Daily Calendar for Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Question of the Day

When did we figure out a vaccine for rabies?
Louis Pasteur cured a nine-year-old boy, Joseph Meister, with the vaccine he developed in 1885.

Advice of the Day

The swallows leave San Juan Capistrano, California, today.

Home Hint of the Day

Capping a chimney can make cleaning difficult and force the flames of a chimney fire down toward the roof, so install a chimney cap only if you have severe water or downdraft problems.

Word of the Day

Golden number
A number in the 19-year cycle of the Moon, used for determining the date of Easter. (The Moon repeats its phases approximately every 19 years.) Add 1 to any given year and divide the result by 19; the remainder is the Golden Number. If there is no remainder, the Golden Number is 19.

Puzzle of the Day

A boy undertakes to put something in a playmate’s left hand which the playmate cannot possibly take in his right. What is this?
The playmate’s right elbow.

Born

  • Francis Hopkinson Smith (author)
  • John William Heisman (football player)
  • William David Coolidge (physicist)
  • Gertrude Ederle (first woman to swim the English Channel)
  • Johnny Carson (comedian & television host)
  • Pele (soccer player)
  • Michael Crichton (author)
  • Weird Al Yankovic (musician)
  • Doug Flutie (football player)
  • Ryan Reynolds (actor)
  • Masiela Lusha (actress, author)

Died

  • Zane Grey (author)
  • Adolph Green (author & lyricist)
  • Madame Chiang Kai-shek (became one of the world’s most famous women as she helped her husband fight the Japanese during World War II and later the Chinese Communists)
  • Robert Merrill (baritone)

Events

  • 25,000 women marched in New York City demanding the right to vote
  • Charlie Chaplin married Mildred Harris
  • Researchers at the University of Toronto announced the development of an electronic cardiac pacemaker
  • Cumberland mine disaster
  • Garfield the Cat’s lovable teddy bear, Pooky, made his comic strip debut

Weather

  • Flood “swept all the fences off” in Newbury, Vermont
  • Newbury, Vermont, received 12 inches of snow, which stayed until spring
  • 1 foot of snow fell in Haverhill, New Hampshire
  • A hurricane hit Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • A tornado hit Cass County, Indiana, around mid-afternoon
  • Major flooding occurred in Chickasha, Oklahoma
  • The Neches River in southeast Texas was 8 feet above flood stage due to heavy rain
  • Hurricane Patricia, a Category 5, became the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western hemisphere, with maximum sustained winds near 200 mph.