11/18/13

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Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 47/ Day: 322   

Today: L 36°…H 47°… Ave. humidity: 79%

Wind: ave:   5mph; Gusts:  15mph  

Average Low: 21° Record Low:  -13° (1958)

Average High: 50° Record High:  68° (1898)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

1st English printed book "Dictes & Sayengis of the Phylosophers"…1477

1st newspaper Sunday color comic section published (NY World)…1894

918 members of Peoples Temple are murdered/commit suicide; Jim Jones; 

     Jonestown Guyana …1978

American suffragette Susan B Anthony arrested after voting…1871

Antarctica discovered by US Navy Capt Nathaniel B Palmer…1820

Apollo Theater (Academy, Bryant) opens at 221 W 42nd St NYC…1920

Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops occupy Carlisle…1745

Brooklyn toymaker Morris Michton names teddy bear after Teddy Roosevelt…1902

Great Ballcourt at Chichen Itza is dedicated by the Maya…864

J. Edgar Hoover describes Martin Luther King as "most notorious liar"…1964

Mark Twain publishes "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"…1865

Mickey Mouse appears in NY in "Steamboat Willie"…1928

Old St. Peter's Basilica is consecrated. Stood 4th - 16th century…326

St. Peter's Basilica is consecrated. Replaced an earlier basilica…1626

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

How many can you identify? Answers in Today’s Birthdays

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

A little chilly but still nice. So thankful I’m not in the Midwest. From what I’ve heard, all my in-law relatives in that area are OK. Shaken up a little, but OK.

 

A lazy day after a long night of movies on TV. Nice quiet Sunday is great.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

You have no skill at magic tricks, yet you make a bet with your friend for $25. You tell him to pick a card, take a look at it, and put it back in the deck. You then shuffle the deck as many times as your friend wishes. You will then hand back your friend's chosen card. Even though you possess no magic skill whatsoever, and you have no idea what your friend picked, you can still win this bet. How?

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• James Coburn winning Best Supporting Actor

• Vidéo peinture de Jean Paul Lemieux

• ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE ~ Johnny Mercer

• Hidden treasures - Gilbert & Sullivan - H.M.S. Pinafore (1878)

• Cab Calloway - The Reefer Man (Original)

Very Strange Laws…Kentucky

• Throwing eggs at a public speaker could result in up to one year in prison. (Repealed, 1975)

• One may not dye a duckling blue and offer it for sale unless more than six are for sale at once.

• It is illegal to fish with a bow and arrow in Kentucky.

• Fort Thomas
--Dogs may not molest cars.

• Owensboro
--One may not receive anal sex. /A woman may not buy a hat without her husband’s permission.

OK Then…

 

Harper’s Index 

Ratio of bicycles to people in Amsterdam: 1:1

Unusual Fact of the Day

You won't find pincers at the Egremont Crab Fair held in Cumbria, England. That's because this autumn event actually celebrates apples.

Joke-of-the-day

Two bachelors, Larry and Frank were out to dinner. The conversation drifted from office, sports to politics and then to cooking. “I got a cook book once” said Larry. “But I couldn’t do anything with it.”

“Too much fancy stuff in it, huh?” asked Frank.

“You said it, Larry replied, nodding. “Every one of those recipes began the same way: “Take a clean plate…”  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

MAKING CONCRETE

It takes one person the better part of a day to mix and pour two cubic yards of concrete.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

LEWISTON, Maine - A 33-year-old man is accused of nearly biting the nose off another man at a bar in Lewiston, Maine, police said. Todd Lyons pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of aggravated assault in the 2011 incident that occurred on the dance floor of Pub 33, the Lewiston-Auburn (Maine) Sun Journal reported. Lyons, formerly of Mechanic Falls, Maine, was arrested recently on a warrant by police in Pascagoula, Miss., where he was found working at a local carnival. Police allege Lyons walked up to Ryan Zinninger of Greene, Maine, in November 2011 while Zinninger was on the dance floor. Lyons allegedly walked up to Zinninger, "leaned into him and bit him on the face," police said. Zinninger was rushed to a hospital, where doctors were able to reattach his nose with 12 stitches, police said. Witnesses told police the two had been arguing, but a bartender working that night said it appeared to have been a random act, the newspaper said. Lyons is being held in lieu of $10,000 cash bail.  

Somewhat Useless Information about the Empire State Building  

Architect: Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates

Excavation: Began on January 22, 1930

Construction: Commenced March 17, 1930. Framework  rose at a rate of 4 ½ stories per week.

Cornerstone: Original laid by Alfred E. Smith on September 17, 1930. The 50th Anniversary addition laid May, 1981.

Total Time: One year and 45 days including Sundays and holidays. (Ahead of schedule).

Man-Hours: 7,000,000

Cost: $40,948,900 (including land)

Building Alone: $24,718,000 (the onset of the Depression halved the anticipated cost of the building.)

Area of Site: 79,288 square feet (7,240 meters) or about two acres. East to west, 424 feet (129 meters), north to south, 187 feet (56.9 meters.)

Foundation: 55 feet (16.7 meters) below ground

Total Height: 1,454 feet (1,453 feet, 8 9/16th inches) or 443.2 meters to top of lightning rod.

• To 86th Floor Observatory: 1,050 feet (320 meters)
• To 102nd Floor Tower: 1,224 feet (373 meters)
• 102nd Floor to Tip: 230 feet

Height of Antenna: 204 feet

Floors: 102

Steps: 1,860 from street level to 102nd floor

Volume: 37 million cubic feet

Weight: 365,000 tons

Windows: 6,500

Street Level Access: Five entrances on 33rd Street, Fifth Avenue and 34th Street.

Elevators: 73, including six freight elevators, operating at speeds from 600 to 1,400 feet per minute. The total enclosed in several miles of elevator shaft. (It is possible to ride from lobby to 80th floor in 45

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

17-23: American Education Week / National Book Awareness Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Married To A Scorpio Support Day

·        Mickey Mouse Day

·        Push-button Phone Day

~~~~

·        Latvia: Independence Day (1918 from Russian Empire)

·        Oman National Day (1650 Independence from Potugal)

Today’s Events through History  

1st Unitarian minister in US ordained, Boston…1878

Congressional committee reports on Iran-Contra affair…1987

Copyright office issues its 10 millionth registration…1960

Vasco da Gama reached the Cape of Good Hope…1497

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Brenda Vaccaro, Brooklyn, actress (Cactus Flower, Sara, Paper Dolls) is 73

Linda Evans, actor (Dynasty, Big Valley, Beach Blanket Bingo) is 71

Sinbad, [David Adkins], Benton Harbor MI, actor (1st Kid, Vibe) is 57

Owen Wilson, actor (Meet the Parents, Zoolander) is 45

Remembered for being born today

William S Gilbert, London, dramatist, librettist (Gilbert & Sullivan) [1836-1911]

James E Sullivan, founder (Amateur Athletic Union) [1862-1914]

Dorothy Dix, pseudonym of US journalist Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer [1861-1951]

Johnny Mercer, lyricist (Moon River, Old Black Magic) [1909-1976]

George Gallup, public opinion pollster (Gallup Poll) [1904-1984]

Jean Paul Lemieux, Quebec painter [1904-1990]

Alan B Shepard Jr, Rear Adm USN/astro (Merc 3, Ap 14) [1923-1998]

Imogene Coca, comedienne (Your Show of Shows, Grindl) [1908-2001]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Harold J. Stone, actor…2005…@92

Joseph P Kennedy, JFK/RFK/TMK father…1969…@81

Cab[ell] Calloway, US band leader/actor (Missourians)…1996…@86

Niels Bohr, Danish physicist (atom, Nobel 1922)…heart failure…1962…@77

James Coburn, actor (Our Man Flint)…heart attack…2002…@74

Chester A Arthur, 21st US President…stroke…1886…@56

Marcel Proust, French author (Recherche du Temps Perdu)… pneumonia…1922…@51

Jim Jones, US pastor, leader of Jonestown Cult…suicide…1978…@47

Brain Teasers

You hand back the deck…thus handing back the chosen card.

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  §