Category: Our Universe

The Thing About Today – May 7

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 7, 2020
Day 128 of 366

 

May 7th is the 128th day of the year. It is World Password Day, a day to promote better password and security habits. It is typically observed on the first Thursday in May.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Packaging Design Day, National Paste-Up Day, National Barrier Awareness Day, and National Roast Leg of Lamb Day. Since it is the first Thursday in May, it is also simultaneously observed as the National Day of Prayer and the National Day of Reason.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1697, Stockholm’s royal castle (dating back to medieval times) was destroyed by fire. It was replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.
  • In 1824, the world premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony occurred in Vienna, Austria. The performance was conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer’s supervision.
  • In 1833, German pianist and composer Johannes Brahms.
  • In 1840, Russian composer and educator Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born.
  • In 1846, the Cambridge Chronicle was published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is America’s oldest surviving weekly newspaper.
  • In 1864, the world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide was launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England,. It was used to transport passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
  • In 1915, German submarine U-20 sank RMS Lusitania. 1,198 people, including 128 Americans, were killed in the attack, and public reaction to the sinking turned many former pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.
  • In 1919, actress and Argentinian First Lady Eva Perón was born.
  • In 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, aircraft from the USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Yorktown (CV-5) attacked and sank the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō. The battle marked the first time in naval history that two enemy fleets fought without visual contact between warring ships.
  • In 1946, Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering was founded. It would later be renamed as Sony.
  • In 1952, the concept of the integrated circuit was first published by Geoffrey Dummer. The concept was the basis for all modern computers.
  • In 1992, the Space Shuttle Endeavour was launched on mission STS-49. It was the first for the orbiter, which was a replacement for the Space Shuttle Challenger.
  • In 1997, The Fifth Element premiered. At the time, it was the most expensive European film ever made.

 

In 1895, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrated his invention to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society in Saint Petersburg.

The Popov lightning detector used a coherer to detect radio noise from lightning strikes, making it the world’s first radio receiver, albeit a primitive one. Popov was able to use his experience as a teacher at a Russian naval school to explore high-frequency electrical phenomena. A year later, he was able to transmit radio signals 250 meters between different campus buildings.

As a result, May 7th is celebrated in parts of the Russian Federation as Radio Day.

 

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 – May 6

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 6, 2020
Day 127 of 366

 

May 6th is the 127th day of the year. It is the first day of Hıdırellez, a celebration of spring in Turkey that commemorates the day on which the Prophets Hızır (Al-Khidr) and Ilyas (Elijah) met on Earth.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Nurses Day, National Beverage Day, National Crepe Suzette Day, National Bike To School Day (a day that changes annually), National School Nurse Day (the Wednesday of National Nurses Week), and National Skilled Trades Day (the first Wednesday in May).

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1527, Spanish and German troops sacked Rome. This date is considered to be the end of the Renaissance.
  • In 1782, construction began on the Grand Palace at the command of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke. It would be the royal residence of the King of Siam in Bangkok.
  • In 1856, Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud was born.
  • In 1889, the Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
  • In 1915, Babe Ruth hit his first major league home run. He was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox at this point in time, and this home run was the first of the 714 he hit during his record-setting career.
  • Also in 1915, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Orson Welles was born.
  • In 1940, John Steinbeck was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.
  • In 1954, Roger Bannister became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
  • In 1960, more than 20 million viewers watched the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret married Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.
  • In 1961, actor George Clooney was born.
  • In 1983, actress Adrianne Palicki was born.
  • In 1994, The Channel Tunnel was opened, linking France and the United Kingdom under the English Channel. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiated the event.

 

In 1937, the German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Thirty-six people were killed in the incident, including 13 passengers, 22 crewmen, and one observer on the ground. The disaster was the subject of newsreel coverage, photographs, and announcer Herbert Morrison’s recorded radio eyewitness reports from the landing field, which were broadcast the next day.

The cause of the accident is unknown, but a variety of hypotheses have been put forward for both the cause of ignition and the initial fuel for the ensuing fire. Speculation for the cause includes sabotage, a static spark that ignited the hydrogen in the gas volume, a lightning strike, and potential engine failure upon docking. The fuel for the fire that consumed the ship has been speculated as well, from the hydrogen in the gaseous volume, incendiary paint in the superstructure, and an undetected fuel leak.

The event shattered public confidence in the giant, passenger-carrying rigid airship and marked the abrupt end of the airship era.

 

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 – May 5

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 5, 2020
Day 126 of 366

 

May 5th is the 126th day of the year. It is the approximate midpoint of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, starting from the equinox and headed toward the solstice.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Astronaut Day, National Cartoonists Day, National Silence the Shame Day, National Totally Chipotle Day, National Hoagie Day, National Foster Care Day (the first Tuesday in May), and National Teacher Appreciation Day (the Tuesday of the first full week in May).

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1809, Mary Kies became the first woman awarded a United States patent. It was for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
  • In 1835, the first railway in continental Europe opened between Brussels and Mechelen.
  • In 1865, the Confederate government was declared dissolved at Washington, Georgia at the end of the American Civil War.
  • In 1866, Memorial Day was first celebrated in the United States at Waterloo, New York.
  • In 1891, the Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) had its grand opening and first public performance. The guest conductor was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
  • In 1905, the trial in the Stratton Brothers case began in London, England. It was notable for being the first time that fingerprint evidence was used to gain a conviction for murder.
  • In 1937, English musician, arranger, and composer Delia Derbyshire was born. She arranged the theme music for Doctor Who.
  • In 1940, actor Lance Henriksen was born.
  • In 1942, actor Marc Alaimo was born.
  • In 1943, actor and comedian Michael Palin was born.
  • In 1944, actor and screenwriter John Rhys-Davies was born.
  • In 1957, actor, director, and screenwriter Richard E. Grant was born.
  • In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into outer space. Part of Project Mercury, the Freedom 7 mission was a sub-orbital flight.
  • In 1962, the West Side Story soundtrack album went to #1 on the music charts and stayed there for 54 weeks. That set a new record with more than 20 weeks longer than any other album.
  • In 1983, actor Henry Cavill was born.
  • In 1988, singer-songwriter Adele was born.

 

May 5th is known as Cinco de Mayo. In 1862, the Mexican Army defeated the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla.

Under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza, the victory of the smaller Mexican force against a larger French force was a boost to morale for the Mexicans. The victory was bittersweet since Zaragoza died months after the battle due to illness and a year after the battle, a larger French force defeated the Mexican army at the Second Battle of Puebla. Mexico City soon fell to the invaders.

In Mexico, the commemoration of the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial. The city of Puebla marks the event with an arts festival, a festival of local cuisine, and re-enactments of the battle.

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a significance beyond that in Mexico. The day is far more popular in the United States and has become associated with a celebration of Mexican-American culture. These celebrations began in California, starting annually observations in 1863. The day gained nationwide popularity in the 1980s thanks especially to advertising campaigns by beer and wine companies, leading to beer sales now on par with the Super Bowl.

Cinco de Mayo is often mistaken for Mexico’s Independence Day. That being the most important national holiday in Mexico, it is celebrated on September 16 and commemorates the Cry of Dolores, which initiated the war of Mexican independence from Spain.

 

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.

 

 

Culture on My Mind – May the Conference Be With You

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
May the Conference Be With You
May 4, 2020

I’m a little early this week, but for this purely made-up internet holiday for one of my favorite franchises, I thought I’d tie my “can’t let it go” to the pandemic.

If you’re still sheltered for the pandemic like I am, the folks at Lucasfilm have a solution to add a little flair to your teleconferences. They have offered up a gallery of images to use as your background on Zoom (or other compatible video conferences) to give your meeting a little GFFA style. Simply click on one of the pictures at the blog post to expand it to full resolution, save it to your computer or device, and follow the instructions in your video conferencing software to set your new office far far away.

Source: Join Meetings from a Galaxy Far, Far Away with These Star Wars Backgrounds via StarWars.com (April 16, 2020)

I’m partial to the classic background paintings like Bespin and Tatooine, but the dusty solitude of Jakku and the busy cityscape of Coruscant also tickle my fancy. You can go to a Rebel or Resistance base, call in from the bridge of a Star Destroyer, or even give a project status update from the winter wonderland of Hoth.

Despite being physically separated during the pandemic (depending on your locale), I hope that this adds a little bit of Star Wars joy to your fan festivities.
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Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

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

The Thing About Today – May 4

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 4, 2020
Day 125 of 366

 

May 4th is the 125th day of the year. It is Star Wars Day, a fan-created celebration of the Star Wars media franchise based around the popular phrase “May the Force be with you” (May the fourth be with you). The phrase first appeared in The Science of Star Wars by Jeanne Cavelos in 1999. It was picked up by Facebook fan groups in 2008 and gained popularity in 2011 with the first organized celebration of Star Wars Day in Toronto, Ontario. The event was repeated in 2012 and the day has been promoted worldwide by The Walt Disney Company since 2013.

Of course, this shouldn’t be confused with May 25th, the anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars film in 1977.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Weather Observers Day, National Renewal Day, National Orange Juice Day, National Candied Orange Peel Day, Bird Day, and Melanoma? Monday. That last one is typically observed on the first Monday in May.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1776, Rhode Island became the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.
  • In 1904, the United States began construction of the Panama Canal. They took over for France, who had begun work in 1881 but stopped because of engineering problems and a high worker mortality rate.
  • In 1910, the Royal Canadian Navy was created.
  • In 1919, student demonstrations took place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The May Fourth Movement protested the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.
  • In 1929, Belgian-British actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn was born.
  • In 1932, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence in Atlanta, Georgia for tax evasion.
  • In 1953, Ernest Hemingway won the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
  • In 1961, the Freedom Riders began a bus trip through the Southern United States.
  • In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

 

In 2012, the United Nations declared May 4th to be Anti-Bullying Day.

Anti-Bullying Day is an observance when people wear mainly a pink shirt to symbolize a stand against bullying. It is celebrated on various dates around the world, but the United Nations picked May 4th for their observance.

The United States Department of Justice showed that one out of four kids will be bullied during their adolescence. Most of the time it continues after the first incident as statistics show that 71 percent of students that are bullied, continue to be bullied, making it a problem with no end. According to the Yale School of Medicine, a study in 2010 discovered a connection between being bullied and suicide.

The original event was organized by David Shepherd and Travis Price of Berwick, Nova Scotia. In 2007, they bought and distributed fifty pink shirts after male ninth-grade classmate Chuck McNeill was bullied for wearing a pink shirt during the first day of school. Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald proclaimed the second Thursday of September as “Stand Up Against Bullying Day” in recognition of these events.

In 2008, the Premier of British Columbia, Gordon Campbell proclaimed February 27 to be the provincial anti-bullying day. The last Wednesday each February is now the national anti-bullying day in Canada.

 

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 – May 3

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 3, 2020
Day 124 of 366

 

May 3rd is the 124th day of the year. It is World Press Freedom Day, a United Nations-sponsored day designed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It also marks the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in Windhoek in 1991.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National SAN Architect Day, National Lumpy Rug Day, National Garden Meditation Day, National Specially-Able Pets Day, National Two Different Colored Shoes Day, National Paranormal Day, National Chocolate Custard Day, National Raspberry Pop Over Day, National Textiles Day, National Montana Day, National Infertility Survival Day (typically observed on the Sunday before Mother’s Day), and National Lemonade Day (typically observed on the first Sunday in May).

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1715, a total solar eclipse was visible across northern Europe and northern Asia, as predicted by Edmond Halley to within 4 minutes of accuracy.
  • In 1802, Washington, D.C. was incorporated as a city after Congress abolished the Board of Commissioners, the District’s founding government. The “City of Washington” was given a mayor-council form of government.
  • In 1830, the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway was opened. It was the first steam-hauled passenger railway to issue season tickets and include a tunnel.
  • In 1903, actor and singer Bing Crosby was born.
  • In 1913, Raja Harishchandra was released in India. It was the first full-length Indian feature film, thus marking the beginning of the Indian film industry.
  • In 1934, singer and actor Frankie Valli was born.
  • In 1935, businessman and founder of the Ronco Company, Ron Popeil, was born.
  • In 1948, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Shelley v. Kraemer that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks and other minorities are legally unenforceable.
  • In 1952, the Kentucky Derby was televised nationally for the first time via the CBS network. The race was inaugurated 77 years earlier in 1875.
  • In 1973, the 108-story Sears Tower in Chicago became the world’s tallest building. It surpassed the World Trade Center in New York City and held the title for nearly 25 years.
  • In 1975, actor Dulé Hill was born.
  • In 1978, the first unsolicited bulk commercial email (which would later become known as “spam”) was sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the United States.
  • In 2000, the sport of geocaching began. The first cache’s coordinates from a GPS were posted on Usenet.
  • In 2001, the United States lost its seat on the United Nations Human Rights Commission for the first time since the commission was formed in 1947.
  • In 2018, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences members voted to expel Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski.

 

In 1978, May 3rd designated as Sun Day.

The date was signed by United States President Jimmy Carter. It was specifically devoted to advocacy for solar power, following a joint resolution by Congress, H.J.Res. 715 becoming Pub.L. 95–253.

President Carter flew to Denver to visit a solar power research institute. Other officials gathered in Cadillac Mountain in Maine where the sun’s ray allegedly first touch the United States. Meanwhile, a crowd gathered at UN Plaza in New York City for speeches by people such as movie star Robert Redford, who reminded them that the sun “can’t be embargoed by any foreign nation”.

At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, environmental activist Barry Commoner made a speech to a group of 500 people, claiming that solar power was an issue as pivotal as slavery and was the “one solution to the economic problems of the United States.”

Other events on the National Mall included a marathon, speeches by notable politicians, and a concert with Jackson Browne.

Events were planned in twenty-two countries around the world.

 

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 – May 2

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 2, 2020
Day 123 of 366

 

May 2nd is the 123rd day of the year. It is the anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising, celebrated by the community of Madrid, Spain. The uprising was a rebellion in 1808 by the people of Madrid against the occupation of the city by the French troops of Napoleon Bonaparte, provoking repression by the French Imperial forces.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Truffle Day and National Life Insurance Day. It is also the first Saturday of May, which means that it is Kentucky Derby Day, National Fitness Day, National Scrapbook Day, National Homebrew Day, Join Hands Day, National Bombshells’ Day, and National Start Seeing Monarchs Day.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn was arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason, and witchcraft. The true reasoning was that she had not produced a male heir for King Henry VIII and the king wanted to move on to his next wife. Her execution weeks later would make her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation.
  • In 1559, John Knox returned from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation.
  • In 1611, the King James Version of the Bible was published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
  • In 1918, General Motors acquired the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
  • In 1935, actor Lance LeGault was born. If he was on television in the 1980s, odds were that he was the bad guy.
  • In 1936, English singer and pianist Engelbert Humperdinck was born.
  • In 1937, actor, producer, and screenwriter Lorenzo Music was born.
  • In 1952, the world’s first-ever jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet 1, made its maiden flight from London to Johannesburg.
  • In 1954, composer and conductor Elliot Goldenthal was born.
  • In 1969, the British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departed on her maiden voyage to New York City.
  • In 1972, wrestler, actor, and producer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was born.
  • In 2000, United States President Bill Clinton announced that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
  • In 2008, Iron Man premiered. Starring Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark, it was the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  • In 2011, Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI’s most wanted man, was killed by the United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

 

This year, May 2 was supposed to be Free Comic Book Day.

Taking place on the first Saturday of May, Free Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores.

Joe Field, a retailer from Flying Colors Comics in Concord, California brainstormed the event in his “Big Picture” column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer magazine. Free Comic Book Day started in 2002 and is coordinated by the industry’s single large distributor, Diamond Comic Distributors.

Image Comics publisher Jim Valentino suggested having the first Free Comic Book Day on the same weekend as the theatrical premiere of Spider-Man in 2002. The event was shifted to July in 2004 to correspond to the opening weekend for Spider-Man 2, but it was moved back to May the following year.

During the event, participating comic book store retailers give away specially printed copies of free comic books, and some offer special deals and creator signings to those visiting their establishments. Retailers don’t receive those issues for free, instead having to pay between twelve to fifty cents an issue. In addition to comic books, some stores also give away other merchandise, such as mini-posters and other movie tie-in memorabilia.

The 2020 event was initially changed to be a month-long event before it was indefinitely postponed due of the COVID-19. More information can be found on the official website.

 

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.

 

 

Culture on My Mind – Quarantine Con, Episode II

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Quarantine Con, Episode II
May 1, 2020

This week’s “can’t let it go” is a second verse, but not the same as the first.

What’s the same is the number of Dragon Con American Sci-Fi Classics Track members. What’s also the same is that they’re broadcasting from their individual COVID-19 quarantine bunkers.

What’s different? Justice.

Classics Track co-directors Joe Crowe and Gary Mitchel are joined by Kevin Eldridge as they host another edition of Classic Sci-Fi Court. The honorable(?) Judge Crowe presides as Kevin defends Spacehunter, Adventures in the Forbidden Zone and Gary tackles the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

As before, Joe and Gary will be hosting more of these, so stay tuned to the YouTube channel and the group on Facebook. If you join in live, you can also leave comments and participate in the discussion using StreamYard connected through Facebook.
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Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

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

The Thing About Today – May 1

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 1, 2020
Day 122 of 366

 

May 1st is the 122nd day of the year. It is May Day, an ancient festival of Spring celebrated in many European cultures, stemming from the Roman festival of Flora (Floralia) which was in honor of the goddess of flowers. Germanic cultures celebrate Walpurgis Night, Gaelic cultures celebrate Beltane, and European and North American cultures crown the Queen of May with a dance around the maypole.

It is unrelated to mayday, the codeword used to signal a life-threatening emergency.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Loyalty Day, National Mother Goose Day, National Chocolate Parfait Day, Law Day, School Principals’ Day, Silver Star Service Banner Day, National Space Day, and School Lunch Hero Day. The last two are typically observed on the first Friday in May.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1328, the Wars of Scottish Independence came to an end as the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, England recognized Scotland as an independent state.
  • In 1759, Josiah Wedgwood founded the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain.
  • In 1786, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro was performed for the first time in Vienna, Austria.
  • In 1840, the Penny Black was issued in the United Kingdom. It was the first official adhesive postage stamp.
  • In 1852, frontierswoman and professional scout Calamity Jane was born.
  • In 1866, the Memphis Race Riots began. Over the next three days, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  • In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions demanded the eight-hour workday in the United States.
  • In 1886, rallies were held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour workday, culminating in the Haymarket affair in Chicago. In commemoration of this event, May 1 is celebrated as International Workers’ Day in many countries.
  • In 1894, Coxey’s Army arrived in Washington, D.C. It was the first significant American protest march, held to protest the unemployment caused by the Panic of 1893, to lobby for the government to create jobs which would involve building roads and other public works improvements, and to have workers paid in paper currency (which would expand the currency in circulation).
  • In 1915, the RMS Lusitania departed from New York City on her 202nd and final crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship was torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives.
  • In 1916, actor and producer Glenn Ford was born.
  • In 1919, actor Dan O’Herlihy was born.
  • In 1930, “Pluto” was officially proposed by the for the name of the newly-discovered dwarf planet. Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh and the name was suggested by Vesto Slipher.
  • In 1931, the Empire State Building was dedicated in New York City. It was the tallest building in the world until the North Tower of the former World Trade Center was completed in 1970.
  • In 1939, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27.
  • Also in 1939, Max Robinson was born. He was the first African-American network television anchor.
  • In 1945, singer-songwriter Rita Coolidge was born.
  • In 1946, actress, voice-over artist, author, and activist Joanna Lumley was born.
  • In 1954, singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer Ray Parker, Jr. was born.
  • In 1956, the polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was made available to the public.
  • In 1971, Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) took over operation of United States passenger rail service.
  • In 1972, actress Julie Benz was born.
  • In 2009, same-sex marriage was legalized in Sweden.

 

May 1 is Today is Lei Day in Hawaii, a statewide celebration that was established in 1929.

Lei Day is a celebration of Hawaiian culture, also known as the aloha spirit. People commonly celebrate by giving gifts of leis to one another. Schools also put on plays and elect a Lei Day court of Kings and Queens to represent the different islands. Each island has a different lei made from their respective special flower: Each island in Hawaii has a special flower that represents that island.

  • The island of Hawaiʻi (more commonly known as The Big Island) has the red ʻōhiʻa lehua blossom.
  • The island of Maui (The Valley Isle) has the Lokelani flower, also known as the Damask rose, which is pink and sweet-scented. The associated lei is very fragile.
  • The island of Oʻahu (The Gathering Place) is associated with the ʻilima flower. The lei made from this yellow flower is very thin and even more fragile than Maui’s. It is often called the “Royal lei” because of its past association with high chieftains.
  • The island of Kauaʻi (The Garden Isle) has Mokihana kukae moa fruit. The purple berries are strung around and leave a blossoming smell that can only be found on this island.
  • The island of Molokaʻi (The Friendly Isle) uses the silver-green leaves of the kukui tree, which is also the state tree of Hawaii.
  • The island of Lānaʻi (The Pineapple Isle) has a grassy orange flower called kaunaʻoa, which are gathered in groups and twisted together to create the lei.
  • The island of Niʻihau (The Forbidden Isle) offers the Pūpū keʻokeʻo, which are white shells that are plentiful on the small island. The shells have to be pierced with small holes to be strung.
  • The island of Kahoʻolawe (The Target Isle) houses the Hinahina kū kahakai, a silver-gray flower found on the beaches. The stems and flowers of this plant are twisted together to be formed the lei.

The importance of the lei to the Hawaiian culture is that it is meant to represent the unspoken expression of aloha. On the surface, it’s a word for love, affection, peace, compassion, and mercy that is commonly used as a simple greeting. Going deeper, however, there’s a cultural and spiritual significance to native Hawaiians that defines a force that holds existence together. In fact, the state introduced the Aloha Spirit law in 1986 to mandate that state officials and judges treat the public with the proper spirit.

For Lei Day, the idea is that although the lei lasts only a while, the thought and spirit lasts forever. Other than the use of leis on Lei Day, they are incorporated into special occasions such as graduations, weddings, and birthdays. They originate from Polynesian voyagers sailing from Tahiti, and have been used in peace agreements.

The lei comes with a set of unspoken rules such as wearing it over your shoulders and not removing it while around the person that gave you the lei. Refusing a lei is seen as disrespectful.

Lei Day also incorporates various ethnic traditions, balancing the celebration of diversity with the struggle of preserving native Hawaiian culture.

 

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 – April 30

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

April 30, 2020
Day 121 of 366

 

April 30th is the 121st day of the year. It is Honesty Day in the United States, a day to encourage honesty and straightforward communication in politics, relationships, consumer relations, and historical education. M. Hirsh Goldberg chose the last day of April for two reasons: First, since the first day of that month, which is April Fools’ Day, celebrates falsehoods; and second, it is the anniversary of the first inauguration of George Washington as President of the United States.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, National Bubble Tea Day, National Bugs Bunny Day, National Oatmeal Cookie Day, National PrepareAthon! Day, National Raisin Day, National Sarcoidosis Day, National Military Brats Day, and National Hairstylist Appreciation Day.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington took the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
  • In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation.
  • In 1812, the Territory of Orleans became Louisiana, the 18th state to join the United States.
  • In 1885, New York State Governor David B. Hill signed legislation creating the Niagara Reservation, New York’s first state park, thus ensuring that Niagara Falls would not be devoted solely to industrial and commercial use.
  • In 1897, J. J. Thomson of the Cavendish Laboratory announced his discovery of the electron as a subatomic particle, over 1,800 times smaller than a proton, at a lecture at the Royal Institution in London.
  • In 1900, Hawaii became a territory of the United States with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
  • In 1905, Albert Einstein completed his doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich.
  • In 1926, actress and comedian Cloris Leachman was born.
  • In 1938, the animated short Porky’s Hare Hunt debuted in movie theaters. This story introduced Happy Rabbit, an early version of Bugs Bunny.
  • In 1945, Adolf Hitler and his newlywed wife Eva Braun committed suicide in the Führerbunker. Soviet soldiers raised the Victory Banner over the Reichstag building.
  • In 1947, Boulder Dam in Nevada was renamed Hoover Dam.
  • In 1965, actor Adrian Pasdar was born.
  • In 1980, actor Sam Heughan was born.
  • In 1982, actress Kirsten Dunst was born.
  • In 1985, actress Gal Gadot was born.

 

April 30 is International Jazz Day.

International Jazz Day was declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2011 “to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe.” The idea came from jazz pianist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock.

Jazz originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in blues and ragtime. It is known as “America’s classical music”.

The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, an American non-governmental organization (NGO) also chaired by Hancock, is the lead organizational partner for Jazz Day. The Institute coordinates activities in the UNESCO member states as well as the Global Host Celebration, where events culminate in an All-Star Global Concert. That concert involves over two-dozen jazz musicians from around the world performing in or around a historical landmark in the host city.

 

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.