Today is October 31 2014

National Caramel Apple Day: More

• Halloween: More
  
• Frankenstein Friday: More
• National Knock-Knock Jokes Day: More
• National Breadstix (Bread Sticks) Day: More
  Last Friday in October
• Girl Scout Founder’s Day: More
• Magic Day: More
• National UNICEF Day: More
• Samhain: More
  Oct 31 - Nov1 in 2014
• Increase Your Psychic Powers Day: More
• Carve a Pumpkin Day: More
• National Bandanna Day: More
  Australia, CanTeen, Young people living with cancer.
• Pink Friday: More
  United Kingdom - Breast Cancer awareness

• In 1864, Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.
  From Wikipedia: 'Nevada (Spanish for "snow covered") is a state in the Western, Mountain West, and Southwestern regions of the United States of America. Nevada is the 7th most extensive, the 35th most populous, and the 9th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's people live in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area where three of the state's four largest incorporated cities are located. Nevada's capital is Carson City. Nevada is officially known as the "Silver State" due to the importance of silver to its history and economy. It is also known as the "Battle Born State", because it achieved statehood during the Civil War (the words "Battle Born" also appear on the state flag); as the "Sage-brush State", for the native plant of the same name; and as the "Sage-hen State". Nevada borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast and Utah to the east.
  
  Nevada is largely desert and semiarid, much of it located within the Great Basin. Areas south of the Great Basin are located within the Mojave Desert, while Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada lie on the western edge. About 86% of the state's land is managed by various jurisdictions of the U.S. federal government, both civilian and military.
  
  Before European contact, Native Americans of the Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe tribes inhabited the land that is now Nevada. The first Europeans to explore the region were Spanish. They called the region Nevada (snowy) due to the snow which covered the mountains in winter. The area formed part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and became part of Mexico when it gained independence in 1821. The United States annexed the area in 1848 after its victory in the Mexican–American War, and it was incorporated as part of Utah Territory in 1850. The discovery of silver at the Comstock Lode in 1859 led to a population boom that became an impetus to the creation of Nevada Territory out of western Utah Territory in 1861. Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864, as the second of two states added to the Union during the Civil War (the first being West Virginia).
  
  Nevada has a reputation for its libertarian laws. In 1940, with a population of just over 110,000 people, Nevada was by far the least populated state, with less than half the population of the next least-populated state. However, legalized gambling and lenient marriage and divorce laws transformed Nevada into a major tourist destination in the 20th century. Nevada is the only U.S. state where prostitution is legal, though it is illegal in Las Vegas (Clark County) and Reno (Washoe County) as well as Carson City, which is an independent city. The tourism industry remains Nevada's largest employer, with mining continuing as a substantial sector of the economy: Nevada is the fourth-largest producer of gold in the world'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1913, Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across US. It ran from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Lincoln Highway was one of the earliest transcontinental highways for automobiles across the United States of America. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913, the Lincoln Highway ran coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City west to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California. In 1915, the "Colorado Loop" was removed, and in 1928, a realignment relocated the Lincoln Highway through the northern tip of West Virginia. Thus, there are a total of 14 states, 128 counties, and more than 700 cities, towns and villages through which the highway passed at some time in its history.
  
  The first officially recorded length of the entire Lincoln Highway in 1913 was 3,389 miles (5,454 km). Over the years, the road was improved and numerous realignments were made, and by 1924 the highway had been shortened to 3,142 miles (5,057 km). Counting the original route and all of the subsequent realignments, there have been a grand total of 5,872 miles (9,450 km).
  
  The Lincoln Highway was gradually replaced with numbered designations after the establishment of the U.S. Numbered Highway System in 1926. Today, Interstate 80 serves as the primary highway from the New York City area to San Francisco'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1917, During World War I at the Battle of Beersheba, The 'last successful cavalry charge' in history was made.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Battle of Beersheba (Turkish: Birüssebi Savasi, German: Schlacht von Birüssebi), was fought on 31 October 1917, when the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) attacked and captured the Yildirim Army Group garrison at Beersheba, beginning the Southern Palestine Offensive of the Sinai and Palestine campaign of World War I. After successful limited attacks in the morning, by infantry from the 60th (London) and the 74th (Yeomanry) Divisions of the XX Corps from the south-west, the Anzac Mounted Division (Desert Mounted Corps) launched a series of attacks. These attacks, against the strong defences which dominated the eastern side of Beersheba, eventually resulted in their capture during the late afternoon. Shortly afterwards, the Australian Mounted Division's 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments (4th Light Horse Brigade) conducted a mounted infantry charge with bayonets in their hands, their only weapon for mounted attack, as their rifles were slung across their backs. While part of the two regiments dismounted to attack entrenchments on Tel es Saba defending Beersheba, the remainder of the light horsemen continued their charge into the town, capturing the place and part of the garrison as it was withdrawing'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1926, Magician Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that develops after his appendix ruptures. From Wikipedia: 'Harry Houdini died of peritonitis, secondary to a ruptured appendix at 1:26 p.m. on October 31, 1926 in Room 401 at Detroit's Grace Hospital, aged 52'. The condition was most likely brought on by being hit in the stomach several days before. Houdini had allowed a student to punch him in the stomach as a test of strength. He was reclined on a couch, recovering from a broken ankle. The student did not wait for him to prepare himself, and he received several blows below the belt.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1940, In World War II, the 'Battle of Britain' ends. The United Kingdom prevents a possible German invasion.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Battle of Britain (German: die Luftschlacht um England, literally "Air battle for England") was a combat of the Second World War, when the Royal Air Force ("RAF") defended the United Kingdom ("UK") against the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attacks from the end of June 1940. It is described as the first major campaign fought entirely by air forces. The British officially recognise its duration as from 10 July until 31 October 1940 that overlaps with the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, while German historians do not accept this subdivision and regard it as a campaign lasting from July 1940 to June 1941.
  
  The primary objective of the Nazi German forces was to compel Britain to agree to a negotiated peace settlement. In July 1940, the air and sea blockade began with the Luftwaffe mainly targeting coastal shipping convoys, ports and shipping centres, such as Portsmouth. On 1 August, the Luftwaffe was directed to achieve air superiority over RAF with the aim of incapacitating RAF Fighter Command and, 12 days later, it shifted the attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed, the Luftwaffe also targeted factories involved in aircraft production and strategic infrastructure and, eventually, it employed terror bombing on areas of political significance and civilians.
  
  By preventing the Luftwaffe's air superiority over UK, the British forced Adolf Hitler to postpone and eventually cancel Operation Sea Lion, a proposed amphibious and airborne invasion of Britain. However, Nazi Germany continued bombing operations on Britain, known as the Blitz. The failure to destroy Britain's air defences to force an armistice (or even outright surrender) is considered by Steven Bungay to be the Nazis' first major defeat in World War II, and a crucial turning point in the conflict.
  
  The Battle of Britain has the unusual distinction that it gained its name before being fought. The name is derived from the famous speech delivered by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the House of Commons on 18 June, more than three weeks prior to the generally accepted date for the start of the battle ..'.
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• In 1941, After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore is completed.
  From Wikipedia: 'Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore, a granite batholith formation in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota, United States. Sculpted by Danish-American Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum, Mount Rushmore features 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (2.00 sq mi; 5.17 km2) and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.
  
  South Dakota historian Doane Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills region of South Dakota in order to promote tourism in the region. Robinson's initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles site because of the poor quality of the granite and strong opposition from Native American groups. They settled on the Mount Rushmore location, which also has the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Robinson wanted it to feature western heroes like Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud, and Buffalo Bill Cody, but Borglum decided the sculpture should have a more national focus and chose the four presidents whose likenesses would be carved into the mountain. After securing federal funding through the enthusiastic sponsorship of "Mount Rushmore's great political patron", U.S. Senator Peter Norbeck, construction on the memorial began in 1927, and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Upon Gutzon Borglum's death in March 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum took over construction. Although the initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to waist, lack of funding forced construction to end in late October 1941.
  
  Mount Rushmore has become an iconic symbol of the United States, and has appeared in works of fiction, and has been discussed or depicted in other popular works. It attracts over two million people annually'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1954, For the first time in history, Color Television sets are available to the public.
  From Wikipedia: 'Although all-electronic color was introduced in the U.S. in 1953, high prices and the scarcity of color programming greatly slowed its acceptance in the marketplace. The first national color broadcast (the 1954 Tournament of Roses Parade) occurred on January 1, 1954, but during the next ten years most network broadcasts, and nearly all local programming, continued to be in black-and-white. CBS's The Patti Page Show was the first television show broadcast in color for the entire 1957-1958 season; its production costs were greater than most movies were at the time not only because of all the stars featured on the hour-long extravaganza but the extreme high intensity lighting and electronics required for the new RCA TK-41 cameras. It was not until the mid-1960s that color sets started selling in large numbers, due in part to the color transition of 1965 in which it was announced that over half of all network prime-time programming would be broadcast in color that autumn. The first all-color prime-time season came just one year later.
  
  NBC made the first coast-to-coast color broadcast when it telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 1954, with public demonstrations given across the United States on prototype color receivers by manufacturers RCA, General Electric, Philco, Raytheon, Hallicrafters, Hoffman, Pacific Mercury, and others. A color model from Westinghouse H840CK15 ($1,295, or equivalent to $11,430 in 2015) became available in the New York area on February 28, 1954 and is generally agreed to be the first production receiver using NTSC color offered to the public; a less expensive color model from RCA (CT-100) reached dealers in April 1954. Television's first prime time network color series was The Marriage, a situation comedy broadcast live by NBC in the summer of 1954. NBC's anthology series Ford Theatre became the first network color filmed series that October.
  
  Early color telecasts could be preserved only on the black-and-white kinescope process introduced in 1947. It was not until September 1956 that NBC began using color film to time-delay and preserve some of its live color telecasts. Ampex introduced a color videotape recorder in 1958, which NBC used to tape An Evening With Fred Astaire, the oldest surviving network color videotape. This system was also used to unveil a demonstration of color television for the press. On May 22, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited the WRC-TV NBC studios in Washington, D.C. and gave a speech touting the new technology's merits. His speech was recorded in color, and a copy of this videotape was given to the Library of Congress for posterity.
  
  Several syndicated shows had episodes filmed in color during the 1950s, including The Cisco Kid, The Lone Ranger, My Friend Flicka, and Adventures of Superman. The first two were carried by some stations equipped for color telecasts well before NBC began its regular weekly color dramas in 1959, beginning with the Western series Bonanza.
  
  NBC was at the forefront of color programming because its parent company RCA manufactured the most successful line of color sets in the 1950s, and by 1959 RCA was the only remaining major manufacturer of color sets. CBS and ABC, which were not affiliated with set manufacturers and were not eager to promote their competitor's product, dragged their feet into color. CBS broadcast color specials and sometimes aired its big weekly variety shows in color, but it offered no regularly scheduled color programming until the fall of 1965. At least one CBS show, The Lucy Show, was filmed in color beginning in 1963 but continued to be telecast in black and white through the end of the 1964–65 season. ABC delayed its first color programs until 1962, but these were initially only broadcasts of the cartoon shows The Flintstones, The Jetsons and Beany and Cecil. The DuMont network, although it did have a television-manufacturing parent company, was in financial decline by 1954 and was dissolved two years later.
  
  The relatively small amount of network color programming, combined with the high cost of color television sets, meant that as late as 1964 only 3.1 percent of television households in the U.S. had a color set. But by the mid-1960s, the subject of color programming turned into a ratings war. A 1965 ARB study that proposed an emerging trend in color television set sales convinced NBC that a full shift to color would gain a ratings advantage over its two competitors. As a result, NBC provided the catalyst for rapid color expansion by announcing that its prime time schedule for fall 1965 would be almost entirely in color. ABC and CBS followed suit and over half of their combined prime-time programming also was in color that season, but were still reluctant to telecast all their programming in color due to production costs. All three broadcast networks were airing full color prime time schedules by the 1966–67 broadcast season, and ABC aired its last new black-and-white daytime programming in December 1967. Public broadcasting networks like NET, however, did not use color for a majority of their programming until 1968. The number of color television sets sold in the U.S. did not exceed black-and-white sales until 1972, which was also the first year that more than fifty percent of television households in the U.S. had a color set. This was also the year that "in color" notices before color television programs ended, due to the rise in color television set sales, and color programming having become the norm'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1999, Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
  From Wikipedia: 'Jesse Martin, OAM (born 26 August 1981) is an Australian sailor who in 1999 became the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, non-stop, and unassisted, taking the record from David Dicks, who was 24 days younger when he completed his circumnavigation, but had obtained assistance. Martin's journey in the 34-foot (10 m) S and S 34 sloop Lionheart-Mistral took approximately 11 months. He chronicled his adventures in the book Lionheart: A Journey of the Human Spirit, and his story was made into a documentary, Lionheart: The Jesse Martin Story'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• 2000, The Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then.
  From Wikipedia: 'Soyuz TM-31 was the first Soyuz spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). This Soyuz-TM spacecraft carried the members of Expedition 1, the first long-duration ISS crew. It was launched from Russia at 07:52 UT on October 31, 2000 by a Soyuz-U rocket.
  
  The crew consisted of Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, and American William Shepherd. Gidzenko was Commander of the flight up, but once aboard the station, Shepherd became Commander of the long-duration mission Expedition 1.
  
  The spacecraft served as the crew's lifeboat while docked to the ISS. The Expedition 1 crew were returned to Earth via a Space Shuttle during STS-102 in March 2001, and the Soyuz TM-31 spacecraft stayed with the station for part of Expedition 2. In April 2001 another spacecraft, Soyuz TM-32, arrived at the station, and took over responsibilities as the station's lifeboat. The crew launched by Soyuz TM-32, which included the first paying space tourist Dennis Tito, were returned to Earth in May aboard Soyuz TM-31. The visiting mission of which Tito was apart is sometimes referred to as ISS EP-1'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• 2011, The global population of humans reaches seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as Seven Billion Day.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Day of Seven Billion, October 31, 2011, is the day that has been officially designated by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as the approximate day on which the world's population reached seven billion people. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is to speak at the United Nations building in New York City on this new milestone in the size of world population and the issues that it will raise, along with promoting the UNFPA's new program named 7 Billion Actions, which will seek to "build global awareness around the opportunities and challenges associated with a world of seven billion people" and inspire individuals and organizations to take action'.
  - At Wikipedia: More

We have two, or maybe three food holidays tomorrow. It will be ' National Caramel Apple Day' or if you prefer a red crunchy hard coating on your apple, it's 'National Candy Apple Day'. It will also be 'National Breadstix (Bread Sticks) Day'.

All this, except I can't figure out the bread stick thing, has to do with tomorrow's 'Halloween'. I wonder how many rocks Charlie B. will get tomorrow night? And please let the little kid with the blanket, know if you see anything like a Great Pumpkin rising out of the Punkin Patch.

Related is tomorrow's 'Frankenstein Friday'.

Tomorrow marks the death of Harry Houdini, on October 31 1926. We remember his life as 'Magic Day'. You may remember a few days ago that we mentioned his being hospitalized due to a publicity stunt gone bad.

Tomorrow being the last Friday in October we celebrate 'National Knock-Knock Jokes Day'. You have ample warning to prepare to run your friends crazy. I remember my first such jokes, back in the ...., well we will just call them elementary school days. "Knock-Knock. Who's there? You. You, who? Gee I didn't know you could yodel..' And with a quick change 'Knock-Knock. Who's there? "Boo. Boo, who?. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry.'

Tomorrow is 'Girl Scout Founder’s Day'.

Tomorrow is 'Increase Your Psychic Powers Day'. Practice makes perfect. On Halloween, this was easy when you tried to guess (see with your mind) what was just thrown into your bag, how much did your bag weigh, how many days would the loot last and how could you palm off that candy you don't like for something you do like.

We have two awareness days tomorrow. It is 'National Bandanna Day' in Australia. The organization 'CanTeen', deals with young people living with cancer. ' Pink Friday' in the United Kingdom is a Breast Cancer awareness day.

Charles Caleb Colton once said. 'Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time which every day produces, and which most men throw away. ' Let us not be guilty of wasting even a smidgen of time. Let's take a quick look at October 31 in the past, before we once again pay rightful attention to the now.

In 1864, Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.

In 1913, The Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across US, is dedicated.

In 1941, After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore is completed.

In 1954, For the first time in history, Color Television sets are available to the public.

In 1940, In World War II, the 'Battle of Britain' ends. The United Kingdom prevents a possible German invasion.

In 1999, Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.

In 2000, The Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then.

In 2011, The global population of humans reaches seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as Seven Billion Day.

No. 1 song

• We'll Sing in the Sunshine - Gale Garnett: More
  'Do Wah Diddy Diddy' has been displaced by 'We'll Sing in the Sunshine', which will hold the no. 1 spot until November 7 1964, when 'Last Kiss', takes over.

Top movie

• Mary Poppins (regains the box office) More
  Having displaced 'Send Me No Flowers', it will be there until the weekend box office of November 1 1964 when, 'The Naked Kiss', takes over.

• FamousBirthdays.com: October 31 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: October 31 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 31st October More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 31st October More
• On-This-day.com history 31st October More
• On-This-day.com music history 31st October More
• Wikipedia.com: History October 31 More

Food: Apple Month, Rhubarb Month, Sausage Month, Spinach Lovers Month, National Chili Month, National Popcorn Poppin' Month, National Seafood Month Pear and Pineapple Month, , Vegetarian Month
Other
AIDS Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Bullying Prevention Month, Celiac Disease Awareness Month, Class Reunion Month, Down Syndrome Awareness Month, Dyslexia Awareness Month, National Book Month, National Dental Hygiene Month, National Down Syndrome Month, National Spina Bifida Awareness Month, National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month

October is:

October origin (from Wikipedia): October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, October retained its name (from the Greek meaning 'eight') after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally been created by the Romans. "
October is commonly associated with the season of autumn in the Northern hemisphere and spring in the Southern hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to April in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa.

October 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