Today is August 3 2015

National Watermelon Day: More
Ninety two percent water, six percent sugar.
Grab Some Nuts Day: More
Promotes adding a small handful of nuts to your daily diet for the health benefits.

• Old Fiddler's Week: More
  There seem to be a lot of Old Time Fiddlers conventions during this first full week of August.
• 75th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally: More
  Sturgis South Dakota!, August 3-9.

• Health
  • Healthy Bones Action Week: More
    August 3-9 in Australia.
• Other
  • Civic Holiday in Canada: More
    A public holiday on the first Monday in August. This may have a different name per Canadian provinces.

• In 1492, Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.
  From Wikipedia: ' On the evening of 3 August 1492, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with three ships: a larger carrack, the Santa María ex-Gallega ("Galician"), and two smaller caravels, the Pinta ("The Pint", "The Look", or "The Spotted One") and the Santa Clara, nicknamed the Niña ("Girl") after her owner Juan Niño of Moguer. The monarchs forced the Palos inhabitants to contribute to the expedition. The Santa María was owned by Juan de la Cosa and captained by Columbus. The Pinta and the Niña were piloted by the Pinzón brothers (Martín Alonso and Vicente Yáñez).
  
  Columbus first sailed to the Canary Islands, which belonged to Castile, where he restocked the provisions and made repairs. After stopping over in Gran Canaria, he departed from San Sebastián de La Gomera on 6 September, for what turned out to be a five-week voyage across the ocean. A lookout on the Pinta, Rodrigo de Triana (also known as Juan Rodríguez Bermeo), spotted land about 2:00 on the morning of 12 October, and immediately alerted the rest of the crew with a shout. Thereupon, the captain of the Pinta, Martín Alonso Pinzón, verified the discovery and alerted Columbus by firing a lombard. Columbus later maintained that he himself had already seen a light on the land a few hours earlier, thereby claiming for himself the lifetime pension promised by Ferdinand and Isabella to the first person to sight land.
  
  Columbus called the island (in what is now The Bahamas) San Salvador; the natives called it Guanahani. Exactly which island in the Bahamas this corresponds to is unresolved. Based on primary accounts and on what one would expect from the geographic positions of the islands given Columbus's course, the prime candidates are San Salvador Island (so named in 1925 on the theory that it was Columbus's San Salvador), Samana Cay, and Plana Cays'.
  Columbus never saw what is now North America, only what are now the Caribbean Islands, South America and Central America and Cuba.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - At History.com (Other interesting fact)s: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1527, The first known letter from North America is sent by John Rut while at St. John's, Newfoundland.
  From Wikipedia: 'John Rut (fl. 1512 – 1528) was an English mariner, born in Essex, who was chosen by Henry VIII to command an expedition to North America in search of the Northwest Passage; on 10 June 1527 he set sail from Plymouth with two ships, Samson and Mary Guilford. The voyage was set up by Cardinal Wolsey at the wishes of Robert Thorne, a Bristol merchant. Samson was commanded by Master Grube and Mary Guilford was commanded by Rut.
  
  During the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, the ships separated during a storm, and it is assumed that Samson was lost. In early July Mary Guilford met heavy ice and turned southward; they reached the Labrador coast near St. Lewis Inlet, which they explored. In late July Mary Guilford set sail for St. John's. They entered St. John's harbour on 3 August where they had reported encountering eleven Norman fishing vessels, one Breton fishing vessel and two from Portugal.
  
  It was at St. John's, Newfoundland on 3 August 1527 that the first known letter in English was sent from North America. While in St. John's, Rut had written a letter to King Henry on his findings and his planned voyage southward to seek his fellow explorer'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
• In 1852, Harvard University wins the first Boat Race between Yale University and Harvard. The race is also the first American intercollegiate athletic event.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Harvard–Yale Regatta or Harvard-Yale Boat Race (often abbreviated The Race) is an annual rowing race between the men's heavyweight rowing crews of Yale University and Harvard University. First contested in 1852, it has been held annually since 1859 except during major wars fought by the United States. The Race is America's oldest collegiate athletic competition, pre-dating The Game by 23 years. It is sometimes referred to as the "Yale-Harvard" regatta, though most official regatta programs brand it as "Harvard-Yale."
  
  Originally rowed on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire, it has since moved to the Thames River, near New London, Connecticut. Although other locations for the race have included the Connecticut River at Springfield, Massachusetts, and Lake Quinsigamond at Worcester, Massachusetts, the Thames has hosted The Race on all but five occasions since 1878 and both teams have erected permanent training camps on the Thames at Gales Ferry for Yale and at Red Top for Harvard.
  
  The race has been exclusively between Yale and Harvard except for 1897 when the race was held as part of a three-boat race with Cornell on the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, New York, where, although it lost to Cornell, Yale was deemed the winner of the Harvard-Yale race'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube (149th race): More
• In 1900, The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is founded.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Samuel Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company was a pioneer in the mass production of tires. Harvey Firestone had a friendship with Henry Ford. Firestone used this relationship to become the original equipment supplier of Ford Motor Company automobiles, and was also active in the replacement market.
  
  In 1988, the company was sold to the Japanese Bridgestone Corporation.
  
  Firestone was originally based in Akron, Ohio, also the hometown of its archrival, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and another two mid-sized competitors, General Tire and Rubber and BF Goodrich. Founded on August 3, 1900, the company initiated operations with 12 employees. Together, Firestone and Goodyear were the largest suppliers of automotive tires in North America for over 75 years. In 1906 Henry Ford chose Firestone for Model T original equipment tires'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1914, Germany declares war against France, in WW I.
  From Wikipedia: 'The German government issued demands to France that it remain neutral as they had to decide which deployment plan to implement, it being difficult if not impossible to change the deployment whilst it was underway. The modified German Schlieffen Plan, Aufmarsch II West, would deploy 80% of the army in the west, and Aufmarsch I Ost and Aufmarsch II Ost would deploy 60% in the west and 40% in the east as this was the maximum that the East Prussian railway infrastructure could carry. The French did not respond but sent a mixed message by ordering their troops to withdraw 10 km (6 mi) from the border to avoid any incidents, but at the same time ordered the mobilisation of her reserves. Germany responded by mobilising its own reserves and implementing Aufmarsch II West. Germany attacked Luxembourg on 2 August and on 3 August declared war on France. On 4 August, after Belgium refused to permit German troops to cross its borders into France, Germany declared war on Belgium as well. Britain declared war on Germany at 19:00 UTC on 4 August 1914 (effective from 11 pm), following an "unsatisfactory reply" to the British ultimatum that Belgium must be kept neutral'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - At PBS.org (1914 timeline): More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1921, The first aerial cropdusting by a heavier than air machine takes place in Troy Ohio to kill caterpillars.
  From Wikipedia: 'The first known use of a heavier-than-air machine to disperse products occurred on 3 August 1921. Crop dusting was developed under the joint efforts of the U.S. Agriculture Department, and the U.S. Army Signal Corps's research station at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio. Under the direction of McCook engineer Etienne Dormoy, a United States Army Air Service Curtiss JN4 Jenny piloted by John A. Macready was modified at McCook Field to spread lead arsenate to kill catalpa sphinx caterpillars at a Catalapa farm near Troy, Ohio in the United States. The first test was considered highly successful. The first commercial operations were begun in 1924, by Huff-Daland Crop Dusting, which was co-founded by McCook Field test pilot Lt. Harold R. Harris. Use of insecticide and fungicide for crop dusting slowly spread in the Americas and to a lesser extent other nations in the 1930s. The name 'crop dusting' originated here, as actual dust was spread across the crops. Today, aerial applicators use liquid crop protection products in very small doses'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1922, WGY radio in Schenectady, NY, presented the first full-length melodrama on radio. The work was 'The Wolf', written by Eugene Walter.
  From Wikipedia: 'As early as 1912, General Electric company in Schenectady began experimenting with radio transmissions, being granted a class 2-Experimental license for 2XI on August 13, 1912 by the Commerce Department.
  
  WGY signed on on February 20, 1922 at 7:47pm at 360 meters wavelength (about 833 kHz), with Kolin Hager at the mike, or as he was known on the air, as KH. Hager signed on with the station's call letters, explaining the W is for wireless, G for General Electric, and Y, the last letter in Schenectady. The first broadcast lasted for about one hour and consisted of live music and announcements of song titles and other information. The early broadcasts originated from building 36 at the General Electric Plant in Schenectady. The original transmitter produced an antenna power of 1,500 watts into a T top wire antenna, located about 1/2 mile away, also at the GE plant.
  
  WGY led the way in radio drama. In 1922 Edward H. Smith, director of a community-theater group called the Masque in nearby Troy, suggested weekly forty-minute adaptations of plays to WGY station manager Kolin Hager. Hager took him up on it and the troupe performed on the weekly WGY Players, radio’s first dramatic series.
  
  During their initial broadcast—of Eugene Walter’s The Wolf on August 3, 1922—Smith became the electronic media’s first Foley artist when he slapped a couple of two-by-fours together to simulate the slamming of a door, and radio sound effects were born. While the invisible audience could not see that the actors wore costumes and makeup—which were expected to enhance performance but didn’t and were soon discarded—they could hear the WGY Orchestra providing music between acts. Response was immediate, with more than two thousand letters pouring into the WGY mail room.
  
  In November WGY achieved another first. Committed now to a weekly time slot on Friday nights, the Players put on The Sign of the Four on November 9, starring Edward Smith as Sherlock Holmes, and the world’s only consulting detective joined the growing number of "disembodied voices floating through electromagnetic heaven." The WGY Players did forty-three dramatizations that first season and the series gained national attention.
  
  By May 15, 1923 the station was operating on 790 kHz with a frequency/time share agreement with RPI's WHAZ. Later, WHAZ moved to 1300 kHz allowing WGY to operate full-time on 790 kHz.
  
  WGY pioneered the art of Remote Broadcasting, carrying out the first one just days after it signed on. On February 23, 1922 the station broadcast a concert from Union College.
  
  Other early programming included coverage of the Yale-Harvard football game live from New Haven, Connecticut, the WGY string orchestra live from the State Theater in Schenectady, and talks and presentations by various GE innovators, explorers, state and local officials'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
• In 1933, The Mickey Mouse Watch was introduced for the price of $2.75 (about $48 in today's purchase power).
  From Wikipedia: 'Since his early years Mickey Mouse has been licensed by Disney to appear on many different kinds of merchandise. Mickey was produced as plush toys and figurines, and Mickey's image has graced almost everything from T-shirts to lunch boxes. Largely responsible for Disney merchandising in the 1930s was Kay Kamen (d. 1949) who was called a "stickler for quality." Kamen was recognized by The Walt Disney Company as having a significant part in Mickey's rise to stardom and was named a Disney Legend in 1998. At the time of his 80th anniversary celebration in 2008, Time declared Mickey Mouse one of the world's most recognized characters, even when compared against Santa Claus. Disney officials have stated that 98% of children aged 3–11 around the world are at least aware of the character.
  
  Mickey was most famously featured on wrist watches and alarm clocks, typically utilizing his hands as the actual hands on the face of the clock. The first Mickey Mouse watches were manufactured in 1933 by the Ingersoll Watch Company. The seconds were indicated by a turning disk below Mickey. The first Mickey watch was sold at the Century of Progress in Chicago, 1933 for $3.75. Mickey Mouse watches have been sold by other companies and designers throughout the years, including Timex, Elgin, Helbros, Bradley, Lorus, and Gérald Genta The fictional character Robert Langdon from Dan Brown's novels was said to wear a Mickey Mouse watch as a reminder "to stay young at heart."
  
  In 1989, Milton Bradley released the electronic-talking game titled Mickey Says, with three modes featuring Mickey Mouse as its host. Mickey also appeared in other toys and games, including the Worlds of Wonder-released The Talking Mickey Mouse.
  
  Fisher-Price has recently produced a line of talking animatronic Mickey dolls including "Dance Star Mickey" (2010) and "Rock Star Mickey" (2011).
  
  In total, approximately 40% of Disney's revenues for consumer products are derived from Mickey Mouse merchandise, with revenues peaking in 1997'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - At Watchophilia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1946, 'Santa Claus Land', the world's first 'themed' amusement park, opens in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States. It is now 'Holiday World and Splashin' Safari'. It has four parks, each with a different seasonal theme, Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July.
  From Wikipedia: 'Holiday World and Splashin' Safari (previously known as Santa Claus Land prior to 1984) is an amusement park located near Interstate 64 and U.S. 231 in Santa Claus, Indiana, USA. The theme park is divided into four sections that celebrate Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July with rides, live entertainment, games, and attractions. Holiday World is known for its three wooden roller coasters: The Raven, The Legend, and The Voyage, as well as for Thunderbird, a B and M launched Wing Coaster and The Howler. The safari-themed water park includes the world's two longest water coasters: Wildebeest and Mammoth, numerous family raft rides and water slides, two wave pools, a lazy river, two family "tipping bucket" water-play attractions, plus dedicated children's slides and play areas.
  
  Plans for what would become Santa Claus Land, and later Holiday World and Splashin' Safari, were first conceived as a retirement project by Louis J. Koch, a retired industrialist from Evansville, Indiana. In 1941, Koch visited the town of Santa Claus, Indiana. A family man and father of nine children, it bothered him that children traveled to the town only to be disappointed when they discovered Santa Claus was not there. In response, Koch developed the idea for a park where children could have fun and visit Santa year-round. Although initial construction plans were delayed by World War II, construction of Santa Claus Land eventually began on August 4, 1945. At this time, Indiana had only one Amusement Park which was Indiana Beach (at the time called Ideal Beach) that had opened in 1926, 20 years before Santa Claus Land opened.
  
  Santa Claus Land opened on August 3, 1946. At no cost, the park offered a Santa, a toy shop, toy displays, a restaurant, and themed children's rides, one of which was The Freedom Train. After overcoming doubts about the park's ability for success, Louis Koch's son, William A. "Bill" Koch, Sr., took over as head of Santa Claus Land. In the following years, Bill Koch continued to add to the park, including the first Jeep-Go-Round ever manufactured, a new restaurant, and a deer farm which was eventually home to fourteen European white fallow deer'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1958, The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus travels beneath the Arctic ice cap (Operation Sunshine).
  From Wikipedia: 'In response to the nuclear ICBM threat posed by Sputnik, President Eisenhower ordered the U.S. Navy to attempt a submarine transit of the North Pole to gain credibility for the soon-to-come SLBM weapons system.
  
  On 25 April 1958, Nautilus was underway again for the West Coast, now commanded by Commander William R. Anderson, USN.
  
  Stopping at San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle, she began her history-making polar transit, operation "Sunshine", as she departed the latter port on 9 June. On 19 June she entered the Chukchi Sea, but was turned back by deep drift ice in those shallow waters. On 28 June she arrived at Pearl Harbor to await better ice conditions.
  
  By 23 July 1958 her wait was over, and she set a course northward. She submerged in the Barrow Sea Valley on 1 August and on 3 August, at 2315 (EDT) she became the first watercraft to reach the geographic North Pole. The ability to navigate at extreme latitudes and without surfacing was enabled by the technology of the North American Aviation N6A-1 Inertial Navigation System, a naval modification of the N6A used in the Navaho cruise missile; it had been installed on Nautilus and Skate after initial sea trials on USS Compass Island in 1957. From the North Pole, she continued on and after 96 hours and 1,590 nautical miles (2,940 km; 1,830 mi) under the ice, surfaced northeast of Greenland, having completed the first successful submerged voyage around the North Pole. The technical details of this mission were planned by scientists from the Naval Electronics Laboratory including Dr. Waldo Lyon who accompanied Nautilus as chief scientist and ice pilot.
  
  The most difficult part of the journey was in the Bering Strait. The ice extended as much as 60 feet (18 m) below sea level. During the initial attempt to go through the Bering Strait, there was insufficient room between the ice and the sea bottom. During the second, successful attempt to pass through the Bering passage, the submarine passed through a known channel close to Alaska (this was not the first choice, as the submarine wanted to avoid detection).
  
  The trip beneath the ice cap was an important boost to America as the Soviets had recently launched Sputnik, but had no nuclear submarine of their own. During the address announcing the journey, the president mentioned that one day nuclear cargo submarines might use that route for trade.
  
  As Nautilus proceeded south from Greenland, a helicopter airlifted Commander Anderson to connect with transport to Washington, D.C. At a White House ceremony on 8 August, President Eisenhower presented him with the Legion of Merit and announced that the crew had earned a Presidential Unit Citation.
  
  At her next port of call, the Isle of Portland, England, she received the Unit Citation, the first ever issued in peace time, from American Ambassador JH Whitney, and then crossed the Atlantic reaching New London, Connecticut on 29 October. For the remainder of the year Nautilus operated from her home port of New London'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1963, Allan Sherman releases 'Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda'.
  From Wikipedia: '"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)" is a Grammy Award-winning novelty song by Allan Sherman and Lou Busch, based on letters of complaint Allan received from his son Robert while Robert attended Camp Champlain in Westport, New York. The song is a parody that complains about the fictional "Camp Granada" and is set to the tune of Amilcare Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours". The name derives from the first lines:
  
  Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh. Here I am at Camp Granada. Camp is very entertaining.
  
  And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.
  
  The lyrics go on to describe unpleasant, dangerous, and tragic developments, such as fellow campers going missing or contracting deadly illnesses. He asks how his "precious little brother" is doing, and begs to be taken home, afraid of being left out in the forest and fearing getting eaten by a bear, promising to behave, and even letting his aunt Bertha hug and kiss him. At the end, he notes that the rain has stopped and fun activities have begun (such as swimming, sailing, and baseball), and asks his parents to "kindly disregard this letter".
  
  After the song scored #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 list for three weeks beginning August 24, 1963, Sherman wrote a new 'back at Camp Granada' version, "Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh!", for a May 27, 1964, performance on the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Sherman wrote a third version for, and acted in, a 1965 TV commercial for a board game about Camp Granada, a "real rotten camp".
  
  The song won a 1964 Grammy Award for comedy. The song was played often on the Dr. Demento Show and is featured on the Rhino Records compilation album, Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1977, Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world's first mass-produced personal computers.
  From Wikipedia: The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80; later known as the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of Tandy/Radio Shack, Z-80 microprocessor. It was one of the earliest mass-produced personal computers.
  
  'In the mid-1970s, Tandy Corporation's Radio Shack division was a successful American chain of more than 3,000 electronics stores. After buyer Don French purchased a MITS Altair kit computer, he began designing his own and showed it to vice president of manufacturing John Roach. Although the design did not impress Roach, the idea of selling a microcomputer did. When the two men visited National Semiconductor in California in mid-1976, Steve Leininger's expertise on the SC/MP microprocessor impressed them. National executives refused to provide Leininger's contact information when French and Roach wanted to hire him as a consultant, but they found Leininger working part-time at Byte Shop and he and French began working together in June 1976. The company envisioned a kit, but Leininger persuaded the others that because "too many people can't solder", a preassembled computer would be better.
  
  Tandy had 11 million customers that might buy a microcomputer, but it would be much more expensive than the US$30 median price of a Radio Shack product, and a great risk for the very conservative company. Many opposed the project; one executive told French, "Don't waste my time—we can't sell computers." As the popularity of CB radio—at one point comprising more than 20% of Radio Shack's sales—declined, however, the company sought new products. In December 1976 French and Leininger received official approval for the project but were told to emphasize cost savings; for example, leaving out lowercase characters saved US$1.50 in components and reduced the retail price by US$5. In February 1977 they showed their prototype, running a simple tax-accounting program, to Charles Tandy, head of Tandy Corporation. The program quickly crashed as the computer could not handle the US$150,000 figure that Tandy typed in as his salary, and the two men added support for floating-point math to its Tiny BASIC to prevent a recurrence. After the demonstration Tandy revealed that he had already leaked the computer's existence to the press, so the project was approved'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1996, 'The Macarena' reaches #1 on the charts and stayed on the charts for 60 weeks.
  From Wikipedia: '"Macarena" (Spanish pronunciation: ) is a Spanish dance song by Los del Río about a woman of the same name. Appearing on the 1993 album A mí me gusta, it was an international hit in 1995, 1996, and 1997, and continues to have a cult following. One of the most iconic examples of 1990s dance music, it was ranked the "#1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All Time" by VH1 in 2002. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. The song ranks at No. 7 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. It also ranks at No. 1 on Billboard's All Time Latin Songs. It is also Billboard's No. 1 dance song and one of six foreign language songs to hit No. 1 since 1955's rock era began'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 2004, NASA launched the spacecraft Messenger. The 6 1/2 year journey was planned to arrive at the planet Mercury in March 2011. On April 30, 2015, Messenger crashed into the surface of Mercury after sending back more than 270,000 pictures.
  From Wikipedia: 'MESSENGER (a backronym of MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging, and a reference to the Roman mythological messenger, Mercury) was a NASA robotic spacecraft that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket in August 2004 to study Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field.
  
  The instruments carried by MESSENGER were used on a complex series of flybys – the spacecraft flew by Earth once, Venus twice, and Mercury itself three times, allowing it to decelerate relative to Mercury using minimal fuel. MESSENGER became the second mission after Mariner 10's 1975 flyby to reach Mercury during its first flyby of the planet in January 2008.
  
  MESSENGER entered orbit around Mercury on March 18, 2011, becoming the first spacecraft to do so. It successfully completed its primary mission in 2012. Following two mission extensions, the MESSENGER spacecraft used the last of its maneuvering propellant and deorbited as planned, impacting the surface of Mercury on April 30, 2015'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More

We have two food related holidays tomorrow:
-National Watermelon Day'. They are ninety two percent water and have six percent sugar.
[The Hankster says] We have already gone through Watermelon Seed Spitting contest days, but I bet you can find some unsuspecting person with their back turned, to have some fun.

- 'Grab Some Nuts Day'. Promotes adding a small handful of nuts to your daily diet for the health benefits.
[The Hankster says] That is a handful, not a bagful. Nuts are high in calories.


Tomorrow starts 'Old Fiddler's Week' There seem to be a lot of Old Time Fiddlers conventions during this first full week of August.
[The Hankster says] Fiddle and violin are my favorite musical instruments. However I was overly excited when I misunderstood this day as one which I could just fiddle around.

If you would rather tap your starter than tap your foot to the music tomorrow, it will be the '75th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally'. Sturgis South Dakota!, August 3-9.


Awareness / Observance Days on: August 3
o Health
- 'Healthy Bones Action Week'. August 3-9 in Australia.

o Other
- 'Civic Holiday in Canada'. A public holiday on the first Monday in August. This may have a different name in some Canadian provinces.


Historical events in the past on: August 3

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain. Columbus never saw what is now North America, only what are now the Caribbean Islands, South America, Central America and Cuba. And of course, even the ancient Greeks knew the Earth was round.
[The Hankster says] I'm not sure if it was he who invented the Columbus Day White Sales.

In 1527, The first known letter from North America is sent by John Rut while at St. John's, Newfoundland.

In 1852, Harvard University wins the first Boat Race between Yale University and Harvard. The race is also the first American intercollegiate athletic event.

In 1900, The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is founded.

In 1914, Germany declares war against France, in WW I.

In 1921,The first aerial cropdusting by a heavier than air machine takes place in Troy Ohio to kill caterpillars.

In 1922, WGY radio in Schenectady, NY, presented the first full-length melodrama on radio. The work was 'The Wolf', written by Eugene Walter.

In 1933, The Mickey Mouse Watch was introduced for the price of $2.75 (about $48 in today's purchase power).

In 1946, 'Santa Claus Land', the world's first 'themed' amusement park, opens in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States. It is now 'Holiday World and Splashin' Safari'. It has four parks, each with a different seasonal theme, Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July.

In 1958, The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus travels beneath the Arctic ice cap (Operation Sunshine).

In 1963, Allan Sherman releases 'Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda'.

In 1977, Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world's first mass-produced personal computers.

In 1996, 'The Macarena' reaches #1 on the charts and stayed on the charts for 60 weeks.

In 2004, NASA launched the spacecraft Messenger. The 6 1/2 year journey was planned to arrive at the planet Mercury in March 2011. On April 30, 2015, Messenger crashed into the surface of Mercury (as planned) after sending back more than 270,000 pictures.

No. 1 song

• (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - he Rolling Stones: More
  'Mr. Tambourine Man' has been displaced by '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction', which will hold the no. 1 spot until August 7 1965, when 'I'm Henry VIII, I Am - Herman's Hermits', takes over.

Top movie

• Ship of Fools More
  Having displaced 'The Sound of Music', it will be there until the weekend box office of Aug. 15 1965 when, 'A Very Special Favor', takes over.

• FamousBirthdays.com: August 3 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: August 3 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 3rd August More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 3rd August More
• On-This-day.com history 3rd August More
• On-This-day.com music history 3rd August More
• Wikipedia.com: History August 3 More

Monthly holiday / awareness days in August

Food
National Catfish Month
National Goat Cheese Month
National Panini Month
Shop Online For Groceries Month
Rye Month

Health and Well-being
Children's Eye Health and Safety Month
Children's Vision and Learning Month
National Breastfeeding Month
National Immunization Awareness Month
National Minority Donor Awareness Month
National Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month
National Win With Civility Month
Neurosurgery Outreach Month
Psoriasis Awareness Month

Animal and Pets
World Mutt-i-grees Rescue Month

Other
American Artists Appreciation Month
American Adventures Month
American Indian Heritage Month - also Nov.
Black Business Month
LBoomers Making A Difference Month
LBystander Awareness Month
LChild Support Awareness Month
LGet Ready for Kindergarten Month
Happiness Happens Month
Motor Sports Awareness Month
National Read A Romance Month
National Traffic Awareness Month
National Truancy Prevention Month
National Water Quality Month
Tomboy Tools Month
What Will Be Your Legacy 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 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
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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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  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

• 2015 Postal Holidays More
• 2015 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

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