Author Archives: dcaligari

Soviet Cosmonauts took shotguns to space with them. This wasn’t to fight off any capitalist aliens they might encounter in space. It was for when they returned to Earth in case they landed in Siberia and had to fend off hungry bears.

October 10, 1964 –The Shangri-Las released their operatic hit, Leader of the Pack, on this date. This was written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry and producer Shadow Morton. Morton was looking for a follow-up to the first Shangri-Las‘ hit, Remember (Walking in the Sand). He had a motorcycle and was part of a motorcycle gangContinue reading “By the way, where’d you meet him?”

(With your newsfeed jam packed with other, more heady news, some may not remember that we are celebrating cephalopods this week) Today we also celebrate Squid Day/Cuttlefish Day. Calamari could loom large in your day today – celebrate responsibly. Demand Euphoria!

October 9, 1958 –Pope Pius XII suffered a most ‘unfortunate‘ accident after his demise. The Pope died during an exceptionally hot summer. When Pius died, Professor Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi who was treating the ill pontiff (Galeazzi-Lisi was not a doctor but an optometrist) turned embalmer, trying to hide his crimes. Rather than slow the process ofContinue reading “Maybe you don’t want to know this”

October 9, 1000 –Leif Ericson discovered Vinland and became the first known European to walk in North America, on this date (or not). In 1964, the United States Congress authorized and requested the President to proclaim October 9 of each year as Leif Erikson Day. The day after Leif Ericson Day in 1965, Yale UniversityContinue reading “Happy Leif Ericson Day!”

Today we celebrate Nautilus Night, highlighting all the lesser-known extant cephalopods – Hopefully the shocking nature of the documentary wasn’t too off-putting for your holiday celebrations And so it goes

October 8, 1871 –Mrs O’Leary’s cow started The Great Chicago Fire that destroyed more than 17,000 buildings, killed more than 300 people and left 90,000 homeless, on this date. Catherine O’Leary seemed the perfect scapegoat: she was a woman, immigrant, and Catholic – a combination which did not fare well in the political climate ofContinue reading “Bad cow”

October 8, 1966 –The first Doctor Who episode to feature the Cybermen (the first episode of the Doctor Who serial The Tenth Planet) aired on this date. The episode is the last episode to star William Hartnell as the First Doctor (and Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor).

October 8, 1869 –Franklin Pierce, an American politician and the fourteenth President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857 is to date the only president from New Hampshire and was the first president born in the nineteenth century. His good looks and inoffensive personality caused him to make many friends, but he sufferedContinue reading “Perhaps being president isn’t all it’s cracked up to be”

Every year from the 8th to the 12th of October, International Cephalopod Awareness Days come around to teach the world about Cephalopods. This event is all about celebrating and sharing how fascinating and incredible they are! Today is Octopus Day, celebrating all the eight-armed fellows. And so it goes