Daily Calendar for Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Question of the Day
Where did the expression βbehind the eight ballβ come from?
The phrase comes from a type of pool game in which the balls must be pocketed in a certain order, except for number 8. Touching the eight ball carries a penalty, so if it is in front of another ball a player intends to pocket, the player is in a rather dicey situation.
Advice of the Day
Never gulp tea or gruel; always sip it.
Home Hint of the Day
If you’re a beginner, choose a small room or just one wall for your first wallpapering project. Avoid complex rooms such as bathrooms and kitchens until you build up some confidence.
Word of the Day
Perihelion
The point in a planetβs orbit that is closest to the Sun.
Puzzle of the Day
Can a leopard change his spots?
Yes, when he is tired of one place, he can go to another.
Died
- King Henry IV of England β
- Sir Thomas Seymour (brother of Queen Jane, uncle to Prince Edward) β
- Sir Isaac Newton (physicist) β
Born
- Henrik Ibsen (poet & playwright) β
- Charles William Eliot (educator) β
- Ozzie Nelson (actor) β
- Sir Michael Redgrave (actor) β
- Jack Barry (game show host) β
- Carl Reiner (actor & director) β
- Ray Goulding (comedian) β
- Fred Rogers (educator, minister, host of children’s television show Mister Rogersβ Neighborhood) β
- Jerry Reed (actor) β
- Bobby Orr (hockey player) β
- William Hurt (actor) β
- Carl Palmer (musician) β
- Spike Lee (director) β
- Holly Hunter (actress) β
- Christy Carlson Romano (actress) β
Events
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was publishedβ
- American Bell Telephone Co. was organizedβ
- The first Farm Bureau in U.S. formed in Binghamton, N.Y.β
- First U.S. figure skating championship in international style took place in New Haven, Connecticutβ
- The first flight between England and South Africa was completed by Col. H.A. van Rejneveld and Maj. C.J. Brand of the South African Air Forceβ
- USS Midway launched, Newport News, Virginiaβ
- British troops captured Japanese-held Mandalay (WWII)β
- The peace treaty restoring Japanese sovereignty was ratified by U.S. Senate, ending American occupation of Japanβ
- John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married in a civil ceremony in Gibraltarβ
- Communications satellite NATO 1 launchedβ
- Libby Riddles of Teller, AK, became the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Dog Race, from Anchorage to Nomeβ
- Skier Lauren Woolstencroft won her 5th gold medal of the Winter Paralympic Gamesβ
- A magnitude-7.6 earthquake located 120 miles east of Acapulco shook southern Mexicoβ
Weather
- Snowstorm in Oklahoma dropped nearly a foot in Tulsaβ
- Juneau, Alaska, had 32.5 inches of snowβ
- 38β snow fell in Morgantown, Pennsylvaniaβ