America’s most famous horse race, the Kentucky Derby, has been held continuously since 1875 at Louisville, Kentucky, and has become one of the country’s largest civic celebrations (and betting opportunity). Not bad when you consider that the event lasts only two minutes! Modeled on England’s Epsom Derby, it is for three-year-old Thoroughbreds and was originally run at a mile and a half (now at a mile and a quarter). Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark organized the first race, and since he wanted the occasion to be festive, he gave a Derby breakfast for his friends before the first running (mint juleps anyone?). Dances, parties, and carnival-like gaiety have long been a feature of Derby week. The Derby is the first event in the “Triple Crown” series, followed by the Preakness (the second Saturday after the Derby) and the Belmont Stakes (the fifth Saturday after the Derby).
Daily Calendar for Saturday, May 6, 2023
Question of the Day
When did men’s names get added to the hurricane lists?
In 1979, to eliminate gender bias, men’s names were included to alternate with women’s names. Anytime a tropical disturbance intensifies, with rotary circulation and wind speeds above 39 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center, located near Miami, assigns it a name. The names are chosen well ahead of time by the World Meteorological Organization at its international meetings. This organization establishes the lists of names, which rotate roughly every six years. In the case of a particularly severe hurricane, the organization may choose to retire that name from the six-year list and replace it with something else.
Advice of the Day
A good mess of dandelions is in order now.
Home Hint of the Day
To prevent moss from forming on a roof, mix up a solution of 2 capfuls of household (5 percent) bleach and 1 gallon of water. Apply it to the shingles with a sponge.
Word of the Day
Bollix
Make a mess of, destroy or ruin.
Puzzle of the Day
Where do sheep go to get their hair cut?
To the baa-baa shop!
Born
- Sigmund Freud (neurologist & psychiatrist) –
- Rudolph Valentino (actor) –
- Orson Welles (actor & director) –
- Willie Mays (baseball player) –
- Bob Seger (musician) –
- Tony Blair (British Prime Minister) –
- Tom Bergeron (television personality) –
- George Clooney (actor) –
Died
- Henry David Thoreau (writer) –
- L. Frank Baum (author) –
- The Duke of Devonshire (Canadian Governor General 1916-1921) –
- Ethelda Bleibtrey (Olympic swimmer) –
- Marlene Dietrich (actress) –
- Otis Blackwell (songwriter) –
- Lillian Asplund (last American survivor of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912) –
Events
- London and Gore Railroad Co. incorporated–
- First postage stamps issued in the U.K.–
- Dr. John Gorrie patented an ice machine–
- Linus Yale, Jr. received a patent for a lock and key–
- Confederate General James Longstreet was seriously wounded by his own troops by mistake, Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia–
- Successful flight of Samuel Langley’s model Aerodrome No. 5 aircraft–
- Babe Ruth hit his first homerun–
- At California’s March Field, Bob Hope performed his first USO show–
- The Channel Tunnel, more commonly known as the Chunnel, linking England and France opened–
- Racehorse Barbaro won the 132nd Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky–
- Lt.-Col. Maryse Carmichael became the first female commander of the Canadian Snowbirds–
Weather
- State of emergency declared due to flooding, Winnipeg, Manitoba–
- Kentucky Derby horses and people alike endured the coldest temperature recorded since the race was introduced in 1875 - a brisk 43F.–
- Milwaukee recorded 0.6 inch of snow, the first measurable snowfall ever on this date–
- A cold wave brought morning lows of 17 degrees F to Bismarck, North Dakota–