Today is June 10 2014

Iced Tea Day: More

• Ball Point Pen Day: More
  
• National Black Cow Day: More
• NATIONAL HERBS AND SPICES DAY: More

• In 1793, Jardin des Plantes: the first public zoo is created.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes is a zoo in Paris, France, belonging to the botanical garden Jardin des Plantes. It is the second oldest zoological garden in the world (after Tiergarten Schönbrunn). Today it does not have very large animals like elephants, but a lot of rare smaller and medium-sized mammals and a variety of birds and reptiles.'
  
  'The Zoo is located directly by the Seine in the centre of Paris. It takes up about one third of the Jardin des Plantes.'
  
  'In the beginning the term Jardin des Plantes referred only to a botanical garden of 58 acres (230,000 m2), created and built by the royal physicians Jean Herouard and Guy de La Rousse. It therefore became known as the royal herb garden. Created in 1626 and opened for the public in 1635, it is the oldest part of the national research and educational institute for science, the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, which was founded in 1793.'
  
  'In the course of the French Revolution the menagerie was founded in 1793. According to a decision of the National Assembly in 1793, exotic animals in private hands were to be donated to the Menagerie in Versailles or killed, stuffed and donated to the natural scientists of the Jardin des Plantes. However, the scientists let the animals (the exact number of which is unknown) live. In due course the Royal Menagerie in Versailles (ménagerie royale) was dissolved and these animals were also transferred to the Jardin des Plantes. Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1737–1814) is considered to be the founder of the menagerie. He was committed to the principles of keeping exotic animals in their natural environment, having regard to their needs, placing them under scientific supervision, and allowing public access in the interest of public education.
  
  The Jardin was free for all visitors and tourists right from its inception. While the menagerie at first was just provisional it grew in the first three decades of the 19th century to be the largest exotic animal collection in Europe. The Zoo was under the scientific leadership of the former head of the zoological department at the museum, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772–1844). From 1805 onwards the menagerie was under the leadership of Frédéric Cuvier, who was replaced in 1836 by Geoffroy's son Isid ore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1902, The 'outlook' or 'see-through' envelope was patented by Americus F. Callahan.
  From Wikipedia: 'A windowed envelope is a conventional envelope with a plastic (typically film or BOPS Bi-oriented polystyrene films) window to allow the recipient's address to be printed on the paper contained within.'
  
  'Americus F. Callahan of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, received the first patent for a windowed envelope on 10 June 1902. Originally called the "outlook envelop", the patent initially anticipated using thin rice paper as the transparent material forming the window, though this material has since been replaced by clear plastics. The design has otherwise remained nearly unchanged.
  
  'The design and patent letter were completed on 15 November 1901, with the patent filing occurring on 9 December 1901. The United States patent number for Callahan's design is 701,839.
  
  'The window permits text on the letter itself to be used simultaneously as the address of the recipient and the return-address of the sender, reducing the need to print the addresses onto the envelope itself, which at the time of Callahan's invention was done with the aid of a typewriter.'
  - At Wikipedia: More
• In 1903, Binney and Smith Company began developing a product line of wax crayons. The product was named Crayola.
  From Wikipedia: 'Crayola is a brand of artists' supplies manufactured by Crayola, LLC (formerly Binney and Smith Company) and best known for its crayons.'
  
  'The company was founded by cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith in New York City on March 31, 1885 as Binney and Smith. Initial products were colorants for industrial use, including red iron oxide pigments used in barn paint and carbon black chemicals used for making tires black and extending their useful lifespan. Binney and Smith's new process of creating inexpensive black colorants was entered into the chemistry industries competition at the 1900 Paris Exposition under the title "carbon gas blacks, lamp or oil blacks, 'Peerless' black" and earned the company a gold medal award in chemical and pharmaceutical arts. Also in 1900, the company added production of slate school pencils. Binney's experimentation with industrial materials, including slate waste, cement, and talc, led to the invention of the first dustless white chalk, for which the company won a gold medal at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
  
  'Initially formed as a partnership, Binney and Smith incorporated in 1902.
  
  In 1902, Binney and Smith developed and introduced the Staonal marking crayon. Then Edwin Binney, working with his wife, Alice Stead Binney, developed his own famous product line of wax crayons beginning on 10 June 1903, which it sold under the brand name "Crayola." The Crayola name was coined by Alice Binney, wife of company founder Edwin and a former schoolteacher. It comes from "craie", French for "chalk," and "ola" for "oleaginous", or "oily." The suffix "-ola" was also popular in commercial use at the time, lending itself to products such as granola (1886), pianola (1901), Victrola (1905), Shinola (1907) and Mazola (1911). Crayola introduced its crayons not with one box, but with a full product line. By 1905, the line had expanded to offering 18 different-sized crayon boxes with five different-sized crayons, only two of which survive today—the "standard size" (a standard sized Crayola crayon is 35/8" × 5/16") and the "large size" (large sized crayola crayons are 4" × 7/ 16"). The product line offered crayon boxes containing 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 18, 24, 28, or 30 different color crayons. Some of these boxes were targeted for artists and contained crayons with no wrappers, while others had a color number printed on the wrapper that corresponded to a number on a list of color names printed inside the box lid, but some boxes contained crayons with their color names printed on their wrappers.
  
  'In 1949, Crayola introduced the "Crayola No. 48" containing 48 color crayons in a non-peggable floor box. Further expansion took place in 1958 with the introduction of the 64-color pack that included the company's first crayon sharpener built into the box'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1909, The SOS distress signal was used for the first time. The Cunard liner SS Slavonia used the signal when it wrecked off the Azores.
  From Wikipedia: 'The use of the SOS signal was first introduced in Germany as part of a set of national radio regulations, effective April 1, 1905. These regulations introduced three new Morse code sequences, including the SOS distress signal. In 1906, at the second International Radiotelegraphic Convention in Berlin, an extensive collection of Service Regulations was developed to supplement the main agreement, which was signed on November 3, 1906, becoming effective on July 1, 1908. Article XVI of the regulations adopted Germany's Notzeichen (distress signal) as the international standard, reading: "Ships in distress shall use the following signal: · · · – – – · · · repeated at brief intervals". The first ship to transmit an SOS distress call appears to have been either the Cunard liner RMS Slavonia on June 10, 1909, according to "Notable Achievements of Wireless" in the September, 1910 Modern Electrics, or the steamer SS Arapahoe on August 11, 1909. The signal of the Arapahoe was received by the United Wireless Telegraph Company station at Hatteras, North Carolina, and forwarded to the steamer company's offices. However, there was some resistance among the Marconi operators to the adoption of the new signal, and, as late as the April 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, the ship's Marconi operators intermixed CQD and SOS distress calls. However, in the interests of consistency and water safety, the use of CQD appears to have died out thereafter.
  - At Wikipedia: More
• In 1935, Dr. Robert Smith and Bill Wilson found Alcoholics Anonymous in Akron, Ohio.
  From Wikipedia: 'Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio. AA's stated "primary purpose" is to help alcoholics "stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety". With other early members Bill Wilson and Bob Smith developed AA's Twelve Step program of spiritual and character development. AA's initial Twelve Traditions were introduced in 1946 to help the fellowship be stable and unified while disengaged from "outside issues" and influences.'
  
  'AA sprang from The Oxford Group, a non-denominational movement modeled after first-century Christianity. Some members found the Group to help in maintaining sobriety. One such "Grouper" Ebby Thacher was Wilson's former drinking buddy who approached Wilson saying that he had "got religion", was sober, and that Wilson could do the same if he set aside objections to religion and instead formed a personal idea of God, "another power" or "higher power".
  
  'Wilson felt with Thacher a "kinship of common suffering" and—while drunk—attended his first Group gathering. Within days, Wilson admitted himself to the Charles B. Towns Hospital, but not before drinking four beers on the way—the last time Wilson drank alcohol. Under the care of Dr. William Duncan Silkworth (an early benefactor of AA), Wilson's detox included the deliriant belladonna. At the hospital in a state of despair, Wilson experienced a bright flash of light, which he felt to be God revealing himself.'
  
  'Following his hospital discharge Wilson joined the Oxford Group and recruited other alcoholics to the Group. Wilson's early efforts to help others become sober were ineffective, prompting Dr. Silkworth to suggest that Wilson place less stress on religion and more on "the science" of treating alcoholism. Wilson's first success came during a business trip to Akron, Ohio, where he was introduced to Dr. Robert Smith, a surgeon and Oxford Group member who was unable to stay sober. After thirty days of working with Wilson, Smith drank his last drink on June 10, 1935, the date marked by AA for its anniversaries.
  
  'While Wilson and Smith credited their sobriety to working with alcoholics under the auspices of the Oxford Group, a Group associate pastor sermonized against Wilson and his alcoholic Groupers for forming a "secret, ashamed sub-group" engaged in "divergent works". By 1937, Wilson separated from the Oxford Group.'
  
  'In 1955, Wilson acknowledged AA's debt, saying "The Oxford Groupers had clearly shown us what to do. And just as importantly, we learned from them what not to do." Among the Oxford Group practices that AA retained were informal gatherings, a "changed-life" developed through "stages", and working with others for no material gain, AA's analogs for these are meetings, "the steps", and sponsorship. AA's tradition of anonymity was a reaction to the publicity-seeking practices of the Oxford Group, as well as AA's wish to not promote, Wilson said, "erratic public characters who through broken anonymity might get drunk and destroy confidence in us.'
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1939, MGM cartoon character Barney Bear debuts.
  From Wikipedia: 'Barney Bear was a series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio. The titular character was an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a sluggish, sleepy bear who often is in pursuit of nothing but peace and quiet.
  
  'He was created for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by director Rudolf Ising, who based the bear's grumpy yet pleasant disposition on his own and derived many of his mannerisms from the screen actor Wallace Beery. Barney Bear made his first appearance in The Bear That Couldn't Sleep in 1939, and by 1941 was the star of his own series, getting an Oscar nomination for the 1941 short The Rookie Bear. Ising left the studio in 1943.'
  
  'The 1953 cartoon Barney's Hungry Cousin is the first known mentioning of Jellystone Park, the later home of Hanna-Barbera's Yogi Bear. Like Yogi, the titular cousin eats (often by theft) copious amounts of other people's food (including Barney). Barney Bear does not appear in new material again until Filmation's The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show in 1980. Barney Bear did appear in the direct-to-video films Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse in 2012 and in Tom and Jerry's Giant Adventure in 2013.'
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• In 1943, Laszlo Biro patented his ballpoint pen. Biro was a Hungarian journalist.
  From Wikipedia: 'A ballpoint pen, also known as a "biro", "ball pen", or "dot pen" (in Indian English) is a pen that dispenses ink over a metal ball at its point, i.e. over a "ball point". The metal commonly used is steel, brass, or tungsten carbide. It was conceived and developed as a cleaner and more reliable alternative to quill and fountain pens, and it is now the world's most-used writing instrument: millions are manufactured and sold daily. As a result, it has influenced art and graphic design and spawned an artwork genre.
  
  The concept of using a ball point within a writing instrument as a method of applying ink to paper has existed since the late 19th century. In these inventions, the ink was placed in a thin tube whose end was blocked by a tiny ball, held so that it could not slip into the tube or fall out of the pen.'
  
  'The first patent for a ballpoint pen was issued on 30 October 1888, to John J. Loud, who was attempting to make a writing instrument that would be able to write "on rough surfaces-such as wood, coarse wrapping-paper, and other articles" which then-common fountain pens could not. '
  
  'Patents filed worldwide during early development are testaments to failed attempts at making the pens commercially viable and widely available. Bíró enlisted the help of his brother György, a chemist, to develop viscous ink formulae for new ballpoint designs. Bíró's innovation successfully coupled ink-viscosity with a ball-socket mechanism which act compatibly to prevent ink from drying inside the reservoir while allowing controlled flow. Bíró filed a British patent on 15 June 1938. In 1941, the Bíró brothers and a friend, Juan Jorge Meyne, fled Germany and moved to Argentina, where they formed Bíró Pens of Argentina and filed a new patent in 1943. Their pen was sold in Argentina as the Birome (portmanteau of the names Bíró and Meyne), which is how ballpoint pens are still known in that country. This new design was licensed by the British, who produced ballpoint pens for RAF aircrew as the Biro. Ballpoint pens were found to be more versatile than fountain pens, especially at high altitudes, where fountain pens were prone to ink-leakage. Bíró's patent, and other early patents on ball-point pens often used the term "ball-point fountain pen".'
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• In 1963, Equal Pay Act of 1963, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex, was signed into law by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program.'
  From Wikipedia: 'The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a United States federal law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex (see Gender pay gap). It was signed into law on June 10, 1963, by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program. In passing the bill, Congress stated that sex discrimination:
  
  'The law provides (in part) that:
  
  No employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to (i) a seniority system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (iv) a differential based on any other factor other than sex ... '
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• In 1972, The song, 'The Candy Man', performed by Sammy Davis, Jr., hits #1 on Billboard Chart.
  From Wikipedia: '"The Candy Man" (or alternatively, "The Candy Man Can") is a song which originally appeared in the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley specifically for the film. Although the original book by Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) contains lyrics adapted for other songs in the film, the lyrics to "The Candy Man" do not appear in the book. The soundtrack version of the song was sung by Aubrey Woods, who played Bill the candy stor e owner in the film.
  
  'The song is best known through Sammy Davis, Jr.'s cover version, which appears on the Sammy Davis Jr. Now studio album. Though he admittedly hated the song, finding it too saccharine, it became his only number-one hit, spending three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart starting June 10, 1972 and two weeks at the top of the easy listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1972. The track featured vocals by the Mike Curb Congregation, who had earlier released their own un successful version of the song. It is recognized as one of Davis's signature songs, and "The Candy Man" came to be his moniker later in his career.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 2003, The Spirit Rover is launched, beginning NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission.
  From Wikipedia: 'Spirit, also known as MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover – A) or MER-2, is a robotic rover on Mars, active from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers of NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity (MER-B), landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition. The rover became stuck in late 2009, and its last communication with Earth was sent on March 22, 2010.'
  
  'The rover completed its planned 90-sol mission. Aided by cleaning events that resulted in more energy from its solar panels, Spirit went on to function effectively over twenty times longer than NASA planners expected. Spirit also logged 7.73 km (4.8 mi) of driving instead of the planned 600 m (0.4 mi), allowing more extensive geological analysis of Martian rocks and planetary surface features. Initial scientific results from the first phase of the mission (the 90-sol prime mission) were published in a special issue of the journal Science.'
  
  'On May 1, 2009 (5 years, 3 months, 27 Earth days after landing; 21.6 times the planned mission duration), Spirit became stuck in soft soil. This was not the first of the mission's "embedding events" and for the following eight months NASA carefully analyzed the situation, running Earth-based theoretical and practical simulations, and finally programming the rover to make extrication drives in an attempt to free itself. These efforts continued until January 26, 2010 when NASA officials announced that the rover was likely irrecoverably obstructed by its location in soft soil, though it continued to perform scientific research from its current location.'
  
  'The rover continued in a stationary science platform role until communication with Spirit stopped on sol 2210 (March 22, 2010). JPL continued to attempt to regain contact until May 24, 2011, when NASA announced that efforts to communicate with the unresponsive rover had ended, calling the mission complete. A formal farewell took place at NASA headquarters after the 2011 Memorial Day holiday and was televised on NASA TV.'
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• In 2003, Wicked (The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz) opens on Broadway, proceeding to win 40 awards just for the Broadway production.
  From Wikipedia: 'Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, an alternative telling of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz; its plot begins before and continues after Dorothy's arrival in Oz from Kansas, and it includes several references to the 1939 film and Baum's novel. Wicked tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda, who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace.'
  
  'Awards
  Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical
  Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Broadway Musical'
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Nothing. Looks like I was lazy on this day.

No. 1 song

• Chapel of Love - Dixie Cups: More
  'My Guy' has been displaced by 'Chapel of Love', which will hold the no. 1 spot until June 27, when 'A World Without Love', takes over.

Top movie

• Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! More
  Having displaced 'From Russia with Love', it will be there until the weekend box office of June 14 1964 when, 'Bedtime Story', takes over.

• FamousBirthdays.com: June 10 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: June 10 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 10th June More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 10th June More
• On-This-day.com history 10th June More
• On-This-day.com music history 10th June More
• Wikipedia.com: History June 10 More

Candy Month Dairy Month Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month Iced Tea Month Papaya Month Seafood Month Turkey Lover's Month

June is:

June origin (from Wikipedia): Perhaps to honor goddess Juno, or from the Latin word iuniores (younger ones).
"is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of the four months with a length of 30 days. June is the month with the longest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. June in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to December in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the meteorological summer is 1 June. In the Southern hemisphere, the beginning of the meteorological winter is 1 June."

June 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
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• Podcast: The Naked Scientists. Current science, medicine, space and other science
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• Podcast: Quirks & Quarks. Current science news.
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• Articles and videos: Universe Today. Current space and astronomy news.
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• Old Picture of the Day - "Each day we bring you one stunning little glimpse of history in the form of a historical photograph."
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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