The Friday Post ~ 9th February 2018

Hello and a BIG WELCOME to Friday!  Comes round regular as clockwork, doesn’t it?!  But  it’s a popular day with heaps of people, so it must have something good about it, is my way of thinking.

So let’s get into the groove  [sings well-known Madonna song to self] and take our seats for some Friday Edumacation, shall we? Ready?  Sitting comfortably?   . . . .  Then lets GO!

On this Day in History

Today is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

1870 – The U.S. Weather Bureau was established.
1895 – William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.

1900 – Davis Cup competition is established. The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men’s tennis. The largest annual international team competition in sports, the Davis Cup is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between the United States and Great Britain. In 2005, 134 nations entered teams into the competition. The most successful countries over the history of the tournament are the United States (winning 32 tournaments and finishing as runners-up 29 times) and Australia (winning 28 times and finishing second 19 times and also winning on four occasions with New Zealand under the name ‘Australasia’).

The women’s equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Fed Cup.

(additional note – just for fun…  When I typed that last sentence instead of typing  “… Davis Cup is the Fed Cup” ….  what I actually typed by accident was:  “The women’s equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Fed up.”  –  Totally different meaning,  Totally an accident.  But … was it?  Could it have been a  Freudian slip,  I wonder?  LOL).

1922 – Brazil becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, is an international agreement governing copyright, which was first accepted in Berne, Switzerland in 1886.  …  Link:  Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works  (link will open in a new window)

1942 – World War II: Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
1942 – Year-round Daylight saving time is re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources.

1950 – Second Red Scare: Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States State Department of being filled with Communists. McCarthyism is a term describing the intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in a period that lasted roughly from the late 1940’s to the late 1950’s. This period is also referred to as the Second Red Scare, and coincided with increased fears about communist influence on American institutions and espionage by Soviet agents.  Originally coined to criticise the actions of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, “McCarthyism” later took on a more general meaning, not necessarily referring to the conduct of Joseph McCarthy alone.

During this time many thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathisers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees and agencies. The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and union activists. Suspicions were often given credence despite inconclusive or questionable evidence, and the level of threat posed by a person’s real or supposed leftist associations or beliefs was often greatly exaggerated. Many people suffered loss of employment, destruction of their careers, and even imprisonment. Most of these punishments came about through trial verdicts later overturned, laws that would be declared unconstitutional, dismissals for reasons later declared illegal or actionable, or extra-legal procedures that would come into general disrepute.

The most famous examples of McCarthyism include the Hollywood blacklist and the investigations and hearings conducted by Joseph McCarthy. It was a widespread social and cultural phenomenon that affected all levels of society and was the source of a great deal of debate and conflict in the United States.

1960 – Joanne Woodward receives the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American Academy Award,  Golden Globe, Emmy and Cannes award-winning actress.  Woodward is also a television and theatrical producer.
1964 – The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a “record-busting” audience of 73 million viewers.
1965 – Vietnam War: The first United States combat troops are sent to South Vietnam.
1969 – First test flight of the Boeing 747.

1971 – The 6.4 on the Richter Scale Sylmar earthquake hits the San Fernando Valley area of California.
1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned moon landing.

1986 – Comet Halley reaches perihelion, its closest approach to the sun, during its second visit to the inner solar system in the 20th century.

Halley’s Comet or Comet Halley (officially designated 1P/Halley) is the most famous of the periodic comets and can currently be seen every 75–76 years. Many comets with long orbital periods may appear brighter and more spectacular, but Halley is the only short-period comet that is clearly visible to the naked eye, and thus, the only naked-eye comet certain to return within a human lifetime. During its returns to the inner solar system, it has been observed by astronomers since at least 240 BC, but it was not recognized as a periodic comet until the eighteenth century when its orbit was computed by Edmond Halley, after whom the comet is now named. Halley’s Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System in 1986, and will next appear in mid-2061.

Halley is generally pronounced rhyming with valley, or (especially in the US) “Hailey”, but Edmond Halley himself probably pronounced his name “Hawley”, with the “hall-” rhyming with “tall” or “small”.

1995 – Space Shuttle astronauts Bernard A. Harris, Jr. and Michael Foale become the first African-American and first Briton, respectively, to perform spacewalks.
1996 – The Irish Republican Army (the I.R.A) declares the end of its 18 month ceasefire shortly followed by a large bomb in London’s Canary Wharf.

1996 – Copernicium is first discovered

Copernicium is a synthetic chemical element with symbol Cn and atomic number 112. It is an extremely radioactive element, and can only be created in a laboratory. The most stable known isotope, copernicium-285, has a half-life of approximately 29 seconds. Copernicium was first created in 1996 by the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research near Darmstadt, Germany.  It is named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.  LINK: (opens in a new page for you);  The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham)

2001 – The American submarine USS Greeneville accidentally strikes and sinks the Ehime-Maru, a Japanese training vessel operated by the Uwajima Fishery High School.

The Ehime-Maru and USS Greeneville collision was a ship collision between the United States Navy (USN) submarine USS Greeneville (SSN-772) and the Japanese fishing training ship Ehime Maru on 9 February 2001, about 9 nautical miles (17 km) off the south coast of Oahu, Hawaii, USA. In a demonstration for some civilian visitors, Greeneville performed an emergency surfacing manoeuvre. As the submarine surfaced, it struck Ehime Maru, a high school fishing training ship from Ehime Prefecture, Japan. Within minutes of the collision, Ehime Maru sank. Nine of its crew members were killed, including four high school students.

Many Japanese, including government officials, were concerned over news that civilians were present in Greeneville’s control room at the time of the accident. Some expressed anger because of a perception that the submarine did not try to assist Ehime Maru’s survivors and that the submarine’s captain, Commander Scott Waddle, did not apologise immediately afterwards. The Navy conducted a public court of inquiry, placed blame on Waddle and other members of Greeneville’s crew, and dealt non-judicial punishment or administrative disciplinary action to the captain and some crew members.

In response to requests from the families of Ehime Maru’s victims and the government of Japan, the USN raised Ehime Maru from the ocean floor in October 2001 and moved it to shallow water near Oahu. Once there, Navy and Japanese divers located and retrieved the remains of eight of the nine victims from the wreck. Ehime Maru was then moved back out to sea and scuttled in deep water. The Navy compensated the government of Ehime Prefecture, Ehime Maru’s survivors, and victims’ family members for the accident. Waddle travelled to Japan in December 2002 to apologise to the ship’s survivors and victims’ families.

The accident renewed calls by many in Japan for the United States to make more effort to reduce or eliminate crimes and accidents involving U.S. military personnel who injure or kill Japanese citizens.  In response to the accident, the Navy changed its policies regarding civilian visits to its ships.

2016 – Two passenger trains collided in the German town of Bad Aibling in the state of Bavaria.  Twelve people died, and 85 others were injured

❤  ~  ❤  ~  ❤

Born on this Day

1789 – Franz Xaver Gabelsberger, German inventor of the stenography (d. 1849)

1907 – Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (d. 2003)

1909 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-Brazilian actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1955)

1909 – Heather Angel, British actress (d. 1986)

1914 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American dancer (d. 1970)

1940 – Brian Bennett, English drummer & musician (The Shadows)

1942 – Carole King, American singer

1943 – Joe Pesci, American actor

1945 – Mia Farrow, American actress

1960 – Holly Johnson, British singer (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)

1981 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor, producer, and musical performer

~  ❤  ~

Died on this Day  and remembered here

1981 – Bill Haley. –  American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1925)

2002 – Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom (b. 1930), the Queens younger sister.

2006 – Freddie Laker – British airline entrepreneur (b. 1922)

~  ❤  ~

*PLAYTIME BELL RINGS!

THESE  are the jokes, folks!

I’d like to start with the chimney jokes  –  I’ve got a stack of them.

❤

I had a dream last night that I was cutting carrots with the Grim Reaper  –  dicing with death.

❤

I saw a man chatting-up a cheetah and I thought:  ‘He’s trying to pull a fast one.’

❤

I’ve decided to sell my Hoover  –  it was just collecting dust.

❤

I went to the local supermarket and said:  ‘I want to make a complaint – this vinegar’s got lumps in it.’   He said:  ‘Those are pickled onions’.

❤

You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today.  They left a little note on the windscreen, it said  ‘Parking Fine’.   So that was nice.  😀

❤

I was in this restaurant and I asked for something herby.  They gave me a Volkswagen with no driver.

❤

A lot of people cry when they cut onions.  –  The trick is not to form an emotional bond.

❤

Q. What did the little boat say to the yacht?  A. Can I interest you in a little row-mance?

❤

 Meanwhile, in a parallel universe:  “Oh for God’s sake! Where are all these extra single socks coming from?!”

❤

Mr. Cobs and I often laugh about how competitive we are.   But I laugh more.  😉

❤

and finally ….

did you know …..

Moses had the first tablet that could connect to the cloud!

❤  ~  ❤  ~  ❤

Now, shall we have a coffee and a moment of contemplation?  . . .

Thought for the Day

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

Fear can make you stand still – and that’s not what we were made for.  Instead, use fear as a tool and not as a handicap.

Fear is inbuilt into us because it’s that wise old owl who tells us not to go too close to the edge of the cliff, because the wind could take us over it.

Fear is that little voice that tells you not to get into the bath of hot water until you’ve tested the temperature first.  Fear is that thing that is one of your guides.

However,  what fear isn’t, is a stop sign for everything.

Fear shouldn’t make you stop.  Fear should just get you to think about the possibilities for a moment and then work out the best way to go about doing what you want to do.

Fear isn’t meant to hold you in the palm of its hand and manipulate you.

If you have a fear about something, then that’s ok.  But remind yourself that you are in control.  If fear is keeping you suspended animation then step out of it.

Work out what it is that is your worst fear.  Once you know that …  put it on one side …  sort of on a shelf in your brain.  Out of the way.  Because once you know what it is, you don’t need to keep going over it,  over and over and over again.

You simply have to acknowledge what your worst fear is and once you understand it, you can get on with your life, knowing that you know what the fear is, but not letting it stop you from enjoying what life has to offer you.

Now I ask again . . .   What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

LIVE your LIFE.

Don’t live your fear.

~  ❤  ~  ❤  ~  ❤  ~

Ok, that costly edumacation that your parents pay for is now over for another Friday.  I absolutely LOVE seeing you here, thank you so very much for coming.  It’s a total thrill to know that you’re visiting and having a read.  It makes ‘building’ this regular Friday ‘bit of fun’ all worthwhile.

Thank you to all who come for a visit, and an especially big  THANK YOU  to those who stay a few minutes to leave a bit of a chat behind.  It tickles the heck out of me when we get together on a Friday and all have a good old chin wag.

May your Friday be filled with happiness, peace and joy.  May your weekend be filled with contentment and love.  

Sending you squidges and love, from me here in my corner to you there in yours.