Daily Calendar for Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Question of the Day
Why is a nautical mile different from a land mile?
The mile was originally a Roman linear measure of 1,000 paces — about 1,618 yards. (Its length has varied considerably at different periods and in different localities; the legal mile is now 1,760 yards, or 5,280 feet.) Such a linear measurement cannot be used at sea, so the nautical mile is based on the length of one minute of arc (or 1/60 of a degree) of a great circle of Earth. Owing to the fact that Earth is not a true sphere, the mile as thus defined varies considerably. Therefore, the British assigned it a standard value of 6,080 feet.
Advice of the Day
Plant marigolds around your lover’s footsteps to keep your true love.
Home Hint of the Day
Sharpen your hand scraper frequently throughout a paint scraping project. It’s the rough edge left on the scraper after you file it that removes the paint.
Word of the Day
To catch a crab
In rowing when a stroke of the oar either misses the water or digs too deeply.
Puzzle of the Day
What day of the week do chickens hate most?
Fry day.
Born
- William Sturgeon (inventor) –
- Richard Wagner (composer) –
- Mary Cassatt (painter) –
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes) –
- Laurence Olivier (actor) –
- Peter Nero (pianist) –
- Paul Winfield (actor) –
- Morrissey (singer) –
- Naomi Campbell (model) –
- Alastair Ralphs (wrestler) –
- Ginnifer Goodwin (actress) –
- Apolo Ohno (Olympic speed skater) –
Died
- Martha Washington (U.S. First Lady) –
- Victor Hugo (writer) –
- Langston Hughes (writer) –
- Thurl Ravenscroft (character voice, most well known for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes’ pitchman Tony the Tiger) –
- Tiffany Two (oldest known cat at the time) –
Events
- Train of 100-plus wagons left Independence, Missouri, for Oregon –
- Representative Preston Brooks caned Senator Charles Sumner in Senate –
- Patent granted for Wright brothers’ “Flying-Machine” –
- The American Cancer Society was founded –
- The Space Needle foundation was poured, Seattle, Washington –
- Barry Bishop and the other members of a National Geographic expedition team were the first Americans to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Barry Bishop placed the U.S. flag on top of Mount Everest –
- First permanent IMAX theater opened in Toronto –
- Athlete Rick Hansen completed Man in Motion World Tour –
- Hubble telescope detected at least two more Saturn moons –
Weather
- Northeast Maine had 6 inches of snow –
- Lewiston, Maine, reached 101 degrees F –
- Rains caused flooding, New Mexico –
- Heavy rain brought the Pearl River ten feet above flood stage at Carthage, Mississippi –
- A 2.5 mile-wide tornado touched down near Hallam, Nebraska. –
- An EF-5 tornado devastated Joplin, Missouri, causing at least 155 deaths. An evaluation by the National Weather Service estimated the tornado’s wind speeds reached 198 miles per hour. –
