March 16, 2016

Wednesday, March 16, 2015

The 76 day of the year

290 days left to go 

THIS WEEK IS

• Campfire USA Birthday Week
• Consider Christianity Week
• Termite Awareness Week
• National Agriculture Week
• International Brain Awareness Week

TODAY IS

• Freedom of Information Day 
• 
  
• Brain Injury Awareness Day
• Black Press Day
• Curlew Day
• Goddard Day   
• Kick Butts Day
• No Selfies Day
• St. Urho's Day  and 
• National Everything You Do is Right Day
• National Artichoke Hearts Day
• Lips Appreciation Day (Larry the Cucumber)

ON THIS DATE...

1802:  the U.S. Military Academy at West Point was established by an act of Congress.  The school was originally intended for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Read more)  

1850:  Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, "The Scarlet Letter," was published for the first time. 
1882:  the United States Senate approved a treaty allowing the U.S. to join the Red Cross. 
1915:  the Federal Trade Commission began operating.  

1918:  Tallulah Bankhead made her New York acting debut in "The Squab Farm."

1945:  the Japanese Island of Iwo Jima was secured by the Allies. 
1955:  "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" hit the number one spot on the pop music charts (Song). 

1963:  Peter, Paul and Mary released the controversial song "Puff The Magic Dragon." Some people believed the song was a reference to smoking marijuana. (Video)

1966:  Julie Newmar appeared as Catwoman on the "Batman" series for the first time. 

1978: One of the world’s worst supertanker disasters takes places when the Amoco Cadiz wrecks off the coast of Portsall, France.

1985:  journalist Terry Anderson was kidnapped by gunmen in Beirut, Lebanon.  He was released 1991 after being held captive for more than 24-hundred days.

1995:  astronaut Norman Thagard became the first American to visit the Russian space station Mir (Read more). 
1996: "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men logged its 16th week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, setting a new record for the most weeks spent at number one by a single.   



HISTORY SPOTLIGHT

The Scarlet Letter (Source) 

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story of adultery and betrayal in colonial America, The Scarlet Letter, is published.

Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1804. Although the infamous Salem witch trials had taken place more than 100 years earlier, the events still hung over the town and made a lasting impression on the young Hawthorne. Witchcraft figured in several of his works, including “Young Goodman Brown” (1835) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851), in which a house is cursed by a wizard condemned by the witch trials.



QUICK TRIVIA 

National Artichoke Day

5 Facts about the artichoke (Source) 

• The artichoke is the unopened “flower” bloom of a thistle plant.
• A medium sized globe artichoke is fat free and has only 25 calories.
• 3% of the world’s herbal tea consumption is dried artichoke tea.
• 40% of the world’s artichokes are canned or jarred.
• California is known as the artichoke capital of the world.  They supply nearly 100% of North American fresh artichokes.

WORD OF THE DAY 

intenerate [in-ten-uh-reyt] 

verb (used with object), intenerated, intenerating.

to make soft or tender; soften.

"When asked why she could't watch any sad movies, Jazman said it was because of her intenerate heart" 






WORD FROM THE WORD 

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?--Matthew 6:26 


Read today's "Our Daily Bread"  

March 15, 2016

  Tuesday, March, 15, 2016

The 75 day of the year--

291 days left to go

THIS WEEK IS

• Campfire USA Birthday Week
• Consider Christianity Week
• Termite Awareness Week
• National Agriculture Week
• International Brain Awareness Week

TODAY IS

• Brutus Day
• Buzzards Day 
• Ides of March (See History Spotlight)
• International Day of Action Against Canadian Seal Slaughter  
• National Agriculture Day 
• National Shoe The World Day
• True Confessions Day
• World Consumer Rights Day 
• Peanut Lovers Day
• National Pears Helene Day
• National Everything You Think is Wrong Day
• National Ag Day – Changes Annually March 15, 2016

ON THIS DATE...
44 BC: Julius Caesar was assassinated.

1545: First meeting of the Council of Trent (Link).


1820: Maine becomes the 23rd U.S. state.

1869: The Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first all-pro baseball team (Read More).

1875: Archbishop of New York John McCloskey is named the first cardinal in the United States.
1892: American inventor Jesse Reno patented the first escalator.
1906: Rolls-Royce Limited is incorporated.
1916: President Woodrow Wilson sends 4,800 United States troops over the U.S.-Mexico border to pursue Pancho Villa. (Link)
1937: The first blood bank was established, in Chicago's Cook County Hospital

1954: the CBS television "Morning Show" debuted with Walter Cronkite as host. 

1956: My Fair Lady opened at the Mark Hellinger Theater on Broadway. It starred Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins and Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle.
1964: Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton the first time at the Ritz-Carlton in Montreal. It was Taylor's fifth marriage and Burton's second.

1968: Life magazine proclaimed Jimi Hendrix as the most "spectacular" guitarist in the world.

1971: CBS television announced it would drop "The Ed Sullivan Show" after 23 years on the network. 
1999: A 19-year-old Sheffield Lake, Ohio, man plea bargained himself into the U.S. Marine Corps after admitting he stole his mother’s credit card to pay for his girlfriend’s $2,496 breast enlargement surgery. He also had to pay a $1,500 fine and re-pay his mother within a year.

1999: Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Dusty Springfield were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
2004: Martha Stewart resigned from the board of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia after being convicted in a stock scandal.
2006: After a dump truck backed into Curtis Gokey's car, he sued the city of Lodi, California, for $3,600. The city denied the claim since Gokey, a city employee, was himself driving the dump truck, bumping his own car. So Gokey's wife sued the city. But a judge ruled she could not sue her own husband as a city employee (read more). 
2007: An Englishman returned from an extended vacation to his London home to find that thieves had stolen everything in his new kitchen, including the sink. The burglars got away with $6,000 worth of new appliances and cabinets.


HISTORY SPOTLIGHT
The Ides of March (Taken from Link)

On this day in 44 B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, was stabbed to death in the Roman Senate house by 60 conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. The group of conspirators believed that his death would lead to the restoration of the Roman Republic. However, the result of the "Ides of March" was to plunge Rome into a fresh round of civil wars, out of which Octavian, Caesar's grand-nephew, would emerge as Augustus, the first Roman emperor, destroying the republic forever.


QUICK TRIVIA

Boiled Peanuts (Source) 

Boiled peanuts” are considered a delicacy in the peanut growing areas of the South. Freshly harvested peanuts are boiled in supersaturated salt water until they are of a soft bean like texture. They are most frequently enjoyed at the end of the day with a favorite beverage

 

 

 

 

WORD OF THE DAY

madcap  [mad-kap]  
adjective
wildly or heedlessly impulsive; reckless; rash

"Although it was a hopeless, madcap scheme, Joey and Eddie tried to sneak out the back door to play before doing their chores"



 

WORD FROM THE WORD

The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:--Psalm 146:8

Read "Our Daily Bread" 

March 14, 2016

Monday, March 14, 2016

The 74 day of the year

292 days left to go 

THIS WEEK IS

• Campfire USA Birthday Week
• Consider Christianity Week
• Termite Awareness Week
• National Agriculture Week
• International Brain Awareness Week

TODAY IS

• International Ask A Question Day
• International Day of Action for Rivers 
• MOTH-ER Day
• Napping Day (Monday after daylight savings times)
• Potato Chip Day (Link)
• Pi Day (as in the math pie = 3.14159265 etc.--See Quick Trivia)
• Bake a Pie Day (connected to Pi Day)
• National Learn About Butterflies Day
• National Children’s Craft Day

ON THIS DATE...

1528: The Swiss city of Basel passes a law fining Anabaptists five-pounds for not repenting.  Those who aid them are also fined.  
1743: The first recorded town meeting in America was held, at Faneuil Hall in Boston (Read More)
1794: Eli Whitney patented his cotton gin (See History Spotlight)

1812: War Bonds were authorized by the United States for the first time (Read more) 

1883: Communist writer Karl Marx died at the age of 64. 
1900: Congress ratified the Gold Standard Act.
1923: President Warren G. Harding became the first president to pay taxes and account for his income. 
1925: football legend Walter Camp died at the age of 65.  Known as the Father of American Football, he is credited with developing such rules as the eleven man team, the line of scrimmage and the existing system of downs and yards. 
1941: Xavier Cugat and his orchestra recorded the song "Babalu."  It later became a hit when performed by Desi Arnaz on the "I Love Lucy" show. 
1950: the FBI released its first Ten Most Wanted list. 

1958: the Recording Industry Association of America certified the first gold record.  The song was Perry Como's "Catch a Falling Star"  (Song)

1967: Michigan State University defensive lineman Bubba Smith became the first player chosen in the first combined draft of the the NFL and the AFL.  He was selected by the Baltimore Colts. 
1967: the body of President John F. Kennedy was moved from a temporary grave to its permanent location at Arlington National Cemetery. 

1968: ABC television aired the last episode of "Batman."  The adventure series starred Adam West and Burt Ward as the caped crusaders. 

1980: music producer Quincy Jones was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame. 
1985: Bill Cosby won four People's Choice Awards for "The Cosby Show." 

1994: Apple introduced the Power Macintosh computer (Read more). 


1998: "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" by Will Smith peaked at number one on the pop singles chart (Song). 
2000: the "Come On Over" album by Shania Twain was certified Multi Platinum. 

2003: a day after country music radio stations stopped playing Dixie Chicks music over controversial remarks group member Natalie Maines made against President Bush, the Texas-based country trio issued an apology.  In her original statement, Maines told a concert audience in London that she was ashamed the president is from Texas, adding that she felt he was ignoring the opinions of many in the United States by promoting a war with Iraq.  Maines later apologized, saying her remark was disrespectful (Read more).
2004: singer Whitney Houston entered an undisclosed rehabilitation facility, but her reps would not say for what she was getting treatment.  Houston reportedly left the facility just a few days after voluntarily checking in. 
2008: a heavy storm ripped through Atlanta, damaging sections of the Georgia Dome where  thousands of basketball fans were watching a college game.  The game between Mississippi State and Alabama was temporarily halted and a second game set for the Georgia Dome was postponed.  The storm also blew out windows and sections of the roof at the CNN Center, scattering debris in the building's food court.  No major injuries were reported. 

2010: "Mission: Impossible" TV star Peter Graves died at the age of 83



HISTORY SPOTLIGHT

Cotton Gin (Source) 

On March 14, 1794, inventor Eli Whitney patented on the cotton gin. A patent gives the patent-holder (usually the inventor) all the rights associated with their invention for a certain period of time. Whitney, however, did not profit from his invention, because he couldn’t stop other people from copying and selling his design. 

The cotton gin revolutionized American agriculture. Cotton grows on seeds, and the soft, fluffy part of the cotton needs to be separated from the seeds before it can be used for things like clothes and cotton balls. Before the cotton gin was invented, people (often, slaves) had to separate the cotton from the seeds—an incredibly time-consuming and difficult task. The cotton gin mechanically separated the seed from the cotton, and cotton was harvested more easily and efficiently. 

QUICK TRIVIA 

Pi Day (Source)

Pi has been known for almost 4000 years—but even if we calculated the number of seconds in those 4000 years and calculated pi to that number of places, we would still only be approximating its actual value. Here’s a brief history of finding pi:

The ancient Babylonians calculated the area of a circle by taking 3 times the square of its radius, which gave a value of pi = 3. One Babylonian tablet (ca. 1900–1680 BC) indicates a value of 3.125 for pi, which is a closer approximation.

The Rhind Papyrus (ca.1650 BC) gives us insight into the mathematics of ancient Egypt. The Egyptians calculated the area of a circle by a formula that gave the approximate value of 3.1605 for pi.

The first calculation of pi was done by Archimedes of Syracuse (287–212 BC), one of the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world. Archimedes approximated the area of a circle by using the Pythagorean Theorem to find the areas of two regular polygons: the polygon inscribed within the circle and the polygon within which the circle was circumscribed. Since the actual area of the circle lies between the areas of the inscribed and circumscribed polygons, the areas of the polygons gave upper and lower bounds for the area of the circle. Archimedes knew that he had not found the value of pi but only an approximation within those limits. In this way, Archimedes showed that pi is between 3 1/7 and 3 10/71.

A similar approach was used by Zu Chongzhi (429–501), a brilliant Chinese mathematician and astronomer. Zu Chongzhi would not have been familiar with Archimedes’ method—but because his book has been lost, little is known of his work. He calculated the value of the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter to be 355/113. To compute this accuracy for pi, he must have started with an inscribed regular 24,576-gon and performed lengthy calculations involving hundreds of square roots carried out to 9 decimal places.

Mathematicians began using the Greek letter π in the 1700s. Introduced by William Jones in 1706, use of the symbol was popularized by Leonhard Euler, who adopted it in 1737.


WORD OF THE DAY 

scintilla \sin-TIL-uh\, noun:
A tiny or scarcely detectable amount; the slightest particle; a trace; a spark. 




"I looked into my paycheck envelope, hoping to find a cornucopia of currency, but found scintilla instead"




WORD FROM THE WORD 

For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.--Hebrews 4:15

Read today's "Our Daily Bread"  

March 13, 2016

Happy birthday, Donald! 

Saturday, March 13, 2015

The 72 day of the year

293 days left to go 

THIS WEEK IS

• National Agriculture Week
• Teen Tech Week
• Girl Scout Week
• National Rattlesnake Roundup

TODAY IS

• Digital Learning Day 
• Donald Duck Day (Link)
• Earmuffs Day
• Good Samaritan Involvement Day
• K-9 Veterans Day  
• Ken Day (the doll)
• L. Ron Hubbard Day
• National Open An Umbrella Indoors Day
• Shabbat Across America/Canada
• Smart & Sexy Day
• World Sleep Day 
• National Coconut Torte Day
• National Jewel Day

ON THIS DATE...
  
1639: Harvard University was named for clergyman John Harvard.

1852: the "Uncle Sam" cartoon was seen for the first time in "The New York Lantern."  The character was modeled after Samuel Wilson, a real U.S. officer who served in the War of 1812. 
1865: President Jefferson Davis signed a bill stating that slaves were subject to military duty in the Confederate Army. 

1868: President Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial began in the U.S. Senate.  He was later acquitted by one vote (Read more). 

1884: Standard Time was adopted throughout the United States (Read more). 
1887: Chester Greenwood of Maine received a patent for earmuffs. 
1906: civil rights leader and educator Susan B. Anthony died at the age of 86.  

1923: radio receivers began using concealed speakers, thus eliminating the need for headphones (Link). 

1930: astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered the planet Pluto. 
1934: John Dillinger and his gang robbed the First National Bank in Iowa. 
1935: Tennessee outlawed the teaching of evolution.
1948: the University of Kentucky won the NCAA basketball championship. 

1964: in a case that drew much notoriety, 38 residents of a Queens, New York neighborhood failed to respond to the cries of Kitty Genovese, a 28-year-old bar manager who was stabbed to death (Link). 
1965: Eric Clapton left The Yardbirds.  
1968: The Byrds received a gold record for their album "Greatest Hits." 

1969: "The Love Bug" opens in theaters (Trailer)



1972: "The Merv Griffin Show" debuted in syndication for Metromedia Television. 
1991: Exxon Corporation agreed to pay a 100-million dollar criminal fine and more than 900-million dollars in civil damages following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. 
1992: Publication of the official Soviet Communist Party newspaper "Pravda," stopped due to lack of funds.  The paper was founded 1912. 

2000: Dan Marino retired after 17 years as quarterback of the Miami Dolphins (Read more). 


2013: white smoke emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on the second day of the papal conclave, signifying that a new pope had been elected.  Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Borgoglio was introduced as the 266th leader of the Roman Catholic Church.  He took the regnal name of Francis after St. Francis of Assisi.  Pope Francis the First succeeded Pope Benedict the 16th who stepped down from the papacy on February 28: 2013 citing health issues.  In becoming Pope, Cardinal Borgoglio became the first pope from South America and the first pope from outside of Europe. 



HISTORY SPOTLIGHT

Pluto--the planet (Source)

Pluto was discovered in 1930 by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh and was known as the smallest planet in the solar system and the ninth planet from the sun. Today, Pluto is called a "dwarf planet." A dwarf planet orbits the sun just like other planets, but it is smaller. A dwarf planet is so small it cannot clear other objects out of its path.




QUICK TRIVIA 

Happy Earmuffs Day!  (Source)

Chester Greenwood was freezing. It was March of 1873 and Chester was testing out a new pair of ice skates. The 15 year-old was getting frustrated because he couldn't keep his ears warm from the bitter cold. He tried wrapping a scarf around his head but it was too bulky and itchy. To solve his problem Chester made two ear shaped loops from wire and asked his grandmother to sew beaver fur and cloth on them. Over the years his new invention, the earmuff, improved - a steel band was added, it became adjustable and tiny hinges were added so it would fit in pockets. The grammar school dropout invented over 100 products during his lifetime. Some of them are the wide bottom kettle, the spring steel rack, a folding bed, a shock absorber that led to today's airplane landing gear and bearings to keep wheels from being yanked off. The Smithsonian Institution named Chester one of America's 15 outstanding inventors.


WORD OF THE DAY 

Friable 
\FRY-uh-buhl\, adjective:
Easily crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder

"Dad was very careful as he loaded the friable science fair project into the car "





WORD FROM THE WORD 

And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. —Exodus 38:8


Read today's "Our Daily Bread"  

March 12, 2016

Saturday, March 12, 2016

The 71 day of the year

294 days left to go 

THIS WEEK IS

• National Agriculture Week
• Teen Tech Week
• Girl Scout Week
• National Rattlesnake Roundup

TODAY IS

• Girl Scout Birthday Day 
• World Kidney Day
• National Baked Scallops Day
• National Plant a Flower Day

ON THIS DATE...
1609: Bermuda became a British colony.

1664: New Jersey became a British colony as King Charles II granted the land to his brother James, the Duke of York (Link).

1884: Mississippi authorized the first state-supported college for women, the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College.

1894: the first bottles of Coca-Cola were sold. 


1912: the Girl Scouts organization was founded.  The group was originally known as the American Girl Guides. 
1923: Dr. Lee De Forest demonstrated his invention on how to put sound on film.  It later became known as a soundtrack. 
1933: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered the first of his fireside chats to America.  
1947: Truman Doctrine is announced

1951: "Dennis the Menace," created by cartoonist Hank Ketcham, made its syndicated debut in 16 newspapers.

1955: the Dave Brubeck Quartet appeared at New York's Carnegie Hall for the first time.
1972: the Boston Celtics retired Bill Russell's number six. 
1974: "Wonder Woman" debuted on ABC television.  The show starred Linda Carter (Watch). 
1985: former President Richard Nixon announced he would give up Secret Service protection and would instead hire his own protection.  The move was designed to save taxpayers three-million dollars each year. 
1986: History's fattest cat died at age 10 in Cairns, Australia. The neutered male house cat named Himmy was 38 inches long and weighed 47 pounds.

1987: "Les Miserables" opened on Broadway. 


1988: Hail causes stampede at soccer match in Nepal
1993: Janet Reno was sworn in as the nation's first female attorney general. 
1996: Mahmoud Abdul Rauf of the Denver Nuggets was suspended without pay for refusing to stand during the national anthem.  He cited his Islamic beliefs as the reason for his actions (Read more). 
2000: in an unprecedented moment in the history of the church, Pope John Paul the Second asked God's forgiveness for the sins of Roman Catholics through the ages, including wrongs inflicted on Jews, women and minorities. 

2003: more than nine months after she was kidnapped from the bedroom of her Salt Lake City, Utah home, 15-year-old Elizabeth Smart was reunited with her family.  Police arrested drifter David Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee who were with Smart when police stopped the car she was riding in following a witness tip.   

2008: comedian Billy Crystal reported to the New York Yankees spring training camp to work out with the club in Legends Field in Tampa, Florida.  Crystal signed a one-day contract with the Yankees to play in the team's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He donned the Yankees uniform number 60 (Read More). 

2011: NFL owners locked out players after the league and its players association failed to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement.  The lockout marked the first work stoppage in the NFL since 1987.  The owners and the NFLPA had been at odds over how to divide billions of dollars in annual revenue, extended benefits for retired players and expanding the regular season by two games to 18. 



HISTORY SPOTLIGHT

The Girl Scouts (Source) 

Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low assembled 18 girls from Savannah, Georgia, on March 12, 1912, for a local Girl Scout meeting. She believed that all girls should be given the opportunity to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually. With the goal of bringing girls out of isolated home environments and into community service and the open air, Girl Scouts hiked, played basketball, went on camping trips, learned how to tell time by the stars, and studied first aid.
Within a few years, Daisy's dream for a girl-centered organization was realized. Today, Girl Scouts of the USA has a membership of over 3.2 million girls and adults. 


QUICK TRIVIA 

Wonder Woman is an American live-action TV series that originally aired from 1975 to 1979, based on the comic book superhero Wonder Woman. It starred Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman and Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor. (Link)



WORD OF THE DAY 

pandiculation \pan-dik-yuh-LEY-shuhn\, noun:
an instinctive stretching, as on awakening or while yawning



"Awakening from her much-needed nap, Michelle pandiculated and then headed for the fridge" 





WORD FROM THE WORD 

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. —Psalm 19:1


Read today's "Our Daily Bread"