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Today is November 16 2016

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   I.
Today's Holidays and Historical Events (updated daily)
Today's Food Holiday
  • National Fast Food Day: More
    - From Wikipedia (Fast food): 'Fast food, a type of mass-produced food that is prepared and served very quickly. It began with the first fish and chip shops in Britain in the 1860s. Drive-through restaurants were first popularized in the 1950s in the United States. The food typically less nutritionally valuable compared to other foods and dishes. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away. Fast food restaurants are traditionally distinguished by their ability to serve food via a drive-through. The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951.

    Outlets may be stands or kiosks, which may provide no shelter or seating, or fast food restaurants (also known as quick service restaurants). Franchise operations that are part of restaurant chains have standardized foodstuffs shipped to each restaurant from central locations.

    According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), fast foods are quick alternatives to home-cooked meals. They are also high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories.

    Eating too much fast food has been linked to, among other things, colorectal cancer, obesity and high cholesterol.

    The traditional family dinner is increasingly being replaced by the consumption of takeaway, or eating "on the run". As a result, the time invested on food preparation is getting lower and lower, with an average couple in the United States spending 47 minutes and 19 minutes per day, carrying out food preparation.

    In the cities of Roman antiquity, much of the urban population living in insulae, multi-story apartment blocks, depended on food vendors for much of their meals. In the mornings, bread soaked in wine was eaten as a quick snack and cooked vegetables and stews later in popina, a simple type of eating establishment. In the Middle Ages, large towns and major urban areas such as London and Paris supported numerous vendors that sold dishes such as pies, pasties, flans, waffles, wafers, pancakes and cooked meats. As in Roman cities during antiquity, many of these establishments catered to those who did not have means to cook their own food, particularly single households. Unlike richer town dwellers, many often could not afford housing with kitchen facilities and thus relied on fast food. Travellers, as well, such as pilgrims en route to a holy site, were among the customers.

    As automobiles became popular and more affordable following World War I, drive-in restaurants were introduced. The American company White Castle, founded by Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson in Wichita, Kansas in 1921, is generally credited with opening the second fast food outlet and first hamburger chain, selling hamburgers for five cents each. Walter Anderson had built the first White Castle restaurant in Wichita in 1916, introducing the limited menu, high-volume, low-cost, high-speed hamburger restaurant. Among its innovations, the company allowed customers to see the food being prepared. White Castle was successful from its inception and spawned numerous competitors.

    Franchising was introduced in 1921 by A and W Root Beer, which franchised its distinctive syrup. Howard Johnson's first franchised the restaurant concept in the mid-1930s, formally standardizing menus, signage and advertising.

    Curb service was introduced in the late 1920s and was mobilized in the 1940s when carhops strapped on roller skates.

    The United States has the largest fast food industry in the world, and American fast food restaurants are located in over 100 countries. Approximately 4.7 million U.S. workers are employed in the areas of food preparation and food servicing, including fast food in the USA. Worries of an obesity epidemic and its related illnesses have inspired many local government officials in the United States to propose to limit or regulate fast-food restaurants. Yet, US adults are unwilling to change their fast food consumption even in the face of rising costs and unemployment characterized by the great recession, suggesting an inelastic demand. However, some areas are more affected than others. In Los Angeles County, for example, about 45% of the restaurants in South Central Los Angeles are fast-food chains or restaurants with minimal seating. By comparison, only 16% of those on the Westside are such restaurants'.
Other celebrations/observances today:
  • National Button Day: More
    Since 1938 by the National Button Society.
    - From Wikipedia (Button collecting): 'Button collecting varies widely. In its most informal manifestation, a button collection may simply be the household button container, where buttons are stored for future use on clothing or for crafts. At the other end of the spectrum is the competitive collector, mainly found in the United States. The National Button Society serves as a forum for collectors to build information about the history of buttons and for annual collector competitions. Regional, State and local button clubs meet regularly as well. In between these two extremes exist casual button collectors, who accumulate buttons for sheer enjoyment and relaxation, as well as for their functional value.

    Some museums and art galleries hold culturally, historically, politically, and/or artistically significant buttons in their collections. The Victoria and Albert Museum has many buttons, particularly in its jewellery collection, as does the Smithsonian Institution'.
  • Have a Party With Your Bear Day: More
Awareness / Observance Days on: November 16
  • Health
    • World Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Day: More
      By the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD). During COPD Awareness Week.
      - From Wikipedia (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease): 'Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of obstructive lung disease characterized by long-term poor airflow. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and cough with sputum production. COPD typically worsens over time. Eventually walking up stairs or carrying things will be difficult. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are older terms used for different types of COPD. The term "chronic bronchitis" is still used to define a productive cough that is present for at least three months each year for two years.

      Tobacco smoking is the most common cause of COPD, with a number of other factors such as air pollution and genetics playing a smaller role. In the developing world, one of the common sources of air pollution is poorly vented heating and cooking fires. Long-term exposure to these irritants causes an inflammatory response in the lungs resulting in narrowing of the small airways and breakdown of lung tissue. The diagnosis is based on poor airflow as measured by lung function tests. In contrast to asthma, the airflow reduction does not improve much with the use of a bronchodilator.

      Most cases of COPD can be prevented by reducing exposure to risk factors. This includes decreasing rates of smoking and improving indoor and outdoor air quality. While treatment can slow worsening, there is no cure. COPD treatments include stopping smoking, vaccinations, respiratory rehabilitation, and often inhaled bronchodilators and steroids. Some people may benefit from long-term oxygen therapy or lung transplantation. In those who have periods of acute worsening, increased use of medications and hospitalization may be needed.

      As of 2013 COPD affects 329 million people or nearly 5 percent of the global population. It typically occurs in people over the age of 40. Males and females are affected equally commonly. In 2013 it resulted in 2.9 million deaths, up from 2.4 million deaths in 1990. More than 90% of these deaths occur in the developing world. The number of deaths is projected to increase further because of higher smoking rates in the developing world, and an aging population in many countries. It resulted in an estimated economic cost of $2.1 trillion in 2010'.
  • Other
    • International Day for Tolerance: More
      U.N. awareness day.
      - From Wikipedia (International Day for Tolerance): 'The International Day for Tolerance is an annual observance declared by UNESCO in 1995 to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance. It is obs

      Every year various conferences and festivals are organized in the occasion of International Day for Tolerance. Among them, "Universal Tolerance Cartoon Festival" in Drammen, Norway which organized an International Cartoon Festival in 2013'.
    • GIS (Geographic information systems) Day: More
      Since 1999.
      - From Wikipedia (Geographic information system): 'A geographic information system (or GIS) is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present spatial or geographical data. The acronym GIS is sometimes used for geographic information science (GIScience) to refer to the academic discipline that studies geographic information systems and is a large domain within the broader academic discipline of geoinformatics. What goes beyond a GIS is a spatial data infrastructure, a concept that has no such restrictive boundaries.

      In general, the term describes any information system that integrates, stores, edits, analyzes, shares, and displays geographic information. GIS applications are tools that allow users to create interactive queries (user-created searches), analyze spatial information, edit data in maps, and present the results of all these operations. Geographic information science is the science underlying geographic concepts, applications, and systems.

      GIS is a broad term that can refer to a number of different technologies, processes, and methods. It is attached to many operations and has many applications related to engineering, planning, management, transport/logistics, insurance, telecommunications, and business. For that reason, GIS and location intelligence applications can be the foundation for many location-enabled services that rely on analysis and visualization.

      GIS can relate unrelated information by using location as the key index variable. Locations or extents in the Earth space–time may be recorded as dates/times of occurrence, and x, y, and z coordinates representing, longitude, latitude, and elevation, respectively. All Earth-based spatial–temporal location and extent references should, be relatable to one another and ultimately to a "real" physical location or extent. This key characteristic of GIS has begun to open new avenues of scientific inquiry'.
    • National Educational Support Professionals Day: More
      Wednesday of American Education Week.
      - From Wikipedia (National Education Association): 'The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become teachers. The NEA has just under 3 million members and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The NEA had a budget of more than $341 million for the 2012–2013 fiscal year. Lily Eskelsen García is the NEA's current president.

      The stated mission of the NEA is "to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world."'.
Events in the past on: November 16
  • In 1841, The cork life preserver is patented by Napoleon Guerin.
    From Wikipedia: 'Napoleon Guerin of New York City, United States is an inventor who obtained a U.S. patent for the first life preserver made of cork on November 16, 1841. It was constructed in jacket form, with two layers of material between which the cork could be inserted. Guerin suggested using between 18 and 20 quarts of rasped or grated cork, depending on the weight of the person, but he was not specific about the type of fabric to be used in the jacket, saying only that it could be "made of cotton or any other material."'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
  • In 1904, The first electron tube (vacuum tube) is invented by John Ambrose Fleming.
    From Wikipedia: 'In electronics, a vacuum tube, an electron tube, or just a tube (North America), or valve (Britain and some other regions), is a device that controls electric current between electrodes in an evacuated container. Vacuum tubes mostly rely on thermionic emission of electrons from a hot filament or a cathode heated by the filament. This type is called a thermionic tube or thermionic valve. A phototube, however, achieves electron emission through the photoelectric effect. Not all electronic circuit valves/electron tubes are vacuum tubes (evacuated); gas-filled tubes are similar devices containing a gas, typically at low pressure, which exploit phenomena related to electric discharge in gases, usually without a heater.

    The simplest vacuum tube, the diode, contains only a heater, a heated electron-emitting cathode (the filament itself acts as the cathode in some diodes), and a plate (anode). Current can only flow in one direction through the device between the two electrodes, as electrons emitted by the cathode travel through the tube and are collected by the anode. Adding one or more control grids within the tube allows the current between the cathode and anode to be controlled by the voltage on the grid or grids. Tubes with grids can be used for many purposes, including amplification, rectification, switching, oscillation, and display.

    Invented in 1904 by John Ambrose Fleming, vacuum tubes were a basic component for electronics throughout the first half of the twentieth century, which saw the diffusion of radio, television, radar, sound reinforcement, sound recording and reproduction, large telephone networks, analog and digital computers, and industrial process control. Although some applications had counterparts using earlier technologies such as the spark gap transmitter or mechanical computers, it was the invention of the vacuum tube that made these technologies widespread and practical. In the 1940s the invention of semiconductor devices made it possible to produce solid-state devices, which are smaller, more efficient, more reliable, more durable, and cheaper than tubes. Hence, from the mid-1950s solid-state devices such as transistors gradually replaced tubes. The cathode-ray tube (CRT) remained the basis for televisions and video monitors until superseded in the 21st century. However, there are still a few applications for which tubes are preferred to semiconductors; for example, the magnetron used in microwave ovens, and certain high-frequency amplifiers.

    The 19th century saw increasing research with evacuated tubes, such as the Geissler and Crookes tubes. The many scientists and inventors who experimented with such tubes include Thomas Edison, Eugen Goldstein, Nikola Tesla, and Johann Wilhelm Hittorf. With the exception of early light bulbs, such tubes were only used in scientific research or as novelties. The groundwork laid by these scientists and inventors, however, was critical to the development of subsequent vacuum tube technology.

    Although thermionic emission was originally reported in 1873 by Frederick Guthrie, it was Thomas Edison's apparently independent discovery of the phenomenon in 1883 that became well known. Although Edison was aware of the unidirectional property of current flow between the filament and the anode, his interest (and patent) concentrated on the sensitivity of the anode current to the current through the filament (and thus filament temperature). Little practical use was ever made of this property (however early radios often implemented volume controls through varying the filament current of amplifying tubes). It was only years later that John Ambrose Fleming utilized the rectifying property of the diode tube to detect (demodulate) radio signals, a substantial improvement on the early cat's-whisker detector already used for rectification.

    However actual amplification by a vacuum tube only became practical with Lee De Forest's 1907 invention of the three-terminal "audion" tube, a crude form of what was to become the triode. Being essentially the first electronic amplifier, such tubes were instrumental in long-distance telephony (such as the first coast-to-coast telephone line in the US) and public address systems, and introduced a far superior and versatile technology for use in radio transmitters and receivers. The electronics revolution of the 20th century arguably began with the invention of the triode vacuum tube. Diodes Fleming's first diodes Main article: Diode

    The English physicist John Ambrose Fleming worked as an engineering consultant for firms including Edison Telephone and the Marconi Company. In 1904, as a result of experiments conducted on Edison effect bulbs imported from the USA, he developed a device he called an "oscillation valve" (because it passes current in only one direction). The heated filament, or cathode, was capable of thermionic emission of electrons that would flow to the plate (or anode) when it was at a higher voltage. Electrons, however, could not pass in the reverse direction because the plate was not heated and thus not capable of thermionic emission of electrons.

    Later known as the Fleming valve, it could be used as a rectifier of alternating current and as a radio wave detector. This greatly improved the crystal set which rectified the radio signal using an early solid-state diode based on a crystal and a so-called cat's whisker. Unlike modern semiconductors, such a diode required painstaking adjustment of the contact to the crystal in order for it to rectify. The tube was relatively immune to vibration, and thus vastly superior on shipboard duty, particularly for navy ships with the shock of weapon fire commonly knocking the sensitive but delicate galena off its sensitive point (the tube was in general no more sensitive as a radio detector, but was adjustment free). The diode tube was a reliable alternative for detecting radio signals. Higher power diode tubes or power rectifiers found their way into power supply applications until they were eventually replaced by silicon rectifiers in the 1960s'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1907, Oklahoma is accepted as the 46th State of the U.S.
    From Wikipedia: 'Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central United States. Oklahoma is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people". It is also known informally by its nickname, The Sooner State, in reference to the non-Native settlers who staked their claims on the choicest pieces of land before the official opening date, and the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which opened the door for white settlement in America's Indian Territory. The name was settled upon statehood, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged and Indian was dropped from the name. On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state to enter the union. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, or informally "Okies", and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

    A major producer of natural gas, oil, and agricultural products, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. In 2007, it had one of the fastest-growing economies in the United States, ranking among the top states in per capita income growth and gross domestic product growth. Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahoma's primary economic anchors, with nearly two-thirds of Oklahomans living within their metropolitan statistical areas.

    With small mountain ranges, prairie, mesas, and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains, Cross Timbers and the U.S. Interior Highlands—a region especially prone to severe weather. In addition to having a prevalence of English, German, Scottish, Scotch-Irish, and Native American ancestry, more than 25 Native American languages are spoken in Oklahoma, second only to California.

    Oklahoma is located on a confluence of three major American cultural regions and historically served as a route for cattle drives, a destination for southern settlers, and a government-sanctioned territory for Native Americans'.
    - At FamousDaily: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
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  • In 1920, Qantas, Australia's national airline, is founded as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited.
    From Wikipedia: 'Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier airline of Australia and its largest airline by fleet size, international flights and international destinations. It is the third oldest airline in the world, after KLM and Avianca having been founded in November 1920; it began international passenger flights in May 1935. The Qantas name comes from "QANTAS", an acronym for its original name, "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services", and it is nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo". Qantas is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.

    The airline is based in the Sydney suburb of Mascot with its main hub at Sydney Airport. As of March 2014 Qantas had a 65% share of the Australian domestic market and carried 14.9% of all passengers travelling in and out of Australia. Various subsidiary airlines operate to regional centres and on some trunk routes within Australia under the QantasLink banner. Its subsidiary Jetconnect provides services between Australia and New Zealand, flying under the Qantas brand. Qantas also owns Jetstar Airways, a low-cost airline that operates both international services from Australia and domestic services within Australia and New Zealand; and holds stakes in a number of other Jetstar-branded airlines'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1945, UNESCO is founded.
    From Wikipedia: 'The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (In French: Organisation des Nations unies pour l'éducation, la science et la culture) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) based in Paris. Its declared purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through educational, scientific, and cultural reforms in order to increase universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the United Nations Charter. It is the heir of the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.

    UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. Most of its field offices are "cluster" offices covering three or more countries; national and regional offices also exist.

    UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs: education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and communication/information. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher-training programmes, international science programmes, the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press, regional and cultural history projects, the promotion of cultural diversity, translations of world literature, international cooperation agreements to secure the world cultural and natural heritage (World Heritage Sites) and to preserve human rights, and attempts to bridge the worldwide digital divide. It is also a member of the United Nations Development Group.

    UNESCO's aim is "to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information". Other priorities of the organization include attaining quality Education For All and lifelong learning, addressing emerging social and ethical challenges, fostering cultural diversity, a culture of peace and building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication.

    The broad goals and concrete objectives of the international community – as set out in the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – underpin all UNESCO's strategies and activities'.
    - At FamousDaily: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
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  • In 1945, German scientists were brought to the US to work on rocket technology.
    From Wikipedia: 'Operation Paperclip was the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS) program in which more than 1,500 Germans, primarily scientists but also engineers and technicians, were brought to the United States from post-Nazi Germany for government employment starting in 1945 and increasing in the aftermath of World War II. It was conducted by the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency (JIOA) and in the context of the burgeoning Cold War. One purpose of Operation Paperclip was to deny German scientific expertise and knowledge to the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, as well as to inhibit post-war Germany from redeveloping its military research capabilities. By comparison, the Soviet Union were even more aggressive in recruiting Germans: during Operation Osoaviakhim, Soviet military units forcibly (at gunpoint) recruited 2,000+ German specialists to the Soviet Union during one night.

    The JIOA's recruitment of German scientists began after the Allied victory in Europe on May 8, 1945, but U.S. President Harry Truman did not formally order the execution of Operation Paperclip until August 1945. Truman's order expressly excluded anyone found "to have been a member of the Nazi Party, and more than a nominal participant in its activities, or an active supporter of Nazi militarism." However, those restrictions would have rendered ineligible most of the leading scientists whom the JIOA had identified for recruitment, among them rocket scientists Wernher von Braun, Kurt H. Debus, and Arthur Rudolph, as well as physician Hubertus Strughold, each earlier classified as a "menace to the security of the Allied Forces."

    The JIOA worked independently to circumvent President Truman's anti-Nazi order and the Allied Potsdam and Yalta agreements, creating false employment and political biographies for the scientists. The JIOA also expunged the scientists' Nazi Party memberships and regime affiliations from the public record. Once "bleached" of their Nazism, the scientists were granted security clearances by the U.S. government to work in the United States. The project's operational name of Paperclip was derived from the paperclips used to attach the scientists' new political personae to their "US Government Scientist" JIOA personnel files'.
    - At FamousDaily: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1965, The Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe toward Venus, which will be the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Venera series space probes were developed by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1984 to gather data from Venus, Venera being the Russian name for Venus. As with some of the Soviet Union's other planetary probes, the later versions were launched in pairs with a second vehicle being launched soon after the first of the pair.

    Ten probes from the Venera series successfully landed on Venus and transmitted data from the surface of Venus, including the two Vega program and Venera-Halley probes. In addition, thirteen Venera probes successfully transmitted data from the atmosphere of Venus.

    Among the other results, probes of the series became the first human-made devices to enter the atmosphere of another planet (Venera 4 on October 18, 1967), to make a soft landing on another planet (Venera 7 on December 15, 1970), to return images from the planetary surface (Venera 9 on June 8, 1975), and to perform high-resolution radar mapping studies of Venus (Venera 15 on June 2, 1983). The later probes in the Venera series successfully carried out their mission, providing the first direct observations of the surface of Venus. Since the surface conditions on Venus are extreme, the probes only survived on the surface for a duration of 23 minutes (initial probes) up to about two hours (final probes)'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1973, NASA launches Skylab 4 with a crew of three astronauts from Cape Canaveral, Florida for an 84-day mission.
    From Wikipedia: 'Skylab 4 (also SL-4 and SLM-3) was the third manned Skylab mission and placed the third and final crew aboard the first American space station.

    The mission started on November 16, 1973 with the launch of three astronauts on a Saturn IB rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida and lasted 84 days, one hour and 16 minutes. A total of 6,051 astronaut-utilization hours were tallied by Skylab 4 astronauts performing scientific experiments in the areas of medical activities, solar observations, Earth resources, observation of the Comet Kohoutek and other experiments.

    The manned Skylab missions were officially designated Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Mis-communication about the numbering resulted in the mission emblems reading Skylab I, Skylab II, and Skylab 3 respectively'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1992, The 'Hoxne Hoard', a buried chest of Roman gold and silver, is discovered by Eric Lawes in England.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Hoxne Hoard is the largest hoard of late Roman silver and gold discovered in Britain, and the largest collection of gold and silver coins of the fourth and fifth century found anywhere within the Roman Empire. Found by Eric Lawes, a metal detectorist in the village of Hoxne in Suffolk, England, on 16 November 1992, the hoard consists of 14,865 Roman gold, silver and bronze coins from the late fourth and early fifth centuries, and approximately 200 items of silver tableware and gold jewellery. The objects are now in the British Museum in London, where the most important pieces and a selection of the rest are on permanent display. In 1993, the Treasure Valuation Committee valued the hoard at £1.75 million (today £3.21 million).

    The hoard was buried as an oak box or small chest filled with items in precious metal, sorted mostly by type with some in smaller wooden boxes and others in bags or wrapped in fabric. Remnants of the chest, and of fittings such as hinges and locks, were recovered in the excavation. The coins of the hoard date it after AD 407, which coincides with the end of Britain as a Roman province. The owners and reasons for burial of the hoard are unknown, but it was carefully packed and the contents appear consistent with what a single very wealthy family might have owned. Given the lack of large silver serving vessels and of some of the most common types of jewellery, it is likely that the hoard represents only a part of the wealth of its owner.

    The Hoxne Hoard contains several rare and important objects, including a gold body-chain and silver-gilt pepper-pots (piperatoria), including the Empress pepper pot. The Hoxne Hoard is also of particular archaeological significance because it was excavated by professional archaeologists with the items largely undisturbed and intact. The find has helped to improve the relationship between metal detectorists and archaeologists, and influenced a change in English law regarding finds of treasure'.
    - At FamousDaily: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
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  II.
Henry's Heads Up! - previous days social media post (updated daily)

<> Tomorrow's food holidays(s):


* 'National Fast Food Day'. - From Wikipedia (Fast food): 'Fast food, a type of mass-produced food that is prepared and served very quickly. It began with the first fish and chip shops in Britain in the 1860s. Drive-through restaurants were first popularized in the 1950s in the United States. The food typically less nutritionally valuable compared to other foods and dishes. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away. Fast food restaurants are traditionally distinguished by their ability to serve food via a drive-through. The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951.

Outlets may be stands or kiosks, which may provide no shelter or seating, or fast food restaurants (also known as quick service restaurants). Franchise operations that are part of restaurant chains have standardized foodstuffs shipped to each restaurant from central locations.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), fast foods are quick alternatives to home-cooked meals. They are also high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories.

Eating too much fast food has been linked to, among other things, colorectal cancer, obesity and high cholesterol.

The traditional family dinner is increasingly being replaced by the consumption of takeaway, or eating on the run As a result, the time invested on food preparation is getting lower and lower, with an average couple in the United States spending 47 minutes and 19 minutes per day, carrying out food preparation.

In the cities of Roman antiquity, much of the urban population living in insulae, multi-story apartment blocks, depended on food vendors for much of their meals. In the mornings, bread soaked in wine was eaten as a quick snack and cooked vegetables and stews later in popina, a simple type of eating establishment. In the Middle Ages, large towns and major urban areas such as London and Paris supported numerous vendors that sold dishes such as pies, pasties, flans, waffles, wafers, pancakes and cooked meats. As in Roman cities during antiquity, many of these establishments catered to those who did not have means to cook their own food, particularly single households. Unlike richer town dwellers, many often could not afford housing with kitchen facilities and thus relied on fast food. Travellers, as well, such as pilgrims en route to a holy site, were among the customers.

As automobiles became popular and more affordable following World War I, drive-in restaurants were introduced. The American company White Castle, founded by Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson in Wichita, Kansas in 1921, is generally credited with opening the second fast food outlet and first hamburger chain, selling hamburgers for five cents each. Walter Anderson had built the first White Castle restaurant in Wichita in 1916, introducing the limited menu, high-volume, low-cost, high-speed hamburger restaurant. Among its innovations, the company allowed customers to see the food being prepared. White Castle was successful from its inception and spawned numerous competitors.

Franchising was introduced in 1921 by A and W Root Beer, which franchised its distinctive syrup. Howard Johnson's first franchised the restaurant concept in the mid-1930s, formally standardizing menus, signage and advertising.

Curb service was introduced in the late 1920s and was mobilized in the 1940s when carhops strapped on roller skates.

The United States has the largest fast food industry in the world, and American fast food restaurants are located in over 100 countries. Approximately 4.7 million U.S. workers are employed in the areas of food preparation and food servicing, including fast food in the USA. Worries of an obesity epidemic and its related illnesses have inspired many local government officials in the United States to propose to limit or regulate fast-food restaurants. Yet, US adults are unwilling to change their fast food consumption even in the face of rising costs and unemployment characterized by the great recession, suggesting an inelastic demand. However, some areas are more affected than others. In Los Angeles County, for example, about 45% of the restaurants in South Central Los Angeles are fast-food chains or restaurants with minimal seating. By comparison, only 16% of those on the Westside are such restaurants'.
[The Hankster says] Of course there are two sides to the fast food question. The first is preparation and the other (my favorite) eating.


<> Other holidays / celebrations


* 'National Button Day'. Since 1938 by the National Button Society. - From Wikipedia (Button collecting): 'Button collecting varies widely. In its most informal manifestation, a button collection may simply be the household button container, where buttons are stored for future use on clothing or for crafts. At the other end of the spectrum is the competitive collector, mainly found in the United States. The National Button Society serves as a forum for collectors to build information about the history of buttons and for annual collector competitions. Regional, State and local button clubs meet regularly as well. In between these two extremes exist casual button collectors, who accumulate buttons for sheer enjoyment and relaxation, as well as for their functional value.

Some museums and art galleries hold culturally, historically, politically, and/or artistically significant buttons in their collections. The Victoria and Albert Museum has many buttons, particularly in its jewellery collection, as does the Smithsonian Institution'.
[The Hankster says] At last the age old question is answered. Button, button, who's got the button? It appears that the collectors do.


* 'Have a Party With Your Bear Day'.
[The Hankster says] This is not Teddy Bear Picnic Day, so you will have to set the table. Remember, the honey pot goes on the left.


<> Awareness / Observances:

o Health
* 'World Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Day'. By the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD). During COPD Awareness Week. - From Wikipedia (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease): 'Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of obstructive lung disease characterized by long-term poor airflow. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and cough with sputum production. COPD typically worsens over time. Eventually walking up stairs or carrying things will be difficult. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are older terms used for different types of COPD. The term chronic bronchitis is still used to define a productive cough that is present for at least three months each year for two years.

Tobacco smoking is the most common cause of COPD, with a number of other factors such as air pollution and genetics playing a smaller role. In the developing world, one of the common sources of air pollution is poorly vented heating and cooking fires. Long-term exposure to these irritants causes an inflammatory response in the lungs resulting in narrowing of the small airways and breakdown of lung tissue. The diagnosis is based on poor airflow as measured by lung function tests. In contrast to asthma, the airflow reduction does not improve much with the use of a bronchodilator.

Most cases of COPD can be prevented by reducing exposure to risk factors. This includes decreasing rates of smoking and improving indoor and outdoor air quality. While treatment can slow worsening, there is no cure. COPD treatments include stopping smoking, vaccinations, respiratory rehabilitation, and often inhaled bronchodilators and steroids. Some people may benefit from long-term oxygen therapy or lung transplantation. In those who have periods of acute worsening, increased use of medications and hospitalization may be needed.

As of 2013 COPD affects 329 million people or nearly 5 percent of the global population. It typically occurs in people over the age of 40. Males and females are affected equally commonly. In 2013 it resulted in 2.9 million deaths, up from 2.4 million deaths in 1990. More than 90% of these deaths occur in the developing world. The number of deaths is projected to increase further because of higher smoking rates in the developing world, and an aging population in many countries. It resulted in an estimated economic cost of $2.1 trillion in 2010'.

o Other:
* 'International Day for Tolerance'. U.N. awareness day. - From Wikipedia (International Day for Tolerance): 'The International Day for Tolerance is an annual observance declared by UNESCO in 1995 to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance. It is obs

Every year various conferences and festivals are organized in the occasion of International Day for Tolerance. Among them, Universal Tolerance Cartoon Festival in Drammen, Norway which organized an International Cartoon Festival in 2013'.


* 'GIS (Geographic information systems) Day'. . Since 1999. - From Wikipedia (Geographic information system): 'A geographic information system (or GIS) is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present spatial or geographical data. The acronym GIS is sometimes used for geographic information science (GIScience) to refer to the academic discipline that studies geographic information systems and is a large domain within the broader academic discipline of geoinformatics. What goes beyond a GIS is a spatial data infrastructure, a concept that has no such restrictive boundaries.

In general, the term describes any information system that integrates, stores, edits, analyzes, shares, and displays geographic information. GIS applications are tools that allow users to create interactive queries (user-created searches), analyze spatial information, edit data in maps, and present the results of all these operations. Geographic information science is the science underlying geographic concepts, applications, and systems.

GIS is a broad term that can refer to a number of different technologies, processes, and methods. It is attached to many operations and has many applications related to engineering, planning, management, transport/logistics, insurance, telecommunications, and business. For that reason, GIS and location intelligence applications can be the foundation for many location-enabled services that rely on analysis and visualization.

GIS can relate unrelated information by using location as the key index variable. Locations or extents in the Earth space–time may be recorded as dates/times of occurrence, and x, y, and z coordinates representing, longitude, latitude, and elevation, respectively. All Earth-based spatial–temporal location and extent references should, be relatable to one another and ultimately to a real physical location or extent. This key characteristic of GIS has begun to open new avenues of scientific inquiry'.


* 'National Educational Support Professionals Day'. Wednesday of American Education Week. - From Wikipedia (National Education Association): 'The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become teachers. The NEA has just under 3 million members and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The NEA had a budget of more than $341 million for the 2012–2013 fiscal year. Lily Eskelsen García is the NEA's current president.

The stated mission of the NEA is to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.'.


<> Historical events on November 16


* 'In 1841, The cork life preserver is patented by Napoleon Guerin. . - From Wikipedia: 'Napoleon Guerin of New York City, United States is an inventor who obtained a U.S. patent for the first life preserver made of cork on November 16, 1841. It was constructed in jacket form, with two layers of material between which the cork could be inserted. Guerin suggested using between 18 and 20 quarts of rasped or grated cork, depending on the weight of the person, but he was not specific about the type of fabric to be used in the jacket, saying only that it could be made of cotton or any other material.'.


* 'In 1904, The first electron tube (vacuum tube) is invented by John Ambrose Fleming. - From Wikipedia: 'In electronics, a vacuum tube, an electron tube, or just a tube (North America), or valve (Britain and some other regions), is a device that controls electric current between electrodes in an evacuated container. Vacuum tubes mostly rely on thermionic emission of electrons from a hot filament or a cathode heated by the filament. This type is called a thermionic tube or thermionic valve. A phototube, however, achieves electron emission through the photoelectric effect. Not all electronic circuit valves/electron tubes are vacuum tubes (evacuated) gas-filled tubes are similar devices containing a gas, typically at low pressure, which exploit phenomena related to electric discharge in gases, usually without a heater.

The simplest vacuum tube, the diode, contains only a heater, a heated electron-emitting cathode (the filament itself acts as the cathode in some diodes), and a plate (anode). Current can only flow in one direction through the device between the two electrodes, as electrons emitted by the cathode travel through the tube and are collected by the anode. Adding one or more control grids within the tube allows the current between the cathode and anode to be controlled by the voltage on the grid or grids. Tubes with grids can be used for many purposes, including amplification, rectification, switching, oscillation, and display.

Invented in 1904 by John Ambrose Fleming, vacuum tubes were a basic component for electronics throughout the first half of the twentieth century, which saw the diffusion of radio, television, radar, sound reinforcement, sound recording and reproduction, large telephone networks, analog and digital computers, and industrial process control. Although some applications had counterparts using earlier technologies such as the spark gap transmitter or mechanical computers, it was the invention of the vacuum tube that made these technologies widespread and practical. In the 1940s the invention of semiconductor devices made it possible to produce solid-state devices, which are smaller, more efficient, more reliable, more durable, and cheaper than tubes. Hence, from the mid-1950s solid-state devices such as transistors gradually replaced tubes. The cathode-ray tube (CRT) remained the basis for televisions and video monitors until superseded in the 21st century. However, there are still a few applications for which tubes are preferred to semiconductors for example, the magnetron used in microwave ovens, and certain high-frequency amplifiers.

The 19th century saw increasing research with evacuated tubes, such as the Geissler and Crookes tubes. The many scientists and inventors who experimented with such tubes include Thomas Edison, Eugen Goldstein, Nikola Tesla, and Johann Wilhelm Hittorf. With the exception of early light bulbs, such tubes were only used in scientific research or as novelties. The groundwork laid by these scientists and inventors, however, was critical to the development of subsequent vacuum tube technology.

Although thermionic emission was originally reported in 1873 by Frederick Guthrie, it was Thomas Edison's apparently independent discovery of the phenomenon in 1883 that became well known. Although Edison was aware of the unidirectional property of current flow between the filament and the anode, his interest (and patent) concentrated on the sensitivity of the anode current to the current through the filament (and thus filament temperature). Little practical use was ever made of this property (however early radios often implemented volume controls through varying the filament current of amplifying tubes). It was only years later that John Ambrose Fleming utilized the rectifying property of the diode tube to detect (demodulate) radio signals, a substantial improvement on the early cat's-whisker detector already used for rectification.

However actual amplification by a vacuum tube only became practical with Lee De Forest's 1907 invention of the three-terminal audion tube, a crude form of what was to become the triode. Being essentially the first electronic amplifier, such tubes were instrumental in long-distance telephony (such as the first coast-to-coast telephone line in the US) and public address systems, and introduced a far superior and versatile technology for use in radio transmitters and receivers. The electronics revolution of the 20th century arguably began with the invention of the triode vacuum tube. Diodes Fleming's first diodes Main article: Diode

The English physicist John Ambrose Fleming worked as an engineering consultant for firms including Edison Telephone and the Marconi Company. In 1904, as a result of experiments conducted on Edison effect bulbs imported from the USA, he developed a device he called an oscillation valve (because it passes current in only one direction). The heated filament, or cathode, was capable of thermionic emission of electrons that would flow to the plate (or anode) when it was at a higher voltage. Electrons, however, could not pass in the reverse direction because the plate was not heated and thus not capable of thermionic emission of electrons.

Later known as the Fleming valve, it could be used as a rectifier of alternating current and as a radio wave detector. This greatly improved the crystal set which rectified the radio signal using an early solid-state diode based on a crystal and a so-called cat's whisker. Unlike modern semiconductors, such a diode required painstaking adjustment of the contact to the crystal in order for it to rectify. The tube was relatively immune to vibration, and thus vastly superior on shipboard duty, particularly for navy ships with the shock of weapon fire commonly knocking the sensitive but delicate galena off its sensitive point (the tube was in general no more sensitive as a radio detector, but was adjustment free). The diode tube was a reliable alternative for detecting radio signals. Higher power diode tubes or power rectifiers found their way into power supply applications until they were eventually replaced by silicon rectifiers in the 1960s'.


* 'In 1907, Oklahoma is accepted as the 46th State of the U.S. . - From Wikipedia: 'Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central United States. Oklahoma is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning red people It is also known informally by its nickname, The Sooner State, in reference to the non-Native settlers who staked their claims on the choicest pieces of land before the official opening date, and the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which opened the door for white settlement in America's Indian Territory. The name was settled upon statehood, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged and Indian was dropped from the name. On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state to enter the union. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, or informally Okies, and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

A major producer of natural gas, oil, and agricultural products, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. In 2007, it had one of the fastest-growing economies in the United States, ranking among the top states in per capita income growth and gross domestic product growth. Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahoma's primary economic anchors, with nearly two-thirds of Oklahomans living within their metropolitan statistical areas.

With small mountain ranges, prairie, mesas, and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains, Cross Timbers and the U.S. Interior Highlands—a region especially prone to severe weather. In addition to having a prevalence of English, German, Scottish, Scotch-Irish, and Native American ancestry, more than 25 Native American languages are spoken in Oklahoma, second only to California.

Oklahoma is located on a confluence of three major American cultural regions and historically served as a route for cattle drives, a destination for southern settlers, and a government-sanctioned territory for Native Americans'.


* 'In 1920, Qantas, Australia's national airline, is founded as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited. . - From Wikipedia: 'Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier airline of Australia and its largest airline by fleet size, international flights and international destinations. It is the third oldest airline in the world, after KLM and Avianca having been founded in November 1920 it began international passenger flights in May 1935. The Qantas name comes from QANTAS, an acronym for its original name, Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, and it is nicknamed The Flying Kangaroo Qantas is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.

The airline is based in the Sydney suburb of Mascot with its main hub at Sydney Airport. As of March 2014 Qantas had a 65% share of the Australian domestic market and carried 14.9% of all passengers travelling in and out of Australia. Various subsidiary airlines operate to regional centres and on some trunk routes within Australia under the QantasLink banner. Its subsidiary Jetconnect provides services between Australia and New Zealand, flying under the Qantas brand. Qantas also owns Jetstar Airways, a low-cost airline that operates both international services from Australia and domestic services within Australia and New Zealand and holds stakes in a number of other Jetstar-branded airlines'.


* 'In 1945, UNESCO is founded. - From Wikipedia: 'The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (In French: Organisation des Nations unies pour l'éducation, la science et la culture) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) based in Paris. Its declared purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through educational, scientific, and cultural reforms in order to increase universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the United Nations Charter. It is the heir of the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.

UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. Most of its field offices are cluster offices covering three or more countries national and regional offices also exist.

UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs: education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and communication/information. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher-training programmes, international science programmes, the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press, regional and cultural history projects, the promotion of cultural diversity, translations of world literature, international cooperation agreements to secure the world cultural and natural heritage (World Heritage Sites) and to preserve human rights, and attempts to bridge the worldwide digital divide. It is also a member of the United Nations Development Group.

UNESCO's aim is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information Other priorities of the organization include attaining quality Education For All and lifelong learning, addressing emerging social and ethical challenges, fostering cultural diversity, a culture of peace and building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication.

The broad goals and concrete objectives of the international community – as set out in the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – underpin all UNESCO's strategies and activities'.


* 'In 1945, German scientists were brought to the US to work on rocket technology. . - From Wikipedia: 'Operation Paperclip was the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS) program in which more than 1,500 Germans, primarily scientists but also engineers and technicians, were brought to the United States from post-Nazi Germany for government employment starting in 1945 and increasing in the aftermath of World War II. It was conducted by the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency (JIOA) and in the context of the burgeoning Cold War. One purpose of Operation Paperclip was to deny German scientific expertise and knowledge to the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, as well as to inhibit post-war Germany from redeveloping its military research capabilities. By comparison, the Soviet Union were even more aggressive in recruiting Germans: during Operation Osoaviakhim, Soviet military units forcibly (at gunpoint) recruited 2,000+ German specialists to the Soviet Union during one night.

The JIOA's recruitment of German scientists began after the Allied victory in Europe on May 8, 1945, but U.S. President Harry Truman did not formally order the execution of Operation Paperclip until August 1945. Truman's order expressly excluded anyone found to have been a member of the Nazi Party, and more than a nominal participant in its activities, or an active supporter of Nazi militarism. However, those restrictions would have rendered ineligible most of the leading scientists whom the JIOA had identified for recruitment, among them rocket scientists Wernher von Braun, Kurt H. Debus, and Arthur Rudolph, as well as physician Hubertus Strughold, each earlier classified as a menace to the security of the Allied Forces.

The JIOA worked independently to circumvent President Truman's anti-Nazi order and the Allied Potsdam and Yalta agreements, creating false employment and political biographies for the scientists. The JIOA also expunged the scientists' Nazi Party memberships and regime affiliations from the public record. Once bleached of their Nazism, the scientists were granted security clearances by the U.S. government to work in the United States. The project's operational name of Paperclip was derived from the paperclips used to attach the scientists' new political personae to their US Government Scientist JIOA personnel files'.


* 'In 1965, The Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe toward Venus, which will be the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet. . - From Wikipedia: 'The Venera series space probes were developed by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1984 to gather data from Venus, Venera being the Russian name for Venus. As with some of the Soviet Union's other planetary probes, the later versions were launched in pairs with a second vehicle being launched soon after the first of the pair.

Ten probes from the Venera series successfully landed on Venus and transmitted data from the surface of Venus, including the two Vega program and Venera-Halley probes. In addition, thirteen Venera probes successfully transmitted data from the atmosphere of Venus.

Among the other results, probes of the series became the first human-made devices to enter the atmosphere of another planet (Venera 4 on October 18, 1967), to make a soft landing on another planet (Venera 7 on December 15, 1970), to return images from the planetary surface (Venera 9 on June 8, 1975), and to perform high-resolution radar mapping studies of Venus (Venera 15 on June 2, 1983). The later probes in the Venera series successfully carried out their mission, providing the first direct observations of the surface of Venus. Since the surface conditions on Venus are extreme, the probes only survived on the surface for a duration of 23 minutes (initial probes) up to about two hours (final probes)'.


* 'In 1973, NASA launches Skylab 4 with a crew of three astronauts from Cape Canaveral, Florida for an 84-day mission. . - From Wikipedia: 'Skylab 4 (also SL-4 and SLM-3) was the third manned Skylab mission and placed the third and final crew aboard the first American space station.

The mission started on November 16, 1973 with the launch of three astronauts on a Saturn IB rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida and lasted 84 days, one hour and 16 minutes. A total of 6,051 astronaut-utilization hours were tallied by Skylab 4 astronauts performing scientific experiments in the areas of medical activities, solar observations, Earth resources, observation of the Comet Kohoutek and other experiments.

The manned Skylab missions were officially designated Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Mis-communication about the numbering resulted in the mission emblems reading Skylab I, Skylab II, and Skylab 3 respectively'.


* 'In 1992, The 'Hoxne Hoard', a buried chest of Roman gold and silver, is discovered by Eric Lawes in England. . - From Wikipedia: 'The Hoxne Hoard is the largest hoard of late Roman silver and gold discovered in Britain, and the largest collection of gold and silver coins of the fourth and fifth century found anywhere within the Roman Empire. Found by Eric Lawes, a metal detectorist in the village of Hoxne in Suffolk, England, on 16 November 1992, the hoard consists of 14,865 Roman gold, silver and bronze coins from the late fourth and early fifth centuries, and approximately 200 items of silver tableware and gold jewellery. The objects are now in the British Museum in London, where the most important pieces and a selection of the rest are on permanent display. In 1993, the Treasure Valuation Committee valued the hoard at £1.75 million (today £3.21 million).

The hoard was buried as an oak box or small chest filled with items in precious metal, sorted mostly by type with some in smaller wooden boxes and others in bags or wrapped in fabric. Remnants of the chest, and of fittings such as hinges and locks, were recovered in the excavation. The coins of the hoard date it after AD 407, which coincides with the end of Britain as a Roman province. The owners and reasons for burial of the hoard are unknown, but it was carefully packed and the contents appear consistent with what a single very wealthy family might have owned. Given the lack of large silver serving vessels and of some of the most common types of jewellery, it is likely that the hoard represents only a part of the wealth of its owner.

The Hoxne Hoard contains several rare and important objects, including a gold body-chain and silver-gilt pepper-pots (piperatoria), including the Empress pepper pot. The Hoxne Hoard is also of particular archaeological significance because it was excavated by professional archaeologists with the items largely undisturbed and intact. The find has helped to improve the relationship between metal detectorists and archaeologists, and influenced a change in English law regarding finds of treasure'.

 III.
Top Song & Movie 50 years ago today (last updated Nov 13 2016 next Nov 19 2016

No. 1 song

  • Poor Side of Town - Johnny Rivers
    - On YouTube: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
    'Last Train to Clarksville' has been displaced by 'Poor Side of Town', which will hold the no. 1 spot until Nov 19 1966, when 'Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys', takes over.- From Wikipedia: '"Poor Side of Town" is a song by Johnny Rivers that reached No.1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and on the RPM Canadian Chart in November 1966.

    It was a very important record for Johnny Rivers and represented a change from the musical style (characterized by a Go Go sound), that provided him with his early hits and acclaim. With "Poor Side of Town", Rivers moved into the pop-soul style.

    The melody is a soulful version of California-based pop, with some strong folk elements as well. Marty Paich provided the song's string arrangement.

    There are two versions of the song. The single edit version fades out earlier, in order to avoid repetition, due to its length, following the repeated lyric line: "Oh with you by my side". The longer version goes on, finishing up the verse, and following the repeated guitar riff, repeats the sung introduction of the scatting, before the song fades out. "'.

Top movie

  • Madame X
    - At Wikipedia:  More
    - On IMDb: More
    - On YouTube (trailer): More
    Having displaced 'The Professionals', it will be there until the weekend box office of Nov 20 1966 when, 'Penelope', takes over.- From Wikipedia: 'Madame X is a 1966 American drama film directed by David Lowell Rich and starring Lana Turner. It is based on the 1908 play Madame X by French playwright Alexandre Bisson.

    A lower class woman, Holly Parker (Turner), marries into the rich Anderson family. Her husband's mother (Constance Bennett) looks down on her and keeps a watchful eye on her activities. Due to her husband's frequent and long trips abroad, Holly forms a relationship with a well-known playboy (Ricardo Montalbán). When her lover accidentally dies, and only her mother-in-law knows she is innocent, the latter blackmails her into disappearing into the night during a planned boat trip, leaving her husband (John Forsythe) and young son (Teddy Quinn) thinking she has died.

    She then slowly sinks into depravity all over the world, only to be brought back to America under false assumptions by a "friend" (Burgess Meredith) who plans on blackmailing her family. When she realizes that the man intends to reveal who she is to her son, she shoots the man to stop him. The police arrest her and, refusing to reveal her identity, she signs a confession with the letter "X." As fate would have it, the court assigns a defense attorney who happens to be her long-lost son (Keir Dullea)'.
  IV.
Today in the Past (reference sites): November 16
   V.
This month November 2016 (updated once a month - last updated - Nov 16 2016)

Monthly holiday / awareness days in November

Food
Banana Pudding Lovers Month
Diabetic Eye Disease Month
Epilepsy Awareness Month
Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month
National Georgia Pecan Month
National Peanut Butter Lovers Month
National Pomegranate Month

Health
American and National Diabetes Month
Lung Cancer Awareness Month
MADD's Tie One On For Safety Holiday Campaign
National PPSI AIDS Awareness Month
National Alzheimer's Disease Month
National COPD Month
National Diabetes Month
National Family Caregivers Month
National Healthy Skin Month
National Home Care and Hospice Month
National Impotency Month
National Long-term Care Awareness Month
National PPSI Aids Awareness Month
NET Cancer Awareness Month
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month
Stomach Cancer Awareness Month
Vegan Month

Animal and Pet
Adopt A Senior Pet Month
Adopt A Turkey Month
Manatee Awareness Month
National Pet Cancer Awareness Month
Pet Diabetes Month

Other
American Indian Heritage Month
Aviation History Month
Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month
Family Stories Month
Historic Bridge Awareness Month
Military Family Appreciation Month
National Entrepreneurship Month
National Inspirational Role Models Month
National Memoir Writing Month
National Native American Heritage Month
National Family Literacy Month
National Novel Writing Month
National Runaway Prevention Month
National Scholarship Month
Picture Book Month


November is:

November origin (from Wikipedia): 'November is the eleventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with the length of 30 days. November was the ninth month of the ancient Roman calendar. November retained its name (from the Latin novem meaning 'nine') when January and February were added to the Roman calendar. '

'November is a month of spring in the Southern Hemisphere and autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, November in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of May in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa.'

November 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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