October ... lighting the way to winter

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, 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 a U.N. resolutions passed six years ago, October is no longer Take a Break from Chronic Masterbation Month (now celebrated in February) or International Soiled Schoolgirl Undergarment Appreciation Month (April).

There are 30 shopping days left until Halloween, 84 shopping days left until Christmas.


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



The show was shot "as live" (filmed before an audience, edited and shown later). If you ever notice Jackie Gleason patting himself on the stomach, it was a sign that he had forgotten his line.


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.



When Joan Crawford was asked during an interview how she liked working with Lucille Ball on the show, her response was, "And they call ME a bitch - Lucy can out-bitch me ANY day of the week!"


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



George A. Romero saw very little profit from the film when thanks to his lack of knowledge regarding distribution deals, the distributors walked away with practically all of the profits.


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.

Everything old is new again


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.

Over-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.

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, 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  -
When you single out any particular group of people for secondary citizenship status, that's a violation of basic human rights.





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, 1971 -
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida opened 46 years ago on this date.



Epicot Center opened on this date in 1982.



Here's an odd fact to throw out -  The Pirates of the Caribbean ride almost wasn't built because Walt Disney thought guests wouldn't be interested in a fantasy recreation of a place that was a short cruise away from where they already were in Florida.


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 .


Also - on a personal note,

Happy Anniversary Cara and Matt.

And so it goes



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