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Today is October 22 2016

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Today's Holidays and Historical Events (updated daily)
Today's Food Holiday
  • National Nut Day: More
    Created by the Liberation Foods Company.
    - From Wikipedia (Nut (food) ): 'A nut is a fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, which is generally edible. In a general context, however, a wide variety of dried seeds are called nuts, but in a botanical context, there is an additional requirement that the shell does not open to release the seed (indehiscent). The translation of "nut" in certain languages frequently requires paraphrases, as the word is ambiguous.

    Most seeds come from fruits that naturally free themselves from the shell, unlike nuts such as hazelnuts, chestnuts, and acorns, which have hard shell walls and originate from a compound ovary. The general and original usage of the term is less restrictive, and many nuts (in the culinary sense), such as almonds, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, and Brazil nuts, are not nuts in a botanical sense. Common usage of the term often refers to any hard-walled, edible kernel as a nut'.
Other celebrations/observances today:
  • Caps Lock Day: More
    On June 28 (parody holiday created in 2000 by D erek Arnold) and October 22 (in 2009 the anniversary of the death of Billy Mays, an energetic TV pitchman, who always seems to be talking in caps.). Some see this day as a plea for the repositioning of the caps locks key, to a spot on the keyboard, that is not so easily and mistakenly hit.
  • National Color Day: More
    Focus on the importance of color in our lives.
  • Smart is Cool Day: More
    A, stay in school effort.
  • National Make A Difference Day: More
    Fourth Saturday in October. A day of community service. Since 1992. Sponsered by USA WEEKEND magazine and Points of Light.
    - From Wikipedia (USA Weekend (Make A Difference Day) )>'USA Weekend's Make A Difference Day, created by the magazine in 1992, is an annual community service event held on the fourth Saturday of October. At the 2013 event, 14 community groups were awarded $10,000 to donate to their local charities'.
Awareness / Observance Days on: October 22
  • Health
    • International Stuttering Awareness Day: More
      - From Wikipedia (International Stuttering Awareness Day): 'October 22 was designated International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD) in 1998. The day is intended to raise public awareness of the millions of people – one percent of the world's population – who have the speech disorder of stuttering, also known as stammering'.
    • International Brain Tumour Awareness Week: More
      October 11-19. Awareness and fun raiser by International Brain Tumour Alliance (IBTA).
  • Animal and Pets
    • Wombat Day in Australia: More
      Since 2005.
      - From Wikipedia (Wombat): 'Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about 1 m (40 in) in length with small, stubby tails. There are three extant species and they are all members of the family Vombatidae. They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as an isolated patch of about 300 ha (740 acres) in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland.

      All species of wombats are protected in every state except for Victoria.

      The northern hairy-nosed wombat is an endangered species. The biggest threats the species faces are its small population size, predation by wild dogs, competition for food because of overgrazing by cattle and sheep, and disease.

      The only known wild populations of this species exist in two locations in Queensland, the Epping Forest National Park, and a smaller colony being established by translocating wombats to the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge at Yarran Downs. This second colony is being created through the Xstrata reintroduction project, which is being funded by Xstrata, a Swiss global mining company.

      The wombat population in the Epping Forest National Park has been increasing since a predator-proof fence was erected in the park. According to the latest census, taken in 2007, the park is home to 138 of these endangered wombats.

      Despite its name, the common wombat is no longer common, and it has been officially a protected animal in New South Wales since 1970. However, in eastern Victoria, they are not protected, as they are considered by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries to be a pest'.
    • Pit Bull Awareness Day:: More
  • Other
    • Fechner Day: More
      Celebrates the day in 1850 that Gustav Fechner formulated his ideas on the mind and created the area of Psychophysics, which studies the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they affect. There is also a day of the same name, held in August by the International Society for Psychophysics.
      - On YouTube: More
Events in the past on: October 22
  • In 1797. The first parachute jump (non-rigid) is made by Andre-Jacques Garnerin from a hydrogen balloon 3,200 feet above Paris.
    From Wikipedia: 'André-Jacques Garnerin (31 January 1769 – 18 August 1823) was a balloonist and the inventor of the frameless parachute. He was appointed Official Aeronaut of France.

    Garnerin, a student of the ballooning pioneer professor Jacques Charles, was involved with the flight of hot air balloons, and worked with his brother Jean-Baptiste-Olivier Garnerin (1766–1849) in most of his ballooning activities. Eventually he was appointed Official Aeronaut of France.

    Garnerin began experiments with early parachutes based on umbrella-shaped devices and carried out the first parachute descent (in the gondola) with a silk parachute on 22 October 1797 at Parc Monceau, Paris (1st Brumaire, Year VI of the Republican calendar). Garnerin's first parachute resembled a closed umbrella before he ascended, with a pole running down its center and a rope running through a tube in the pole, which connected it to the balloon. Garnerin rode in a basket attached to the bottom of the parachute; at a height of approximately 3,000 feet (1,000 m) he severed the rope that connected his parachute to the balloon. The balloon continued skyward while Garnerin, with his basket and parachute, fell. The basket swung violently during descent, then bumped and scraped when it landed, but Garnerin emerged uninjured. The white canvas parachute was umbrella-shaped and approximately 23 feet (7 m) in diameter'.
    - At FamousDaily: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1836, Sam Houston is inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas.
    From Wikipedia: 'Houston was twice elected President of the Republic of Texas. In the 1836 election, he defeated Stephen F. Austin and Henry Smith with a landslide of over 79% of the vote. Houston served from October 22, 1836, to December 10, 1838. The Constitution of the Republic of Texas stated that no president could succeed himself, but did not prohibit any non-consecutive multiple terms.

    When his first term ended, he was elected to serve as a representative from San Augustine County in the Republic of Texas House of Representatives. After his term as representative ended, Houston again served as President of the Republic of Texas from December 12, 1841, to December 9, 1844'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1861, The first telegraph line linking the West and East coasts is completed.
    From Wikipedia: 'The first transcontinental telegraph (completed in 1861) was a line that connected an existing network in the eastern United States to a small network in California by a link between Omaha and Carson City via Salt Lake City. It was a milestone in electrical engineering and in the formation of the United States of America. It served as the only method of near-instantaneous communication between the east and west coasts during the 1860s. In 1841, it had taken 110 days for the news of the death of President Harrison to reach Los Angeles.

    Construction of the first transcontinental telegraph was the work of Western Union, which Hiram Sibley and Ezra Cornell had established in 1856 by merging companies operating east of the Mississippi River. A second significant step was the passing of the Telegraph Act by the Congress in 1860, which authorized the government to open bids for the construction of a telegraph line between Missouri and California and regulated the service to be provided. Eventually, the only bidder would be Sibley, because all competitors—Theodore Adams, Benjamin Ficklin and John Harmon—withdrew at the last minute. Later they joined Sibley in his effort. Similar to the First Transcontinental Railroad, elimination of the gap in the telegraph service between Fort Kearny in Nebraska and Fort Churchill in Nevada was planned to be divided between teams that would be advancing the construction in opposite directions. James Gamble, an experienced telegraph builder in California was put in charge of the western crew and Edward Creighton was responsible for the eastern crew. From Salt Lake City, a crew in charge of James Street advanced westward and W.H. Stebbins’s grew eastward toward Fort Kearny. Creighton’s crew erected its first pole on 4 July 1861. When the project was completed in October 1861, they had planted 27,500 poles holding 2,000 miles of single-strand iron wire over a terrain that was not always inviting. California Chief Justice Stephen Field sent one of the first messages from San Francisco to Abraham Lincoln, using the occasion to assure to the president the California allegiance to the Union. Note that the construction took place while Civil War fighting was taking place to the southeast. The entire cost of the system was half a million dollars'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1879, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric incandescent light bulb (manufacture the day before), using a filament of carbonized thread which lasted 13 hours.
    From Wikipedia: 'In addressing the question of who invented the incandescent lamp, historians Robert Friedel and Paul Israel list 22 inventors of incandescent lamps prior to Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison. They conclude that Edison's version was able to outstrip the others because of a combination of three factors: an effective incandescent material, a higher vacuum than others were able to achieve (by use of the Sprengel pump) and a high resistance that made power distribution from a centralized source economically viable.

    Historian Thomas Hughes has attributed Edison's success to his development of an entire, integrated system of electric lighting'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1883, The original Metropolitan Opera House, in NYC, had it's grand opening.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Metropolitan Opera Company was founded in 1880 to create an alternative to New York's old established Academy of Music opera house. The subscribers to the Academy's limited number of private boxes represented the highest stratum in New York society. By 1880, these "old money" families were loath to admit New York's newly wealthy industrialists into their long-established social circle. Frustrated with being excluded, the Metropolitan Opera's founding subscribers determined to build a new opera house that would outshine the old Academy in every way. A group of some 22 men assembled at Delmonico's restaurant on April 28, 1880. They elected officers and established subscriptions for ownership in the new company. The new theater, built at 39th and Broadway, would include three tiers of private boxes in which the scions of New York's powerful new industrial families could display their wealth and establish their social prominence. The first Met subscribers included members of the Morgan, Roosevelt, and Vanderbilt families, all of whom had been excluded from the Academy. The new Metropolitan Opera House opened on October 22, 1883, and was an immediate success, both socially and artistically. The Academy of Music's opera season folded just three years after the Met opened'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube (1938): More
  • In 1884, The International Meridian Conference in Washington, DC, USA adopts Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) worldwide, creating 24 international time zones with longitude zero at the Greenwich meridian.
    From Wikipedia: 'The International Meridian Conference was a conference held in October 1884 in Washington, D.C., in the United States, to determine a prime meridian for international use. The conference was held at the request of U.S. President Chester A. Arthur. The subject to discuss was the choice of "a meridian to be employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time reckoning throughout the world". It resulted in selection of the Greenwich Meridian as an international standard for zero degrees longitude'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1907, Ringling Brothers Greatest Show on Earth buys Barnum and Bailey circus.
    From Wikipedia: 'Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus is a United States traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth. The circus, known as Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows, was started in 1919 when the Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth, a circus created by P. T. Barnum and James Anthony Bailey was merged with the Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows. The Ringling brothers had purchased Barnum and Bailey Ltd. following Bailey's death in 1906, but ran the circuses separately until they were merged in 1919.

    On July 16, 1956, at the Heidelberg Race Track in Pittsbugh, Pennsylvania, the circus ended its season early, with President John Ringling North announcing that it would no longer exhibit under their own portable tents and starting in 1957 would exhibit in permanent venues, such as sports stadiums and arenas that had the seating already in place. In 1967, Irvin Feld and his brother Israel, along with Houston Judge Roy Hofheinz bought the circus from the Ringling family. In 1971, the Felds and Hofheinz sold the circus to Mattel, buying it back from the toy company in 1982. After the death of Irvin Feld in 1984, the circus has been a part of Feld Entertainment, an international entertainment firm headed by Kenneth Feld, with its headquarters in Ellenton, Florida.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1926, Harry Houdini, agrees to a test of his strength, by allowing himself to be hit in the stomach. He was, however, unprepared for the blows, and in a lying position. This precipitated his death from peritonitis, secondary to a ruptured appendix, October 31, 1926 .
    From Wikipedia: 'Harry Houdini (born Erik Weisz, later Ehrich Weiss or Harry Weiss; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was an American illusionist and stunt performer, noted for his sensational escape acts. He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the US and then as "Harry Handcuff Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can.

    In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists. As President of the Society of American Magicians, he was keen to uphold professional standards and expose fraudulent artists. He was also quick to sue anyone who imitated his escape stunts.

    Houdini made several movies, but quit acting when it failed to bring in money. He was also a keen aviator, and aimed to become the first man to fly a plane in Australia.

    Harry Houdini died of peritonitis, secondary to a ruptured appendix at 1:26 p.m. on October 31, 1926 in Room 401 at Detroit's Grace Hospital, aged 52. In his final days, he optimistically held to a strong belief that he would recover, but his last words before dying were reportedly, "I'm tired of fighting." Eyewitnesses to an incident at Houdini's dressing room in the Princess Theatre in Montreal gave rise to speculation that Houdini's death was caused by a McGill University student, J. Gordon Whitehead, who delivered a surprise attack of multiple blows to Houdini's abdomen'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1939, The first televised pro football game was telecast from New York on NBC. Brooklyn defeated Philadelphia 23-14. The ability to record TV broadcasts had not been invented yet.
    From Wikipedia: 'NBC was the first major television network to cover an NFL game, when on October 22, 1939, it broadcast a match between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Brooklyn Dodgers; the network was still only in its infancy, with only two affiliates, the modern day WRGB (now a CBS affiliate) in Schenectady and W2XBS in New York City. Portions of that game still survive via films, but the film is not footage from the telecast (recordings of television broadcasts did not begin until 1948).

    Regular broadcasts of games began after World War II and the first NFL championship to be televised was the 1948 match between the Eagles and Cardinals.

    In 1950, the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Redskins became the first NFL teams to have all of their games—home and away—televised. In the same year, other teams made deals to have selected games telecast. The DuMont Network then paid a rights fee of US$75,000 to broadcast the 1951 NFL Championship Game across the entire nation'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube (1930-1939 football on film): More
  • In 1962, JFK imposes a naval blockade on Cuba, beginning the 'Cuban Missile Crisis'.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (Spanish: Crisis de octubre), the Caribbean Crisis kij, or the Missile Scare, was a 13-day (October 16–28, 1962) confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. Along with being televised worldwide, it was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.

    In response to the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961, and the presence of American Jupiter ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided to agree to Cuba's request to place nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter future harassment of Cuba. An agreement was reached during a secret meeting between Khrushchev and Fidel Castro in July 1962 and construction of a number of missile launch facilities started later that summer.

    The 1962 midterm elections were under way in the United States and the White House had denied charges that it was ignoring dangerous Soviet missiles 90 miles from Florida. These missile preparations were confirmed when an Air Force U-2 spy plane produced clear photographic evidence of medium-range (SS-4) and intermediate-range (R-14) ballistic missile facilities. The United States established a military blockade to prevent further missiles from entering Cuba. It announced that they would not permit offensive weapons to be delivered to Cuba and demanded that the weapons already in Cuba be dismantled and returned to the USSR.

    After a long period of tense negotiations, an agreement was reached between President John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev. Publicly, the Soviets would dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba and return them to the Soviet Union, subject to United Nations verification, in exchange for a U.S. public declaration and agreement never to invade Cuba again without direct provocation. Secretly, the United States also agreed that it would dismantle all U.S.-built Jupiter MRBMs, which were deployed in Turkey and Italy against the Soviet Union but were not known to the public.

    When all offensive missiles and Ilyushin Il-28 light bombers had been withdrawn from Cuba, the blockade was formally ended on November 20, 1962. The negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union pointed out the necessity of a quick, clear, and direct communication line between Washington and Moscow. As a result, the Moscow–Washington hotline was established. A series of agreements sharply reduced U.S.–Soviet tensions during the following years'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1975, The Soviet Venera 9, lands on Venus. The first to do so.
    From Wikipedia: 'Venera 9, manufacturer's designation: 4V-1 No. 660, was a Soviet unmanned space mission to Venus. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. It was launched on June 8, 1975, at 02:38:00 UTC and had a mass of 4,936 kilograms (10,882 lb). The orbiter was the first spacecraft to orbit Venus, while the lander was the first to return images from the surface of another planet.

    The orbiter consisted of a cylinder with two solar panel wings and a high gain parabolic antenna attached to the curved surface. A bell-shaped unit holding propulsion systems was attached to the bottom of the cylinder, and mounted on top was a 2.4-metre (7.9 ft) sphere which held the lander.

    The orbiter entered Venus orbit on October 20, 1975. Its mission was to act as a communications relay for the lander and to explore cloud layers and atmospheric parameters with several instruments and experiments. It performed 17 survey missions from October 26, 1975 to December 25, 1975.

    On October 20, 1975, the lander spacecraft separated from the orbiter, and landing was made with the Sun near zenith at 05:13 UTC on October 22. Venera 9 landed within a 150 km (93 mi) radius of 31.01°N 291.64°E , near Beta Regio, on a steep (20°) slope covered with boulders (suspected to be the slope of the tectonic rift valley, Aikhylu Chasma). The entry sphere weighed 1,560 kg (3,440 lb) and the surface payload was 660 kg (1,455 lb).

    It was the first spacecraft to return an image from the surface of another planet.

    A system of circulating fluid was used to distribute the heat load. This system, plus pre-cooling prior to entry, permitted operation of the lander for 53 minutes after landing, at which time radio contact with the orbiter was lost as the orbiter moved out of radio range. During descent, heat dissipation and deceleration were accomplished sequentially by protective hemispheric shells, three parachutes, a disc-shaped drag brake, and a compressible, metal, doughnut-shaped landing cushion. The landing was a bout 2,200 km (1,400 mi) from the Venera 10 landing site.

    Venera 9 measured clouds that were 30–40 km (19–25 mi) thick with bases at 30–35 km (19–22 mi) altitude. It also measured atmospheric chemicals including hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, bromine and iodine. Other measurements included surface pressure of about 9,100 kilopascals (90 atm), temperature of 485 °C (905 °F), and surface light levels comparable to those at Earth mid-latitudes on a cloudy summer day. Venera 9 was the first probe to send back black and white television pictures from the Venusia n surface showing no shadows, no apparent dust in the air, and a variety of 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16 in) rocks which were not eroded. Planned 360-degree panoramic pictures could not be taken because one of two camera lens covers failed to come off, limiting pictures to 180 degrees. This failure recurred with Venera 10'.
    - At FamousDaily: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1994, A 67 foot tall statue of Sam Houston is unveiled in Texas.
    From Wikipedia: 'A Tribute to Courage monument is a statue of Sam Houston located in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston is a major Texas hero. The statue by sculptor David Adickes is 67 feet tall and was built in 1994. It is clearly visible to motorists heading north on Interstate 45'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 2008, India launches its first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1.
    From Wikipedia: 'Chandrayaan-1 was India's first lunar probe. It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The mission included a lunar orbiter and an impactor. India launched the spacecraft using a PSLV-XL rocket, serial number C11, on 22 October 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh, about 80 km north of Chennai, at 06:22 IST (00:52 UTC). Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced the project on course in his Independence Day speech on 15 August 2003. The mission was a major boost to India's space program, as India researched and developed its own technology in order to explore the Moon. The vehicle was successfully inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.

    On 14 November 2008, the Moon Impact Probe separated from the Chandrayaan orbiter at 20:06 and struck the south pole in a controlled manner, making India the fourth country to place its flag on the Moon. The probe impacted near the crater Shackleton at 20:31 ejecting sub-surface soil that could be analysed for the presence of lunar water ice.

    After almost a year, the orbiter started suffering from several technical issues including failure of the star sensors and poor thermal shielding, Chandrayaan stopped sending radio signals at 01:30 IST on 29 August 2009 shortly after which, the ISRO officially declared the mission over. Chandrayaan operated for 312 days as opposed to the intended two years but the mission achieved 95% of its planned objectives. Among its many achievements, the greatest achievement was the discovery of the widespread presence of water molecules in the lunar soil'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  II.
Henry's Heads Up! - previous days social media post (updated daily)

<> Tomorrow's food holidays(s):


* 'National Nut Day'. . Created by the Liberation Foods Company. - From Wikipedia (Nut (food) ): 'A nut is a fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, which is generally edible. In a general context, however, a wide variety of dried seeds are called nuts, but in a botanical context, there is an additional requirement that the shell does not open to release the seed (indehiscent). The translation of nut in certain languages frequently requires paraphrases, as the word is ambiguous.

Most seeds come from fruits that naturally free themselves from the shell, unlike nuts such as hazelnuts, chestnuts, and acorns, which have hard shell walls and originate from a compound ovary. The general and original usage of the term is less restrictive, and many nuts (in the culinary sense), such as almonds, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, and Brazil nuts, are not nuts in a botanical sense. Common usage of the term often refers to any hard-walled, edible kernel as a nut'.
[The Hankster says] Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you feel like the Hankster.


<> Other holidays / celebrations


* 'Caps Lock Day'. On June 28 (parody holiday created in 2000 by D erek Arnold) and October 22 (in 2009 the anniversary of the death of Billy Mays, an energetic TV pitchman, who always seems to be talking in caps.). Some see this day as a plea for the repositioning of the caps locks key, to a spot on the keyboard, that is not so easily and mistakenly hit.
[The Hankster says] NO, i WILL NOT STOOP SO LOW AS TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS. Oops, now how did that happen. Cap locks must have been on.


* 'National Color Day'. Focus on the importance of color in our lives.
[The Hankster says] I honor the day, with this black and white post.


* 'Smart is Cool Day'. A, stay in school effort.
[The Hankster says] Can't think of anything smarter.


* 'National Make A Difference Day'. Fourth Saturday in October. A day of community service. Since 1992. Sponsered by USA WEEKEND magazine and Points of Light. - Frm Wedipedia: 'USA Weekend's Make A Difference Day, created by the magazine in 1992, is an annual community service event held on the fourth Saturday of October. At the 2013 event, 14 community groups were awarded $10,000 to donate to their local charities'.


<> Awareness / Observances:

o Health
* 'International Stuttering Awareness Day'. - From Wikipedia (International Stuttering Awareness Day): 'October 22 was designated International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD) in 1998. The day is intended to raise public awareness of the millions of people – one percent of the world's population – who have the speech disorder of stuttering, also known as stammering'.


* 'International Brain Tumour Awareness Week'. October 11-19. Awareness and fun raiser by International Brain Tumour Alliance (IBTA).

o Animal and Pet:
* 'Wombat Day in Australia'. Since 2005. - From Wikipedia (Wombat): 'Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about 1 m (40 in) in length with small, stubby tails. There are three extant species and they are all members of the family Vombatidae. They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as an isolated patch of about 300 ha (740 acres) in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland.

All species of wombats are protected in every state except for Victoria.

The northern hairy-nosed wombat is an endangered species. The biggest threats the species faces are its small population size, predation by wild dogs, competition for food because of overgrazing by cattle and sheep, and disease.

The only known wild populations of this species exist in two locations in Queensland, the Epping Forest National Park, and a smaller colony being established by translocating wombats to the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge at Yarran Downs. This second colony is being created through the Xstrata reintroduction project, which is being funded by Xstrata, a Swiss global mining company.

The wombat population in the Epping Forest National Park has been increasing since a predator-proof fence was erected in the park. According to the latest census, taken in 2007, the park is home to 138 of these endangered wombats.

Despite its name, the common wombat is no longer common, and it has been officially a protected animal in New South Wales since 1970. However, in eastern Victoria, they are not protected, as they are considered by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries to be a pest'.


* 'Pit Bull Awareness Day:'.

o Other:
* 'Fechner Day'. Celebrates the day in 1850 that Gustav Fechner formulated his ideas on the mind and created the area of Psychophysics, which studies the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they affect. There is also a day of the same name, held in August by the International Society for Psychophysics.


<> Historical events on October 22


* 'In 1797. The first parachute jump (non-rigid) is made by Andre-Jacques Garnerin from a hydrogen balloon 3,200 feet above Paris. . - From Wikipedia: 'André-Jacques Garnerin (31 January 1769 – 18 August 1823) was a balloonist and the inventor of the frameless parachute. He was appointed Official Aeronaut of France.

Garnerin, a student of the ballooning pioneer professor Jacques Charles, was involved with the flight of hot air balloons, and worked with his brother Jean-Baptiste-Olivier Garnerin (1766–1849) in most of his ballooning activities. Eventually he was appointed Official Aeronaut of France.

Garnerin began experiments with early parachutes based on umbrella-shaped devices and carried out the first parachute descent (in the gondola) with a silk parachute on 22 October 1797 at Parc Monceau, Paris (1st Brumaire, Year VI of the Republican calendar). Garnerin's first parachute resembled a closed umbrella before he ascended, with a pole running down its center and a rope running through a tube in the pole, which connected it to the balloon. Garnerin rode in a basket attached to the bottom of the parachute at a height of approximately 3,000 feet (1,000 m) he severed the rope that connected his parachute to the balloon. The balloon continued skyward while Garnerin, with his basket and parachute, fell. The basket swung violently during descent, then bumped and scraped when it landed, but Garnerin emerged uninjured. The white canvas parachute was umbrella-shaped and approximately 23 feet (7 m) in diameter'.


* 'In 1836, Sam Houston is inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas. . - From Wikipedia: 'Houston was twice elected President of the Republic of Texas. In the 1836 election, he defeated Stephen F. Austin and Henry Smith with a landslide of over 79% of the vote. Houston served from October 22, 1836, to December 10, 1838. The Constitution of the Republic of Texas stated that no president could succeed himself, but did not prohibit any non-consecutive multiple terms.

When his first term ended, he was elected to serve as a representative from San Augustine County in the Republic of Texas House of Representatives. After his term as representative ended, Houston again served as President of the Republic of Texas from December 12, 1841, to December 9, 1844'.


* 'In 1861, The first telegraph line linking the West and East coasts is completed. . - From Wikipedia: 'The first transcontinental telegraph (completed in 1861) was a line that connected an existing network in the eastern United States to a small network in California by a link between Omaha and Carson City via Salt Lake City. It was a milestone in electrical engineering and in the formation of the United States of America. It served as the only method of near-instantaneous communication between the east and west coasts during the 1860s. In 1841, it had taken 110 days for the news of the death of President Harrison to reach Los Angeles.

Construction of the first transcontinental telegraph was the work of Western Union, which Hiram Sibley and Ezra Cornell had established in 1856 by merging companies operating east of the Mississippi River. A second significant step was the passing of the Telegraph Act by the Congress in 1860, which authorized the government to open bids for the construction of a telegraph line between Missouri and California and regulated the service to be provided. Eventually, the only bidder would be Sibley, because all competitors—Theodore Adams, Benjamin Ficklin and John Harmon—withdrew at the last minute. Later they joined Sibley in his effort. Similar to the First Transcontinental Railroad, elimination of the gap in the telegraph service between Fort Kearny in Nebraska and Fort Churchill in Nevada was planned to be divided between teams that would be advancing the construction in opposite directions. James Gamble, an experienced telegraph builder in California was put in charge of the western crew and Edward Creighton was responsible for the eastern crew. From Salt Lake City, a crew in charge of James Street advanced westward and W.H. Stebbins’s grew eastward toward Fort Kearny. Creighton’s crew erected its first pole on 4 July 1861. When the project was completed in October 1861, they had planted 27,500 poles holding 2,000 miles of single-strand iron wire over a terrain that was not always inviting. California Chief Justice Stephen Field sent one of the first messages from San Francisco to Abraham Lincoln, using the occasion to assure to the president the California allegiance to the Union. Note that the construction took place while Civil War fighting was taking place to the southeast. The entire cost of the system was half a million dollars'.


* 'In 1879, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric incandescent light bulb (manufacture the day before), using a filament of carbonized thread which lasted 13 hours. . - From Wikipedia: 'In addressing the question of who invented the incandescent lamp, historians Robert Friedel and Paul Israel list 22 inventors of incandescent lamps prior to Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison. They conclude that Edison's version was able to outstrip the others because of a combination of three factors: an effective incandescent material, a higher vacuum than others were able to achieve (by use of the Sprengel pump) and a high resistance that made power distribution from a centralized source economically viable.

Historian Thomas Hughes has attributed Edison's success to his development of an entire, integrated system of electric lighting'.


* 'In 1883, The original Metropolitan Opera House, in NYC, had it's grand opening. . - From Wikipedia: 'The Metropolitan Opera Company was founded in 1880 to create an alternative to New York's old established Academy of Music opera house. The subscribers to the Academy's limited number of private boxes represented the highest stratum in New York society. By 1880, these old money families were loath to admit New York's newly wealthy industrialists into their long-established social circle. Frustrated with being excluded, the Metropolitan Opera's founding subscribers determined to build a new opera house that would outshine the old Academy in every way. A group of some 22 men assembled at Delmonico's restaurant on April 28, 1880. They elected officers and established subscriptions for ownership in the new company. The new theater, built at 39th and Broadway, would include three tiers of private boxes in which the scions of New York's powerful new industrial families could display their wealth and establish their social prominence. The first Met subscribers included members of the Morgan, Roosevelt, and Vanderbilt families, all of whom had been excluded from the Academy. The new Metropolitan Opera House opened on October 22, 1883, and was an immediate success, both socially and artistically. The Academy of Music's opera season folded just three years after the Met opened'.


* 'In 1884, The International Meridian Conference in Washington, DC, USA adopts Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) worldwide, creating 24 international time zones with longitude zero at the Greenwich meridian. . - From Wikipedia: 'The International Meridian Conference was a conference held in October 1884 in Washington, D.C., in the United States, to determine a prime meridian for international use. The conference was held at the request of U.S. President Chester A. Arthur. The subject to discuss was the choice of a meridian to be employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time reckoning throughout the world It resulted in selection of the Greenwich Meridian as an international standard for zero degrees longitude'.


* 'In 1907, Ringling Brothers Greatest Show on Earth buys Barnum and Bailey circus. . - From Wikipedia: 'Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus is a United States traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth. The circus, known as Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows, was started in 1919 when the Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth, a circus created by P. T. Barnum and James Anthony Bailey was merged with the Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows. The Ringling brothers had purchased Barnum and Bailey Ltd. following Bailey's death in 1906, but ran the circuses separately until they were merged in 1919.

On July 16, 1956, at the Heidelberg Race Track in Pittsbugh, Pennsylvania, the circus ended its season early, with President John Ringling North announcing that it would no longer exhibit under their own portable tents and starting in 1957 would exhibit in permanent venues, such as sports stadiums and arenas that had the seating already in place. In 1967, Irvin Feld and his brother Israel, along with Houston Judge Roy Hofheinz bought the circus from the Ringling family. In 1971, the Felds and Hofheinz sold the circus to Mattel, buying it back from the toy company in 1982. After the death of Irvin Feld in 1984, the circus has been a part of Feld Entertainment, an international entertainment firm headed by Kenneth Feld, with its headquarters in Ellenton, Florida.


* 'In 1926, Harry Houdini, agrees to a test of his strength, by allowing himself to be hit in the stomach. He was, however, unprepared for the blows, and in a lying position. This precipitated his death from peritonitis, secondary to a ruptured appendix, October 31, 1926 . . - From Wikipedia: 'Harry Houdini (born Erik Weisz, later Ehrich Weiss or Harry Weiss March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was an American illusionist and stunt performer, noted for his sensational escape acts. He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the US and then as Harry Handcuff Houdini on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can.

In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists. As President of the Society of American Magicians, he was keen to uphold professional standards and expose fraudulent artists. He was also quick to sue anyone who imitated his escape stunts.

Houdini made several movies, but quit acting when it failed to bring in money. He was also a keen aviator, and aimed to become the first man to fly a plane in Australia.

Harry Houdini died of peritonitis, secondary to a ruptured appendix at 1:26 p.m. on October 31, 1926 in Room 401 at Detroit's Grace Hospital, aged 52. In his final days, he optimistically held to a strong belief that he would recover, but his last words before dying were reportedly, I'm tired of fighting. Eyewitnesses to an incident at Houdini's dressing room in the Princess Theatre in Montreal gave rise to speculation that Houdini's death was caused by a McGill University student, J. Gordon Whitehead, who delivered a surprise attack of multiple blows to Houdini's abdomen'.


* 'In 1939, The first televised pro football game was telecast from New York on NBC. Brooklyn defeated Philadelphia 23-14. The ability to record TV broadcasts had not been invented yet. . - From Wikipedia: 'NBC was the first major television network to cover an NFL game, when on October 22, 1939, it broadcast a match between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Brooklyn Dodgers the network was still only in its infancy, with only two affiliates, the modern day WRGB (now a CBS affiliate) in Schenectady and W2XBS in New York City. Portions of that game still survive via films, but the film is not footage from the telecast (recordings of television broadcasts did not begin until 1948).

Regular broadcasts of games began after World War II and the first NFL championship to be televised was the 1948 match between the Eagles and Cardinals.

In 1950, the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Redskins became the first NFL teams to have all of their games—home and away—televised. In the same year, other teams made deals to have selected games telecast. The DuMont Network then paid a rights fee of US$75,000 to broadcast the 1951 NFL Championship Game across the entire nation'.


* 'In 1962, JFK imposes a naval blockade on Cuba, beginning the 'Cuban Missile Crisis'. . - From Wikipedia: 'The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (Spanish: Crisis de octubre), the Caribbean Crisis kij, or the Missile Scare, was a 13-day (October 16–28, 1962) confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. Along with being televised worldwide, it was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.

In response to the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961, and the presence of American Jupiter ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided to agree to Cuba's request to place nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter future harassment of Cuba. An agreement was reached during a secret meeting between Khrushchev and Fidel Castro in July 1962 and construction of a number of missile launch facilities started later that summer.

The 1962 midterm elections were under way in the United States and the White House had denied charges that it was ignoring dangerous Soviet missiles 90 miles from Florida. These missile preparations were confirmed when an Air Force U-2 spy plane produced clear photographic evidence of medium-range (SS-4) and intermediate-range (R-14) ballistic missile facilities. The United States established a military blockade to prevent further missiles from entering Cuba. It announced that they would not permit offensive weapons to be delivered to Cuba and demanded that the weapons already in Cuba be dismantled and returned to the USSR.

After a long period of tense negotiations, an agreement was reached between President John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev. Publicly, the Soviets would dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba and return them to the Soviet Union, subject to United Nations verification, in exchange for a U.S. public declaration and agreement never to invade Cuba again without direct provocation. Secretly, the United States also agreed that it would dismantle all U.S.-built Jupiter MRBMs, which were deployed in Turkey and Italy against the Soviet Union but were not known to the public.

When all offensive missiles and Ilyushin Il-28 light bombers had been withdrawn from Cuba, the blockade was formally ended on November 20, 1962. The negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union pointed out the necessity of a quick, clear, and direct communication line between Washington and Moscow. As a result, the Moscow–Washington hotline was established. A series of agreements sharply reduced U.S.–Soviet tensions during the following years'.


* 'In 1975, The Soviet Venera 9, lands on Venus. The first to do so. . - From Wikipedia: 'Venera 9, manufacturer's designation: 4V-1 No. 660, was a Soviet unmanned space mission to Venus. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. It was launched on June 8, 1975, at 02:38:00 UTC and had a mass of 4,936 kilograms (10,882 lb). The orbiter was the first spacecraft to orbit Venus, while the lander was the first to return images from the surface of another planet.

The orbiter consisted of a cylinder with two solar panel wings and a high gain parabolic antenna attached to the curved surface. A bell-shaped unit holding propulsion systems was attached to the bottom of the cylinder, and mounted on top was a 2.4-metre (7.9 ft) sphere which held the lander.

The orbiter entered Venus orbit on October 20, 1975. Its mission was to act as a communications relay for the lander and to explore cloud layers and atmospheric parameters with several instruments and experiments. It performed 17 survey missions from October 26, 1975 to December 25, 1975.

On October 20, 1975, the lander spacecraft separated from the orbiter, and landing was made with the Sun near zenith at 05:13 UTC on October 22. Venera 9 landed within a 150 km (93 mi) radius of 31.01°N 291.64°E , near Beta Regio, on a steep (20°) slope covered with boulders (suspected to be the slope of the tectonic rift valley, Aikhylu Chasma). The entry sphere weighed 1,560 kg (3,440 lb) and the surface payload was 660 kg (1,455 lb).

It was the first spacecraft to return an image from the surface of another planet.

A system of circulating fluid was used to distribute the heat load. This system, plus pre-cooling prior to entry, permitted operation of the lander for 53 minutes after landing, at which time radio contact with the orbiter was lost as the orbiter moved out of radio range. During descent, heat dissipation and deceleration were accomplished sequentially by protective hemispheric shells, three parachutes, a disc-shaped drag brake, and a compressible, metal, doughnut-shaped landing cushion. The landing was a bout 2,200 km (1,400 mi) from the Venera 10 landing site.

Venera 9 measured clouds that were 30–40 km (19–25 mi) thick with bases at 30–35 km (19–22 mi) altitude. It also measured atmospheric chemicals including hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, bromine and iodine. Other measurements included surface pressure of about 9,100 kilopascals (90 atm), temperature of 485 °C (905 °F), and surface light levels comparable to those at Earth mid-latitudes on a cloudy summer day. Venera 9 was the first probe to send back black and white television pictures from the Venusia n surface showing no shadows, no apparent dust in the air, and a variety of 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16 in) rocks which were not eroded. Planned 360-degree panoramic pictures could not be taken because one of two camera lens covers failed to come off, limiting pictures to 180 degrees. This failure recurred with Venera 10'.


* 'In 1994, A 67 foot tall statue of Sam Houston is unveiled in Texas. . - From Wikipedia: 'A Tribute to Courage monument is a statue of Sam Houston located in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston is a major Texas hero. The statue by sculptor David Adickes is 67 feet tall and was built in 1994. It is clearly visible to motorists heading north on Interstate 45'.


* 'In 2008, India launches its first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1. . - From Wikipedia: 'Chandrayaan-1 was India's first lunar probe. It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The mission included a lunar orbiter and an impactor. India launched the spacecraft using a PSLV-XL rocket, serial number C11, on 22 October 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh, about 80 km north of Chennai, at 06:22 IST (00:52 UTC). Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced the project on course in his Independence Day speech on 15 August 2003. The mission was a major boost to India's space program, as India researched and developed its own technology in order to explore the Moon. The vehicle was successfully inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.

On 14 November 2008, the Moon Impact Probe separated from the Chandrayaan orbiter at 20:06 and struck the south pole in a controlled manner, making India the fourth country to place its flag on the Moon. The probe impacted near the crater Shackleton at 20:31 ejecting sub-surface soil that could be analysed for the presence of lunar water ice.

After almost a year, the orbiter started suffering from several technical issues including failure of the star sensors and poor thermal shielding, Chandrayaan stopped sending radio signals at 01:30 IST on 29 August 2009 shortly after which, the ISRO officially declared the mission over. Chandrayaan operated for 312 days as opposed to the intended two years but the mission achieved 95% of its planned objectives. Among its many achievements, the greatest achievement was the discovery of the widespread presence of water molecules in the lunar soil'.

 III.
Top Song & Movie 50 years ago today (last updated Oct 22 2016 next Oct 23 2016

No. 1 song

  • 96 Tears - Question Mark and the Mysterianbs
    - On YouTube: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
    'Reach Out I'll Be There' has been displaced by '96 Tears', which will hold the no. 1 spot until Oct 29 1966, when 'Last Train to Clarksville - The Mokkeys', takes over.- From Wikipedia: '"96 Tears" is a song recorded by the American garage rock band, Question Mark and the Mysterians (also known as "? and the Mysterians"), in 1966. In October of that year, it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and on the RPM 100 in Canada. Billboard ranked the record as the number five song for the year 1966. It is ranked number 213 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. On November 11, 1966 the single was certified as gold by the RIAA.

    The song was written by Question Mark (Rudy Martinez) in 1962 in his manager's living room, under the name "Too Many Teardrops" and then "69 Tears". Upon changing the title (fearing that radio stations wouldn't play the song), it was recorded in Bay City, Michigan. At first, Question Mark had to insist that "96 Tears" be the A-side over "Midnight Hour". Once the issue was settled, the band recorded the single for the small Pa-Go-Go label, owned by Lilly Gonzalez. She backed the band financially, and allowed access to her personal studio in her basement. When it began doing well locally, the band took a recording to Bob Dell, the radio director in Flint, Michigan. The song became the most requested, and wider radio play spread into Canada where it was picked up by Cameo Records for national distribution.

    Known for its signature organ licks and bare-bones lyrics, "96 Tears" is recognized as one of the first garage band hits, and has even been given credit for starting the punk rock movement.

    The song appeared on the band's album, 96 Tears. The follow-up song, "I Need Somebody", peaked at number 22 later that year, but no other U.S. Top 40 singles followed'.

Top movie

  • Hawaii
    - At Wikipedia:  More
    - On IMDb: More
    - On YouTube (trailer): More
    Having displaced 'The Bible: In the Beginning', it will be there until the weekend box office of Oct 23 1966 when, 'Spinout', takes over.- From Wikipedia: 'Hawaii is a 1966 American drama film directed by George Roy Hill and based on the novel of the same name by James A. Michener. It tells the story of an 1820s Yale University divinity student (Max von Sydow) who, accompanied by his new bride (Julie Andrews), becomes a Calvinist missionary in the Hawaiian Islands. It was filmed at Old Sturbridge Village, in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and on the islands of Kauai and Oahu in Hawaii'.
  IV.
Today in the Past (reference sites): October 22
   V.
This month October 2016 (updated once a month - last updated - Oct 22 2016)

Monthly holiday / awareness days in October

Food
American Cheese Month
Apple Month
Corn Month
Go Hog Wild - Eat Country Ham
National Bake and Decorate Month
National Caramel Month
National Cookbook Month
National Popcorn Poppin' Month
National Pork Month
Pizza Month
Sausage Month
Spinach Lovers Month
Vegetarian Month

Health
AIDS Awareness Month
American Pharmacists Month
Antidepressant Death Awareness Month
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Bullying Prevention Month
World Blindness Awareness Month
Caffeine Addiction Recovery Month
Celiac Disease Awareness Month
Christmas Seal Campaign
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Down Syndrome Awareness Month
Dyslexia Awareness Month
Emotional Intelligence Awareness Month
Emotional Wellness Month
Eye Injury Prevention Month
Global ADHD Awareness Month
Global Diversity Awareness Month
Health Literacy Month
Home Eye Safety Month
Long Term Care Planning Month
National AIDS Awareness Month
National Audiology/Protect Your Hearing Month
National Critical Illness Awareness Month
National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month
National Dental Hygiene Month
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
National Depression Education and Awareness Month
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
National Down Syndrome Month
National Liver Awareness Month
National Medical Librarian Month
National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month
National Orthodontic Health Month
National Physical Therapy Month
National Protect Your Hearing Month
National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
National Spina Bifida Awareness Month
National Stop Bullying Month
National Substance Abuse Prevention Month
Rett Syndrome Awareness Month
Organize Your Medical Information Month
Talk About Prescriptions Month
World Menopause Month

Animal and Pet
Adopt A Dog Month
Adopt A Shelter Dog Month
Bat Appreciation Month
National Animal Safety and Protection Month
Wishbones for Pets Month

Other
Celebrating The Bilingual Child Month
Children's Magazine Month
Class Reunion Month
Country Music Month
Employee Ownership Month
Energy Management is a Family Affair
Fair Trade Month
Financial Planning Month
German-American Heritage Month
Halloween Safety Month
Head Start Awareness Month
Italian-American Heritage Month
International Strategic Planning Month
International Walk To School Month
Intergeneration Month
Learn To Bowl Month
National Arts and Humanities Month
National Chili Month
National Crime Prevention Month
National Cyber Security Awareness Month
National Ergonomics Month
National Field Trip Month
National Kitchen and Bath Month
National Reading Group Month
National Roller Skating Month
National Stamp Collecting Month
National Work and Family Month
Photographer Appreciation Month
Polish American Heritage Month
Self-Promotion Month


October is:

October origin (from Wikipedia): October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, October retained its name (from the Greek meaning 'eight') after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally been created by the Romans. "
October is commonly associated with the season of autumn in the Northern hemisphere and spring in the Southern hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to April in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa.

October at Wikipedia: More

  VI.
TV fifty years ago 1966 (updated yearly - last updated Jan. 1 2016)

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

 VII.
Best selling books fifty years ago (updated yearly - last updated Jan. 1 2016)

Best selling books of 1966 More

VIII.
Fun (Last link added October 1 2014, but content on each site may change daily)
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day: More
  • NOAA: - National Hurricane Center - Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook: More
  • Listen to Old Radio Shows: (streaming mp3 with schedule) More
  • NASA TV: (video feed) More
    NASA TV schedule: More
  • Public Domain eBook Links

    Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More

  • Podcast: A Moment of Science. Approximately 1 minute general science facts.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Podcast: The Naked Scientists. Current science, medicine, space and other science
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Podcast: Quirks & Quarks. Current science news.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Articles and videos: Universe Today. Current space and astronomy news.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Old Picture of the Day - "Each day we bring you one stunning little glimpse of history in the form of a historical photograph."
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  IX.
Other Holiday Sites (Last link added October 1 2014. Link content changes yearly)

Below, are listed several holiday sites that I reference in addition to other holiday researches.


US Government Holidays

  • 2016 Postal Holidays More
  • 2016 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

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