Cartoonist Al Capp, creator of the Li’l Abner cartoon strip, conceived of a day in fictitious Dogpatch, USA, when all unmarried ladies (including the character Sadie Hawkins) could pursue their men. If the men were caught, marriage was unavoidable. The idea took off in real life—and in November 1938, the first recorded “girls-ask-boys” Sadie Hawkins Day dance was held. Today, this quirky holiday is usually celebrated in November. The Almanac uses the first Saturday in November but the date can vary by state. Learn more about Sadie Hawkins Day.
Daily Calendar for Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Question of the Day
Why do I sometimes sneeze when I look at the sun?
Regular sneezing occurs when the nerve endings of the mucous membranes in your nose are irritated. The bright light of the sun can have this effect on your nose when the light hits your optic nerve.
Advice of the Day
Prune grapevines now.
Home Hint of the Day
To clean bone knife handles or any ivory object (such as piano keys), wipe on a solution of 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide and 1 cup of water. No need to rinse.
Word of the Day
Staunch
Strong and tight; sound; firm; as, a stanch ship.
Puzzle of the Day
Why was the giant Goliath very much astonished when David hit him with a stone?
Because such a thing had never entered his head before.
Born
- Esaias Tegner (writer) –
- Lady Caroline Ponsonby Lamb (author) –
- Edwin Booth (actor) –
- Robert Louis Stevenson (author) –
- Louis Brandeis (U.S. Supreme Court justice) –
- Alexander Scourby (actor) –
- Richard Mulligan (actor) –
- Garry Marshall (producer, director, & actor) –
- Dack Rambo (actor) –
- Chris Noth (actor) –
- Whoopi Goldberg (actress) –
- Jimmy Kimmel (television host) –
- Monique Coleman (actress) –
Died
- Gioacchino Rossini (composer) –
- Irv Rubin (Jewish Defense League leader) –
- Robert Pershing "Bobby" Doerr (baseball player) –
- Katherine MacGregor (actress) –
Events
- David Kirke granted co-proprietorship of Newfoundland–
- U.S. General Montgomery captured Montreal–
- Thousands of meteors fell per hour in the eastern United States–
- The Holland Tunnel between New York and New Jersey opened–
- Ginger Rogers married Lew Ayres–
- Walt Disney’s Fantasia premiered at the Broadway Theater in New York; first film to attempt to use stereophonic sound–
- Sammy Davis Jr. married May Britt–
- Bob Pettit was the first to reach 20,000 career points in the NBA–
- Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet (Mars)–
- Li’l Abner, Al Capp’s 43-year-old comic strip, appeared in newspapers for the last time–
- The Wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated, Washington, D.C.–
- Volcano Nevado del Ruiz erupts in Colombia, killing over 23,000 people.–
- Groundbreaking ceremony held for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C.–
Weather
- The first great storm of what became the Dust Bowl spread a pall from the Great Plains to New York–