February 6, 2016

Saturday, February 6, 2016

 The 37 day of the year

328 days left to go 

THIS WEEK IS

• African Heritage & Health Week
• Burn Awareness Week
• Boy Scout Anniversary Week
• Children's Authors & Illustrators Week
• International Coaching Week
• Just Say No to PowerPoint Week
• Women's Heart Week
• National School Counseling Week
• International Networking Week

TODAY IS

• Canadian Maple Syrup Day 
• National Lame Duck Day
• National Doodle Day (Link)
• Bubble Gum Day (Link)
• Cordova Ice Worm Day-8 
• Girl Scout Cookie Day 
• Give Kids A Smile Day  
• International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation 
• Wear Red Day (Link)
• National Chopsticks Day

ON THIS DATE...

1508: Maximilian I assumed the title of Holy Roman Emperor.

1564: John Calvin preaches his last sermon (bio)


1693:  College of William and Mary was chartered -- the first college charter -- in Williamsburg, Virginia.

1778: During the Revolutionary War, representatives from the United States and France signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce recognized the United States as an independent nation and promoted trade between France and the United States. The Treaty of Alliance created a military alliance against Great Britain, stipulating American independence as a condition of peace. (Read more)

1788: Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the Constitution of the United States of America. (read more)

1812: Adoniram Judson, Gordon Hall, Luther Rice, Samuel Newell, and Samuel Nott are ordained for missionary work in Massachusetts. They are the first foreign missionaries from the U.S.

1865: General Robert E. Lee was appointed commander-in-chief of the Confederacy.


1911: the first old-age home for pioneers opened in Prescott, Arizona.
1932: Dog sled racing happened for the first time in Olympic competition. The demonstration program was presented by the United States and Canada.

1937: John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men, the story of the bond between two migrant workers, is published.


1943: Frank Sinatra made his debut as a vocalist on radio's "Your Hit Parade." 
1958: Ted Williams signed a 135-thousand dollar contract with the Boston Red Sox, making him the highest paid player in Major League Baseball history. 
1960: Boston Celtics center Bill Russell pulled down 51 rebounds in an game against the Syracuse Nationals. 

1965: The Righteous Brothers topped the pop singles chart with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." (Web)  (Song)

1971: NASA astronaut Alan B. Shepard broke out his six-iron and hit golf balls on the surface of the moon.  He missed on the first shot, but hit the ball with the other two swings. (Video)


1972: CBS Television received more than 500-thousand pieces of mail from irate viewers protesting the network's decision to air an edited version of the X-Rated film "The Demand." 

1985: the French mineral water company Perrier debuted its first new product 123 years.  The new products contained water with a twist of lemon, orange or lime. 

1990: rocker Billy Idol broke an arm and a leg in a motorcycle accident in Hollywood. 
1998: President Bill Clinton signed a bill changing the name of Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

2002: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II reached a monarchy milestone, somberly marking 50 years as monarch on the anniversary of the death of her father, King George VI. 


2005: the New England Patriots captured their second straight and third Super Bowl win in four seasons with a 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Jacksonville, Florida.  

2007: astronaut Lisa Nowak was charged with battery and attempted murder after she allegedly tried to kidnap a woman she considered a romantic rival.  

2011: the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 to win Super Bowl 45 in Dallas, Texas.  It was the Packers' fourth NFL title.  



HISTORY SPOTLIGHT 

The Dalton Gang (Source) 

On February 6, 1891, after Bob Dalton had joined his brothers in California, a Southern Pacific passenger train was held up. The Daltons were accused of the robbery, based on little evidence. Bob escaped and Bill was acquitted, but Grat was arrested, convicted, and put on a train headed for a 20-year prison sentence. According to one account, Grat was handcuffed to one deputy and accompanied by another. After the train had gone some distance, one deputy fell asleep and the other busied himself talking to other passengers. As it was a hot day, all the windows were open. Suddenly, Grat jumped up and dived head first out of the train window. He landed in the San Joaquin River, disappeared under water, and was carried downstream by the current. 
The deputies were astounded. Grat must have taken the key to the handcuffs from the first deputy's pocket as he slept and then timed his escape to take place when he knew the train would be on a bridge. If he had landed on the ground, he would almost certainly have been killed. Somehow he found his brothers and made his way back to Oklahoma Territory. The Dalton brothers were now professional outlaws.



QUICK TRIVIA 

Chopsticks (Source)

Chopsticks originated in ancient China as early as the Shang dynasty (1766-1122 BCE), replacing the fork. The earliest evidence of six chopsticks, made of bronze, 26 cm long and 1.1 - 1.3 cm wide, were excavated from the Ruins of Yin near Anyang, Henan, dated roughly 1200 BCE and those were supposed to be used for cooking.

Chopsticks began to be used as eating utensils during the Han Dynasty. Chopsticks were considered more lacquerware friendly than other sharp eating utensils. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that chopsticks came into normal use for both serving and eating. They then acquired the name kuaizi and the present shape.

Chinese etiquette

• When eating rice from a bowl, it is normal to hold the rice bowl up to one's mouth and use chopsticks to push or shovel the rice directly into the mouth.
• It is poor etiquette to tap chopsticks on the edge of one's bowl.
• It is impolite to spear food with a chopstick. Anything too difficult to be handled with chopsticks is traditionally eaten with a spoon.
• It is considered poor etiquette to point rested chopsticks towards others seated at the table.
• Chopsticks should not be left vertically stuck into a bowl of rice because it resembles the ritual of incense-burning that symbolizes "feeding" the dead and death in general.
• Holding chopsticks incorrectly will reflect badly on a child's parents, who have the responsibility of teaching their children.
• Traditionally, everyone would use their own chopsticks to take food from the dishes to their own bowl, or to pass food from the dishes to the elders' or guests' bowls. 

WORD OF THE DAY

Exegesis  [ek-si-jee-sis]

noun, plural ex·e·ge·ses

critical explanation or interpretation of a text or portion of a text, especially of the Bible.

"Joey was excited to be in Bible college, but he was a little intimidated when he was assigned his first exegesis"





WORD FROM THE WORD 

And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: Revelation 22:3

Read today's "Our Daily Bread"