Why...

...are there dried beans on the carpet?

"Because the vacuum cleaner bag is full," Little Girl responded.

Well, that certainly makes sense, at least around here.  Turns out, when the bag is full, the vacuum cleaner doesn't pick up as much.

This, of course, doesn't answer why the beans, which should be in a bag in the kitchen awaiting their turn in the crock pot, ended up on the carpet in the hallway.

On second thought, i'm not sure i want to know the rest of the answers to "why," at least not in my house.

In other news, i note with sadness the passing of Andy Williams a few days ago.  The young rockers who are ruining their voices with their screaming will never compare, and their pipes will give out long before age 84.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Williams.


Today is:

Battle of Boqueron Day -- Paraguay

Cabrillo Festival -- San Diego, CA, US (reenactment of Cabrillo's landing, a Spanish soldier and sailor encampment, Native Kumeyaay demonstrations, dances, crafts, and food; through tomorrow)

Chusok -- South Korea (Harvest Moon Festival, lasts several days)

Constitution Day -- Brunei

Eldon Turkey Festival -- Eldon, MO, US (top producer of turkeys has the top turkey festival in the world)

Everybody's Day Festival -- Thomasville, NC, US (and they do mean there's fun for everybody)

Family Health and Fitness Day USA

Festifall -- Friendship Hill National Historic Site, Point Marion, PA, US (celebrating traditions of the Allegheny Plateau; through tomorrow)

Festival of Tezcatzonctl -- Ancient Aztec Calendar (chief god of intoxication; date approximate)

Fukuro Matsuri -- Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan (a fun-for-tourists way to learn about Japanese culture, through tomorrow, and next weekend)

Full Harvest Moon a/k/a Full Corn Moon/Indigo Moon/Wise-Crone Moon (with so much food ripe for gathering, harvesting can go on well into the night by the light of the hugely full Harvest Moon)
     Binara Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka
     Taw Thalin Full Moon -- Myanmar

Geneva Area Grape Jamboree -- Geneva, OH, US (grapes, wine tasting, entertainment, rides, and food; through tomorrow)

Gwynn ap Nudd's Fest -- Celtic Calendar (god of the underworld; date approximate)

Indra Jatra -- Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Inventors Day -- Argentina

Make a List of the Top Ten Happiest Days in Your Life Day -- must have been started by an optimist

Marion County Country Ham Days -- Marion, KY, US (for those who love ham, and a PIGasus parade, and a Pokey Pig 5k, among other events; through tomorrow)

National Attend Your Grandchild's Birth Day -- attendingthebirth.com; a day to remind grandparents to be active in their grandchildren's lives (and if you need a reminder, i wonder about you; if you aren't allowed by bitter parents, i feel badly for you)

National Coffee Day -- what!?!  this isn't every day!?

National Public Lands Day -- US (Helping Hands for America's Lands -- a day to volunteer on America's Public Lands)

National Mocha Day

Navajo Sing Festival -- Navajo Native Americans festival in thanksgiving for the harvest (through Oct. 7)

Quick Draw Day -- debut of Quick Draw McGraw and his side kick, Baba Looey, in 1959

Sts. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and All Angels' Day  (Michaelmas)
     Archangel Gabriel, Patron of broadcasters, clergy, communication workers, diplomats, messengers, philatelists/stamp collectors, post offices and postal workers, radio and radio workers, secular clergy, telecommunication workers, telgraphers, telephones, television and television workers; Argentinian ambassadors; Seattle, Washington
     Archangel Michael, Patron of artists, bakers, bankers and banking, barrel makers/coopers, battle, boatmen/mariners/sailors/watermen, dying people, emergency medical technicians/paramedics/ambulance drivers, fencers and fencing, grocers and greengrocers, haberdashers and hatmakers, knights, milleners, paratroopers, police officers, radiologists and radiotherapists, security guards, sick people, soldiers, swordsmiths; for a holy death and safety at sea; England, Germany, and over 25 cities around the world; against danger at sea and temptation
     Archangel Raphael, Patron of apothecaries/druggists/pharmacists, blind people, doctors/physicians, guardian angels, happy meetings, love and lovers, mentally ill people, nurses, shepherdesses/shepherds, sick people, travelers, young people; Dubuque, Iowa; MacKenzie-Fort Smith, Northwest Territories; Seattle, Washington; against bodily ills, eye diseases/eye problems, insanity/mental illness, nightmares, sickness
     related observances:
     National Day of Remembrance for Policemen Killed -- Australia (St. Michael, Patron of police officers)
     Payment of Quit Rent by London Royal Courts of Justice -- Michaelmas is a traditional English "Quarter Day", when rents come due

Taste of Morgan Hill -- Morgan Hill, CA, US (fine arts, entertainment, and plenty for the kids to do, too; through tomorrow)

Tri-State Band Festival -- Luverne, MI, US (high school bands from Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa compete in four categories)

Wild West Show and Bullwhacker Days -- Olathe, KS, US (celebrate the Santa Fe Trail; through tomorrow)

World Heart Day -- International (to raise awareness of the signs and dangers of cardiovascular disease)


Birthdays Today:

Bryant Gumbel, 1948
Lech Walesa, 1943
Madeline Kahn, 1942
Jerry Lee Lewis, 1935
Anita Ekberg, 1931
Lizabeth Scott, 1922
Stanley Kramer, 1913
Greer Garson, 1908
Gene Autry, 1907
Enrico Fermi, 1901
Horatio Nelson, 1758
Miguel de Cervantes, 1547
Pompey the Great, BC106


Today in History:

Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumata, securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire, BC522
Battle of Salamis, at which the Greek fleet under Themistocles defeats the Persian fleet under Xerxes I, BC480
Pompey the Great Celebrates ending the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday, BC61
Saladin's army marches into Jerusalem, 1187
The First Congress of the US adjourns, 1789
"Scotland Yard", London's Metropolitan Police Force, goes on duty, 1829
The first practical public electric tramway ever opens in Blackpool, England, 1885
John D. Rockefeller becomes the first billionaire, 1916
The convention establishing CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed, 1954
Alouette 1, the first Canadian satellite, is launched, 1962
WGPR in Detroit, Michigan, becomes the world's first black-owned-and-operated television station, 1975
Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to set foot on Irish soil with his pastoral visit to the Republic of Ireland, 1979
The asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within four lunar distances of Earth, 2004
The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss in its history, 2008
An 8.0 magnitude earthquake near the Samoan Islands causes a tsunami, 2009