Author Archives: dcaligari

Three of the past century’s finest comedians were born on October 2: Groucho Marx (1890), Bud Abbott (1895), and Mahatma Gandhi (1869). Groucho and Abbott were funny enough, but they pale beside the towering comic greatness of Gandhi. “When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have alwaysContinue reading “If you don’t ask, you don’t get it”

October 2, 1976 – Every night I have the strangest dreams … John Belushi came out on stage with Joe Cocker while he was performing on Saturday Night Live on this date.

While it’s not my first choice of drink – I’m not one to pass up the chilled neutral spirit. Whatever brand you drink, it always taste better fresh out of the freezer. (Yes, they may quote me on that, I’d be willing to endorse the stuff.)

October 1, 1847 –Maria Mitchell, a distant relative of Benjamin Franklin, using a telescope, discovered “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” (Comet 1847 VI, modern designation is C/1847 T1) on this date. Some years previously, King Frederick VI of Denmark had established gold medal prizes to each discoverer of a “telescopic comet” (too faint to be seen withContinue reading “Keep watching the skies”

October 1, 1962 –The Beach Boys release their first album, Surfin’ Safari, which includes their debut single, Surfin‘ on this date. Led by Brian Wilson, the band started out with his brothers Carl and Dennis with friends Al Jardine and David Marks. Brian was influenced by vocal groups like The Four Freshmen, who used jazzContinue reading “Surfin’ Safari”

October 1, 1962 –The follow-up to I Love Lucy series (but not a sequel to the series,) The Lucy Show, premiered on CBS-TV on this date. The series was originally intended to air for only one season. Ball and Desi Arnaz’s studio, Desilu, was losing money. Arnaz persuaded Ball to return to series television onlyContinue reading “The Lucy Show”

October is the tenth month of the year and its name is therefore derived from Octo, the Latin word for eight (as the vegetables in V8 well knows.) October is often preceded by September and sometimes followed by November. There are 31 days in October, many of which are Wednesdays. (Wednesday is the fourth dayContinue reading “A symphony of permanence and change”

In China, the police use geese as sentries. In many parts of rural China, police have opted to use geese as police animals as they are highly alert and capable of making lots of noise. Also “police geese” sounds cooler than “police dogs”. And so it goes

September 30, 1938 –The Germans occupied the Sudetenland in late summer of 1938. This enraged the British and the English, who both feared for the loss of the Sudetenland’s celebrated pea crops. British Prime Minister flew to Germany to meet Hitler at Bertesgarden to discuss the situation, on this date. Hitler assured him that thereContinue reading “Always proofread your pacts with Rat Bastards”

September 30, 1965 – Gerry Anderson’s supermarionation take on The Tracy family business, Thunderbirds premiered on this date in the UK. The five Tracy brothers were named after astronauts from the Mercury program: Scott Tracy after Scott Carpenter.Virgil Tracy after Gus Grissom whose real first name was Virgil.Alan Tracy after Alan Shepard.Gordon Tracy after GordonContinue reading “Thunderbirds”