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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…§
