<> Tomorrow's food holidays(s):
* 'National Fried Clam Day'. . Celebrates when Lawrence Henry Woodman and
his wife began selling fried clams, an unheard of thing till then.
- From Wikipedia (Fried clams):
'Fried clams are an iconic food, "to New England what barbecue is to the
South". They tend to be served at seaside clam shacks (roadside
restaurants). Clam rolls are fried clams served in a hot dog bun. Tartar
sauce is the usual condiment. Then the coated clams are fried in canola oil
or soybean oil, or lard.
The usual variant in New England is made from whole soft-shell clams, known
as "clams with bellies" these include the clam's gastrointestinal
tract and have a fuller flavor. Some restaurants remove the clam's chewy
siphon, called the neck.
Outside New England, "clam strips", made of sliced parts of Atlantic
surf clams, are more common.
Fried clams are mentioned as early as 1840, and are listed on an 1865 menu
from the Parker House hotel. How exactly they were prepared is unclear the
1865 menu offers both "oysters—fried" and "oysters—fried in
batter", but only "fried clams".
The modern deep-fried, breaded version is generally credited to Lawrence
Henry "Chubby" Woodman from Essex, Massachusetts. He is said to have
created the first batch on July 3, 1916, in his small roadside restaurant,
now Woodman's of Essex. One of his specialties was potato chips, so he had
large vats for deep-frying. He used the clams, which he had collected
himself from the mud flats of the Essex River located close to his home.
Later, Thomas Soffron, of Soffron Brothers Clam Co., based in Ipswich,
Massachusetts, created clam strips, which are made from the "foot" of
hard-shelled sea clams. He sold these to Howard Johnson's in an exclusive
deal, and as the chain expanded, they became popular throughout the
country'.
[The Hankster says] Actually, fried is about the only way I like them.
* 'National Eat Your Beans Day'. . Make some BBQ beans to go with the July
4th holiday.
- From Wikipedia (Bean):
'Bean is a common name for large seeds of several genera of the flowering
plant family Fabaceae (also known as Leguminosae) which are used for human
or animal food.
Beans have significant amounts of fiber and soluble fiber, with one cup of
cooked beans providing between nine and 13 grams of fiber. Soluble fiber
can help lower blood cholesterol. Beans are also high in protein, complex
carbohydrates, folate, and iron.
Some kinds of raw beans contain a harmful tasteless toxin, lectin
phytohaemagglutinin, that must be removed by cooking. Red and kidney beans
are particularly toxic, but other types also pose risks of food poisoning.
A recommended method is to boil the beans for at least ten minutes
undercooked beans may be more toxic than raw beans.
Many edible beans, including broad beans and soybeans, contain
oligosaccharides (particularly raffinose and stachyose), a type of sugar
molecule also found in cabbage. An anti-oligosaccharide enzyme is necessary
to properly digest these sugar molecules. As a normal human digestive tract
does not contain any anti-oligosaccharide enzymes, consumed
oligosaccharides are typically digested by bacteria in the large intestine.
This digestion process produces flatulence-causing gases as a byproduct.
Since sugar dissolves in water, another method of reducing flatulence
associated with eating beans is to drain the water in which the beans have
been cooked.
Some species of mold produce alpha-galactosidase, an anti-oligosaccharide
enzyme, which humans can take to facilitate digestion of oligosaccharides
in the small intestine. This enzyme, currently sold in the United States
under the brand-names Beano and Gas-X Prevention, can be added to food or
consumed separately. In many cuisines beans are cooked along with natural
carminatives such as anise seeds, coriander seeds and cumin.
Fermented beans will usually not produce most of the intestinal problems
that unfermented beans will, since yeast can consume the offending sugars.
[The Hankster says] Now this is not too much to ask. You will get all the meat you want in one day. Just think how good you will feel on the 4th, knowing that you had something healthy on the 3rd. I'm not sure of the exact exchange rate, but I'm sure it must be something like, one rib per two spoons of beans.
* 'National Chocolate Wafer Day'.
- From Wikipedia (Wafer):
'In gastronomy, a wafer is a crisp, often sweet, very thin, flat, and dry
biscuit, often used to decorate ice cream. Wafers can also be made into
cookies with cream flavoring sandwiched between them. They frequently have
a waffle surface pattern but may also be patterned with insignia of the
food's manufacturer or may be patternless. Many chocolate bars, such as Kit
Kat and Coffee Crisp, have wafers in them. .
[The Hankster says] No dessert until you finished your fried clams and baked beans.
<> Other holidays / celebrations
* 'Stay Out of the Sun Day'.
Do it today. You will be out in the Sun on the 4th.
[The Hankster says] Remember sunburn is like a tooth ache. When you feel it, it's too late.
* 'Compliment Your Mirror Day'.
You may have a good mirror, but we are talking about the image within. Give
yourself a compliment.
[The Hankster says] I'm going to do just that, right after I replace the big crack I put in it, doing this last year.
* 'Disobedience Day'.
[The Hankster says] Be careful. I'm not sure when 'Get Out of Jail Free' day occurs.
* 'Dog Days of Summer'.
- From Wikipedia (Dog days):
'The expression "dog days" refers to the hot, sultry days of summer,
originally in areas around the Mediterranean Sea, and as the expression
fit, to other areas, especially in the Northern Hemisphere.
The coincidence of very warm temperatures in the early civilizations in
North Africa and the Near East with the rising, at sunrise (i.e., the
heliacal rising), of Orion's dog, the dog star Sirius, led to the
association of this phrase with these conditions, an association that
traces to the Egyptians and appears in the ancient written poetic and other
records of the Greeks (e.g., Hesiod, Aratus, and Homer in The Iliad) and
the later Romans.
The expression is used in prose literature, poetry, and song and album
titles.
The dog days are the hottest, most uncomfortable part of the Northern
summer. The American weather and farming annual, The Old Farmer's Almanac,
explains that "he phrase 'Dog Days' conjures up the hottest, most sultry
days of summer," coinciding with the heliacal rising of Sirius, the dog
star, in the constellation Canis Major.:19 While the correlation between
the hottest and most humid weather of the year with this specific calendar
period has not survived the broadening of weather understanding and
communications to global, the correlation of the rising of Sirius with
extreme heat has been sufficient in enough climes in the Northern
Hemisphere such that the association of dog days "with hot, sultry
weather was made for all time."
Jay Holberg observes that the Greek poets Hesiod (ca. 750-650 BCE) and
Aratus (ca. 310–240 BCE) refer in their writings to "the heat of late
summer that the Greeks believed was actually brought on by the appearance
of Sirius," a star in the constellation that the later Romans and we
today refer to as Canis Major, literally the "greater dog"
constellation.:15f He notes,
The Old Farmer's Almanac lists the traditional period of the Dog Days as
the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, coinciding with the
ancient heliacal (at sunrise) rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. These are the
days of the year with the least rainfall in the Northern Hemisphere'.
* 'Build A Scarecrow Day'.
- From Wikipedia (Scarecrow):
'A scarecrow or hay-man is a decoy or mannequin in the shape of a human. It
is usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage
birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently
cast seed and growing crops.
The village of Blackrod, near Bolton in Greater Manchester holds a popular
annual Scarecrow Festival over a weekend usually in early July.
[The Hankster says] Well the scarecrow stands around in the sun all day. So, I guess he really does need a brain.
* 'Superman Day'.
Celebrating the 1940 date on which DC Comics opened a Superman event at
the 1939 the New York World's Fair.
<> Awareness / Observances:
o Other:
* 'Emancipation Day in the US Virgin Islands'. Celebrates the abolition of
slavery in the islands in 1848.
* 'International Plastic Bag Free Day'.
<> Historical events on July 3
* 'In 1863, During the American Civil War, The final day of the Battle of
Gettysburg culminates with Pickett's Charge. .
- From Wikipedia: The Battle of Gettysburg, with an /s/ sound) was fought
July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by
Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The battle
involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often
described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Meade's Army
of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of
Northern Virginia, ending Lee's attempt to invade the North.
'Around 3 p.m., the cannon fire subsided, and 12,500 Southern soldiers
stepped from the ridgeline and advanced the three-quarters of a mile (1,200
m) to Cemetery Ridge in what is known to history as Pickett's Charge As the
Confederates approached, there was fierce flanking artillery fire from
Union positions on Cemetery Hill and north of Little Round Top, and musket
and canister fire from Hancock's II Corps. In the Union center, the
commander of artillery had held fire during the Confederate bombardment (in
order to save it for the infantry assault, which Meade had correctly
predicted the day before), leading Southern commanders to believe the
Northern cannon batteries had been knocked out. However, they opened fire
on the Confederate infantry during their approach with devastating results.
Nearly one half of the attackers did not return to their own lines.
Although the U.S. line wavered and broke temporarily at a jog called the
Angle in a low stone fence, just north of a patch of vegetation called the
Copse of Trees, reinforcements rushed into the breach, and the Confederate
attack was repulsed. The farthest advance of Brig. Gen. Lewis A.
Armistead's brigade of Maj. Gen. George Pickett's division at the Angle is
referred to as the High-water mark of the Confederacy, arguably
representing the closest the South ever came to its goal of achieving
independence from the Union via military victory. Union and Confederate
soldiers locked in hand-to-hand combat, attacking with their rifles,
bayonets, rocks and even their bare hands. Armistead ordered his
Confederates to turn two captured cannons against Union troops, but
discovered that there was no ammunition left, the last double canister
shots having been used against the charging Confederates. Armistead was
shortly after wounded three times.
There were two significant cavalry engagements on July 3. Stuart was sent
to guard the Confederate left flank and was to be prepared to exploit any
success the infantry might achieve on Cemetery Hill by flanking the U.S.
right and hitting their trains and lines of communications. Three miles (5
km) east of Gettysburg, in what is now called East Cavalry Field, Stuart's
forces collided with U.S. cavalry: Brig. Gen. David McMurtrie Gregg's
division and Brig. Gen. Custer's brigade. A lengthy mounted battle,
including hand-to-hand sabre combat, ensued. Custer's charge, leading the
1st Michigan Cavalry, blunted the attack by Wade Hampton's brigade,
blocking Stuart from achieving his objectives in the U.S. rear. Meanwhile,
after hearing news of the day's victory, Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick
launched a cavalry attack against the infantry positions of Longstreet's
Corps southwest of Big Round Top. Brig. Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth protested
against the futility of such a move, but obeyed orders. Farnsworth was
killed in the attack, and his brigade suffered significant losses.
* 'In 1886, The Benz Patent Motorwagen is the world's first true
automobile. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The Benz Patent-Motorwagen (or motorcar), built in 1886,
is widely regarded as the world's first automobile that is, a vehicle
designed to be propelled by an internal combustion engine. The original
cost of the vehicle in 1885 was $1,000 (equivalent to $26,337 in 2015). The
vehicle was awarded the German patent, number 37435, for which Karl Benz
applied on January 29, 1886. Following official procedures, the date of the
application became the patent date for the invention once the patent was
granted, which occurred in November of that year.
Although Benz's wife, Bertha, financed the development process, and would
hold patent rights under modern law, as a married woman she was not allowed
to apply for the patent.
Benz officially unveiled his invention to the public on July 3, 1886, on
the Ringstrasse (Ringstraße) in Mannheim.
About 25 Patent Motorwagens were built between 1886 and 1893.
* 'In 1890, Idaho becomes the 43rd State of the United States. .
- From Wikipedia: 'Idaho is a state in the northwestern region of the
United States. Idaho is the 14th largest, the 39th most populous, and the
7th least densely populated of the 50 United States. The state's largest
city and capital is Boise. Residents are called Idahoans Idaho was admitted
to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state.
Idaho is a mountainous state with an area larger than that of all of New
England. It borders the US states of Montana to the northeast, Wyoming to
the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the
west. To the north, it shares a 45 mi (72 km) international border with the
Canadian province of British Columbia, the shortest such land border of any
state. The network of dams and locks on the Columbia River and Snake River
make the city of Lewiston the farthest inland seaport on the Pacific coast
of the contiguous United States.
Idaho's nickname is the Gem State, because nearly every known type of
gemstone has been found there. In addition, Idaho is one of only two places
in the world where star garnets can be found in any significant quantities,
the other being India. Idaho is sometimes called the Potato State owing to
its popular and widely distributed crop. The state motto is Esto Perpetua
(Latin for "Let it be forever" or "Let it endure forever").
* 'In 1886, The New York Tribune used the first linotype machine , which
replace the old movable type process. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The New-York Tribune was an American newspaper, first
established by Horace Greeley in 1841. Between 1842 and 1866, the newspaper
bore the name New-York Daily Tribune. From the 1840s through the 1860s it
was the dominant Whig Party and then Republican newspaper in the U.S. The
paper achieved a circulation of approximately 200,000 during the decade of
the 1850s, making it the largest in New York City and perhaps the nation.
The Tribune's editorials were widely read and helped shape national
opinion.
In 1924 it was merged with the New York Herald to form the New York Herald
Tribune, which in turn ceased publication in 1966.
In 1886, the Tribune became the first publication to be printed on a
linotype machine, which allowed it to exceed the standard newspaper size of
eight pages.
* 'In 1903, The first cable across the Pacific Ocean was spliced between
Honolulu, Midway, Guam and Manila. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The first trans-pacific cables were completed in
1902–03, linking the US mainland to Hawaii in 1902 and Guam to the
Philippines in 1903. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji were also
linked in 1902 with the trans-Pacific segment of the All Red Line.
Eighty-eight years later, the North Pacific Cable system was the first
regenerative (repeatered) system to completely cross the Pacific from the
US mainland to Japan. The US portion of NPC was manufactured in Portland,
Oregon, from 1989 to 1991 at STC Submarine Systems, and later Alcatel
Submarine Networks. The system was laid by Cable and Wireless Marine on the
CS Cable Venture in 1991.
* 'In 1913, Confederate veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913 reenact
Pickett's Charge upon reaching the high-water mark of the Confederacy they
are met by the outstretched hands of friendship from Union survivors. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The 1913 Gettysburg reunion was a Gettysburg Battlefield
encampment of American Civil War veterans for the Battle of Gettysburg's
50th anniversary. The June 29–July 4 gathering of 53,407 veterans (~8,750
Confederate) was the largest ever Civil War veteran reunion, and never
before in the world's history so great a number of men so advanced in
years been assembled under field conditions (Chief Surgeon).:60 All
honorably discharged veterans in the Grand Army of the Republic and the
United Confederate Veterans were invited, and veterans from 46 of the 48
states attended (cf. Nevada). Despite concerns that there might be
unpleasant differences, at least, between the blue and gray (as after
England's War of the Roses and the French Revolution), the peaceful reunion
was repeatedly marked by events of Union–Confederate camaraderie. President
Woodrow Wilson's July 4 reunion address summarized the spirit: We have
found one another again as brothers and comrades in arms, enemies no
longer, generous friends rather, our battles long past, the quarrel
forgotten—except that we shall not forget the splendid valor."'.
* 'In 1922, The 'Fruit Garden and Home' magazine was introduced. It was
later renamed 'Better Homes and Gardens'. .
- From Wikipedia: ' Better Homes and Gardens is the fourth best selling
magazine in the United States. The editor in chief is Stephen Orr. Better
Homes and Gardens focuses on interests regarding homes, cooking, gardening,
crafts, healthy living, decorating, and entertaining. The magazine is
published 12 times per year by the Meredith Corporation. It was founded in
1922 by Edwin Meredith, who had previously been the United States Secretary
of Agriculture under Woodrow Wilson.
Better Homes and Gardens is one of the Seven Sisters, a group of women's
service magazines.
Edwin Thomas Meredith (December 23, 1876 – June 17, 1928) was founder of
the Meredith Corporation and was the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in
President Woodrow Wilson's administration.
He was succeeded by Henry C. Wallace at the start of Warren G. Harding's
administration in 1921, and he returned to publishing. He bought the Dairy
Farmer in 1922, and later started Fruit, Garden, and Home, which he later
renamed Better Homes and Gardens.
* 'In 1938, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the
Eternal Light Peace Memorial and lights the eternal flame at Gettysburg
Battlefield. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The Eternal Light Peace Memorial is a 1938 Gettysburg
Battlefield monument commemorating the 1913 Gettysburg reunion for the
fiftieth anniversary of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The natural gas
flame in a one-ton bronze urn is atop a tower on a stone pedestrian terrace
with views from the terraced hill summit over about 400 sq mi (1,000 km2),
and the flame is visible from 20 mi (32 km) away.
* 'In 1938, The 'Mallard' locomotive sets the world speed record for a
steam locomotive ive at 126 mph, and burnt out the engine in the process. .
- From Wikipedia: 'Number 4468 Mallard is a London and North Eastern
Railway Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built at Doncaster, England
in 1938. It is historically significant as the holder of the world speed
record for steam locomotives.
The A4 class was designed by Sir
Nigel Gresley to power high-speed streamlined trains. The
wind-tunnel-tested, aerodynamic body and high power allowed the class to
reach speeds of over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), although in everyday
service it rarely attained this speed. No regular steam-hauled rail service
in the UK reached even 90 mph, much less 100. Mallard covered almost one
and a half million miles (2.4 million km) before it was retired in 1963.
It was restored to working order in the 1980s, but has not operated since,
apart from hauling some specials between York and Scarborough in July 1986
and a couple of runs between York and Harrogate/Leeds around Easter 1987.
Mallard is now part of the National Collection at the United Kingdom's
National Railway Museum in York. On the weekend of 5 July 2008, Mallard was
taken outside for the first time in years and displayed beside the three
other A4s that are resident in the UK, thus reuniting them for the first
time since preservation. It departed the museum for Locomotion, the NRM's
outbase at Shildon on 23 June 2010, where it was a static exhibit, until it
was hauled back to York on 19 July 2011 and put back on display in its
original location in the Great Hall.
The locomotive is 70 ft (21 m)
long and weighs 165 tons, including the tender. It is painted LNER garter
blue with red wheels and steel rims.
* 'In 1939, Chic Young's comic strip character, 'Blondie' was first heard
on CBS radio. .
- From Wikipedia: 'Blondie is a radio situation comedy adapted from the
long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. The radio program had a long
run on several networks from 1939 to 1950.
After Penny Singleton was cast in the title role of the feature film
Blondie (1938), co-starring with Arthur Lake as Dagwood (the first in a
series of 28 produced by Columbia Pictures) she and Lake repeated their
roles December 20, 1938, on The Pepsodent Show starring Bob Hope. The
appearance with Hope led to their own show, beginning July 3, 1939, on CBS
as a summer replacement for The Eddie Cantor Show. However, Cantor did not
return in the fall, so the sponsor, R.J. Reynolds' Camel Cigarettes chose
to keep Blondie on the air Mondays at 7:30pm. Camel remained the sponsor
through the early WWII years until June 26, 1944.
In 1944, Blondie was on the NBC Blue Network, sponsored by
Colgate-Palmolive's Super Suds, airing Fridays at 7pm from July 21 to
September 1. The final three weeks of that run overlapped with Blondie's
return to CBS on Sundays at 8pm from August 13, 1944, to September 26,
1948, still sponsored by Super Suds. Beginning in mid-1945, the 30-minute
program was heard Mondays at 7:30pm. Super Suds continued as the sponsor
when the show moved to NBC on Wednesdays at 8pm from October 6, 1948, to
June 29, 1949.
When Penny Singleton left the radio series in the mid-1940s, Patricia Lake,
the former Patricia Van Cleeve, replaced her as the voice of Blondie for
the remaining five years of the show, opposite her real-life husband Arthur
Lake. Ann Rutherford and Alice White were also heard as radio's Blondie. In
1954, Lake also co-starred with her husband in an early television sitcom
he created called Meet the Family.
In its final season, the series was on ABC as a Sustaining Program from
October 6, 1949, to July 6, 1950, first airing Thursdays at 8pm and then
(from May) 8:30pm. The radio show ended the same year as the Blondie film
series (1938–50).
Others in the cast: Leone Ledoux (Alexander and Cookie Bumstead), Tommy
Cook (Alexander as of May 1943), Larry Sims (Alexander as of Summer 1946),
Jeffrey Silver (Alexander by 1949), Marlene Aames (Cookie by 1946), Norma
Jean Nilsson (Cookie in 1947), Joan Rae (Cookie after 1947), Hanley
Stafford (J.C. Dithers), Elvia Allman (Mrs. Dithers), Frank Nelson and
Harold Peary (Herb Woodley), Arthur Q. Bryan and Harry Lang (Mr. Fuddle),
Dix Davis (Alvin Fuddle), Mary Jane Croft (Harriet), Veola Vonn and Lurene
Tuttle (Dimples Wilson). Harry Lubin, Billy Artz and Lou Kosloff supplied
the music.
No. 1 song
Top movie
Monthly holiday / awareness days in July
Food
National Blueberries Month
National Grilling Month
National Honey Month
National Ice Cream Month
National Horseradish Month
National Hot Dog Month
Wheat Month
Health
Alopecia Month for Women
Bereaved Parents Awareness Month
Eye Injury Prevention Month
Hemochromatosis Screening Awareness Month
International Group B Strep Awareness Month
International Women with Alopecia Month
International Zine Month
Juvenille Arthritis Awareness Month
National Black Family Month
National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month
National Cord Blood Awareness Month
National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
Social Wellness Month
Animal / Pets
National 'Doghouse Repairs' Month
Other
Bioterrorism/Disaster Education and Awareness Month
Cell Phone Courtesy Month
Family Golf Month
Independent Retailer Month
National Child-Centered Divorce Month
National Make A Difference to Children Month
National Parks and Recreation Month
National Vacation Rental Month
Smart Irrigation Month
Tour de France Month
Women's Motorcycle Month
July is:
July origin (from Wikipedia): Named by the Roman Senate in honor of Julius Caesar.
"is the seventh month of the year (between June
and August) in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months
with the length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honor of
the Roman general, Julius Caesar, it being the month of his birth. Prior
to that, it was called Quintilis. It is, on average, the warmest month in
most of the Northern hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer)
and the coldest month in much of the Southern hemisphere (where it
is the second month of winter). The second half of the year commences in
July. In the Southern hemisphere, July is the seasonal equivalent of
January in the Northern hemisphere."
July at Wikipedia: More
If you couldn't afford 90 cents for a movie ticket, 50 years ago,
or your 45 RPM record player was broke, you might watch one of these shows on TV.
From this Wikipedia article: More
Best selling books of 1966 More
Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More