Author Archives: dcaligari

0ctober 6, 1966 –The Star Trek episode The Enemy Within, first aired on this date. In it, a transporter mishap divides Captain Kirk into two versions of himself, one good and one evil, but neither is able to function separately for long. The episode marks the first use of the line, “He’s dead, Jim.”

Scientists created a machine to harness power from snowfall. The machine worked by using negatively charged silicone to catch positively charged snowflakes, which created a static electric effect that was then harvested.

October 5, 1877 –… I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed; Looking-glass is dead. Too-hul-hul-suit is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men, now, who say ’yes’ or ’no’[that is, vote in council]. He who led on the young men [Joseph’s brother, Ollicut] is dead. It is cold,Continue reading “Just in time for Indigenous Peoples’ Day”

October 5, 1973 –The seventh studio album by Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, (a double LP,) was release on this date. Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to this and most of Elton’s other songs. He often seems to write about Elton, but this one appears to be about himself. The lyrics are about givingContinue reading “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”

Belgium once tried using cats to deliver mail. In the 1870s, the town of Liège came up with the idea of employing 37 cats as their new mail couriers. The mail was loaded into waterproof bags that were tied around the kitties’ little collars and they were sent to their destination. However, this was quicklyContinue reading “There was also a spike in the criminal class of dogs”

October 5, 1969 – The British Empire had been on a long slow decline for many years. The last flourish of that dying world power happened on this date – Monty Python’s Flying Circus made its debut on BBC-TV. The phrase “And now for something completely different” was taken from a real phrase often usedContinue reading “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”

October 4, 1957 –Sputnik One (meaning “companion” or “fellow traveller“), the first man-made satellite, was launched on this date, beginning the “space race.” The satellite, built by Valentin Glushko, weighed 184 pounds and was launched by a converted Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Sputnik orbited the earth every 96 minutes at a maximum height of 584Continue reading “… a firework, a rocket, a new invention”

Rutherford Hayes was born on this date, in Delaware, Ohio. That’s not especially interesting in itself. Presidents, after all, must be born somewhere – and President Hayes was not the only one to have chosen Ohio. But consider: Jimmy Carter was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, and Chester Arthur was born onContinue reading “Maybe today should be President’s Day”

October 4, 1964 –Gerry Anderson’s third Supermarionation could freak out unsuspecting children again when Stingray, premiered in the UK on this date. (It was the first British series to be filmed entirely in Colour: the extra U was particularly expensive.) The original red used on the uniforms had to be changed as it was comingContinue reading “Stingray”

St Francis of Assisi, (nee Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone,) was born the son of a rich silk merchant in Italy during the late 12th and 13th centuries. He is remembered for his generosity to the poor, love of animals and his willingness to minister to the lepers. He was fond of kissing leper’s soresContinue reading “We must be simple, humble and pure”