August 31 is:
National Trail Mix Day
Trail mix is a combination of dried fruit, grains, nuts, and sometimes chocolate, developed as a snack food to be taken along on outdoor hikes.
Trail mix is considered an ideal snack food for hikes, because it is tasty, lightweight, easy to store, and nutritious, providing a quick boost from the carbohydrates in the dried fruit and/or granola, and sustained energy from the mono- and polyunsaturated fats in nuts.
Many claim that trail mix was first invented in 1968 by two California surfers who blended peanuts and raisins together for an energy snack.
However, trail mix is also mentioned in Jack Kerouac’s 1958 novel The Dharma Bums as the two main characters describe their planned meals in their preparation for a hiking trip.
The recipe for trail mix is most likely European in origin, where it has been known as a snack under various names in various countries since the 17th century.
From 2201 Fascinating Facts by David Louis, published by Greenwich House, New York, 1983
Birthday of the Roman Emperor, Commodos (Aug 31, 161). He collected all the dwarfs, cripples, and freaks he could find in the city of Rome and had them brought to the Colosseum where they were ordered to fight each other to the death with meat cleavers.
Anniversary of the death of John Bunyan (August 31, 1688), English preacher renowned for “Pilgrim’s Progress”
From Today in Science
In 1909, Benjamin Shibe recieved a U.S. patent on the cork center baseball (No. 932,911). In 1909, when a baseball stadium, Shibe Park in Philadelphia was built for the Philadelphia Athletics, it was named after him as their principal owner. Later, the stadium became Connie Mack Stadium, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies until 1971. A partner in the A.J. Reach sporting goods company, Shibe invented the machinery that made possible the manufacture of standard baseballs.
1950 – Gil Hodges of the Brooklyn Dodgers hit four home runs in a single game off of four different pitchers.
August 31, 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash in Paris. Diana’s death was met with extraordinary public expressions of grief, and her funeral at Westminster Abbey on 6 September drew an estimated 3 million mourners and onlookers in London, and worldwide television coverage watched by 2.5 billion people.