Tidbits of History

September 3 is:

National Tailgating Day
U. S. Bowling League Day

National Baby Back Ribs Day Baby back ribs (also back ribs or loin ribs) are taken from the top of the rib cage between the spine and the spare ribs, below the loin muscle. They have meat between the bones and on top of the bones, and are shorter, curved, and sometimes meatier than spare ribs. Spare ribs, also called “spareribs” or “side ribs”, are taken from the belly side of the rib cage, below the section of back ribs and above the sternum (breast bone). St. Louis style ribs (or St. Louis cut spare ribs) have had the sternum bone, cartilage, and rib tips removed.

National Welsh Rarebit Day (originally called Welsh Rabbit) – a savory cheese sauce served over crusty toasted bread. Despite its name, the dish contains no rabbit meat.
Per foodimentary.com:

• Welsh rarebit or Welsh rabbit is a dish made with a savoury sauce of melted cheese and various other ingredients and served hot, after being poured over slices (or other pieces) of toasted bread, or the hot cheese sauce may be served in a bowl accompanied by sliced, toasted bread.
• Welsh rarebit is typically made with Cheddar cheese, in contrast to the Continental European fondue which classically depends on Swiss cheeses.
• “Eighteenth-century English cookbooks reveal that it was then considered to be a luscious supper or tavern dish, based on the fine cheddar-type cheeses and the wheat breads. Surprisingly, it seems there was not only a Welsh Rabbit, but also an English Rabbit, an Irish and a Scotch Rabbit, but nary a rarebit.”
  • To make a Scotch rabbit, toast the bread very nicely on both sides, butter it, cut a slice of cheese about as big as the bread, toast it on both sides, and lay it on the bread.
  • To make a Welsh rabbit, toast the bread on both sides, then toast the cheese on one side, lay it on the toast, and with a hot iron brown the other side. You may rub it over with mustard.
  • To make an English rabbit, toast the bread brown on both sides, lay it in a plate before the fire, pour a glass of red wine over it, and let it soak the wine up. Then cut some cheese very thin and lay it very thick over the bread, put it in a tin oven before the fire, and it will be toasted and browned presently. Serve it always hot.
  • Buck rarebit (Welsh rarebit with an egg). Served with an egg on top, it makes a “buck rabbit” or a “golden buc”.
  • Welsh rarebit blended with tomato (or tomato soup) makes a “blushing bunny”.

National Skyscraper Day
After Labor Day, you can honor the construction workers and engineers who built the world’s modern architectural wonders. One European real estate data company defines a skyscraper as at least 330 feet, while in the United States a building starts to qualify around 500 feet.

King William’s War in America ended with the Treaty of Ryswick on September 3, 1697.

Cooch’s Bridge – Skirmish of American Revolutionary war in New Castle County, Delaware where the Flag of the United States was flown in battle for the first time on September 3, 1777.

Treaty of Paris Day, the anniversary of the signing in 1783 of the treaty between the United States and England, ending the Revolutionary War.

Sept 3, 1855: In Nebraska, 700 soldiers under American General William S. Harney avenge the Grattan Massacre by attacking a Sioux village, killing 100 men, women, and children.

Birthday of Louis Henri Sullivan (September 3, 1856), American architect who established the principle that form should follow function.

September 3, 1939, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany, following Germany’s invasion of Poland.

Road traffic in Sweden is moved from the left to the right. Dagen H (H day), today mostly called “Högertrafikomläggningen” (“The right-hand traffic diversion”), was the day, 3 September 1967, on which traffic in Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right. The “H” stands for “Högertrafik”, the Swedish word for “right-hand traffic”. See article for more details.

Qatar became independent. Following Ottoman rule it became a British protectorate until gaining independence in 1971

September 1 is:

Emma M. Nutt Day, the first woman telephone operator. In January 1878, the Boston Telephone Dispatch Company had started hiring boys as telephone operators, starting with George Willard Croy. Boys (reportedly including Nutt’s husband had been very successful as telegraphy operators, but their attitude (lack of patience) and behavior (pranks and cursing) were unacceptable for live phone contact, so the company began hiring women operators instead. A few hours after Nutt started working, her sister Stella became the world’s second female telephone operator, also making the pair the first two sister telephone operators in history.

National Gyro Day A gyro is a dish of meat roasted on a vertical spit. It is usually served as a sandwich, also called a gyros, with tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce, wrapped in pita bread.

September 1, 1715: The reign of Louis XIV (the Sun King) of France ended with his death after 72 years on the throne, the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in European history.

The Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was founded by Father Junípero Serra in San Luis Obispo, California on September 1, 1772. Serra had established a mission in Monterey. Due to food shortages, he sent a hunting expedition to San Luis Obispo to help feed the Spanish and neophytes (natives that converted to Christianity) in Monterey. The huge success of the hunting expedition caused Junípero Serra to consider building a mission in that area. Upon further investigation, he was convinced that San Luis Obispo would be a perfect site for a mission, based on its surplus of natural resources, good weather and the Chumash, a local, friendly Native American tribe who could help provide labor. The mission became the fifth in the mission chain founded by Father Junípero Serra. San Luis Obispo is located 190 miles north of Los Angeles and 230 miles south of San Francisco.

The Boston subway, green line, opened in 1897, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America.

Alberta and Saskatchewan joined the Canadian Confederation on September 1, 1905.

In 1914, St. Petersburg, Russia, changes its name to Petrograd. St. Petersburg, which is Russia’s second largest urban area, was founded in 1703 by the czar Peter the Great. In 1914, the German sounding name was changed to Petrograd. Then, after the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924, the Soviet Union changed the city’s name to Leningrad. Leningrad became St. Petersburg again 67 years later when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon , died on September 1, 1914, making her species extinct. Its common name is derived from the French word passager, meaning “passing by”, due to the migratory habits of the species.

September 1, 1939: Nazi Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II.

Also on this day in 1939, Adolf Hitler signed an order to begin the systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and disabled people. In October 1939 Hitler empowered his personal physician and the chief of the Chancellery of the Führer to kill people considered unsuited to live. He backdated his order to September 1, 1939, the day World War II began, to give it the appearance of a wartime measure. The Nazis referred to the program’s victims as “burdensome lives” and “useless eaters.”

1952 – The Old Man and the Sea, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Ernest Hemingway, was first published.

Muammar al-Gaddafi took power in Libya, in a coup in 1969.

Uzbekistan became independent from the Soviet Union on this date in 1991.

1997 – In France, the prosecutor’s office announced that the driver of the car, in which Britain’s Princess Diana was killed, was over the legal alcohol limit.

1998 – The movie “Titanic” went on sale across North America.

1998 – Mark McGwire (St. Louis Cardinals) hit his 56th and 57th homeruns to set a new National League record. He would eventually reach a total of 70 for the season on September 27.

1998 – J.K. Rowling’s book “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” was released in the U.S. This was the first book in the Harry Potter series.

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.

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August 29 is:

More Herbs, Less Salt Day
National Chop Suey Day
Chop suey is a Chinese American dish originating in the mid to late 19th century for Chinese immigrants in San Francisco.
Chop suey consists of small pieces of meat, chicken or shrimp stir-fried with celery, onions, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, mushrooms and/or other vegetables, and served over rice, usually with soy sauce.

Difference between Chop Suey and Chow Main:
What is chop suey?

While it has roots in southern China, chop suey is one of the most popular kind of dishes in Americanized Chinese food. While its specific definition can vary from chef to chef, chop suey almost always includes some kind of meat (beef, chicken, pork, or seafood) paired with vegetables and sometimes an egg. After that, there are a few other distinguishing features:

The Base: It’s typically served with rice as its base. You might occasionally see it with steamed noodles.
The Sauce: It’s topped with a thick, starch-based gravy.
The Variations: There are too many to count—basically, chop suey is a kind of dish, with little differences at every Chinese restaurant you go to.

Ok, then, what is chow mein?

Chow mein does share some similarities with chop suey: notably, it’s made with meat (chicken, beef, pork, seafood, or tofu), vegetables, and a sauce. Both are Chinese-American staples, but there are a few distinct differences. Here’s how to tell if what you’re eating is chow mein:

The Base: It’s crispy stir-fried noodles. In fact, this is the easiest way to spot the difference between chow mein and chop suey. If there’s rice, it’s chop suey. If there are noodles, it’s probably chow mein.
The Sauce: Soy sauce, never thickened.
The Variations: Sometimes, you’ll see this same dish, but with steamed noodles. This is often called lo mein.

Birthday of John Locke (August 29, 1632), English philosopher who wrote “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”. His arguments concerning liberty and the social contract later influenced the written works of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and other Founding Fathers of the United States. In fact, one passage from the Second Treatise is reproduced verbatim in the Declaration of Independence, the reference to a “long train of abuses.” Such was Locke’s influence that Thomas Jefferson wrote: “Bacon, Locke and Newton… I consider them as the three greatest men that have ever lived, without any exception, and as having laid the foundation of those superstructures which have been raised in the Physical and Moral sciences”.

1786 – Shays’ Rebellion, an armed uprising of Massachusetts farmers, began in response to high debt and tax burdens.

Birthday of Oliver Wendell Holmes (August 29, 1809), American poet, essayist, and novelist.

From Asimov, Isaac. Isaac Asimov’s Book of Facts. New York, Bell Publishing Company, published in 1981:

Birthday of Charles F. Kettering, (August 29, 1876), American inventor, engineer and holder of 186 patents. He was a founder of Delco and head of research at General Motors. Among his most widely used automotive inventions were the electric starting motor and leaded gasoline. The electric automobile self-starter which was perfected in 1911 made it possible for women to drive without a male companion to crank the engine.

United States Air Force Academy opened in Colorado Springs, Colorado on this date in 1958.

August 29, 1990, Saddam Hussein declared that America couldn’t beat Iraq

August 29, 2005: Hurricane Katrina wreaks devastation in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. New Orleans is flooded. Responsible for the killing of an estimated 1,836 people and causing over $108 billion in damage.

August 28 is:

Race Your Mouse Day aka “Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day”.

National Cherry Turnovers Day
Darker cherries have higher antioxidant and vitamin levels than lighter ones.
On average, commercially grown cherry trees produce about 7,000 cherries annually.
Over 75% of the cherries sold in the U.S. come from Michigan.

Feast day of Saint Augustine of Hippo, patron saint of students for the priesthood. Famous for praying “Make me pure…but not yet.”

Birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (August 28, 1749), German poet and novelist, author of “Faust”

1830 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s new Tom Thumb steam locomotive raced a horse-drawn car, presaging steam’s role in U.S. railroads.

From Today in Science
In 1845, the first issue of the Scientific American was published by Rufus Porter (1792-1884), a versatile if eccentric Yankee, who was by turns a portrait-painter, schoolmaster, inventor and editor. While the paper was still a small weekly journal with a circulation less than 300, he offered it for sale. It was bought for $800 in July 1846 by 20-year-old Alfred Ely Beach (1826-1896) as editor, and Orson Desaix Munn (1824-1907). Together, they built it over the years into a great and unique periodical. Their circulation reached 10,000 by 1848, 20,000 by 1852, and 30,000 by 1853.

August 28 – 1963: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place; this is  where Martin Luther King, Jr. made his “I Have a Dream” speech for Civil Rights in the United States.

From Today in Science
In 1837, pharmacists John Lea and William Perrins of Worcester, England began the manufacture of Worcester Sauce. Its origin was accidental. The two Worcestershire chemists (pharmacists) whose names are on the bottle were asked to make a sauce using a recipe Lord Marcus Sandys, governor of Bengal, had brought from India. The result had a harsh, unpalatable taste. The batch was stored in their cellar, forgotten for a year. At that time, after an aging process, a chance tasting for the sauce was now tasty. Upon selling the new savory sauce, they found a sustained demand, and by 1843 they sold 14,500 per year. The exact ingredients remain a trade secret, but are known to include molasses, tamarins, onions, cloves, chillies and shallots from various countries around the world.

U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, (D) from South Carolina, began a filibuster to prevent the Senate from voting on Civil Rights Act of 1957; he stopped speaking 24 hours and 18 minutes later, the longest filibuster ever conducted by a single Senator. He changed political parties to become a Republican in 1964 because of his opposition to the Civil Rights Act and his support of Barry Goldwater.

1968 Police and anti-war demonstrators clashed in the streets of Chicago, Illinois, as the Democratic National Convention nominated Hubert H. Humphrey for president.

August 26 is:

Women’s Equality Day
National Dog Day

National Cherry Popsicle Day

In 1905 in San Francisco, 11-year-old Frank Epperson was mixing a white powdered flavoring for soda and water out on the porch. He left it there, with a stirring stick still in it. That night, temperatures reached a record low, and the next morning, the boy discovered the drink had frozen to the stick, inspiring the idea of a fruit-flavored ‘Popsicle’, a portmanteau of soda pop and icicle.
Eighteen years later in 1923, Epperson introduced frozen pop on a stick to the public at Neptune Beach, an amusement park in Belmar, New Jersey. Seeing that it was a success, in 1924 Epperson applied for a patent for his “frozen confectionery” which he called “the Epsicle ice pop”. He renamed it to Popsicle, allegedly at the insistence of his children.

From Today in Science
In 1883, Mount Krakatoa, an island volcano in the Dutch Indies (now Indonesia), erupted with violent explosions that destroyed two thirds of the island. It produced huge tsunami waves that swept across the immediate region, killing an estimated 36,000 people. These waves were powerful enough to cross the Indian Ocean and travel beyond Cape Horn. The most powerful blast was the most violent known in human history—it was loud enough to be heard in Australia. The shockwave was registered by barometers in England. The huge amount of volcanic dust thrust high into the stratosphere eventually traveled around the world. The dust blocked sunlight causing temperature drops, highly coloured sunsets, and chaotic weather patterns for several years afterwards.

1920 – The 19th amendment to United States Constitution took effect, giving women the right to vote.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

From Today in Science
In 1959, the Morris Mini-Minor was introduced by the British Motor Corporation. The car, popularly known as the Mini, remains successful over five decades later. It became a landmark in automotive design because it was only 10 ft long, yet seated four passengers, and one of the lowest priced cars on the market. Its innovative designer, Alec Issigonis, saved space by mounting the engine transversely which eliminated the interior space taken up by a transmission tunnel. Issigonis believed that “when you’re designing a new car for production, never, never copy the opposition.” and created a vehicle that carried the greatest payload in the smallest practical space. It had all-independent suspension, good fuel economy, fast acceleration, maneuverability and ease of parking.

1970 – The new feminist movement, led by Betty Friedan, led a nation-wide Women’s Strike for Equality. The strike primarily focused on equal opportunity in the workforce, political rights for women, and social equality in relationships such as marriage.

1980 – After John Birges planted a bomb at Harvey’s Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada; the FBI inadvertently detonated the bomb during its disarming. John Birges Sr. was convicted of having made the bomb, and wanted to extort $3 million from the casino after having lost $750,000 there. He later died in prison in 1996, at the age of 74.