Today is July 13 2014

National French Fries Day: More

• National Bean 'n Franks Day: More
  
• Embrace Your Geekness Day: More
• Barbershop Music Appreciation Day: More
• Fool's Paradise Day: More

• In 1832, The source of the Mississippi River is discovered by Henry R Schoolcraft. It is the small glacial 'Lake Itasca' in north central Minnesota, at southeastern Clearwater County within what is now Itasca State Park.
  From Wikipedia: 'Lake Itasca is a small glacial lake, approximately 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2) in area, notable for being the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The lake is located in southeastern Clearwater County, in the Headwaters area of north central Minnesota. The lake is within Itasca State Park and it has an average depth of 20–35 feet (6–11 m), and is 1,475 ft (450 m) above sea level.
  
  The Ojibwe name for "Lake Itasca" is Omashkoozo-zaaga'igan (Elk Lake); this was changed by Henry Schoolcraft to "Itasca", coined from a combination of the Latin words veritas ("truth") and caput ("head"), though it is sometimes misinterpreted as "true head." It is one of several examples of pseudo-Indian place names created by Schoolcraft'.
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• In 1836, The US patent #1, under the new numbering system, was for a cog mechanism for locomotive wheels. There were 9,957 prior patents (X-Patents), from 1790 to 1836, lost to fire. Only some, a little of 2,000, were reissued by their inventor.
  From Wikipedia: 'The X-Patents are all the patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office from July 1790 (when the first U.S. patent was issued), to July 1836. The actual number is unknown, but the best estimate is 9,957. The records were burned in a fire, in December 1836, while in temporary storage. No copies or rosters were maintained by the government at the time, leaving only the inventors’ copies to reconstruct the collection'.
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• In 1865, Horace Greeley reputedly advises his readers to 'Go west young man', but the source and date cited does not contain that phrase. Greeley himself, said that he never initiated it.
  From Wikipedia: '"Go West, young man" is a phrase often credited to the American author Horace Greeley concerning America's expansion westward, related to the then-popular concept of Manifest Destiny. It was first stated by John Babsone Lane Soule in an 1851 editorial in the Terre Haute Express, "Go west young man, and grow up with the country." Greeley later used the quote in his own editorial in 1865.
  
  Greeley favored westward expansion. He saw the fertile farmland of the west as an ideal place for people willing to work hard for the opportunity to succeed. The phrase came to symbolize the idea that agriculture could solve many of the nation's problems of poverty and unemployment characteristic of the big cities of the East. It is one of the most commonly quoted sayings from the nineteenth century and may have had some influence on the course of American history.
  
  Some sources have claimed the phrase is derived from the following advice in Greeley's July 13, 1865 editorial in the New York Tribune, but this text does not appear in that issue of the newspaper. The actual editorial instead encourages Civil War veterans to take advantage of the Homestead Act and colonize the public lands'.
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• In 1923 - The Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Hollywood Sign (formerly the Hollywoodland Sign) is a landmark and American cultural icon located in Los Angeles, California. It is situated on Mount Lee, in the Hollywood Hills area of the Santa Monica Mountains. The sign overlooks Hollywood, Los Angeles.
  
  "HOLLYWOOD" is spelled out in 45-foot-tall (14 m) white capital letters and is 350 feet (110 m) long. It was originally created in 1923 as an advertisement for a local real estate development, but it garnered increasing recognition after the sign was left up. The sign was a frequent target of pranks and vandalism, but it has since undergone restoration, including the installation of a security system to deter vandalism. The sign is protected and promoted by The Trust For Public Land, a nonprofit organization, while its site and the surrounding land are part of Griffith Park.
  
  From the ground, the contours of the hills give the sign a "wavy" appearance, as reflected in the Hollywood Video logo, for example. When observed at a comparable altitude, the letters appear nearly level.
  
  The sign makes frequent appearances in popular culture, particularly in establishing shots for films and television programs set in or around Hollywood. Signs of similar style, but spelling different words, are frequently seen as parodies. The sign inspired Los Angeles artist Ed Ruscha who rendered it in different media.
  
  The sign was the location of the 1932 death of Hollywood starlet Peg Entwistle.
  
  The sign was first erected in 1923 and originally read "HOLLYWOODLAND." Its purpose was to advertise the name of a new housing development in the hills above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. H.J. Whitley had already used a sign to advertise his development Whitley Heights, which was located between Highland Avenue and Vine Street. He suggested to his friend Harry Chandler, the owner of the Los Angeles Times newspaper, that the land syndicate in which he was involved make a similar sign to advertise their land. Real estate developers Woodruff and Shoults called their development "Hollywoodland" and advertised it as a "superb environment without excessive cost on the Hollywood side of the hills."
  
  They contracted the Crescent Sign Company to erect 13 letters on the hillside, each facing south. The sign company owner, Thomas Fisk Goff (1890–1984), designed the sign. Each letter was 30 feet (9.1 m) wide and 50 feet (15 m) high, and the whole sign was studded with some 4,000 light bulbs. The sign would flash in segments; "HOLLY," "WOOD", and "LAND" would light up individually, before lighting up entirely. Below the Hollywoodland sign was a searchlight to attract more attention. The poles that supported the sign were hauled to the site by mules. Cost of the project was $21,000 (about $300,000 in 2014 dollars).
  
  The sign was officially dedicated in 1923. It was intended only to last a year and a half, but after the rise of American cinema in Los Angeles during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the sign became an internationally recognized symbol and was left there'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1939, Frank Sinatra made his recording debut with the Harry James band with the songs "Melancholy Mood" and "From the Bottom of My Heart".
  From Wikipedia: 'Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager, but he learned music by ear and never learned to read music. He got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, the 3 Flashes, to let him join. Fred Tamburro, the group's baritone, stated that "Frank hung around us like we were gods or something", admitting that they only took him on board because he owned a car and could chauffeur the group around. Sinatra soon learned they were auditioning for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show, and "begged" the group to let him in on the act. With Sinatra, the group became known as the Hoboken Four, and passed an audition from Edward Bowes to appear on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show. They each earned $12.50 for the appearance, and ended up attracting 40,000 votes and won first prize—a six-month contract to perform on stage and radio across the United States. Sinatra quickly became the group's lead singer, and, much to the jealousy of his fellow group members, garnered most of the attention from girls. Due to the success of the group, Bowes kept asking for them to return, disguised under different names, varying from "The Seacaucus Cockamamies" to "The Bayonne Bacalas".
  
  In 1938, Sinatra found employment as a singing waiter at a roadhouse called "The Rustic Cabin" in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for which he was paid $15 a week. The roadhouse was connected to the WNEW radio station in New York City, and he began performing with a group live during the Dance Parade show. Despite the low salary, Sinatra felt that this was the break he was looking for, and boasted to friends that he was going to "become so big that no one could ever touch him". In March 1939, saxophone player Frank Mane, who knew Sinatra from Jersey City radio station WAAT where both performed on live broadcasts, arranged for him to audition and record "Our Love", his first solo studio recording. In June, bandleader Harry James, who had heard Sinatra sing on "Dance Parade", signed a two-year contract of $75 a week one evening after a show at the Paramount Theatre in New York. It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July. No more than 8,000 copies of the record were sold, and further records released with James through 1939, such as "All or Nothing At All", also had weak sales on their initial release. Thanks to his vocal training, Sinatra could now sing two tones higher, and developed a repertoire which included songs such as "My Buddy", "Willow Weep for Me", "It's Funny to Everyone But Me", "Here Comes the Night", "On a Little Street in Singapore", "Ciribiribin" and "Every Day of My Life"'.
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• In 1959, The Shirelles' "Dedicated To The One I Love" was released.
  From Wikipedia: '"Dedicated to the One I Love" is a song written by Lowman Pauling and Ralph Bass which was a hit for the "5" Royales, the Shirelles and the Mamas and the Papas. Pauling was the guitarist of the "5" Royales, the group that recorded the original version of this song, produced by Bass, in 1957. Their version was re-released in 1961 and charted at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100.
  
  A cover version recorded by American girl group the Shirelles reached number 83 in 1959. In 1961, they re-released their version and it reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 2 on the R and B charts. The song was subsequently included on their 1961 album Tonight's the Night'.
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• In 1964, The Supremes made the studio recording of "Come See About Me".
  From Wikipedia: '"Come See About Me" is a 1964 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.
  
  The song became third of five consecutively released Supremes songs to top the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States (the others are "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," "Stop! In the Name of Love," and "Back in My Arms Again"). It topped the chart twice, non-consecutively; toppled by and later replacing The Beatles' "I Feel Fine" in December 1964 and January 1965'.
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• In 1977, NYC experiences a 25 hour blackout.
  From Wikipedia: 'The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 13–14, 1977. The only neighborhoods in the city that were not affected were in southern Queens, neighborhoods of the Rockaways, which were part of the Long Island Lighting Company system and the Pratt Institute campus in Brooklyn which operated its own historic power generator.
  
  Unlike other blackouts that affected the region, namely the Northeast blackouts of 1965 and 2003, the 1977 blackout was localized to New York City and the immediate surroundings. Also in contrast to the 1965 and 2003 blackouts, the 1977 blackout resulted in city-wide looting and other disorders, including arson'.
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Plug in those Fry Daddy's, Fry Babies (you put them at the back of the top kitchen shelf, when you used them last back in '82 ), or heat up that big pot of oil. Tomorrow is 'National French Fries Day'. While you are going to all that trouble, I will be at my favorite fast food restaurant, on my second helping of seasoned curly fries.

I also have the solution to your quandary, of what to do with all those hot dogs left over from the Hot Dog Eating contest you held the 4th. Bake-up some beans, throw in the franks and celebrate 'National Bean 'n Franks Day'. They were a great, quick lunch as a kid. And afterwards, you and the guys could have a contest as to who 'had the loudest'.

For all you technologically empowered people out there. It will be 'Embrace Your Geekness Day'. The rest of you can tell the 12 year old electronics genius down the street that you can do without him tomorrow and delve into the world, which is no longer the future, but the now.

While frying your Fries and baking your beans, you might want to pass the time with a little sing-song with your neighbors. It will also be, 'Barbershop Music Appreciation Day'

Ever get tired sitting a an airplane for a cross-country trip? Back in 1919 , the British airship R34, completed the first ever round-trip crossing of the Atlantic, by airship, in 182 hours of flight time.

No. 1 song

• Get Around - The Beach Boys: More
  'A World Without Love' has been displaced by 'Get Around', which will hold the no. 1 spot until July 18 2014, when 'Rag Doll', takes over.
• Became No. 1 on this day in 1962.
  The Stripper (Instrumental) More

Top movie

• The Killers More
  Having displaced 'Circus World', it will be there until the weekend box office of July 19 1964 when, 'The Moon-Spinners', takes over.

• FamousBirthdays.com: July 13 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: July 13 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 13th July More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 13th July More
• On-This-day.com history 13th July More
• On-This-day.com music history 13th July More
• Wikipedia.com: History July 13 More

National Baked Bean Month, National Culinary Arts Month, National Grilling Month, National Hot Dog Month, National Ice Cream Month, National July Belongs to Blueberries Month, National Vacation Rental Month,

July is:

July origin (from Wikipedia): Named by the Roman Senate in honor of Julius Caesar.
"is the seventh month of the year (between June and August) in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honor of the Roman general, Julius Caesar, it being the month of his birth. Prior to that, it was called Quintilis. It is, on average, the warmest month in most of the Northern hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer) and the coldest month in much of the Southern hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter). The second half of the year commences in July. In the Southern hemisphere, July is the seasonal equivalent of January in the Northern hemisphere."

July 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
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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."
  Home page: More
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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