Tidbits of History, October 11

October 11 is:

It’s My Party Day

National Sausage Pizza Day
About 93% of Americans eat at least one pizza every month.
About 350 slices of pizza are consumed every second in the United States.
The most pizzas are delivered (and eaten) on New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve, Halloween, Thanksgiving Eve, and Super Bowl Sunday.
The three dots in the Domino’s Pizza logo represent the first three Domino’s Pizza stores.
Pepperoni is the most popular pizza topping in the United States.

Don’t eat blackberries after October 11:
According to The Telegraph
The heat, the rain and a luminous Indian summer have brought forth a rich harvest of blackberry enthusiasm, only slightly tempered by this week’s news that we should not pick them after next Sunday. (Legend has it that Lucifer fell from heaven and landed in a blackberry bush on October 11. Infuriated, he contaminated the bush by either spitting or urinating on it. Thus, blackberries are not safe to eat after that date.)

Meriwether Lewis, died October 11, 1809In 1809 – Along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee, explorer Meriwether Lewis died under mysterious circumstances at an inn called Grinder’s Stand, about 70 miles southwest of Nashville, Tennessee. Referred to as “undoubtedly the greatest pathfinder this country has ever known”, Thomas Jefferson appointed Lewis as Governor of the Louisiana Territory. Lewis assumed the post in 1808. During his brief time in this office, however, Lewis proved himself a poor administrator. He quarreled with the territorial secretary and local leaders, and failed to keep his superiors in Washington informed of his policies and plans. In September 1809 Lewis set out for the nation’s capital to answer complaints about his actions as governor. While on this trip he died a violent but mysterious death. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Whether he committed suicide, as Jefferson believed, or was murdered, as his family maintained, remains uncertain even today.

Eleanor RooseveltBirthday of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (1884), wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Lady from 1933 to 1945. She served as official United States delegate to the United Nations

President Theodore Roosevelt, died January 6, 1919In 1910, former President Theodore Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane. He flew for four minutes with Arch Hoxsey in a plane built by the Wright Brothers at Kinloch Field (Lambert-St. Louis International Airport), St. Louis, Missouri.

1975 Clinton weddingBill Clinton wed Hillary Rodham in Arkansas. Per brides.com, According to the Clinton House Museum, Bill wanted an extravagant wedding bash, whereas Hillary didn’t even want an engagement ring (well, she did get a house out of the deal, so not a bad trade)! The compromise? An engagement party where Hillary met all of Bill’s friends—and then a small, intimate wedding and a big reception party to follow. As far as a wedding dress, it is noted by the historical society that Hillary didn’t even have a gown ready to go the night before, so her (horrified!) mother ran her over to Dillard’s in the Fayetteville Mall—Hillary purchased a $53 Jessica McClintock Victorian lace gown, one of the first that she saw. In contrast, their daughter Chelsea’s wedding is estimated to have cost between $2 million and $5 million.

2002: The U.S. Congress passed a bill (the War Powers Resolution), by a wide margin, granting U.S. President George W. Bush broad authority to use force against Iraq.

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