Today is August 27 2014

Banana Lovers Day: More

• National Pots De Creme Day: More
  
• National Just Because Day: More
• Burger Day: More
  A London celebration.
• 'The Duchess' Who Wasn't Day: More
• National Petroleum Day Now Celebrated in the US: More
• Tug-of-War Day: More
• Lyndon Baines Johnson Day: More
  Official Texas state holiday created in 1973..

• In 1859 - Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Drake Well is a 69.5-foot-deep (21.2 m) oil well in Cherrytree Township, Venango County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the success of which sparked the first oil boom in the United States. The well is the centerpiece of the Drake Well Museum located 3 miles (5 km) south of Titusville.
  
  Drilled by Edwin Drake in 1859, along the banks of Oil Creek, it is the first commercial oil well in the United States. Drake Well was listed on National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. It was designated a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1979. The well was designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark in 2009, on the sesquicentennial of the strike.
  
  The Drake well is often referred to as the first commercial oil well, although that title is also claimed for wells in Azerbaijan, Ontario, West Virginia, and Poland, among others. However, before the Drake well, oil-producing wells in the United States were wells that were drilled for salt brine, and produced oil and gas only as accidental byproducts. An intended drinking water well at Oil Springs, Ontario found oil in 1858, a year before the Drake well, but it had not been drilled for oil. Historians have noted that the importance of the Drake well was not in being the first well to produce oil, but in attracting the first great wave of investment in oil drilling, refining, and marketing:
  
  "The importance of the Drake well was in the fact that it caused prompt additional drilling, thus establishing a supply of petroleum in sufficient quantity to support business enterprises of magnitude'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube ()Drake well: More
  - On YouTube (History of oil): More
• In 1896, The Anglo-Zanzibar War was the shortest war in world history (09:00 to 09:45), between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Anglo-Zanzibar War was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom and the Zanzibar Sultanate on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted around 38 minutes, marking it as the shortest war in history. The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash. The British authorities preferred Hamud bin Muhammed, who was more favourable to British interests, as sultan. In accordance with a treaty signed in 1886, a condition for accession to the sultanate was that the candidate obtain the permission of the British consul, and Khalid had not fulfilled this requirement. The British considered this a casus belli and sent an ultimatum to Khalid demanding that he order his forces to stand down and leave the palace. In response, Khalid called up his palace guard and barricaded himself inside the palace.
  
  The ultimatum expired at 09:00 East Africa Time (EAT) on 27 August, by which time the British had gathered three cruisers, two gunboats, 150 marines and sailors, and 900 Zanzibaris in the harbour area. The Royal Navy contingent were under the command of Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson while their Zanzibaris were commanded by Brigadier-General Lloyd Mathews of the Zanzibar army (who was also the First Minister of Zanzibar). Around 2,800 Zanzibaris defended the palace; most were recruited from the civilian population, but they also included the sultan's palace guard and several hundred of his servants and slaves. The defenders had several artillery pieces and machine guns, which were set in front of the palace sighted at the British ships. A bombardment opened at 09:02 set the palace on fire and disabled the defending artillery. A small naval action took place, with the British sinking the Zanzibari royal yacht HHS Glasgow and two smaller vessels, and some shots were fired ineffectually at the pro-British Zanzibari troops as they approached the palace. The flag at the palace was shot down and fire ceased at 09:40.
  
  The sultan's forces sustained roughly 500 casualties, while only one British sailor was injured. Sultan Khalid received asylum in the German consulate before escaping to German East Africa (in the mainland part of present Tanzania). The British quickly placed Sultan Hamud in power at the head of a puppet government. The war marked the end of the Zanzibar Sultanate as a sovereign state and the start of a period of heavy British influence'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1883 - Krakatoa erupts. From Wikipedia: 'On August 27, two-thirds of Krakatoa collapsed in a chain of titanic explosions, destroying most of the island and its surrounding archipelago.' 'The final explosive eruption was heard 4,830 km (3,000 miles) away; caused at least 36,417 deaths; 20 million tons of sulfur released into the atmosphere; produced a volcanic winter (reducing worldwide temperatures by an average of 1.2°C for 5 years); and was the loudest explosion in recorded history.'
  From Wikipedia: 'The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) began in the afternoon of August 26, 1883 (with origins as early as May of that year), and culminated with several destructive eruptions of the remaining caldera. On August 27, two-thirds of Krakatoa collapsed in a chain of titanic explosions, destroying most of the island and its surrounding archipelago. Additional alleged seismic activity continued to be reported until February 1884, though reports of those after October 1883 were later dismissed by Rogier Verbeek's investigation. It was one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events in recorded history, with at least 36,000 deaths being attributed to the eruption itself and the tsunamis it created. Significant additional effects were also felt around the world'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs publishes 'Tarzan of the Apes'.
  From Wikipedia: 'Tarzan of the Apes is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first in a series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine in October, 1912. The character was so popular that Burroughs continued the series into the 1940s with two dozen sequels. For the novel's centennial anniversary, Library of America published a hardcover edition based on the original book in April 2012 with an introduction by Thomas Mallon (ISBN 978-1-59853-164-0).
  
  The novel tells the story of John Clayton III. John and Alice (Rutherford) Clayton II, Lord and Lady Greystoke of England, are marooned in the western coastal jungles of equatorial Africa in 1888. In September 1889 their son John Clayton III is born. At one year old his mother dies, and soon thereafter his father is killed by the savage king ape Kerchak. The infant is then adopted by the she-ape Kala.
  
  Clayton is named "Tarzan" ("White Skin" in the ape language) and raised in ignorance of his human heritage.
  
  As a boy, feeling alienated from his peers due to their physical differences, he discovers his true parents' cabin, where he first learns of others like himself in their books. Using basic primers with pictures, over many years he teaches himself to read English, but having never heard it, cannot speak it.
  
  Upon his return from one visit to the cabin, he is attacked by a huge gorilla which he manages to kill with his father's knife, although he is terribly wounded in the struggle. As he grows up, Tarzan becomes a skilled hunter, exciting the jealousy of Kerchak, the ape leader, who finally attacks him. Tarzan kills Kerchak and takes his place as "king" of the apes.
  
  Later, a tribe of black Africans settle in the area, and Tarzan's adopted mother, Kala, is killed by one of its hunters. Avenging himself on the killer, Tarzan begins an antagonistic relationship with the tribe, raiding its village for weapons and practicing cruel pranks on them. They, in turn, regard him as an evil spirit and attempt to placate him.
  
  At about the age of 20 a new party is marooned on the coast, including Jane Porter, the first white woman Tarzan has ever seen. Tarzan's cousin, William Cecil Clayton, unwitting usurper of the ape man's ancestral English estate, is also among the party. Tarzan spies on the newcomers, aids them in secret, and saves Jane from the perils of the jungle.
  
  Among the party was French Naval Officer Paul D'Arnot. While rescuing D'Arnot from the natives, a rescue ship recovers the castaways. D'Arnot teaches Tarzan to speak French and offers to take Tarzan to the land of white men where he might connect with Jane again. On their journey, D'Arnot teaches him how to behave among white men. In the ensuing months, Tarzan eventually learns to speak English as well.
  
  Ultimately, Tarzan travels to find Jane in Wisconsin, USA. Tarzan learns the bitter news that she has become engaged to William Clayton. Meanwhile, clues from his parents' cabin have enabled D'Arnot to prove Tarzan's true identity as John Clayton the Earl of Greystoke. Instead of reclaiming his inheritance from William, Tarzan chooses rather to conceal and renounce his heritage for the sake of Jane's happiness'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - At Project Gutenberg (free eBook): More
  - At Librivox.org (free eBook audio): More
• In 1918 - The only World War I battle fought on American soil, the Battle of Ambos Nogales. U.S. Army forces skirmish against Mexican Carrancistas and their German advisers during the Mexican Revolution.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Battle of Ambos Nogales (The Battle of Both Nogales), or as it is known in Mexico La batalla del 27 de agosto (The Battle of 27 August), was an engagement fought on 27 August 1918 between Mexican forces and elements of US Army troops of the 35th Infantry Regiment, who were reinforced by the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, and commanded by Lt. Col. Frederick J. Herman. The American soldiers and militia forces were stationed in Nogales, Arizona, and the Mexican soldiers and armed Mexican militia were in Nogales, Sonora. This battle was notable for being a significant confrontation between US and Mexican forces during the Border War which took place in the context of the Mexican Revolution and the First World War.
  
  This occurred after the Zimmermann telegram during World War I, when the international border between the two Nogaleses was a wide-open boulevard named International Street. Several previous fatal incidents had occurred in this area, which helped increase international tensions and led to armed conflict. This included the claim of German military advisors as agitators with Mexican Villa rebels, claims of racism and border politics. As a result of this battle, the US and Mexico agreed to divide the two border communities with a chain-link border fence, the first of many permanent incarnations of the U.S.–Mexico border wall between the two countries'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1921, The owner of Acme Packing Company bought a pro football team for Green Bay, WI. J.E. Clair paid tribute to those who worked in his plant by naming the team the Green Bay Packers. (NFL)
  From Wikipedia: 'The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. They are also the third-oldest franchise in the NFL, organized and starting play in 1919. It is the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team based in the United States. Home games are played at Lambeau Field.
  
  The Packers are the last vestige of "small town teams" common in the NFL during the 1920s and '30s. Founded in 1919 by Earl "Curly" Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun, the franchise traces its lineage to other semi-professional teams in Green Bay dating back to 1896. Between 1919 and 1920, the Packers competed against other semi-pro clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest. They joined the American Professional Football Association (APFA), the forerunner of today's NFL, in 1921. Although Green Bay is by far the smallest professional sports market in North America, its local fan and media base extends 120 miles south into Milwaukee, where it played selected home games between 1933 and 1994.
  
  The Packers have won 13 league championships, the most in NFL history, with nine NFL titles before the Super Bowl era and four Super Bowl victories. They won the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968 and were the only NFL team to defeat the American Football League (AFL) before to the AFL–NFL merger. The Vince Lombardi Trophy is named after the Packers head coach of the same name, who guided them to their first two Super Bowls. Their two further Super Bowl wins came in 1997 and 2011.
  
  The Packers are long-standing adversaries of the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions, who together comprise the NFL's NFC North division. The Bears–Packers rivalry is one of the oldest in NFL history, dating back to 1921'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1939 - Flight of world's first jet aircraft, Heinkel He 178.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Heinkel He 178 was the world's first aircraft to fly under turbojet power, and the first practical jet aircraft. It was a private venture by the German Heinkel company in accordance with director Ernst Heinkel's emphasis on developing technology for high-speed flight. It first flew on 27 August 1939, piloted by Erich Warsitz. This flight had been preceded by a short hop three days earlier.
  
  In 1936, a young engineer named Hans von Ohain had taken out a patent on using the exhaust from a gas turbine as a means of propulsion.
  ,br /> He presented his idea to Ernst Heinkel, who agreed to help develop the concept. Von Ohain successfully demonstrated his first engine, the Heinkel HeS 1 in 1937, and plans were quickly made to test a similar engine in an aircraft. The He 178 was designed around von Ohain's third engine design, the HeS 3, which burned diesel fuel. The result was a small aircraft with a metal fuselage of conventional configuration and construction. The jet intake was in the nose, and the aircraft was fitted with tailwheel undercarriage. The main landing gear was intended to be retractable, but remained fixed in "down" position throughout the flight trials.
  
  The high-mounted wooden wings had the characteristic Günter brothers elliptical trailing edge. Photos showing a "straight wing" (straight-line-taper in the wing planform, for both the leading and trailing edges) were of the second prototype He 178 V2, which never flew under power.
  
  The aircraft made its maiden flight on 27 August 1939, only days before Germany started World War II by invading Poland. The test pilot was Erich Warsitz, who had also flown the world's first rocket powered airplane, the Heinkel He 176, on its maiden flight in June 1939.
  
  Heinkel had developed the turbojet engine and the testbed aircraft, the Heinkel He 178 V1, in great secrecy. They were kept secret even from the German air force and the Reichsluftfahrtministerium. On 1 November 1939, after the German victory in Poland, Heinkel arranged a demonstration of the jet for officials, which Herman Goering, commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, did not attend. Ernst Udet and Erhard Milch, Minister of Aircraft Production and Supply watched the aircraft perform, but were unimpressed. While a technical success but speeds were limited to 598 kilometres per hour (372 mph) even when fitted with more powerful HeS 6 1,300lb thrust engines and combat endurance was only 10 minutes'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1953, 'Roman Holiday', starring Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, and Eddie Albert, is released.
  From Wikipedia: 'Roman Holiday is a 1953 American romantic comedy directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Gregory Peck as a reporter and Audrey Hepburn as a royal princess out to see Rome on her own. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance; the screenplay and costume design also won.
  
  It was written by John Dighton and Dalton Trumbo, though with Trumbo on the Hollywood blacklist, he did not receive a credit; instead, Ian McLellan Hunter fronted for him. Trumbo's credit was reinstated when the film was released on DVD in 2003. On December 19, 2011, full credit for Trumbo's work was restored. Blacklisted director Bernard Vorhaus worked on the film as an assistant director under a pseudonym.
  
  It was shot at the Cinecittà studios and on location around Rome during the "Hollywood on the Tiber" era. The film was screened in the 14th Venice film festival within the official program.
  
  In 1999, Roman Holiday 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
  - On YouTube (movie trailer): More
• In 1955 - Guinness Book of World Records, first published.
  From Wikipedia: 'Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 until 1998 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous U.S. editions as The Guinness Book of World Records, is a reference book published annually, listing world records and national records, both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted book of all time. As of the 2016 edition, it is now in its 62nd year of publication. The international franchise has extended beyond print to include television series and museums. The popularity of the franchise has resulted in Guinness World Records becoming the primary international authority on the cataloguing and verification of a huge number of world records; the organization employs official record adjudicators authorised to verify the authenticity of the setting and breaking of records.
  
  On 10 November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the managing director of the Guinness Breweries, went on a shooting party in the North Slob, by the River Slaney in County Wexford, Ireland. After missing a shot at a golden plover, he became involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the golden plover or the red grouse. (It is the plover.) That evening at Castlebridge House, he realised that it was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europe's fastest game bird. Beaver knew that there must be numerous other questions debated nightly in pubs throughout Ireland and abroad, but there was no book in the world with which to settle arguments about records. He realised then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove successful.
  
  Beaver's idea became reality when Guinness employee Christopher Chataway recommended University friends Norris and Ross McWhirter, who had been running a fact-finding agency in London. The brothers were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of Records in August 1954. A thousand copies were printed and given away.
  
  After the founding of The Guinness Book of Records at 107 Fleet Street, the first 198-page edition was bound on 27 August 1955 and went to the top of the British best seller lists by Christmas. Beaver said: "It was a marketing give away – it wasn't supposed to be a money maker". The following year, it launched in the US, and sold 70,000 copies. Since then, Guinness World Records has become a household name and the global leader in world records. The book has gone on to become a record breaker in its own right; with sales of more than 100 million copies in 100 different countries and 37 languages, Guinness World Records is the world's best selling copyright book ever.
  
  Because the book became a surprise hit, many further editions were printed, eventually settling into a pattern of one revision a year, published in September/October, in time for Christmas. The McWhirters continued to compile it for many years. Both brothers had an encyclopedic memory; on the TV series Record Breakers, based upon the book, they would take questions posed by children in the audience on various world records and were able to give the correct answer. Ross McWhirter was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1975. Following Ross' assassination, the feature in the show where questions about records posed by children were answered was called Norris on the Spot.
  
  Guinness Superlatives (later Guinness World Records) Limited was formed in 1954 to publish the first book. Sterling Publishing owned the rights to the Guinness book in the US for decades, and, under their management, the book became a household name. The group was owned by Guinness PLC and subsequently Diageo until 2001, when it was purchased by Gullane Entertainment. Gullane was itself purchased by HIT Entertainment in 2002. In 2006, Apax Partners purchased HiT and subsequently sold Guinness World Records in early 2008 to the Jim Pattison Group, the parent company of Ripley Entertainment, which is licensed to operate Guinness World Records' Attractions. With offices in New York City and Tokyo, Guinness World Records' global headquarters remain in London, while its museum attractions are based at Ripley headquarters in Orlando, Florida, US'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
• In 1962, Mariner 2 was launched by the United States. In December of the same year the spacecraft flew past Venus. It was the first space probe to reach the vicinity of another planet.
  From Wikipedia: 'Mariner 2 (Mariner-Venus 1962), an American space probe to Venus, was the first robotic space probe to conduct a successful planetary encounter. The first successful spacecraft in the NASA Mariner program, it was a simplified version of the Block I spacecraft of the Ranger program and an exact copy of Mariner 1. The missions of Mariner 1 and 2 spacecraft are together sometimes known as the Mariner R missions. Original plans called for the probes to be launched on the Atlas-Centaur, but serious developmental problems with that vehicle forced a switch to the much smaller Agena B stage. As such, the design of the Mariner R vehicles was greatly simplified. Far less instrumentation was carried than on the Soviet Venera probes of this period, including no TV camera as the Atlas-Agena B had only half as much lift capacity as the Soviet 8K78 booster. The Mariner 2 spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral on August 27, 1962 and passed as close as 34,773 kilometers (21,607 mi) to Venus on December 14, 1962'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1991, Java programming language is released.
  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 applications are typically compiled to bytecode that can run on any Java virtual machine (JVM) regardless of computer architecture. As of 2016, Java is one of the most popular programming languages in use, particularly for client-server web applications, with a reported 9 million developers. 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.
  
  The original and reference implementation Java compilers, virtual machines, and class libraries were originally released by Sun under proprietary licences. As of May 2007, in compliance with the specifications of the Java Community Process, Sun relicensed most of its Java technologies under the GNU General Public License. Others have also developed alternative implementations of these Sun technologies, such as the GNU Compiler for Java (bytecode compiler), GNU Classpath (standard libraries), and IcedTea-Web (browser plugin for applets).
  
  The latest version is Java 8, which is the only version currently supported for free by Oracle, although earlier versions are supported both by Oracle and other companies on a commercial basis'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 2003, In nearly 60,000 years, Mars makes its closest approach to Earth at 55,758,006 km or 0.37271925 AU or 34,646,419 mi.,. The last time it was so close was in September 12, 57 617 BC, and the next time is in 2287. The last Mars opposition prior to 2015 occurred on April 8, 2014 at a distance of about 93 million km, 58 million miles.
  From Wikipedia: 'Mars made its closest approach to Earth and maximum apparent brightness in nearly 60,000 years, 55,758,006 km (0.37271925 AU; 34,646,419 mi), magnitude -2.88, on August 27, 2003 at 9:51:13 UT. This occurred when Mars was one day from opposition and about three days from its perihelion, making it particularly easy to see from Earth. The last time it came so close is estimated to have been on September 12, 57 617 BC, the next time being in 2287. This record approach was only slightly closer than other recent close approaches. For instance, the minimum distance on August 22, 1924 was 0.37285 AU, and the minimum distance on August 24, 2208 will be 0.37279 AU'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
  - On YouTube: More

'Lincoln, Lincoln, Bo, Bincoln, Banana, Fanna, Foe, Fincoln, Fee, Fie, Moe, Mincoln, Lincoln'. If you don't understand it, go ask your mom or dad. Well it ain't Lincoln Day, so tomorrow must be 'Banana Lovers Day'. We had banana split day a few days ago. If you have some left over, eat 'um quick. And I bet you never heard this one before, don't store them in the refrigerator. My spell checker almost had a melt-down over this one.

Happy 'National Pots De Creme Day'. Who's nation, I'm not sure. This is a French custard, ''Pot of Custard. I'll have one after I eat my American Fries.

Celebrate 'Burger Day' tomorrow. This is a London England celebration. We have our own Hamburger Day and Cheeseburger Day, but it is nice to know that the American cuisine has influenced the Old Country.

Tomorrow is also 'The Duchess Who Wasn't Day'. Ever heard 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'? That phrase was created by author Margaret Wolfe Hungerford who wrote many books, etc under the pen name, 'The Duchess'. August 27 is her birthday.

'National Petroleum Day'. is celebrated tomorrow. It commemorates the first commercially successful oil well, the Drake Well, near Titusville, Pennsylvania.

Get that rope and make that big mud puddle. Tomorrow is 'Tug-of-War Day'. Please note that it is illegal to shout 'Free Pizza at the refreshment tent, only one left' to the opposing team.

If none of these holidays, ring your bell, don't worry. Tomorrow is 'National Just Because Day'. You got it. Do what you want, when you want, just because.

Tomorrow is also an official Texas state holiday, 'Lyndon Baines Johnson Day'. created in 1973..



The bookmark in the old almanac is dog-eared at August 27:

In 1859, Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well.

In 1883, Krakatoa erupts.

In 1918, The only World War I battle that was fought on American soil, the Battle of Ambos Nogales, took place. U.S. Army forces skirmished against Mexican Carrancistas and their German advisers during the Mexican Revolution.

In1939, Flight of world's first jet aircraft, Heinkel He 178.

In 1955, the Guinness Book of Records, is first published. It is the best-selling copyrighted book series of all time, and it is also one of the most frequently stolen books from US public libraries.

In 1991. The Java programming language is released. More stuff for us geeks.

No. 1 song

• Where Did Our Love Go - The Supremes: More
  'Everybody Loves Somebody' has been displaced by 'Where Did Our Love Go', which will hold the no. 1 spot until Sept. 5 2014, when 'The House of the Rising Sun', takes over.

Top movie

• A Hard Day's Night More
  Having displaced 'The Night of the Iguana', it will be there until the weekend box office of August 30 1964 when, 'Mary Poppins', takes over.

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

National Catfish Month, National Goat Cheese Month, National Peach Month, National Brownies at Brunch Month

August is:

August origin (from Wikipedia): Originally named Sextili (Latin), because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar: under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first month of the year.
"About 700 BC it became the eighth month when January and February were added to the year before March by King Numa Pompilius, who also gave it 29 days. Julius Caesar added two days when he created the Julian calendar in 45 BC giving it its modern length of 31 days. In 8 BC it was renamed in honor of Augustus According to a Senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, he chose this month because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt. "

August 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