Author Archives: dcaligari

August 26, 1743 –Antoine Laurent Lavoisier was born on this date. Dr. Lavoisier discovered Oxygen (Joseph Priestley may beg to differ) but not on this date; he was usually too busy celebrating his birthday. The discovery was a great boon to science, as it enabled Breathing, without which many subsequent scientific advances would have beenContinue reading “Hooray for Oxygen”

August 26, 1972 –Looking Glass‘ single Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) hit No. 1 on this date. This was not typical of the band’s sound, which caused a problem at concerts. While audiences expected pop songs like this one, the Looking Glass played rock, which left the crowds disappointed. The band broke up less thanContinue reading “Brandy goes to No. 1”

The first time toilet paper was ever sold on a roll was on August 26, 1871 (Joseph Gayetty, often created as ‘the father of modern TP‘ sold his product in packets of flat sheets.) August 26 was later officially dubbed National Toilet Paper Day. (Seth Wheeler patents rolled and perforated toilet paper (U.S. patent No.Continue reading “I bet those bears are celebrating”

Once again, today is the Feast of The Transverberation of St. Teresa of Avila (this time, I’m not sure even an old lady saying her rosary in church can explain it to you.) If you find yourself in Rome, run, do not walk, to see the Santa Maria della Vittoria Church. It houses one ofContinue reading “Such is my obsession with religion.”

August 26, 1930 –Philo Farnsworth at 24, was finally granted a patent (US Patent No 1,773,980) for a television system on this date. The patent was has been repeatedly delayed by RCA legal action. This is his first patent, with a description of his image dissector tube, which will be his most important contribution toContinue reading “All those channels and nothing’s on”

August 25, 1975 –Bruce Springsteen’s third album Born to Run was released on this date. The stunning success of Born To Run was tempered by the fine print on Springsteen’s contract with his manager, Mike Appel, which gave Appel a degree of control over who Bruce worked with. They sued each other in 1976, andContinue reading “The Born to Run album was dropped”

It’s the birthday of Declan Patrick MacManus, one of the most prolific musicians of the late 20th Century. In addition to recordings as “Elvis Costello” (often backed by The Attractions), he has recorded music as “Declan MacManus“, “Napoleon Dynamite and The Royal Guard“, “The Coward Brothers” (with T-Bone Burnett), “Nick Lowe and His Sound“, “TheContinue reading “Declan Patrick MacManus”

Today is National Banana Split Day, observed annually on this date A 23-year-old apprentice pharmacist at Tassel’s Pharmacy in Latrobe, Pennsylvania created the first banana split in 1904. David Evans Strickler enjoyed inventing sundaes at the store’s soda fountain. His first “banana-based triple ice cream sundae” sold for 10 cents, double the cost of allContinue reading “You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy dessert”

August 25, 1994 – ABC TV introduced everyone to Angela Chase and the students at Liberty High School when My So-Called Life starring, Claire Danes, Jared Leto and Wilson Cruz, premiered on this date. Before Claire Danes auditioned for the role of Angela Chase, a then-unknown Alicia Silverstone was the favorite for the role. CastingContinue reading “My So-Called Life premiered”

August 24, 1994 –Singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley’s sole album Grace was released on this date. The song Grace was the album’s first single, and it was also released as a video. Buckley performed the song for a long time before he recorded it, and an early demo appears on an album he made with Gary LucasContinue reading “Grace released”