Author Archives: dcaligari

August 11, 1942 –Actress Hedy Lamarr (that’s Hedy not Hedley) and composer George Antheil received a patent for a frequency hopping, spread spectrum communication system that will later became the basis for the technology behind Wi-Fi and wireless telephones. In 1997, she and George Anthiel were honored with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Pioneer Award.Continue reading “Not just a pretty face”

It’s the Feast of St. Clare today. St. Clare of Assisi (or Clair or Claire – spelling wasn’t a major issue back then. Living past 29 years old was considered miraculous) didn’t want to marry the rich young man her parents picked out for her and ran away from home to become the biggest FrancisContinue reading “Every time you turn on the TV – think of her”

The Dog Days of Summer are officially over today. Mark your calendar for the upcoming ‘Crazy Political Campaign Season of Autumn‘.

There are 136 days until Christmas Secure your position on the naughty/ nice list accordingly

August 10, 1963 –Stevie Wonder’s single Fingertips (Part 2) becomes the first live recording to hit #1 in the US on this date. Wonder’s first two albums were The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie and Tribute to Uncle Ray, both released in 1962 and intended to frame Stevie as a young Ray Charles. They didn’tContinue reading “Fingertips (Part 2) topped the charts”

August 10, 1968 –According to the strip below, Snoopy’s birthday is August 10. There had, however, been no reference to this in previous years and it did not become an annual feature of the strip, (in fact, there are some references to Snoopy’s birthday being August 28.)

August 10, 1962 –While not the worst film ever made – it is the sickest. The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, opened on this date. (Watch it now.) This was the first movie watched by Michael J. Nelson after Joel Hodgson had left in the previous episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

August 10, 1948 –Candid Camera, considered by many to be the first reality tv show, debuted on ABC-TV on this date. The series was previously known on the radio. Its name: Candid Microphone. For a period in 1958, the show appeared as a regular segment of Jack Paar’s The Tonight Show, airing on NBC. InContinue reading “When you least expect it …”

Happy National S’mores Day. S’mores – the most popular campfire treat is recognized each year on August 10th. In 1927, Girl Scouts troop leader Loretta Scott Crew wrote a recipe for “Some Mores,” and published it in Tramping and Trailing With the Girl Scouts, an official Girl Scouts publication, though the exact origin of S’moresContinue reading “Life is better with s’mores and the ones you love.”

August 9, 1945 –Just three days after Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima, a second atomic bomb (a 22 kiloton Atomic Bomb) called Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, population 270,000, by the U.S. B-29 bomber Bockscar. Though the amount of energy generated by the bomb was significantly larger than that of the LittleContinue reading “They thought it so nice, they did it twice”