For generations, Native Americans have done traditional rain dances in an attempt to cause precipitation. While i'm not sure that anyone has ever researched the percent of success or failure of such ceremonies, the fact that many of them involve throwing silver jewelery into a fire might mean they could, theoretically, work. After all, modern cloud seeding is done with silver iodide.
It would all depend, of course, on how much moisture is in the air to begin with. No moisture to condense around the silver particles, no precipitation.
Well, i think i've discovered something that seems to work better than silver, in any form.
It's called laundry.
Let me explain.
A couple of years ago, i read that not using the clothes dryer could cut your electric bill by a huge amount. So i tried it, and sure enough, it has.
This, of course, means a clothesline. It also means, in this swamp, dodging the rain.
If i do a load, as soon as i head outside, the clouds turn threatening.
If i look at the radar, and see no rain for over a 50 mile radius, and there's only a 10% chance of rain, and i try to put out the laundry, i will walk out into the one little sprinkle of rain the radar missed. In other words, i get the 10% and it's not even a big enough amount to register.
If i go ahead and hang it up inside, the sun comes out. When i gather it to go out, the clouds come running to receive me.
Bigger Girl says i should go do laundry anywhere there is a drought in the world, it will cure it.
While i'm not sure about that, i'd be afraid to try.
Today is:
Alcatraz Day
Day of Honor for Oddudua -- Santeria religion (cognate of the Roman Catholic St. Clare of Assisi; credited with the creation of humans)
Dog Days end -- yes, supposedly, in this heat
Feast of St. Attracta -- Irish Catholic Saint (founded a hospice and convents, and supposedly slayed a dragon)
Fiesta de Santa Clara -- Santa Clara Pueblo, NM, US (Native American celebration of St. Clare of Assisi, with a corn dance and prayers for rain)
Great River Tug Fest -- Port Byron, IL and LeClaire, IA, US (the only tug-of-war across the Mighty Mississippi or any other moving body of water, plus festivals on both sides and fireworks; through the 13th)
Heroes Day -- Zimbabwe
Independence Day -- Chad
Ingersoll Day
Jersey Battle of Flowers -- St. Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands (colorful parade of floats decorated with flowers, annually since 1902 to mark the coronation of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra; through tomorrow)
National Hobo Convention -- Britt, IA, US (held since 1900, a celebration of current and former hoboes, with a Hobo King and Queen crowned; through the 14th)
National Raspberry Bombe Day or Raspberry Tart Day -- whichever one you like best, or both, if that's the way you roll
Osaka Castle Takigi-noh -- Osaka Castle, Osaka City, Japan (free Noh performances, through tomorrow)
Play in the Sand Day (Yeah, like at the beach, nothing like sand in your shorts, I get enough of that on vacation, thank you.)
Presidential Joke Day -- because presidents have a sense of humor, too, as shown this day in 1984 when Reagan thought the microphone was off and joked about Russia being outlawed and bombed
Skowhegan State Fair -- Skowhegan, ME (193rd annual! ten days of grand fun; through the 20th)
Son and Daughter Day -- the day to give your son(s) or daugher(s) the gift of time
St. Clare of Assisi's Day -- Foundress of the Order of Poor Ladies (Poor Clares) Franciscan nuns (patron of embroiderers, eye disease, gold workers, good weather, needle workers, telegraphs, telephones, and television writers)(why tv? because when she became too ill to attend mass at the end of her life, a miraculous image of the service would display on the wall of her room)
St. Susanna's Day
Watermelon Festival -- Hope, AR, US (through the 13th)
Birthdays Today:
Hulk Hogan, 1953
Arlene Dahl, 1928
Mike Douglas, 1925 (Note: he also died on this date in 2006)
Alex Haley, 1921
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, 1667 (Last of the Medicis)
Today in History:
First day of the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, used my the Maya and other pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, BC3114
Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation, BC2492
Battle of Artemisium, naval battle of the Greco-Persian War, fought at the same time as the Battle of Thermopylae of the same war; Leonidas, King of Sparta, dies in the land battle, BC480*
Papandayan Java volcanic eruption kills 3,000, 1772
Charles Lawrence gives expulsion orders to remove the Acadians from Nova Scotia beginning the Great Upheaval, 1755
The world's first roller rink opens in Newport, RI, 1866
The first civilian prisoners arrive at Alcatraz, 1934
Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a frequency hopping, spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi, 1942
A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo to Honolulu, killing one teenager and injuring 15 passengers, 1984
NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history, 2003
*some put the date as Aug. 7, some as Sept. 8
Suldog posted his summer memories, and brought back one of mine.
Summer was when we had nothing to do and all day to do it. We were out from morning to after dark, roaming the neighborhood on bikes, or playing. Tag, kick the can, or other, less wholesome things like ring 'n run. Bad kidlets!
We swam. Some days, we'd get in the pool at 7am and, except for meal and potty breaks, stay in until 10pm.
Then, there was the summer we built the clubhouse. There were 10 of us, boys and girls, and there was construction going on a few streets over, new housing. So we decided to build, too.
We gathered materials from the scrap piles of the houses being built, and worked on it every day. How my mother tolerated the pounding of nails all through the day i'm not sure.
Our drawn up plans included windows, doors with latches, and stairs. Also, the furniture. By the time we finished, it was 3 stories, the top just shy of our own second floor roof peak. It was in the alley strip between the fence and the house, on the side where there was asphalt.
We even tar papered the roof and had carpet. It was our masterpiece, and we were very proud of it.
My dad, however, was worried about the liability if it ever fell. He wondered if our carpentry skills were up to the task we had set ourselves. As an ob/gyn, he understood liability better than most non lawyers, and knew he could easily be a target.
So he had an engineer friend check it out. The man climbed all through it and said it was sturdier than some houses he had seen, and it was. In fact, the engineer's exact words were that it would take 2 adults 3 days to tear it down. When it was finally time for it to go, my dad hired 3 workers, and it took them two days. We had built it to last.
So that's where i learned to measure wood, cut by hand until there were blisters, piece together bits to make things fit, and get a nail in straight.
My kids have built a few clubhouses out in the grove of trees across the street by the park. Nothing so extensive, but it has reminded me of one other thing.
That was the summer several of the dads around the neighborhood complained about never being able to find their tools.
No wonder i can never find my tools. The kids take them. Apples don't fall far, do they?
Ah, sweet memory.
Today is:
Banana Split Day
Chemistry Set Volcano Day -- beat summer boredom, make a chemistry set volcano!
Crayfish Premier -- Sweden (crayfish may be sold and served in restaurants, the day after the season opens)
Day of Wandering -- Fairy Calendar
Feast of San Lorenzo -- San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
Horse Racing Festival -- Nagchu, Tibet (through the 16th)
Independence Day -- Ecuador
Lazy Day -- internet generated, since it's so hot, though, make it a lazy day!
Lucerne Festival of Summer -- Lucerne, Switzerland (through Sept. 18, over 100 events)
National S'mores Day
Opalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar, festival of Ops (date approximate, there were several celebrations of Ops through August and September)
Puck Fair -- Killorglin, Ireland (one of Ireland's 3 oldest fairs, with a wild goat caught and crowned the Puck, and let go on the 3rd day, Aug. 12)
Prison Justice Day -- Canada (prisoners fast and refuse to work in memory of those who have died in prison of murder, suicide, or neglect)
St. Lawrence of Rome's Day
Anniversaries Today
Missouri becomes the 24th US state, 1821
The Smithsonian Institution is chartered, 1846
Birthdays Today
Antonio Banderas, 1960
Rosanna Arquette, 1959
Schim Schimmel, 1954
Ian Anderson, 1947
Bobby Hatfield, 1940
Rocky Colavito, 1933
Jimmy Dean, 1928
Eddie Fisher, 1928
Rhonda Fleming, 1923
Leo Fender, 1909
George Crockett, 1909
Norma Shearer, 1902
Henri Nestle', 1890
Herbert Hoover, 1874
Today in History:
Nineveh is destroyed and Sinsharishkun, King of the Assyrian Empire is killed, BC 612
Temple at Jerusalem is burned, 70
Ferdinand Magellan sets out with 5 ships to circumnavigate the globe, 1519
The foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London is laid, 1675
Word of the US Declaration of Independence reaches London, 1776
Mozart completes "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", 1787
First ascent of Finsteraarhorn, the highest summit of the Bernese Alps, 1829
Candid Camera makes its television debut after being on radio for a year as Candid Microphone, 1948
The Magellan space probe reaches Venus, 1990
The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK – 38.5*C (101.3*F) in Kent; it is the first time the UK has recorded a temperature over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, 2003
When i first heard about this, i laughed. Crazily. After all, a floating island? Really?
Yep, a real creation of two artists, Sarah Cockings and Laurence Symonds, Royal College of Art graduates. It is made of durable polyurethane with foliage décor,
filled with helium so it floats.
It took them 6 months to build this Is Land, as they titled it, and it cost £9,000.
Then i read the part of the story that infuriated me.
It was being used as part of a celebration, a music festival, and a couple of vandals went out in the middle of the night and cut it loose.
The artwork is now floating somewhere, and they are asking anyone who sees a really odd looking UFO, or who thinks they see a piece of land out of an airplane window, to please let them know.
They hope to get it back, but meanwhile are building another to have it ready for its US debut in September.
The idea that, no, it isn't Jack's Giant's land up there had me laughing until i read about the vandalism.
Now, it just makes me angry.
Do i really want to know what possesses people to do such things? Probably not.
Meanwhile, they've alerted airports, set up their website and Facebook page to follow leads, and it was last seen over the Isle of Wight.
Let's hope they get it back, and that karma really kicks the vandals in some way. Right now i can't think of anything interestingly apropos to wish for on them, but if you think of something, let me know.
Today is:
Book Lover's Day -- internet generated, but if you love books, go sit under a shady tree with a cool drink and indulge!
Festival for Sol -- Ancient Roman Calendar
Fox Hill Day -- Nassau, Bahamas
Goblin Ugly Contest -- Fairy Calendar
Independence Day -- Singapore
International Day of the World's Indigenous People
Jesse Owens Day -- the day he became the first American to win 4 gold medals
Kranti Divas -- Mumbai (former Bombay), India (a/k/a Freedom Day or Quit India Day)
Nagasaki Day
National Rice Pudding Day
National Women's Day -- South Africa
Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross' Day (born Edith Stein, killed at Auschwitz, co-patroness of Europe)
Tisha B'Av -- Jewish
Veep Day -- US
Yosakoi Matsuri -- Kochi City, Japan (over 100 groups come up with their own Bon dance and costume and have dance competitions in the streets, through the 12th)
Birthdays Today:
Gillian Anderson, 1968
Delon Sanders, 1967
Hoda Kotb, 1964
Whitney Houston, 1963
Sam Elliot, 1944
P.L. Travers, 1899
Joseph Locke, 1805
Amedeo Avogadro, 1776
John Dryden, 1631
Today in History:
Battle of Pharsalus, in which Julius Caesar defeated Pompey, who fled to Egypt, BC 40
Bulgaria is founded as a Khanate on the south bank of the Danube after defeating the Byzantine armies of Emperor Constantine IV south of the Danube delta, 681
Start of construction of the Tower of Pisa, 1173*
Sistine Chapel opens, 1483
First horses arrive in Hawai'i, 1803
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States-Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains, 1842
Thoreau's Walden is published, 1854
Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph, 1892
Betty Boop makes her debut in the cartoon, Dizzy Dishes, 1930
Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement, 1942
The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time, 1944
Singapore is expelled from Malaysia and becomes the first and only country to date to gain independence unwillingly, 1965
Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office, 1974
Wayne Gretzky is traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in one of the most controversial player transactions in ice hockey history, 1988
The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership, 1993
*completed two hundred years later
The pics (x-rays) taken a few days ago look good -- from a medical standpoint, that is.
After 5 pregnancies and nursing 4 babies, i wouldn't mind having the girls hauled back north of the border a bit, but that's another issue altogether.
The other verdict is #1 Son has transferred to a busier store. Our typical conversations now sound like this:
#1 Son "Mom, we were so busy this week, we made too much money and the head manager didn't get his bonuses."
Huh?
"Yeah, see, he gets a bonus based on profit, and an extra bonus if we hits enough percent of on times, and another if we hit enough percent of calls taken in under so many minutes, and we were so busy it threw us off track! We couldn't keep up with volume, and so he lost those two other bonuses this week because we made too much money."
Wow, no wonder you have been gone so much.
"Yeah, and i opened this morning, so they let me come home for the evening."
Ten minutes later:
"Gotta go in! They just called me, freaking. They have 10 people there already and are getting behind. Jake said he'll wait for me, though, so we can go out to his place later. Bye!"
Today is:
Anjin Festival -- Ito City, Japan (commemorations of the launch of Japan's first Western style ships, through the 10th)
BaBa Day -- Taiwan (ba ba is Mandarin for both "father" and "8-8")
Bonza Bottler Day
Festival for Venus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (sunset to sunset)
Flag Day -- Sweden (Namesday of Queen Sylvia)
Finest Fairy Finals -- Fairy Calendar (Do only the finest fairies take finals? How do the others get a final grade? :D )
Fourteen Holy Helpers' Day (patrons against diseases)
Happiness Happens Day -- sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People, to encourage sharing happiness and discourage parade raining
Nane Nane -- Tanzania (farmer's day, means "8-8" in Swahili)
National Frozen Custard Day
Odie Day -- Garfield's pal Odie, who first appeared in the strip on this day in 1978
Old Fiddler's Convention -- Galax, VA, US (76th annual, through the 13th)
Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night (Please, I love the stuff but can't grow plants to save my life, I'll leave the porch light on for you!)
St. Cyriacus' Day
St. Dominic's Day (founder of the Dominican Order)
The Date To Create -- can't find anything on this one, just listed at a couple of sites, but go have fun creating something!
Victory Day -- Rhode Island
Birthdays Today:
Keith Carradine, 1949
Connie Stevens, 1938
Dustin Hoffman, 1937
Mel Tillis, 1932
Esther Williams, 1923
Rory Calhoun, 1922
Dino De Laurentis, 1919
Matthew Henson, 1866
Emperor Horikawa of Japan, 1079
Today in History:
The Romans destroy the Tower of Antonia, 70
Otto I (The Great) crowned German king, 936
Vijayanagara Empire is rebegun with the crowning of emperor Krishnadeva Raya, 1509
The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven, 1576
John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage, 1585
The first known ascent (indoors) of a hot-air balloon by Bartolomeu de Gusamao, 1709
Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard become the first to ascend Mont Blanc, 1786
Metal bullet cartridges are patented by Smith and Wesson, 1854
Mimeograph is patented by Thomas Edison, 1876
Wilbur Wright makes the brother's first public flight, at a racecourse in Le Mans, France, 1908
The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire, 1911
The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight, 1929
The United Nations Charter is signed by the United States, the 3rd nation to join, 1945
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, 1967
Richard Nixon announces his resignation as President of the United States, effective the next day, 1974
The lights go on at Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last stadium in the majors to host a night game (which was subsequently rained out!), 1988
Iraq occupies and annexes Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War to liberate Kuwait within a couple of weeks, 1990
Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor, 2000
Because it's Say Cheese Day.
Thought for the day, from Mel Prust:
"A computer lets you make mistakes faster than any invention in human history, with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila."
Bumper Sticker of the Day:
HONK IF YOU LOVE JESUS
TEXT IF YOU WANT TO MEET HIM
T-shirt of the Day:
Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most!
Today is:
Assistance Dog Week begins
Assyrian Martyrs Day -- various Assyrian communities
Battle of Boyaca Day -- Colombia
Feast of 'Aut-Yeb -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (Personification of Female Joy; finding this on several sites, but none that have to do with Egypt, so celebrate at your own risk)
Harvest Holiday -- Slavic Pagan Calendar (reaping ceases for a few hours in honor of Volos' beard; bread is eaten and offerings given to Mother Earth and Volos for a bountiful harvest)
International Forgiveness Day
International Friendship Day
Joust of the Quintana -- Italy
National Lighthouse Day -- US
National Peacekeepers Day -- Canada
National Raspberries and Cream Day
Niigata Festival -- Niigata City, Japan (Heian period dress processions and fireworks, through the 9th)
Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day -- especially the kind no one can open without a machete, what's with that!
Professional Speaker's Day
Purple Heart Day -- US
Republic Day -- Cote d'Ivoire
Say "Cheese" Day (In my family, we do not say "Cheese". We say "Chicken Lips!" Try it some time when walking past tourists who are trying to get a good photo, and watch them smile genuine smiles and come up with a good picture.)
Sinjks Alka -- Sinj, Croatia (knight tournament)
Sisters Day
Smartest Leprechaun Eisteddfod -- Fairy Calendar
St. Albert of Trapani's Day
St. Cajetan's Day
Youth Day -- Kiribati
Birthdays Today:
Charlize Theron, 1975
David Duchovny, 1960
Garrison Keillor, 1942
B.J. Thomas, 1942
"The Amazing" James Randi, 1928
Carl "Alfalfa" Switser, 1927
Billie Burke, 1884
Mata Hari, 1876
Today in History:
Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon, following the death of Alexander the Great, BC322
Construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore begins in Florence, 1420
Coup again the Tianshun Emperor by the Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin, 1461
Francis Drake's fleet returns to Plymouth, 1573
The first documented performance of Macbeth, at the Great Hall at Hampton Court, 1606
Sieur de La Salle's brigantine Le Griffon becomes the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes, 1679
Cherokee Indians take Ft. Loudon, Tennessee, 1760
George Washington creates the Order of the Purple Heart, 1782
Simon Bolivar triumphs over the Spanish at the Battle of Boyaca, 1819
The long simmering tension between the Hatfields and the McCoys on the Kentucky/West Virginia border erupts into full scale violence on election day, 1882
The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York, 1927
IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I), 1944
Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America, 1947
Explorer 6 transmits the first TV photo of Earth from space, 1959
The "artistic crime of the century" occurs when Philippe Petit of France, after months of planning and smuggling in materials, makes an illegal tightrope walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, 1974
Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars, 1976
The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication, 1981
Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai are chosen to be Japan's first astronauts, 1985
Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks baseball great Hank Aaron's record by hitting his 756th home run, 2007
The other day, for some reason, i was fearfully sleepy all day. Woke up yawning, and couldn't stop all day. Of course, i also couldn't stop the work all day, either. From before dawn until my night owl husband decides to go to bed, the fun around here never stops.
It made me think about naps, and our culture.
Naps are for slackers, at least according to corporate culture.
Why?
Naps, or siestas in the middle of the day, have been around for centuries in many cultures. These people know what science is now proving, that napping is good for you, health-wise and productivity-wise.
How good?
Pilots on long flights that take a 30 minute nap have a 16 percent average increase in reaction time. Without it, their time declines 34%.
Sara Mednick, a sleep researcher, gave test subjects a memory challenge, allowing half to nap.
Those who napped dramatically outperformed those who didn't.
Encouraging employees to take 30 minute naps every day would increase productivity in the afternoons by double or even triple.
So why the slacker image?
Do we really think only weaklings need to rest?
Is it the "tough it out" spirit?
Well, whatever it is, i'm going to try to remember to give myself a nap next time i feel that wiped out.
Today is:
Accession Day -- United Arab Emirates (accession of H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan)
Best Elf Awards -- Fairy Calendar
Cowes Week begins -- Cowes, Isle of Wight (through the 13th, the largest, longest-running, and most prestigious international sailing regatta)
Cranham Feast -- Cranham, Gloucestershire, England (through the 8th, a traditional feast and fair that dates back to the 1700's)
Fancy Farm Picnic -- Fancy Farm, KY, US (with a name like this, you know you'll have Southern hospitality at its best!)
Feast of Everything Green Except Money -- Hooray for veggies! You'll need them before you have that root beer float.
Feast of Transfiguration -- Orthodox Christian
Ferry Fair -- South Queensferry, Edinburgh, Scotland (centuries old fair, around the time of the Burry Man Parade, originally for farmers to find labour for harvest, now for fun, through the 10th)
Festival of Nut and Ra; Chief Festival of Thoth -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar
Hiroshima Day
Independence Day -- Bolivia; Jamaica
National Fresh Breath (Halitosis) Day (Shouldn't that read, anti-halitosis?)
National Mustard Day (Sweetie had an uncle who would have loved this. Ate mustard on everything, including his apple pie. Bigger Girl also eats lots of mustard.)
National Root Beer Float Day
Peace Festival -- Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Japan
Qi Xi -- China (Double Seven or Chinese Valentine's Day, the 7th day of the 7th moon, the day all the magpies in the world form a bridge so the cowherd and the weaver can meet across the Milky Way, which separates them.)
St.Hormisdas' Day (patron of grooms and stable boys)
Tall Timbers Day -- Grand Rapids, MN, US (through tomorrow, lumberjack shows, chainsaw carvers, and lots of fun)
Tanabata Festival -- Sendai, Japan (Japan's largest Tanabata 'Star Festival', through the 8th)
Tan Hill Festival -- Ancient Celtic Calendar (Teinne, the Celtic Holy Fire)
Wiggle Your Toes Day -- internet generated, and my suggestion is to celebrate it with a cool drink out by the pool!
Birthdays Today:
M. Night Shyamalan, 1970
Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob, 1934
Andy Warhol, 1928
Robert Mitchum, 1817
Lucille Ball, 1911
Clara Bow, 1905
Hoot Gibson, 1892
Alexander Fleming, 1881
Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, 1861
Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1809
Today in History:
Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada founds the city of Bogota, Colombia, 1538
Holland (The Dutch Republic) sells Brazil to Portugal and the two
countries sign the Treaty of The Hague, 1661
The first private military school in the US, Norwich University, is
founded in Vermont, 1819
The Russian Geographical Society is founded in Saint Petersburg, 1845
William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by the electric chair, 1890
Alice Ramsey takes three friends (none of whom could drive) to become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, 1909
Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel, 1926
Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world's oldest tree, is cut down by the US National Forest Service, for reasons even they cannot explain, 1964
The Federal Voting Rights Act is signed, 1965
A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney, 1986
The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, 1990
NASA makes the still disputed announcement that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms, 1996
The incoming coalition government of the United Kingdom discontinues the use of the controversial ContactPoint database of all children in that country, 2010
It was time, so i took the "twins" in for their "glamor shots."
The place was empty when i got there, so i was in and out in less than 20 minutes, not counting finding a parking space and walking in from the lot.
It's not as fancy as some of the places i've read and heard about, but it is efficient.
Some people find it a pain to find the time, and some are afraid of it hurting (for me it doesn't), but i look at it as worth doing.
Ladies who are reading this, please make time to get checked as often as your doctor recommends. Gentlemen, get in for your own exams, you are worth taking the time, too.
Today is:
Bank Holiday -- Republic of Ireland
Barsi Bhagat Puran Singh -- Sikhism
Burry Man Parade -- South Queensferry, Edinburgh, Scotland (a resident is elected to wear the Burry-Man costume and parade through the town so his burrs will collect all the bad luck, to be burned at the end of the day)
Caribana/Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival -- Toronto, Ontario, Canada (through the weekend, a huge Caribbean Carnival event)
Carnival -- Bogota, Colombia (through tomorrow)
Celtic Tree Month Coll (Hazel) begins
Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead Day -- uttered this day by Admiral Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864; like him, resolve to ignore obstacles this day and pursue your goals
Edinburgh Festival Fringe -- Edinburgh, Scotland (world's largest arts gathering, through the 28th)
Gigglefeet Dance Festival -- Ketchikan, Alaska, US (also on the 7th, as part of the Blueberry Arts Festival)
Hanakasa Matsuri -- Yamagata City, Japan (through the 7th)
Hat and Ribbon Race -- Inverkeithing, Scotland (oldest footrace in Scotland, dating back to the Middle Ages, part of the Lammas Fair during this weekend)
Independence Day -- Burkina Faso (former Upper Volta)
International Beer Day
National Blackmail Day -- according to mostly ecard sites, with suggestions to send a card to the friend who has told you his/her secrets, with the notice that you plan on celebrating this date!
National Waffle Day
Oyster Day
Pixie of the Year Competition -- Fairy Calendar
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo -- Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland (through the 27th)
Sacrifice to Salus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of health, associated with Greek Hygeia)
St. Afra's Day
St. Euplius' Day
St. Oswald's Day
Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts -- Bozeman, Montana, US (through the 7th)
Turku Music Festival -- Turku, Finland (through the 20th, top class music for a wide range of tastes)
Twins Festival -- Twinsburg, Ohio, US (through the 7th)
Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian defenders -- Croatia
White Oak Rendezvous -- Deer River, MN, US (through the 7th, discover what life was like for Natives and fur traders in 1798)
Work Like a Dog Day -- different from work-a-holics, people who work like a dog work hard while they are at it, and rest when they aren't
Birthdays Today:
Maureen McCormick, 1956
Loni Anderson, 1946
Neil Armstrong, 1930
Raoul Wallenberg, 1912
John Huston, 1906
Joseph Merrick, 1862
Guy de Maupassant, 1850
Today in History
The last outpost of Bar Kockba, Betar, falls to Rome, 135
Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Northumbria at the Battle of Maserfield, 642
King Edward and Earl Aetherlred, leading the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, defeat the last major Viking army to raid England at the Battle of Tettenhall, 910
Anti-Jewish riots in Arnstadt, Germany, 1264
Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes first English colony in North America, at what is now St John's, Newfoundland, 1583
The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America, 1620
New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true, 1735
US Army abolishes flogging, 1861
Standard Oil of New Jersey is established, 1882
The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor, 1884
Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip made in her husbands invention, the first patented automobile; her journey was to publicize the invention, and she garnered attention and sales, 1888
The first electric traffic light is installed, in Cleveland, Ohio, 1914
Debut of the comic strip "Little Orphan Annie", by Harold Gray, 1924
Debut of the comic strip "Andy Capp", by Smythe, 1957
Nelson Mandela is jailed, 1962*
The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty, 1963
The city of Knin, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm, 1995
The Copiapo mining accident traps 33 Chilean miners about 2,300ft below the ground, 2010
*Released in 1990
