<> Tomorrow's food holidays(s):
* 'National Soft Ice Cream Day'. . Created in 1934 by Tom Carvel when he
found himself with a truck load of melting ice cream. He sold it to passers
by and improved the method of making his own when he found how popular it
was.
- From Wikipedia (Soft serve):
'Soft serve is a type of ice cream that is softer than regular ice creams
as a result of air being introduced during freezing. Soft serve ice cream
has been sold commercially since the late 1930s.
Over Memorial Day weekend of 1934, Tom Carvel, the founder of the Carvel
brand and franchise, suffered a flat tire in his ice cream truck in
Hartsdale, New York. He pulled into a parking lot and began selling his
melting ice cream to vacationers driving by. Within two days he had sold
his entire supply of ice cream and concluded that both a fixed location and
soft (as opposed to hard) frozen desserts were potentially good business
ideas. In 1936, Carvel opened his first store on the original broken down
truck site and developed a secret soft serve ice cream formula as well as
patented super low temperature ice cream machines.
Dairy Queen also claims to have invented soft serve. In 1938, near Moline,
Illinois, J. F. McCullough and his son, Alex, developed their soft serve
formula. Their first sales experiment was August 4, 1938, in Kankakee,
Illinois at the store of their friend, Sherb Noble. Within two hours of the
all you can eat trial sale, they had dished out more than 1,600 servings —
more than one every 4.5 seconds.
In the 1960s, ice cream machine manufacturers introduced mechanized air
pumps into vending machines, providing better aeration.
Soft serve is generally lower in milk-fat (3% to 6%) than ice cream (10% to
18%) and is produced at a temperature of about -4 °C compared to ice cream,
which is stored at -15 °C. Soft serve contains air, introduced at the time
of freezing. The air content, called overrun, can vary from 0% to 60% of
the total volume of finished product. The amount of air alters the taste of
the finished product. Product with low quantities of air has a heavy, icy
taste and appears more yellow. Product with higher air content tastes
creamier, smoother and lighter and appears whiter. The optimum quantity of
air is determined by the other ingredients and individual taste. It is
generally accepted that the ideal air content should be between 33% and 45%
of volume. More than this and the product loses taste, tends to shrink as
it loses air and melts more quickly than that with less air.
Some forms of soft serve, like many other processed foods, have palm oil.
All ice cream must be frozen quickly to avoid crystallization. With soft
serve, this is accomplished by a special machine at the point of sale.
Pre-mixed product is introduced to the storage chamber of the machine where
it is kept at 3 °C. When product is drawn from the draw valve, fresh mix
combined with the targeted quantity of air is introduced to the freezing
chamber either by gravity or pump. It is then churned and quick frozen and
stored until required'.
[The Hankster says] I serve. you serve. we all serve for soft serve. Bad ain't it, not the ice cream.
* 'National Potato Day'. Inexpensive, tastes good and has potassium,
vitamins C and B6.
- From Wikipedia (Potato):
'The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial nightshade
Solanum tuberosum L. The word potato may refer either to the plant itself
or to the edible tuber. In the Andes, where the species is indigenous,
there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes
were introduced outside the Andes region approximately four centuries ago,
and have since become an integral part of much of the world's food supply.
It is the world's fourth-largest food crop, following maize, wheat, and
rice. The green leaves and green skins of tubers exposed to the light are
toxic. ,br /> Wild potato species can be found throughout the Americas from
the United States to southern Chile. The potato was originally believed to
have been domesticated independently in multiple locations, but later
genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars and wild species proved a
single origin for potatoes in the area of present-day southern Peru and
extreme northwestern Bolivia (from a species in the Solanum brevicaule
complex), where they were domesticated approximately 7,000–10,000 years
ago. Following centuries of selective breeding, there are now over a
thousand different types of potatoes. Over 99% of the presently cultivated
potatoes worldwide descended from varieties that originated in the lowlands
of south-central Chile, which have displaced formerly popular varieties
from the Andes.
However, the local importance of the potato is variable and changing
rapidly. It remains an essential crop in Europe (especially eastern and
central Europe), where per capita production is still the highest in the
world, but the most rapid expansion over the past few decades has occurred
in southern and eastern Asia. As of 2007 China led the world in potato
production, and nearly a third of the world's potatoes were harvested in
China and India.
The English word potato comes from Spanish patata (the name used in Spain).
The Spanish Royal Academy says the Spanish word is a compound of the Taíno
batata and the Quechua papa (potato). The name potato originally referred
to a type of sweet potato although the two plants are not closely related
in many of the chronicles detailing agriculture and plants, no distinction
is made between the two. The 16th-century English herbalist John Gerard
used the terms bastard potatoes and Virginia potatoes for this species, and
referred to sweet potatoes as common potatoes Potatoes are occasionally
referred to as Irish potatoes or white potatoes in the United States, to
distinguish them from sweet potatoes.
The name spud for a small potato comes from the digging of soil (or a hole)
prior to the planting of potatoes. The word has an unknown origin and was
originally (c. 1440) used as a term for a short knife or dagger, probably
related to Dutch spyd or the Latin spad- a word root meaning sword cf.
Spanish espada, English spade and spadroon The word spud traces back to the
16th century. It subsequently transferred over to a variety of digging
tools. Around 1845, the name transferred to the tuber itself. The origin of
the word spud has erroneously been attributed to a 19th-century activist
group dedicated to keeping the potato out of Britain, calling itself The
Society for the Prevention of an Unwholesome Diet (S.P.U.D.). It was Mario
Pei's 1949 The Story of Language that can be blamed for the word's false
origin. Pei writes, the potato, for its part, was in disrepute some
centuries ago. Some Englishmen who did not fancy potatoes formed a Society
for the Prevention of Unwholesome Diet. The initials of the main words in
this title gave rise to spud. Like most other pre-20th century acronymic
origins, this is false.
The potato contains vitamins and minerals, as well as an assortment of
phytochemicals, such as carotenoids and natural phenols. Chlorogenic acid
constitutes up to 90% of the potato tuber natural phenols. Others found in
potatoes are 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid (crypto-chlorogenic acid),
5-O-caffeoylquinic (neo-chlorogenic acid), 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic and
3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acids. A medium-size 150 g (5.3 oz) potato with the
skin provides 27 mg of vitamin C (45% of the Daily Value (DV)), 620 mg of
potassium (18% of DV), 0.2 mg vitamin B6 (10% of DV) and trace amounts of
thiamin, riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc.
The potato is best known for its carbohydrate content (approximately 26
grams in a medium potato). The predominant form of this carbohydrate is
starch. A small but significant portion of this starch is resistant to
digestion by enzymes in the stomach and small intestine, and so reaches the
large intestine essentially intact. This resistant starch is considered to
have similar physiological effects and health benefits as fiber: It
provides bulk, offers protection against colon cancer, improves glucose
tolerance and insulin sensitivity, lowers plasma cholesterol and
triglyceride concentrations, increases satiety, and possibly even reduces
fat storage. The amount of resistant starch in potatoes depends much on
preparation methods. Cooking and then cooling potatoes significantly
increases resistant starch. For example, cooked potato starch contains
about 7% resistant starch, which increases to about 13% upon cooling.
The storage and cooking method used can significantly affect the nutrient
availability of the potato.
Potatoes are often broadly classified as high on the glycemic index (GI)
and so are often excluded from the diets of individuals trying to follow a
low-GI diet. In fact, the GI of potatoes can vary considerably depending on
type (such as red, russet, white, or King Edward), origin (where it was
grown), preparation methods (i.e., cooking method, whether it is eaten hot
or cold, whether it is mashed or cubed or consumed whole, etc.), and with
what it is consumed (i.e., the addition of various high-fat or high-protein
toppings).
In the UK, potatoes are not considered by the NHS as counting towards the
recommended daily five portions of fruit and vegetables'.
[The Hankster says] Good thing it was brought from Peru so long ago. Just think if in the 1950's you had been force to purchase Mr. Tomato Head. Messy, messy.
* 'National Hot and Spicy Food Day'. .
[The Hankster says] Yes, please.
<> Other holidays / celebrations
* 'World Photography Day'.
Commemorates the invention of the daguerreotype photo process in 1839. See
more in the history section for 1839.
[The Hankster says] If you have ever seen a man under the black cloth looking through a big upright camera on a tripod, you can guess, that the 'Selfie' was years away.
* 'National Aviation Day in the USA'.
Since 1939 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, celebrating the birthday
of Orville Wright, August 19 1871.
- From Wikipedia (National Aviation Day):
'The National Aviation Day (August 19) is a United States national
observation that celebrates the development of aviation.
The holiday was established in 1939 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who
issued a presidential proclamation which designated the anniversary of
Orville Wright's birthday to be National Aviation Day (Mr. Wright, born in
1871, was still alive when the proclamation was first issued, and would
live another nine years). The proclamation was codified (USC 36:I:A:1:118),
and it allows the sitting US President to proclaim August 19 as National
Aviation Day each year, if desired. Their proclamation may direct all
federal buildings and installations to fly the US flag on that day, and may
encourage citizens to observe the day with activities that promote interest
in aviation'.
* 'Hawaii Statehood Day / Hawaii Admission Day,:'.
Third Friday in August. Actual day August 21 1959.
- From Wikipedia (Statehood Day (Hawaii)):
'Statehood Day or Admission Day is a legal holiday in the state of Hawaii
in the United States. It is celebrated annually on the third Friday in
August to commemorate the anniversary of the 1959 admission of Hawaii into
the Union. It was first celebrated in 1969.
Statehood bills for Hawaii were introduced into the U.S. Congress as early
as 1919 by Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, the non-voting delegate sent by
the Territory of Hawaii to the U.S. Congress. Additional bills were
introduced in 1935, 1947 and 1950. In 1959, the U.S. Congress approved the
statehood bill, the Hawaii Admission Act. This was followed by a referendum
in which Hawaiian residents voted 94% in support of statehood (the ballot
question was: Shall Hawaii immediately be admitted into the Union as a
state?), and on August 21, 1959 (the third Friday in August), President
Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation making Hawaii the 50th state'.
<> Awareness / Observances:
o Other:
* 'World Humanitarian Day . A U.N. observance singe 2009 (established 2008)
to honor humanitarian personnel and those who lost their lives working for
such causes.
- From Wikipedia (World Humanitarian Day):
'World Humanitarian Day is a day dedicated to recognize humanitarian
personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian
causes. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as part of
a Swedish-sponsored GA Resolution A/63/L.49 on the Strengthening of the
Coordination of Emergency Assistance of the United Nations, and set as 19
August. It marks the day on which the then Special Representative of the
Secretary-General to Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 of his colleagues
were killed in the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad'.
o Animal and Pet:
* 'World Orangutan Day'. A conservation awareness and fund raiser.
<> Historical events on August 19
* ' In 1812, The American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British
frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada earning the
nickname 'Old Ironsides'. Her hull was 24-inch triple-layered white oak and
live oak sheathed in copper forged by Paul Revere. The British ship's
cannon balls bounced off her sides, thus the name.
- From Wikipedia: 'USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy
frigate of the United States Navy, named by President George Washington
after the Constitution of the United States of America. Constitution is the
oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. Constitution was launched
in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the
Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. Joshua Humphreys designed the
frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so Constitution and her
sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates
of the period. Constitution was built in the North End of Boston,
Massachusetts at Edmund Hartt's shipyard. Her first duties with the newly
formed U.S. Navy were to provide protection for American merchant shipping
during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the
First Barbary War.
Constitution is most noted for her actions during the War of 1812 against
the United Kingdom, when she captured numerous merchant ships and defeated
five British warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane, and Levant. The
battle with Guerriere earned her the nickname of Old Ironsides and public
adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. She continued to
serve as flagship in the Mediterranean and African squadrons, and circled
the world in the 1840s. During the American Civil War, she served as a
training ship for the United States Naval Academy. She carried American
artwork and industrial displays to the Paris Exposition of 1878.
Constitution was retired from active service in 1881, and served as a
receiving ship until designated a museum ship in 1907. In 1934, she
completed a three-year, 90-port tour of the nation. Constitution sailed
under her own power for her 200th birthday in 1997, and again in August
2012 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her victory over Guerriere'.
* 'In 1839, The French government announces that Louis Daguerre's
photographic process is a gift 'free to the world'. Louis sold his
invention to the French government for a life time pension. .
- From Wikipedia: 'Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (French: 18 November 1787
– 10 July 1851) was a French artist and photographer, recognized for his
invention of the daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as
one of the fathers of photography. Though he is most famous for his
contributions to photography, he was also an accomplished painter and a
developer of the diorama theatre.
Daguerre was born in Cormeilles-en-Parisis, Val-d'Oise, France. He was
apprenticed in architecture, theatre design, and panoramic painting to
Pierre Prévost, the first French panorama painter. Exceedingly adept at his
skill of theatrical illusion, he became a celebrated designer for the
theatre, and later came to invent the diorama, which opened in Paris in
July 1822.
In 1829, Daguerre partnered with Nicéphore Niépce, an inventor who had
produced the world's first heliograph in 1822 and the oldest surviving
camera photograph in 1826 or 1827. Niépce died suddenly in 1833, but
Daguerre continued experimenting, and evolved the process which would
subsequently be known as the daguerreotype. After efforts to interest
private investors proved fruitless, Daguerre went public with his invention
in 1839. At a joint meeting of the French Academy of Sciences and the
Académie des Beaux Arts on 7 January of that year, the invention was
announced and described in general terms, but all specific details were
withheld. Under assurances of strict confidentiality, Daguerre explained
and demonstrated the process only to the Academy's perpetual secretary
François Arago, who proved to be an invaluable advocate. Members of the
Academy and other select individuals were allowed to examine specimens at
Daguerre's studio. The images were enthusiastically praised as nearly
miraculous, and news of the daguerreotype quickly spread. Arrangements were
made for Daguerre's rights to be acquired by the French Government in
exchange for lifetime pensions for himself and Niépce's son Isidore then,
on 19 August 1839, the French Government presented the invention as a gift
from France free to the world, and complete working instructions were
published. In 1839, he was elected to the National Academy of Design as an
Honorary Academician.
Daguerre died on 10 July 1851 in Bry-sur-Marne, 12 km (7 mi) from Paris. A
monument marks his grave there.
Daguerre's name is one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel tower'.
* 'In 1848, News about the Gold Rush in California is broken to those in
the east coast, in the New York Herald. News traveled slowly in those days.
The discovery had been made in January. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January
24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in
Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold
rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), and Latin
America, and they were the first to start flocking to the state in late
1848. All in all, the news of gold brought some 300,000 people to
California from the rest of the United States and abroad. Of the 300,000,
approximately half arrived by sea and half came overland on the California
Trail and the Gila River trail.
The gold-seekers, called forty-niners (as a reference to 1849), often faced
substantial hardships on the trip. While most of the newly arrived were
Americans, the Gold Rush attracted tens of thousands from Latin America,
Europe, Australia, and China. At first, the prospectors retrieved the gold
from streams and riverbeds using simple techniques, such as panning. More
sophisticated methods of gold recovery were developed and later adopted
around the world. At its peak, technological advances reached a point where
significant financing was required, increasing the proportion of gold
companies to individual miners. Gold worth tens of billions of today's
dollars was recovered, which led to great wealth for a few. However, many
returned home with little more than they had started with.
On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald was the first major newspaper on
the East Coast to report the discovery of gold. On December 5, 1848,
President James Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in an address to
Congress. Soon, waves of immigrants from around the world, later called the
forty-niners, invaded the Gold Country of California or Mother Lode As
Sutter had feared, he was ruined his workers left in search of gold, and
squatters took over his land and stole his crops and cattle'.
* 'In 1909, Indianapolis Motor Speedway held its first races over a 3-day
period .
- From Wikipedia: 'The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway,
Indiana, (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the
home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. It is located on the
corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately six miles (10 km)
west of Downtown Indianapolis.
Constructed in 1909, it is the original speedway, the first racing facility
so named. It has a permanent seating capacity estimated at 235,000 with
infield seating raising capacity to an approximate 400,000. It is the
highest-capacity sports venue in the world.
Considered relatively flat by American standards, the track is a
two-and-a-half-mile, nearly rectangular oval with dimensions that have
remained essentially unchanged since its inception: four 1/4-mile (400 m)
turns, two 5/8-mile-long (1,000 m) straightaways between the fourth and
first turns and the second and third turns, and two 1/8-mile (200 m) short
straightaways, termed short chutes, between the first and second, and third
and fourth turns.
Indianapolis businessman Carl G. Fisher first envisioned building the
speedway in 1905 after assisting friends racing in France and seeing that
Europe held the upper hand in automobile design and craftsmanship. Fisher
began thinking of a better means of testing cars before delivering them to
consumers. At the time, racing was just getting started on horse tracks and
public roads. Fisher noticed how dangerous and ill-suited the makeshift
courses were for racing and testing. He also argued that spectators did not
get their money's worth, as they were only able to get a brief glimpse of
cars speeding down a linear road.
Fisher proposed building a circular track 3 to 5 miles (5 to 8 km) long
with smooth 100–150-foot-wide (30–45 m) surfaces. Such a track would give
manufacturers a chance to test cars at sustained speeds and give drivers a
chance to learn their limits. Fisher predicted speeds could reach up to 120
mph (190 km/h) on a 5-mile (8 km) course. He visited the Brooklands circuit
outside London in 1907, and after viewing the banked layout, it solidified
his determination to build the speedway. With dozens of car makers and
suppliers in Indiana, Fisher proclaimed, Indianapolis is going to be the
world's greatest center of horseless carriage manufacturer, what could be
more logical than building the world's greatest racetrack right here?
Fisher began looking around the Indianapolis area for a site to build his
track he rejected two potential sites before finding level farmland,
Pressley Farm, totaling 328 acres (133 ha) about 5 miles (8 km) outside of
Indianapolis. In December 1908, he convinced James A. Allison, Arthur
Newby, and Frank W. Wheeler to join him in purchasing the property for
$72,000. The group incorporated the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Company on
March 20, 1909, with a capitalization of $250,000, with Fisher and James
Allison in for $75,000 apiece and Frank Wheeler and Arthur Newby on board
for $50,000 each.
On August 19, 1909, fifteen carmakers' teams arrived at the track for
practice. The track surface again became a concern with drivers being
covered in dirt, oil, and tar and with ruts and chuckholes beginning to
form in the turns. Speedway workers oiled and rolled the track prior to the
gates opening to the public. Fifteen to twenty thousand spectators showed
up, paying at the most $1 for a ticket. Halfway through the first 250-mile
(400 km) event, race leader Louis Chevrolet was temporarily blinded when a
stone smashed his goggles. Wilfred Bourque, driving in a Knox, suffered a
suspected rear-axle failure resulting in his car flipping end over end on
the front stretch before crashing into a fence post. Both he and his
mechanic, Harry Halcomb, died at the scene'.
* 'In 1934, The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
In 1934, The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
From Wikipedia: 'The Soap Box is a youth soapbox car racing program which has been run in the United States since 1934. World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio. Cars competing in this and related events are unpowered, relying completely upon gravity to move.
In 1933 Myron Scott, a photographer for Dayton, Ohio newspaper Dayton Daily News, put together an impromptu race for 19 boys. There was so much interest that Scott arranged a bigger race, with prize money for August 19. "An amazing crowd of 362 kids showed up with homemade cars built of orange crates, sheet tin, wagon and baby-buggy wheels...."
The following year, the first All-American race was held on August 19. The national winner was Robert Turner of Muncie, IN, who made his car from the wood of a saloon bar. In 1935 the race was moved from Dayton to Akron because of its central location and hilly terrain. An accident in 1935 captured the public's interest, and boosted the event's profile. A car went off the track and struck NBC's top commentator and sportscaster Graham McNamee while he was broadcasting live on the air. Despite a concussion and other injuries (which resulted in a two-week hospital stay), McNamee described the collision to his listeners and finished his broadcast. In 1936, Akron civic leaders recognized the need for a permanent track site for the youth racing classic and, through the efforts of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Derby Downs became a reality.
In 1946, the town of Mission, British Columbia acquired the rights to the Western Canada Soapbox Derby Championships and the Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce, previously named the Mission City and District Board of Trade, organized the event annually until 1973. During the All American Soapbox Derby's heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, when Chevrolet was a sponsor and famous TV and movie stars made guest appearances, as many as 70,000 people gathered in August to eat snow cones and cheer hundreds of youthful racer/builders (boys only in early years) ages 11–15 who were the champions of local races around the nation and from several foreign countries. In 1947, actor James Stewart was appearing in the Broadway play Harvey; in order to attend the event, he cancelled a weekend's worth of performances and refunds were issued to ticketholders. At its peak, the Derby was one of the top five sporting events in terms of attendance.
Starting in 1993, the All-American Soap Box derby began the Rally World Championship. The Rally derby is a grand prix style of race in which each district, ten in all, sends back a number of champions based on number of racers and races in each district.
Today there are broader categories that extend the age range to younger racers and permit adults to assist in construction. This is especially helpful for younger children who cannot use power tools, as well as to provide an outlet for adults'.
* 'In 1940, The B-25 Mitchell medium bomber had it's first flight. It was
used against Germany (North Africa), against Japan in the Pacific and a
modified version were the first planes to bomb Japan. Launched from an
aircraft carrier on the Doolittle Raid. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American
twin-engine, medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation (NAA).
It was named in honor of Major General William Billy Mitchell, a pioneer of
U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in
every theater of World War II and after the war ended many remained in
service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants,
nearly 10,000 Mitchells rolled from NAA factories. These included a few
limited models, such as the United States Marine Corps' PBJ-1 patrol bomber
and the United States Army Air Forces' F-10 reconnaissance aircraft and
AT-24 trainers.
The Air Corps issued a circular (Number 38-385) in March 1938 describing
the performance they required from the next bombers — a payload of 1,200 lb
(540 kg) with a range of 1,200 mi (1,900 km) at more than 200 mph (320
km/h). Those performance specifications led NAA to submit their NA-40
design. The NA-40 had benefited from the North American XB-21 (NA-39) of
1936 which was the company's partly-successful design for an earlier medium
bomber that had been initially accepted and ordered but then cancelled.
However, the company's experience from the XB-21 contributed to the design
and development of the NA-40. The single NA-40 built flew first at the end
of January 1939. It went through several modifications to correct problems.
These improvements included fitting 1,600 hp Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone
radial engines, in March 1939 which solved the lack of power.
In March 1939, North American delivered the substantially redesigned and
improved NA-40 (as NA-40B) to the United States Army Air Corps for
evaluation. It was in competition with other manufacturers' designs
(Douglas 7B, Stearman X-100, and the Martin Model 167F) but failed to win
orders. The aircraft was originally intended to be an attack bomber for
export to the United Kingdom and France, both of which had a pressing
requirement for such aircraft in the early stages of World War II. However,
the French had already opted for a revised Douglas 7B (as the DB-7).
Unfortunately, the NA-40B was destroyed in a crash on 11 April 1939 while
undergoing testing. Although the crash was not considered due to a fault
with the aircraft design, the Army ordered the DB-7 as the A-20.
The Air Corps issued a specification for a medium bomber in March 1939:
2,400 lb (1,100 kg) over 1,200 mi (1,900 km) at 300 mph (480 km/h) NAA used
the NA-40B design to develop the NA-62 which competed for the medium bomber
contract. There was no YB-25 for prototype service tests. In September
1939, the Air Corps ordered the NA-62 into production as the B-25, along
with the other new Air Corps medium bomber, the Martin B-26 Marauder off
the drawing board'.
* 'In 1960, In Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, downed American U-2 pilot
Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet
Union for espionage. .
- From Wikipedia: 'Powers was discharged from the Air Force in 1956 with
the rank of captain. He then joined the CIA's U-2 program at the civilian
grade of GS-12. U-2 pilots flew espionage missions at altitudes above
70,000 feet (21 km), above the reach of Soviet air defenses. The U-2 was
equipped with a state-of-the-art camera designed to take high-resolution
photos from the edge of the stratosphere over hostile countries, including
the Soviet Union. U-2 missions systematically photographed military
installations and other important sites.
The primary mission of the U-2s was overflying Russia. The border
surveillance and atomic sampling, though vital, were secondary.
Additionally, the U-2 flew special missions If there was a trouble spot in
the Middle East, the U-2s observed it. Beginning on 27 September 1956 and
continuing until 1960, the United States was spying not only on most of the
countries in the Middle East but also on her own allies. These included
France, the United Kingdom, and Israel during the Suez Crisis.
Soviet intelligence had been aware of encroaching U-2 flights at least
since 1958, if not sooner, after they started in 1956. but lacked effective
countermeasures until 1960. On 1 May 1960, Powers' U-2 departed from a
military airbase in Peshawar, Pakistan, with support from the U.S. Air
Station at Badaber (Peshawar Air Station).
This was to be the first attempt to fly all the way across the Soviet
Union...but it was considered worth the gamble. The planned route would
take us deeper into Russia than we had ever gone, while traversing
important targets never before photographed. He was shot down by an S-75
Dvina (SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missile over Sverdlovsk. What was
left of the plane began spinning, only upside down, the nose pointing
upward toward the sky, the tail down toward the ground. Powers was unable
to activate the plane's self-destruct mechanism before he was thrown out of
the plane after releasing the canopy and his seat belt. While descending
under his parachute, Powers had time to scatter his escape map, and rid
himself of the US dollar coin, keeping the poison pin. Yet I was still
hopeful of escape. He hit the ground hard, was immediately captured, and
taken to Lubyanka Prison in Moscow.
Powers tried to limit the information he shared with the KGB to that which
could be determined from the remains of his plane's wreckage. He was
hampered by information appearing in the western press. A KGB major stated
there's no reason for you to withhold information. We'll find it out
anyway. Your press will give it to us. However, he limited his divulging of
CIA contacts to one individual, with a pseudonym of Collins At the same
time, he repeatedly stated the maximum altitude for the U-2 was 68,000 feet
(21 km), significantly lower than its actual flight ceiling.
The incident set back talks between Khrushchev and Eisenhower. Powers'
interrogations ended on 30 June, and his solitary confinement on 9 July. On
17 August 1960, his trial for espionage began before the military division
of the Supreme Court of the USSR. Three generals, Lieutenant General
Borisoglebsky, Major General Vorobyev, and Major General Zakharov presided.
Roman Rudenko acted as prosecutor in his capacity of Procurator General of
the Soviet Union. Mikhail I. Grinev served as Powers' defense counsel. In
attendance were Gary's parents and sister, plus Barbara and her mother.
Gary's father brought along his local attorney, Carl McAfee, while the CIA
provided two additional attorneys.
On 19 August 1960, Powers was convicted of espionage, a grave crime covered
by Article 2 of the Soviet Union's law 'On Criminality Responsibility for
State Crimes' His sentence consisted of ten years confinement, three of
which in a prison, the remainder in a labor camp. The US Embassy News
Bulletin stated, according to Powers, as far as the government was
concerned, I had acted in accordance with the instructions given me and
would receive my full salary while imprisoned
He was held in Vladimir Central Prison, about 150 miles (240 km) east of
Moscow, in building number 2 from 9 September 1960 until 8 February 1962.
His cell mate was Zigurd Kruminsh, a Latvian political prisoner. Gary kept
a diary and a journal while confined. Additionally he took up carpet
weaving from his cell mate to pass the time. He could send and receive a
limited number of letters from his family. However, Gary was distracted by
his wife Barbara's drinking and infidelities. In fact, at one time, Barbara
was hospitalized and treated by Corbett Thigpen. > On 10 February 1962,
Powers was exchanged, along with American student Frederic Pryor, in a
well-publicized spy swap at the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin. The exchange
was for Soviet KGB Colonel Vilyam Fisher, known as Rudolf Abel, who had
been caught by the FBI and tried and jailed for espionage. Powers credited
his father with the swap idea. When released, Powers' total time in
captivity was 1 year, 9 months and 10 days'.
* 'In 1960, The first commercial atomic energy reactor, owned by the Yankee
Atomic Electric Company, achieves a self-sustaining nuclear reaction in
Rowe, Deerfield River, Massachusetts .
- From Wikipedia: 'Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Station (decommissioned) was a
nuclear power plant in Rowe, Massachusetts, that operated from 1960 to
1992. The 185-megawatt electric pressurized-water plant, located on the
Deerfield River in the town of Rowe in western Massachusetts, tight on the
border of Readsboro, Vermont, permanently shut down on February 26, 1992,
after more than 31 years of producing electricity for New England electric
consumers.
Most of the men and women who worked either in the plant or during the
decommissioning efforts referred to the site as Yankee-Rowe or simply Rowe,
to avoid confusion with Vermont Yankee, a nuclear power station located in
nearby Vernon, Vermont'.
* 'In 1964, Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite, was
launched. .
- From Wikipedia: Syncom (for synchronous communication satellite) started
as a 1961 NASA program for active geosynchronous communication satellites,
all of which were developed and manufactured by Hughes Space and
Communications. Syncom 2, launched in 1963, was the world's first
geosynchronous communications satellite. Syncom 3, launched in 1964, was
the world's first geostationary satellite.
In the 1980s, the series was continued as Syncom IV with some much larger
satellites, also manufactured by Hughes. They were leased to the United
States military under the Leasat program.
'Syncom 3 was the first geostationary communication satellite, launched on
August 19, 1964 with the Delta D #25 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral.
The satellite, in orbit near the International Date Line, had the addition
of a wideband channel for television and was used to telecast the 1964
Summer Olympics in Tokyo to the United States. Although Syncom 3 is
sometimes credited with the first television program to cross the Pacific
Ocean, the Relay 1 satellite first broadcast television from the United
States to Japan on November 22, 1963.
Turned off in 1969, Syncom 3 remains in geosynchronous orbit as of December
2012. In 40 years it has drifted 8 degrees to the west, to longitude 172'.
* 'In, 1979 'My Sharonna' by the Knack hits #1 and stays for 42 days
(Billboard Hot 100). .
- From Wikipedia: 'My Sharona is the debut single by the Knack. The song
was written by Berton Averre and Doug Fieger, and released in 1979 from
their album Get the Knack. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100
singles chart where it remained for 6 weeks, and was number one on
Billboard's 1979 Top Pop Singles year-end chart.
It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America,
representing one million copies sold, and was Capitol Records' fastest gold
status debut single since the Beatles' I Want to Hold Your Hand in 1964.
The characteristic riff of My Sharona was written by the band's guitarist,
Berton Averre, years before he joined the Knack. He had played the riff as
well as a drum groove for Doug Fieger, the group's lead singer and rhythm
guitarist, who loved it and promised to make it a song, although he did not
have any ideas for the lyrics. ,br /> When Fieger was 25, he met
17-year-old Sharona Alperin, who inspired a two-month-long run of
songwriting, as well as becoming Fieger's girlfriend for the next four
years. Fieger recounted that It was like getting hit in the head with a
baseball bat I fell in love with her instantly. And when that happened, it
sparked something and I started writing a lot of songs feverishly in a
short amount of time. Fieger and Averre worked out the structure and melody
of the song. Averre was originally averse to using Alperin's name in the
song, but Fieger wanted it to be a direct expression of his feelings Averre
ultimately relented. Fieger claimed that My Sharona was written in 15
minutes'.
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
Best selling books of 1966 More
Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More