AFM #26 — 10/4/2018

AFM | Thursday, 10/4/2018 | #26

From the founding era. In 2018 this went out every weekday as a card, not an essay — so there is no narrative to publish here, and none has been invented. What follows is the edition itself, reconstructed from the two spreadsheets that recorded it.

Today is

Look at the Leaves Day
Mean Girls Appreciation Day
National Boyfriend Day
National Butterfly & Hummingbird Day
National Caramel Custard Day
National Family TV Show Day
National Kale Dau
Random Acts of Poetry Day
Cinnamon Roll Day
Improve Your Office Day
International Toot Your Flute Day
National Poetry Day (UK)
National Taco Day

This day in history

UK tests its first atomic bomb Called Operation Hurricane the test was conducted near the Montebello Islands in Western Australia. The operation made the UK the third country to have nuclear weapons, the United States and the Soviet Union were the first two.
1952
Iraq gains independence from the United Kingdom The West Asian country came under British control in 1920, after the end of the First World War. After taking control of the country, the British installed the deposed Syrian King Faisal I as the King of Iraq.
1932
Lesotho independence Lesotho gained independence from British rule.
1966
World's first artificial satellite launched The Soviet Union launched the Sputnik from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Baikonur Cosmodrome is the world’s oldest and largest space launch facility still in operation. The successful launch of Sputnik spurred the Space Race – a race between Cold War rivals USSR and US to gain supremacy in spaceflight.
1957
Last day of the Julian Calendar in Catholic countries The next day, the Gregorian calendar took effect in Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain by the order of Pope Gregory XIII. The calendar was put in place to realign events like equinoxes and solstices with the calendar, ensuring that Easter is always celebrated around the Northern Hemisphere's spring equinox. Because of the new calendar, several days were skipped, and October 4 was followed by October 15. Today, the Gregorian calendar is the most used calendar around the world.
1582

Born on this day

Ashlee Simpson · American singer-songwriter, actress · 1984 · Gwen Stefani · American singer-songwriter, actress, fashion designer · 1969 · Al Sharpton · American minister, talk show host, activist · 1954 · Stevie Ray Vaughan · American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer · 1954 · Gore Vidal · American author, screenwriter, actor · 1925 · National Virus Appreciation Day · Edgar Allen Poe seen in public for the last time The Baltimore, Maryland-based American poet and author, best known for his poem The Raven was found sick and delirious on the streets and taken to Washington College Hospital, where he died a few days later. He was 40 years old at the time of his death. · 1849 · Woody Guthrie · American singer-songwriter, musician · 1967 · Carl Nielsen · Danish violinist, composer, conductor · 1931 · Francis of Assisi · Italian friar, saint · 1226 · Did you know? · Derrick Rose · American basketball player · 1988 · eDay · Abyss · American wrestler · 1973 · Chuck Hagel · American politician · 1946 · National Golf Day · Buster Keaton · American actor, director, producer · 1895 · Rutherford B. Hayes · American politician, 19th President of the United States · 1822 · National Ships-in-Bottles Day · Ten-Four Day · First US Open for Golf The now annual event was played at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island, for the first time. 11 people played the 36-hole competition in a single day. Horace Rawlins, a 21-year old Englishman won the tournament and took home a trophy and $150 cash. · 1895

Recorded as a single run in the source sheet; we haven't matched each name to a year.

Died on this day

Ronnie Barker · English comedian, actor · 2005 · The origins of the word compete don’t speak of winning or losing, but the coming together in a common aim and to strive together\! · Glenn Gould · Canadian pianist, composer · 1982 · Anne Sexton · American poet · 1974 · Janis Joplin · American singer-songwriter · 1970 · Rembrandt · Dutch painter · 1669

Recorded as a single run in the source sheet; we haven't matched each name to a year.

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us be thankful.

— Buddha

Riddle of the day

You bury me when I’m alive and dig me up when I’m dead. What am I? Imagine you are in a sinking boat and surrounded by sharks. What could you do to survive?

The answer

stop imagining — in 2018 you'd have waited until the next morning for this.

Aloha Friday Motivation