The Thing About Today – August 20

August 20, 2020August 19, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 20, 2020
Day 233 of 366

August 20th is the 233rd day of the year. It is World Mosquito Day, which is a commemoration of British doctor Sir Ronald Ross’s discovery in 1897 that female mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Radio Day and National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1775, the Spanish established the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson in the town that became Tucson, Arizona.
In 1858, Charles Darwin first published his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace’s same theory.
In 1866, United States President Andrew Johnson formally declared the American Civil War over.
In 1882, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture debuted in Moscow, Russia.
In 1890, short story writer, editor, novelist H. P. Lovecraft was born. His work was revolutionary in science fiction and horror, but his personal beliefs contained significant amounts of racism, homophobia, misogyny, and general parochialism.
In 1920, the first commercial radio station, 8MK (now known as WWJ), began operations in Detroit, Michigan.
In 1926, Japan’s public broadcasting company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) was established.
In 1932, actor Anthony Ainley was born. He was the second actor to portray the Master in a recurring role on Doctor Who.
In 1943, Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy was born. He portrayed the Seventh Doctor on Doctor Who.
In 1946, journalist Connie Chung was born.
In 1948, Australian actor John Noble was born.
In 1962, The NS Savannah, the world’s first nuclear-powered civilian ship, embarked on its maiden voyage. Savannah was deactivated in 1971 and has been moored at Pier 13 of the Canton Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland, since 2008.
Also in 1962, actor and singer James Marsters was born.
In 1974, actress and singer Amy Adams was born.
In 1975, NASA launched the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.
In 1977, NASA launched the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
In 1983, actor Andrew Garfield was born.
In 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government’s approval.

August 20th is Akshay Urja Diwas (Akshay Urja Day), an awareness campaign about the developments in renewable energy in India.

The Indian Ministry for New & Renewable Energy Sources began Akshay Urja Day to commemorate the birthday of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. The Ministry promotes innovation to adopt renewable energy sources to produce power for the electricity grid, and for several standalone applications, as well as decentralized power production.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – August 19

August 19, 2020August 18, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 19, 2020
Day 232 of 366

August 19th is the 232nd day of the year. It is Afghan Independence Day, commemorating the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919 which granted Afghanistan independence from Britain.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as International Bow Day, National Aviation Day, and National Soft Ice Cream Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1570, Italian Jewish violinist and composer Salamone Rossi was born.
In 1612, the “Samlesbury witches” were put on trial. The three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, England were accused of practicing witchcraft, and the trial was one of the most famous witch trials in British history.
In 1812, the American frigate USS Constitution defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. This engagement during the War of 1812 is what earned her the nickname “Old Ironsides”.
In 1839, the French government announced that Louis Daguerre’s photographic process was a gift “free to the world”.
In 1854, the First Sioux War began when United States Army soldiers killed Lakota chief Conquering Bear and in return were massacred.
In 1871, engineer and pilot Orville Wright was born.
In 1906, inventor Philo Farnsworth was born. He invented the Fusor, made many crucial contributions to the early development of all-electronic television.
In 1921, screenwriter and producer Gene Roddenberry was born. He is best known for developing the worlds of Star Trek.
In 1938, actress Diana Muldaur was born. She played multiple roles in the Star Trek universe, and inspired a catchphrase for Women at Warp: A Star Trek Roddenberry Podcast – “Never forget: Pulaski banged Riker’s dad.”
In 1940, model, actress, and Bond Girl Jill St. John was born.
In 1947, actor Gerald McRaney was born.
In 1952, actor and director Jonathan Frakes was born.
In 1960, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in Moscow, Russia by the Soviet Union for espionage.
In 1964, Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite, was launched.
In 1965, actress and producer Kyra Sedgwick was born.

August 19th is World Humanitarian Day.

It is an international day dedicated to recognizing humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as part of a Swedish-sponsored resolution, honoring the day on which the then Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 of his colleagues were killed in the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad in 2003.

A Brazilian national, Sérgio Vieira de Mello dedicated a lifetime spanning over thirty years in the United Nations, serving in some of the most challenging humanitarian situations in the world to reach the voiceless victims of armed conflict, alleviate their suffering and draw, attention to their plight. His death together with 21 colleagues shocked the humanitarian community and robbed them of one of their most outstanding humanitarian leaders and intellectuals.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – August 18

August 18, 2020August 19, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 18, 2020
Day 231 of 366

August 18th is the 231st day of the year. It is Long Tan Day, also known as Vietnam Veterans’ Day, in Australia. The Battle of Long Tan took place on August 18th, 1966 in a rubber plantation near Long Tân, in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, and is the best known of the Australian Army’s actions in the Vietnam War.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Fajita Day, National Mail Order Catalog Day, and National Ice Cream Pie Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1590, John White, the governor of the Roanoke Colony, returned from a supply trip to England and found his settlement deserted. Roanoake became known as the Lost Colony since the fate of the missing colonists has never been discovered.
In 1826, Major Gordon Laing became the first non-Muslim to enter Timbuktu. He was killed shortly after he departed Timbuktu, some five weeks later.
In 1868, French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovered helium.
In 1914, psychiatrist Lucy Ozarin was born. She was one of the first women psychiatrists commissioned in the Navy, and she was one of seven female Navy psychiatrists who served during World War II. She earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Reserve Medical Corps.
In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women’s suffrage.
In 1926, a weather map was televised for the first time.
In 1927, former First Lady of the United States Rosalynn Carter was born.
In 1952, actor and dancer Patrick Swayze was born.
In 1956, composer and conductor John Debney was born.
In 1958, investigations began into the television game show scandals. Two years later, the United States Congress amended the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the fixing of quiz shows.
In 1961, journalist and author Bob Woodruff was born.
In 1963, James Meredith became the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
In 1967, author and illustrator Brian Michael Bendis was born.

In 1587, Virginia Dare was born.

The granddaughter of the aforementioned Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, she was the first child born to English parents in the Americas. She disappeared with the rest of the colony, but during the past four hundred years, Virginia Dare has become a prominent figure in American myth and folklore, symbolizing different things to different groups of people.

She has been featured as the main character in books, poems, songs, comic books, television programs, and films. Her name has been used to sell different types of goods, from vanilla products to soft drinks, as well as wine and spirits. Many places in North Carolina and elsewhere in the Southern United States have been named in her honor.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – August 17

August 17, 2020August 17, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 17, 2020
Day 230 of 366

August 17th is the 230th day of the year. It is Independence Day in Indonesia (which left Japan in 1945) and Gabon (which separated from France in 1960).

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Nonprofit Day, National Massachusetts Day, National I LOVE My Feet Day!, National Thrift Shop Day, and Black Cat Appreciation Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1560, the Catholic Church was overthrown and Protestantism was established as the national religion in Scotland.
In 1863, author and photographer Gene Stratton-Porter was born.
In 1882, Jewish Polish American movie producer Samuel Goldwyn was born.
In 1883, the first public performance was conducted of the Dominican Republic’s national anthem, Himno Nacional.
In 1893, actress, playwright, and screenwriter Mae West was born.
In 1896, Bridget Driscoll became the first recorded case of a pedestrian killed in a collision with a motor car in the United Kingdom.
In 1920, Irish-American actress and singer Maureen O’Hara was born.
In 1943, actor, entrepreneur, director, and producer Robert De Niro was born.
In 1945, the novella Animal Farm by George Orwell was first published.
In 1946, director, producer, and screenwriter Martha Coolidge was born.
In 1949, English actor, director, screenwriter, and politician Julian Fellowes was born.
In 1953, the first meeting of Narcotics Anonymous took place in Southern California.
In 1958, Pioneer 0 was launched using the first Thor-Able rocket. It was America’s first attempt at lunar orbit and it failed, but it was notable as one of the first attempted launches beyond Earth orbit by any country.
In 1970, Venera 7 was launched. It would later become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet. In this case, it was from Venus.
In 1977, the Soviet icebreaker Arktika became the first surface ship to reach the North Pole.
In 1998, United States President Bill Clinton admitted in taped testimony that he had an “improper physical relationship” with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Later that same day, he admitted before the nation that he “misled people” about the relationship.

In 1930, screenwriter and producer Harve Bennett was born.

As a young boy, Bennett appeared on the radio program Quiz Kids, which introduced him to show business, but by the time he had reached college, the radio business was in decline. As a result, he cast his eyes on the world of film and attended the film school at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Following his graduation, he joined the United States Army in 1953 and served in the Military Police Corps. He was honorably discharged two years later and began his career as a production executive at CBS and later ABC, becoming Vice President of Daytime Programming.

His first project was to develop a television series with producer Aaron Spelling called The Mod Squad. After that, he joined Universal Studios where he produced a variety of television series and miniseries. The best known of these series are probably The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–78) and The Bionic Woman (1976-78). He moved from Universal to Columbia to Paramount.

It was at Paramount where he was called to a meeting with then top executives Barry Diller and Michael Eisner, along with Charles Bluhdorn (head of Paramount’s parent Gulf+Western) to discuss the future of Star Trek after the lower than expected results of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He agreed to produce the next film in the series, subsequently screening all 79 episodes of the original television series before settling on a sequel to the episode Space Seed.

Following the success of The Wrath of Khan, Bennett remained to produce the next three films, as well as assist on the sixth film in the series. He declined the opportunity to direct Star Trek VI, and left Paramount shortly thereafter.

Harve Bennett died on February 25, 2015, in Medford, Oregon. His death preceded Leonard Nimoy’s by two days.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – August 16

August 16, 2020August 15, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 16, 2020
Day 229 of 366

August 16th is the 229th day of the year. It is National Airborne Day in the United States, a day designated to honor the airborne forces of the United States military.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Tell a Joke Day, National Roller Coaster Day, and National Rum Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1858, United States President James Buchanan inaugurated the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. A weak signal forced a shutdown of the service after a few weeks.
In 1888, British colonel, diplomat, writer, and archaeologist T. E. Lawrence was born.
In 1891, the Basilica of San Sebastian, Manila was officially inaugurated and blessed. It was the first all-steel church in Asia.
In 1896, Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack, and Dawson Charlie discovered gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.
In 1913, Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan became the first university in Japan to admit female students. The school is known today as Tohoku University.
In 1930, the first color sound cartoon, Fiddlesticks, was released by Ub Iwerks.
In 1933, actress Julie Newmar was born.
In 1937, actress Lorraine Gary was born.
In 1946, actress Lesley Ann Warren was born.
In 1952, actor Reginald VelJohnson was born.
In 1954, the first issue of Sports Illustrated was published.
Also in 1954, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter James Cameron was born.
In 1957, actress and director Laura Innes was born.
In 1958, actress Angela Bassett was born.
In 1960, Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom.
In 1975, Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically handed over land to the Gurindji people after the 8-year Wave Hill walk-off, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia. The event was, commemorated in a 1991 song by Paul Kelly and an annual celebration.
Also in 1975, New Zealand director, screenwriter, and actor Taika Waititi was born.

August 16th is the festival of Xicolatada, a tradition in the village of Palau-de-Cerdagne in Languedoc-Roussillon, France for more than 300 years.

In Catalonia, August 15th was once a festival day, during which the locals would drink quite heavily and were hungover the next morning. To help them feel better, the village chocolatier would offer them a hot chocolate, which he claimed was an excellent remedy.

Over the years, this habit grew into a custom, and a municipal association was eventually formed to remember the tradition. This association organizes the distribution of hot chocolate every year on August 16th at precisely 11:00 am.

Today, the chocolate is brewed in large cauldrons over a wood fire. The festival draws many tourists to the village every year, and to preserve the tradition, festival organizers have created a confraternity of master chocolatiers to keep the recipe safe and secret.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – August 15

August 15, 2020August 18, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 15, 2020
Day 228 of 366

August 15th is the 228th day of the year. It is Independence Day in several countries today: South Korea celebrates Gwangbokjeol (“Independence Day”) and North Korea celebrates Jogukhaebangui nal (“Fatherland Liberation Day”) as they both commemorate their 1945 separation from Japan; India celebrates their 1947 independence from the United Kingdom; the Republic of the Congo celebrates their 1960 separation from France; Bahrain celebrates their 1971 independence from the United Kingdom.

Victory over Japan Day anniversaries also continue, commemorating the day in 1945 when Japan accepted the Allied terms of surrender in World War II and the Emperor recorded the Imperial Rescript on Surrender. The United Kingdom observes the anniversary today, while Japan commemorates End-of-war Memorial Day (Shūsen-kinenbi, 終戦記念日) with the National Memorial Service for War Dead.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Leathercraft Day, National Relaxation Day, National Lemon Meringue Pie Day, and World Honey Bee Day (typically the third Saturday in August).

Honeybees are vitally important in keeping our world alive. Treat them with respect.

Historical items of note:

In 1483, Pope Sixtus IV consecrated the Sistine Chapel.
In 1771, Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet Sir Walter Scott was born.
In 1843, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii was dedicated. Now the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, it is the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.
Also in 1843, Tivoli Gardens opened in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world.
In 1914, the Panama Canal opened to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship SS Ancon.
In 1939, The Wizard of Oz premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California. Widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, and the most commercially successful adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the film itself was a remake of two previous adaptation attempts in 1925 and 1910.
In 1941, Corporal Josef Jakobs was executed by firing squad at the Tower of London at 7:12 am, making him the last person to be executed at the Tower for espionage.
In 1948, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was established south of the 38th parallel north.
In 1964, businesswoman and philanthropist Melinda Gates was born.
In 1965, The Beatles played to nearly 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City, an event later regarded as the birth of stadium rock.
In 1968, actress Debra Messing was born.
In 1969, the legendary Woodstock Music & Art Fair opened in upstate New York, featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era. The festival has become widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history as well as a defining event for the counterculture generation.
In 1970, Patricia Palinkas became the first woman to play professionally in an American football game.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon completed the break from the gold standard by ending the convertibility of the United States dollar into gold by foreign investors.
In 1972, actor and sound editor Matthew Wood was born.
In 1974, Canadian model and actress Natasha Henstridge was born.
In 1977, The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, received a radio signal from deep space. The event was named the “Wow! signal” from the notation made by a volunteer on the project.
In 1979, Apocalypse Now was released.
In 1990, actress Jennifer Lawrence was born.
In 1995, Shannon Faulkner (no relation) became the first female cadet matriculated at The Citadel in South Carolina. In the years leading to the event, she attended day classes but was not allowed to live on campus or wear the school uniform, and she suffered constant harassment, taunts, and death threats. In 1995, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that she must be admitted to the school, however suffered heat stress, physical exhaustion, emotional and psychological abuse, and death threats against her family before leaving after one week. After her departure, the male cadets openly celebrated on the campus.

August 15th begins an annual Egyptian holiday named Wafaa El-Nil, a two-week celebration commemorating the annual flooding of the Nile.

The flooding of the Nile has been an important natural cycle in Egypt since ancient times. It is also celebrated in the Coptic Church by ceremonially throwing a martyr’s relic into the river, thus giving it the name The Martyr’s Finger.

Ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile flooded every year because of Isis’s tears of sorrow for her dead husband, Osiris. The flooding is the result of the yearly monsoon between May and August that delivers enormous precipitations on the Ethiopian Highlands at summits of nearly 15,000 feet. Most of this rainwater is taken by the Blue Nile and by the Atbarah River into the Nile, while a less important amount flows through the Sobat and the White Nile into the Nile.

During this short period, those rivers contribute up to ninety percent of the water of the Nile, and most of the sedimentation carried by it, but after the rainy season, dwindle to minor rivers.

The Egyptian year was divided into the three seasons of Akhet (Inundation), Peret (Growth), and Shemu (Harvest). Akhet covered the Egyptian flood cycle, and this cycle was so consistent that the Egyptians timed its onset using the heliacal rising of Sirius, the key event used to set their calendar.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – August 14

August 14, 2020August 13, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 14, 2020
Day 227 of 366

August 14th is the 227th day of the year. It is Independence Day in Pakistan, celebrating the day when the country was declared as a sovereign nation following the end of the British Raj in 1947.

It is also V-J Day, commemorating the day in 1945 when Japan accepted the Allied terms of surrender in World War II and the Emperor recorded the Imperial Rescript on Surrender. This date is calculated based on the home countries of the Allied forces, and took place on August 15th by Japan Standard Time.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Creamsicle Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1040, King Duncan I was killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. The latter succeeded him as King of Scotland. William Shakespeare later wrote about Macbeth in the play of the same name, but based his work on Holinshed’s Chronicles (1577) and is not historically accurate.
In 1720, the Spanish military Villasur expedition was defeated by Pawnee and Otoe warriors near present-day Columbus, Nebraska.
In 1851, dentist, gunfighter, and gambler John Henry “Doc” Holliday was born.
In 1885, Japan’s first patent was issued to the inventor of a rust-proof paint.
In 1888, an audio recording of English composer Arthur Sullivan’s “The Lost Chord” was played during a press conference introducing Thomas Edison’s phonograph in London, England. It was one of the first recordings of music ever made.
In 1893, France became the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration.
In 1901, the first claimed powered flight occurred. It was by Gustave Whitehead in his Number 21.
In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, creating a government pension system for the retired.
In 1945, actor, comedian, musician, producer, and screenwriter Steve Martin was born.
In 1946, actress Susan Saint James was born.
In 1950, cartoonist Gary Larson was born.
In 1953, composer and conductor James Horner was born.
In 1963, French actress Emmanuelle Béart was born.
In 1965, producer, director, and screenwriter Brannon Braga was born.
In 1966, model, actress, and producer Halle Berry was born. She was Miss World United States 1986.
In 1968, actress and producer Catherine Bell was born.
In 2015, the United States Embassy in Havana, Cuba was re-opened after 54 years of being closed when Cuba–United States relations were broken off.

In 1592, the first sighting of the Falkland Islands occurred by English explorer John Davis.

His sighting was part of the 1591 voyage with Thomas Cavendish (which was Cavendish’s last voyage) intending to discover the Northwest Passage. After the rest of Cavendish’s expedition returned without reaching their goal, Davis continued on his own to attempt the passage of the Strait of Magellan. He was defeated by the weather but spotted the Falklands along the way. His crew was forced to kill hundreds of penguins for food on the islands, but the stored meat spoiled in the tropics and only fourteen of his 76 men made it home alive.

The name “Falkland Islands” comes from Falkland Sound, the strait that separates the two main islands. The name “Falkland” was applied to the channel by John Strong, the captain of an English expedition that landed on the islands in 1690. He named the strait in honor of Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland, the Treasurer of the Navy who sponsored his journey. The Viscount’s title originates from the town of Falkland, Scotland. That town’s name derives from a Gaelic term referring to an “enclosure” (lann).

The name “Falklands” was not applied to the islands until 1765 when British captain John Byron of the Royal Navy claimed them for King George III as “Falkland’s Islands”.

So, no relation to your humble author.

Falklands Day was the celebration to commemorate this event but was replaced by Liberation Day, which commemorates the end of the Falklands War on June 14, 1982.

Falkland Day ceased to be a public holiday in 2002 when the Executive Council moved the holiday to provide for the re-introduction of Peat Cutting Monday, on the first Monday in October.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – August 13

August 13, 2020August 11, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 13, 2020
Day 226 of 366

August 13th is the 226th day of the year. It is Independence Day in the Central African Republic as they celebrate their separation from France in 1960.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Prosecco Day and National Filet Mignon Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1532, the Duchy of Brittany was absorbed into the Kingdom of France.
In 1650, Colonel George Monck of the English Army formed Monck’s Regiment of Foot, which would later become the Coldstream Guards.
In 1860, sharpshooter Annie Oakley was born.
In 1898, Carl Gustav Witt discovered 433 Eros, the first near-Earth asteroid to be found.
In 1899, English-American director and producer Alfred Hitchcock was born.
In 1906, the all-black infantrymen of the United States Army’s 25th Infantry Regiment were accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white police officer in Brownsville, Texas. Despite exculpatory evidence, all of them were later dishonorably discharged. Their records were later restored to reflect honorable discharges but there were no financial settlements.
In 1918, women enlisted in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha May Johnson was the first woman to enlist.
Also in 1918, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG was established as a public company in Germany. It’s better known as BMW.
In 1930, singer and ukulele player Don Ho was born.
In 1942, Major General Eugene Reybold of the United States Army Corps of Engineers authorized the construction of facilities that would house the “Development of Substitute Materials” project, better known as the Manhattan Project.
In 1954, Radio Pakistan broadcasted the “Qaumī Tarāna”, the national anthem of Pakistan, for the first time.
In 1961, East Germany closed the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants’ attempts to escape to the West. Construction of the Berlin Wall was started.
Also in 1961, Japanese composer and sound director Koji Kondo was born.
In 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts enjoyed a ticker-tape parade in New York City. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by United States President Richard Nixon.
In 1983, actor Sebastian Stan was born. So, I’m also older than the Winter Soldier…

August 13th is International Left-Handers Day, a day that (as it says on the tin) celebrates the uniqueness and differences of the left-handers.

The day was first observed in 1976 by Dean R. Campbell, founder of the Lefthanders International, Inc. International Left Hander’s Day was created to celebrate sinistrality and raise awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of being left-handed in a predominantly right-handed world.

It celebrates left-handed people’s uniqueness and differences, a subset of humanity estimated at seven to ten percent of the world’s population. The day also spread awareness on issues faced by left-handers, such as the importance of the special needs for left-handed children, and the likelihood for left-handers to develop schizophrenia. Left-handers also used to be persecuted since the direction of the left is associated with evil by some people.

There are approximately 708 million left-handed people in the world, and men are more likely to be left-handed than women.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – August 12

August 12, 2020August 11, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 12, 2020
Day 225 of 366

August 12th is the 225th day of the year. It is International Youth Day, a United Nations awareness day to draw attention to a given set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. It’s also World Elephant Day, which is dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world’s elephants.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Julienne Fries Day, National Vinyl Record Day, National Middle Child Day, and Congressional Startup Day (which changes annually).

Historical items of note:

In 1323, the Treaty of Nöteborg was signed between Sweden and the Novgorod Republic. It regulated the border between the two countries for the first time.
In 1851, Isaac Singer was granted a patent for his sewing machine.
In 1865, British surgeon and scientist Joseph Lister performed the first antiseptic surgery.
In 1881, director and producer Cecil B. DeMille was born.
In 1887, Austrian physicist and academic Erwin Schrödinger was born. The Nobel Prize-winning scientist developed a number of fundamental results in quantum theory. The Schrödinger equation provides a way to calculate the wave function of a system and how it changes dynamically in time. He was the author of many works on various aspects of physics, including statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, physics of dielectrics, color theory, electrodynamics, general relativity, and cosmology. He made several attempts to construct a unified field theory and is also known for his “Schrödinger’s cat” thought-experiment
In 1898, the Hawaiian flag was lowered from ʻIolani Palace in an elaborate annexation ceremony and replaced with the flag of the United States to signify .transfer of sovereignty from the Republic of Hawaii to the United States.
In 1910, actress Jane Wyatt was born.
In 1927, Wings was released. It was one of only two silent films, with the other being The Artist in 2011, to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.
In 1947, English author and television director, producer, and writer John Nathan-Turner was born. He was the final producer in the classic era of Doctor Who.
In 1956, actor and producer Bruce Greenwood was born.
In 1960, Echo 1A, NASA’s first successful communications satellite, was launched.
In 1977, the first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise occurred.
In 1981, the IBM Personal Computer was released.
In 1990, Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found to date, was discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota.

August 12th is known as the Glorious Twelfth in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, marking the start of the shooting season for red grouse and the ptarmigan.

It is one of the busiest days in the shooting season, with large amounts of game being shot. The date itself is traditional, enshrined in English and Welsh law by the Game Act 1831, and in Northern Ireland by the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order of 1985. Since English law prohibits game bird shooting on Sundays, the start date is postponed to the 13th when the 12th is a Sunday.

Grouse are, in effect, farmed for shooting, so their population density is unnaturally high. This, combined with the fact that they are particularly liable to outbreaks of diseases such as sheep tick, heather beetle, and a gut parasite, means that their numbers fluctuate considerably from year to year. The event also has seen hunting saboteurs, a foot and mouth crisis, and severe weather.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – August 11

August 11, 2020August 10, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 11, 2020
Day 224 of 366

August 11th is the 224th day of the year. It is Independence Day in Chad, celebrating their separation from France in 1960. It’s also Flag Day in Pakistan.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as Global Kinetic Sand Day, National Son’s and Daughter’s Day, National Presidential Joke Day, and National Raspberry Bombe Day.

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