(the) look of a landscape by an old master

October is the tenth month of the year and its name is therefore derived from Octo, the Latin word for eight (as Nadya Suleman 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 Celiac Disease Awareness Month, Healthy Lung Month, Medical Librarians 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 U.N. resolutions passed four years ago, October is no longer Shaving the Hairy Palm Month (September) or International Bicycle Seat Sniffer Appreciation Month (February).

There are 30 shopping days left until Halloween, 85 shopping days left until Christmas.


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



Audrey Meadows was the only cast member to receive residual payments for the show for her entire life. This was a result of her shrewd manager, who predicted the prospect of a "rerun" even in the early stages of television, before precedent was set for it.


October 1, 1962 -
Johnny Carson hosts 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."

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



Readers Digest tried to warn people away from watching the film in 1968 by claiming if it's ever watched, it will inspire cannibalism.


October 1, 1992 -
Turner Broadcasting launches 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.


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

Both parks had a total of 7.5 million visitors last year.


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

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


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, 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 Hong Kong today. I've already pissed off a large segment of the world with some of my other comments about China.


October 1, 1971 -
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida opened 43 years ago on this date.



Epicot Center opened on this date in 1982.



Here's an odd fact to throw out - since the parks opening, over 1.5 million pairs of sunglasses have been turned into the Walt Disney World Lost and Found Department.


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 TKOs Joe Frazier in 15 for heavyweight boxing title .


Also - on a personal note, Happy Anniversary Cara and Matt (your party was great.)

One more thing before you go - the PBS series Blank on Blank (I should post more of them for you,) has a wonderful interview with Bette Davis from 1963



It will make you love her even more.



And so it goes