Daily Calendar for Sunday, December 24, 2023
Question of the Day
Will asters survive the winter in northern Kentucky? What measures should I take to ensure this?
Asters will generally do nicely in a Kentucky winter. Mulching does provide protection, and we recommend it. It’s good for preventing soil crusting, conserving moisture, and controlling weeds. Don’t go too heavy, though. This can result in too much moisture retention and crown rot. Pine bark, pine straw, wood chips, and a variety of other materials may be used successfully.
Advice of the Day
It is a good practice to leave a few things unsaid.
Home Hint of the Day
To remove rust stains on old china (either on or under the glaze), soak the china in a mild solution of household (5 percent) bleach and water. Soak for an hour or so, then wash and rinse.
Word of the Day
Antlophobia
Fear of floods
Puzzle of the Day
Why is a star like an old barn?
Because there are r-a-t-s in both.
Born
- Kit Carson (frontiersman) –
- Eliza Cook (poet) –
- Charles Wakefield Cadman (composer) –
- Juan Ramon Jimenez (poet) –
- Ava Gardner (actress) –
- Mary Higgins Clark (author) –
- Robert Joffrey (dancer) –
- Ricky Martin (singer) –
- Ryan Seacrest (television host) –
- Pepper (Bolivian gray titi monkey) –
Died
- Peter Lawford (actor) –
- Michael Vale (actor) –
- Cheetah (chimpanzee sidekick in the Tarzan movies of the early 1930s) –
- Charles Durning (actor) –
- Jack Klugman (actor) –
Events
- Treaty of Ghent signed between the U.S. and Great Britain, ending the War of 1812–
- Stille Nacht (Silent Night) first performed, Oberndorf, Austria–
- Clement Moore’s “A Visit From St. Nicholas” likely written–
- The Eggnog Riot began at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York–
- First great fire of San Francisco–
- Two-thirds of the collection of the Library of Congress (35,000 volumes) and a portion of the Capitol were destroyed by fire–
- Canadian-born Reginald A. Fessenden sent the first extended radio broadcast from Brant Rock, Massachusetts–
- O Holy Night was played on the world’s first radio program broadcast, from Brant Rock, Massachusetts–
- Unofficial Christmas truce began in areas of the Western Front during World War I–
- CONAD (later, NORAD) began to track Santa Claus–
- Catcher Jason Varitek was named captain of the Boston Red Sox–
Weather
- Chicago set a record low temperature of -23 degrees F–
- In Fairfield, Montana, the temperature dropped from 63 degrees F at noontime to a chilly 21 degrees below zero F at midnight–