The Thing About Today – June 14

June 14, 2020June 14, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

June 14, 2020
Day 166 of 366

June 14th is the 166th day of the year. It is Flag Day in the United States, commemorating the adoption of the flag on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as International Bath Day, National Strawberry Shortcake Day, National Pop Goes the Weasel Day, National Bourbon Day, National New Mexico Day, and National Children’s Day (which is typically observed on the second Sunday in June).

Historical items of note:

In 1158, Munich was founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the river Isar.
In 1618, Joris Veseler printed the first Dutch newspaper Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. in Amsterdam.
In 1775, the Continental Army was established by the Continental Congress, marking the birth of the United States Army.
In 1777, the Stars and Stripes was adopted by Congress as the Flag of the United States.
In 1789, the HMS Bounty mutiny survivors including Captain William Bligh and 18 others reach Timor after a nearly 4,600 mile journey in an open boat.
In 1822, Charles Babbage proposed a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society.
In 1846, the Bear Flag Revolt began as white settlers in Sonoma, California started a rebellion against Mexico and proclaimed the California Republic.
In 1864, German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer was born.
In 1877, British biochemist Ida MacLean was born. She was the first woman admitted to the London Chemical Society.
In 1900, Hawaii became a United States territory.
In 1907, the National Association for Women’s Suffrage succeeded in getting Norwegian women the right to vote in parliamentary elections.
In 1909, actor and singer Burl Ives was born.
In 1949, Albert II, a rhesus monkey, rode a V-2 rocket to an altitude of 83 miles, thereby becoming the first monkey in space.
In 1954, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill into law that placed the words “under God” into the United States Pledge of Allegiance. It was an attempt to differentiate the United States from the USSR during the Cold War.
In 1959, Disneyland Monorail System, the first daily operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere, opens to the public in Anaheim, California.
In 1962, the European Space Research Organisation was established in Paris. It would later become the European Space Agency.
In 1966, the Vatican announced the abolition of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (“index of prohibited books”), which was originally instituted in 1557.
In 1967, Mariner 5 was launched towards Venus.
In 1968, model and actress Yasmine Bleeth was born.
In 1991, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was released.
In 2002, The Bourne Identity was released.

June 14th is World Blood Donor Day.

The event, established in 2004, serves to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank blood donors for their voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood.

Transfusion of blood and blood products helps to save millions of lives every year, helping patients who suffer from life-threatening conditions live longer and with a higher quality of life, and supports complex medical and surgical procedures. It also has an essential, life-saving role in maternal and perinatal care. Access to safe and sufficient blood and blood products can help reduce rates of death and disability due to severe bleeding during delivery and after childbirth. In many countries, there is not an adequate supply of safe blood, and blood services face the challenge of making sufficient blood available, while also ensuring its quality and safety.

World Blood Donor Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Tuberculosis Day, World Immunization Week, World Malaria Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Hepatitis Day, and World AIDS Day.

World Blood Donor Day is celebrated on June 14, on the birthday anniversary of Karl Landsteiner, the scientist who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the ABO blood group system.

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 – June 13

June 13, 2020June 12, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

June 13, 2020
Day 165 of 366

June 13th is the 165th day of the year. It is Inventors’ Day in Hungary.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Kitchen Klutzes of America Day, National Weed Your Garden Day, National Sewing Machine Day, and National Rosé Day (which is typically observed on the second Saturday in June).

Historical items of note:

In 313, the decisions of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius, were published in Nicomedia. They granted religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire.
In 1525, Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora, standing against the celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for priests and nuns.
In 1774, Rhode Island became the first of Britain’s North American colonies to ban the importation of slaves.
In 1777, Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, known simply as Lafayette in the United States, landed near Charleston, South Carolina, in order to help the Continental Congress to train its army.
In 1831, Scottish physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell was born. His most notable achievement was the “second great unification in physics”, specifically to formulate the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, bringing together for the first time electricity, magnetism, and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon.
In 1865, Irish poet, playwright, and Nobel Prize laureate William Butler Yeats was born.
In 1870, Belgian immunologist, microbiologist, and Nobel Prize laureate Jules Bordet was born.
In 1892, actor Basil Rathbone was born.
In 1893, United States President Grover Cleveland noticed a rough spot in his mouth. On July 1, he underwent a secret, successful surgery to remove a large, cancerous portion of his jaw. The public didn’t find out until 1917, nine years after the president’s death.
In 1911, physicist, academic, and Nobel Prize laureate Luis Walter Alvarez was born.
In 1928, mathematician, academic, and Nobel Prize laureate John Forbes Nash, Jr. was born.
In 1929, illustrator Ralph McQuarrie was born. A lot of the imagery in science fiction and fantasy came from his mind.
In 1943, actor and producer Malcolm McDowell was born.
In 1951, actor Stellan Skarsgård was born.
In 1962, actress and author Ally Sheedy was born.
In 1966, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Miranda v. Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them.
In 1967, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Solicitor-General Thurgood Marshall to become the first black justice on the United States Supreme Court.
In 1971, The New York Times began publication of the Pentagon Papers.
In 1978, the film version of Grease premiered.
In 1981, actor, producer, and Captain America Chris Evans was born.
In 1983, Pioneer 10 became the first man-made object to leave the central Solar System when it passed beyond the orbit of Neptune.
In 1986, child actresses, fashion designers, and businesswomen twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were born.
In 1994, a jury in Anchorage, Alaska, blamed recklessness by Exxon and Captain Joseph Hazelwood for the Exxon Valdez disaster, allowing victims of the oil spill to seek $15 billion in damages.

June 13th is National Random Acts of Light Day in the United States.

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
—Edith Wharton

National Random Acts of Light Day encourages people to bring light to the darkness of cancer by surprising someone with an act of kindness. After all, it takes just one gentle word or small token to help.

As part of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Walks fundraising campaign, Random Acts of Light brings awareness to the importance of providing cures. The organization also provides access to treatments for blood cancer patients.

A simple visit. A walk in the park. A fresh bouquet of flowers. A cup of coffee. Surprise someone you love by bringing a little light to their 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 – June 12

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

June 12, 2020
Day 164 of 366

June 12th is the 164th day of the year. It is the World Day Against Child Labour, an International Labour Organization (ILO)-sanctioned holiday first launched in 2002 designed to raise awareness and activism to prevent child labor. The ILO is the United Nations body that regulates the world of work, and according to their data, hundreds of millions of girls and boys throughout the world are involved in work that deprives them of receiving an adequate education, health, leisure, and basic freedoms. Of these children, more than half are exposed to the worst forms of child labor, including work in hazardous environments, slavery, drug trafficking and prostitution, and involvement in armed conflict.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Red Rose Day, National Jerky Day, and National Peanut Butter Cookie Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1665, Thomas Willett was appointed the first mayor of New York City.
In 1817, the earliest form of bicycle, the dandy horse, was driven by Karl von Drais.
In 1827, Swiss author Johanna Spyri was born. Her best known work is Heidi.
In 1916, director and producer Irwin Allen was born.
In 1929, Anne Frank was born. She would famously chronicle her life in hiding from the soldiers of Nazi Germany. She died at the age of 15 in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
In 1930, actor and singer Jim Nabors was born.
In 1935, a ceasefire was negotiated between Bolivia and Paraguay, thereby ending the Chaco War.
In 1939, filming began on Dr. Cyclops, a film by Paramount Pictures and the first horror film photographed in three-strip Technicolor.
In 1942, Anne Frank received a diary for her thirteenth birthday.
In 1948, comic book writer and editor Len Wein was born.
In 1958, actress Rebecca Holden was born.
In 1963, NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers was murdered in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi by Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith during the civil rights movement.
In 1967, You Only Live Twice premiered. It was the fifth James Bond film, and starred Sean Connery with a screenplay by Roald Dahl.
In 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark premiered.
In 1987, at the Brandenburg Gate, United States President Ronald Reagan publicly challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
In 1997, Queen Elizabeth II reopened the Globe Theatre in London.
In 2007, analog television stations (excluding low-powered stations) switched to digital television following the DTV Delay Act.

In 1967, the United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declared that all U.S. state laws which prohibited interracial marriage were unconstitutional.

The case involved Mildred Loving, a woman of color, and her white husband Richard Loving. In 1958, they were sentenced to a year in prison for marrying each other. Their marriage violated Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which criminalized marriage between people classified as “white” and people classified as “colored”.

Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the court majority opinion that “the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State.” The anti-miscegenation laws violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The decision was followed by an increase in interracial marriages in the United States and is remembered annually on Loving 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 – June 11

June 11, 2020June 10, 2020 Michael Falkner1 Comment

June 11, 2020
Day 163 of 366

June 11th is the 163rd day of the year. It is Davis Day on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. Officially known as William Davis Miners’ Memorial Day, it is an annual day of remembrance for the coal mining communities to recognize all miners killed in the province’s coal mines. It originated in memory of William Davis, a coal miner who was killed during a long strike by the province’s coal miners against the British Empire Steel Corporation.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Making Life Beautiful Day, National Corn on the Cob Day, and National German Chocolate Cake Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1748, Denmark adopted the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries.
In 1770, British explorer Captain James Cook ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
In 1776, the Continental Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.
In 1837, the Broad Street Riot occurred in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between Yankees and Irish.
In 1864, German composer and conductor Richard Strauss was born.
In 1892, the Limelight Department was officially established in Melbourne, Australia. It was one of the world’s first film studios.
In 1895, Paris–Bordeaux–Paris took place. It is sometimes called the first automobile race in history.
In 1910, French biologist, author, inventor, and co-developer of the aqua-lung Jacques Cousteau was born.
In 1920, during the United States Republican National Convention in Chicago, Republican Party leaders gathered in a room at the Blackstone Hotel to come to a consensus on their candidate for the upcoming presidential election. This inspired the Associated Press to coin the political phrase “smoke-filled room”.
In 1933, actor, director, and screenwriter Gene Wilder was born.
In 1935, inventor Edwin Armstrong first demonstrated FM broadcasting at Alpine, New Jersey.
In 1944, USS Missouri (BB-63) was commissioned. It was the last battleship built by the United States Navy and future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.
In 1945, actress Adrienne Barbeau was born.
In 1959, actor and screenwriter Hugh Laurie was born.
In 1962, Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
In 1963, Governor of Alabama George Wallace defiantly stood at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.
Also in 1963, President John F. Kennedy addressed Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The legislation would attempt to revolutionize American life by guaranteeing equal access to public facilities, ending segregation in education, and guaranteeing federal protection for voting rights.
In 1968, actress Sophie Okonedo was born.
In 1969, actor and producer Peter Dinklage was born.
In 1970, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially received their ranks as United States Army Generals, becoming the first females to do so. They had been formally appointed on May 15th.
In 1977, the Main Street Electrical Parade premiered in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
In 1978, actor Joshua Jackson was born.
In 1982, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial premiered.
In 1984, Michael Larson successfully pulled off the Press Your Luck scandal by winning a record-breaking $110,237 by memorizing the gameboard patterns.
In 1986, actor Shia LaBeouf was born.
In 1990, the United Nations appointed Olivia Newton-John as an environmental ambassador.
In 1993, Jurassic Park premiered.
In 2002, Antonio Meucci was acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
In 2004, Cassini–Huygens made its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe.

June 11th is King Kamehameha I Day.

The Hawaiian public holiday honors Kamehameha the Great, the monarch who first established the unified Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, comprised of the Hawaiian Islands of Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaiʻi.

The day was first proclaimed by Kamehameha V on December 22, 1871. It was almost meant as a replacement for Hawaiian Sovereignty Restoration Day, which the king and ministers disliked due to its association with the Paulet Affair, the five-month occupation of the Hawaiian Islands in 1843 by British naval officer Captain Lord George Paulet of HMS Carysfort.

In 1883, a statue of King Kamehameha was dedicated in Honolulu by King David Kalākaua. It was a duplicate statue because the original was lost at sea. It was later recovered and placed in North Kohala on the island of Hawaiʻi. There are other duplicates in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C., and in Hilo on the island of Hawaiʻi.

King Kamehameha I Day was one of the first holidays proclaimed by the Governor of Hawaiʻi and the Hawaiʻi State Legislature when Hawaiʻi achieved statehood in 1959. Today, it is treated with elaborate events harkening back to ancient Hawaiʻi, respecting the cultural traditions that Kamehameha defended as his society was slowly shifting towards European trends.

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 – June 10

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

June 10, 2020
Day 162 of 366

June 10th is the 162nd day of the year. It is Portugal Day, or officially Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities, a commemoration of Portuguese poet and national literary icon Luís de Camões. Camões died on June 10, 1580, and his work is often compared to that of Shakespeare, Vondel, Homer, Virgil, and Dante.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Egg Roll Day, National Ballpoint Pen Day, National Iced Tea Day, National Black Cow Day, and National Herbs and Spices Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1829, the first annual Boat Race competition between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge took place on the River Thames in London.
In 1854, the United States Naval Academy graduated its first class of students.
In 1895, actress Hattie McDaniel was born. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first African American to win an Oscar, for her role as “Mammy” in 1939’s Gone with the Wind.
In 1916, entrepreneur William Rosenberg was born. He was the founder of Dunkin’ Donuts.
In 1922, singer, actress, and vaudevillian Judy Garland was born.
In 1928, author and illustrator Maurice Dendak was born. Among other books, he wrote Where the Wild Things Are.
In 1929, astronaut James McDivitt was born.
In 1947, Saab produced its first automobile.
In 1963, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex, was signed into law by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program.
In 1964, the United States Senate broke a 75-day filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, leading to the bill’s passage. The filibuster was launched by twenty conservative “Southern Bloc” senators who vowed to resist, “to the bitter end”, any measure or any movement that would bring social equality and “intermingling and amalgamation of the races” to the Southern states.
In 1965, model, actress, and producer Elizabeth Hurley was born.
In 1983, actress and producer Leelee Sobieski was born.
In 1992, model and actress Kate Upton was born.
In 2001, Pope John Paul II canonized Lebanon’s first female saint, Saint Rafqa.
In 2003, the Spirit rover was launched, beginning NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission.

June 10th is World Art Nouveau Day.

World Art Nouveau Day is dedicated to (you guessed it) art nouveau, a style of artwork that breaks down the traditional distinction between fine arts and applied arts. It was organized by The Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest in cooperation with Szecessziós Magazin, a Hungarian Magazine about the art form.

The selected date is the anniversary of the death of two famous architects of the movement, Antoni Gaudí and Ödön Lechner.

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 – June 9

June 9, 2020June 8, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

June 9, 2020
Day 161 of 366

June 9th is the 161st day of the year. It is Autonomy Day in Åland, celebrating the anniversary of the first congregation of the regional government. The Åland Islands, or more simply, Åland, is an archipelago province at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea belonging to Finland. They were granted autonomy in 1921.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Donald Duck Day, National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day, National Earl Day, and Call Your Doctor Day (observed on the second Tuesday in June).

Historical items of note:

In 1732, James Oglethorpe was granted a royal charter for the colony of the future U.S. state of Georgia.
In 1891, composer and songwriter Cole Porter was born.
In 1922, pilot and poet John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was born.
In 1934, Donald Duck made his first appearance in a cartoon called “The Wise Little Hen”.
In 1951, composer, conductor, and producer James Newton Howard was born.
In 1954, Joseph Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashed out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Army–McCarthy hearings, giving McCarthy the famous rebuke, “You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”
In 1959, the USS George Washington (SSBN-598) was launched. It was the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
In 1961, actor, producer, and author Michael J. Fox was born.
Also in 1961, screenwriter, producer, and playwright Aaron Sorkin was born.
In 1963, actor Johnny Depp was born.
In 1964, actress Gloria Reuben was born.
In 1973, Secretariat won the U.S. Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.
In 1978, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints finally opened its priesthood to “all worthy men”, ending a 148-year-old policy of inexplicably excluding black men from one of the most important aspects of their faith.
Also in 1978, actress Michaela Conlin was born.
In 1981, actress and filmmaker Natalie Portman was born.
In 1989, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier premiered.
In 2014, Laverne Cox became the first transgender woman to appear on the cover of Time Magazine.

June 9th is Coral Triangle Day.

The day celebrates and raises awareness of ocean conservation and protection, especially on the Coral Triangle, the world’s epicenter of marine biodiversity.

The Coral Triangle is the vast ocean expense located along the equator and the confluence of the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. The region covers the exclusive economic zones of six countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and East Timor, collectively known as the “CT6” countries. The Coral Triangle is considered one of the three mega ecological complexes on Earth. The other two are the Congo Basin and the Amazon Rainforest.

The region represents the global epicenter of marine life abundance and diversity, containing 76% of all known coral species, 37% of all known coral reef fish species, 53% of the world’s coral reefs, the greatest extent of mangrove forests in the world, and spawning and juvenile growth areas for the world’s largest tuna fishery.

The area also may have a buffer against the future of climate change, making it potentially the world’s most important “refuge” for marine life. The combined resources provide profound benefits to the 363 million people who reside within the CT6 countries and benefit many millions more outside the region.

That said, the region is under significant threat by warming, acidifying, and rising seas.

Coral Triangle Day was first observed in 2012, working in conjunction with World Oceans 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 – June 8

June 8, 2020June 7, 2020 Michael Falkner1 Comment

June 8, 2020
Day 160 of 366

June 8th is the 160th day of the year. It is World Brain Tumor Day, an international commemoration of brain tumor patients and their families.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Best Friends Day, National Name Your Poison Day, and National Upsy Daisy Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1783, the Laki volcano in Iceland began an eight-month eruption that killed over 9,000 people and started a seven-year famine.
In 1789, James Madison introduced twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in Congress. Of those proposed amendments, ten were ratified as the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. Another became the Twenty-Seventh Amendment (dealing with Congressional salary changes) on May 5, 1992. The last one, concerning Congressional apportionment, is still pending before the states with an indefinite time limit.
In 1860, Irish-English mathematician and theorist Alicia Boole Stott was born.
In 1867, architect Frank Lloyd Wright was born. He designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater.
In 1887, Herman Hollerith applied for United States patent #395,781 for the “Art of Compiling Statistics”, which was his punched card calculator.
In 1906, Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act into law. This authorized the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value.
In 1912, Carl Laemmle incorporated Universal Pictures.
In 1918, Air Force captain, actor, and singer Robert Preston was born.
In 1933, comedian, actress, and television host Joan Rivers was born.
In 1936, actor and singer James Darren was born.
In 1940, singer and actor Nancy Sinatra was born.
In 1943, Sixth Doctor (Doctor Who) Colin Baker was born.
In 1949, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four was published.
In 1953, the United States Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. that restaurants in Washington, D.C., cannot refuse to serve black patrons.
In 1959, USS Barbero (SS-317) and the United States Postal Service attempted the delivery of mail via Missile Mail. The cost of continued service could not be justified.
In 1966, an F-104 Starfighter collided with XB-70 Valkyrie prototype number 2, destroying both aircraft during a photo shoot near Edwards Air Force Base. Joseph A. Walker, a NASA test pilot, and Carl Cross, a United States Air Force test pilot, were both killed.
Also in 1966, actress Julianna Margulies was born.
In 1972, nine-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc was burned by napalm, an event captured by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut moments later while the young girl was seen running down a road. The resulting photograph would become an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winner.
In 1973, model and actress Lexa Doig was born.
In 1984, homosexuality was declared legal in the Australian state of New South Wales.
Also in 1984, the original Ghostbusters was released.
Also in 1984, Gremlins was released.

In 1992, the first World Oceans Day was celebrated. It coincided with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

World Oceans Day was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008. The international day supports the implementation of worldwide Sustainability Development Goals and fosters public interest in the management of the ocean and its resources. The day is marked in a variety of ways, including information campaigns and initiatives, special events at aquariums and zoos, outdoor explorations, aquatic and beach cleanups, educational and conservation action programs, art contests, film festivals, and sustainable seafood events.

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 – June 7

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

June 7, 2020
Day 159 of 366

June 7th is the 159th day of the year. It is National Cancer Survivor’s Day in the United States, celebrated on the first Sunday in June.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Boone Day, National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, National VCR Day, and National Oklahoma Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1776, Richard Henry Lee presented the “Lee Resolution” to the Continental Congress. The motion was seconded by John Adams and would lead to the United States Declaration of Independence.
In 1862, the United States and the United Kingdom agreed in the Lyons–Seward Treaty to suppress the African slave trade.
In 1896, physicist, chemist, and Nobel Prize laureate Robert S. Mulliken was born.
In 1909, actress Jessica Tandy was born.
In 1911, engineer and designer Brooks Stevens was born. He designed the Wienermobile.
In 1917, singer, actor, and producer Dean Martin was born.
In 1946, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) returned to broadcasting its television service, which had been off the air for seven years because of World War II.
In 1950, actor Gary Graham was born.
In 1952, actor Liam Neeson was born.
In 1955, Lux Radio Theatre signed off the air permanently. The show launched in New York in 1934 and featured radio adaptations of Broadway shows and popular films.
In 1958, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor Prince was born.
In 1960, screenwriter and producer Bill Brady was born.
In 1965, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, prohibiting the states from criminalizing the use of contraception by married couples.
In 1971, the United States Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Paul Cohen for disturbing the peace, setting the precedent that vulgar writing is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
In 1972, actor Karl Urban was born.
In 1979, actress Anna Torv was born.
In 1982, Priscilla Presley opened Graceland to the public, however, the bathroom where Elvis Presley died five years earlier was kept off-limits.

June 7th is Journalist Day in Argentina.

The Gazeta de Buenos Ayres – translated, the Buenos Aires Gazette – was a newspaper originating in Buenos Aires, United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, in 1810. Initially, it was used to give publicity to the actions of Primera Junta, the first post-colonial Argentine government.

The Gazeta provided information about new laws, the development of the Peninsular War and the Argentine War of Independence, and served as a medium for political thought. The government ordered that the newspaper be read aloud at chapels after mass celebrations, because of the high illiteracy rate among the population.

It was closed by Bernardino Rivadavia, the minister of government to Buenos Aires, in 1821.

The paper was organized on June 2, 1810, and the first issue was released on June 7th with each issue following on a weekly basis. The observance of Journalist Day started in 1938.

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 – June 6

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

June 6, 2020
Day 158 of 366

June 6th is the 158th day of the year. It is National Huntington’s Disease Awareness Day in the United States, designed to bring awareness to the inherited disorder that results in the death of brain cells and the quest for a cure.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Eyewear Day, National Higher Education Day, National Gardening Exercise Day, National Yo-Yo Day, National Drive In Movie Day, and National Applesauce Cake Day. It’s also the first Saturday in June, which means that it’s National Black Bear Day, National Bubbly Day, National Prairie Day, and National Trails Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London. The Village People would tell us all about it 134 years later.
Also in 1844, the Glaciarium opened in London. It was the world’s first mechanically frozen ice rink.
In 1859, Queensland was established as a separate Australian colony from New South Wales. The date is commemorated as Queensland Day.
In 1892, the Chicago “L” elevated rail system began operation.
In 1912, the eruption of Novarupta in Alaska began. It was the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.
In 1918, biochemist, academic, and Nobel Prize laureate Edwin G. Krebs was born.
In 1923, author, illustrator, and painter V.C. Andrews was born.
In 1932, the Revenue Act of 1932 was enacted. It created the first gas tax in the United States, at a rate of 1 cent per US gallon.
In 1933, the first drive-in theater opened in Camden, New Jersey.
In 1934, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 into law, establishing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In 1947, actor Robert Englund was born.
In 1963, actor Jason Isaacs was born.
In 1971, Soyuz 11 was launched.
In 1987, actor Daniel Logan was born.
In 2002, a near-Earth asteroid estimated at ten meters in diameter exploded over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya. The explosion was estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, slightly more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb.

In 1944, the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II – codenamed Operation Overlord – began with Operation Neptune, commonly referred to as D-Day.

The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the liberation of German-occupied France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. 155,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy in France. The Allied soldiers quickly broke through the Atlantic Wall and pushed inland.

Planning began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted Operation Bodyguard to mislead the Germans regarding the date and location of the main Allied landings. The landings were conducted in poor weather and were actually postponed one day from their intended assault. If the weather was any worse for June 6th, a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks due to the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day.

The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault consisting of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armored divisions began landing on the coast of France at 6:30am.

The target 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. The landing was treacherous: The beaches were under heavy fire from gun emplacements, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire. Due to the high cliffs at Omaha, the casualties were heaviest there. At Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled using specialized tanks.

Despite all of this, the Allies failed to achieve any of their goals on the first day. The five beachheads were not connected until June 12th, but the operation gained a foothold that the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months. Allied casualties were documented for at least 10,000. Between 4,000 to 9,000 German soldiers died during the assault.

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 – June 5

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

June 5, 2020
Day 157 of 366

June 5th is the 157th day of the year. It is Arbor Day in New Zealand.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Gingerbread Day, National Moonshine Day, National Veggie Burger Day, and National Doughnut Day (which is typically observed on the first Friday in June).

Historical items of note:

In 1832, the June Rebellion broke out in Paris in an attempt to overthrow the monarchy of Louis Philippe. It was memorialized by Victor Hugo in his novel Les Misérables and figures largely in the stage musical and films that are based on the book.
In 1849, Denmark became a constitutional monarchy by the signing of a new constitution.
In 1916, Louis Brandeis was sworn in as a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. That made him the first American Jew to hold such a position.
In 1919, author and illustrator Richard Scarry was born.
In 1934, American journalist and 13th White House Press Secretary Bill Moyers was born.
In 1953, film producer, co-founder of Amblin Entertainment, and president of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy was born.
In 1956, Elvis Presley introduced his new single, “Hound Dog”, on The Milton Berle Show. The audience was scandalized with his suggestive hip movements.
Also in 1956, saxophonist, songwriter, and producer Kenny G was born.
In 1964, the deep-sea research vehicle DSV Alvin is commissioned.
In 1971, model, actor, producer, and rapper Mark Wahlberg was born.
In 1977, actress Liza Weil was born.
In 1989, the Tank Man halted the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour after the Tiananmen Square protests.
In 1995, the Bose–Einstein condensate was first created. It is a state of matter, sometimes known as the fifth state of matter, which is formed when a gas of bosons at low densities is cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero (-273.15 °C).

June 5th is World Environment Day.

The day is the United Nations’ principal event for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness about environmental issues such as marine pollution, human overpopulation, global warming/climate change, sustainable consumption, and wildlife crime.

World Environment Day is a global event with participation from over 143 countries annually.

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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