A crisis averted, and i am crazy.

We almost had a crisis on our hands yesterday.  Little Girl, on her way to her very first day of work, said, "Oh, and I need my Social Security Card.  Do you know where it is?"

What a time to tell me, i thought, although i should have known.  You can barely do anything any more without at least two forms of identification.

The first place i headed was the logical place, the filing cabinet.  Nada.  Her file was there, but not the requested document, nor her birth certificate.  Bummer.

Thinking about it, i realized we had used both of those to register her for school, and for driver's ed, and for getting her permit, so a further search found the required document filed in her education records.

That was close -- i hate having to try to replace things like that, as i had to with Bigger Girl's Social Security Card years ago.  Much easier to keep track of it to begin with, and her documents are back in her file where they belong, not among the report cards.

As for me being crazy, i have decided to go ahead and do the A to Z challenge again this year.

Yes, i post daily anyway, so why not.  The problem i have is getting to five other blogs each day, besides all the ones i already try to get to.  There are only so many hours in the day, and only so many of them that i want to spend online.

As for the mechanics of it, it actually only took me 20 minutes to figure out how to get the participation image/icon/whatevertheycallit onto my blog -- last year it took a lot longer.  Why do you think i leave the "No Shopping on Thanksgiving" icon up all year long?  If i ever took it off, i'd never figure out how to get it back.  Technology is not my strong suit.

Beginning tomorrow, then, i will be traipsing through the alphabet along with many others.  No particular theme, of course, because i meander too much, and too much crazy stuff goes on here.

Like finding you've filed a birth certificate in the education files.

Today is:

 
Bali Spirit Festival -- Ubud, Bali (annual celebration of Balinese culture, yoga, healing arts, music and dance; through Sunday)

Bunsen Burner Day -- on the birth anniversary of its inventor, Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen, in 1811

Buy Some New Socks Day -- because all the websites that list it agree you are worth it

Cesar Chavez Day -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, Texas, Utah,& Wyoming, US

Culture and Traditions Day -- Micronesia

Day Everyone Says "31" a Lot -- Fairy Calendar

Education and Sharing Day -- in honor of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994)

Eiffel Tower Day -- inaugurated this day in 1889

Festival for Luna -- Ancient Roman Calendar (moon festival)

Hot Guitar Day -- anniversary of the day Jimi Hendrix first set fire to his guitar in 1967

Jum il-Helsien (Freedom Day) -- Malta

King Nangklao Memorial Day -- Thailand

National Clams on the Half Shell Day

Oranges and Lemons Day -- St. Clement Danes Church, London, Enlgand (traditional children's service based on the rhyme that begins "Oranges and lemons/say the bells of St. Clement's)

"She's Funny That Way" Day -- pay tribute to the women in your life, and how they keep you laughing; sponsored by Brenda Meredith of Dahomey Publishing, Inc.

St. Balbina's Day (Patron of those with scrofulous diseases or stroma)

Thomas Mundy Peterson Day -- New Jersey, US (the first African-American to legally cast a vote in the US, this date in 1870)

Transfer Day -- US Virgin Islands

Vigil to Mourn China's Annexation of Tibet -- anniversary of the day in 1959 when the  Dalai Lama fled to India


Birthdays Today:

Pavel Bure, 1971
Ewan McGregor, 1971
Marc McClure, 1957
Angus Young, 1955
Edward Francis "Ed" Marinaro, 1950
Al Gore, 1948
Rhea Perlman, 1948
Gabe Kaplan, 1945
Christopher Walken, 1943
James Earl "Jimmy" Johnson, 1938
Herb Alpert, 1935
Richard Chamberlain, 1935
Shirley Jones, 1934
John Jakes, 1932
Gordie Howe, 1928
Cesar Chavez, 1927
William Daniels, 1927
Leo Buscaglia, 1925
Henry Morgan, 1915
John "Jack" Johnson, 1878
Andrew Lang, 1844
Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut, 1823
Edward Fitzgerald, 1809
Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol, 1809
Joseph Haydn, 1732
Andrew Marvell, 1621
Rene Descartes, 1596


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"'night, Mother"(Play), 1983
"The Shadow Box"(Play), 1977
"The Best Man"(Play), 1960
"The Glass Menagerie"(Play), 1945
"Oklahoma!"(Musical), 1943
"Le Chasseur Maudit/The Accursed Huntsman"(Symphonic poem), 1883


Today in History:

Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade; Louis VII is present, and joins the Crusade, 1146
King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella sign decree ordering Jews to convert or be expelled from Spain, 1492
Jews are expelled from Prague, 1745
Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade, 1854
Thomas P Mundy of Perth Amboy, NJ, becomes the first African American to cast a vote, 1870
The Eiffel Tower, commemorating the French Revolution, opens, 1889
Richard Pearse allegedly makes a powered flight in an early aircraft, 1903
Serbia accepts Austrian control over Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1909
Construction begins on the RMS Titanic, 1909
Construction of the RMS Titanic is completed, 1912
The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, and renames the territory the United States Virgin Islands, 1917
Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time, 1918
The Royal Australian Air Force is formed, 1921
The Dominion of Newfoundland joins the Canadian Confederation and becomes the 10th Province of Canada, 1949
Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau, 1951
In the Canadian federal election, 1958, the Progressive Conservatives, led by John Diefenbaker, win the largest percentage of seats in Canadian history, with 208 seats of 265, 1958
The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum, 1959
The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon, 1966
Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere after 12 years in orbit, 1970
The USS Missouri, the last active United States Navy battleship, is decommissioned in Long Beach, California, 1992
Netscape releases the code base of its browser under an open-source license agreement; the project is given the code name Mozilla and is eventually spun off into the non-profit Mozilla Foundation, 1998
Amid unrest in the Mideast, activists claim China has launched the largest crackdown on dissenters in recent years, 2011

Awww Monday: Duck in a Row

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.  It's easy to participate, just post a picture that makes you say, "Awww!"

Don't forget to link up and visit other Awww Monday posts, because it's great to be able to start the week with a smile!

The duckling has grown very fast, and true to duck behavior, follows its "mother," Friend Becky, everywhere.

Duckling follows here, and so does #2 Son!

Today is:

Check for Change in Every Coin Return You Pass Day -- because someone has a sense of humor and put it on the internet

Culture and Traditions Day -- Micronesia

Doctors Day -- US (begun by Eudora Almond in 1933 because she thought her husband, Dr. Charles B. Almond, deserved recognition for his hard work; www.doctorsday.org for ideas on how to thank your doctor)

Fairies of the First Wand Reunion Dinner -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of Janus and Concordia -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Festival of Bast -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (cat goddess; date approximate)

Festival of Reality Fabrication  -- internet holiday to celebrate your imagination

Festival of Salus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (god of health)

Grass Is Always Browner On The Other Side Of The Fence Day -- remember how good you have it; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

I am in Control Day -- remember Alexander Haig's words on this date in 1981? well today, if you find the phones won't stop ringing, the kids got into the glue again, the coffee maker is on the fritz, and somebody dyed the poodle purple, stand up and declare that you are in control!

Land Day Commemoration -- West Bank/Palestinian remembrance

Limited Liability Day -- because no one can be responsible for everything

Pencil Day -- the pencil with an eraser top was patented this day in 1858 by Hyman Lipman

Runic Half-Month Ewhas (Horse) begins

Seward's Day -- Alaska, US

Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day -- Trinidad and Tobago

St. Leonard Murialdo's Day (Patron of apprentices)

Take a Walk in the Park Day -- begun by someone who wanted to get out of the office

Turkey Neck Soup Day

Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day -- US (information here)


Birthdays Today:

Scott Moffatt, 1983
Jason Dohring, 1982
Norah Jones, 1979
Matt Doran, 1976
Mark Consuelos, 1971
Celine Dion, 1968
Ian Ziering, 1964
Tracy Chapman, 1964
M.C. Hammer, 1962
Paul Reiser, 1957
Robbie Cotrane, 1950
Eric Clapton, 1945
Astrud Gilberto, 1940
Warren Beatty, 1937
John Astin, 1930
Rolf Harris, 1930
Peter Marshall, 1930
Richard Dysart, 1929
Peter Marshall, 1927
Frankie Laine, 1913
Sean O'casey, 1880
Anna Sewell, 1820
Vincent Van Gogh, 1853
Francisco Jose De Goya, 1749


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Agnes of God"(Play), 1982
"Applause"(Musical), 1970
"Jeopardy"(TV), 1964
"Verkaufte Braut/The Bartered Bride"(Comic opera), 1866


Today in History:

The first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, BC240
Ketsugan, Zen teacher, performs exorcisms to free aizoji temple, 1422
Henry VIII divorces Catherine of Aragon, 1533
British and coalition forces march into Paris after the defeat of Napoleon, 1814
Dr. Crawford Long of Georgia, US, performs the first operation with anesthesia (ether), 1842
A pencil with attached eraser is patented by Hyman L Lipman of Philadelphia, 1858
Alaska is purchased from Russia by US Secretary of State William Seward, for $7,200,000 (about 2 cents per acre), 1867
Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, 1932
Einstein announces his revised unified field theory, 1953
The Yonge Street Line, the first subway in Canada, opens in Toronto, 1954
President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr., 1981
The oldest copy of Codex Holmiensis, dating from 1280, is returned to Denmark from Sweden after 300 years, and 45,000 Inca artifacts are returned to Peru's Machu Picchu after spending 100 years at Yale University, 2011

Silly Sunday: Cheap Entertainment

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.  It's the place to come for weekly laughs, and a great way to have a chuckle while getting to know other bloggers.

It's easy to participate, the rules are simple, just have fun.  So, Laugh and Link Up!

It's Palm Sunday, so our church will have the usual procession around the block with palm branches before we march into the sanctuary for the service.

Amos the donkey, who has never been ridden, will lead the way.  He's sweet and friendly and i or Bigger Girl always bring him some carrots.

Once the service is over, we have a street party, the kind with pony rides and bouncy houses and food and an Easter egg hunt.

Talk of Easter eggs remind me of the time Tee Boudreaux ax his mamere, "When we goin' kill de eggs, Mamere?"

"Kill de eggs?" his mamere Clothile say.  "What you mean..." an den she see what her son mean, an' she start laugh!  "Dye!  You mean when we goin' dye de eggs!"

"Dat's it!" Tee yell, and Clothile say, "We can do dat later today."

While dey be dyin' de eggs, Tee ax her another question.  "Mamere," he say, "how come we don' go to church much?  We ain't been since Christmas!"

"Well," Clothile say, to stall while she t'ink of a reason, "de choir dere ain't so good, an' de sermon like to put Boudreaux to sleep mos' de time...."

"Mais!" Tee say.  "I t'ink it be a pretty good show for it only cost de dollar he put in de plate ever' time!"

Today is:

Barthelemy Boganda Day -- Central African Republic

Borrowed Days begin -- old English/Scottish/Irish legends about how March borrowed the next 3 days from April; these are still seen as weather prognostication days based on several different legends

Daylight Saving Time begins -- Albania; Andorra; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Germany; Gibraltar, Greece; Greenland (some areas); Holy See (Vatican City); Hungary; Ireland; Isle of Mann; Italy; Kosovo; Latvia; Lebanon; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia; Malta; Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; San Marino; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; Ukraine; United Kingdom; Western Sahara
     European Union: Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) Begins

Day of Redress -- Fairy Calendar

Knights of Columbus Founders Day

Martyrs' Day -- Madagascar

National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day

National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day -- as recognized by AICPA

Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday -- Christian

Semana Santa -- Holy Week in Spain and Spanish speaking areas; special celebrations:
     Mexico -- through the country, but especially in Chiapas, with processions, costumes, and even fireworks, music, dance, and syncretic rituals
     Seville, Spain -- with hundreds of shuffling penitents in their hoods making the torch lit processions through the town; through Easter)

Smoke and Mirrors Day -- some sites call it "Festival of Smoke and Mirrors Day," but appropriately no one knows who started it

St. Armogastes of Africa's Day (Patron of the poor and torture victims; against poverty and torture)

St. Gladys' and St. Gwynllyw's Day (the Welsh "Bonny and Clyde", who led a life of crime before their conversion)

USA Memory Championship -- New York, NY, US ("Mental Athletes" compete for the title of National Memory Champion, and the winner goes on to the World Memory Championships)

Youth Day -- Taiwan


Anniversaries Today:

Harry Hamlin weds Lisa Rinna, 1997
Yeshiva College (now University) is chartered in New York, 1928


Birthdays Today:

Hideaki Takizawa, 1982
Jennifer Capriati, 1976
Lucy Lawless, 1968
Elle Macpherson, 1964
Christopher Lambert, 1957
Kurt Thomas, 1956
Earl Christian Campbell, 1955
Karen Ann Quinlan, 1954
Bud Cort, 1950
George Blaha, 1945
Eric Idle, 1943
John Major, 1943
John Joseph McLaughlin, 1927
Pearl Bailey, 1918
Sam Walton, 1918
Eugene Mccarthy, 1916
Philip Ahn, 1905
Denton True "Cy" Young, 1867
Isaac Mayer Wise, Rabbi and Founder of Reform Judaism, 1819
John Tyler, 1790
Carlo Buonaparte, father of Napoleon Bonaparte, 1746


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Woman of the Year"(Play), 1981
"The King and I"(Play), 1951
"Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows"(circus), 1919
Mutt and Jeff(Comic strip), 1908
"Jevgeni Onegin/Eugene Onegin"(Opera; Tchaikovsky Op. 24), 1879


Today in History:

The city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded, 1549
Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed, returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629, 1632
Swedish colonists establish the first settlement in Delaware, 1638
Ludwig von Beethoven, age 24, debuts as a pianist in Vienna, 1795
Construction is authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway, 1806
Niagara Falls stops flowing for 30 hours due to an ice jam, 1848
The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab, 1849
Ohio makes it illegal for children under 18 & women to work more than 10 hours a day, 1852
Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867
Queen Victoria presides over the opening of Albert Hall in London, 1871
The Knights of Columbus are established, 1882
Dr. John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in his back yard, 1886
The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement goes into effect at 03:00 local time, 1941
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage, 1951
NASA's Mariner 10 becomes the first spaceprobe to fly by Mercury, 1974
The Canada Act 1982 (U.K.) receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982
Catherine Callbeck becomes premier of Prince Edward Island and the first woman to be elected in a general election as premier of a Canadian province, 1993
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia join NATO as full members, 2004
The Republic of Ireland becomes the first country in the world to ban smoking in all work places, including bars and restaurants, 2004
Thirty-five countries and over 370 cities join Earth Hour for the first time, 2008
A transistor-like transcriptor is built out of DNA and RNA molecules by American bioengineers at Stanford University, 2013

How to thoroughly confuse yourself.

Or confuse myself.  Whatever it is supposed to be.  And boy, was i confused.

Step one, get a call from The Big Boss on Thursday asking me to run errands while cleaning the house.  He tells me where he will leave both his credit card so i can pay for the errands, and the gate key so i don't have to keep calling Ms. P to get her to buzz me in.

Step two, put the credit card and the gate key in my wallet while running errands.  Have the workload be big enough that it carries over into Friday, with The Big Boss approving my keeping the gate key with me so i can get back in and do the last 3 loads of laundry and last errand.

Step three, get up early Friday to attend 6:30am Bible study, and be completely taken aback and thoroughly confused when i wave my wallet with the church key card at the sensor and have it turn green but not let me in.  Try several doors with the same result.  Wait for another member of the study to come along and open the door.

Step four, rush out of Bible study as soon as it's done so as to get to work early, get to the gate and realize, when pulling out the gate key, that the reason i couldn't get in the church earlier is that both gate key and church key work on the same principle, and the gate key was the one the church sensor was reading and not recognizing!

Step five, promise myself that i will keep that gate key, next time they give it to me, in my pocket notebook instead of my wallet.

Today is:

Children's Picture Book Day -- while i can't find a sponsor for this day, starting kids on a lifelong love of books is as good an excuse for a holiday as any

Commemoration of Sen no Rikyu -- Urasenke School of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Japan (remembering the influential master in The Way of Tea)

Daylight Saving Time begins -- Gaza Strip; West Bank

Earth Hour -- 8:30pm-9:30pm, your local time; turn off your lights to take a stand against climate change

Feast of Artemis -- Ancient Greek Calendar (as protector of wild animals, vegetation, and places, begins at sundown; date approximate)

Festival of the Sacrifice at the Tombs -- Ancient Roman Calendar (to honor the ancestors)

"Greatest Show on Earth" Day -- Barnum and Bailey merged their circuses on this day in 1881

Hot Tub Day -- because we all need one!

Invasion of Loaming Shores Beyond the Certain Sea Anniversary -- Fairy Calendar

Khordad Sal (Birth of the Prophet Zarathushtra) -- Zoroastrianism (Fasli Calendar)

Komamorijinja Reisai -- Nakaedo, Kashi-sh, Gifu, Japan (festival of the the Kosazukeishi "child-granting stone")

Maple Syrup Saturday -- Appleton, WI, US (please note that, starting now, almost every Saturday has a maple syrup festival or demonstration somewhere in Canada or the US where maple syrup is produced)

National Black Forest Cake Day

Ragnar Lodbrok's Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (remembrance of this Viking's sack of Paris)

Respect Your Cat Day -- anniversary of King Richard II's edict in 1384 forbidding the consumption of cats

Serfs Emancipation Day -- Tibet

Something on a Stick Day -- something edible, of course, what were you thinking?  never mind; almost everything tastes better on a stick

St. Guntramnus' Day (Patron of divorced people, guardians, repentant murderers)

Teachers' Day -- Czech Republic; Slovakia

Weed Appreciation Day -- at last, for those of us with black thumbs, since this is all we can grow! "Weeds are flowers once you get to know them!" A.A. Milne


Birthdays Today:

Lady Gaga, 1986
Julia Stiles, 1981
Annie Wersching, 1977
Kate Gosselin, 1975
Scott Mills, 1974
Juliandra Gillen, 1971
Vince Vaughn, 1970
Reba McEntire, 1955
Dianne Wiest, 1948
Ken Howard, 1944
Conchata Ferrell, 1943
Jerry Sloan, 1942
Freddie Bartholomew, 1924
Dirk Bogarde, 1921
Irving "Swifty" Lazar, 1907
August Anheuser Busch, Jr., 1899
Maxim Gorky, 1868
Frederich Pabst, 1836
St. Teresa of Avila, 1515
Fra Bartolomeo, 1472


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Hair"(Rock musical), 1968
"Philadelphia Story"(Play), 1939


Today in History:

Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus, 193
Viking raiders sack Paris, who leave in exchange for a huge ransom, 845
The origin of the Fasli Era in India, 1556
Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco, 1776
Nathaniel Briggs of NH patents a washing machine, 1797
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid known to man, 1802
The US Salvation Army is officially organized, 1885
Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, 1910
Jews are expelled from Tel Aviv & Jaffa by Turkish authorities, 1917
Constantinople and Angora change their names to Istanbul and Ankara, 1930
The McGill français movement protest occurs, the second largest protest in Montreal's history, 1969
Operators of Three Mile Island's Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania fail to recognize that a relief valve in the primary coolant system has stuck open, leading to a partial meltdown, 1979
In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg, resulting in 18 deaths, 1994
The 2005 Sumatran earthquake rocks Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the second strongest earthquake since 1965, 2005
At least 1 million union members, students, and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government's proposed First Employment Contract law, 2006
Australian diplomat Peter Woolcott's draft for the first-ever treaty to regulate the conventional arms trade is discussed by members of the United Nations, 2013 

Feline Friday: Alert

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.  Post a picture, drawing, cartoon, or video of a cat, a silly one, cute one, doofy one, your choice.  Then go to Steve's site and get the code.  Paste the code under your picture, and join the link.  It's that easy!

HopeCat may be asleep, but it looks like her tail is still on the alert:

 

HopeCat loves our bed.  

HopeCat is the one that is "special" and never leaves our room because she gets lost in the house.  Yes, i'm sure she was asleep here, she was snoring!



Today is:

American Crossword Puzzle Tournament -- Brooklyn, NY, US (puzzle lovers, unite!  through Sunday)

Armed Forces Day -- Myanmar

Cherry Blossom (Sakura) Viewing and Celebrations begin -- Japan (the festivities get started around now, and vary by region depending on when the trees bloom in that area over the next 6 weeks)

Commemoration of Sen no Rikyu -- Omotesenke School of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Japan (remembering the influential master in The Way of Tea)

Corkscrew Day -- M.L. Byrn of New York patented "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" on this date in 1860

Daylight Saving Time begins -- Israel; Jordan; Syria

National "Joe" Day -- no, it isn't official, but today you can make everyone call you "Joe" if you want, and call them the same; probably started by someone who had no memory for names

National Spanish Paella Day

Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day -- after all, they do need their own day; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays (and here's a site with some funny ones) 

^*St. John Damascene's Day (Patron of pharmacists, icon paiting, theology students)

St. Rupert of Salzburg's Day (Patron of Salzburg; celebrated on the 24th in the rest of the Church)

Tempe Festival of the Arts -- Tempe, AZ, US (hundreds of artists and craftspeople, continuous entertainment, children's area; through Sunday)

Wear a Hat Day -- UK (a brain tumour awareness event and fundraiser)

World Theatre Day


Anniversaries Today:

Mary Pickford marries Douglas Fairbanks, 1920


Birthdays Today:

Brenda Song, 1988
Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, 1975
Nathan Fillion, 1971
Mariah Carey, 1970
Quentin Tarantino, 1963
Xuxa, 1963
Maria Schneider, 1952
Austin Pendleton, 1940
Michael York, 1942
David Janssen, 1931
Anthony Lewis, 1927
Mstislav Rostropovich, 1927
Sarah Vaughan, 1924
Harold Nicholas, 1921
Gloria Swanson, 1899
Thorne Smith, 1892
Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, 1886
Edward Steichen, 1879
Patty Smith Hill, 1868
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, 1845
Nathaniel Currier, 1813


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Starlight Express"(Rock musical), 1984
Funky Winkerbean(Comic strip), 1972
Singin' in the Rain(Film), 1952
"La Rondine/The Swallow"(Puccini Opera), 1917
"The Colleen Bawn"(Play), 1860


Today in History:

Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt, BC196
Pope Clement V excommunicates the entire population of Venice, 1309
Juan Ponce de Leon discovers Florida, 1513
The first English child born in Canada at Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy, 1613
The dike at Hardinxveld breaks, causing the Alblasserwaard flood, 1709
Spain losses Menorca & Gibraltar, 1713
John Parker Paynard originates medicated adhesive plaster, precursor to the band-aid, 1848
First reported sighting of the Yosemite Valley by Europeans, 1851
M L Byrn patents "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" (corkscrew), 1860
The first international rugby football match, England v. Scotland, is played in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place, 1871
Famous Apache warrior, Geronimo, surrenders to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars, 1886
The first Japanese cherry blossom trees planted in Washington, D.C., 1912
The first successful blood transfusion takes place in Brussels, 1914
Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States, is put in quarantine, , 1916
Charlie Chaplin receives France's distinguished Legion of Honor, 1931
Nikita Khrushchev becomes Premier of the Soviet Union, 1958
The Good Friday Earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in U.S. history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes South Central Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage, 1964
The Concorde makes its first supersonic flight. 1970
Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins, 1975
The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212, 1980
The Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which at least 12 million Poles walk off their jobs for four hours, 1981
The US FDA approves Viagra, 1998
HMS Scylla (F71), a decommissioned Leander class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe, 2004