<> Tomorrow's food holidays(s):
* 'National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day'. . Pecan Pie Day was back on July 12.
- From Wikipedia (Pecan pie):
'Pecan pie is a pie of pecan nuts mixed with a filling of eggs and sugar
(typically corn syrup). Variations may include white or brown sugar, sugar
syrup, molasses, maple syrup, or honey. It is popularly served at holiday
meals and is also considered a specialty of Southern U.S. cuisine. Most
pecan pie recipes include salt and vanilla as flavorings. Chocolate and
bourbon whiskey are other popular additions to the recipe. Pecan pie is
often served with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or hard sauce'.
[The Hankster says] With lots of whipped cream on top and a cold glass of milk.
<> Other holidays / celebrations
* 'National Radio Day'.
Celebrates radio and the first commercial radio station in the U.S. WWJ.
The UNESCO's World Radio Day is on February 13. See more in the history
section for 1920.
[The Hankster says] It's the only musical instrument I play well.
* 'Chinese Valentine's Day'.
aka: Double Seventh Festival. On the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the
Chinese calendar. The legend is of two lovers who angered the Gods and are
allow to meet only once a year (Fairy Of The Magpie Bridge. ).
- From Wikipedia (Qixi Festival):
'The Qixi Festival, also known as the Qiqiao Festival, is a Chinese
festival that celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl
in Chinese mythology. It falls on the seventh day of the 7th month on the
Chinese calendar. It is sometimes called the Double Seventh Festival, the
Chinese Valentine's Day, the Night of Sevens, or the Magpie Festival.
The festival originated from the romantic legend of two lovers, Zhinü and
Niulang, who were the weaver maid and the cowherd, respectively. The tale
of The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd has been celebrated in the Qixi Festival
since the Han Dynasty. The earliest-known reference to this famous myth
dates back to over 2600 years ago, which was told in a poem from the
Classic of Poetry. The Qixi festival inspired Tanabata festival in Japan,
Chilseok festival in Korea, and Tht Tch festival in Vietnam. ,br /> The
general tale is about a love story between Zhinü (the weaver girl,
symbolizing Vega) and Niulang (the cowherd, symbolizing Altair). Their love
was not allowed, thus they were banished to opposite sides of the Silver
River (symbolizing the Milky Way). Once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th
lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers
for one day. There are many variations of the story. A variation follows:
A young cowherd, hence Niulang (literally: cowherd), came across a
beautiful girl—Zhinü , the Goddess's seventh daughter, who had just escaped
from boring heaven to look for fun. Zhinü soon fell in love with Niulang,
and they got married without the knowledge of the Goddess. Zhinü proved to
be a wonderful wife, and Niulang to be a good husband. They lived happily
and had two children. But the Goddess of Heaven (or in some versions,
Zhinü's mother) found out that Zhinü, a fairy girl, had married a mere
mortal. The Goddess was furious and ordered Zhinü to return to heaven.
(Alternatively, the Goddess forced the fairy back to her former duty of
weaving colorful clouds, a task she neglected while living on earth with a
mortal.) On Earth, Niulang was very upset that his wife had disappeared.
Suddenly, his ox began to talk, telling him that if he killed it and put on
its hide, he would be able to go up to Heaven to find his wife. Crying
bitterly, he killed the ox, put on the skin, and carried his two beloved
children off to Heaven to find Zhinü. The Goddess discovered this and was
very angry. Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratched a wide river in
the sky to separate the two lovers forever, thus forming the Milky Way
between Altair and Vega. Zhinü must sit forever on one side of the river,
sadly weaving on her loom, while Niulang watches her from afar while taking
care of their two children (his flanking stars and Aquilae or by their
Chinese names Hè Gu 1 and Hè Gu 3). But once a year all the magpies in the
world would take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge ( the
bridge of magpies, Que Qiao) over the star Deneb in the Cygnus
constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, which is
the seventh night of the seventh moon. However, sometimes in the year,
there is no stars regarding to the mythology appearing in the sky'.
* 'Virtual Worlds Day'.
Celebrates virtual role playing games
[The Hankster says] I poke around in them, quite often.
* 'International Geocaching Day'.
On the third Saturday in August.
- From Wikipedia (Geocaching):
'Geocaching /'d?i?o??kæ???/ is an outdoor recreational activity, in which
participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile
device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers,
called geocaches or caches, at specific locations marked by coordinates all
over the world.
A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook (with
a pen or pencil). The geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it
with their established code name. After signing the log, the cache must be
placed back exactly where the person found it. Larger containers such as
plastic storage containers (Tupperware or similar) or ammunition boxes can
also contain items for trading, such as toys or trinkets, usually of more
sentimental worth than financial. Geocaching shares many aspects with
benchmarking, trigpointing, orienteering, treasure-hunting, letterboxing,
and waymarking'.
[The Hankster says] Sounds like fun. I found one once. All it contained was a jury summons for trespassing.
* '30th Annual AIA Sandcastle Day'.
East Beach in Galveston TX.
[The Hankster says] Fun stuff. I build mine in the ari.
<> Awareness / Observances:
o Health
* 'World Mosquito Day'. Celebrates the discovery in 1897, by doctor Sir
Donald Ross, that female Anopheles mosquito is responsible for malaria
transmission. He won the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the
discovery.
- From Wikipedia (World Mosquito Day):
'World Mosquito Day, observed annually on 20 August, is a commemoration of
British doctor Sir Ronald Ross's discovery in 1897 that female mosquitoes
transmit malaria between humans. Ross is responsible for the annual
observance, having declared shortly after his discovery that the day should
be known as World Mosquito Day in the future. br /> The London School of
Hygiene amd Tropical Medicine holds Mosquito Day celebrations every year,
including events such as parties and exhibitions, a tradition dating back
to as early as the 1930s'.
o Animal and Pet:
* 'International Homeless Animals Day'. Annually on third Saturday in August
by the International Society for Animal Rights (ISAR).
* 'National Honey Bee Day'. Annually on third Saturday in August.
- From Wikipedia (National Honey Bee Day):
'National Honey Bee Day (formerly National Honey Bee Awareness Day) is an
awareness day started by beekeepers in the United States to build community
awareness of the bee industry, through education and promotion.
The event was started in 2009, by a small group of beekeepers who
petitioned for and obtained a formal proclamation by the USDA honoring
honey bees and beekeeping. In 2010, a non-profit, Pennsylvania Apiculture
Inc. was organized to better facilitate and promote the observance. The
original date of observation was August 22, 2009 (the fourth Saturday of
August), but has since settled permanently on the third Saturday of
August'.
o Other:
* 'National Lemonade Day'. Promoting youth in business.
<> Historical events on August 20
* 'In 1858, Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution through
natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society
of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's same theory. .
- From Wikipedia: 'By the start of 1856, Darwin was investigating whether
eggs and seeds could survive travel across seawater to spread species
across oceans. Hooker increasingly doubted the traditional view that
species were fixed, but their young friend Thomas Henry Huxley was firmly
against the transmutation of species. Lyell was intrigued by Darwin's
speculations without realising their extent. When he read a paper by Alfred
Russel Wallace, On the Law which has Regulated the Introduction of New
Species, he saw similarities with Darwin's thoughts and urged him to
publish to establish precedence. Though Darwin saw no threat, on 14 May
1856 he began writing a short paper. Finding answers to difficult questions
held him up repeatedly, and he expanded his plans to a big book on species
titled Natural Selection, which was to include his note on Man He continued
his researches, obtaining information and specimens from naturalists
worldwide including Wallace who was working in Borneo. In mid-1857 he added
a chapter heading Theory applied to Races of Man, but then left out this
topic. On 5 September 1857, Darwin sent the American botanist Asa Gray a
detailed outline of his ideas, including an abstract of Natural Selection,
which omitted human origins and sexual selection. In December, Darwin
received a letter from Wallace asking if the book would examine human
origins. He responded that he would avoid that subject, so surrounded with
prejudices, while encouraging Wallace's theorising and adding that I go
much further than you.
Darwin's book was only partly written when, on 18 June 1858, he received a
paper from Wallace describing natural selection. Shocked that he had been
forestalled, Darwin sent it on that day to Lyell, as requested by Wallace,
and although Wallace had not asked for publication, Darwin suggested he
would send it to any journal that Wallace chose. His family was in crisis
with children in the village dying of scarlet fever, and he put matters in
the hands of his friends. After some discussion, Lyell and Hooker decided
on a joint presentation at the Linnean Society on 1 July of On the Tendency
of Species to form Varieties and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and
Species by Natural Means of Selection. On the evening of 28 June, Darwin's
baby son died of scarlet fever after almost a week of severe illness, and
he was too distraught to attend.
There was little immediate attention to this announcement of the theory the
president of the Linnean Society remarked in May 1859 that the year had not
been marked by any revolutionary discoveries. Only one review rankled
enough for Darwin to recall it later Professor Samuel Haughton of Dublin
claimed that all that was new in them was false, and what was true was old
Darwin struggled for thirteen months to produce an abstract of his big
book, suffering from ill health but getting constant encouragement from his
scientific friends. Lyell arranged to have it published by John Murray.
On the Origin of Species proved unexpectedly popular, with the entire stock
of 1,250 copies oversubscribed when it went on sale to booksellers on 22
November 1859. In the book, Darwin set out one long argument of detailed
observations, inferences and consideration of anticipated objections. In
making the case for common descent, he included evidence of homologies
between humans and other mammals. Having outlined sexual selection, he
hinted that it could explain differences between human races. He avoided
explicit discussion of human origins, but implied the significance of his
work with the sentence Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his
history.'
* 'In 1866, The American Civil War is formally declared over by President
Andrew Johnson. .
* 'In 1882, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuts in Moscow. It
retold in music the eventual defeat of Napoleon's invasion of Russia and in
particular the battle of Borodino (September 7, 1812), which although lost
by Russia, delayed Napoleon's armies while the Russians evacuated Moscow
and left the French with little to sustain them over the harsh winter.
Napoleon then began his retreat. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The Year 1812, festival overture in E-flat major, Op.
49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture, is an overture written in 1880 by
Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate Russia's defence
of its motherland against Napoleon's invading Grande Armée in 1812.
The overture debuted in Moscow on 20 August 1882, conducted by Ippolit
Al'tani under a tent near the then-unfinished Cathedral of Christ the
Saviour, which also memorialized the 1812 defense of Russia. The overture
was conducted by Tchaikovsky himself in 1891 at the dedication of Carnegie
Hall. The overture is best known for its climactic volley of cannon fire,
ringing chimes, and brass fanfare finale. It has also become a common
accompaniment to fireworks displays at outdoor concerts throughout the
world. The 1812 Overture went on to become one of Tchaikovsky's most
popular works, along with his ballet scores to The Nutcracker, The Sleeping
Beauty, and Swan Lake'.
* 'In 1920, The first commercial radio station is introduced in Detroit,
Michigan (8MK, WBL, WWJ). It was run by The Detroit News. .
- From Wikipedia: 'WWJ, which debuted as the Detroit News Radiophone on
August 20, 1920, was the outgrowth of interest in radio technology by the
publishers of The Detroit News, combined with inventor Lee de Forest's
longtime promotion of radio broadcasting.
In the first decade of the 20th century, James E. Scripps, the founder of
the News, supported radio research conducted by Thomas E. Clark, and the
April 4, 1906 issue of the paper publicized the receipt by the advertising
department of an order, via radiotelegraphy, from the Clark-equipped
steamer City of Detroit. Clark's company soon failed, however, the
newspaper continued to monitor developments, and in its December 13, 1919
issue heralded a broadcast of phonograph records by the U.S. Navy Station
in Chicago as a great miracle
Meanwhile, the development of radio transmitters capable of audio
transmissions led to Lee de Forest advocating the establishment of
broadcasting stations, especially by newspapers. To publicize this idea, in
late 1916 the DeForest Radio Telephone and Telegraph Company began
broadcasting a nightly wireless newspaper entertainment and news program
from its experimental station, 2XG, located in the Highbridge section of
New York City. However, de Forest was unsuccessful in interesting any
publishers at this time, moreover, with the entrance of the United States
into World War I, effective April 6, 1917 all civilian radio stations were
shut down for the duration of the conflict.
The ban on civilian radio stations was lifted on October 1, 1919, and the
DeForest company soon returned to broadcasting from its Highbridge station.
Then, in early 1920, Clarence C.S. Thompson, a de Forest associate,
established Radio News and Music, Inc., which in March, 1920 took up the
promotion of newspaper-run broadcasting stations, offering local franchises
and asking in national advertisements Is Your Paper to be One of the
Pioneers Distributing News and Music by Wireless? The Detroit News became
Radio News and Music's first—and ultimately only—newspaper customer. In a
May 28, 1920 letter, the News made arrangements to lease a DeForest OT-10
radio transmitter from Radio News and Music, in order to develop a
broadcasting service. William Edmund Scripps, son of the paper's founder
and its then publisher, would play the key role in establishing the
newspaper's radio station. A local teen-aged amateur radio operator,
Michael DeLisle Lyons, was hired to install the equipment at the Detroit
News Building, located at the corner of Lafayette and 2nd Avenues.
On August 20, 1920 a series of trial broadcasts began, to check if the
equipment was ready for regular service. This date marks what WWJ considers
to be its official anniversary, although because the station was still
unpublicized the audience consisted of only a small number of interested
local amateur radio operators. The test programs proved satisfactory, so,
on August 31, 1920, the front page of the Detroit News announced that
nightly (except Sunday) broadcasts by the Detroit News Radiophone would
start that evening. The debut program featured regularly updated returns
for a primary election held that day, plus singing by Lois Johnson. At the
beginning of the program, Elton Plant introduced Malcolm Bingay, the
managing director of the Detroit News, as the broadcast's master of
ceremonies'.
* 'In 1923, The first American dirigible, the 'Shenandoah', was launched in
Lakehurst, NJ. The ship began its maiden voyage from the same location on
September 4. .
- From Wikipedia: 'USS Shenandoah was the first of four United States Navy
rigid airships. It was constructed during 1922–23 at Lakehurst Naval Air
Station, and first flew in September 1923. It developed the U.S. Navy's
experience with rigid airships, and made the first crossing of North
America by airship. On the 57th flight, Shenandoah was torn apart in a
squall line over Ohio in September of 1925'.
* 'In 1939, Orrin Tucker’s orchestra recorded 'Oh, Johnny, Oh, Johnny,
Oh!'. .
- From Wikipedia: 'Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh! is a popular American song
composed by Abe Olman (1887–1984), lyricized by Ed Rose (pseudonym for
Edward Smackels, Jr. 1875–1935), and published by Forster Music Publisher,
Inc. The music was copyrighted 7 February 1917 and the copyright was
renewed 29 December 1944. Under the Copyright Term Extension Act (1998),
the sheet music is in the public domain, as is all music published in the
U.S. prior to 1923.
According to an August 1945 United Press article, Ed Rose (lyricist) wrote
the song when his friends, Mr. and Mrs. John Hansen of Akron, Ohio, began
dating while attending college in Indiana. They were so conspicuously in
love that Rose, also their classmate, wrote the song about them and
presented them with the original manuscript'.
* 'In 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes the fourth of
his famous wartime speeches, containing the line 'Never was so much owed by
so many to so few' (Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed
by so many to so few). This referred to the effort of the RAF (Royal Air
Force), who were 'fighting the 'Battle of Britain, the pivotal air battle
with the German Luftwaffe with Britain expecting a German invasion, as well
as starting the dangerous bombing campaign over Germany'.
- From Wikipedia: 'Never was so much owed by so many to so few was a
wartime speech made by the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 20
August 1940. The name stems from the specific line in the speech, Never in
the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,
referring to the ongoing efforts of the Royal Air Force crews who were at
the time fighting the Battle of Britain, the pivotal air battle with the
German Luftwaffe with Britain expecting a German invasion, as well as
starting the dangerous bombing campaign over Germany'.
* 'In 1962, The NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered civilian
ship, embarks on its maiden voyage. .
- From Wikipedia: 'NS Savannah was the first nuclear-powered merchant ship.
Built in the late 1950s at a cost of $46.9 million, including a $28.3
million nuclear reactor and fuel core, funded by United States government
agencies, Savannah was a demonstration project for the potential use of
nuclear energy. Launched on 21 July 1959 and named after SS Savannah, the
first steamship to cross the Atlantic ocean, she was in service between
1962 and 1972 as one of only four nuclear-powered cargo ships ever built.
(Soviet ice-breaker Lenin launched on 5 December 1957, was the first
nuclear-powered civil ship.) Savannah has been moored at Pier 13 of the
Canton Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland since 2008'.
* 'In 1965, The Rolling Stones release the song 'Satisfaction', their 1st
number 1 hit in the US. .
- From Wikipedia: '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction is a song by the English
rock band the Rolling Stones, released in 1965. It was written by Mick
Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. Richards'
three-note guitar riff?—?intended to be replaced by horns?—?opens and
drives the song. The lyrics refer to sexual frustration and commercialism.
The song was first released as a single in the United States in June 1965
and was also featured on the American version of the Rolling Stones' fourth
studio album, Out of Our Heads, released that July. Satisfaction was a hit,
giving the Stones their first number one in the US. In the UK, the song
initially was played only on pirate radio stations, because its lyrics were
considered too sexually suggestive. It later became the Rolling Stones'
fourth number one in the United Kingdom.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction in the
second spot on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time The song was
added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in
2006'.
* 'In 1975,NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.
- From Wikipedia: 'Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft (along with
Viking 2) sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program. On July 20, 1976,
it became the first spacecraft to land successfully on Mars and perform its
mission. Viking 1 held the record for the longest Mars surface mission of
2307 days or 2245 sols until that record was broken by Opportunity on May
19, 2010. The results were surprising and interesting: the GCMS gave a
negative result the PR gave a negative result, the GEX gave a negative
result, and the LR gave a positive result. Viking scientist Patricia Straat
stated in 2009, Our (LR) experiment was a definite positive response for
life, but a lot of people have claimed that it was a false positive for a
variety of reasons. Most scientists now believe that the data were due to
inorganic chemical reactions of the soil however, this view may be changing
after the recent discovery of near-surface ice near the Viking landing
zone. Some scientists still believe the results were due to living
reactions. No organic chemicals were found in the soil. However, dry areas
of Antarctica do not have detectable organic compounds either, but they
have organisms living in the rocks. Mars has almost no ozone layer, unlike
the Earth, so UV light sterilizes the surface and produces highly reactive
chemicals such as peroxides that would oxidize any organic chemicals. The
Phoenix Lander discovered the chemical perchlorate in the Martian soil.
Perchlorate is a strong oxidant so it may have destroyed any organic matter
on the surface. If it is widespread on Mars, carbon-based life would be
difficult at the soil surface'.
* 'In 1977,NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
- From Wikipedia: 'Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August
20, 1977 to study the outer planets. Part of the Voyager program, it was
launched 16 days before its twin, Voyager 1, on a trajectory that took
longer to reach Jupiter and Saturn but enabled further encounters with
Uranus and Neptune. It is the only spacecraft to have visited either of the
ice giants.
Its primary mission ended with the exploration of the Neptunian system on
October 2, 1989, after having visited the Uranian system in 1986, the
Saturnian system in 1981, and the Jovian system in 1979. Voyager 2 is now
in its extended mission to study the outer reaches of the Solar System and
has been operating for 38 years, 11 months and 30 days. It remains in
contact through the Deep Space Network.
At a distance of 111 AU (1.66×1010 km) from the Sun as of June 2016,
Voyager 2 is one of the most distant human-made objects, along with Voyager
1, Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11. The probe was moving at a velocity of 15.4
km/s (55,000 km/h) relative to the Sun as of December 2014 and is traveling
through the heliosheath. Upon reaching interstellar space, Voyager 2 is
expected to provide the first direct measurements of the density and
temperature of the interstellar plasma'.
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