Daily Calendar for Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Question of the Day
Who were the Know-Nothings?
The Know-Nothings were members of a secret political group that sprouted in the 1800s amid anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States. They organized to keep foreign-born citizens from holding political office and to promote other anti-immigrant and anti-Roman Catholic activities. This was in response to the approximately 5 million immigrants, many of them Roman Catholics, who arrived in the United States between 1825 and 1855. Know-Nothings went by names such as the Order of the Sons of America in Pennsylvania and the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner in New York. They came to be called Know-Nothings because they operated clandestinely and always answered “I don’t know” when questioned about their activities. Under the banner of the American Party in the mid-1850s, Know-Nothing candidates were elected governor in states as geographically diverse as Massachusetts, California, and Kentucky.
Advice of the Day
Drop peeled apples, pears, and potatoes in cold, lightly salted water, and they won’t turn brown.
Home Hint of the Day
If your door has a problem with hinge screw holes that are too loose to hold the screws, insert a sliver of wood with each screw. A wooden matchstick or toothpick works well. Put the matchstick in butt end first, then break off the head.
Word of the Day
Minnesota
The name is from the Sioux word meaning “sky-tinted water” or “cloudy water.”
Puzzle of the Day
Why are crows the most sensible birds?
Because they never complain without cause (caws).
Died
- Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett (introduced the poinsettia plant to the U.S.) –
- Robert Browning (poet) –
- Henrietta Swan Leavitt (astronomer) –
- Dee Brown (author) –
- Keiko the killer whale (star of the Free Willy movies, died at 27 of pneumonia in a Norwegian fjord) –
- Peter Boyle (actor) –
- Tom Laughlin (actor) –
Born
- Edvard Munch (artist) –
- Frank Sinatra (singer) –
- Bob Barker (game show host and animal activist) –
- Edward "Ed" Koch (former mayor of New York City) –
- Connie Francis (singer) –
- Dionne Warwick (singer ) –
- Madeleine Wickham (author, aka Sophie Kinsella) –
- Jennifer Connelly (actress) –
- Katrina Elam (country music singer) –
Events
- Pennsylvania ratified the Constitution and became the second state in the Union–
- Joseph Hayne Rainey became the first African-American to serve as a U.S. representative–
- Golf was played for the first time in the U.S. at Franklin Park, Boston–
- George Grant received patent for improved golf tee–
- Father Edward Flanagan founded a home for boys in Omaha, Nebraska—the start of Boys Town–
- Orange soil discovered by Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. Schmitt during their second day of exploration on the lunar surface–
- Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones accepted a knighthood from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace–
- Jean Chretien stepped down after 10 years as Canada’s popular and often argumentative prime minister. Paul Martin, a former finance minister, inherited his post, becoming the 21st prime minister. –
Weather
- Snow accumulated to 16 inches in Nantucket, Massachusetts–
- Baltimore received 12 inches of snow in the first of three major storms that winter–
- 20.4 inches of snow covered Newark, New Jersey–
- Albany, New York, registered a low of -12 degrees F–
- After a two-day storm, 17.1 inches of snow covered Minneapolis, Minnesota. The snow event set an all-time record for two-day snowfall in December. The weight of the snow caused a tear in the roof of the Metrodome and deflated it, forcing the Vikings-Giants game to be rescheduled and moved to Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.–