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Today is April 26 2014

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   I.
Today's Holidays and Historical Events (updated daily)
Today's Food Holiday

National Pretzel Day: More

Other celebrations/observances today:
  • National Kids and Pets Day: More
  • Hug an Australian Day: More
  • Audubon Day: More
  • National Go Birding Day: More
  • Save The Frogs Day: More
  • Richter Scale Day: More
  • World Veterinary Day: More
Events in the past on: April 26
  • In 1803, Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle, France; the event convinces European science that meteors exist.
    From Wikipedia: 'L'Aigle is a L6 meteorite fallen in 1803 in Lower Normandy, France.

    In the early afternoon of 26 April 1803 a meteorite shower of more than 3000 fragments fell upon the town of L'Aigle in Normandy (France). Upon hearing of this event the French Academy of Sciences sent the young scientist Jean-Baptiste Biot to investigate that spectacular fall of stones. After painstaking work in the field he reported two kinds of evidence pointing to an extraterrestrial origin for the stones: ...'

    Biot's passionate paper describing how these stones must undoubtedly be of extraterrestrial origin effectively gave birth to the science of meteoritics. The L'Aigle event was a real milestone in the understanding of meteorites and their origins because at that time the mere existence of meteorites was harshly debated, if they were recognised their origin was controversial, with most commentators agreeing with Aristotle that they were terrestrial, and witnessed meteorite falls were treated with great skepticism. The meteorite has since been stored along with Angers, another meteorite that struck France 19 years later, in a room at the Muséum d’histoire naturelle d’Angers, a French natural history museum''.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube (French): More
  • In 1805, During the first Barbary War, the United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon. It is from this battle that the lines 'the shores of Tripoli', in the Marine's Hymn, originate.
    From Wikipedia: 'The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitanian War and the Barbary Coast War, was the first of two Barbary Wars between the United States and the four North African states known collectively as the "Barbary States". Three of these were nominal provinces of the Ottoman Empire, but in practice autonomous: Tripoli, Algiers, and Tunis. The fourth was the independent Sultanate of Morocco. The cause of the war was pirates from the Barbary States seizing American merchant ships and holding the crews for ransom, demanding the U.S. pay tribute to the Barbary rulers. United States President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay this tribute.

    The turning point in the war was the Battle of Derna (April–May 1805). Ex-consul William Eaton, a former army captain who used the title of "general", and US Marine Corps first lieutenant, Presley O'Bannon, led a force of eight U.S. Marines, and five hundred mercenaries—Greeks from Crete, Arabs, and Berbers—on a march across the desert from Alexandria, Egypt, to assault and to capture the Tripolitan city of Derna. This was the first time the United States flag was raised in victory on foreign soil. The action is memorialized in a line of the Marines' Hymn—"the shores of Tripoli". The capturing of the city gave American negotiators leverage in securing the return of hostages and the end of the war'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1931, NBC premiered 'Lum and Abner'. It was on the air for 24 years.
    From Wikipedia: 'Lum and Abner was an American network radio comedy program created by Chester Lauck and Norris Goff that was aired from 1931 to 1954. Modeled on life in the small town of Waters, Arkansas, near where Lauck and Goff grew up, the show proved immensely popular. In 1936, Waters changed its name to Pine Ridge after the show's fictional town.

    The series was created by co-stars Chester Lauck (who played Columbus "Lum" Edwards) and Norris Goff (Abner Peabody). The two characters performed as a double act, with Lum generally playing the straight man to Abner's attempts to break free from Lum's influence. As co-owners of the Jot 'em Down Store in the fictional town of Pine Ridge, Arkansas, the pair are constantly stumbling upon moneymaking ideas only to find themselves fleeced by nemesis Squire Skimp, before finally finding a way to redeem themselves. Lum and Abner played the hillbilly theme with deceptive cleverness. The hillbillies knew that the slickers would get what was coming to them sooner or later and either didn't mind or knew more than they let on that the slickers getting theirs was a matter of fortunate circumstance

    In addition to the title characters, Lauck also played Grandpappy Spears and Cedric Weehunt while Goff played Abner, Squire Skimp, Llewelyn "Mousey" Grey, Dick Huddleston, and most of the other characters'.

    As well as inspiring the program and its characters, Pine Ridge is also home to the Lum and Abner Museum, which opened in the 1970s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A replica of the Jot 'em Down Store stands adjacent to the Museum'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1956, First Container ship, carrying modern day intermodal shipping containers, embarks on journey from Port, New Jersey to Houston, Texas.
    From Wikipedia: 'Container ships (sometimes spelled containerships) are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They are a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport and now carry most seagoing non-bulk cargo.

    The earliest container ships after Second Word War were converted tankers, built up from surplus T2 tankers after World War II. In 1951, the first purpose-built container vessels began operating in Denmark, and between Seattle and Alaska. The first commercially successful container ship was the Ideal X, a T2 tanker, owned by Malcom McLean, which carried 58 metal containers between Newark, New Jersey and Houston, Texas on its first voyage. In 1955, McLean built his company, McLean Trucking into one of United States' biggest freighter fleets. In 1955, he purchased the small Pan Atlantic Steamship Company from Waterman Steamship and adapted its ships to carry cargo in large uniform metal containers. On April 26, 1956, the first of these rebuilt container vessels, the Ideal X, left the Port Newark in New Jersey and a new revolution in modern shipping resulted'.
    - At FamousDaily: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1991, 'Dinosaurs' premieres on ABC-TV.
    From Wikipedia: 'Dinosaurs is an American family sitcom that was originally broadcast on ABC from April 26, 1991 to July 20, 1994. The show, about a family of anthropomorphic dinosaurs (portrayed by puppets), was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions and Jim Henson Productions in association with Walt Disney Television and distributed by Buena Vista International, Inc.. The characters were designed by Henson team member Kirk Thatcher.

    Dinosaurs initially featured a laugh track: it was eventually dropped as the show grew in popularity. The show utilized voice actors for the characters, which are performed by different actors and puppeteers'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube: More
  II.
Henry's Heads Up! - previous days social media post (updated daily)

Nothing. Looks like I was lazy on this day.

 III.
Top Song & Movie 50 years ago today

No. 1 song

  • Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles: More
    'Twist and Shout' has been displaced by 'Can't Buy Me Love', which will hold the no. 1 spot until May 16th, when 'Hello, Dolly!', takes over.

Top movie

  • The Carpetbaggers More
    Having displaced 'The Pink Panther', it will be there until the weekend box office of May 17 , 1964 when, 'Crack in the World', takes over.
  IV.
Today in the Past (reference sites): April 26
   V.
This month April 2014 (updated once a month - last updated - )

National Florida Tomato Month National Food Month National Soft Pretzel Month National Soy Foods Month Cruelty to Animals Month National Grilled Cheese Month


April is:

April origin (from Wikipedia):
'The Romans gave this month the Latin name Aprilis but the derivation of this name is uncertain. The traditional etymology is from the verb aperire, 'to open', in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to 'open', which is supported by comparison with the modern Greek use of (anoixis) (opening) for spring. Since some of the Roman months were named in honor of divinities, and as April was sacred to the goddess Venus, her Veneralia being held on the first day, it has been suggested that April was the second month of the earliest Roman calendar, before Ianuarius and Februarius were added by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the fourth month of the calendar year (the year when twelve months are displayed in order) during the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC, when it also was given 29 days. The 30th day was added during the reform of the calendar undertaken by Julius Caesar in the mid-40s BC, which produced the Julian calendar.'

April 'is commonly associated with the season of spring in parts of the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in parts of the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to October in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa.'

April at Wikipedia: More

  VI.
TV fifty years ago 1964 (updated yearly - last updated Jan. 1 2014)

If you couldn't afford 90 cents for a movie ticket, 50 years ago, or your 45 RPM record player was broke, you might watch one of these shows on TV.
From this Wikipedia article: More

 VII.
Best selling books fifty years ago (updated yearly - last updated Jan. 1 2014)

Best selling books of 1964 More

VIII.
Fun (Last link added October 1 2014, but content on each site may change daily)
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day: More
  • NOAA: - National Hurricane Center - Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook: More
  • Listen to Old Radio Shows: (streaming mp3 with schedule) More
  • NASA TV: (video feed) More
    NASA TV schedule: More
  • Public Domain eBook Links

    Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More

  • Podcast: A Moment of Science. Approximately 1 minute general science facts.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Podcast: The Naked Scientists. Current science, medicine, space and other science
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Podcast: Quirks & Quarks. Current science news.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Articles and videos: Universe Today. Current space and astronomy news.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Old Picture of the Day - "Each day we bring you one stunning little glimpse of history in the form of a historical photograph."
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  IX.
Other Holiday Sites (Last link added October 1 2014. Link content changes yearly)

Below, are listed several holiday sites that I reference in addition to other holiday researches.


US Government Holidays

  • 2014 Postal Holidays More
  • 2014 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

  • List of holidays by country More
  • Holidays and Observances around the World More
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