AFM | Tuesday, 10/23/2018 | #36
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
- National Canning Day
- National iPod Day
- Swallows Depart from San Juan Capistrano Day
- National Slap Your Irritating Co-Worker Day
- TV Talk Show Host Day
This day in history
- Apple announces the first iPod Player The iPod is the world's best-selling portable media player. Already 6 years after its initial launch, Apple announced that 100 million devices had been sold. The company has been criticized for its aggressive policies forcing users to use only original batteries and preventing them from freely sharing content with others.
- 2001
- Swatch Announces Internet Time The Swiss watch company invented a new unit of time called the .beat, which corresponds to 1 minute and 26.4 seconds. Under the Internet Time system, a day is divided into 1000 .beats.
- 1998
- Beirut Barracks Bombing Two bombs exploded in front of American and French barracks during the Lebanese Civil War, killing about 300 French and American military personnel. Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the bombings.
- 1983
- Jean-Paul Sartre Turns Down Nobel Prize The French existentialist philosopher and writer published a letter in the newspaper Le Figaro to explain why he did not want to accept the Nobel Prize for Literature he had been awarded the day before on October 22. In his letter, he said he did not want to take sides in the East and West struggle of the Cold War, by accepting an award that was given out by Western institutions.
- 1964
Born on this day
- Weird Al Yankovic · American singer-songwriter, comedian, actor · 1959 · Paul Kagame · Rwandan politician, 6th President of Rwanda · 1957 · Michael Crichton · American author, screenwriter, director, producer · 1942 · Pelé · Brazilian footballer · 1940 · National Mole Day · Johnny Carson · American television host · 1925
Recorded as a single run in the source sheet; we haven't matched each name to a year.
Died on this day
- Yokozuna — American wrestler (2000)
- Christian Dior — French fashion designer, founded S.A. (1957)
- Al Jolson — Lithuanian/American singer, actor (1950)
- W. G. Grace — English cricketer (1915)
My coach said I run like a girl, and I said if he ran a little faster, he could too!— Mia Hamm
Riddle of the day
Most people need it, some ask for it, some give it, but almost nobody takes it. What is it?
The answer
advice — in 2018 you'd have waited until the next morning for this.
Aloha Friday Motivation
· Edition #36 · 10/23/2018 ·