Almanac of Absurdities 12/14

On this date in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright attempt, without success, to get their experimental flying machine to work. Don't worry, they'll be there a few days. On this day in 1911, Roald Amundson and four others are the first to reach the South Pole. Birthdays: Nostradamus born this day in 1503. Also Morey Amsterdam and Ted Raimi who played Joxer on Xena Warrior Princess.

Almanac of Absurdities 12/13

On this date in 1577, Sir Francis Drake left Plymouth England with a group of several ships carrying letters of marque signed by Elizabeth I allowing him to attack Spanish Shipping off the pacific coast of the Americas. Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt leave the last human footprints on the moon so far on this date in 1972. Birthdays: Dick Van Dyke, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter.

Almanac of Absurdities 12/12

Guglielmo Marconi receives…maybe…the first transatlantic radio signal on this date in 1901 at Signal Hill, St. John’s, Newfoundland. When told, Nicola Tesla sniffs that Marconi was using seventeen of Tesla’s Patents to do so. 1939, Battle of Tolvajärvi. Finns ice Soviets in the first major victory of the Winter War. Birthdays: Henry Wells of Wells Fargo, Frank Sinatra.

Almanac of Absurdities 12/11

Heavy Royal Events Day: 1282, Death of “Llywelyn The Last”, the last Native Prince of Wales. 1792, King Louis XVI is tried for Treason. He goes to the Guillotine on January 21. 1936, King Edward VIII abdicates after 325 days on the throne in order to marry American Divorcee Wallis Simpson. He ended up being Governor of the Bahamas, with the woman he loved. Works for me.

Almanac of Absurdities 12/10

On this day in 1684, Isaac Newton’s paper, “On the Motion of Bodies in an Orbit,” is presented to the Royal Society by fellow astronomer Edmund Halley. Yes, he was the Halley in Halley’s Comet. In 1868, the first gas-lamp traffic lights are installed near the Palace of Westminster in London. Birthdays: Grand Ol’ Opry, Mighty Mouse, Emily Dickinson, and Kyu Sakamoto, singer of the 1963 hit “Sukyaki.”

Almanac of Absurdities 12/9

In 1531, Peasant Juan Diego has a vision of the Virgin Mary near Mexico City. The spot becomes the most visited Catholic Pilgrimage Destination in the world. In 1965, the Kecksburg UFO incident: An unexplained fireball seen from Michigan to Pennsylvania. NASA subsequently admits that it did examine “An Object.” Birthdays: YMCA, John Birch Society, John Malkovich.

Almanac of Absurdities 12/8

On this date in 1660, Margaret Hughes appears on an English Public Stage, the first actRESS ever to do so, in a production of Othello. Of course, she plays Desdemona.
In 1980, Musician and Peace Activist John Lennon is Assassinated outside his home in New York City. A Dreamer; But not the only one.