Today is May 27 2014

National Grape Popsicle Day: More

• Sun Screen Day: More
  
• Cellophane Tape Day: More

• In 1930, The 1,046 feet (319 m) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco-style skyscraper located on the East Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in the Turtle Bay neighborhood. At 1,046 feet (319 m), the structure was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931.
  
  It is the tallest brick building in the world, albeit with a steel frame. After the destruction of the World Trade Center, it was again the second-tallest building in New York City until December 2007, when the spire was raised on the 1,200-foot (365.8 m) Bank of America Tower, pushing the Chrysler Building into third position.
  
  The Chrysler Building is a classic example of Art Deco architecture and considered by many contemporary architects to be one of the finest buildings in New York City. In 2007, it was ranked ninth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects. It was the headquarters of the Chrysler Corporation from 1930 until the mid-1950s. Although the building was built and designed specifically for the car manufacturer, the corporation did not pay for the construction of it and never owned it, as Walter Chrysler decided to pay for it himself, so that his children could inherit it.
  
  Upon completion on May 27, 1930,] the added height of the spire allowed the Chrysler Building to surpass 40 Wall Street as the tallest building in the world and the Eiffel Tower as the tallest structure. It was the first man-made structure to stand taller than 1,000 feet (305 m). Van Alen's satisfaction in these accomplishments was likely muted by Walter Chrysler's later refusal to pay the balance of his architectural fee. Less than a year after it opened to the public on May 27, 1930, the Chrysler Building was surpassed in height by the Empire State Building, but the Chrysler Building is still the world's tallest steel-supported brick building. As of November 2, 2011, the building's height was surpassed by the under construction One World Trade Center at the height of 1,106 feet'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1933, The Walt Disney Company releases the cartoon Three Little Pigs, with its hit song Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
  From Wikipedia: 'The Three Little Pigs is an animated short film released on May 27, 1933 by United Artists, produced by Walt Disney and directed by Burt Gillett. Based on a fairy tale of the same name, the Silly Symphony won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. The short cost $22,000 and grossed $250,000. In 1994, it was voted #11 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. In 2007, The Three Little Pigs was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1933, The Century of Progress World's Fair opens in Chicago, Illinois.
  From Wikipedia: 'A Century of Progress International Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago, as The Chicago World's Fair, from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation. The fair's motto was "Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Adapts"; its architectural symbol was the Sky Ride, a transporter bridge perpendicular to the shore on which one could ride from one side of the fair to the other.
  
  Held on a 427 acres (1.73 km2) portion of Burnham Park the Century of Progress opened on May 27, 1933. The fair's opening night began with a nod to the heavens. Lights were automatically activated when the rays of the star Arcturus were detected. The star was chosen as its light had started its journey at about the time of the previous Chicago world's fair—the World's Columbian Exposition—in 1893. The rays were focused on photoelectric cells in a series of astronomical observatories and then transformed into electrical energy which was transmitted to Chicago'.
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• In 1941, During WW II, the German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic killing almost 2,100 men.
  From Wikipedia: 'Bismarck was the first of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the unification of Germany in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm and Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched in February 1939. Work was completed in August 1940, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Bismarck and her sister ship Tirpitz were the largest battleships ever built by Germany, and two of the largest built by any European power.
  
  In the course of the warship's eight-month career under its sole commanding officer, Capt. Ernst Lindemann, Bismarck conducted only one offensive operation, in May 1941, codenamed Rheinübung. The ship, along with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, was to break into the Atlantic Ocean and raid Allied shipping from North America to Great Britain. The two ships were detected several times off Scandinavia, and British naval units were deployed to block their route. At the Battle of the Denmark Strait, Bismarck engaged and destroyed the battlecruiser HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy, and forced the battleship HMS Prince of Wales to retreat; Bismarck was hit three times and suffered an oil leak from a ruptured tank.
  
  The destruction of Hood spurred a relentless pursuit by the Royal Navy involving dozens of warships. Two days later, heading for the relative safety of occupied France, Bismarck was attacked by obsolescent Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal; one scored a hit that rendered the battleship's steering gear inoperable. In her final battle the following morning, Bismarck was neutralised by a sustained bombardment from a British fleet, was scuttled by her crew, and sank with heavy loss of life. Most experts agree that the battle dama would have caused her to sink eventually. The wreck was located in June 1989 by Robert Ballard, and has since been further surveyed by several other expeditions.
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• In 1957, The song, That'll be the Day by the Crickets was released.
  From Wikipedia: '"That'll Be the Day" is a classic early rock and roll song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison and recorded by The Crickets and various artists including Linda Ronstadt. It was also the first song to be recorded — albeit only as a demonstration disc — by The Quarrymen, the skiffle group that subsequently became The Beatles. Although Norman Petty was given a co-writing credit on it, he was not actually involved in the composition, but only in the production of this well-known recording
  
  The 1957 Buddy Holly recording was certified gold - for over a million US sales in 1969 by the RIAA. The 1957 Brunswick Records single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.
  
  In 2005, the 1957 recording was placed in the National Recording Registry, a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.'"
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• In 1969, The construction of Walt Disney World begins.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Walt Disney World Resort, known as Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment complex in Bay Lake, Florida (mailing address is Lake Buena Vista, Florida), near Kissimmee and Orlando, and is the flagship resort of Disney's worldwide corporate enterprise. The resort opened on October 1, 1971, and is the most visited vacation resort in the world, with an attendance of over 52 million annually.
  
  Designed to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955, the complex was developed by Walt Disney in the 1960s. "The Florida Project", as he called it, was intended to present a distinct vision, with its own diverse set of rides. Walt Disney's original plans also called for the inclusion of an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow", a planned community that would serve as a test bed for new innovations for city living. After extensive lobbying, the Government of Florida created the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special government district that essentially gave The Walt Disney Company the standard powers and autonomy of an incorporated city. Disney died on December 15, 1966, before construction began. Without the creative mind of Disney spearheading the construction of Walt Disney World, the company instead created a resort very similar to Disneyland, albeit on a much larger scale, abandoning Walt's concept of an experimental planned community.
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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

• Viva Las Vegas More
  Having displaced 'Crack in the World', it will be there until the weekend box office of May 31, 1964 when, 'From Russia with Love', takes over.

• FamousBirthdays.com: May 27 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: May 27 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 27th May More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 27th May More
• On-This-day.com history 27th May More
• On-This-day.com music history 27th May More
• Wikipedia.com: History May 27 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