10-28-14

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Almanac: Day:  / Week: 44 
October Averages: 63° \ 31°



Holiday Observances Today:
Frankenstein Friday
National Chocolate Day
Plush Animal Lover's Day
Statue Of Liberty Day
++
Independence Day (Czech Republic-1918-from Austria/Hungary)
Ochi Day (Greece-1940-stopping Axis Invasion-Anniversary Of the ‘NO’)
           
Quote of the Day



Historical Highlights for Today
 1492 - Christopher Columbus discovers Cuba and claims it for Spain
1538 – 1st university in New World, Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino, estab.
1636 - Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) founded
1646 - First Protestant church assembly for American indians (Massachusetts)
1746 - Peruvian cities of Lima & Callao demolished by earthquake, 18,000 die
1793 - Eli Whitney applies for a patent on cotton gin
1867 - Maimonides College in Pennsylvania is first Jewish college in the US
1886 - Statue of Liberty dedicated by President Cleveland, 1st ticker tape parade
1900 - After over 5 months second Olympic games in Paris, France, close
1904 - St Louis police try a new investigation method – fingerprints
1922 - Benito Mussolini takes control of Italy's government
1954 - Nobel Prize for literature awarded to Ernest Hemingway
1965 - Pope Paul VI proclaims Jews not collectively guilty for crucifixion
·        •  •
  Birthdays Today:
How many can you identify? Answers below in Birthday’s Today



My Rambling Thoughts
Good day for a walk…so I did.
Nothin’ like having politics outweighing science. It has been climate change for decades…now it is Ebola. When will we learn? So glad I live in a small town.
I tried, in this small town, to sign up for auto-pay of my water bill on the internet machine…like I have done with all my regular bills. I discovered a few weeks ago that I had to bring in a voided check to the city office complex to do it. So today I headed for City Hall. I filled out the form, gave the nice lady my voided check. Then she says…”It may take a couple of billing cycles before this takes effect.” I couldn’t go paperless, and when the bills come, if it says ‘bank draft’ under the amount, it has taken effect, if not, still have to pay by check. Crazy.
The NPR fund raising drive has started. I renewed this morning as a ‘sustaining member’ which means that a certain amount will be charged to my credit card each month, until I stop it. Easy for sure. I did it during their matching pledge hour, so my donation was also donated by someone else. Good deal.
·        •  •
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
When I was walking across a bridge, I saw a boat crowded with people. But there wasn't a single person on the boat. How could this be? 

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today





           
OK Then…


·        •  •
Paraphernalia 4 the Brain:     
Brief History…
Julius Caesar was the first Caesarian Birth.
The fact that Caesar’s mother lived beyond the birth pretty much proves she was not subjected to a C-section which was invariably fatal at that time.  Also, other babies had been delivered from dead or dying mothers by being cut out from the womb before as well.

Educator’s Answers…
“Have you ever thought about making your class more fun?”
No, I do my best to make it as boring as I can.

Flagstaff, AZ History…
100 YEARS AGO
-The big pile of rock obstructing traffic at Sitgreaves and Birch is being blasted out by the city. With this space opened up these streets will classify as premium thoroughfares in our city.
-Jess Howard came in from Oak Creek bringing 60-pound watermelons. They were grown from the seeds found sealed in a wall in an ancient cliff dwelling by Miss Sharto Hass and were supposed to have been raised by the Aztec in the arid Southwest. Seeds sent back East failed.
           
Harper’s Index…
Weekly hours of chores worked by the average Australian boy and girl respectively: 2.1; 2.7 
Weekly allowance earned: $45; $42
           
Halloween Facts…
-The average American will spend $66.28 on Halloween in 2010, totaling $5.8 billion The National Retail Federation expects consumers in 2010 to spend $66.28 per person—which would be a total of approximately $5.8 billion—on Halloween costumes, cards, and candy. That’s up from $56.31 in 2009 and brings spending back to 2008 levels.
-According to the National Retail Federation, 40.1% of those surveyed plan to wear a Halloween costume in 2010. In 2009, it was 33.4%. Thirty-three percent will throw or attend a party.
-In 2010, 72.2% of those surveyed by the National Retail Federation will hand out candy, 46.3% will carve a pumpkin, 20.8% will visit a haunted house, and 11.5% will dress up their pets.

Law Facts…
-Oral sex was illegal in 18 states under old sodomy law until 2003 when they were invalidated.
-In Hong Kong, a betrayed wife is legally allowed to kill her adulterous husband, but may only do so with her bare hands. (The husband's lover, on the other hand, may be killed in any manner desired.)
           
Religious Facts…
-In Poland, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has just been granted permission to register as a religion.
-Pope Francis has a master’s degree in Chemistry.

Rules of Thumb…
WAITING FOR A CHANCE TO SAY SOMETHING
People will lapse into silence after every 20 minutes of conversation.      

Unusual Fact of the Day…
On the week of April 4th, 1964, The Beatles held each of the top five spots on the Billboard pop singles chart.
·        •  •
Joke-of-the-day
A new teacher was trying to make use of her psychology courses.
She started her class by saying, "Everyone who thinks you're stupid, stand up!" 
After a few seconds, Little Johnny stood up. 
The teacher said, "Do you think you're stupid, Little Johnny?" 
"No, ma'am, but I hate to see you standing there all by yourself!"

           
Yep, It Really Happened
There are easier ways to make money than stabbing yourself in the eyes with pencils. Granted, the monetary potential of such an action may not be immediately apparent, and it probably wasn't the first thought of the woman who did it to herself, but you certainly can't argue that she had dollars in her eyes (if you'll pardon the expression) after the incident. 
It started after a California woman attempted to commit suicide by this extraordinarily bizarre method. 
While she was unsuccessful at suicide, she was subject to a curious photographer while being treated for her injuries. Now she is suing Los Angeles County, claiming the photo snapped at the hospital and went viral online.
The suit was filed by the guardian of the woman, who was blinded by the attempt. The suit claims unauthorized disclosure of medical information.
The woman, identified only as Jane Doe, was admitted to County-USC Medical Center about 2 years ago. The suit says someone, believed to be a nurse, took an unauthorized photo of her with pencils in her eyes and shared it with someone who posted it to the Internet, where it's been viewed some 200,000 times.
           

Somewhat Useless Information
The Dunning -Kruger effect is a cognitive bias by David Dunning and Justin Kruger regarding individuals and illusory superiority.
According to this theory, the less an unskilled individual knows, the more he or she thinks he or she knows.
“The miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others”, Dunning and Kruger conclude.
+++
During the 70s the Singaporean government encouraged women, especially the uneducated ones, to get sterilized following their second child, as in 1960 the birth rate was 5.4, which was considered high.
Indeed, the fertility rate dropped to 1.44 and it was then when the government decided to reverse its policy in favor of fertility.
However, the fertility rate has never restored back to replacement levels since.
+++
The deepest artificial point on Earth is the Kola Superdeep Borehole, which was created in 1970 in Russia.
The Kola Superdeep Borehole was created after a scientific drilling project of the Soviet Union in the Pechengsky District, on the Kola Peninsula, which attempted to drill as deep as possible into the Earth’s crust and it is 12,262 m deep, as well as 1% of the distance from Earth’s center.    
·        •  •
Check Your Calendar
Observances This Week:
--- 24-30
Disarmament Week
Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week

World Origami Days
International Magic Week
Asexuality Week
Give Wildlife a Brake! Week 
Kids Care Week
National Infertility Awareness Week 

·        •  •
Today’s Events through History
1848 - The first railroad in Spain - between Barcelona and Mataró - is opened
1948 - Flag of Israel is adopted
1952 - Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Women's Texas Golf Open
1973 - Sharon Miller wins LPGA Corpus Christi Civitan Golf Open
1988 - Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen gives $10 million to U of Washington library
·        •  •
Birthday’s Today
Jim Beatty, track runner (1st sub 4 minute indoor mile) is 80
Charlie Daniels, singer (Devil Went Down to Georgia) is 78
Lenny Wilkens, Brooklyn NBA Point Guard and Head Coach is 77
Dennis Franz, actor (NYPD Blue) is 70
Wayne Fontana, rocker (Groovy Kind of Love) is 69
Bruce Jenner, decathlete (Olympic-gold-1976) is 65
Annie Potts, actress (Mary Jo-Designing Women) is 62
Bill Gates [William Henry], billionaire founder/CEO (Microsoft) is 59
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran is 58
Lauren Holly, actress (Maxine-Picket Fences) is 51
Julia Roberts, actress (Pretty Woman) is 47
Brad Paisley, American musician is 42
Joaquin Leaf Phoenix, actor (Space Camp) is 40

Remembered for being born today
Francis Bacon, Ireland, painter (Study for a Pope) (1909-1992)
Anna Elizabeth Dickinson, orator (Joan of Arc of the Civil War) (1842-1932)
Dody Goodman, Columbus Ohio, comedienne (Mary Hartman!) (1915-2008)
Edith Head, fashion designer (MGM) (1897-1981)
John Harold Hewitt, Northern Irish poet (1907-1987)
Elsa Lanchester, actress (Bride of Frankenstein) (1902-1986)
Eliphalet Remington, US gun maker (1793-1861)
Jonas Salk, medical researcher (polio vaccine) (1914-1995)
Jack Soo, actor (Barney Miller) (1917-1979)
·        •  •
Historical Obits Today
Red Auerbach, basketball coach and executive, 2006, @89
Morey Amsterdam, comedian (Dick Van Dyke Show), 1996, @87
Doris Duke, heiress (American Tobacco Co), 1993, @80
Abigail Adams, 2nd first lady, typhoid fever, 1818, @73
John Locke, English philosopher (2 treatises of government), 1704, @72
James MacArthur, actor (Dano-Hawaii 50), 2010, @72
James Goldman, screenwriter (The Lion in Winter) heart attack, 1998, @71
·        •  •
Brain Teasers Answers
Everyone on the boat was married!       
·        •  •
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 contains mistakes and sadly once 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.