The leaves have ripened to the fall

October is the tenth month of the year and its name is therefore derived from Octo, the Latin word for eight (as the vegetables in V8 well knows.) October is often preceded by September and sometimes followed by November.

There are 31 days in October, many of which are Wednesdays. (Wednesday is the fourth day of the week and its name is therefore derived from Wednes, the Latin word for hump.)



October is :
National Dental Hygiene Month,
Chiropractic Month,
Cookie Month,
Sausage Month,
National Book Month,
Computer Learning Month (which naturally go together),
and Sarcastic Awareness Month.



It also Vegetarian Month.



As a result of a U.N. resolutions passed nine years ago, October is no longer compulsive masterbation Month (now celebrated in February) or International Mirrors on Your Shoe Appreciation Month (April).

There are 30 shopping days left until Halloween, 54 days until Thanksgiving, 78 days until Hanukkah and 85 shopping days left until Christmas.

Plan accordingly.


October 1, 1955 -
The Honeymooners half hour episodes premiered on this date.



Audrey Meadows received hundreds of household items in the mail such as curtains, pot holders, and irons from fans who wanted Alice to have better things. One fan sent her ten cents to buy a curtain rod, because it was too hard to mail one.


October 1, 1962 -
Johnny Carson hosted his first Tonight Show with Joan Crawford as his guest, on this date. On his first show, Carson was introduced by Groucho Marx; Johnny's first words, reacting to applause as he walked onstage for the first time: "Boy, you would think it was Vice President Nixon."



Although no footage is known to remain of Carson's first broadcast as host of The Tonight Show on this date, photographs taken that night do survive, as does an audio recording of Carson's first monologue. One of his first jokes upon starting the show was to pretend to panic and say, "I want my Na-Na!"


October 1, 1962 -
The follow-up to I Love Lucy series (but not a sequel to the series,) The Lucy Show, premiered on CBS-TV on this date.



Vivian Vance refused to agree to appear on this show unless she was allowed to wear nice clothing. The days of a frumpy best friend were over. This was agreed to, and she signed the contract.


October 1, 1962 -
The Beach Boys release their first album, Surfin' Safari, which includes their debut single, Surfin' on this date.



Led by Brian Wilson, the band started out with his brothers Carl and Dennis with friends Al Jardine and David Marks. Brian was influenced by vocal groups like The Four Freshmen, who used jazz arrangements in their songs. Lyrically, they tapped into the burgeoning California surf scene, which was a big part of youth culture thanks to movies like Gidget and music by the likes of Dick Dale and The Ventures. Brian didn't surf, but his brother did and pushed the idea. With the release of this single, it set the tone for early Beach Boys surf-themed hits like Surfin' Safari and Surfin' U.S.A.


October 1, 1968 -
Night of the Living Dead premiered in Pittsburgh on this date.



When the zombies are eating the bodies in the burnt-out truck, they were actually eating roast ham covered in chocolate sauce. The filmmakers joked that it was so nausea-inducing that it was almost a waste of time putting the makeup on the zombies as they ended up looking pale and sick anyway.


October 1, 1971 -
The comedy-variety sketch series, The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, starring, Marty Feldman, Spike Milligan, John Junkin, Hugh Paddick, Frances de la Tour, and Barry Levinson, premiered on ABC-TV on this date.



Terry Gilliam's animation contributions for this series were the opening and closing credits. The opening was a production line making identical looking mannequins/men, one eventually gets Marty's head, and is ejected into a rubbish bin. (This sequence appears in Gilliam's "Animations of Mortality" book.). The closing credits were various people saying "Good Bye!" and having horrible things happen to them. (i.e. A train conductor pulls a level and gets run over by a train, Mickey Mouse-type thingy gets smashed in a rat trap, etc... )


October 1, 1979 -
One of the most famous sports commercials ever was aired by Coca-Cola featuring “Mean Joe” Greene. The now iconic commercial took place in an NFL stadium tunnel, where Mean Joe is confronted by a 9 year old fan.



The commercial ended with Greene tossing the kid a coke and uttering the famous line, “Hey, kid, catch!” The ad won a Clio Award in 1980 for best ad of the year and continues to be referenced in popular culture today. Greene later appeared in a parody of the ad for the washing product, Downey.



October 1, 1992 -
Turner Broadcasting launched a cable channel with 24 hour animated programming called the Cartoon Network on this date.



The first program aired on the channel was the Looney Tunes classic Rhapsody Rabbit.

Don't forget to tune in to The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour today


Today in History :
October 1, 1847 -
Maria Mitchell, a distant relative of Benjamin Franklin, using a telescope, discovered "Miss Mitchell's Comet" (Comet 1847 VI, modern designation is C/1847 T1) on this date. Some years previously, King Frederick VI of Denmark had established gold medal prizes to each discoverer of a "telescopic comet" (too faint to be seen with the naked eye). The prize was to be awarded to the "first discoverer" of each such comet (note that comets are often independently discovered by more than one person). She duly won one of these prizes, and this gave her worldwide fame, since the only previous woman to discover a comet had been Caroline Herschel. She was also asked by her Nantucket neighbors to stop peeking into their bedrooms at night.

There was a temporary question of priority because Francesco de Vico had independently discovered the same comet two days later, but had reported it first; however, this was resolved in Mitchell's favor. The prize was awarded in 1848 by the new king Frederick VII.



She was the first professional woman astronomer in the United States, noted for her discovery that sunspots are whirling vertical cavities and not, as previously thought, clouds.


October 1, 1888 -
The National Geographic Society was founded by Gardiner Hubbard, the father-in-law of Alexander Graham Bell on January 13, 1888. National Geographic magazine was published for first time on this date. It primarily contains articles about geography, history, and world culture.

Overly-excited boys had to wait an addition eight years until the first photographs of bare-breasted women appeared in the magazine. Tissue sales increased precipitously.


October 1, 1890 -
The Yosemite National Park and the Yellowstone National Park were established by the U.S. Congress on this date.



Lasy year, even during the pandemic, both parks had more than 7.5 million visitors.


October 1, 1903 -
The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the home team Boston Americans (Red Sox), 7-3, in the first World Series game.



Boston, however, went on to win the series, five games to three.


October 1, 1907 -
Located at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, one of NYC most iconic sites, the Plaza Hotel opened on this date. (It was the second incarnation of a hotel on this site. The first Plaza Hotel stood on the same location from 1890 to 1905.) The first guest to check into the Plaza Hotel, was Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt famously, survived the Titanic tragedy by his last minute decision not to return home on the ill-fated ocean liner, only to lose his life three years later during another ocean liner disaster, the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915.



Guests at the Plaza's opening gala got a special ride home: they were the first in New York to ride in motorized cabs. The initial fare was 30 cents for the first half-mile, 10 cents for each quarter-mile thereafter, and 10 cents for each six minutes of waiting. The well-to-do guest didn't have to reach into their deep pockets, though: the rides on this evening were complimentary.


October 1, 1908 -
Rabid Anti-semite and American Isolationist Henry Ford puts the Model T car on the market at a price of $825 on this date.



Ford sold over 10,000 cars in the first year of production. (Remember that when you want to put a Ford into your future.)


October 1, 1924 -
I'll never tell a lie. I'll never make a misleading statement. I'll never betray the confidence that any of you had in me. And I'll never avoid a controversial issue..



James Earl 'Jimmy' Carter, the 39th president of the U.S. (1977-1981), was born in Plains, Georgia, on this date.


October 1, 1946 -
Roland Berrill, an Australian lawyer and Dr. Lancelot Ware, a British scientist and lawyer, founded the Mensa organization at Lincoln College, in Oxford, England, on this date. Mensa was established as a non-profit organization for the world's highest IQ testers.



To quote the great philosopher Groucho Marx, "I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member."


October 1, 1949 -
The People's Republic of China was formed with Mao Zedong as its head with its capital at Beiping (Peiping), which was renamed Beijing (Peking).



I will make no other comment other than Happy National Day and hope all is well in the South China Sea today. I've already pissed off a large segment of the world with some of my other comments about China.


October 1, 1958 -
American Express launched their first charge card on this date with an annual fee of $6. It was $1 higher than Diners Club. American Express had started out as an international mail company before branching into financial services.



The first cards were paper, with the account number and card member's name typed, but by 1959 it had already become the plastic green card we know today.


October 1, 1971 -
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida opened 51 years ago on this date.



Epcot Center opened on this date in 1982.



Here's an odd fact to throw out - No structure at Disney World stands taller than 200 feet. That's no coincidence, either. Buildings taller than 200-feet are required to flash aviation lights. And, of course, that would ruin some of the magic.


October 1, 1975 -
The Thrilla in Manila was the third and final famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World, fought in Manila, Philippines on this date.



Muhammad Ali TKOd Joe Frazier in 15 for heavyweight boxing title.


On a personal note, Happy 28th Anniversary Cara and Matt.

A date I can remember without a Facebook notification.



And so it goes