Jan 31


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 05/ Day: 31
Today: H   42°…L 8° Averages: H  43° L 18° Records: H   66°(1971)…L -19°(1979)
Wind: ave:  7mph; Gusts:  15mph  ave. humidity:  65%
Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:
"My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison hit #1 on UK pop chart—1971
1st acts are taken to establish the White Mountain-San Carlos-Camp Apache Reserve in 
     western Arizona territory, by the Military Division of the Pacific—1870
1st auto to exceed 100 mph (161 kph), A G MacDonald, Daytona Beach—1905
1st Ukrainian daily newspaper in US (NYC) begins publication—1920
1st venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital—1747
Battle of George Square takes place in Glasgow, Scotland—1919
Gail Borden announces invention of evaporated milk—1851
Ham is 1st primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2—1961
Magnetic tape recorder developed by Wireway—1948
Millions of birds fly over western SF, darkens sky—1871
Netherlands: a Scottish court convicts a Libyan and acquits another for their part in the 
     bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which crashed into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988—2001
Pres Harry Truman OKs building of hydrogen bomb—1950
Scotch tape 1st marketed by 3-M Company—1928
SF Orphan's Asylum, 1st in California, founded—1851
United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations—1876
US launches their 1st artificial satellite, Explorer 1—1958
Viet Cong's Tet offensive begins—1968

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   
How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays

Free Rambling Thoughts:   
My two lunch partners did not have a good time while I was away…and I had nothing to do with it. Mary is suffering with nerve damage to her knee and got a cortisone shot this morning…been in pain the entire time I was gone. Cheryl may need eye surgery and has gone to be with her son and is seeing a doctor there about it. She may be bed-ridden for two weeks after the surgery, unable to sit up and have to lie on her back. Strange but worth it to keep her sight. 
Have to talk about what used to be called ‘customs and immigration’ at international points of entry. They changed to ‘border security’ and ‘immigration’. I noted this on my last international trip. This time Houston was involved in some kind of mission. When we entered a long narrow hallway after security points to get to the gates there was a dog and many armed officers. The dog was sniffing all our carry-on. I wrongly assumed that it was drug sniffers. Nope, it was money sniffing dogs. Yeah, I know. Really?. It is legal to enter or leave the country with $9,999 in cash. Any more is illegal. I saw the dog alert to a suitcase and the armed officer came up to this woman who was obviously foreign. He said to her “How much money do you have?” She looked confused, as I would have been. She was taken out of line and led into a side room. Another man had his bag opened on a small table that was just off this narrow hallway. When we returned, another dog was in the baggage claim area doing the same thing for incoming passengers. America has certainly changed since 9/11…and I for one find it a little creepy. I do understand that our flights were to and from Dubai and that country is known for its wealth, so maybe that was it.
 
And then there was the trumpeting elephants. I have seen elephants during almost all my visits to Africa. We were in an area of Uganda that hasn’t had decades of tourists riding around in land cruisers, so the elephants have not been ‘habituated’ to seeing the vehicles. Our driver, Andrew, told us that the females are still very protective around their young. That means that almost all of our encounters had a few trumpeting females. It was amazing to hear, as they were simply warning us, and their young, that danger might be nearby. On one occasion, it was so much more than amazing. We were watching a small herd on one side of the road…standing up and shooting pictures. Out of nowhere a female on the other side of the vehicle, about 10 yards from us let out a trumpet that made our ears ring. No one got a picture of her, but we will never forget the moment. Andrew simply said ‘moving’ as we slowly pulled away. He usually waited for us to respond with ‘moving’ to be sure that we were all seated and ready to move. This time, he didn’t wait for a response. Unforgettable.
Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)
Hidden Word
Find a hidden word in the sentence
 Even ice melts with time under our breath.
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today:

Ok, then?

Read This Carefully!!
On an Electrician's truck: "Let us remove your shorts."
Picture of the Day: 1960’s TV

Harper’s Index:         
  • Percentage of the continental US that experienced drought conditions this summer: 68
  • Last year in which the number was that high: 1954

Unusual Fact of the Day:
Former Today Show weatheman Willard Scott got an early career boost by portraying Ronald McDonald in commercials.
Joke-of-the-day:
Bob stood over his tee shot for what seemed an eternity. He waggled, looked up, looked down, waggled again, but didn't start his back swing. Finally his exasperated partner asked, "what the hell is taking so long?"
"My wife is up there watching me from the clubhouse," Bob explained. "I want to make a perfect shot." "Good lord!" his companion exclaimed. "You don't have a snowball's chance in hell of hitting her from here."
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
DECLARING SOMEONE DEAD
For hypothermia victims, nobody's dead until they're warm and dead.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
WEST YORK, Pa. - Family members of a Pennsylvania man who loved Burger King said they took his funeral procession through the drive-through. Linda Phiel, one of the three daughters of West York man David Kime Jr., who died at the age of 88 Jan. 20, said her father enjoyed fast food daily, so the family took his funeral procession through the Burger King drive-through Saturday for one last Whopper Jr., the York Daily Record reported Monday. "He always lived by his own rules," Phiel said. "His version of eating healthy was the lettuce on the Whopper Jr." Margaret Hess, head manager of the Manchester Township Burger King, said the funeral procession ordered 40 of the sandwiches. "They also wanted one for the deceased," Hess said. Phiel said she placed Kime's final the Whopper Jr. atop her father's casket before it was buried.  
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • The first cell phone, made by Motorola, measured 9x5 inches and weighed 2 1/2 pounds. The first cell phone call was placed on April 3, 1973, by Dr. Martin Cooper, the General Manager for Motorola's Systems Division.
  • In the early 1960s, John Draper discovered that a plastic whistle included in boxes of Cap'n Crunch cereal emitted a perfect 2,600 Hz tone. When the Air Force shipped him to England, he was able to make free overseas calls by blowing the whistle into the telephone and tripping Ma Bell's long distance trunks.
  • The Loneliest Phone Booth in America site was the location of an extremely remote phone booth along U.S. Route 50 near Sand Mountain Recreational Area. The booth was solar-powered and assigned the phone number of (775) 423-0904. It was removed by the phone company after too many drivers passing by it used it for target practice with their firearms, filling it with bullet holes. 
  • Mr. Burns on TV's The Simpsons persists in answering his telephone with "Ahoy-hoy?" which is one of the greetings that inventor Alexander Graham Bell recommended for his device.
  • From 1963 to 2003, Jane Barbe "spoke" to some 20 million people per day. Hers was the voice telephone customers heard when they dialed the number for the correct time and also the voice that informed them "the number you have reached is no longer in service."
  • The "Hello, My Name Is" name tag you see at so many meetings and conferences today was created in 1880 for the first Telephone Operators Convention, which was held in Niagara Falls, New York.  

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
27-2/2
World Leprosy Week
Catholic Schools Week
Meat Week
National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Week
National Medical Group Practice Week
International Hoof Care Week
US National Snow Sculpting Week
Today Is                                                                      
Appreciate Your Social Security Check Day
Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day
Child Labor Day
Inspire Your Heart with Art Day
National Popcorn Day

Today’s Events through History  
"Green Hornet" radio show is 1st heard on WXYZ Radio in Detroit—1936
Congress passes 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in America—1865 
Cornelia/Dina Olfaarts found not guilty of witchcraft—1675
Edwin Newman retires from NBC News after 35 years with the network—1984
Gen Robert E Lee named Commander-in-Chief of Confederate Armies—1865
James van Allen discovers radiation belt—1958
Jesuits "predict" a lunar eclipse for the HURONs of Ossossane. This accurate
     prediction, made with the use of an almanac, will lead to many religious conversions—1646
Kenya: at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage 
     ignition in Molo—2009
Leon Trotsky expelled from Russia to Turkey—1929
President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy—1995
RCA demonstrates 1st music synthesizer—1955
Strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake, Colombia, 8.6 Richter—1906

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 90’s
Carol Channing, actress (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hello Dolly) will be 90
In their 80’s
Ernie Banks, Dallas Texas, "Mr Cub" Chicago Cubs, Hall-of-Famer (short stop/1st baseman) is 82
In their 50’s
Anthony LaPaglia, actor (Murder One) , actress (Good Will Hunting) is 54
In their 40’s
Minnie Driver, English actress and singer-songwriter is 42
Portia De Rossi, actress is 40
In their 30’s
Justin Timberlake, Memphis, Tennessee, singer-songwriter (Sexyback, My Love) is 32

Remembered for being born today
John Agar, actor (1921-2002)
Tallulah Bankhead, Huntsville Ala, actress (Lifeboat, Die Die Darling) (1902-1968)
Eddie Cantor, NYC, comedian (Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater) (1892-1964)
James Franciscus, Clayton Mo, actor (Mr Novak, Longstreet, Hunter) (1934-1971)
Zane Grey, American West novelist (Riders of the Purple Sage) (1872-1939)
Mario Lanza, Phila, actor/singer (Great Caruso, Toast of New Orleans) (1921-1959)
Norman Mailer, Long Branch NJ, NYC mayoral candidate/novelist (Naked & the Dead), (1923-2007) Garry Moore, [Thomas Garrison Morfit], Balt, host (I've Got a Secret) (1915-1993)
Suzanne Pleshette, NYC, actress (Birds, Emily-Bob Newhart Show) (1937-2008)
Jackie Robinson, Ga, 1st black major league baseball player (Dodgers) (1919-1972)
Emil Strauss, Germany, writer (Naked Man) (1866-1960)
Stewart L Udall, St Johns Ariz, US Secretary of Interior (1961-69) (1920-2010)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Edwin H Armstrong, US radio inventor (FM) — suicide — at 63
Guy Fawkes, convicted in the "Gunpowder Plot" — executed —1606 —at 35
Samuel Goldwyn, Polish/English/US film magnate (MGM) —1974— at 91
John R Mott, US theologist/founder (YMCA, Nobel 1946) — 1955 — at 89
Eddie Slovik, 1st US executed for desertion since Civil War—1945—at 25
[Bonnie Prince Charlie] Charles E Stuart, English pretender to the throne — 1788 — at 67

Answer: Hidden Countries
 EVEN ICE melts with time under our breath.
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  §
Posted by No comments:

Jna 30, 2012


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 05/ Day:    
Today: H   29°…L 12° Averages: H  43° L 18° Records: H   60°(1986)…L -18°(1932)
Wind: ave:   9mph; Gusts:  24mph  ave. humidity:  71%
Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:
“Lone Ranger" begins a 21-year run on ABC radio—1933
Belgium legally recognizes same-sex marriage—2003
Bell chimes invented—1487
Burned Library of Congress reestablished with Jefferson's 6500 vols—1815
Elvis Presley records his version of "Blue Suede Shoes"—1956
KAET TV channel 8 in Phoenix, AZ (PBS) begins broadcasting—1961 
KRMA TV channel 6 in Denver, CO (PBS) begins broadcasting—1956
Keats composes his sonnet, "When I Have Fears"—1818
Pneumatic hammer patented by Charles King of Detroit—1894
State funeral of Winston Churchill—1965
US Navy's 1st ironclad warship (Monitor) launched—1862
♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   
How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays

Free Rambling Thoughts:   
Getting back to normal…laundry done, mail picked up, chilly but not cold today…winds have sorta died down.
 
As immigration reform starts to take form, I agree with Obama that this is the time. Even John McCain has yet again changed his stand, as has our new Senator. Very cool. After my recent experiences watching ‘border control’ politicians are finally admitting that we are a nation of immigrants and that the vast majority are not here to commit crimes. Of course our wonderful governor is disappointed. Disappointment is good, maybe she will grow up. As Obama said today, it isn’t going to be easy, but now is the time.
 
I think I am ready to start working on my pictures. Turns out a few of my fellow travelers brought home some unexpected ‘creatures’. They look like boils, but are actually some kind of fly larvae that ‘develop’ and cause swelling and redness. One person was briefly hospitalized but others just had a cleaning out and some antibiotics. They picked them up in the rain forest on one of our treks. Luckily I only got a few fire ant bites…and a few other bug bites.
Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)
Hidden Word
Find a hidden word in the sentence
Women crave stability and a clean living room.
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today:

Ok, then?

Read This Carefully!!
At a Towing company: "We don't charge an arm and a leg. We want tows."
 Picture of the Day: 1960’s TV

Harper’s Index:         
Percentage by which sales of convertibles increase when  the temperatures increase is at least 20 degrees warmer than average: 8.5
Unusual Fact of the Day:
A person of average size and weight burns about 60 to 70 calories each hour just by sitting and watching television.
Joke-of-the-day:
For his entire working life, a dedicated and hardworking Astrophysicist tried in all earnest to find the existence of other being somewhere in the universe. After 58 years of constant effort, he finally receives a response from a planet 30 billion light years away.
“What is your planet like?” groaned the extraterrestrial from the other side of the Galaxy.
“It is 12,756 Kilometers in diameter, is 93,000,000 miles from the nearest star, our sun, has an average temperature of 72 degrees F. We breathe oxygen, live about 75 years, and have both men and women” answered the Physicist.
“Do the you get along with the women on your planet?” the extraterrestrial asked slowly.
Puzzled by the question, but not wanting to insult the female Physicists near by, he answered “Why yes. We get along quite well here.”
The extraterrestrial perked up “Can we send you ours?”
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
AGING GRACEFULLY
If you want to know what your girlfriend will look like in 20 years, take a good look at her mother.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
BRUNSWICK, Ohio - Police said an Ohio woman, upset that another woman called her son a bully, punched the other woman outside of a middle school. Brunswick Police said witnesses reported seeing Connie Edmiston, 42, approach the other woman's car outside of Willetts Middle School after school Tuesday with her 13-year-old son in tow, and order the other woman to get out of the vehicle, The Medina (Ohio) Gazette reported Thursday. The alleged victim rolled down the window and Edmiston reached in and repeatedly punched the other woman in the face, witnesses told police. The alleged victim told investigators she had lectured Edmiston's son earlier in the school year when she saw him bully other students. Witnesses said Edmiston was yelling during the alleged attack about "calling her son a bully." Police said the alleged victim was taken to Southwest General Hospital as a precaution because she suffers from multiple sclerosis and a blow to the head could prove fatal. Edmiston was arrested shortly after the incident when she went to the police station to discuss the incident. She denied hitting the other woman and claimed the alleged victim had spit in her face. Edmiston was charged with assault.  
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Archeologists have found evidence that humans have been enjoying apples since at least 6500 B.C.
  • Apples have five seed pockets or carpels. Each pocket contains seeds. The number of seeds per carpel is determined by the vigor and health of the plant. Different varieties of apples will have different number of seeds.
  • Fresh apples float because 25% of their volume is air.
  • The old saying "an apple a day, keeps the doctor away" comes from am old English adage, "To eat an apple before going to bed, will make the doctor beg his bread."
  • Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated. For optimal storage, apples should be kept at 35-40 degrees with relative humidity of 80-90%.
  • Planting an apple seed from a particular apple will not produce a tree of that same variety. The seed is a cross of the tree the fruit was grown on and the variety that was the cross pollinator.

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
27-2/2
World Leprosy Week
Catholic Schools Week
Meat Week
National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Week
National Medical Group Practice Week
International Hoof Care Week
US National Snow Sculpting Week

Today Is                                                                      
Escape Day—to get away from the daily routine and do something else
Inane Answering Message Day

Today’s Events through History  
1st issue of Franklin Roosevelt dime—1946
1st radio telephone connection between Netherlands & US—1928
5 Pharaoh sculptures from 1470 BC found at temple of Luxor—1989
Articles of Confederation ratified by 13th state, Maryland—1781
Bobby Darin is youngest performer to headline a TV special on NBC—1961
Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights" premieres at Los Angeles Theater —1931
George Bush becomes 11th director of CIA (until 1977) —1976
Hitler calls for extermination of European Jews—1939
2 members of Flying Wallendas' high-wire act killed when their 7-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit —1962
Kevin Eubanks officially becomes band leader of "Tonight Show"—1995
KISS plays their 1st show (Coventry Club in Queens NY) —1973
Lifeboat 1st tested at sea, by Mr Greathead, the inventor—1790
Menai Suspension Bridge, considered the world's first modern suspension bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the north West coast of Wales is opened—1826
Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England is ritually executed after having been dead for two years—1661
Richard Skrenta writes the first PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple boot program called "Elk Cloner"—1982
Scots agree to sell King Charles I to English Parliament for £400—1647
Seminole Chief Osceola dies today at Fort Moultrie, in Charleston, South Carolina. It is believe he has some sort of throat disease, others will say malaria, other say of a broken heart—1838
US invades Majuro, Marshall Islands—1944
World Law Day, 1st celebrated—1922

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 80’s
Gene Hackman , actor (Bonnie & Clyde, Under Fire, Superman) is 83
In their 70’s
Dick Cheney, Lincoln, Nebraska, 46th US Vice President is 72
Vanessa Redgrave, actress (Blow-Up, Julia, Orient Express) is 76
Boris Spassky, USSR, world chess champion (1969-72) is 76
In their 30’s
Christian Bale, Wales, actor (Empire of the Sun, Little Women) is 39
Remembered for being born today
Thomas Rolfe, American colonial settler and only child of Pocahontas and John Rolfe (1615-1675)
Franklin Roosevelt, New Hyde Park NY, 32nd US President (1933-1945), (1882-1945)
Dick Martin, comedian (Laugh In) (1922-2008)
John Ireland, Vancouver BC, actor (Rawhide, Gunfight at OK Corral) (1914-1992)
Dorothy Malone, actress (At Gunpoint, Night & Day, Peyton Place) is 88

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher in 1934 at 72
Mahatma Gandhi, India's political and spiritual leader, assassinated in 1948 at 78
Ed Herlihy, American broadcaster in 1999 at 89
John McIntire, actor (Virginian, Psycho), emphysema  in 1991 at 83
Betsy Ross [Elizabeth Griscom], widely credited with making the first American flag in 1836 at 84
Sidney Sheldon, American author, playwright, and screenwriter in 2007 at 89

Answer: Hidden Countries
Women craVE STability and a clean living room.
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  §
Posted by No comments:

Jan 29, 2013


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 05/ Day: 29   
Today: H   34°…L 27° Averages: H  43° L 18° Records: H   63°(1986)…L -13°(1918)
Wind: ave:  13mph; Gusts:  32mph  ave. humidity:  91% Wind chill-subtract 20°
Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:
1st movie in Cinemascope (The Robe) premieres>1953
9th Winter Olympic games open in Innsbruck, Austria>1964
Custer Battlefield National Monument, Mont established>1879
Edgar Allen Poe's "Raven" 1st published>1845 
Galileo observes Neptune but fails to recognize what he sees>1613
Hurricane hits Washington & Oregon>1921
In his State of the Union Address, United States President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of Evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea>2002
Jimi Hendrix & Peter Townshend wage a battle of guitars>1969
Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" released>1959
William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is probably first performed>1595
♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   
How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays

Free Rambling Thoughts:   
Slowly recovering from Jet Lag after a great trip to Uganda. Pics and story later…leave it to say the gorillas, chimps, baboons and monkeys welcomed me to their homeland just like I was family. The elephants not so much. The roads were horrific most of the time…dirt, ruts, washboard for several all day drives never seeing pavement. Nice places to stay, two with electricity from 6a-10p only. One with shower where a man came, climbed up on the roof, poured in hot water to the tank, then climbed down and woke us up about 6am. Uganda is still trying to recover from Idi Amin’s 60+ year reign of terror, but are doing well…still don’t have the tourist thing down real well, but they sure try.
 
After all that time in 80°+ weather and 500% humidity, returning to rain in Flagstaff on Saturday was quite a surprise…after all it is January. Today was a couple of inches of snow…and I have been cold all day. Finally had to turn up the thermostat a couple of degrees. Tomorrow will be laundry day to get all my travel clothes wearable again. Those bad roads had a lot of red sand…just like the rez. After one long day two of us with white hair were surprised to see that we now had sandy red hair. One of those nights the shower was not strong enough to get rid of the red color, so I just wore by bandana the next day.
Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)
Hidden Word
Find a hidden word in the sentence
 He does this to avoid walking under it.
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today:
Claudine Longet - Love Is Blue
sleeping beauty trailer  

Ok, then?

Read This Carefully!!
At a Tire Shop in Milwaukee : "Invite us to your next blowout."
 Harper’s Index:         
Chance an American child lives in a family headed by a single mother: 1 in 4Portion of new US jobs sine 2009 that have gone to men: 4/5
Unusual Fact of the Day:
The first bumper stickers appeared prior to World War II and usually promoted political candidates. At that time, they weren’t adhesive-backed; they were affixed to the car bumper with wire.
Joke-of-the-day:
Q. What do you call a polar bear with ear muffs? A. Anything you want, he can’t hear you!
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
KNOCKING AWAY A GUN
If an assailant is actually touching you with a handgun, you can knock it out of line before he or she can fire it.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
JUAN DE ACOSTA, Colombia - Colombian authorities said three men who burgled a convenience store were forced to abandon their loot when the getaway donkey alerted police with his braying. Police said the men stole the donkey, 10-year-old Xavi, and about 12 hours later attempted to have him carry away the merchandise they took from Fabio Orozco's convenience store in the town of Juan de Acosta, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday. Investigators said police officers heard the donkey's "hee haws" around 2 a.m., and the thieves were forced to leave the animal and loot -- which included rum, oil, rice, tuna and sardines -- behind. Police recovered the donkey and stolen goods, but the thieves were able to escape on foot. The donkey was returned to owner Orlando Olivares, police said.  
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • The word "taxicab" is an abbreviated version of its original name, taximeter cabriolet. The term was first used for horse-drawn carriages that charged for rides and later applied to automobiles employed for the same purpose. 
  • Checker Motors, long the nation's leading manufacturer of taxis, was one of the very few automakers to really hold its own during the Great Depression. With fewer Americans able to afford their own cars, the option to call a cab for transportation became more important.
  • Many sources rank the live audience's reaction to Rev. Jim Ignatowski's repeated utterance, "What does a yellow light mean?" on a 1979 episode of TV's Taxi as the longest sustained laugh in sitcom history.
  • The use of the word "hack" to refer to a cab driver dates back to before the days of automobiles when a "hack" was a horse that one could rent.
  • Although the term "practice squad" is more commonly used today, sports teams once relied on a "taxi squad" of players that filled in positions during practice or when a player went down due to an injury.
  • The Harry Chapin hit single "Taxi" was banned from many radio stations, who frowned upon the fact that the song's lyrics told the story of a cabbie who liked "gettin' stoned."

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
27-2/2
World Leprosy Week
Catholic Schools Week
Meat Week
National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Week
National Medical Group Practice Week
International Hoof Care Week
US National Snow Sculpting Week
Today Is                                                                      
Curmudgeons Day
Freethinkers Day
National Cornchip Day
National Puzzle Day
Seeing Eye Dog Day-since 1929
Thomas Paine Day
US: Kansas becomes 34th state--1861 
-
Today’s Events through History  
6 Iranian held US hostages escape with help of Canadians>1980
American League organized in Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, 
     Kansas City, Milwaukee & Minneapolis>1900
Emile Grubbe is 1st dr to use radiation treatment for breast cancer>1896
Episcopal church appoints 1st female bishop>1989
Henry Clay introduces a comprise bill on slavery to US Senate>1850
Ice cream cone rolling machine patented by Carl Taylor>1924
John Gays' "Beggar's Opera," premieres in London>1728 
Pres Carter commuted Patricia Hearst's 7 year sentence to 2 years>1979
Pres Jackson orders 1st use of US troops to suppress a labor dispute>1834
USS Missouri the last battleship commissioned by the US Navy is launched>1944

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 70’s
Claudine Longet, France, former Mrs Andy Williams/singer is 71
Katharine Ross, actress (Graduate, Francesca-Colbys) is 71

In their 60’s
Ann Jillian, Cambridge Mass, actress (Mr Mom, Jennifer Slept Here) is 63
Tom Selleck, actor (Lance-Rockford Files, Magnum PI) is 68

In their 50’s
Oprah Winfrey, actress/TV host (Color Purple, Oprah) is 59

In their 40’s
Edward Burns, director/actor (Brothers McMullen) is 45

Remembered for being born today
Edward Abbey, US author (Desert Solitaire) (1927-1989)
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Tagarov Russia, playwright (Cherry Orchard) (1860-1904)
Paddy Chayevsky, [Sydney], US, dramatist (Marty, Hospital) (1923-1981)
John Forsythe, NJ, actor (Bachelor Father, Charlie's Angels, Dynasty) (1918-2010)
Victor Mature, Louisville KY, actor (1 Million BC, Samson & Delilah) (1913-1999)
William McKinley, Niles Ohio, 25th US President (1897-1901), (1843-1901)
Thomas Paine, political essayist (Common Sense, Age of Reason) (1737-1809)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Jimmy Durante, comedian (Palooka, Jimmy Durante Show), 1980 at 86
Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player 2002 at 74
Freddie Prinze, comedian/actor (Chico & the Man), shoots himself 1977 at 22

Answer: Hidden word
 He does this to avoid walkinG UNder it.
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  §
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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.