<> Tomorrow's food holidays(s):
* 'National Rice Pudding Day'.
- From Wikipedia (Rice pudding):
'Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and other
ingredients such as cinnamon and raisins. Different variants are used for
either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly combined
with a sweetener such as sugar. Such desserts are found on many continents,
especially Asia where rice is a staple.
In Canada and the United States, most recipes come from European
immigrants. In the latter half of the twentieth century, Asian, Middle
Eastern, and Latin American recipes have also become more common. In New
England, a popular pudding is made with long grain rice, milk, sugar, or in
Vermont, maple syrup. This may be combined with nutmeg, cinnamon, and/or
raisins. The pudding is usually partially cooked on top of the stove in a
double boiler, and then finished in an oven'.
[The Hankster says] The proper ending to a BBQ dinner. Well, if thee is no bread pudding.
<> Other holidays / celebrations
* 'National Veep Day'.
VEEP is slang for Vice President. Vice President Gerald Ford became
President of the United States after taking the oath of office on this
day.. It was on the official day that President Nixon's resignation took
place, August 9, 1974.
* 'National Book Lovers Day'.
[The Hankster says] Love a book, read a book. Try th old fashion kind, the ones without
batteries.
* 'International Art Appreciation Day'.
[The Hankster says] Open your eyes, it's there. You might visit an art museum to see what others saw.
<> Awareness / Observances:
o Other:
* 'National Peacekeepers' Day in Canada'. Honors all Canadian National
Peacekeepers who served and specifically the nine who died on August 9 1974
in Syria.
- From Wikipedia (National Peacekeepers' Day):
'National Peacekeepers' Day is an official remembrance day for Canadian
veterans of military peacekeeping activities. It is officially marked on 9
August of each year and alternately may be observed on the closest Sunday.
The date was chosen to commemorate 9 August 1974, when nine Canadian
peacekeepers serving on UNEF II were killed when their aircraft was shot
down over Syria, the highest number of Canadian peacekeepers killed in a
single incident.
While British Columbia Order in Council 856 first set August 9 as
Peacekeepers memorial day on June 30, 1993, Federal legislation to make the
day an official national day in Canada was passed in June 2008'.
* 'International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples'. A U.N. observance
since 1994.
- From Wikipedia (International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples):
'The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is observed on
August 9 each year to promote and protect the rights of the world’s
indigenous population. This event also recognizes the achievements and
contributions that indigenous people make to improve world issues such as
environmental protection. It was first pronounced by the General Assembly
of the United Nations in December 1994, marking the day of the first
meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the
Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, in 1982'.
<> Historical events on August 9
* 'In 1173, Construction of the campanile of the Cathedral of Pisa (now
known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa) begins it will take two centuries to
complete. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di
Pisa) or simply the Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa ) is the campanile, or
freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa,
known worldwide for its unintended tilt.
It is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in
Pisa's Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo) after the Cathedral and the
Baptistery. The tower's tilt began during construction, caused by an
inadequate foundation on ground too soft on one side to properly support
the structure's weight. The tilt increased in the decades before the
structure was completed, and gradually increased until the structure was
stabilized (and the tilt partially corrected) by efforts in the late 20th
and early 21st centuries.
The height of the tower is 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) from the ground on
the low side and 56.67 metres (185.93 feet) on the high side. The width of
the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft 0.06 in). Its weight is estimated at
14,500 metric tons (16,000 short tons). The tower has 296 or 294 steps the
seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. Prior to
restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an
angle of 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees. This
means that the top of the tower is displaced horizontally 3.9 metres (12 ft
10 in) from the centre.
Construction of the tower occurred in three stages across 199 years. Work
on the ground floor of the white marble campanile began on August 14, 1173,
during a period of military success and prosperity. This ground floor is a
blind arcade articulated by engaged columns with classical Corinthian
capitals.
The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the second
floor in 1178. This was due to a mere three-metre foundation, set in weak,
unstable subsoil, a design that was flawed from the beginning. Construction
was subsequently halted for almost a century, because the Republic of Pisa
was almost continually engaged in battles with Genoa, Lucca, and Florence.
This allowed time for the underlying soil to settle. Otherwise, the tower
would almost certainly have toppled. In 1198 clocks were temporarily
installed on the third floor of the unfinished construction.
In 1272 construction resumed under Giovanni di Simone, architect of the
Camposanto. In an effort to compensate for the tilt, the engineers built
upper floors with one side taller than the other. Because of this, the
tower is actually curved. Construction was halted again in 1284, when the
Pisans were defeated by the Genoans in the Battle of Meloria.
The seventh floor was completed in 1319. The bell-chamber was finally added
in 1372. It was built by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano, who succeeded in
harmonizing the Gothic elements of the bell-chamber with the Romanesque
style of the tower. There are seven bells, one for each note of the musical
major scale. The largest one was installed in 1655.
After a phase (1990–2001) of structural strengthening, the tower is
currently undergoing gradual surface restoration, in order to repair
visible damage, mostly corrosion and blackening. These are particularly
pronounced due to the tower's age and its exposure to wind and rain'.
* 'In 1790, The Columbia returned to Boston Harbor after a three-year
voyage. It was the first ship to carry the American flag around the world .
- From Wikipedia: 'Columbia Rediviva (commonly known as the Columbia) was a
privately owned ship under the command of John Kendrick, along with Captain
Robert Gray, best known for going to the Pacific Northwest for the maritime
fur trade. The Rediviva (Latin revived) was added to her name upon a
rebuilding in 1787. Since Columbia was privately owned, she did not carry
the prefix designation USS
Early authorities claim the ship was built in 1773 by James Briggs at
Hobart’s Landing on North River, in Norwell, Massachusetts and named
Columbia. Later historians say she was built in Plymouth, Massachusetts in
1787. In 1790 she became the first American ship to circumnavigate the
globe. During the first part of this voyage, she was accompanied by the
Lady Washington which served as tender for the Columbia. In 1792 Captain
Gray entered the Columbia River and named it after the ship. The river and
its basin, in turn, lent its name to the surrounding region, and
subsequently to the British colony and Canadian province located in part of
this region.
The ship was decommissioned and salvaged in 1806. A replica of Lady
Washington is located at Grays Harbor Historical Seaport in Aberdeen,
Washington'.
* 'In 1842, The Webster–Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United
States–Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was
a treaty resolving several border issues between the United States and the
British North American colonies. Signed under John Tyler's presidency, it
resolved the Aroostook War, a nonviolent dispute over the location of the
Maine–New Brunswick border. It established the border between Lake Superior
and the Lake of the Woods, originally defined in the Treaty of Paris in
1783, reaffirmed the location of the border (at the 49th parallel) in the
westward frontier up to the Rocky Mountains defined in the Treaty of 1818,
defined seven crimes subject to extradition, called for a final end to the
slave trade on the high seas, and agreed to shared use of the Great Lakes.
The treaty was signed by United States Secretary of State Daniel Webster
and British diplomat Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton'.
* 'In 1892, Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The key to Edison's fortunes was telegraphy. With
knowledge gained from years of working as a telegraph operator, he learned
the basics of electricity. This allowed him to make his early fortune with
the stock ticker, the first electricity-based broadcast system. On August
9, 1892, Edison received a patent for a two-way telegraph'.
* 'In 1910, A.J. Fisher received a patent for the electric washing machine.
.
- From Wikipedia: 'The Thor washing machine was the first electric clothes
washer sold commercially in the United States. Produced by the
Chicago-based Hurley Electric Laundry Equipment Company, the 1907 Thor is
believed to be the first electrically powered washer ever manufactured,
crediting Hurley as the inventor of the first automatic washing machine.
Designed by Hurley engineer Alva J. Fisher, a patent for the new electric
Thor was issued on August 9, 1910, three years after its initial invention.
The idea of an automatic washing machine had been around for many years but
these were crude mechanical efforts that typically involved a manually
operated crank or similar design. In many ways, the patent of the new Thor
washer sounds modern, even today. The patent states that a 'perforated
cylinder is rotatably mounted within the tub containing the wash water'. A
series of blades lifted the clothes as the cylinder rotated. After 8
rotations on one direction, the machine would reverse rotation to 'prevent
the cloths from wadding up into a compact mass'. Drive belts attached to a
Westinghouse motor connected to three wheels of different sizes, which
moved the drum during operation. The design also included a clutch, which
allowed the machine to switch direction, and an emergency stop rod. The new
Thor washer was mass marketed throughout the United States beginning in
1908'.
* 'In 1914, Start of the Battle of Mulhouse, part of a French attempt to
recover the province of Alsace and the first French offensive of World War
I. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The Battle of Mulhouse or Mülhausen, also called the
Battle of Alsace (French: Bataille d'Alsace), which began on August 7,
1914, was the opening attack of World War I by the French army against
Germany. The battle was part of a French attempt to recover the province of
Alsace, which France ceded to the newly formed German Empire following
France's defeat by Prussia and other independent German states in the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The French occupied Mulhouse on 8 August and
were then forced out by German counter-attacks on 10 August. The French
retired to Belfort, where General Bonneau the VII Corps commander and the
8th Cavalry division commander were sacked. Events further north led to the
German XIV and XV corps being moved away from Belfort and a second French
offensive by the French VII Corps, reinforced and renamed the Army of
Alsace under General Paul Pau, began on 14 August'.
* 'In 1930, Betty Boop, popular animated cartoon character, debuts in Max
Fleischer's 'Dizzy Dishes'. .
- From Wikipedia:
A caricature of a Jazz Age flapper, Betty Boop was described in a 1934
court case as: combin in appearance the childish with the sophisticated — a
large round baby face with big eyes and a nose like a button, framed in a
somewhat careful coiffure, with a very small body of which perhaps the
leading characteristic is the most self-confident little bust imaginable.
Despite having been toned down in the mid-1930s as a result of the Hays
Code to appear more demure, she became one of the best-known and popular
cartoon characters in the world.
Betty Boop made her first appearance on August 9, 1930, in the cartoon
Dizzy Dishes the sixth installment in Fleischer's Talkartoon series.
Although Clara Bow is often given as being the model for Boop, she actually
began as a caricature of singer Helen Kane. The character was originally
created as an anthropomorphic French po
Max Fleischer finalized Betty Boop as a human character in 1932, in the
cartoon Any Rags. Her floppy poodle ears became hoop earrings, and her
black poodle nose became a girl's button-like nose. Betty Boop appeared as
a supporting character in 10 cartoons as a flapper girl with more heart
than brains. In individual cartoons, she was called Nancy Lee or Nan McGrew
– derived from the 1930 Helen Kane film Dangerous Nan McGrew – usually
serving as a girlfriend to studio star, Bimbo.
Betty's voice was first performed by Margie Hines, and was later performed
by several different voice actresses, including Kate Wright, Bonnie Poe,
Ann Rothschild (also known as Little Ann Little), and most notably, Mae
Questel. Questel, who began voicing Betty Boop in 1931, continued with the
role until her death in 1998. Today, Betty is voiced by Tress MacNeille,
Sandy Fox and Cindy Robinson in commercials.
Although it has been assumed that Betty's first name was established in the
1931 Screen Songs cartoon, Betty Co-ed, this Betty is an entirely different
character. Even though the song may have led to Betty's eventual
christening, any reference to Betty Co-ed as a Betty Boop vehicle is
incorrect although the official Betty Boop website describes the titular
character as a prototype of Betty. There are at least 12 Screen Songs
cartoons that featured Betty Boop or a similar character. Betty appeared in
the first Color Classic cartoon Poor Cinderella, her only theatrical color
appearance in 1934. In the film, she was depicted with red hair as opposed
to her typical black hair. Betty also made a cameo appearance in the
feature film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), in which she appeared in her
traditional black and white and was voiced by Mae Questel.
Betty Boop was the star of the Talkartoons by 1932 and was given her own
series that same year, beginning with Stopping the Show. From that point
on, she was crowned The Queen of the Animated Screen The series was popular
throughout the 1930s, lasting until 1939'.
* 'In 1936, Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics.
He was the first American to win four medals in one Olympics. .
- From Wikipedia: 'James Cleveland Jesse Owens (September 12, 1913 – March
31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete and four-time Olympic
gold medalist in the 1936 games.
Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in
his lifetime as perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and
field history His achievement of setting three world records and tying
another in less than an hour at the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, has been called the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport and has
never been equalled. At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, Owens
won international fame with four gold medals: 100 meters, 200 meters, long
jump, and 4 × 100 meter relay. He was the most successful athlete at the
games and as such has been credited with single-handedly crush Hitler's
myth of Aryan supremacy.
The Jesse Owens Award is USA Track and Field's highest accolade for the
year's best track and field athlete. Owens was ranked by ESPN as the sixth
greatest North American athlete of the twentieth century and the
highest-ranked in his sport'.
* 'In 1944, Smokey Bear is first publicized on posters through the United
States Forest Service. He replace a 1 year Disney contract for Bambi. Tge
name came from “Smokey” Joe Martin, a hero of the New York City Fire
Department. The bear symbol was taken from a bare cub that suffered burns
in a forest fire. .
- From Wikipedia: 'Smokey Bear (also called Smokey the Bear) is an American
advertising mascot created to educate the public about the dangers of
forest fires. An advertising campaign featuring Smokey and the slogan
Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires was created in
1944. Smokey Bear's later slogan, Remember... Only YOU Can Prevent Forest
Fires was created in 1947 by the Advertising Council. In April 2001, the
message was updated to Only You Can Prevent Wildfires. According to the Ad
Council, Smokey Bear and his message are recognized in the United States by
95% of adults and 77% of children.
In 1952, the songwriters Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins had a successful
song named Smokey the Bear The pair said the was added to Smokey's name to
keep the song's rhythm. During the 1950s, that variant of the name became
widespread both in popular speech and in print, including at least one
standard encyclopedia. A 1955 book in the Little Golden Books series was
called Smokey the Bear and Smokey calls himself by this name in the book.
It depicted Smokey as an orphaned cub rescued in the aftermath of a forest
fire. From the beginning, Smokey's name was intentionally spelled
differently from the adjective 'smoky'.
The fictional character Smokey Bear, created by the art critic Harold
Rosenberg, is administered by three entities: the United States Forest
Service, the National Association of State Foresters, and the Ad Council.
Smokey Bear's name and image are protected by U.S. federal law, the Smokey
Bear Act of 1952 (16 U.S.C. 580 (p-2) 18 U.S.C. 711).
Although the U.S. Forest Service fought wildfires long before World War II,
the war brought a new importance and urgency to the effort. The forest
service began using colorful posters to educate Americans about the dangers
of forest fires. Since most able-bodied men were already serving in the
armed forces, none could be spared to fight forest fires on the West Coast.
The hope was that local communities, educated about the danger of forest
fires, could prevent them from starting in the first place.
On August 13, 1942, Disney's fifth full-length animated motion picture
Bambi premiered in New York City. Soon after, Walt Disney allowed his
characters to appear in fire prevention public service campaigns. However,
Bambi was only loaned to the government for a year, so a new symbol was
needed. A bear was chosen. His name was inspired by Smokey Joe Martin, a
New York City Fire Department hero who suffered burns and blindness during
a bold 1922 rescue.
Smokey's debut poster was released on August 9, 1944, which is considered
his anniversary date. Overseen by the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention
Campaign, the first poster was illustrated by Albert Staehle. In it Smokey
was depicted wearing jeans and a campaign hat, pouring a bucket of water on
a campfire. The message underneath reads, Smokey says – Care will prevent 9
out of 10 forest fires! Knickerbocker Bears gained the license to produce
Smokey Bear dolls in 1944. Also in 1944, Forest Service worker Rudy
Wendelin became the full-time campaign artist he was considered Smokey
Bear's caretaker until he retired in 1973.
In addition, during World War II, the Empire of Japan considered wildfires
as a possible weapon. During the Lookout Air Raids of September 1942, the
Japanese military attempted without success to set ablaze coastal forests
in southwest Oregon. U.S. planners also hoped that if Americans knew how
wildfires would harm the war effort, they would better cooperate with the
Forest Service to eliminate any kind of fire. The Japanese military renewed
their wildfire strategy late in the war: from November 1944 to April 1945,
launching some 9,000 fire balloons into the jet stream, with an estimated
10% reaching the U.S. In the end only five school children and their
teacher, Elsie Mitchell, were killed by one of the bombs near Bly, Oregon,
on May 5, 1945. A memorial was erected at what today is called the Mitchell
Recreation Area.
In 1947, the slogan associated with Smokey Bear for more than five decades
was finally coined: Remember ... only YOU can prevent forest fires. In
2001, it was officially amended to replace forest fires with wildfires, as
a reminder that other areas (such as grasslands) are also in danger of
burning'.
* 'In 1995, Netscape, one of the first world wide web browsers, goes public
and doubles in value on its first day of trade .
- From Wikipedia: 'Netscape Communications (formerly known as Netscape
Communications Corporation and commonly known as Netscape) is an American
computer services company, best known for Netscape Navigator, its web
browser. When it was an independent company, its headquarters were in
Mountain View, California.
Netscape's web browser was once dominant in terms of usage share, but lost
most of that share to Internet Explorer during the so-called first browser
war. The usage share of Netscape had fallen from over 90 percent in the
mid-1990s to less than one percent by the end of 2006.
Netscape is credited with JavaScript, the most widely used language for
client-side scripting of web pages, as well as developing the Secure
Sockets Layer Protocol (SSL) for securing online communication, that was
much used, before its successor TLS took over.
Netscape stock traded from 1995 until 1999 when it was acquired by AOL in a
pooling-of-interests transaction ultimately worth US$10 billion. Shortly
before its acquisition by AOL, Netscape released the source code for its
browser and created the Mozilla Organization to coordinate future
development of its product. The Mozilla Organization rewrote the entire
browser's source code based on the Gecko rendering engine all future
Netscape releases were based on this rewritten code. The Gecko engine would
later be used to power the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox browser.
Under AOL, Netscape's browser development continued until December 2007,
when AOL announced that the company would stop supporting the Netscape
browser as of early 2008. AOL has continued to use the Netscape brand in
recent years to market a discount Internet service provider'.
* 'In 2004, Donald Duck received the 2,257th star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame.
No. 1 song
Top movie
Monthly holiday / awareness days in August
Food
National Catfish Month
National Goat Cheese Month
Rye Month
Health
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
Neurosurgery Outreach Month
Psoriasis Awareness Month
Animal / Pets
Other
American Adventures Month
American Artists Appreciation Month
American Indian Heritage Month
American History Essay Contest
Black Business Month
Boomers Making A Difference Month
Bystander Awareness Month
Child Support Awareness Month
Get 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
Shop Online For Groceries Month
What Will Be Your Legacy Month
XXXI Summer Olympics: 5-21
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
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Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More