“I think that I shall never see / A poem as lovely as a tree.” Many, if not most people remember that’s the first couplet of Trees, a poem by Joyce Kilmer. Not quite as many remember that in spite of the name, Joyce Kilmer was a man (“Joyce” was actually his middle name). He… Continue reading

Today is the 75th anniversary of Flight 19, the five US Air Force bombers that disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. They were on a training mission and reported that their compasses had stopped working and they’d gotten lost. Although they knew they were due east of Florida, where they’d taken off, for some reason they… Continue reading

As everybody knows, December 4, at least in the US, is National Cookie Day. December, of course, is well known for National Food Days; it all starts on the first, which is Eat a Red Apple Day. The next day takes a left turn away from healthy choices to be National Fritter Day. Then after… Continue reading

December 3, 1800, was the day that Aaron Burr nearly became the third president of the US. The 1800 election resulted in a tie between Burr and Thomas Jefferson, so it was up to the House of Representatives to hold a contingent election. After the first ballot, that was tied too, and it stayed that… Continue reading

It was December 2, 1823 that US President James Monroe delivered the State of the Union address where he announced what’s now called the “Monroe Doctrine” — the US was going to be neutral in all future European conflicts. The Monroe Doctrine lasted quite a while, although of course the US eventually got involved in… Continue reading

Everybody in the US has heard about Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, just so a white person could sit in it. It was a seminal moment in the civil rights movement, and it happened on this date, December 1, in 1955. Parks probably didn’t choose the date,… Continue reading

Today is the anniversary of the day that Enos, the only chimpanzee to orbit the earth, was launched aboard Mercury-Atlas 5 in 1961. It was the final rehearsal of the Mercury program before John Glenn’s orbital flight. Enos completed two orbits, then his capsule reentered the atmosphere and splashed down in the Atlantic. Enos was… Continue reading

It seems like an unusual date to pick — November 28, 1895 — if only because November in Chicago isn’t known for having the most hospitable weather of the year. If you’re going to schedule an event that’s entirely outside, you might be tempted toward, say, July or August. But no, that was the date… Continue reading

It all started the morning of November 27, 1809. At five AM sharp, a chimney sweep arrived at 54 Berners Street, the home of Mrs. Tottenham, who was known to be a “lady of fortune” — that is, she was rich. A maid answered his knock, and informed him that there must be some mistake;… Continue reading

In some years (not this one), today is Thanksgiving in the US. This isn’t going to be about Thanksgiving, though. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if Thanksgiving isn’t mentioned even once. On a later edit, I guess that should say “I wouldn’t be surprised if Thanksgiving isn’t mentioned more than three times. Oh, one… Continue reading