Thursday, March 14, 2013

This is truly a Red Letter Day

Twinkies and other Hostess snacks could be back on shelves by this summer after a successful $410 million bid for the business.



So all of you hoarding those Twinkies may pace yourselves a little more easily.


If that was not enough - Today is Pi Day!



Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts ( read - lonely shut-ins) around the world on March 14th. Pi was first used as a mathematical symbol in 1706 by William Jones.






Albert Einstein's parents conveniently arranged for him to be born on Pi Day in 1879.


March 14, 1940 -
The first of the seven Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour "Road" films, The Road to Singapore, premiered in NYC on this date.



During a lunch break, Bob Hope threw a handful of the soap suds at Dorothy Lamour and soon Bing Crosby became involved. The fight ended when Lamour cornered Hope and Crosby and threw all she had at them. The director was not particularly pleased because it would take hours to repair their hair, makeup, and clothing.


March 14, 1969 -
The Walt Disney studio put the film, The Love Bug, starring 'Herbie,' a loveable Volkswagen bug with a personality, into general release on this date.



When beginning production of the film, Disney set up a casting call for about a dozen cars, and kept them outside the studios for the crew to examine during their breaks. Among the lineup were Toyotas, Volvos and of course, the pearl white Volkswagen Beetle. When the crew walked by to inspect the cars, they would kick the tires and grab the steering wheel to see how it handled. However, when they came across the Volkswagen, they began to pet it, and so the Beetle got the job.


Jimmy Fallon is growing on me -



And that Timberlake kid isn't too bad either.


Today in History:
March 14, 1794 -
Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin on this date

While it is potable, gin flavored with juniper berries is still a better choice for a very dry martini.


March 14, 1883 -
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce

Karl Marx died of pleurisy in London on this date. While his original grave had only a nondescript stone, the Communist Party of Great Britain erected a large tombstone, including a bust of Marx, in 1954.


March 14, 1889 -
German Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his Navigable Balloon on this date.

He did not speak with Paul von Hindenburg about it at the time.


Today on March 14 1932, one of the greatest notes was written:
George Eastman, the founder of Kodak Corporation, killed himself after a long illness on this date.



His suicide note states "To my friends: My work is done. Why wait?" All in all, terse but to the point.


March 14, 1942 -
Mrs. Anne Miller was near death at New Haven Hospital, suffering from a streptococcal infection, before doctors Orvan Hess and John Bumsfield decided to use an experimental treatment - penicillin, on this date.  This was the first time penicillin was successfully used to treat a patient.

Although Dr. Alexander Fleming had proven that penicillin was an effective antibacterial in 1928, few doctors seemed interested in using the common mold as a medicinal tool. Supplies were limited at the time, nearly half of the total supply produced were used on Mrs. Miller. She survived, living to be 90 years old and penicillin became widely used.

As I am deathly allergic to the drug and I don't like twinkies, so this isn't a particularly red letter day for me.



And so it goes.


Before I let you go - Be nice to your spouse or this could happen to you:



Or just remember to put the extra roll under the sink.

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