Today is May 23 2014

May 23rd is National Taffy Day: More

• World Turtle Day : More
  
• National Wig Out Day: More
• Don't Fry Day: More
• Beat the Heat Day: More
• Lucky Penny Day: More

• In 1788, South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution as the eighth American state.
  From Wikipedia: 'South Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the south and west by Georgia across the Savannah River, and to the east by the Atlantic Oc
  
  The Province of South Carolina became a slave society after rice and indigo became established as commodity crops. From 1708, a majority of the population were slaves, many born in Africa.
  
  South Carolina was the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation and the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on May 23, 1788. South Carolina became the first state to vote to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860. After the American Civil War, it was readmitted into the United States on June 25, 1868.
  
  South Carolina is the 40th most extensive and the 23rd most populous U.S. state. Its GDP as of 2013 was $183.6 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3.13%. South Carolina comprises 46 counties. The capital and largest city is Columbia with a 2013 population of 133,358; the Greenville- Anderson-Mauldin metropolitan area had a 2013 population of 850,965'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1785, Benjamin Franklin announces his invention of bifocals.
  From Wikipedia: 'Bifocals are eyeglasses with two distinct optical powers. Bifocals are commonly prescribed to people with presbyopia who also require a correction for myopia, hyperopia, and/or astigmatism.'
  
  'Benjamin Franklin is generally credited with the invention of bifocals. Historians have produced some evidence to suggest that others may have come before him in the invention; however, a correspondence between George Whatley and John Fenno, editor of The Gazette of the United States, suggested that Franklin had indeed invented bifocals, and perhaps 50 years earlier than had been originally thought. Since many inventions are developed independently by more than one person, it is possible that the invention of bifocals may have been such a case. Nonetheless, Benjamin Franklin was among the first to wear bifocal lenses, and Franklin's letters of correspondence suggest that he invented them independently, regardless of whether he was the first to invent them.
  
  John Isaac Hawkins, the inventor of trifocal lenses, coined the term bifocals in 1824 and credited Dr. Franklin.
  
  In 1955, Irving Rips of Younger Optics created the first seamless or"invisible" bifocal, a precursor to all progressive lenses.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1829, Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
  From Wikipedia: 'Cyrill Demian (1772–1849) of Armenian origin, made his living as an organ and piano maker, with his two sons Karl and Guido, in Mariahilfer Straße No. 43 in Vienna, Austria. On May 6, 1829, Cyrill and his two sons presented a new instrument to the authorities for patent - the accordion. The patent was officially granted on May 23 1829.
  
  Demian's Accordion Description:
  
  Its appearance essentially consists of a little box with feathers of metal plates and bellows fixed to it, in such a way that it can easily be carried, and therefore traveling visitors to the country will appreciate the instrument.
  
  It is possible to perform marches, arias, melodies, even by an amateur of music with little practice, and to play the loveliest and most pleasant chords of 3, 4, 5 etc. voices after instruction.
  
  The advent of the accordion is the subject of debate among researchers. Many credit Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann, as the inventor of the accordion, while others give the distinction to Cyrill Demian an Armenian from the Romanian city of Gherla (ancient Armenopolis) living in Vienna, who patented his Accordion in 1829, thus coining the name. A modification of the Handäoline, Demian’s invention comprised a small manual bellows and five keys, although, as Demian noted in a description of the instrument, extra keys could be incorporated into the design. Numerous variations of the device soon followed.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube (start at about 10 min in): More
• In 1873, The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
  From Wikipedia: 'The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian police force. It was established in 1873, and in 1904 the name was changed to Royal Northwest Mounted Police. In 1920 it merged with the Dominion Police to become the current Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
  
  Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald first began planning a permanent force to patrol the Northwest Territories after the Dominion of Canada purchased the territory from the Hudson's Bay Company. Reports from Army officers surveying the territory led to the recommendation that a force of 100 to 150 mounted riflemen could maintain law and order. The Prime Minister first announced the force as the North West Mounted Rifles but concern from the United States of America fearing a military buildup led the Prime Minister to rename the force the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) when formed in 1873.
  
  The police was established by an act of legislation from the Temporary North-West Council the first territorial government of the Northwest Territories. The Act was approved by the Government of Canada and established on May 23, 1873, by Queen Victoria, on the advice of her Canadian Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald, with the intent of bringing law and order to, and asserting sovereignty over, the Northwest Territories. The need was particularly urgent given reports of American whiskey traders, in particular those of Fort Whoop-Up, causing trouble in the region, culminating in the Cypress Hills Massacre. The new force was initially to be called the North West Mounted Rifles, but this proposal was rejected as sounding too militaristic in nature, which Macdonald feared would antagonize both aboriginals and Americans;
  
  however, the force was organized along the lines of a cavalry regiment in the British Army, and was to wear red uniforms.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1940, Frank Sinatra records, I'll Never Smile Again' with Tommy Dorsey.
  From Wikipedia: '"I'll Never Smile Again" is a 1940 song written by Ruth Lowe.
  
  The most successful and best-known version of the song was recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, with vocals provided by Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers. This recording was released as a Victor 78, 26628A, in 1940. This version stayed at number one for 12 weeks on Billboard, from July 27 to October 12, 1940, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982. The song was also released by Tommy Dorsey on V-Disc, V-Disc 582A, with Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers on vocals, in February, 1946. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra also recorded a version of the song in 1940 on RCA Bluebird'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1960, The Everly Brothers recorded, Cathy's Clown.
  From Wikipedia: '"Cathy's Clown" is a popular song, written and recorded by The Everly Brothers, in which the singer informs Cathy that he "don't want your love anymore."
  
  The musicians included the Everlys on guitars, Floyd Cramer on piano, Floyd Chance on bass and Buddy Harman on drums. The distinctive drum sound was achieved by recording the drums with a tape loop, making it sound as if there were two drummers.
  
  "Cathy's Clown" was The Everly Brothers' first single for Warner Bros., after spending three years on Archie Bleyer's Cadence label. It sold eight million copies worldwide, spending five weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and one week on the R&B charts. It spent seven weeks at number one in the UK Singles Chart in May and June 1960. It would become the Everly Brothers' biggest hit single and their third and final US Number One. Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song of the year for 1960.
  
  In 2004, the song was ranked 149th on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1995, Java releases the first version of its programming language.
  From Wikipedia: 'Java is a general-purpose computer programming language that is concurrent, class-based, object-oriented, and specifically designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible. It is intended to let application developers "write once, run anywhere" (WORA), meaning that compiled Java code can run on all platforms that support Java without the need for recompilation
  
  Java was originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems (which has since been acquired by Oracle Corporation) and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++, but it has fewer low-level facilities than either of them'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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Nothing. Looks like I was lazy on this day.

No. 1 song

• Love Me Do - Beatles: More
  'Hello, Dolly!' has been displaced by 'Love Me Do', which will hold the no. 1 spot until May 30rd, when 'My Guy', takes over.

Top movie

• Crack in the World More
  Having displaced 'The Carpetbaggers', it will be there until the weekend box office of May 24, 1964 when, 'Viva Las Vegas', takes over.
  Crack in the World: on Wiki.com: More

• FamousBirthdays.com: May 23 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: May 23 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 23rd May More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 23rd May More
• On-This-day.com history 23rd May More
• On-This-day.com music history 23rd May More
• Wikipedia.com: History May 23 More

National Asparagus Month National Barbeque Month National Chocolate Custard Month National Egg Month National Gazpacho Aficionado Month National Hamburger Month National Salad Month National Strawberry Month

May is:

May origin (from Wikipedia):
The month May was named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for 'elders,' and that the following month (June) is named for the iuniores, or 'young people'

May ' is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days.
May is a month of Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and spring in the Northern Hemisphere (Summer in Europe). Therefore May in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. '

May at Wikipedia: More

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

Best selling books of 1964 More

• 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

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