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Today is October 27 2016

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   I.
Today's Holidays and Historical Events (updated daily)
Today's Food Holiday
  • National Potato Day: More
    Also on August 19.
    - From Wikipedia (Potato): 'The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial nightshade Solanum tuberosum. 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.

    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 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'.
Other celebrations/observances today:
  • Navy Day: More
    Celebrated on the birthday of Theodore Roosevelt (once Assistant Secretary of the Navy).
    - From Wikipedia (Navy Day - United States): 'In the United States, the Navy League of the United States organized the first Navy Day in 1922, holding it on October 27 because it was the birthday of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a naval enthusiast. Although meeting with mixed reviews the first year, in 1923 over 50 major cities participated, and the United States Navy sent a number of its ships to various port cities for the occasion. The 1945 Navy Day was an especially large celebration, with President Harry S. Truman reviewing the fleet in New York Harbor.

    In 1949, Louis A. Johnson, secretary of the newly created Department of Defense, directed that the U.S. Navy's participation occur on Armed Forces Day in May, although as a civilian organization the Navy League was not affected by this directive, and continued to organize Navy Day celebrations as before. In the 1970s, the "birthday" of the Continental Navy was found to be October 13, 1775, and so CNO Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt worked with the Navy League to define October 13 as the new date of Navy Day. However, Navy Day in the United States is still largely recognized as October 27'.
Awareness / Observance Days on: October 27
  • Other
    • World Day for Audiovisual Heritage: More
      Since 2005 by UNESCO. It focuses on the significance and preservation risks of recorded audiovisual and sound documents.
      - From Wikipedia (World Day for Audiovisual Heritage): 'The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage takes place every 27 October. This commemorative day was chosen by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 2005 to raise of awareness of the significance of and preservation risks recorded sound and audiovisual documents (films, sound and video recordings, radio and television programmes). Events are held in many countries, organised by national and regional sound and film archives, broadcasters, museums and libraries, and major audiovisual associations including the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA), International Council on Archives (ICA), International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA) and International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF)). and the International Federation of Television Archives FIAT/IFTA www.fiatifta.org.'
Events in the past on: October 27
  • n 1829, The first patent for a baby carriage (perambulator) was issued. However, it wasn't until the mid 1850's that a new design by Charles Burton, increased interest and sales.
    From Wikipedia: 'Various methods of transporting children have been used in different cultures and times. These methods include prams, infant car seats, portable bassinets (carrycots in British English), strollers (pushchairs), slings, backpacks, baskets, and bicycle carriers.

    The large, heavy prams (short for perambulator), which had become popular during the Victorian era, were replaced by lighter designs during the latter half of the 1900s.

    William Kent developed an early stroller in 1733. In 1733, the Duke of Devonshire asked Kent to build a means of transport that would carry his children. Kent obliged by constructing a shell shaped basket on wheels that the children could sit in. This was richly decorated and meant to be pulled by a goat or small pony. Benjamin Potter Crandall sold baby carriages in America in the 1830s which have been described as the "first baby carriages manufactured in America" His son, Jesse Armour Crandall was issued a number of patents for improvements and additions to the standard models. These included adding a brake to carriages, a model which folded, designs for parasols and an umbrella hanger. By 1840, the baby carriage became extremely popular. Queen Victoria bought three carriages from Hitchings Baby Store.

    The carriages of those days were built of wood or wicker and held together by expensive brass joints. These sometimes became heavily ornamented works of art. Models were also named after royalty, Princess and Duchess being popular names, as well as Balmoral and Windsor.

    In June 1889, William H. Richardson patented his idea of the first reversible stroller. The bassinet was designed so it could face out or in towards the parent. He also made structural changes to the carriage. Until then the axis did not allow each wheel to move separately, Richardson’s design allowed this, which increased maneuverability of the carriages. As the 1920s began, prams were now available to all families and were becoming safer, with larger wheels, brakes, deeper prams, and lower, sturdier frames.

    In 1965, Owen Maclaren, an aeronautical engineer, worked on complaints his daughter made about travelling from England to America with her heavy pram. Using his knowledge of aeroplanes, Maclaren designed a stroller with an aluminium frame and created the first true umbrella stroller. He then went on to found Maclaren, which manufactured and sold his new design. The design took off and soon “strollers” were easier to transport and used everywhere.

    Since the 1980s, the stroller industry has developed with new features, safer construction and more accessories'.
    - At FamousDaily: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - A Visual History More
  • In 1904, The first underground New York City Subway line opens. The system becomes the biggest in United States, and one of the biggest in world.
    From Wikipedia: 'The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Opened in 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of the world's most used metro systems, and the metro system with the most stations and the most trackage. It offers service 24 hours per day and every day of the year.

    The New York City Subway is the largest rapid transit system in the world by number of stations, with 469 stations in operation (422, if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations). Stations are located throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. The Staten Island Railway is not officially considered part of the subway, as it lacks a rail link with the subway system, so passengers to another borough take a ferry or bus. The Port Authority Trans-Hudson and the AirTrain JFK, in Manhattan and Queens respectively, accept the subway's MetroCard but are not part of the subway; thus, free transfers are not allowed.

    The system is also one of the world's longest. Overall, the system contains 233 miles (375 km) of routes, translating into 660 miles (1,060 km) of revenue track; and a total of 846 miles (1,362 km) including non-revenue trackage.

    By annual ridership, the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit rail system in the United States and in the Western world, as well as the seventh busiest rapid transit rail system in the world; the metro (subway) systems in Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Moscow, Tokyo, and Guangzhou record a higher annual ridership. In 2015, the subway delivered over 1.76 billion rides, averaging approximately 5.7 million daily rides on weekdays and a combined 5.9 million rides each weekend (3.3 million on Saturdays; 2.7 million on Sundays). Ridership continues to increase, and on September 23, 2014, more than 6.1 million people rode the subway system, establishing the highest single-day ridership since ridership was regularly monitored in 1985.

    Alfred Ely Beach built the first demonstration for an underground transit system in New York City in 1869 and opened it in February 1870. His Beach Pneumatic Transit only extended 312 feet (95 m) under Broadway in Lower Manhattan operating from Warren Street to Murray Street and exhibited his idea for a subway propelled by pneumatic tube technology. The tunnel was never extended for political and financial reasons, although extensions had been planned to take the tunnel southward to The Battery and northwards towards the Harlem River. In 1912, workers excavating for the present-day BMT Broadway Line dug into the old Beach tunnel; today, no part of this line remains as the tunnel was completely within the limits of the present day City Hall Station under Broadway.

    The Great Blizzard of 1888 helped demonstrate the benefits of an underground transportation system. A plan for the construction of the subway was approved in 1894, and construction began in 1900. The first underground line of the subway opened on October 27, 1904, almost 36 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City, which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line. The fare was $0.05 and on the first day the trains carried over 150,000 passengers. The oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line. The oldest right-of-way, which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek, was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1925, Water skis patented by Fred Waller as Akwa Skees.
    From Wikipedia: 'Water skiing was invented in 1922 when Ralph Samuelson used a pair of boards as skis and a clothesline as a towrope on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minnesota. Samuelson experimented with different positions on the skis for several days until 2 July 1922. Samuelson discovered that leaning backwards in the water with ski tips up and poking out of the water at the tip was the optimal method. His brother Ben towed him and they reached a speed of 32 kilometres per hour (20 mph). Samuelson spent 15 years performing shows and teaching water skiing to people in the United States.

    Samuelson went through several iterations of equipment in his quest to ski on water. His first equipment consisted of barrel staves for skis. He later tried snow skis, but finally fabricated his own design out of lumber with bindings made of strips of leather. The ski rope was made from a long window sash cord. Samuelson never patented any of his ski equipment.

    The first patent for water skis was issued to Fred Waller, of Huntington, NY, on 27 October 1925, for skis he developed independently and marketed as "Dolphin Akwa-Skees." Waller's skis were constructed of kiln-dried mahogany, as were some boats at that time. Jack Andresen patented the first trick ski, a shorter, fin-less water ski, in 1940.

    In 1928 Don Ibsen developed his own water skis on the West Coast, never having heard of Samuelson or Waller. In 1941 Don Ibsen founded The Olympic Water Ski Club in Seattle, WA. It was the first such club in America. Ibsen, a showman and entrepreneur, was one of the earliest manufacturers of water skis and was a leading enthusiast and promoter of the sport. In 1983 he was inducted into the Water Ski Hall of Fame in Winterhaven, FL.

    The sport of water skiing remained an obscure activity for several years after 1922, until Samuelson performed water ski shows from Michigan to Florida. The American Water Ski Association formally acknowledged Samuelson in 1966 as the first recorded water skier in history. Samuelson was also the first ski racer, slalom skier, and the first organizer of a water ski show'.
    - At FamousDaily: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
    How Stuff Works (Timeline): More
  • In 1947, The radio quiz show, 'You Bet Your Life' with Groucho Marx premieres.
    From Wikipedia: 'You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio on October 27, 1947, then moved to CBS Radio debuting October 5, 1949 before making the transition to NBC-TV and NBC Radio on October 4, 1950. Because of its simple format, it was possible to broadcast the show simultaneously on radio and television. June 10, 1960 was the last episode aired in its radio broadcast format. For its final season debuting September 22, 1960, the TV show was renamed The Groucho Show and ran a further year.

    The play of the game, however, was secondary to the interplay between Groucho, the contestants, and occasionally Fenneman. The program was rerun into the 1970s, and later in syndication as The Best of Groucho. As such, it was the first game show to have its reruns syndicated'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube (Radio): More
    - On YouTube (TV): More
  • In 1956, The song, Ain't Got No Home, by Clarence (Frogman) Henry was released. It was his first hit.
    From Wikipedia: 'Clarence Henry was born in New Orleans in 1937, moving to the Algiers neighborhood in 1948. He started learning piano as a child, with Fats Domino and Professor Longhair being his main influences. When Henry played in talent shows, he dressed like Longhair and wore a wig with braids on both sides. He joined Bobby Mitchell and the Toppers in 1952, playing piano and trombone, before leaving when he graduated in 1955 to join saxophonist Eddie Smith's band.

    He used his trademark croak to improvise the song "Ain't Got No Home" one night in 1955. Chess Records' A and R man Paul Gayten heard the song, and had Henry record it in Cosimo Matassa's studio in September 1956. Initially promoted by local DJ Poppa Stoppa, the song eventually rose to number 3 on the national R and B chart and number 20 on the US pop chart. The gimmick earned Henry his nickname of 'Frogman' and jump-started a career that endures to this day.

    He toured nationally with a six-piece band until 1958, and continued to record. A cover of Bobby Charles' hit "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do", and "You Always Hurt the One You Love", both from 1961, were his other big hits.

    Henry opened eighteen concerts for the Beatles across the US and Canada in 1964, but his main source of income came from the Bourbon Street strip in New Orleans, where he played for nineteen years. His name could still draw hordes of tourists long after his hit-making days had ended. He still plays at various conventions, including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1960, Ben E. King recorded his first solo songs. They were 'Spanish Harlem' and 'Stand by Me'.


    - At Wikipedia (Spanish Harlem): More
    - On YouTube: MoreFrom Wikipedia: '"Spanish Harlem" is a song released by Ben E. King in 1960 on Atco Records, written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector, and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. During a 1968 interview, Leiber credited Stoller with the arrangement; similarly, in a 2009 radio interview with Leiber and Stoller on the Bob Edwards Weekend talk show, Jerry Leiber said that Stoller, while uncredited, had written the key instrumental introduction to the record. In the team's autobiography from the same year, Hound Dog, Stoller himself remarks that he had created this "fill" while doing a piano accompaniment when the song was presented to Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records, with Spector playing guitar and Leiber doing the vocal. "Since then, I've never heard the song played without that musical figure. I presumed my contribution was seminal to the composition, but I also knew that Phil didn't want to share credit with anyone but Jerry, so I kept quiet."

    It was originally released as the B-side to "First Taste of Love". The song was King's first hit away from The Drifters, a group he had led for several years. With an arrangement by Stan Applebaum featuring Spanish guitar, marimba, drum-beats, soprano saxophone, strings, and a male chorus, it climbed the Billboard charts, eventually peaking at #15 R and B and #10 Pop. It was ranked #358 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. King's version was not a hit in the UK: instead, the original A-side, "First Taste of Love", that was played on Radio Luxembourg, charting at #27. In 1987, after Stand By Me made #1, the song was re-released and charted at #92'.


    - At Wikipedia (Stand by Me): More
    - On YouTube: More

    From Wikipedia: '"Stand by Me" is a song originally performed by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King, written by King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. According to King, the song title is derived and was inspired by a spiritual composition by Sam Cooke called "Stand by Me Father" (although Mike Stoller has stated differently). This spiritual was sung by The Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead. The third line of the second verse of "Stand by Me" derives from Psalms 46:2c. There have been over 400 recorded versions of "Stand by Me" performed by many artists. The song has been featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film Stand by Me.

    In 2012 it was estimated that the song's royalties had topped £17 million, making it the sixth highest earning song as of that time. 50% of the royalties were paid to King.

    In 2015, King's original version was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", just under five weeks before King's death. Later in the year the 2015 line up of The Drifters covered the song in tribute to King'.
  • In 1961, NASA tests the first Saturn I rocket in Mission Saturn-Apollo 1. It was the later Saturn V that powered the Apollo moon missions'.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Saturn I (pronounced "Saturn one") was the United States' first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher, a rocket designed specifically to launch large payloads into low Earth orbit. Most of the rocket's power came from a clustered lower stage consisting of tanks taken from older rocket designs strapped together to make a single large booster, leading critics to jokingly refer to it as "Cluster's Last Stand". However, its design proved sound and very flexible. Its major successes were launching the Pegasus satellites and flight verification of the Apollo Command and Service Module aerodynamics in the launch phase. Originally intended as a near-universal military booster during the 1960s, it served only for a brief period and only with NASA; ten Saturn I rockets were flown before it was replaced by the derivative Saturn IB, which featured a more powerful upper stage and improved instrumentation.

    President John F. Kennedy identified the Saturn I, and the SA-5 launch in particular, as being the point where US lift capability would surpass the Soviets, after being behind since Sputnik'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1962, Major Rudolf Anderson of the United States Air Force becomes the only direct human casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis when his U-2 reconnaissance airplane is shot down in Cuba by a Soviet-supplied SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile.
    From Wikipedia: 'Rudolf Anderson, Jr. (September 15, 1927 – October 27, 1962), was a pilot and commissioned officer in the United States Air Force and the first recipient of the Air Force Cross, the U.S. Air Force's second-highest award for heroism. The only person killed by enemy fire during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Anderson died when his U-2 spy aircraft was shot down over Cuba'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  II.
Henry's Heads Up! - previous days social media post (updated daily)

<> Tomorrow's food holidays(s):


* 'National Potato Day'. . Also on August 19. - From Wikipedia (Potato): 'The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial nightshade Solanum tuberosum. 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.

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 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] Call them Spuds, Taters, Murphies, Ground Apples, Pot Roots and any one of many other names, love 'um.


<> Other holidays / celebrations


* 'Navy Day'. Celebrated pm the birthday of Theodore Roosevelt (once Assistant Secretary of the Navy). - From Wikipedia (Navy Day - United States): 'In the United States, the Navy League of the United States organized the first Navy Day in 1922, holding it on October 27 because it was the birthday of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a naval enthusiast. Although meeting with mixed reviews the first year, in 1923 over 50 major cities participated, and the United States Navy sent a number of its ships to various port cities for the occasion. The 1945 Navy Day was an especially large celebration, with President Harry S. Truman reviewing the fleet in New York Harbor.

In 1949, Louis A. Johnson, secretary of the newly created Department of Defense, directed that the U.S. Navy's participation occur on Armed Forces Day in May, although as a civilian organization the Navy League was not affected by this directive, and continued to organize Navy Day celebrations as before. In the 1970s, the birthday of the Continental Navy was found to be October 13, 1775, and so CNO Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt worked with the Navy League to define October 13 as the new date of Navy Day. However, Navy Day in the United States is still largely recognized as October 27'.


<> Awareness / Observances:

o Other:
* 'World Day for Audiovisual Heritage'. Since 2005 by UNESCO. It focuses on the significance and preservation risks of recorded audiovisual and sound documents. - From Wikipedia (World Day for Audiovisual Heritage): 'The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage takes place every 27 October. This commemorative day was chosen by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 2005 to raise of awareness of the significance of and preservation risks recorded sound and audiovisual documents (films, sound and video recordings, radio and television programmes). Events are held in many countries, organised by national and regional sound and film archives, broadcasters, museums and libraries, and major audiovisual associations including the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA), International Council on Archives (ICA), International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA) and International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF)). and the International Federation of Television Archives FIAT/IFTA www.fiatifta.org.'


<> Historical events on October 27


* 'n 1829, The first patent for a baby carriage (perambulator) was issued. However, it wasn't until the mid 1850's that a new design by Charles Burton, increased interest and sales. - From Wikipedia: 'Various methods of transporting children have been used in different cultures and times. These methods include prams, infant car seats, portable bassinets (carrycots in British English), strollers (pushchairs), slings, backpacks, baskets, and bicycle carriers.

The large, heavy prams (short for perambulator), which had become popular during the Victorian era, were replaced by lighter designs during the latter half of the 1900s.

William Kent developed an early stroller in 1733. In 1733, the Duke of Devonshire asked Kent to build a means of transport that would carry his children. Kent obliged by constructing a shell shaped basket on wheels that the children could sit in. This was richly decorated and meant to be pulled by a goat or small pony. Benjamin Potter Crandall sold baby carriages in America in the 1830s which have been described as the first baby carriages manufactured in America His son, Jesse Armour Crandall was issued a number of patents for improvements and additions to the standard models. These included adding a brake to carriages, a model which folded, designs for parasols and an umbrella hanger. By 1840, the baby carriage became extremely popular. Queen Victoria bought three carriages from Hitchings Baby Store.

The carriages of those days were built of wood or wicker and held together by expensive brass joints. These sometimes became heavily ornamented works of art. Models were also named after royalty, Princess and Duchess being popular names, as well as Balmoral and Windsor.

In June 1889, William H. Richardson patented his idea of the first reversible stroller. The bassinet was designed so it could face out or in towards the parent. He also made structural changes to the carriage. Until then the axis did not allow each wheel to move separately, Richardson’s design allowed this, which increased maneuverability of the carriages. As the 1920s began, prams were now available to all families and were becoming safer, with larger wheels, brakes, deeper prams, and lower, sturdier frames.

In 1965, Owen Maclaren, an aeronautical engineer, worked on complaints his daughter made about travelling from England to America with her heavy pram. Using his knowledge of aeroplanes, Maclaren designed a stroller with an aluminium frame and created the first true umbrella stroller. He then went on to found Maclaren, which manufactured and sold his new design. The design took off and soon “strollers” were easier to transport and used everywhere.

Since the 1980s, the stroller industry has developed with new features, safer construction and more accessories'.


* 'In 1904, The first underground New York City Subway line opens. The system becomes the biggest in United States, and one of the biggest in world. - From Wikipedia: 'The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Opened in 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of the world's most used metro systems, and the metro system with the most stations and the most trackage. It offers service 24 hours per day and every day of the year.

The New York City Subway is the largest rapid transit system in the world by number of stations, with 469 stations in operation (422, if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations). Stations are located throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. The Staten Island Railway is not officially considered part of the subway, as it lacks a rail link with the subway system, so passengers to another borough take a ferry or bus. The Port Authority Trans-Hudson and the AirTrain JFK, in Manhattan and Queens respectively, accept the subway's MetroCard but are not part of the subway thus, free transfers are not allowed.

The system is also one of the world's longest. Overall, the system contains 233 miles (375 km) of routes, translating into 660 miles (1,060 km) of revenue track and a total of 846 miles (1,362 km) including non-revenue trackage.

By annual ridership, the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit rail system in the United States and in the Western world, as well as the seventh busiest rapid transit rail system in the world the metro (subway) systems in Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Moscow, Tokyo, and Guangzhou record a higher annual ridership. In 2015, the subway delivered over 1.76 billion rides, averaging approximately 5.7 million daily rides on weekdays and a combined 5.9 million rides each weekend (3.3 million on Saturdays 2.7 million on Sundays). Ridership continues to increase, and on September 23, 2014, more than 6.1 million people rode the subway system, establishing the highest single-day ridership since ridership was regularly monitored in 1985.

Alfred Ely Beach built the first demonstration for an underground transit system in New York City in 1869 and opened it in February 1870. His Beach Pneumatic Transit only extended 312 feet (95 m) under Broadway in Lower Manhattan operating from Warren Street to Murray Street and exhibited his idea for a subway propelled by pneumatic tube technology. The tunnel was never extended for political and financial reasons, although extensions had been planned to take the tunnel southward to The Battery and northwards towards the Harlem River. In 1912, workers excavating for the present-day BMT Broadway Line dug into the old Beach tunnel today, no part of this line remains as the tunnel was completely within the limits of the present day City Hall Station under Broadway.

The Great Blizzard of 1888 helped demonstrate the benefits of an underground transportation system. A plan for the construction of the subway was approved in 1894, and construction began in 1900. The first underground line of the subway opened on October 27, 1904, almost 36 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City, which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line. The fare was $0.05 and on the first day the trains carried over 150,000 passengers. The oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line. The oldest right-of-way, which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek, was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road'.


* 'In 1925, Water skis patented by Fred Waller as Akwa Skees. . - From Wikipedia: 'Water skiing was invented in 1922 when Ralph Samuelson used a pair of boards as skis and a clothesline as a towrope on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minnesota. Samuelson experimented with different positions on the skis for several days until 2 July 1922. Samuelson discovered that leaning backwards in the water with ski tips up and poking out of the water at the tip was the optimal method. His brother Ben towed him and they reached a speed of 32 kilometres per hour (20 mph). Samuelson spent 15 years performing shows and teaching water skiing to people in the United States.

Samuelson went through several iterations of equipment in his quest to ski on water. His first equipment consisted of barrel staves for skis. He later tried snow skis, but finally fabricated his own design out of lumber with bindings made of strips of leather. The ski rope was made from a long window sash cord. Samuelson never patented any of his ski equipment.

The first patent for water skis was issued to Fred Waller, of Huntington, NY, on 27 October 1925, for skis he developed independently and marketed as Dolphin Akwa-Skees. Waller's skis were constructed of kiln-dried mahogany, as were some boats at that time. Jack Andresen patented the first trick ski, a shorter, fin-less water ski, in 1940.

In 1928 Don Ibsen developed his own water skis on the West Coast, never having heard of Samuelson or Waller. In 1941 Don Ibsen founded The Olympic Water Ski Club in Seattle, WA. It was the first such club in America. Ibsen, a showman and entrepreneur, was one of the earliest manufacturers of water skis and was a leading enthusiast and promoter of the sport. In 1983 he was inducted into the Water Ski Hall of Fame in Winterhaven, FL.

The sport of water skiing remained an obscure activity for several years after 1922, until Samuelson performed water ski shows from Michigan to Florida. The American Water Ski Association formally acknowledged Samuelson in 1966 as the first recorded water skier in history. Samuelson was also the first ski racer, slalom skier, and the first organizer of a water ski show'.


* 'In 1947, The radio quiz show, 'You Bet Your Life' with Groucho Marx premieres. - From Wikipedia: 'You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio on October 27, 1947, then moved to CBS Radio debuting October 5, 1949 before making the transition to NBC-TV and NBC Radio on October 4, 1950. Because of its simple format, it was possible to broadcast the show simultaneously on radio and television. June 10, 1960 was the last episode aired in its radio broadcast format. For its final season debuting September 22, 1960, the TV show was renamed The Groucho Show and ran a further year.

The play of the game, however, was secondary to the interplay between Groucho, the contestants, and occasionally Fenneman. The program was rerun into the 1970s, and later in syndication as The Best of Groucho. As such, it was the first game show to have its reruns syndicated'.


* 'In 1956, The song, Ain't Got No Home, by Clarence (Frogman) Henry was released. It was his first hit. . - From Wikipedia: 'Clarence Henry was born in New Orleans in 1937, moving to the Algiers neighborhood in 1948. He started learning piano as a child, with Fats Domino and Professor Longhair being his main influences. When Henry played in talent shows, he dressed like Longhair and wore a wig with braids on both sides. He joined Bobby Mitchell and the Toppers in 1952, playing piano and trombone, before leaving when he graduated in 1955 to join saxophonist Eddie Smith's band.

He used his trademark croak to improvise the song Ain't Got No Home one night in 1955. Chess Records' A and R man Paul Gayten heard the song, and had Henry record it in Cosimo Matassa's studio in September 1956. Initially promoted by local DJ Poppa Stoppa, the song eventually rose to number 3 on the national R and B chart and number 20 on the US pop chart. The gimmick earned Henry his nickname of 'Frogman' and jump-started a career that endures to this day.

He toured nationally with a six-piece band until 1958, and continued to record. A cover of Bobby Charles' hit (I Don't Know Why) But I Do, and You Always Hurt the One You Love, both from 1961, were his other big hits.

Henry opened eighteen concerts for the Beatles across the US and Canada in 1964, but his main source of income came from the Bourbon Street strip in New Orleans, where he played for nineteen years. His name could still draw hordes of tourists long after his hit-making days had ended. He still plays at various conventions, including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival'.


* 'In 1960, Ben E. King recorded his first solo songs. They were 'Spanish Harlem' and 'Stand by Me'. . - From Wikipedia: 'Spanish Harlem is a song released by Ben E. King in 1960 on Atco Records, written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector, and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. During a 1968 interview, Leiber credited Stoller with the arrangement similarly, in a 2009 radio interview with Leiber and Stoller on the Bob Edwards Weekend talk show, Jerry Leiber said that Stoller, while uncredited, had written the key instrumental introduction to the record. In the team's autobiography from the same year, Hound Dog, Stoller himself remarks that he had created this fill while doing a piano accompaniment when the song was presented to Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records, with Spector playing guitar and Leiber doing the vocal. Since then, I've never heard the song played without that musical figure. I presumed my contribution was seminal to the composition, but I also knew that Phil didn't want to share credit with anyone but Jerry, so I kept quiet.

It was originally released as the B-side to First Taste of Love The song was King's first hit away from The Drifters, a group he had led for several years. With an arrangement by Stan Applebaum featuring Spanish guitar, marimba, drum-beats, soprano saxophone, strings, and a male chorus, it climbed the Billboard charts, eventually peaking at #15 R and B and #10 Pop. It was ranked #358 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. King's version was not a hit in the UK: instead, the original A-side, First Taste of Love, that was played on Radio Luxembourg, charting at #27. In 1987, after Stand By Me made #1, the song was re-released and charted at #92'. - From Wikipedia: 'Stand by Me is a song originally performed by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King, written by King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. According to King, the song title is derived and was inspired by a spiritual composition by Sam Cooke called Stand by Me Father (although Mike Stoller has stated differently). This spiritual was sung by The Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead. The third line of the second verse of Stand by Me derives from Psalms 46:2c. There have been over 400 recorded versions of Stand by Me performed by many artists. The song has been featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film Stand by Me.

In 2012 it was estimated that the song's royalties had topped £17 million, making it the sixth highest earning song as of that time. 50% of the royalties were paid to King.

In 2015, King's original version was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, just under five weeks before King's death. Later in the year the 2015 line up of The Drifters covered the song in tribute to King'.


* 'In 1961, NASA tests the first Saturn I rocket in Mission Saturn-Apollo 1. It was the later Saturn V that powered the Apollo moon missions'. - From Wikipedia: 'The Saturn I (pronounced Saturn one) was the United States' first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher, a rocket designed specifically to launch large payloads into low Earth orbit. Most of the rocket's power came from a clustered lower stage consisting of tanks taken from older rocket designs strapped together to make a single large booster, leading critics to jokingly refer to it as Cluster's Last Stand However, its design proved sound and very flexible. Its major successes were launching the Pegasus satellites and flight verification of the Apollo Command and Service Module aerodynamics in the launch phase. Originally intended as a near-universal military booster during the 1960s, it served only for a brief period and only with NASA ten Saturn I rockets were flown before it was replaced by the derivative Saturn IB, which featured a more powerful upper stage and improved instrumentation.

President John F. Kennedy identified the Saturn I, and the SA-5 launch in particular, as being the point where US lift capability would surpass the Soviets, after being behind since Sputnik'.


* 'In 1962, Major Rudolf Anderson of the United States Air Force becomes the only direct human casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis when his U-2 reconnaissance airplane is shot down in Cuba by a Soviet-supplied SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile. . - From Wikipedia: 'Rudolf Anderson, Jr. (September 15, 1927 – October 27, 1962), was a pilot and commissioned officer in the United States Air Force and the first recipient of the Air Force Cross, the U.S. Air Force's second-highest award for heroism. The only person killed by enemy fire during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Anderson died when his U-2 spy aircraft was shot down over Cuba'.

 III.
Top Song & Movie 50 years ago today (last updated Oct 23 2016 next Oct 30 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

  • Spinout
    - At Wikipedia:  More
    - On IMDb: More
    - On YouTube (trailer): More
    Having displaced 'Hawaii', it will be there until the weekend box office of Oct 30 1966 when, 'Way...Way Out', takes over.- From Wikipedia: 'Spinout is a 1966 American musical film and comedy starring Elvis Presley as the lead singer of a band and part-time race car driver. The film was #57 on the year-end list of the top-grossing films of 1966.

    Mike McCoy (Elvis), the lead singer for a traveling band who is also a part-time race car driver, enjoys his carefree single life, which is threatened by three different women who seek to marry him. Enter Cynthia Foxhugh (Shelley Fabares), a spoiled heiress and "daddy's girl", who is determined to get what she wants, no matter the cost. Such as was the case when Cynthia's millionaire father Howard (Carl Betz) tricks Mike and his band into interrupting their gig tour to serenade Cynthia with "Am I Ready" for her birthday. Cynthia becomes first of the three women who want to marry Mike. Also, apparently knowing about Mike's racing skills, Howard is determined to hire Mike to drive Howard's Fox Five car in an upcoming road race, but Mike prefers to race his own car, a Cobra 427 sports car, which is towed around the country by a 1929 Model J Duesenberg.

    Meanwhile, Mike is stalked and spied upon by Diana St. Clair (Diane McBain), an author of books for women about men. Diana is in the process of writing her new book, The Perfect American Male, and uses Mike as one of her subjects. Actually, she later reveals to Mike that he is the "perfect American male", thereby planning on Mike to marry her—to the point of already making wedding arrangements.

    The female drummer of Mike's band, Les (Deborah Walley), is looked upon by Mike and the other band members as a tomboy, and becomes fed up with such treatment. Mike and his other band members are taken aback when at a party, Les picks her moment and reveals her true feminine side, walking back out from a room dressed up in an evening dress. She reveals herself as the third woman who wishes to marry Mike.

    Faced with this predicament, Mike must decide which of the three women he will marry—after the race (which Mike wins in a car he does not even own). So, he decides to marry all three of them—to other men. Mike marries Cynthia to Phillip (Warren Berlinger), a nervous employee of Howard's who is prone to fainting (he had a secret crush on Cynthia since he has known her, which he finally picks up the nerve to tell her). Next, Mike marries Diana to Howard, who fell in love with each other after they met at one of Mike's parties. And finally, Mike marries Les to Lt. Tracy Richards (Will Hutchins), a police officer whom Les won her way to his heart through his stomach (he likes her gourmet cooking). This allows Mike to reclaim his single and carefree life, which he dearly enjoys'.
  IV.
Today in the Past (reference sites): October 27
   V.
This month October 2016 (updated once a month - last updated - Oct 27 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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