Today is May 31 2015

National Macaroon Day: More

• Speak in Complete Sentences Day: More
  Promoting good language skills.
• National Save Your Hearing Day: More

• Health
  • World No Tobacco Day: More
  • Infant Gastric Reflux Awareness Week More
    May 31-June6 in New Zealand. From the web site: Infant Gastric Reflux Awareness Week aims to improve awareness and support parents whose children suffer from reflux
• Other
  • Mother's Day in France and Sweden: More

• In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell in the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster in London, begins operating.
  From Wikipedia: 'Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and often extended to refer to the clock and the clock tower. The tower is officially known as Elizabeth Tower, renamed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012; previously it was known simply as the Clock Tower. The tower holds the second largest four-faced chiming clock in the world (after Minneapolis City Hall). The tower was completed in 1859 and had its 150th anniversary on 31 May 2009, during which celebratory events took place. The tower has become one of the most prominent symbols of the United Kingdom and is often in the establishing shot of films set in London.
  
  The Elizabeth Tower (previously called the Clock Tower or St. Stephen's Tower), more popularly known as Big Ben, was raised as a part of Charles Barry's design for a new palace, after the old Palace of Westminster was largely destroyed by fire on the night of 16 October 1834. The new parliament was built in a neo-gothic style. Although Barry was the chief architect of the palace, he turned to Augustus Pugin for the design of the clock tower, which resembles earlier Pugin designs, including one for Scarisbrick Hall. The design for the tower was Pugin's last design before his final descent into madness and death, and Pugin himself wrote, at the time of Barry's last visit to him to collect the drawings: "I never worked so hard in my life for Mr Barry for tomorrow I render all the designs for finishing his bell tower and it is beautiful." The tower is designed in Pugin's celebrated Gothic Revival style, and is 315 feet (96.0 m) high.
  
  The bottom 200 feet (61.0 m) of the tower's structure consists of brickwork with sand coloured Anston limestone cladding. The remainder of the tower's height is a framed spire of cast iron. The tower is founded on a 50 feet (15.2 m) square raft, made of 10 feet (3.0 m) thick concrete, at a depth of 13 feet (4.0 m) below ground level. The four clock dials are 180 feet (54.9 m) above ground. The interior volume of the tower is 164,200 cubic feet (4,650 cubic metres).
  
  The main bell, officially known as the Great Bell but better known as Big Ben, is the largest bell in the tower and part of the Great Clock of Westminster.
  
  Along with the Great Bell, the belfry houses four quarter bells which play the Westminster Quarters on the quarter hours. The four quarter bells sound G sharp, F sharp, E, and B.
  
  The clock and dials were designed by Augustus Pugin. The clock dials are set in an iron frame 23 feet (7.0 m) in diameter, supporting 312 pieces of opal glass, rather like a stained-glass window. Some of the glass pieces may be removed for inspection of the hands. The surround of the dials is gilded. At the base of each clock dial in gilt letters...
  
  On top of the pendulum is a small stack of old penny coins; these are to adjust the time of the clock. Adding a coin has the effect of minutely lifting the position of the pendulum's centre of mass, reducing the effective length of the pendulum rod and hence increasing the rate at which the pendulum swings. Adding or removing a penny will change the clock's speed by 0.4 seconds per day'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1870, E.J. DeSemdt patented asphalt cement.
  From Wikipedia (Asphalt): 'Asphalt also known as bitumen is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product; it is a substance classed as a pitch. Until the 20th century, the term asphaltum was also used. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek ?sfa?t?? ásphaltos.
  
  The primary use (70%) of asphalt/bitumen is in road construction, where it is used as the glue or binder mixed with aggregate particles to create asphalt concrete. Its other main uses are for bituminous waterproofing products, including production of roofing felt and for sealing flat roofs'.
  
  From Wikipedia (Asphalt concrete):
  
  'Asphalt concrete (commonly called asphalt, blacktop, or pavement in North America, and tarmac or bitumen macadam in Great Britain and Ireland) is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parking lots, and airports. It consists of mineral aggregate bound together with asphalt, laid in layers, and compacted. The process was refined and enhanced by Belgian inventor and U.S. immigrant Edward de Smedt.[2] It is increasingly being used as the core of embankment dams.
  
  The terms "asphalt (or asphaltic) concrete", "bituminous asphalt concrete", and "bituminous mixture" are typically used only in engineering and construction documents, which define concrete as any composite material composed of mineral aggregate adhered with a binder. The abbreviation " "AC" is sometimes used for "asphalt concrete" but can also denote "asphalt content" or "asphalt cement", referring to the liquid asphalt portion of the composite material'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1879, Madison Square Garden opens its doors to the public.
  From Wikipedia: 'Madison Square Garden (often called MSG or simply The Garden) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Located in Midtown Manhattan between 7th and 8th Avenues from 31st to 33rd Streets, it is situated atop Pennsylvania Station. It is the fourth venue to bear the name "Madison Square Garden", the first two (1879 and 1890) of which were located on Madison Square, on East 26th Street and Madison Avenue, with the third Madison Square Garden further uptown at Eighth Avenue and 50th Street. The Garden is used for professional basketball and ice hockey, as well as boxing, concerts, ice shows, circuses, professional wrestling and other forms of sports and entertainment. It is close to other midtown Manhattan landmarks, including the Empire State Building, Koreatown, and Macy's at Herald Square. It is home to the New Yor Rangers of the National Hockey League, the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association, and residency to singer-songwriter Billy Joel.
  
  Madison Square is formed by the intersection of 5th Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in Manhattan. It was named after James Madison, fourth President of the United States
  
  Two venues called Madison Square Garden were located just northeast of the square, the first from 1879 to 1890, and the second from 1890 to 1925. The first Garden, leased to P. T. Barnum, had no roof and was inconvenient to use during inclement weather, so it was demolished after 11 years'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1889, Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam fails and sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Johnstown Flood (locally, the Great Flood of 1889) occurred on May 31, 1889, after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam on the Little Conemaugh River 14 miles (23 km) upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The dam broke after several days of extremely heavy rainfall, unleashing 20 million tons of water (18 million cubic meters) from the reservoir known as Lake Conemaugh. With a volumetric flow rate that temporarily equalled that of the Mississippi River, the flood killed 2,209 people and caused US$17 million of damage (about $450 million in 2015 dollars).
  
  The American Red Cross, led by Clara Barton and with 50 volunteers, undertook a major disaster relief effort. Support for victims came from all over the United States and 18 foreign countries. After the flood, survivors suffered a series of legal defeats in their attempts to recover damages from the dam's owners. Public indignation at that failure prompted the development in American law changing a fault-based regime to strict liability.
  
  High above the city, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania built the South Fork Dam between 1838 and 1853, as part of a cross-state canal system, the Main Line of Public Works. Johnstown was the eastern terminus of the Western Division Canal, supplied with water by Lake Conemaugh, the reservoir behind the dam. As railroads superseded canal barge transport, the Commonwealth abandoned the canal and sold it to the Pennsylvania Railroad. The dam and lake were part of the purchase, and the railroad sold them to private interests.
  
  Henry Clay Frick led a group of speculators, including Benjamin Ruff, from Pittsburgh to purchase the abandoned reservoir, modify it, and convert it into a private resort lake for their wealthy associates.
  
  Development included lowering the dam to make its top wide enough to hold a road, and putting a fish screen in the spillway (the screen also trapped debris). These alterations are thought to have increased the vulnerability of the dam. Moreover, a system of relief pipes and valves, a feature of the original dam, previously sold off for scrap, was not replaced, so the club had no way of lowering the water level in the lake in case of an emergency. The members built cottages and a clubhouse to create the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, an exclusive and private mountain retreat. Membership grew to include more than 50 wealthy Pittsburgh steel, coal, and railroad industrialists.
  
  On May 28, 1889, a storm formed over Nebraska and Kansas and headed east. When the storm struck the Johnstown-South Fork area two days later, it was the worst downpour that had ever been recorded in that part of the country. The U.S. Army Signal Corps estimated that 6 to 10 inches (150 to 250 mm) of rain fell in 24 hours over the region. During the night, small creeks became roaring torrents, ripping out trees and debris. Telegraph lines were downed and rail lines were washed away. Before daybreak, the Conemaugh River that ran through Johnstown was about to overwhelm its banks.
  
  On the morning of May 31, in a farmhouse on a hill just above the South Fork Dam, Elias Unger, president of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, awoke to the sight of Lake Conemaugh swollen after a night-long heavy rainfall. Unger ran outside in the still- pouring rain to assess the situation and saw that the water was nearly cresting the dam. He quickly assembled a group of men to save the face of the dam by trying to unclog the spillway; it was blocked by the broken fish trap and debris caused by the swollen waterline. Other men tried digging another spillway at the other end of the dam to relieve the pressure, without success. Most remained on top of the dam, some plowing earth to raise it, while others tried to pile mud and rock on the face to save the eroding wall.
  
  At around 3:10 p.m., the South Fork Dam collapsed, freeing the 20 million tons of Lake Conemaugh to cascade down the Little Conemaugh River. It took about 40 minutes for the entire lake to drain of the water. The first town to be hit by the flood was South Fork. The town was on high ground, and most of the people escaped by running up the nearby hills when they saw the dam spill over. Some 20 to 30 houses were destroyed or washed away, and four people were killed.
  
  On its way downstream toward Johnstown, 14 miles away, the crest picked up debris, such as trees, houses, and animals. At the Conemaugh Viaduct, a 78-foot (24 m) high railroad bridge, the flood temporarily was stopped when debris jammed against the stone bridge's arch. But within seven minutes, the viaduct collapsed, allowing the flood to resume its course. Because of this, the surging river gained renewed hydraulic head, resulting in a stronger wave hitting Johnstown than otherwise would have been expected. The small town of Mineral Point, one mile (1.6 km) below the Conemaugh Viaduct, was hit with this renewed force. About 30 families lived on the village's single street. After the flood, only bare rock remained. About 16 people were killed. In 2009, studies showed that the volume of the flood through the narrow valley temporarily equalled the flow of the Mississippi River.
  
  The village of East Conemaugh was next. One witness on high ground near the town described the water as almost obscured by debris, resembling "a huge hill rolling over and over".
  
  Before hitting the main part of Johnstown, the flood surge hit the Cambria Iron Works at the town of Woodvale, sweeping up railroad cars and barbed wire in its moil. Of Woodvale's 1,100 residents, 314 died in the flood. Boilers exploded when the flood hit the Gautier Wire Works, causing black smoke seen by the Johnstown residents. Miles of its barbed wire became entangled in the debris in the flood waters.
  
  Some 57 minutes after the South Fork Dam collapsed, the flood hit Johnstown. The residents were caught by surprise as the wall of water and debris bore down, traveling at 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) and reaching a height of 60 feet (18 m) in places. Some, realizing the danger, tried to escape by running towards high ground but most people were hit by the surging floodwater. Many people were crushed by pieces of debris, and others became caught in barbed wire from the wire factory upstream. Those who reached attics, or managed to stay afloat on pieces of floating debris, waited hours for help to arrive.
  
  At Johnstown, the Stone Bridge, which was a substantial arched structure, carried the Pennsylvania Railroad across the Conemaugh River. The debris carried by the flood formed a temporary dam at the bridge, resulting in the flood surge rolling upstream along the Stoney Creek River. Eventually, gravity caused the surge to return to the dam, causing a second wave to hit the city city, but from a different direction. Some people who had been washed downstream became trapped in an inferno as the debris piled up against the Stone Bridge caught fire; at least 80 people died there. The fire at the Stone Bridge burned for three days. After floodwaters receded, the pile of debris at the bridge was seen to cover 30 acres (12 ha), and reached 70 feet (21 m) in height. It took workers three months to remove the mass of debris, largely because it was bound by the steel wire from the ironworks. Dynamite was eventually used to clear it. Still standing and in use as a railroad bridge, the Stone Bridge is a landmark associated with survival and recovery from the flood. In 2008, it was restored in a project including new lighting as part of commemorative activities related to the flood.
  
  The total death toll was 2,209, making the disaster the largest loss of civilian life in the United States at the time (perhaps with exception of the Peshtigo Fire). It was later surpassed by fatalities in the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube (55 min. excellent): More
• In 1907, Taxicabs (or taxis) first began running in New York City.
  From Wikipedia: 'In 1907, following the collapse of the Electric Vehicle Company, horse-drawn cabs once again became a primary means of transport around New York City. In early 1907 Harry N. Allen, incensed after being charged five dollars ($126.98 in today's dollars) for a journey of 0.75 miles (1.21 km), decided "to start a (taxicab) service in New York and charge so-much per mile." Later that year he imported 65 gasoline-powered cars from France and began the New York Taxicab Company. The cabs were originally painted red and green, but Allen repainted them all yellow to be visible from a distance. By 1908 the company was running 700 taxicabs.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1913, The 17th Amendment went into effect. It provided for popular election of U.S. senators.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Seventeenth Amendment (Amendment XVII) to the United States Constitution established the popular election of United States Senators by the people of the states. The amendment supersedes Article I, §3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures. It also alters the procedure for filling vacancies in the Senate, allowing for state legislatures to permit their governors to make temporary appointments until a special election can be held.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1916, During World War I, the Battle of Jutland takes place. The British Grand Fleet under the command of John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe and David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty engage the Imperial German Navy under the command of Reinhard Scheer and Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Battle of Jutland (German: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought by the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, against the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer during the First World War. The battle was fought from 3 May to 1 June 1916 in the North Sea, near the coast of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula. It was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships in the war. It was the third fleet action between steel battleships, following the smaller but more decisive battles of the Yellow Sea (1904) and Tsushima (1905) during the Russo-Japanese War.
  
  Germany's High Seas Fleet's intention was to lure out, trap and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, as the German naval force was insufficient to openly engage the entire British fleet. This formed part of a larger strategy to break the British blockade of Germany and to allow German naval vessels access to the Atlantic. Meanwhile, Great Britain's Royal Navy pursued a strategy to engage and destroy the High Seas Fleet, or keep the German force contained and away from Britain and her shipping lanes.
  
  Both sides claimed victory. The British lost more ships and twice as many sailors but succeeded in containing the German fleet. However, the British press criticised the Grand Fleet's failure to force a decisive outcome while Scheer's plan of destroying a substantial portion of the British fleet also failed. Finally, the British strategy to prevent Germany access to both Great Britain and the Atlantic did succeed which was the British long term goal
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1927, After a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles, the last Ford Model T comes off the assembly line.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Ford Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie, T-Model Ford, Model T, or T) is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, the car that opened travel to the common middle-class American; some of this was because of Ford's efficient fabrication, including assembly line production instead of individual hand crafting.
  
  The Ford Model T was named the most influential car of the 20th century in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, ahead of the BMC Mini, Citroën DS, and Volkswagen Type 1. With 16.5 million sold it stands eighth on the top ten list of most sold cars of all time as of 2012.
  
  The Model T was Ford's first automobile mass-produced on moving assembly lines with completely interchangeable parts, marketed to the middle class.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1926, Sesquicentennial Exposition opens in Philadelphia.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition.
  
  The honor of hosting this celebration was awarded to Philadelphia in 1921. Initial grand plans were scaled down tremendously by the time the fair opened. The original director of the exposition, Colonel David C. Collier, resigned in protest over these budget cuts. His replacement, Captain Asher C. Baker, retired due to illness days before the festival opened, leaving things in the hands of E. L. Austin. Baker died less than two weeks later.
  
  The fair opened on May 31, 1926, and ran through November on grounds bounded by 10th Street, Packer Avenue, 23rd Street, and the U.S. Navy Yard (Terminal Avenue) in South Philadelphia. Originally known as League Island Park, these grounds are now occupied by FDR Park, Marconi Plaza, Packer Park Residential Neighborhood, the three stadiums of Philadelphia's massive South Philadelphia Sports Complex (Wells Fargo Center, Lincoln Financial Field, and Citizens Bank Park), and the Philadelphia Eagles training complex which now occupy that portion of the grounds which from 1933 to 1993 were the site of Philadelphia Naval Hospital (demolished 2001)'.
  
  The fair drew a much smaller crowd than anticipated (about 10 million people). It ended up unable to cover its debts and was placed into receivership in 1927, at which point its assets were sold at auction'.
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• In 1941, The first issue of Parade, The Weekly Picture Newspaper, went on sale.
  From Wikipedia: 'Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Athlon Publishing, which purchased it from Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 54.1 million. As of 2015, its editor is Anne Krueger.
  - At Wikipedia: More
• In 1968, American movie star Jimmy Stewart retires from the Air Force after 27 years of service, and is promoted to major general by President Reagan.
  From Wikipedia: 'Stewart's family on both sides had deep military roots, as both grandfathers had fought in the Civil War, and his father had served during both the Spanish–American War and World War I. Stewart considered his father to be the biggest influence on his life, so it was not surprising that, when another war came, he too was eager to serve. Members of his family had previously been in the infantry, but Stewart chose to become a flier.
  
  In October 1940, Stewart was drafted into the United States Army but was rejected for failing to meet the weight requirements for his height for new recruits—Stewart was five pounds (2.3 kg) under the standard. To get up to 143 pounds, he sought out the help of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's muscle man and trainer Don Loomis, who was noted for his ability to help people add or subtract pounds in his studio gymnasium. Stewart subsequently attempted to enlist in the Air Corps, but still came in underweight, although he persuaded the enlistment officer to run new tests, this time passing the weigh-in, with the result that Stewart enlisted and was inducted in the Army on March 22, 1941. He became the first major American movie star to wear a military uniform in World War II.
  
  He was promoted to captain on July 9, 1943, and appointed a squadron commander. To Stewart, now 35, combat duty seemed far away and unreachable, and he had no clear plans for the future. However, a rumor that Stewart would be taken off flying status and assigned to making training films or selling bonds called for immediate action, because what he dreaded most was "the hope-shattering spectre of a dead end. " Stewart appealed to his commander, 30-year-old Lt. Col. Walter E. Arnold Jr., who understood his situation and recommended Stewart to the commander of the 445th Bombardment Group, a B-24 Liberator unit that had just completed initial training at Gowen Field and gone on to final training at Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa.
  
  On March 22, 1944, Stewart flew his 12th combat mission, leading the 2nd Bomb Wing in an attack on Berlin. On March 30, 1944, he was sent to RAF Old Buckenham to become group operations officer of the 453rd Bombardment Group, a new B-24 unit that had just lost both its commander and operations officer on missions. To inspire the unit, Stewart flew as command pilot in the lead B-24 on several missions deep into Nazi-occupied Europe.
  
  World War II
  Awards Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal (4), Army Commendation Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medalk Presidential Medal of Freedom, French Croix de Guerre
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• In 1977, The 800 mile long Alaska Pipeline is completed.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) includes the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 12 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of the world's largest pipeline systems. It is commonly called the Alaska pipeline, trans-Alaska pipeline, or Alyeska pipeline, (or the pipeline as referred to in Alaska), but those terms technically apply only to the 800 miles (1,287 km) of the pipeline with the diameter of 48 inches (122 cm) that conveys oil from Prudhoe Bay, to Valdez, Alaska. The crude oil pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.
  
  The first barrel of oil traveled through the pipeline in 1977, and full-scale production began by the end of the year. Several notable incidents of oil leakage have occurred since, including those caused by sabotage, maintenance failures, and bullet holes. As of 2010, the pipeline has shipped almost 16 billion barrels (2.5×109 m3) of oil'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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Tomorrow's food holiday will be 'National Macaroon Day'.
[The Hankster says] Made with egg whites (no flour), sugar and almond paste and perhaps some dried coconut.

Let's all mind our manners tomorrow. It will be 'Speak in Complete Sentences Day'. a day promoting good language skills.
[The Hankster says] Right now, you are expecting me to say something consisting of malformed English usage. Well, I ain't-a-gonna do it!

Tomorrow is 'National Save Your Hearing Day'.


Awareness / Observance Days on: May 31
o Health
- 'World No Tobacco Day'.

-'Infant Gastric Reflux Awareness Week'. May 31-June6 in New Zealand. From the web site: Infant Gastric Reflux Awareness Week aims to improve awareness and support parents whose children suffer from reflux

o Other
- 'Mother's Day in France and Sweden'.


Historical events in the past on: May 31

In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell in the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster in London, begins operating.

In 1870, E.J. DeSemdt patented asphalt.

In 1879, Madison Square Garden opens its doors to the public.

In 1889, Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam fails and sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

In 1907, Taxicabs (or taxis) first began running in New York City.

In 1913, The 17th Amendment went into effect. It provided for popular election of U.S. senators.

In 1916, During World War I, the Battle of Jutland takes place. The British Grand Fleet under the command of John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe and David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty engage the Imperial German Navy under the command of Reinhard Scheer and Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves Indecisive.

In 1927, After a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles, the last Ford Model T comes off the assembly line.

In 1926, The Sesquicentennial Exposition opens in Philadelphia.

In 1941, The first issue of Parade, The Weekly Picture Newspaper, went on sale.

In 1968, American movie star Jimmy Stewart retires from the Air Force after 27 years of service, and is promoted to major general by President Reagan.

In 1971, In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.

In 1977, The 800 mile long Alaska Pipeline is completed.

No. 1 song

• Ticket to Ride - The Beatles: More
  'Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter' has been displaced by 'Ticket to Ride', which will hold the no. 1 spot until June 5 1965, when 'Back in My Arms Again - The Supremes', takes over.

Top movie

• The Sound of Music (reclaims the top again and) More
  Having displaced 'Brainstorm', it will be there until the weekend box office of June 6 1965 when, 'Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines', takes over.

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

Monthly holiday / awareness days in May

Food
Aramanth May Grain of the Month
Gifts From The Garden Month
International / National Mediterranean Diet Month
National Barbeque Month
National Egg Month
National Hamburger Month
National Salsa Month
National Sweet Vidalia Onions Month
National Vinegar Month

Health and Well-Being
Descriptions are simple dictionary and are not meant to be a full medical description.
ALS Awareness Month (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)
Arthritis Awareness Month
Asthma Awareness Month
Better Hearing and Speech Month (communication disorders)
Borderline Personality Disorder Month
Brain Tumor Awareness Month
Celiac Awareness Month (gluten sensitivity)
Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month
EDS Awareness Month ((Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - inherited disorder affecting connective tissues)
Family Wellness Month
Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month (musculoskeletal pain, fatigue,)
Global Civility Awareness Month
Global Health and Fitness Month
Heal the Children Month (provides critical medical care to children all around the world)
Healthy Vision Month
Huntington's Disease Awareness Month (hereditary disease marked by degeneration of the brain cells)
Lupus Awareness Month (chronic, autoimmune disease effecting skin, joints, organs)
Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month
National Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month
National Better Hearing Month
National Hepatitis Awareness Month (inflammation of the liver)
National High Blood Pressure Education Month
Neurofibromatosis / NF Awareness Month (gentic disorder, most concerned with tumors of the nerves)
Lyme Disease Awareness Month (inflammatory disease transmitted by bacteria via ticks)
National Mental Health Month
National Osteoporosis Prevention Month ( brittle and fragile bone disease)
National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
National Physiotherapy Month
National Stroke Awareness Month
National Toddler Immunization Month
National Tuberous Sclerosis Month
National Water Safety Month
Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Month (genetic condition of Infants, slow growth, weakness)
Preeclampsia Awareness Month (a condition in pregnancy)
Strike Out Strokes Month
Tay-Sachs and Canavan Diseases Month (progressive deterioration of nerve cells )
Tourettes Syndrome Awareness (neurological disorder characterized by involuntary tics)
Women's Health Care Month

Environmental
American Wetlands Month
Clean Air Month
Gardening for Wildlife Month

Other
APS Awareness Month (American Physical Society)
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Building Safety Month
Creative Beginnings Month
Drum Month (music)
Get Caught Reading Month
Golf Month
Haitian Heritage Month
International Audit Month
International Business Image Improvement Month
Latino Books Month
Motorcycle Safety Month
National Bike Month
National Foster Care Month
National Good Car Keeping Month
National Inventors Month
National Military Appreciation Month
National Photo Month
National Preservation Month (by The National Register of Historic Places)
National Smile Month
Older Americans Month
Personal History Month
Social Security Education Awareness Month
Tennis Month
Young Achievers of Tomorrow Month

Pets
Chip Your Pet Month
Go Fetch! Food Drive for Homeless Animals Month
National Pet Month
National Service Dog Eye Examination Month
Pet Cancer Awareness Month

May is:

May origin (from Wikipedia):
The month May was named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for 'elders,' and that the following month (June) is named for the iuniores, or 'young people'

May ' is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days.
May is a month of Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and spring in the Northern Hemisphere (Summer in Europe). Therefore May in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. '

May 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 1965 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
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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

• 2015 Postal Holidays More
• 2015 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

• List of holidays by country More
• Holidays and Observances around the World More