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.

The Thing About Today – August 10

August 10, 2020August 9, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 10, 2020
Day 223 of 366

August 10th is the 223rd day of the year. It is the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of Quito. Ecuador proclaimed independence from Spain on August 10, 1809, but independence finally occurred on May 24, 1822, at the Battle of Pichincha.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Shapewear Day, National Connecticut Day, National Lazy Day, and National S’mores Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan’s five ships set sail from Seville to circumnavigate the globe. The Basque second-in-command Juan Sebastián Elcano would complete the expedition after Magellan’s death in the Philippines.
In 1675, the foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London, England was laid.
In 1793, the Musée du Louvre was officially opened in Paris, France.
In 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was chartered by the United States Congress after James Smithson donated $500,000.
In 1897, German chemist Felix Hoffmann discovered an improved way of synthesizing acetylsalicylic acid (better known as aspirin).
In 1948, Candid Camera made its television debut after being on radio for a year as Candid Microphone.
In 1949, United States President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act Amendment, streamlining the defense agencies of the United States government, and replacing the Department of War with the United States Department of Defense.
In 1960, actor and producer Antonio Banderas was born.
Also in 1960, Psycho premiered in Los Angeles, California.
In 1965, actress, singer, writer, and director Claudia Christian was born.
In 1972, actress Angie Harmon was born.
In 1988, United States President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, providing $20,000 payments to Japanese Americans who were either interned in or relocated by the United States during World War II.

In 1962, author Suzanne Collins was born.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, she was the daughter of a military officer, so she spent her childhood moving from place to place. She graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham as a Theater Arts major, completed her bachelor of arts degree from Indiana University Bloomington with a double major in theater and telecommunications, and earned her Master of Fine Arts in dramatic writing from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Collins started her career in 1991 as a writer for children’s television shows, including Clarissa Explains It All, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Little Bear, and Oswald. She was also the head writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days. She received a Writers Guild of America nomination in animation for co-writing the critically acclaimed Christmas special, Santa, Baby!

After meeting children’s author James Proimos while working on the Kids’ WB show Generation O!, she was inspired to write children’s books herself. Her inspiration for Gregor the Overlander, the first book of The New York Times best-selling series The Underland Chronicles, came from Alice in Wonderland, when she was thinking about how one was more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole, and would find something other than a tea party. The series spanned five books between 2003 and 2007.

In September 2008, Scholastic Press released The Hunger Games, the first book of a trilogy by Collins. Partly inspired by the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, the series was also inspired by her father’s career in the Air Force, which gave her insight into poverty, starvation, and the effects of war. The series was adapted into a series of four movies by Lions Gate Entertainment.

As a result of the trilogy’s popularity, Collins was named one of Time magazine’s most influential people of 2010. She also released a prequel in 2020 called The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

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 9

August 9, 2020August 7, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 9, 2020
Day 222 of 366

August 9th is the 222nd day of the year. It is National Women’s Day in South Africa, a public holiday that commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to petition against the country’s pass laws. Such laws required South Africans defined as “black” under The Population Registration Act to carry an internal passport, known as a pass, that served to maintain population segregation, control urbanization, and managed migrant labor during the apartheid era. The first National Women’s Day was celebrated on August 9, 1995.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Rice Pudding Day, National Veep Day, National Book Lovers Day, and National Spirit of ’45 Day (typically observed on the second Sunday in August).

Historical items of note:

In 1173, construction began on the campanile of the Cathedral of Pisa. Now known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, construction would take two centuries to complete.
In 1757, American humanitarian Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton was born.
In 1814, during the Indian Wars, the Creek people signed the Treaty of Fort Jackson, giving up huge parts of Alabama and Georgia.
In 1842, the Webster-Ashburton Treaty was signed, establishing the United States-Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.
In 1854, Henry David Thoreau published Walden.
In 1892, Thomas Edison received a patent for a two-way telegraph.
In 1899, Australian-English author and actress P. L. Travers was born. She is best known for the Mary Poppins series of children’s books.
In 1927, English actor and screenwriter Robert Shaw was born. “Cage goes in the water, you go in the water. Shark’s in the water. Our shark. Farewell and adieu to you, fair Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu, you ladies of Spain. For we’ve received orders for to sail back to Boston. And so nevermore shall we see you again.”
In 1930, Betty Boop made her cartoon debut in Dizzy Dishes.
In 1944, the United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council released posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time.
Also in 1944, actor and producer Sam Elliott was born.
In 1945, Nagasaki was devastated when an atomic bomb, Fat Man, was dropped by the United States B-29 Bockscar. Thirty-five thousand people were killed outright.
In 1957, actress and producer Melanie Griffith was born.
In 1968, American-British actress, activist and writer Gillian Anderson was born.
In 1969, followers of Charles Manson murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate (wife of Roman Polanski), coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Polish actor Wojciech Frykowski, men’s hairstylist Jay Sebring, and recent high-school graduate Steven Parent.
In 1973, Scottish actor and director Kevin McKidd was born.
In 1974, as a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon became the first (and only, so far) President of the United States to resign from office. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, became president.
In 1976, French actress Audrey Tautou was born.
In 1983, actress Ashley Johnson was born.
In 1985, actress and singer Anna Kendrick was born.
In 2014, Michael Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer. The 18-year-old African American allegedly assaulted the officer and attempted to steal his weapon, but the officer ended up shooting Brown twelve times during the altercation. The shooting sparked protests and unrest in the city over excessive use of force and racial profiling by police.

August 9th is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, a day to raise awareness and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population.

The observance also recognizes the achievements and contributions that indigenous people make to improve world issues such as environmental protection. It was first pronounced by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1994, marking the day of the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in 1982.

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 8

August 8, 2020August 7, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 8, 2020
Day 221 of 366

August 8th is the 221st day of the year. It is Ceasefire Day in Iraqi Kurdistan, commemorating the end of the Iran-Iraq War. The war has many names: The First Gulf War (جنگ ایران و عراق‎ in Persian, حرب الخليج الأولى‎ in Arabic), the Imposed War, and the Holy Defense or Sacred Defense (دفاع مقدس in Persian) in Iran. It started on September 22, 1980, when Iraq invaded Iran, and it lasted for eight years.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as Global Sleep Under The Stars Night, National CBD Day, National Happiness Happens Day, National Frozen Custard Day, National Sneak Some Zucchini Into Your Neighbor’s Porch Day, National Dollar Day, National Bowling Day, and National Garage Sale Day. The last two are typically observed on the second Saturday in August.

Historical items of note:

In 1576, the cornerstone for Tycho Brahe’s Uraniborg observatory was laid on the island of Hven.
In 1709, Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrated the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the king of Portugal in Lisbon, Portugal.
In 1786, Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border was climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard.
In 1876, Thomas Edison received a patent for his mimeograph.
In 1901, Nobel Prize laureate Ernest Lawrence was born. The American physicist and academic won the prize for the invention of the cyclotron. He is also known for his work on uranium-isotope separation for the Manhattan Project, and for founding the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
In 1902, Nobel Prize laureate Paul Dirac was born. The English-American physicist and academic was one of the most significant physicists of the 20th century. Dirac made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics, along with significant contributions to the reconciliation of general relativity with quantum mechanics. He formulated the Dirac equation which describes the behavior of fermions and predicted the existence of antimatter. He shared the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics with Erwin Schrödinger “for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory”.
In 1908, Wilbur Wright made his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It was the Wright Brothers’ first public flight.
In 1919, Italian actor and producer Dino De Laurentiis was born.
In 1926, actor Richard Anderson was born. He played Oscar Goldman in The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman.
In 1930, Welsh-American author and screenwriter Terry Nation was born. Especially known for his work in British television science fiction, he created the Daleks and Davros for Doctor Who, as well as the series Survivors and Blake’s 7.
In 1935, director, producer, and screenwriter Donald P. Bellisario was born. He is known for Magnum, P.I., Tales of the Gold Monkey, Airwolf, Quantum Leap, JAG, and NCIS.
In 1937, actor and director Dustin Hoffman was born.
In 1945, the London Charter was signed by France, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States, establishing the laws and procedures for the Nuremberg trials.
In 1963, the Great Train Robbery occurred in England. A gang of 15 train robbers stole £2.6 million in banknotes from a Royal Mail train. The stolen money was equivalent to £55 million ($72 million USD) in 2019.
In 1969, photographer Iain Macmillan took a picture at a zebra crossing in London. This photo became the iconic cover image of the Beatles’ album Abbey Road.
In 1974, President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announced his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.
In 1990, Iraq occupied Kuwait and the state was annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.

August 8th is International Cat Day.

It was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare as a day to raise awareness for cats and learn about ways to help and protect them. It is also referred to as World Cat Day, and while most countries now observe this unofficial holiday on August 8th, Russia celebrates National Cat Day on March 1st. The United States celebrates both International Cat Day and their own National Cat Day on October 29th.

In 2020, ownership of the observance passed to International Cat Care, a non-profit organization that has been striving to improve the health and welfare of domestic cats worldwide since 1958.

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 7

August 7, 2020August 6, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 7, 2020
Day 220 of 366

August 7th is the 220th day of the year. It is Youth Day in Kiribati, a state comprised of 32 atolls and one raised coral island in the central Pacific.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Lighthouse Day, National Raspberries N’ Cream Day, International Beer Day, and National Water Balloon Day. The last two are typically observed on the first Friday in August.

Historical items of note:

In 1786, the first federal Indian Reservation was created by the United States.
In 1858, the first Australian rules football match was played between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College.
In 1909, Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends became the first women to complete a transcontinental automobile trip, taking 59 days to travel from New York, New York to San Francisco, California.
In 1928, author and academic Betsy Byars was born.
In 1942, humorist, novelist, short story writer, and radio host Garrison Keillor was born.
In 1944, IBM dedicated the first program-controlled calculator. It was called the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, but is better known as the Harvard Mark I.
Also in 1944, actor John Glover was born.
In 1955, actor, comedian and voice actor Wayne Knight was born.
In 1960, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter David Duchovny was born.
In 1962, Canadian-born American pharmacologist Frances Oldham Kelsey was awarded the United States President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service for her refusal to authorize thalidomide, a drug known to cause severe birth defects.
In 1975, actress Charlize Theron was born.
In 1978, actor Cirroc Lofton was born.
In 1987, Lynne Cox became the first person to swim from the United States to the Soviet Union, crossing the Bering Strait from Little Diomede Island in Alaska to Big Diomede in the Soviet Union.
In 1997, Garth Brooks performed a free live concert in New York City’s Central Park. It was later released as Garth: Live from Central Park.

In 1782, President George Washington ordered the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle.

Designed by Washington in the form of a purple heart, it was intended as a military order for soldiers who exhibited, “not only instances of unusual gallantry in battle, but also extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way.” The award was only given to non-commissioned officers and privates. It is largely considered the first United States military decoration, and the second oldest in the world after the Cross of St. George.

After the Revolutionary War, the Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse although it was never officially abolished. In fact, the award of the badge was not proposed again officially until after World War I. In 1932, the United States War Department authorized the new Purple Heart Medal for soldiers who had previously received either a Wound Chevron or the Army Wound Ribbon. The Purple Heart became the official “successor decoration” to the Badge of Military Merit.

The Purple Heart was designed by Elizabeth Will, an Army heraldic specialist in the Office of the Quartermaster General. In general, the medal is awarded to any servicemember who is wounded or killed while in an official capacity with the Armed Forces against enemy combatants.

It is estimated that 321,000 awards were issued for actions in World War I. In World War II, over one million medals were awarded.

In honor of those awarded and the creation of the medal, August 7th is known as Purple Heart 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 – August 6

August 6, 2020August 5, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 6, 2020
Day 219 of 366

August 6th is the 219th day of the year. It is Independence Day in Bolivia, which separated from Spain in 1825, and Jamaica, which separated from the United Kingdom in 1962.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Root Beer Float Day, National Fresh Breath Day, National Wiggle Your Toes Day, and National IPA Day (typically observed on the first Thursday in August).

Historical items of note:

In 1661, the Treaty of The Hague was signed by Portugal and the Dutch Republic. Based on the terms of the treaty, the Dutch Republic recognized Portuguese imperial sovereignty over New Holland (Dutch Brazil) in exchange for an indemnity of 4 million reis, conversion from 2 million Caroli Guilders, over the span of 16 years.
In 1787, sixty proof sheets of the Constitution of the United States were delivered to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 1809, English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson was born.
In 1819, Norwich University was founded in Vermont as the first private military school in the United States.
In 1848, American writer and first black Army nurse Susie Taylor was born.
In 1881, Scottish biologist, pharmacologist, and botanist Alexander Fleming was born. He was a Nobel Prize laureate for his discovery of the world’s first broadly effective antibiotic substance, benzylpenicillin (Penicillin G), from the mold Penicillium rubens in 1928.
In 1890, at Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler became the first person to be executed by electric chair.
In 1911, actress, television producer, and businesswoman Lucille Ball was born.
In 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
Also in 1926, in New York City, the Warner Bros.’ Vitaphone system premiered with the movie Don Juan starring John Barrymore.
In 1928, painter and photographer Andy Warhol was born.
In 1942, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands became the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
In 1951, actress Catherine Hicks was born.
In 1960, Chubby Checker performed his version of “The Twist” on The Dick Clark Show. It started a worldwide dance craze.
In 1962, Malaysian-Hong Kong actress and producer Michelle Yeoh was born.
In 1965, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.
In 1972, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress Geri Halliwell was born.
In 1976, actress and producer Soleil Moon Frye was born.
In 1991, Tim Berners-Lee released files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW debuted as a publicly available service on the Internet.
Also in 1991, Takako Doi, chair of the Social Democratic Party, became Japan’s first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
In 1996, NASA announced that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contained evidence of primitive life-forms.
In 2012, NASA’s Curiosity rover landed on the surface of Mars. Only planned as a two-year mission, Curiosity is still operational, living for 2844 Martian sols (2921 total days).
In 2015, comedian Jon Stewart hosted The Daily Show for the last time.

In 1945, during World War II, Hiroshima, Japan was devastated when the atomic bomb “Little Boy” was dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Approximately 70,000 people were killed instantly, and tens of thousands died in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning. This event and the similar bombing of Nagasaki, Japan were part of the Allied response to Japan’s refusal to surrender unconditionally.

The anniversary is marked by a Japanese vigil. The city of Hiroshima holds the Peace Memorial Ceremony to console the victims of the atomic bombs and to pray for the realization of lasting world peace. The ceremony is held in front of the Memorial Cenotaph in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

Participants include the families of the deceased and people from all over the world. The first ceremony was held in 1947 by the then Hiroshima Mayor Shinzo Hamai.

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 5

August 5, 2020August 4, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 5, 2020
Day 218 of 366

August 5th is the 218th day of the year. It is Independence Day in Burkina Faso. It was founded as the Republic of Upper Volta on December 11, 1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. It gained full independence in 1960 and was officially renamed on August 4, 1984.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Underwear Day, National Work Like A Dog Day, and National Oyster Day. If I worked like my dogs for a day, I’d lay around and only take breaks to beg for food and bark at random things. But I’d be adorable.

Historical items of note:

In 1305, William Wallace was captured by the English near Glasgow. He led the Scottish resistance against England, and after he was transported to London, he was put on trial and executed.
In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert established the first English colony in North America. It was founded at what is now St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
In 1816, the British Admiralty dismissed Francis Ronalds’s new invention of the first working electric telegraph as “wholly unnecessary”, preferring to continue using the semaphore.
In 1858, Cyrus West Field and others completed the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. Unfortunately, it would operate for less than a month.
In 1861, in order to help pay for the civil war effort, the United States government levied the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861. The tax of three percent on all incomes over $800 was rescinded in 1872.
In 1874, Japan launched its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom.
In 1884, the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe’s Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.
In 1914, the first electric traffic light was installed. Cleveland, Ohio had the honors.
In 1930, astronaut and first man on the moon Neil Armstrong was born.
In 1945, actress Loni Anderson was born.
In 1957, American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage “baby-boomers” by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuted on the ABC television network.
In 1962, actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead at her home from an apparent drug overdose.
In 1970, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter James Gunn was born.

August 5th is Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian Defenders (Dan pobjede i domovinske zahvalnosti i Dan hrvatskih branitelja in Croatian).

This public holiday commemorates the Croatian War of Independence, was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the government of Croatia – which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) – and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) and local Serb forces.

On August 5, 1995, the Croatian Army took the city of Knin during Operation Storm, which effectively brought an end to Republic of Serbian Krajina proto-state. The main celebration is centered in that city, beginning with a mass and laying of wreaths in honor of those who died in the war and continuing with parades and concerts.

In 2008, the Croatian Parliament also assigned the name Day of Croatian Defenders to the holiday, thereby honoring current service members and veterans of the Republic of Croatia Armed Forces.

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 4

August 4, 2020August 2, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

August 4, 2020
Day 217 of 366

August 4th is the 217th day of the year. It is Constitution Day in the Cook Islands, commemorating their self-governance from 1965.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and National Night Out Day (which is typically observed on the first Tuesday in August.

Historical items of note:

In 1693, Dom Perignon supposedly invented champagne. It’s not clear whether he actually invented champagne, however, he has been credited as an innovator who developed the techniques used to perfect sparkling wine.
In 1821, The Saturday Evening Post was published for the first time as a weekly newspaper.
In 1863, Matica slovenská was established in Martin. It is Slovakia’s public-law cultural and scientific institution focusing on topics around the Slovak nation.
In 1900, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother of the United Kingdom, was born.
In 1901, trumpet player and singer Louis Armstrong was born.
In 1942, actor Don S. Davis was born.
In 1944, a tip from a Dutch informer led the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse. It was there that the found and arrested Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family, and four others.
In 1961, lawyer and politician, 44th President of the United States, and Nobel Prize laureate Barack Obama was born.
In 1968, South Korean-American actor Daniel Dae Kim was born.
In 1975, actor Andy Hallett was born.
In 1977, United States President Jimmy Carter signed legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.
In 1981, actress Abigail Spencer was born.
In 1983, actress, producer, and screenwriter Greta Gerwig was born.
In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission rescinded the Fairness Doctrine, which had required radio and television stations to present controversial issues “fairly”.
In 2007, NASA launched the Phoenix spacecraft, which researched the history of water on Mars.

In 1790, a newly passed tariff act created the Revenue Cutter Service, the forerunner of the United States Coast Guard.

The organization was founded by then-Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. The United States Congress, guided by Hamilton, authorized the building of a fleet of the first ten Revenue Service cutters. Immediately after the American Revolutionary War, the newly established United States was struggling to stay financially afloat and national income was desperately needed. A great deal of this income came from import tariffs, and because of rampant smuggling, the need was immediate for strong enforcement of tariff laws. Those ships represented the United States Government’s first official “armed force afloat” since the United States Navy wasn’t founded until 1798.

The United States Coast Guard received its present name through an act of Congress signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on January 28, 1915. This act merged the Revenue Cutter Service with the U.S. Life-Saving Service, providing the nation with a single maritime service dedicated to saving life at sea and enforcing the nation’s maritime laws.

The Coast Guard began to maintain the country’s maritime aids to navigation, including operating lighthouses, when President Franklin Roosevelt announced plans to transfer the U.S. Lighthouse Service to the Coast Guard in May of 1939. Congress permanently transferred the Department of Commerce Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation to the Coast Guard in July 1946, thereby placing merchant marine licensing and merchant vessel safety under Coast Guard regulation.

After 177 years in the Treasury Department, the Coast Guard was transferred to the newly formed Department of Transportation effective April 1, 1967. As a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Coast Guard was transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security in 2003.

August 4th is annually celebrated as Coast Guard Day to commemorate the birthday of the service.

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.

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