Scary, Scary, Scary

When i came downstairs Tuesday morning, i knew something was "off".  It smelled like someone had overcooked beans in the house, as if they were burning.

So i went downstairs figuring someone had left the toaster oven plugged in, or the coffee pot on, or some such.  Nothing was on that shouldn't be, but the smell persisted.

Eventually, i noticed smoke, and Little Girl came in, as did #1 Son.  We finally traced it to the main refrigerator in our kitchen, which we pulled forward.  It sparked when we unplugged it.

On Monday, while i was at work, Red-Headed Alec cleaned out that fridge.  He left it open a lot while he was cleaning it.  That causes a refrigerator to overwork, and it apparently did, and by Tuesday morning it was on the verge of catching fire.

We pulled it out and cleaned under it, and even though i do that every 6 months or so, it was awful in there.  The inside had lint and dust and cat hair built up so thick the fan wasn't turning well, and so the overheating the day before caused it to go.

Colin-from-Work will come by and take a look at it, see if it can be salvaged, but in the meantime, the house smells of ozone and Little Girl's friends at school told her she smelled like she had been near a fire.

It was scary, because it very nearly was a full blown fire.  If it had gotten close to burning at any other time of day, we might not have caught it in time.

G-d is good.




Today is:

Absurdity Day -- an internet generated absurd holiday

Africa Industrialization Day -- UN

Air Your Dirty Laundry Day -- internet generated, and be careful with this one!

Beautiful Day -- Fairy Calendar

Catholic School Principal Appreciation Day -- designated by the National Catholic Education Association 
 
Clean the Cat Hair Out of the Vacuum Cleaner Day -- internet generated, and always tops on my chore list

Day of Sekhmet and the Purifying Flame -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Day of National Sovereignty -- Argentina (commemorates the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado)

Dia da Consciencia Negra -- Brazil (Black Consciousness Day)

Fast for an Abundant World Harvest -- sponsored by Oxfam America

Globally Organized Hug A Runner Day aka G.O.H.A.R.D

Great American Smokeout -- save money and your life, try not to smoke today; started by the American Cancer Society

Name Your PC Day -- mine is Ol' Bessy, a/k/a Old Crankypants; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

National Peanut Butter Fudge Day

Praetextatus and Paulina's Day -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Guardians of the Eleusinian Mysteries, pagan activists and devotees who tried to save Roman religions; date approximate)

Revolution Day -- Mexico (traditional)

St. Edmund the Martyr's Day (Patron of kings, torture victims, wolves; East Anglia, England; against plagues)

Teachers' Day -- Vietnam

Transgender Day of Remembrance -- memorial for those who have been killed because of transphobia

Universal Children's Day -- UN

Use Less Stuff Day -- a great idea!  not an officially sponsored day, but you can get information about using less stuff at www.use-less-stuff.com/

World COPD Day -- International (helping people understand Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

World Philosophy Day -- UNESCO

Zumbi Day -- Brazil (death anniversary of Zumbi dos Palmares, a day of Afro-Brazilian consciousness, as he was a hero and freedom fighter)


Anniversaries Today:

The Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) marries Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey in London, 1947
The first municipal airport in the US opens, in Tuscon, AZ, 1919


Birthdays Today:

Sabrina Lloyd, 1970
Ming-Na Wen, 1967
Sean Young, 1959
Bo Derek, 1956
Steve Dahl, 1954
Richard Masur, 1948
Duane Allman, 1946
Judy Wooodruff, 1946
Veronica Hamel, 1943
Joe Biden, 1942
Dick Smothers, 1939
Don DeLillo, 1936
Richard Dawson, 1932
Estelle Parsons, 1927
Kaye Ballard, 1926
Robert F. Kennedy, 1925
Nadine Gordimer, 1923
Gene Tierney, 1920
Robert Byrd, 1917
Alistair Cooke, 1908
Chester Gould, 1900
Edwin Hubble, 1889
Karl von Frisch, 1886
Kenesaw Mountain Landis, 1866
Selma Lagerlf, 1858
Sir Wilfred Laurier, 1841
Thomas Chattertn, 1752
Oliver Wolcott, 1726
Susanna Wesley, 1669 (mother of John, Charles, and 17 other children)
Peregrine White, 1620 (born on the Mayflower)
Maximinus, Roman Emperor, 270


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Beatles Antology 1(album release), 1995
The Day After(TV movie), 1983
"A Soldier's Play"(Fuller Pulizer winning play), 1981
"Cabaret"(Musical), 1966
"The Seven Year Itch"(Play), 1952
"The Children's Hour"(Play), 1934
"The Goldbergs"(Radio), 1929
The Sheik(Film, with Rudolph Valentino), 1921
"Das Lied von der Erde/The Song of the Earth"(Mahler symphony), 1911
"The Doctor's Dilemma"(Play), 1906
"Fidelio"(Opera, Beethoven Op. 72), 1805


Today in History:

Bögü, Khan of the Uyghurs, conquers Lo-Yang, capital of the Chinese Empire, 762
Zumbi, the last leader of the Quilombo dos Palmares of Brazil, is executed, 1695
New Jersey becomes the first state to ratify the US Bill of Rights, 1789
Curacao's government forbids slave work on Sunday, 1795
Howard University is founded in Washington, D.C., 1866
US State Department starts requiring photographs for passports, 1914
The first municipally owned airport in US opens, in Tucson Az, 1919
In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine of the Caribbean nation, 1962
The SETI Institute is founded, 1984
Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released, 1985
The number of protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million, 1989
In England, a fire breaks out in Windsor Castle, badly damaging the castle and causing over £50 million worth of damage, 1992
The first module of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched, 1998
The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level in eleven years, 2008
NATO agrees to begin handing over Afghanistan's security to the Afghan military, 2010
The UN World Meteorological Organization announces the 2011 greenhouse gasses reached record levels, 2012
A vote of the General Synod of the Church of England approves women to be ordained bishops beginning the next year, 2013