Today is July 24 2014

Drive-Thru Day: More

• Cousins Day: More
  
• Tell An Old Joke Day: More
• Amelia Earhart Day: More
• First rocket launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.: More
  July 24 1950. The 'Bumper V-2' rocket was launched

• In 1847, Richard M. Hoe, of New York City, patented the rotary type printing press on this day.
  From Wikipedia: 'Richard March Hoe (middle name spelled in some 1920s records as "Marsh") (September 12, 1812 – June 7, 1886) was an American inventor from New York City who designed a rotary printing press and related advancements, including the "Hoe web perfecting press" in 1871; it used a continuous roll of paper and revolutionized newspaper publishing.
  
  He is most well-known for his invention in 1843 of a rotary printing press: type was placed on a revolving cylinder, a design that could print much faster than the old flatbed printing press. It received U.S. Patent 5,199 in 1847, and was placed in commercial use the same year. Arunah Shepherdson Abell, publisher of The Sun in Baltimore, was among the first to buy it and put it into use. In its early days, it was variously called the "Hoe lightning press," and "Hoe's Cylindrical-Bed Press."
  
  In 1870 Hoe developed a rotary press that printed both sides of a page in a single operation, what he called the "Hoe web perfecting press." Hoe's press used a continuous roll of paper five miles long, which was put through the machine at the rate of 800 feet (240 m) a minute. As the roll emerged, it passed over a knife which cut pages apart; they were next run through an apparatus which folded the pages for the mail or for carriers. These completely printed and folded newspapers were delivered as quickly as the eye could follow them. It produced 18,000 papers an hour and was used the first time by the New York Tribune'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1911, Hiram Bingham III re-discovers Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas.
  From Wikipedia: 'Machu Picchu (in hispanicized spelling, Spanish pronunciation: ) or Machu Pikchu (Quechua machu old, old person, pikchu peak; mountain or prominence with a broad base that ends in sharp peaks, "old peak", pronunciation ) is a 15th-century Inca citadel situated on a mountain ridge 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) above sea level. It is located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, Machupicchu District in Peru, above the Sacred Valley, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows.
  >br /> Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often mistakenly referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas" (a title more accurately applied to Vilcabamba), it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. The Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911.
  
  Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its three primary structures are the Inti Watana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of how they originally appeared. By 1976, thirty percent of Machu Picchu had been restored and restoration continues.
  
  Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1933, The first broadcast of 'The Romance of Helen Trent' was heard on radio. 7,222 episodes were aired.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Romance of Helen Trent was a radio soap opera which aired on CBS from October 30, 1933 to June 24, 1960 for a total of 7,222 episodes. The show was created by Frank and Anne Hummert, who were among the most prolific producers during the radio soap era.
  
  The storyline revolved around a 35-year-old dressmaker who fascinates men as she works her way up to become the chief Hollywood costumer designer. Helen was played by three different actresses (Virginia Clark, Betty Ruth Smith and Julie Stevens). Virginia Clark did the role for 11 years, and Julie Stevens portrayed Helen for 16 years'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1938,- Artie Shaw recorded 'Begin the Beguine'.
  From Wikipedia: '"Begin the Beguine" is a popular song written by Cole Porter. Porter composed the song between Kalabahi, Indonesia, and Fiji during a 1935 Pacific cruise aboard Cunard's ocean liner Franconia. In October 1935, it was introduced by June Knight in the Broadway musical Jubilee, produced at the Imperial Theatre in New York City.
  
  A Beguine was originally a Christian lay woman of the 13th or 14th century living in a religious community without formal vows, but in the creole of the Caribbean, especially in Martinique and Guadeloupe, the term came to mean "white woman", and then to be applied to a style of music and dance, and in particular a slow, close couples' dance. This combination of French ballroom dance and Latin folk dance became popular in Paris and spread further abroad in the 1940s, largely due to the influence of the Porter song.
  
  At first, the song gained little popularity, perhaps because of its length and unconventional form. Josephine Baker danced to it in her return to America in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, but neither she nor the song were successful. Two years later, however, bandleader Artie Shaw recorded an arrangement of the song, an extended swing orchestra version, in collaboration with his arranger and orchestrator, Jerry Gray.
  
  After signing a new recording contract with RCA Victor Shaw chose "Begin the Beguine" to be the first of six tunes he would record with his new 14 piece band at this, his first recording session with RCA. The session was held at RCA's "Studio 2" on East 24th Street in New York on July 24, 1938. Until then, Shaw's band had been having a tough time finding an identity and maintaining its existence without having had any popular hits of significance; his previous recording contract with Brunswick had lapsed at the end of 1937 without being renewed.
  
  RCA's pessimism with the whole idea of recording the long tune "that nobody could remember from beginning to end anyway" resulted in it being released on the "B" side of the record "Indian Love Call", issued by Bluebird Records as catalog number B-7746 B. Shaw's persistence paid off, though, when "Begin the Beguine" became a best-selling record in 1938, peaking at No. 3., skyrocketing Shaw and his band to fame and popularity. The recording became one of the most famous and popular anthems of the entire Swing Era. Subsequent re-releases by RCA Victor (catalog number 20-1551) and other releases on LPs, tapes and CDs have kept the recording readily available continuously ever since its initial release'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1969, Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean. Launched July 16, Orbit insertion July 19, landing July 20 at 20:18:04 UTC, first foot on the Moon July 21 at 2:56:15 UTC, lift off from the Moon July 21 at 17:54 UTC.
  From Wikipedia: 'On July 24, the astronauts returned home aboard the Command Module Columbia just before dawn local time (16:51 UTC) at 13°19'N 169°9'W , in the Pacific Ocean 2,660 km (1,440 nmi) east of Wake Island, 380 km (210 nmi) south of Johnston Atoll, and 24 km (13 nmi) from the recovery ship, USS Hornet.
  
  At 16:44 UTC the drogue parachutes had been deployed and seven minutes later the Command Module struck the water forcefully. During splashdown, the Command Module landed upside down but was righted within 10 minutes by flotation bags triggered by the astronauts. "Everything's okay. Our checklist is complete. Awaiting swimmers", was Armstrong's last official transmission from the Columbia. A diver from the Navy helicopter hovering above attached a sea anchor to the Command Module to prevent it from drifting. Additional divers attached flotation collars to stabilize the module and position rafts for astronaut extraction. Though the chance of bringing back pathogens from the lunar surface was considered remote, it was considered a possibility and NASA took great precautions at the recovery site. Divers provided the astronauts with Biological Isolation Garments (BIGs) which were worn until they reached isolation facilities on board the Hornet. Additionally, astronauts were rubbed down with a sodium hypochlorite solution and the Command Module wiped with Betadine to remove any lunar dust that might be present. The raft containing decontamination materials was then intentionally sunk.
  
  A second Sea King helicopter hoisted the astronauts aboard one by one, where a NASA flight surgeon gave each a brief physical check during the 0.5 nautical miles (930 m) trip back to the Hornet'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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If you got tired of waiting in line at the fast food places to fulfill your duty on 'Junk Food Day', I can make it a little easier for you tomorrow. It will be 'Drive-Thru Day'. So, get in your car, grab your 18 cents (the price of a Jack-In-The-Box hamburger in 1951) and enjoy the sit-down, if not the sit-in comfort.

Take a friend or better yet, a relative, with you for lunch. That way you can celebrate 'Cousins Day'.

The line at the drive-thru may be long, so think hard and come up with your best. Tomorrow will be 'Tell An Old Joke Day'. If your jokes are loud and Korney enough, others in line, may let you go to the front, so they won't have to endure your unexpected revival of Vaudeville.

Turn the dial on your Back-In-The-Day machine to July 23 1950. On that day, the US launched it's first rocket, the Bumper V-2, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

No. 1 song

• Rag Doll - The Four Seasons: More
  'Get Around'has been displaced by 'Rag Doll', which will hold the no. 1 spot until July 25 2014, when 'A Hard Day's Night by The Beatles', takes over.
• Eye of the Tiger, from Rocky hits no. 1.
  July 23 1982. More

Top movie

• The Moon-Spinners More
  Having displaced 'The Killers', it will be there until the weekend box office of July 26 1964 when, 'Marnie', takes over.

• FamousBirthdays.com: July 24 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: July 24 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 24th July More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 24th July More
• On-This-day.com history 24th July More
• On-This-day.com music history 24th July More
• Wikipedia.com: History July 24 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
  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