Daily Calendar for Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Question of the Day

How can I get the cat urine smell out of my carpet? And is there some way to keep cats out of a room?
Cats, like many other animals, tend to urinate repeatedly in the same places. When cleaning or removing urine stains, you must neutralize the odor — not just mask it — or the cat will likely return to the spot and dampen it again. Urine can seep down into the carpet padding and floor boards, so start cleaning the area as quickly as possible.

1) First, absorb as much urine as possible by pressing the area with paper towels, then rinse with water.

2) Apply diluted vinegar (3 parts vinegar to 1 part water) to the spot (do not rub) and let dry. (Test a small section first to make sure that the vinegar won’t harm the carpet.) Rinse the area with water.

3) Sprinkle baking soda over the spot, let sit for several hours, and then vacuum. Repeat as necessary.

With regard to keeping cats out of a particular room (assuming the room doesn’t have a door), you’d have to either keep them penned or erect a barricade that they couldn’t vault; but one way to break a cat’s habit of urinating in a room is to dip a cotton ball in lemon extract, squeeze out the excess, and place it in an aluminum tea ball (designed to hold loose tea). Hang the tea ball by its hook in the spot where your cat is urinating — the smell should keep the cat away. Refresh the lemon once a week until the cat is trained.

Advice of the Day

Take calculated risks. —George S. Patton Jr.

Home Hint of the Day

For many years, red paint was the cheapest paint made. That’s why all schoolhouses used to be red and why barns, when they were painted at all, were also red.

Word of the Day

Twilight
The interval of time following sunset and preceding sunrise, during which the sky is partially illuminated. The three ranges of twilight are: civil (from sunset/sunrise to when the Sun is 6Β° below the horizon) nautical (greater than 6Β° and ending at 12Β°) astronomical (greater than 12Β° and ending at 18Β°β€”full darkness).

Puzzle of the Day

What is smarter than a hummingbird?
A spelling bee.

Died

  • Otho (Roman emperor ) –
  • Mary "Molly" Brant (Native American leader) –
  • Ralph Ellison (writer) –
  • Robert Urich (actor) –

Born

  • Ford Madox Brown (painter) –
  • Anatole France (writer) –
  • Herbert Baxter Adams (historian) –
  • Grace Livingston Hill (author) –
  • Wilbur Wright (aviator) –
  • Charlie Chaplin (entertainer) –
  • Henry Mancini (composer) –
  • Pope Benedict XVI –
  • Dusty Springfield (singer) –
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (basketball player) –
  • Bill Belichick (football coach) –
  • Martin Lawrence (actor) –
  • Jon Cryer (actor) –

Events

  • Scientist Isaac Newton was knighted–
  • Agricultural College founded in Guelph, Ontario –
  • Magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurred west of Eureka, California–
  • Annie Oakley hit 100 clay targets in a row, setting women’s record–
  • Two ships exploded in harbor, Texas City, Texas–
  • Toronto Maple Leafs won third consecutive NHL Stanley Cup–
  • Walter Cronkite joined CBS Evening News as anchorman–
  • Two giant pandas, given to the U.S. by China, arrived at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.–
  • Britain’s Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah, the Duchess of York, announced their plans to divorce–
  • Sputnik-99 launched by hand from Mir space station–

Weather

  • A severe freeze from Georgia to Texas killed cotton crops–
  • Snow in Dublin, New Hampshire–
  • Three tornadoes struck Nashville, Tennessee–
  • Heavy rainfall led to flooding and a landslide in Wilton, New Hampshire–

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