12/18/13

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Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 51 / Day: 352   

Today: L 17°…H 49°… Ave. humidity: 48%

Wind: ave:   6mph; Gusts:  11mph  

Average Low: 16° Record Low:  -14° (1908)

Average High: 43° Record High:  65° (1901)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

"A Star is Born", with Barbra Streisand, premieres…1976

"To Tell the Truth" debuts on CBS-TV…1956

"Wonder Woman" debuts on ABC…1976

1st celestial photograph (of Moon) made in US, John Draper, NYC…1839

1st giant panda, Su-Lin, imported into US arrives in SF…1936

1st US newspaper to appear on Sunday (Baltimore Monitor)…1796

Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" airs for 1st time on CBS…1966

For 2nd cons year, AP names Wilma Rudolph female athlete of year…1961

IRA's Sean McKenna becomes critically ill, ends hunger strike…1980

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "Nutcracker Suite" premieres…1892

Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discover the ancient Indian ruins of Mesa Verde…1888

Thomas Fleet publishes "Mother Goose's Melodies For Children"…1719

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

What a nice weather day in Flagstaff…went to lunch and only needed my sweater…no jacket required.

 

Our favorite bistro here in Flag came through with flying colors for lunch. Mary liked her candle and candies, Cheryl liked her earrings and fancy tea bags. I got an amaryllis, as did Mary, I will grow mine when I return from Chicago and a nice knit shirt. Cheryl got a nice light shirt/jacket. Mary took her granddaughter and family to see the Nutcracker ballet. Mary’s niece was the Snow Queen. Her granddaughter has been doing ballet for a couple of years and really enjoyed the performance. They even got a tour backstage after the performance. Quite an experience for a 3^rd grader. Cheryl heads out soon for California, then after Christmas, she and 7 relatives head back to Williams for a visit. That will be quite a strain on Cheryl, but all will work out somehow.  

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

What expression is represented here?

Brrr....shake, shake....brrrrr; me Maple, oak, blackwood, acacia, birch and mountain-ash.

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Katie Holmes Hopes for a 'peaceful' 2013

• Roger Smith Plays Guitar 77 Sunset Strip

• Peter Pan-Part 12

• Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee

• Christina Aguilera-Genie in the bottle

• Very Strange Laws…Pennsylvania

• A special cleaning ordinance bans housewives from hiding dirt and dust under a rug in a dwelling.

• A person is not eligible to become Governor if he/she has participated in a duel.

• All liquor stores must be run by the state.

• Any motorist driving along a country road at night must stop every mile and send up a rocket signal, wait 10 minutes for the road to be cleared of livestock, and continue.

• Any motorist who sights a team of horses coming toward him must pull well off the road, cover his car with a blanket or canvas that blends with the countryside, and let the horses pass.

• Dynamite is not to be used to catch fish.

• Fireworks stores may not sell fireworks to Pennsylvania residents.

• It is contrary to Pennsylvania law to discharge a gun, cannon, revolver or other explosive weapon at a wedding.

• It is illegal to have over 16 women live in a house together because that constitutes a brothel.

• It is illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors.

• Ministers are forbidden from performing marriages when either the bride or groom is drunk.

• Motorized vehicles are not to be sold on Sundays.

• No more than two packages of beer at a time may be purchased, unless you are buying from an official “beer distributor”.

• Though you do not need a fishing license to fish on your own land, but a hunting license is required to hunt on your own land.

• You may not catch a fish by any body part except the mouth.

• You may not catch a fish with your hands.

• You may not sing in the bathtub.

• Allentown--
  There is a ban on men becoming aroused in public.

• Bensalem--
  Persons convicted of felonies may not operate Bingo games.

• Connellsville--
  One’s pants may be worn no lower than five inches below the waist.

• Danville--
  All fire hydrants must be checked one hour before all fires.

• Millville--
  One may not shoot any dog that is found wandering the streets.

• Morrisville--
  It is required that a woman have a permit to wear cosmetics.

• Newtown--
  Every outlet or switch (which can be purchased for 59 cents) that is installed requires an electrical inspection fee of 1 dollar and 33 cents.

• Pittsburgh--
  It is still illegal to bring a donkey or a mule onto a trolley car.

• Tarentum--
  Horses are not to be tied to parking meters.

OK Then…

 

Harper’s Index 

• Number of heads of government in the United States since 1964: 5

• In the Soviet Union: 4

• In Switzerland: 20

Unusual Fact of the Day

Former Today Show weatherman Willard Scott got an early career boost by portraying Ronald McDonald in commercials.

Joke-of-the-day

A rich millionaire throws a massive party for his 50th birthday. During this party, he grabs the microphone and announces to his guests that down in the garden of his mansion he has a swimming pool with two great white sharks in it.

"I will give anything of mine to the man who swims across that pool."

So the party continues with no events in the pool until SUDDENLY, there is a great splash and all the guests of the party run to the pool to see what has happened.

In the pool a man is swimming as hard as he can and fins come out of the water and jaws are snapping and this guy just keeps on going. The sharks are gaining on him and this guy reaches the end and gets out of the pool, tired and soaked. The millionaire grabs the microphone and says, "I am a man of my word. Anything of mine I will give: my Ferraris, my house, absolutely anything, for you are the bravest man I have ever seen. So sir what will it be?" The guy grabs the microphone and says, "Why don't we start with the name of the jerk who pushed me in!"  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

PICKING A WINNER AT THE HARNESS TRACK

It's usually safe to bet on a horse that has just been assigned a leading full-time driver. The trainer probably believes the horse is ready to win.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Mineralogical discoveries in the moon's largest impact crater could yield clues to the evolution of our companion's crust and mantle, U.S. researchers say. The evidence is data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper that flew aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter showing a diverse mineralogy in the subsurface of the giant South Pole Aitken basin, scientists at Brown University reported Monday. The differing signatures detected in the crater -- at 1,500 miles wide the largest impact basin on the moon and perhaps the largest in the solar system -- could be of minerals dredged up at the time of the giant impact 4 billion years ago, they said. While the distinct minerals could have formed as the molten surface rock from the impact cooled, recent research at Brown and elsewhere suggests it's also possible the mineral differences reflect differences in rock types that were there before the giant impact. If the diversity reflects pre-existing material, the impact basin could hold important clues about the composition of the moon's lower crust and mantle, the Brown researchers said. "If you do the impact scaling from models, [the SPA impact] should have excavated into the mantle," Brown graduate student and study leader Dan Moriarty said. "We think the upper mantle is rich in a mineral called olivine, but we don't see much olivine in the basin. That's one of the big mysteries about the South Pole Aitken basin. So one of the things we're trying to figure out is how deep did the impact really excavate. If it melted and excavated any material from the mantle, why aren't we seeing it?" If the impact did excavate mantle material, and it doesn't contain olivine, that would have substantial implications for models of how the moon was formed, he said.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

• Humans have 46 chromosomes, peas have 14 and crayfish have 200.

• Some ribbon worms will eat themselves if they cant find any food!

• The world’s oldest piece of chewing gum is over 9000 years old!

• About 3000 years ago, most Egyptians died by the time they were 30!

• Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, every time you breathe!

• Slugs have 4 noses!

• Lightning strikes about 6,000 times per minute on this planet!

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

14-28:  Halcyon Days

14-1/5 Christmas Bird Count Week 
15-21: Gluten-free Baking Week
16-24: Posadas
17-23: Saturnalia

Today Is                                                                      

·        Answer The Telephone Like Buddy The Elf Day

·        Bake Cookies Day

·        International Migrants Day

~~~~~

·        Niger: Republic Day (1st Republic of Niger, semi-independent under France, 1959)

Today’s Events through History  

1st national Thanksgiving Day, commemorating Burgoyne's surrender…1777

California Governor Gray Davis announces that the state would face a record budget 

     deficit of $35 billion, roughly double the figure reported during his reelection campaign 

     one month earlier…2002

Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" officially marking the start of the Yuan 

    Dynasty of China…1271

New Jersey becomes 3rd state to ratify constitution…1787

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Ramsey Clark, US attorney General (1967-69) is 86

Roger Smith, actor (77 Sunset Strip) is 81

Steven Spielberg, director (ET, Close Encounters, Jaws) is 67

Ray Liotta, actor (Sacha-Casablanca, Goodfellas) is 59

Brad Pitt, actor (12 Monkeys, Fight Club) is 50

Kiefer Sutherland, actor (Young Guns, Stand by Me, Lost Boys) is 47

Casper Van Dien, actor (Starship Troopers) is 45

Katie Holmes, actress (Dawson's Creek, Batman Begins) is 35

Christina Aguilera, singer (Genie in a Bottle, What a Girl Wants) is 33

Remembered for being born today

Charles Wesley, co-founder (Methodist movement) [1707-1788]

Saki, [Hector Hugo Munro], Burma, author (Reginald, When William Came) [1870-1916]

J. J. Thomson, Manchester, English physicist discovered electron (Nobel 1906) [1856-1940]

Joseph Stalin [Josef], Premier of the Soviet Union  [1878-1953]

Ty Cobb, baseball player, batted .367, stole 892 bases (Det Tigers) [1886-1961]

Betty Grable, great legs/actress (Gay Divorcee) [1916-1973]

Abe Burrows, Brooklyn, Broadway composer (Guys & Dolls 1951 TONY) [1910-1985]

Willy Brandt, [Herbert Frahm], German chancellor (Nobel 1971) [1913-1992]

Ossie Davis, actor/playwright (Hot Stuff, Man Called Adam) [1917-2005]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Mark Felt, Deep Throat, whistle blower Watergate Scandal…2008…@95

Richard Owen, English zoologist (Dinosaurus)…1892…@88

Mother Clara Hale, cared for NYC AIDS babies (Hale House)…1992…@87

Cyril Ritchard, actor (Cpt Hook-Peter Pan)…1977…@80

Mark Goodson, TV game show producer (Goodson-Toddman)…cancer…1992…@77

John T "Legs" Diamond, US gangster…murdered…1931…@34

Chris Farley, comedian (SNL, Tommy Boy)…OD…1997…@33

Brain Teasers

Shiver me timbers Brrr....shake, shake....brrrrr: shiver (Shivering)
me Maple, oak, blackwood, acacia, birch and mountain-ash: timbers (a group of trees).

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  §