it twisted, buckled,
and ultimately collapsed.
The London Bridge was
built in 1831, but due to increased traffic, it was falling down by 1962. On a
whim, the local government put the bridge up for sale. To their surprise, they
found a buyer. Robert McCulloch, the founder of Lake Havasu, Arizona, paid
nearly $2.5 million and had the bridge moved to Arizona brick by brick. It
still stands in Lake Havasu.
Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania, is home to more covered bridges than any other area of the U.S.
The protective covers over the bridges keep them free of snow and rain so that
the horse-powered carriages of the Amish can safely cross, no matter what the
weather.
Calendar Information
…Happening This
Week:
7-15
National
Robotics Week
Passover Week
Bat Appreciation Week
National Library Week
National Networking Week
Orthodox Holy Week
Pan American Week
Consider Christianity Week
Passover Week
Bat Appreciation Week
National Library Week
National Networking Week
Orthodox Holy Week
Pan American Week
Consider Christianity Week
10-16
Health
Information Privacy and Security Week
National
Animal Control Appreciation Week
14-15
Just
Pray No! Worldwide Weekend of Prayer and Fasting
14-22
National
Karaoke Week
National
Volunteer Week
National Pet ID Week
National Pet ID Week
National
Paperboard Packaging Week
Today Is
Baby
Massage Day
Children
with Alopecia Day
Dictionary
Day
International
Moment of Laughter Day
National
Pecan Day
Pan
American Day
Today’s Other Events
1500’s
1528 - Panfilo de Narvaez,
with 4 or 5 ships, and approximately 400-500 men, including Cabeza de Vaca,
sight land, on the western coast of Florida. This will be the first significant
exploration of Florida.
1600’s
1699 - Khalsa:
Birth of Khalsa, the brotherhood of the Sikh religion, in Northern India in
accordance with the Nanakshahi calendar
1700’s
1775 - 1st
abolitionist society in US organizes in Philadelphia
1800’s
1818 - US
Medical Corp forms
1863 - William
Bullock patents continuous-roll printing press
1865 - US Secret
Service created to fight counterfeiting
1894 - 1st
public showing of Edison's kinetoscope (moving pictures)
1900’s
1903 - Dr Harry
Plotz discovers vaccine against typhoid (NYC)
1910 - President
Taft begins tradition of throwing out ball on opening day
1922 - Republic
rebels occupies 4 government courts in Dublin
1927 - The first
Volvo car premieres in Gothenburg, Sweden.
1931 - Spain
becomes republic with overthrow of King Alfonso XIII
1944 - 1st Jews
transported from Athens arrive at Auschwitz
1948 - A flash
of light is observed in crater Plato on Moon
1959 - (Robert)
Taft Memorial Bell Tower dedicated in Wash DC
1961 - US element
103 (Lawrencium) discovered
1967 - In the
Vietnam War, US planes bombed Haiphong for 1st time
1971 - President
Nixon ends blockade against People's Republic of China
1986 - Desmond Tutu
elected Anglican archbishop of Capetown
1994 - Branch
Davidian cult leader David Koresh promises to surrender after completion of his
Seven Seals manuscript
2000’s
2000 - Metallica
drummer Lars Ulrich files a lawsuit against P2P sharing phenomenon Napster.
This law-suit eventually leads the movement against file-sharing programs
2002 - Tiger
Woods becomes the third golfer to win The Masters in two consecutive years
2003 - U.S. troops
in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an
American on the hijacked cruise liner the Achille Lauro in 1985
Today’s Birthdays
In their 90’s
John Paul Stevens, Supreme
Court Justice is 92
><
In their 70’s
Julie
Christie, actress (Dr Zhivago) is 71
Loretta Lynn, Butcher's
Hollow Ky, singer (Coal Miner's Daughter) is 77
Pete Rose, Cincinnati
Reds, Charlie hustle (most hits in majors) is 71
Frank Serpico, American
policeman is 76
><
In their 50’s
Robert Carlyle, Glasgow,
Scotland, British actor (Trainspotting, The Full Monty) is 51
><
In their 30’s
Adrien Brody, actor (The
Pianist) is 39
><
Remembered for being
born on this day
Christian Huygens,
Holland, astronomer (discovered Saturn's rings) in 1629
Junius S Morgan, US,
merchant/philanthropist (Metro Museum of Art) in 1813
Rod Steiger, West Hampton
NY, actor (Illustrated Man, Pawnbroker) in 1925
Anne Mansfield Sullivan,
US, educated Helen Keller in 1866
Arnold Toynbee, England,
historian (Study of History) in 1889
Today’s Obits
Rachel L Carson, US
biologist/author (Silent spring), dies of heart attack at 56 in 1964
Georg Friedrich Handel,
organist/composer (Watermusic), dies at 74 in 1759
Burl Ives, folk
singer/actor (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) ('Big Rock Candy Mountain'), dies
at 85 in 1995
William Whitehead, English
writer dies at 70 in 1785
Answers
Brain Game: Close
Up Picture
Riddle of the day
12 Pounds
NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.
Samuel Joseph Wertzberger:
a.
Joe the Plumber
2.
Michael Phelps:
a.
Olympic swimmer
3.
Rob Blagojevich:
a.
Gov of IL
4.
David Patterson:
a.
Gov of NY; blind
5.
Dmitry Medvedev:
a.
President of Russia
6.
Bernard Madoff:
a.
Financial Ponzi Scheme
7.
Usain Bolt:
a.
Jamaican 100-200 m gold medalist
8.
Rob Pattinson:
a.
Vampire in Twilight movies
9.
Kazuo Kawasaki:
a.
Designed Sara Palin’s glasses
10.
Muntadhar al-Zaidi:
a.
threw shoe at Bush
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 ☺
