Daily Calendar for Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Question of the Day
What is a horse latitude?
A horse latitude is an area of high pressure and low winds that exists at about 30 degrees north latitude and 30 degrees south latitude. Early sailors dreaded these parts of the sea because the winds would become unpredictable, with periods of total calm. Particularly near Bermuda, ships were often stopped in their tracks when the winds gave out. To conserve the crew’s water supply, one survival tactic for a becalmed ship was to abandon any horses on board by letting them die of thirst or tossing them overboard. There were reports that the seas in these areas were βstrewn with bodies of horses,β and hence the name βhorse latitudes.β
Advice of the Day
Sprinkle baking soda on carpets to deodorize them. Leave it on for an hour and then vacuum.
Home Hint of the Day
When gluing the legs of a chair, fashion a tourniquet clamp by wrapping rope around the legs twice and tying it. Then insert a stick between the 2 rounds of rope and twist to tighten. Lock the stick in place by bracing it against a rung.
Word of the Day
Horse latitudes
Either of two belts of latitudes located over the oceans at about 30Β° to 35Β° north and south, having high barometric pressure, calms, and light, changeable winds.
Puzzle of the Day
The Grand Canyon State.(Name the U.S. state!)
Arizona
Born
- Carl Ritter (geographer) β
- Rudolf C. Ising (co-creator of Looney Tunesββ) β
- Garrison Keillor (radio host) β
- B. J. Thomas (singer) β
- Wayne Knight (actor) β
- David Duchovny (actor) β
- Charlize Theron (actress) β
- Mike Trout (baseball player) β
Died
- Oliver Hardy (comedian & actor) β
- Mickey Leland (U.S. congressman) β
- Peter Jennings (journalist) β
Events
- La Salle’s Le Griffon, first ship to sail upper Great Lakes, entered Lake Erieβ
- George Washington established the Badge of Military Merit for U.S. soldiers injured in action. It later became known as the Purple Heartβ
- The United States War Department establishedβ
- Service began at first deaf church in U.S., St. Ann’s Church for Deaf Mutes, N.Y.C.β
- Silver discovered in northern Ontarioβ
- Peace Bridge openedβ
- U.S. satellite Explorer VI launchedβ
- The Don Messer Show premiered on CBC televisionβ
- Love Canal, N.Y., was declared a disaster areaβ
- Record-breaking flight around world by single-engine plane completed (6 days, 7 hours, 25 minutes, 47 seconds)β
- President George Bush ordered the military buildup known as Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait earlier in the monthβ
- At the Summer Olympics, Katie Ledecky swam the 400m freestyle in 3:56.46, setting a world recordβ
Weather
- New York City had a low of only 102 degrees F by day and 82 degrees F by night, and Philadelphia reached a record high of 106 degrees Fβ
- The temperature in Claysville, Pennsylvania, reached 108 degrees Fβ
- A hailstorm severely damaged a passenger train near Pinneo, Colorado.β
- Waco, Texas, recorded a temperature of 107 degrees Fβ
- Marquette, Michigan, experienced a high temperature of 88 degrees Fβ
- The temperature plummeted to 30 degrees F in Martin, South Dakotaβ
- The temperature plummeted to 37 degrees F in Belcourt, North Dakotaβ
- The temperature plummeted to 40 degrees F in Valentine, Nebraskaβ