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November 29
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
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November 28
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
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Who’s in charge of this outfit, anyway?
Everybody knows about democracy. It’s originally a Greek word, formed by “demos” (common people) and “-cracy” (power). You’ll find the suffix “-cracy” in a number of places, from “aristocracy” to “autocracy,” and quite a few more. “Ariso” means “the best” in Greek, and although we now use “aristocracy” in a way that doesn’t imply actual Continue reading
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Born today: Cal Worthington
One of the odder details about the automobile business in the US during the 20th Century was that as soon as television arrived, car dealers began using the medium for advertising. Most of their ads were typical “buy your car from our dealership” appeals. But a variant arose sometime in the 1950s that was just Continue reading
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Perty good
If somebody is described as “pert,” that’s (sometimes) a good thing. To be “pert” is to be lively or outspoken. On the other hand, to be “pert” can also be a bad thing. To be “pert” is to be impudent or sassy. In both cases it sort of dates the person using the word, too Continue reading
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November 27
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
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Sarcophagus
An unusually large sarcophagus was fairly recently discovered in Egypt, and it contains not one but three mummies. Nobody has yet figured out the story behind this find, but there’s a really good story behind the word “sarcophagus.” In fact it’s pretty close to a horror story. The word comes from Greek, and it’s made Continue reading
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November 26
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
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Signs of the nines
In the early 1700s, you could do something — just about anything, apparently — “to the nines.” It would have sounded something like this citation from 1719: “How to the nines they did content me.” “To the nines” meant really good, to the highest point, nearing perfection. Unfortunately people’s ability to do most things that Continue reading
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November 25
If you’re reading this in the morning on November 25, the first thing you should do is make sure nothing breakable is near the edge of a shelf or table or counter. Because for some reason, today seems to have a particular affinity to earthquakes. The first one we have any records of was in Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my other blog, Techlimitics, where I’m grappling with the nature of simplicity.
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