It's quiet this week. As we look over our files, we see
little of consequence. We assume folks are still getting into an autumnal mood,
but we persevere and submit herewith our own events and commemorations of the week.
Monday:
We begin the week by noting it's a big one for Thomas Edison. On this date in 1878, his company made electricity
available for household usage. On this day in 1931, he died, and Thursday marks the 131st anniversary of his announcement that he had invented the first practical light bulb at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, now known as "Edison."
It's a notable week for other inventions, too. For example, in 1954, Texas
Instruments introduced the transistor radio. Up until the '50s, radios were big bulky things, full of vacuum tubes and wires. With the invention of the
transistor in 1947, it was suddenly possible
to make radios,
televisions, and pretty much anything electronic small and portable. The transistor radio came
along just in time for post-war teenagers to carry rock and roll music anywhere, driving their parents
and other adults
crazy. As well,, Friday will mark the anniversary of the 1938 creation of the first Xerox image.
Before then, people actually had to write
or type things on a sheet of paper in order to duplicate them. Now, plagiarism is only the push of a button away.
Speaking of "crazy," The Talk debuts on CBS
today, featuring Sara Gilbert,
Sharon Osbourne, Leah Remini,
Julie Chen, Holly Robinson Peete, and Marissa Jaret Winokur in a show that's absolutely nothing like The View. (We mention -- completely in passing -- that it's also World Menopause Day ...)
Now that we've mentioned science, let's not forget art. In 1896, the world's first
comic strip, The Yellow Kid, debuted. It wasn't so much a "strip" as a daily cartoon
featuring something outlandish in society that the otherwise-mute Kid would
comment on with writing on his nightshirt. What he would have had to say about Henri Matisse's Le Bateau,
we can only imagine. It went on display at New York's Museum of Modern Art on this day in 1961 - and it wasn’t until 116, 000 viewers
and 47 days had passed that someone noticed that the painting had been hanging upside down.
We finish by noting it's Alaska Day, commemorating the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States in 1867. (No jokes about
seeing Russia from your house, please ...)
Tuesday:
Only two events of note today. One is the 1745 death of Jonathan Swift, the cleric, novelist, and satirist who gave us Gulliver's Travels (whence originated our corporate name) and A Modest Proposal. One is tempted to hope he was eaten by cannibals, but, alas, he met his end via a stroke.
In 1945, Harris Glen Milstead was born in Baltimore. Glenn led an ordinary life until he met aspiring filmmaker
John Waters, who cast him as "The Smoking Nun" in his film Roman Candles,
renaming him "Divine," the name he used the rest of his life. Divine was
described by People Magazine as the "Drag Queen of the Century" (though was there that much
competition?) and spent the rest of his career going from one outlandish role
to another in Waters's films before his untimely death at the age of 42.
Wednesday:
We have three seasonal events today that are absolutely appropriately for this
time of year. In 1967, Roger Patterson and
Robert Gimlin, took out their home-movie camera,
photographed a guy in a gorilla suit, and claimed they’d filmed a Bigfoot. The veracity of the footage has been the subject of debate
ever since, though we're prepared to say it's a fake.
In the otherwise-sleepy hamlet of Circleville, Ohio, the annual Circleville Pumpkin Show will begin its four-day run today. Since 1903, the festival
has presented thousands of these flavorful squashes to an adoring public who
come for the sculpting,
bands,
and beauty contests,
but who stay for the World’s Largest Pumpkin Pie, baked fresh every year by Lindsey’s Bake Shop.
In 1882, Bela Blasko
was born in Lugoj, Romania.
At 12, the stage-struck Bela dropped out of school, became an actor, and
changed his last name to Lugosi. As Bela Lugosi, he was a matinee idol in his own country before coming to
America in 1921. He worked as a laborer and occasional actor until 1927, when
his continental good looks
and accent made him a natural for the title role in the Broadway production of Dracula. While the play was a smash hit and led to a
Hollywood contract, his accent baffled casting directors, who could see him
only as a romantic vampire, and he was soon type-cast in horror films. Despite some occasional “straight” roles (most notably in
1939’s Ninotchka, his career quickly headed to not-very-good parts in B-pictures, usually parodying his image. He always gave his utmost,
even when the material was sub-par, as in his final films with Ed Wood, Hollywood’s "worst director." He died of a heart attack in
1956.
Thursday:
More unrelated (but still interesting) events for the day:
In 1849, the first tattooed man to be put on public exhibit, James F. O’Connel,
was put on display at the Franklin Theatre in New York City. Not sure what more
can be added to that.
Except perhaps noting that today is Reptile Awareness Day, so we encourage you to go out and be aware of some reptiles -- perhaps while enjoying a big plate of nachos, since it’s also the International Day of the Nacho.
Friday:
When we compile these lists, we’re overwhelmed with celebrations of
"National This Day" and "International That
Week," so imagine our surprise and disappointment when we discovered that one of our sources lists October 22 with this note: “There are no holiday
events on record for this day,” Is it possible that only one day out of 365 is
bereft of some kind of celebration? It may be true, though (alas!), as the only
other events of note we could find are the 107th birthday of Stooge Jerome "Curly"
Howard, and the fact that it’s International Stuttering Awareness Day.
Curly is probably the most popular of all the Stooges, combining a unique physical
and vocal style
into a characterization that was breathtakingly bold in the 1930s and has been a boon
to adolescent boys (of all ages) in the decades since.
Saturday:
Looking for something fun to do today? We have a couple of suggestions.
1) Celebrate the 80th anniversary of the world’s first miniature golf
tournament in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The tournament was won by J.K. Scott, though the record
neglects to state whether he was better shooting through the windmill or the
castle.
2) You can celebrate Mole Day.
The “Mole” is a method of counting the Avogadro number - 6.02 x 10 to the 23rd
power of anything. Amodeo Avogadro discovered that the number of molecules in a
mole is the same for all substances, which allows chemists to
precisely measure quantities of chemicals in the lab. Mole Day is intended to
help everyone become enthusiastic about chemistry. If you understood a word of
that, miniature golf may be too strenuous for you, so our advice is to
stick with the chemistry.
Sunday:
To finish off the week, we’ll note the near-irony of it being the Feast of Good & Plenty, because yes, we had a number of good events this week, but
not plenty of them.
It’s also World Origami Day, which somehow runs through November 11 (must be that those
origami artists are able to fold time and space, as well as paper).
Speaking of folding, we also have to mention that, on this day in 1901, Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. How she didn’t end up folded herself is one of
the miracles of the age - especially considering she did it to celebrate her
63rd birthday. She’d sent her cat
over the falls in a specially-padded barrel the day before, and when the
feline emerged unscathed, she figured it was safe enough for her. Mrs. Taylor
suffered a cut on her head, but was otherwise unharmed, though she did tell the
press, "If it was with my dying breath, I would caution anyone against
attempting the feat. I would sooner walk up to the mouth of a cannon, knowing
it was going to blow me to pieces than make another trip over the Falls."
If all the above sounds like a lot of baloney, we merely note the
appropriateness of today being National Bologna Day, and leave you make up your own mind.
See you next time!
Suggested Sites...
- Who Invented the Light Bulb? - probably not Edison.
- Xerox This! - how Chester Carlson produced the first electrophotographic image.
- All Recipes: Pumpkin Pie Recipes - we'll have ours with whipped cream, please.
- Outside Magazine: The Man Who Created Bigfoot - it's complicated.
- Miniature Golf Courses - a state-by-state list.
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