Daily Calendar for Friday, December 22, 2023
Question of the Day
What exactly is the “Icelandic low” that weathercasters talk about?
An Icelandic low is a low-pressure center that originates over Iceland and southern Greenland and dominates the wind circulation over the North Atlantic Ocean. In summer, the low weakens and often divides into two separate cells.
Advice of the Day
One today is worth two tomorrows. —Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1757
Home Hint of the Day
Use one-gallon metal paint-thinner cans for storing hardware and other small objects in your workshop. Cut the top off each can with a can opener and pour out any remaining thinner. There’s no need to wash the cans; the last traces of the thinner will evaporate.
Word of the Day
A summer’s-day palindrome: It’s “too hot to hoot.”
Puzzle of the Day
What confections were carried on Noah’s ark?
Preserved pears (pairs)
Born
- Giacomo Puccini (composer) –
- Edwin Arlington Robinson (poet) –
- Grote Reber (American astronomer) –
- Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson (U.S. First Lady) –
- Diane Sawyer (journalist) –
- Ralph Fiennes (actor) –
- Lauralee Bell (actress) –
- Jordin Sparks (singer; season 6 American Idol winner) –
Died
- George Eliot (writer) –
- Ferdinand V. Hayden (geologist) –
- Beatrix Potter (author) –
- Samuel Beckett (writer) –
- Joe Strummer (singer) –
Events
- Construction began for first schoolhouse west of Allegheny Mountains, in Schoenbrunn, Ohio–
- Continental Fleet was organized by the rebellious American colonies under the command of Esek Hopkins–
- American Bicycling Journal first published–
- Edward Johnson, an associate of Thomas Edison, created the first string of Christmas tree lights–
- A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the central California coast–
Weather
- Lake-effect snows brought a heavy storm to Turin, New York–