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Today's Calendar

Saturday, May 4, 2024

Kentucky Derby

America’s most famous horse race, the Kentucky Derby, has been held continuously since 1875 at Louisville, Kentucky, and has become one of the country’s largest civic celebrations (and betting opportunity). Not bad when you consider that the event lasts only two minutes! 

Modeled on England’s Epsom Derby, it is for three-year-old Thoroughbreds and was originally run at a mile and a half (now at a mile and a quarter). Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark organized the first race, and since he wanted the occasion to be festive, he gave a Derby breakfast for his friends before the first running (mint juleps anyone?). 

Dances, parties, and carnival-like gaiety have long been a feature of Derby week. The Derby is the first event in the “Triple Crown” series, followed by the Preakness (the second Saturday after the Derby) and the Belmont Stakes (the fifth Saturday after the Derby).

Try making your own Kentucky Derby Pie. And we also have a Mint Punch recipe.

Question of the Day

Every year, my zucchini plants are killed by squash borers. Is there any way to prevent this?
Try mulching with aluminum foil. It confuses the moths so that they can’t lay their eggs at the base of the stalk. Examine the vines occasionally for borers; if you find any, remove them by slitting the stalk.

Advice of the Day

If you stub your toe, kiss your thumb and you’ll see your beau.

Home Hint of the Day

When building a walk or patio from bricks, use weatherproof bricks. These bricks have been baked longer and have a hard surface that repels water. Soft bricks will absorb water over time and freeze and crack in the winter.

Word of the Day

Windbag
A boring person who talks a great deal about uninteresting topics.

Puzzle of the Day

What did Cinderella say when her photographs didn’t arrive?
Someday my prints will come.

Born

  • Horace Mann (American educator) –
  • Audrey Hepburn (actress) –
  • Randy Travis (country music singer) –
  • Ana Gasteyer (actress) –
  • Lance Bass (singer) –
  • Alexander Gould (actor, voice of Nemo in Finding Nemo) –

Died

  • Moe Howard (actor) –
  • Fredric Baur (credited with creating Pringles and its can. Part of Mr. Baur’s cremated remains were buried in a Pringles can.) –
  • Dom DeLuise (actor) –
  • Ellen Albertini Dow (actress) –

Events

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences incorporated, in Boston, Massachusetts–
  • First general meeting of the Society of the Cincinnati, in Philadelphia–
  • Haymarket Affair, Chicago, Illinois–
  • First Freedom Ride began–
  • First on-the-road Spacemobile lecture–
  • National Guardsmen killed 4 antiwar demonstrators at Kent State University–
  • Rain caused deadly sinkhole and landslide in St.-Jean-Vianney, Quebec–
  • Margaret Thatcher became the United Kingdom’s first female Prime Minister–
  • Magellan spacecraft launched from Space Shuttle Atlantis–
  • Love Bug computer virus caused billions of dollars in damages–
  • Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. However, her name was misspelled.–
  • Royal Canadian Mint produced its last penny–

Weather

  • Nine inches of snow fell at Waltham, Massachusetts–
  • Twelve inches of snow fell near Keene, New Hampshire–
  • Two tornadoes struck Austin, Texas–
  • Missoula, Montana, had 6.5 inches of snow–
  • Damaging windstorm in southern Ontario produced 78-mph wind gusts in Hamilton–

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