Hip Hooray!

Winston Got Adopted!

Little Girl holding Winston, at the shelter.

The very last one of our bottle-feed kittens from last season has now gotten a new home!

A very nice, young, recently married couple came in to find their first pet to have together.  They came in with no expectations, and spent some time with every cat and kitten in the place.

They fell in love with Winston, and now he has his own place.  We are so excited.  He was here as a foster for so long that he would look at us with the oddest expression at the shelter, and at the other people working there, as if to ask, "Why in the world am I in this place?"

At last, i hope he will understand, at least a bit.

As for the shelter, it's amazing right now.  Every colony room only has 2-3 cats, instead of the usual 4-5.  Only two intake cages have a resident, and one of those has been adopted and will go home after her course of medication is done.  We have a few kittens, but not many, and they aren't tiny kittens.

Could it be that the almost 20 years of work in this area, trapping, neutering and releasing, and getting as many cats off the streets and into homes as we can, coordinated by 8 or so local organizations, is finally paying off?  Are we finally going to see an actual decline in feral cat numbers and the huge influx of so many more cats needing homes than we can help, even working all together?

This is something we can't answer right away, it's too soon to tell.  Right now, though, the respite is welcome, as are the adoption numbers.  Over 80 cats in January, over 70 so far this month and adoption events planned for today.

The situation is full of hope right now.  We've needed this for a long time.

 

Today is:

Bear Tie Ball -- Chicago, IL, US (the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation's black tie Fundraiser; this year's theme is "Latin Nights")

Camellia Festival 2014 -- Chiswick House and Gardens Trust, London, England (through Mar. 29)

Car Keys and Small Change Day -- ???

Dia de Andalucia -- Andalucia, Spain

DNA Day -- day in 1953 when Watson and Crick determined the double helix structure of DNA

Februalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (purification of Rome performed by citizens making sacrifices to the dead)

FESPACO Film Festival -- Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (Panafrica's Film and TV Festival; through Mar. 7)

Floral Design Day -- a day to acknowledge this art form, sponsored by Rittners Floral School 

International Sword Swallowers Day -- information here  
  
Kalevala Day -- Finland (Finnish Culture Day)

National Chocolate Souffle' Day

National Science Day -- India

National Tooth Fairy Day - and/or August 22, depending on whom you ask

Nylon Day -- the first aliphatic polyamides were produced on this day in 1935

Open That Bottle Night -- time to finally drink that bottle of wine you've been saving for a special occasion; after all, the final Saturday in February only comes once a year (sponsored by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher of The Wall Street Journal)  

Peace Memorial Day -- Taiwan

Philadelphia Flower Show -- Philadelphia, PA, US (largest flower show in the US; through the 9th)

Public Sleeping Day -- this one even has a wikiHow page  

Rare Disease Day -- International

Showa-Shinzan International Yukigassen Tournament -- Japan; snowball fighting (yukigassen) at its best, through tomorrow

St. Hedwig of Poland's Day (Patron of queens)

St. Romanus' Day (Patron of the mentally ill; against drowning, insanity)

Teacher's Day -- Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Jordan; Libya; Morocco; Oman; Saudi Arabia; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen


Anniversaries Today:

University of Pittsburgh is chartered, 1787


Birthdays Today (Also includes Feb. 29 Birthdays)

Ali Larter, 1976
Robert Sean Leonard, 1969
John Tuturro, 1957
Gilbert Gottfried, 1955
Bernadette, Peters, 1948
Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith, 1945
Brian Jones, 1942
Mario Andretti, 1940
Tommy Tune, 1939
Gavin MacLeod, 1930
Frank Gehry, 1929
Svetiana Allilueva, 1926
Charles Durning, 1923
Zero Mostel, 1915
Earl Scheib, 1907
Milton Caniff, 1907
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, 1906
Vincente Minnelli, 1903
Linus Pauling, 1901
Ben Heckt, 1894
Charles Blondin, 1824
John Tenniel, 1820
Mary Lyon, 1797
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, 1533


Antonio Sabato, Jr., 1972
Tony Robbins, 1960
Gretchen Christopher, 1940
Jack Lousma, 1936
Dinah Shore, 1916
Jimmy Dorsey, 1904
William Wellman, 1896
Herman Hollerith, 1860


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"On Golden Pond"(Play), 1979
"La Reine de Saba"(Opera), 1862
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling(Publication date), 1749


Today in History:

Coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty's rule over China, BC202
The first edition of Henry Fieldings' "Tom Jones" is published, 1749
John Wesley charters the Methodist Church, 1784
The first commercial railroad in US, Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) is chartered, 1827
Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Québec), 1838
Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, 4 months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor, 1849
The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire, 1870
The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York State as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone, 1885
The USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, is launched, 1893
Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force, 1897
Egypt regains independence from Britain, but British troops remain, 1922
DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents Nylon, 1935
Basketball is televised for the first time, 1940
In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of 30,000 civilian lives, 1947
James D. Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April Nature (pub. April 2), 1953
The first-ever color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public, 1954
The United States and People's Republic of China sign the Shanghai Communiqué, 1972
Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum, 1980
GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way, 1997
First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace, 1998
Over 1 million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally form a 500-kilometre (300-mile) long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident in 1947, 2004
Jupiter flyby of the New Horizons Pluto-observer spacecraft, 2007
Egypt annunces the discovery of a granite head from a statue of King Tut's grandfather, Amenhotep III, 2010

Feline Friday: Ambush Thwarted

Feline Friday was started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.

It's easy to participate, just post a picture of a cat -- your cat, a LOL cat, a picture you draw, any cat picture -- and link up!

She knows.

The room may be dark, but she knows.

SissyCat, the one with only three legs, knows her archenemy is around somewhere.  She is looking with concentration to see if she can spy him.

And there he is!

Mikey.  He's always there.

Mikey, in all his glory, under the furniture, looking out at her.

This time, he won't be surprising her by popping out suddenly.  This time.
 

Today is:
 
Aspirin Day -- Bayer received its US patent for the medicine on this day in 1900

Day of Selene -- Ancient Greek Calendar (goddess of the moon, date approximate)

Equirria -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Cavalry Horse Festival)

Feast of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows/Gabriel Possenti (Patron of clerics, students, young people; Abruzzi, Italy; Catholic Action)

Independence Day -- Dominican Republic(1844)

Katsuyama Sagicho -- Katsuyama, Japan (Chinese influenced fire festival held the last weekend of every February; large stages are built and decorated, then burned the next day)

Majuba Day -- South Africa (celebration of the Boers victory at Majuba Hill)

National Kahlua Day

National Strawberry Day -- no, i don't know why this isn't in June, when the berries are best; maybe the person who put it here had too much Kahlua

No Brainer Day - this day is for me! created by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith, "America's Premier Eventologist"

Polar Bear Day -- as declared by Polar Bears International

Read Five Pages in the Dictionary Day -- internet generated, and am i the only one who likes the idea?

Read Me Day -- local and national celebrities, with community volunteers, are encouraged to visit classrooms this week and read to children; the original idea included wearing t-shirts with writing on them and encourage the children to read the shirts, thus "read me"

Runic Half Month Tyr commences (cosmic pillar)

St. Galmier of Lyon's Day (Patron of locksmiths)

Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering -- Sul Ross State University, Alpine, TX, US (annual gathering of cowboys for poetry readings and music; through tomorrow)

The Hop -- Fairy Calendar

Threepenny Day -- Eton College, England (By the last will of two Provosts in the 16th century, each boy receives a threepenny piece on this day -- enough to buy half a sheep back then.)


Anniversary Today:

African Burial Ground National Monument is established, 2006



Birthdays Today:

Josh Groban, 1981
Chelsea Clinton, 1980
Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas, 1971
Grant Show, 1963
Adam Baldwin, 1962
Michael Bolton, 1953
Alan Guth, 1947
Mary Fran, 1943
Charlayne Hunter-Gault, 1942
Howard Hesseman, 1940
Ralph Nadar, 1934
Elizabeth Taylor, 1932
Joanne Woodward, 1930
Ariel Sharon, 1928
John Connally, 1917
James Thomas Farrell, 1904
John Steinbeck, 1902
Gene Sarazen, 1902
Marian Anderson, 1897
David Sarnoff, 1891
Hugo La Fayette Black, 1886
Alice Hamilton, 1869
Ellen Terry, 1847
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807
Constantine I, 272


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"What Makes Sammy Run?"(Musical), 1964
Road to Utopia(Film), 1946


Today in History:

The first Russian Embassy arrives in London, 1557
The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland, 1560
Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci, 1626
Jews are expelled from Austria by order of Leopold I, 1670
The Pacific island of New Britain is discovered, 1700
Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire, 1812
The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti, 1844
Composer Robert Schumann is saved from a suicide attempt in Rhine, 1854
Russians shoot at Poles protesting Russian rule of Poland, 1861
The current flag of Japan is first adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships, 1870
Charlotte E. Ray becomes the first African American woman to earn a law degree, from Howard University, 1872
Lord Kitchener opens Khartoum-El Obeid (Nyala) railway, 1912
Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14, 1940
The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over, 1964
The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota, 1973
People magazine is published for the first time, 1974
U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated", 1991
A Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya, 2002
The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in 10 years, 2007
Central Chile is hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, 2010
Wikileaks begins releasing 5 million emails from Stratfor, a private intelligence company, 2012
At Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his farewell address, 2013

No, please!

Say it ain't so!

Say there isn't lead and cadmium in our beloved chocolate!

Yes, i like to have raw cacao nibs on occasion, and i love Artisana's Cacao Bliss, raw coconut butter with raw chocolate.  Chocolate is delicious, can be healthy for you, and if this article is to be believed, may be full of toxins.

No, please, not chocolate!  Along with coffee, it's one of the major food pleasure groups!

Yes, i should know better than to go snooping around and finding such articles.  It just makes me cranky when i find out that everything is tainted or contaminated or just plain unhealthy for you.

Nobody wants me cranky, particularly at work, which is where i am today.

The trouble with this is finding out where the contamination is coming in, should the tests prove to be accurate.  If it's from somewhere in the manufacturing process, or in some of the other ingredients in the chocolate, then it can be dealt with.

If the chocolate itself is grown in contaminated ground and it's part of the cacao plants, it's going to be a bigger problem to solve.

This is one of those times when i just wish i could stick my head back in the sand.

While i'm here doing the laundry, i'm going to not think about it.

 

Today is:

Ayyám-i-Há -- Baha'i (intercalary days, devoted to service and gift giving; through Mar. 1)
 
Dance of the Known Places -- Fairy Calendar

Florida Strawberry Festival -- Plant City, FL, US (celebrating the winter strawberry harvest; through Mar. 8)

For Pete's Sake Day -- Wellcat Holidays asks us, who is Pete, and why do things for his sake?  think about that as you celebrate this today

Intercalary Days -- Baha'i (through Mar. 1)

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day -- some student programs at universities are set for this weekend, as encouraged during National Engineers Week http://www.discovere.org/our-programs/girl-day

Levi Strauss Day -- his birth anniversary

Liberation Day -- Kuwait

Lost Dutchman Days -- Apache Junction, AZ, US (through Sunday; celebration of the legend of the Superstition Mountains and the Lost Dutchman Mine)

National Chili Day -- www.nationalchiliday.com

National Conference on Education -- San Diego, CA, US (three day conference sponsored by the American Assn. of School Administrators)

National Personal Chef Day -- heaven knows we all have one of those; some websites list it today, some on July 16

National Pistachio Day

Rooks Nesting Day -- Olde England (12 days after Candlemas on the Julian Calendar)

St. Alexander's Day (Patriarch of Alexandria)

St. Isabella of France's Day (Patron of the sick)

Tell a Fairy Tale Day -- shouldn't this have been two days ago, on Wilhelm Grimm's birth anniversary?

The Man In Black Day -- Johnny Cash's birth anniversary

Thriller Day -- Michael Jackson's album "Thriller" hit #1 today, and stayed there for 37 weeks


Anniversaries Today:

Grand Teton National Park is established, 1929
Grand Canyon National Park is established, 1919


Birthdays Today:

Marshall Faulk, 1973
Erykah Badu, 1972
Mark Dacascos, 1964
Michael Bolton, 1953
Johnny Cash, 1932
Fats Domino, 1928
Betty Hutton, 1921
Tony Randall, 1920
Jackie Gleason, 1916
Margaret Leighton, 1922
Tex Avery, 1908
Madeleine Carroll, 1906
Jean Vercors, 1902
William Frawley, 1887
Herbert Henry Dow, 1866
John Harvey Kellog, 1852
William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, 1846
Levi Strauss, 1829
Honore Daumier, 1808
Victor Hugo, 1802


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Jerome Robbins' Broadway"(Musical), 1989
"Deathtrap"(Play), 1978


Today in History:

Origin of the Epoch of Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era, BC747
An earthquake in Lisbon leaves 20,000-30,000 dead, 1531
Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen burns down, 1794
The Bank of England issues its first banknotes, 1797
Vice-admiral William Bligh ends the siege of Fort Amsterdam, Willemstad, 1804
Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba, 1815
In New York City a demonstration of the first pneumatic subway opens to the public, 1870
HMS Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic, is launched at Harland & Wolff, Belfast, 1914
The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first jazz record, for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York, 1917
Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of RADAR in the United Kingdom, 1935
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an atomic bomb, 1952
Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada, 1952
National Public Radio incorporates as a non-profit corporation, 1970
Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations, 1980
The Sandinistas are defeated in Nicaraguan elections, 1990
On Baghdad Radio Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait, 1991
In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand, 1993
The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses, 1995
Mount Hekla in Iceland erupts, 2000
Republic of Macedonia President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2004
After winning a Liberal Party of British Columbia ballot, Canadian politician Christy Clark becomes the second woman to be Premier of British Columbia, 2011
Scientists in Illinois, announce they've developed stretchable batteries that can power a new generation of flexible electronics, 2013

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Secret Ingredient

#2 Son is attending a culinary school.  He decided to cook something at home the other day, and here is his secret ingredient when cooking for himself:

Secrets, indeed!

He may end up being a chef and cooking fancy for everyone else, but i think his taste will always be plebeian.

 

Today is:

Dairokuten-no-Hadaka Matsuri -- Chiba, Japan (around this date; one of Japan's "naked" festivals, as participants wear only a loincloth as they wrestle in the cold, wet mud, bringing luck to the community as they run through the crowds smearing the lucky mud on the onlookers)

Dance of the Secret Places -- Fairy Calendar

Dag van de Revolutie -- Suriname (Day of Liberation and Innovation)

Februaristaking -- Netherlands (commemoration of a strike against the Nazis)

Festival of Ptah -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Inconvenience Yourself™ Day -- enrich your life by looking for ways to make a positive impact on the world, even if it inconveniences you 

Kitano Baika-sai (Plum Blossom Festival) -- Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Let's All Eat Right Day -- in honor of the birth of Adelle Davis in 1904, an early pioneer in good nutrition

Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival -- University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, US (students from elementary to college from all over the US participate in student performances and attend concerts and clinics in vocal and instrumental jazz performance; through Saturday)

National Chocolate Covered Peanuts Day -- some sites say any nuts will do, some specify peanuts; take your pick

National Clam Chowder Day -- not to be confused with New England Clam Chowder Day, back in January

National Day -- Kuwait

People's Revolution Day/People Power Day -- Philippines

Pistol Patent Day -- Samuel Colt received US Patent #138 for the first pistol on this day in 1836

Quiet Day -- can't find the history behind this one, but mommy wants one!

St. Walburga's Day (Patron of boatmen/mariners/sailors/watermen, harvests; Antwerp, Belgium; Eichstätt, Germany; Gronigen, Netherlands; Oudenarde, Belgium; Plymouth, England; Zutphen, Netherlands; against coughs, dog bites, famine, hydrophobia/rabies, mad dogs, plague, storms)

Soviet Occupation Day -- Georgia

Teal Ribbon Day -- Australia (wear a teal ribbon, raise awareness of ovarian cancer) 


Birthdays Today:

Josh Wolff, 1977
Chelsea Handler,1975
Sean Astin, 1971
Tea Leoni, 1966
Carrot Top, 1965
Lee Evans, 1964
Neil Jrdan, 1950
Ric Flair, 1949
Karen Grassle, 1944
George Harrison, 1943
Diane Baker, 1938
Tom Courtenay, 1937
Bob Schieffer, 1937
Sally Jessy Raphael, 1935
"Texas Rose" Bascom, 1922
Bobby Riggs, 1918
Anthony Burgess, 1917
Jim Backus, 1913
Millicent Hammond Fenwick, 1910
Adelle Davis, 1904
Zeppo Marx, 1901
Meher Baba, 1894
Enrico Caruso, 1873
Charles Lang Freer, 1856
Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1841
Xuande, Emperor of China, 1398


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Little Night Music"(Musical), 1973
"Toys in the Attic"(Play), 1960
"Wonderful Town"(Musical), 1953
"Your Show of Shows"(TV), 1950
"Natoma"(Herbert Opera), 1911
"Riders to the Sea"(Play), 1904
"Hernani"(Victor Hugo Play), 1830


Today in History:

The First Bank of the United States is chartered, 1791
The German Midiatisation is enacted, taking over 1,000 German sovereign states into about 40 larger entities, 1803
Samuel Colt patents the first revolving barrel multishot firearm, 1836
The first US electric printing press is patented by Thomas Davenport, 1837
Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress, 1870
The US Steel Corp. is organized under J P Morgan, 1901
The Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Toronto Marlboroughs in 2 games, 1904
Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, 1912
Oregon places a 1 cent per U.S. gallon tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax, 1919
Diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union are established, 1925
Glacier Bay National Monument (now Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve) is established in Alaska, 1925
Francisco Franco becomes General of Spain, 1926
Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, D.C. becomes the first holder of a television license from the Federal Radio Commission, 1928
The USS Ranger is launched. It is the first US Navy ship to be built solely as an aircraft carrier, 1933
In occupied Amsterdam, a general strike is declared in response to increasing anti-Jewish measures instituted by the Nazis, 1941
The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1951
Cassius Clay defeats Sonny Liston, 1964
The first unit of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, the first commercial nuclear power station in Canada, goes online, 1971
President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the first Filipino woman president, 1986
In the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, Baruch Goldstein opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers and injuring 125 more, 1994
In the Irish general election, the Fianna Fáil-led government suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government since the formation of the Irish state, 2011

If the equipment is outdated, it must be my house.

We got home from vacation to find that the AT&T equipment we had was not functioning properly.  The battery back-up in one of the units was on its way out, which meant it emitted a beeping sound about every 10 seconds that would make you want to tear your hair out, and this right in Sweetie's "man cave" (he hates me calling it that, but it's where he goes to play his guitars and watch movies on DVD, so that's what it is), and thus a call to tech support was in order.

Calling U-verse tech support isn't too bad, usually.  They are at least polite while they make you wait as they test your unit remotely in order to tell you what you already knew -- the battery is dead and has to be replaced.

For once, they had a tech visit opening the very next morning.  That meant a rush to get in registering Bigger Girl's car (got to the OMV an hour before it opened, and got out in 7 minutes once i got in there!) and seeing Little Girl's counselor at school to make sure they will have her in the right classes next year (she will be in English IV, Biology II, Advanced Math, European History, P.E., and Art), but somehow i made it back to the house about 30 seconds ahead of the tech.

This was odd.  Usually, when they tell me a time slot of, say, between 8:30 and 12:30, i end up being on the 12:30 side of things.  In this case, because i had other things to do, i ended up being first in line, and barely got in there in time.

He took one look at my equipment and said, "We don't make that any more, I will have to replace it.  Also, I'm going to have to ask you to move this book case, and I have to run a new wire.  Would it be okay with you if I drilled a new hole in this wall and threaded it along the bottom of the built in shelves?"

Since internet is now as essential as bread to most folks, i told him to go ahead.  What's one more hole drilled into my house?  At least with this new system, we wouldn't have anything in Sweetie's man cave any longer.

We  are now the proud owners of a new, stronger modem and a password for it that, instead of being 10 easy to memorize digits, is a string of 12 alphanumerics that is going to keep me tongue tied for a week trying to learn it.  Everything wireless in the house has had to be programmed with this new password, and every time i think i've gotten everything, i find another device in need of it.

First world problems, anyone?



Today is:

Amun in the Festival of Raising Heaven -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Dragobete -- Romania (lover's day, and the day birds choose a mate, also considered by locals as the first day of spring)

Flag Day -- Mexico

Giving of Shoes -- Fairy Calendar

Gregorian Calendar Day -- Gregory XIII issued the Papal Bull requiring Roman Catholics to adopt his calendar reform on this day; the effective date of adoption was to be Oct. 4, 1582

Iseseisvuspaev/Independence Day -- Estonia(1918)

National Artist Day -- Thailand

National Tortilla Chip Day

N'cwala -- Zambia (Thanksgiving festival, celebrated with traditional dance, music, and specially brewed beer)

Nylon Toothbrush Day -- the first ones went on sale this date in 1938

Obnoxious Day -- probably started as a joke, the only ones who benefit from this day are the ecard companies

Regifugium -- Ancient Roman Calendar (flight of the king)

Single-Tasking Day -- encouraging you to do one thing at a time, and not feel guilty; begun by Theresa Gabriel, who claims multitasking is inefficient and hurts your brain! she suggests it be on the 4th Tuesday of the month, although other sites list other dates

Spay Day USA -- sponsored by the HSUS; Sit!  Stay!  Spay!  Good Owner!

St. Æthelberht of Kent's Day (first Christian King of the Anglo-Saxons; some have his day listed tomorrow instead)

World Spay Day -- don't let your pets litter!


Anniversaries Today:

Hadassah is founded, 1912
Western Washington University is established, 1899
The American University is chartered by an act of the Congress of the United States of America, 1893
 

Birthdays Today:

Billy Zane, 1966
Kristin Davis, 1965
Eddie Murray, 1956
Paula Zahn, 1956
Steven Jobs, 1955
Alain Prost, 1955
Helen Shaver, 1951
George Thorogood, 1950
Edward James Olmos, 1947
Rupert Holmes, 1947
Barry Bostwick, 1945
Joe Lieberman, 1942
James Farentino, 1938
Renata Scotto, 1937
Michel Legrand, 1932
Mark Lane, 1927
Stephen Hill, 1922
Abe Vigoda, 1921
Chester W. Nimitz, 1885
Honus Wagner, 1874
Winslow Homer, 1836
Wilhelm Karl Grimm, 1786
Ibn Battutah, 1304
Emperor Toba of Japan, 1103


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Peer Gynt"(Play), 1876
"Rinaldo"(HWV 7), 1711
"L'Orfeo"(SV318), 1607


Today in History:

St. Francis of Assisi, age 26, receives his vocation in Portiuncula, Italy, 1208
In the first imperial coronation by a pope,Charles V is crowned by Clement V, 1530
Pope Gregory XIII, by decree, institutes what is now known as the Gregorian Calendar, correcting the older Julian Calendar, 1582
L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance, 1607
The London première of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, 1711
The US Supreme Court first declares a law unconstitutional (Marbury v Madison), 1803
London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute, 1804
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West, 1831
William Otis of Pennsylvania patents the steam shovel, 1839
The first parade to have floats is staged at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, 1868
Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached, 1868
The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high profile civil servants and dignitaries, 1875
China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty, 1881
Chicago is selected to host the Columbian Exposition, 1890
Rudolf Diesel receives a patent for the diesel engine, 1893
Hudson Motor Car Company is founded, 1909
National Public Radio is founded in the United States, 1970
The United States Olympic Hockey team completes their Miracle on Ice by defeating Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal, 1980
Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, 1981
A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II, 1983
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie, 1989
The last occurrence of February 24 as a leap day in the European Union and for the Roman Catholic Church, 1996*
Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea, 2007
Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years, 2008
Final launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, 2011

*The Romans counted Feb. 24 twice in leap years, instead of adding Feb. 29; that continued in many places until 1996

Remember

Things i've learned about making a trip to Walt Disney World that i want to remember if we ever get the chance to go again:

Plan the trip as far in advance as possible.  Six months is good, a year is better.  If you are going with a big group, it's hard to get meal reservations for the whole group the closer you are to the actual date, so make your reservations as far ahead as you can.

Stay at one of the Disney resorts, even if you have to pick one of the cheapest ones, and take advantage of the "Extra Magic Hours" offered to resort guests only.  Especially at the Magic Kingdom, after the late night fireworks show, lines are minimal and you can get on all of your favorite rides over and over with little or no waiting.  During those extra hours, it is even less crowded.

There are vegetarian/vegan options at every park and at every table service restaurant.  You may have to search a bit, but they are around.  The Tusker House restaurant in Animal Kingdom, the Tangerine Cafe in the Morocco section of Epcot, the Prime Time Cafe at Hollywood Studios, and Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe and the Colombia Harbor House at Magic Kingdom all have delicious options.

 

The Fountainview Cafe in Epcot and the bakery on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom have Starbucks coffee, and a coconut milk latte is addictive!

Monorails are more like one of the rides than they are an actual means of transportation.  If you can take a launch from a resort, do that.

The buses can be efficient, but can also get held up on traffic.  Yes, even on property there can be traffic jams, and we saw an accident at one intersection.  Leave plenty of time to get where you want to go.

The Soarin' ride is as much fun the 6th time as it was the first, and the PhilharMagic is, too.

Watch out for the birds, they will steal your food if given the chance.  The squirrels are persistent beggars, too.

It's scarier to go home and wish you had gotten on a particular ride than it is to just go ahead and get on it while you are there.  Roller coasters make you feel like you are flying, and it's always fun to fly (as long as you don't have to actually get into one of those tin cans at the airport).

The first aid station nurses are generous with bandages when the mini first aid kit you brought runs out.

While every job has its stresses and occasional bad days, every person you ask there will tell you that, most of the time, s/he loves the job and wouldn't want to work anywhere else.

When one of the characters is out greeting people, it's not a person in a costume, it is the character.

Don't be shocked at how expensive everything is.  The happy, smiling service is worth it.

As with all things, there will be glitches.  Rides can go down, buses can break down, the whole monorail system can go down, and there will always be something under construction.  It's okay, they are making things better all of the time, and even Disney magic needs maintenance work done on it.

Go for two weeks if you can, you won't have to cram everything in so fast.

Never go during President's Day week, it is always the most crowded week of the year.

Buy the MemoryMaker photo package, and take full advantage of it.  Get pictures taken by the Disney professionals everywhere that they are.  This is especially true for me, as i'm a lousy photographer. 

You will never regret tipping generously.

Don't forget to bring out your inner child and let her/him have a great time.

 

Today is:

Curling Is Cool Day -- embrace the Olympic sport the whole family can play; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Defenders of the Motherland Day (formerly Red Army Day) -- Russia and some former Soviet Republics
     Homeland Defenders' Day -- Kyrguzstan
     Motherland Defenders' Day -- Transdniestria

Diesel Engine Day -- Rudolph Diesel received his patent in Germany on this day in 1893

Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day -- while i can't figure out who started this one, even Mr. Google says it's celebrated today

Easy Divorce Day -- marking the passage, in 1915, of the Nevada law granting easy divorces after only a 6 month residency, the first such in the US

Fairtrade Fortnight begins -- UK (a chance to get involved in making sure farmers in developing countries have fair wages and good working conditions)

Great Lent begins-- a/k/a Clean Monday, Ash Monday, Pure Monday, Monday of Lent, Shrove Monday, Collop Monday, Rose Monday, Merry Monday or Hall Monday, and (in Cypress) Green Monday -- Orthodox Christian

International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day -- internet generated

Iwo Jima Day -- commemoration of the US flag raising

National Banana Bread Day

National Day -- Brunei

Pebbles Day -- Pebbles Flintstone was born this day around 10,000BC

Republic Day (Mashramani) -- Guyana

St. Milburga of Shropshire's Day (Patron of birds)

St. Polycarp of Smyrna's Day (Patron against dysentery and earache)

St. Serenus the Gardener's Day (Patron of bachelors, falsely accused people)

Terminalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival for Terminus, god of land boundary markers)



Birthdays Today:

Emily Blunt, 1983
Niecy Nash, 1970
Michael Dell, 1965
"Bobby" Bonilla, 1963
Howard Jones, 1955
Patricia Richardson, 1951
"Too Tall" Jones, 1951
John Sanford, 1944
Johnny Winter, 1944
Peter Fonda, 1939
Sylvia Chase, 1938
Donna J. Stone, 1933
Paul Tibbets, 1915
William L. Shirer, 1904
Victor Fleming, 1889
W.E.B. DuBois, 1868
Emma Hart Willard, 1787
George Frederic Handel, 1685
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, 1646
Samuel Pepys, 1633


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Fortune and Men's Eyes"(Play), 1967
"Pinocchio"(Disney Cartoon), 1940


Today in History:

Emperor Diocletian orders the general persecution of Christians, 303
Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type, 1455
France begins its fifth "holy war" against the Huguenots, 1574
Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army, 1778
The first US raw-cotton-to-cloth mill is founded, in Waltham, Massachusetts, 1813
The first US pharmaceutical college is organized, the College of Apothecaries in Philidelphia, 1821
Santa Anna begins his siege of the Alamo, 1836
John Newman leaves the Anglican Church and is welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church, 1846
In Mexico, American troops under General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna, 1847
Great Britain formally recognises the independence of the Boers in the area between the Orange and Vaal rivers, signing the Bloemfontein Convention with the Orange Free State, 1854
The London Times publishes the world's first classified ad, 1886
Charles Martin Hall, assisted by his sister Julia Brainerd Hall, produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, 1886 
The French/Italian Riviera is struck by an earthquake that leaves 2,000 dead, 1887
The Tootsie Roll is introduced by Leo Hirshfield, 1896
In France, Emile Zola is imprisoned for writing his "J'accuse" letter accusing the government of anti-Semitism and wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus, 1898
The Cuban state of Guantanamo is leased to the US, 1903
The US acquires control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million, 1904
The Rotary Club International is founded in Chicago, 1905
Russian Tsar Nicholas II dissolves the Diet of Finland, 1909
The US state of Nevada enacts a convenient divorce law, 1915
The February Revolution begins in Russia, 1917
Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, 1941
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded, 1847
The first mass inoculation with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh, 1954
First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), 1955
The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri, 1983
Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 1987
A small fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir, 1997
An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31, 1999
Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an environmental disaster, 2010

Home Again, Jiggity Jog

We got in after 1am.

Yes, we will try to get to church this morning, but no promises.

As much as i wanted to participate in Silly Sunday today, the time simply got away and i am too tired to think of anything very funny right now.

The cats that live in our bedroom made a nice mess, and HopeCat pulled her usual trick of "forgetting" and putting her mess under the couch.

The AT&T box that provides our internet is beeping every few seconds, which means a nice, long chat with tech support, possibly followed by a nice, long wait for someone to come replace it.

Everyone and everything survived, however, so i'm counting this homecoming as a pretty good one.

Although if i ever get to Disney World again, i want to stay for two weeks!
 

Today is:

Abu Simbel Festival -- Egypt (one of the two days a year when the light illuminates the statutes of Rameses, Ra and Amun in the temple complex)
     Festival of the Perpendicular Sun/Illumination of the Inner Sanctum of Ramses II's Abu Simbel Temple -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar

Be Humble Day -- can't find the origin of this one, s/he wants to humbly remain anonymous

Call Somebody "Boo Boo" Day -- apparently just to see what s/he will call you back; be careful, this one started before anyone heard of Honey Boo Boo and doesn't take that into account

Charro Days Fiesta -- Brownsville, TX, US (international cooperation, often called Two Nations - Twin Cultures, Brownsville and its sister city Matamoros, Mexico, put on a beautiful celebration of the charro horsemen of Mexico, as well as dances, parades, and a carnival; through Mar. 1)

Cheesefare Sunday -- Orthodox Christian (final day upon which dairy products and eggs may be consumed before the Lenten fast; sometimes also called Forgiveness Sunday)

Concordia/Caristia  -- Ancient Roman Calendar, Festival of Goodwill

Daytona 500 Race -- Daytona International Speed-way, Daytona Beach, FL, US

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Antioch -- Roman Catholic Church

Goa Month begins -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (month of the goddess Goa, personified as the daughter of Old Man Winter; as last month greeted her father well, greet her kindly, too, for an easy weather month)
     Konudagur -- Housewife's Day (just as the first day last month honored husbands, this month the wife is greeted with either coffee or flowers)

Handing Back of Goblin Orphans Day -- Fairy Calendar (You know, the goblin orphans they adopted 2 days ago!  No fairy can tolerate a goblin longer than that.)

Independence Day -- Santa Lucia(1979)

International World Thinking Day -- a/k/a "B.-P. day" or "Founder's Day" -- World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
     Girl Guides Day -- UK

National Margarita Day (How is that going to help with the thinking?)

St. Margaret of Cortona's Day (Patron of falsely accued people, hoboes, homeless people, mentally ill people, midwives, penitent women, people ridiculed for their piety, reformed prostitutes, single laywomen, teriaries, and tramps; against insanity, loss of parents, mental illness, sexual temptation, and temptation)

Tokyo Marathon 2015 -- Tokyo, Japan

Walking the Dog Day -- Can't find the originator of this one, but walk your dog, or do your yoyo tricks, whichever works for you

Washington's Birthday -- US


Anniversaries Today:

Ed McMahon marries Pamela Hurn, 1992
Kurt Corbin marries Courtney Love, 1992
Bill Bixby marries Laura Michael, 1991
Pennsylvania State University is founded in State College, Pennsylvania, 1855
Washington University in St. Louis is founded, 1853


Birthdays Today:

James Blunt, 1977
Drew Barrymore, 1975
Michael Chang, 1972
Lea Salonga, 1971
Clinton Kelly, 1969
Jeri Ryan, 1968
Vijay Singh, 1963
Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, 1962
Kyle MacLachlan, 1959
Julie Walters, 1950
Julius "Dr. J" Erving, 1950
Miou-Miou, 1950
Dan Millman, 1946
Jonathan Demme, 1944
Sparky Anderson, 1934
Edward M. Kennedy, 1932
Paul Dooley, 1928
Robert Wadlow, 1918
John Mills, 1908
Sheldon Leonard, 1907
Robert Young, 1907
Luis Bunuel, 1900
Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1892
"Chico" Marx, 1891
Lady Olave Baden-Powell, 1889
Lord Robert Baden-Powell, 1857
James Russel Lowell, 1819
Frederic Chopin, 1810
Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788
George Washington, 1732


Debuting/Premiering Today:

It Happened One Night(Film), 1934
"Lady Windermere's Fan"(Play), 1892
"Symphony No. 4 in F minor"(Tchaikovsky Op. 36), 1878


Today in History:

Jews are expelled from Zurich, Switzerland, 1349
Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published, 1632
The English House of Lords rules that authors do not have perpetual copyright of their material, 1774
Jews are expelled from the outskirts of Warsaw, Poland, 1775
The first US ship to trade with China, the "Empress of China," sails from New York, 1784
The Last Invasion of Britain by the French begins near Fishguard, Wales, 1797
Spain signs the Adams-Onis Treaty, renouncing its claim to the Oregon territory and west Florida, 1819
Spain sells east Florida to the US, 1821
Edward Payson Weston, "The Father of Modern Pedestrianism," who gave lectures on the health benefits of walking, first comes into the public eye by leaving on this date to walk to Lincoln's inauguration, a distance of 478 miles, 1861*
Frank W. Woolworth opens the first US chain store, his  "Woolworth's" 5 and 10 cent store, in Utica, NY, 1879
John Reid of Scotland establishes a 3 hole golf course near Yonkers, New York, thus introducing the game to the US, 1888
Hawaii becomes a US territory, 1900
Due to drought, the US side of Niagara Falls runs short of water, 1903
The Great White Fleet, the first US fleet to circumnavigate the globe, returns to Virginia, 1909
Calvin Coolidge gives the first US presidential radio address, 1924
Bert Hinkler successfully completes the first solo flight from England to Australia, 1928
Australian swimmer John Konrads sets 6 world records in two days, 1958
Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500, 1959
Following United States President Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices, 1973
In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4-3, in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history, 1980
In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned, 1997
An earthquake measuring 6.3 in magnitude strikes Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 181 people, 2011

*Yes, he got there in 10 days, in time for the inaugural ball!

Really?

Already?!!!

Yes, it's already time for us to go home.

In the past week, i've almost not slept, and i've run around the parks having a great time, with family, and sometimes by myself.

Today we get one last morning in the Animal Kingdom park, and after lunch, it's time to head back to "real life."

The Big Boss already called to find out when i would be back.  Ms. P's house must be a disaster.  It's okay, that's job security.

Until then, though, i'm going to enjoy this morning, and we will take turns driving on the way back, with no rushing.

Vacation isn't over until school and work start on Monday, and that's still a world away.
 

Today is:

American Birkebeiner Race -- Cable to Hayward, WI, US (largest and most prestigious cross-country ski marathon)

Anniversary of His Majesty the King -- Bhutan

Anthesteria -- Ancient Greek Calendar (three day Festival of Flowers, feast of the dead, and drinking festival; date approximate)

Card Reading Day -- because greeting cards can be fun to just stop and read, can't they?

Clam Chowder Cook-Off -- Santa Cruz, CA, US (if you love clam chowder of any variety, this is the place for you)

Day in Honor of Dr. W. H. Lini, Father of Independence -- Vanuatu

Feast of the Feralia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (final day of the Parentalia, with picnics in the graveyard that included libations to the departed)

International Mother Language Day -- UNESCO 
 
La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros and Tucson Rodeo -- Tucson, AZ, US (celebrating the Old West heritage; through Mar. 1)

Musikahan sa Tagum Festival -- Tagum City, Phillipines (the areas signature festival which celebrates the Filipino excellence in musical composition, performance, and production, and giving young people more opportunities to excel in learning the music industry and Filipino musical culture; through Sunday)

National Sticky Bun Day

Parke County Maple Fair -- Rockville, IN, US (pancake meals, a Covered Bridge Art Assn. show, and more; this weekend and next)

Remember the Funniest Thing Your Kid Ever Did Day -- in honor of Erma Bombeck's birth anniversary

Saidai-ji Hadaka Matsuri -- Okayama Prefecture, Japan (Naked Festival, in which a Shinto man strips, is completely shaved, then runs through town while thousands of townsmen in loincloths try to touch him while guard's throw cold water on them)

Sandino Day -- Nicaragua (assassination anniversary of Augusto César Sandino)

Shaheed Dibosh -- Bangladesh (International Mother Language Day/Language Martyr's Day, for those who died in the Bengali Language Movement in 1952)

St. Peter Damian's Day (Doctor of the Church)

Swamp Cabbage Festival -- LaBelle, FL, US (also called Hearts of Palm, gear up for two days of food, entertainment, and family fun)


Anniversaries Today:

Dudley Moore marries Brogan Lane, 1988
Liz Taylor marries Michael Wilding, 1952
The Washington Monument is dedicated, 1885


Birthdays Today:

Corbin Bleu, 1989
Ashley Greene, 1987
Ellen Page, 1987
Charlotte Church, 1986
Jennifer Love Hewitt, 1979
William Baldwin, 1963
Christopher Atkins, 1961
Alan Trammell, 1958
Jack Coleman, 1958
Mary Chapin Carpenter, 1958
Kelsey Grammer, 1955
Christine Ebersole, 1953
William Petersen, 1953
Olympia J. Snowe, 1947
Tyne Daly, 1946
Alan Rickman, 1946
David Geffen, 1943
John Lewis, 1940
Gary Lockwood, 1937
Barbara Jordan, 1936
Rue McClanahan, 1935
Nina Simone, 1933
Roberto Gomez Bolanos, 1929
Erma Bombeck, 1927
Hubert de Givenchy, 1927
Sam Peckinpah, 1925
Ann Sheridan, 1915
W.H. Auden, 1907
Anais Nin, 1903
Andres Segovia, 1893
Alice Freeman Palmer, 1855
Charles Scribner, 1821
John Henry Cardinal Newman, 1801
Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana, 1794


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Die Physiker"(Play), 1962
"A Woman to Remember"(TV; first soap opera), 1949
"War as it Happens"(TV), 1944
"Green Pastures"(Play), 1930
The New Yorker(Magazine), 1925
The Communist Manifesto(Publication date), 1848
Cherokee Phoenix(Newspaper, first US Native American paper), 1828


Today in History:

England begins the trial against Joan of Arc, 1431
John Wilkes is thrown out of the English House of Commons for his pornographic poem "An Essay on Woman," a satire of Pope's "An Essay on Man," 1764
Freedom of worship is established in France under its Constitution, 1795
The first locomotive, Richard Trevithick's, runs for the first time, in Wales, 1804
The first Native American Indian newspaper, the "Cherokee Phoenix", begins publication, 1828
The first known sewing machine in the US is patented by John Greenough of Washington, D.C., 1842
Sarah G Bagley of Lowell, Massachusetts becomes the first US woman telegrapher, 1846
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish the Communist Manifesto, 1848
The US Congress outlaws foreign currency as legal tender in the US, 1857
Edwin T. Holmes installs the first electric burglar alarm, in Boston, Massachusetts, 1858
The first Roman Catholic parish church for blacks in the US is dedicated, in Baltimore, Maryland, 1864
Lucy B. Hobbs becomes the first US woman to earn a DDS degree, 1866
Benjamin Disraeli replaces William Gladstone as English premier, 1874
The first telephone book is issued, to 50 subscribers in New Harbor, Connecticut, 1878
Oregon becomes the first US state to declare Labor Day a holiday, 1887
The North Carolina legislature adjourns for the day to mark the death of Frederick Douglass, 1895
Dr. Harvey Cushing, the first US neurosurgeon, performs his first operation, 1902
Gustav Mahler conducts his last concerto, 1911
The Battle of Verdun (WWI) begins, will last until Dec. 18; over a quarter of a million casualties, half a million injuries, 1916
The last Carolina parakeet, Incas, dies in the Cincinati Zoo, in the same cage that had held Martha, the last passenger pigeon, 4 years earlier, 1918
The Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country's first constitution, 1921
Great Britain grants Egypt independence, 1922
The first issue of "New Yorker" magazine is published, 1925
The first instant developing camera is demonstrated in NYC, by E H Land, 1947
The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to "set the people free", 1952
Watson and Crick discover the structure of the DNA molecule; according to legend, they walk into the Eagle Pub in Cambridge and Crick announces "We have found the secret of Life," 1953
The Peace symbol is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom, commissioned by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, 1958
Malcolm X is assassinated, 1965
The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna, 1971
The Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon, 1972
Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison, 1975
Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, 1995
Euro zone finance ministers agree on a second bailout for Greece, 2012
Scientists discover that bumblebees have the ability to sense electric fields around flowers, enabling them to identify specific flowers for pollination , 2013