As everybody knows, March 14 is Pi Day, because in month/day format the third month and fourteenth day make 3.14, the first three digits of pi. What not everybody knows is that today, July 22, is Pi Approximation Day, because in day/month format (which is used everywhere but the US) it’s 22/7, and that’s the… Continue reading

I’ll make this fast — because it’s July 21, after all, the day Louis Rigolly became the first person to drive a car faster than 100 mph. He did it in 1904, on a beach in Belgium (a good choice; today is Belgium National Day there). He drove a French Gobron-Brillié racing car. Gobron-Brillié made… Continue reading

The Ford Model T was famous for being the car the general public could afford, for being pretty reliable for its day, and for being available in “any color you wanted, as long as it was black.” On July 20, 1903, when the very first Ford was offered for sale, things were slightly different. The… Continue reading

On May 10, 1967, a very strange flying machine crashed pretty spectacularly in a dry lake in the western US. It was the Northrup M2-F2, and it had just finished a test flight, gliding down from 45,000 feet  (14,000 m) at a speed of about 450mph (720 kmh). The pilot was Bruce Peterson.  The strangest… Continue reading

The following was discovered by chance, and translated from an archaic form of Latin. I have only one regret, despite this cursed existence visited upon me for reasons and by means that pass my understanding. It has been, for me, five years and eight months thus far. The people now expect, though I see but… Continue reading

March 13 When I compile each Book of Days post, I review everything I can find about events of that day. I’ve been doing this for a while now. I’ve noticed that for most dates, there are plenty of battles, wars, massacres, assassinations, sieges, and attacks. If you wanted to write a book of days… Continue reading

Generally speaking, people are pretty social. We find ways to join together in all sorts of ways. Family groups often stick together, whether they’re the nuclear families of very recent invention or various forms of clans. Children of similar ages play together. People organize clubs, organizations, bands, orders, associations, crews, teams, and circles. But there… Continue reading

In 1776, on March 9, Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations. It quickly became perhaps the first of a long line of books having one peculiar characteristic: it was highly popular, much talked about, cited in the halls of academia as well as in the chambers of governments, and yet hardly anybody actually read… Continue reading

Today is March 8, International Women’s Day. It has a longer and more diverse history than you might expect. Let’s have a look.  The very first Women’s Day (that we know of) was called National Woman’s Day, and it was February 28, 1909! I bet you didn’t see that year coming. It wasn’t a calm… Continue reading