Author Archives: dcaligari

British history began on September 28, 1066, with the Norman invasion of England. The Normans were a group of Franks who’d grown weary of being so Frank. Their decision to become Normans cost them their Frankness, so they joined together and invaded England under the leadership of William (or, in Norman, “Norman“) the Conqueror. PriorContinue reading “I guess they wanted to celebrate ‘Beer Drinking Day’”

September 28, 2012 –The Universal musical comedy film, Pitch Perfect (my daughters favorite film,) starring Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Adam DeVine, Ben Platt, John Michael Higgins, and Elizabeth Banks, premiered on this date in the US. The story line between Bumper and Fat Amy was not in the script. Adam DevineContinue reading “Pitch Perfect”

September 28, 1963 –Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales cartoon debuts on CBS-TV on this date. This show was produced at the same animation studio as The Bullwinkle Show and other Jay Ward cartoons. Many of the same animators who had previously worked on some of the Jay Ward cartoons, worked on this.

We would have been smack dab in the middle of Oktoberfest season had it not been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic but today is still National Beer Drinking Day – a wonderful reminder to enjoy the world’s most popular adult beverage. Today is also St. Wenceslaus’ Day, patron saint of brew masters, named afterContinue reading “Not quite from Bulter’s Lives of the Saints”

Koalas have unique fingerprints. So do chimpanzees and gorillas. However koala fingerprints are so similar to human fingerprints that even the most seasoned forensic scientists would have a hard time telling a koala fingerprint from a human one.

Today is the 116th anniversary of the completion by Albert Einstein of his paper, Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?, introducing the equation E=MC², on this date. Before this, E equaled just about anything you wanted it to equal. Just think what the atomic bomb would have been like ifContinue reading “So that’s what it means”

September 27, 1954 –Steve Allen sat down at his piano and the Tonight Show premiered nationally on NBC on this date. The show began in 1953 as a local show on WNBT-TV, the NBC station in New York City. Tonight! began in 1954 when Sylvester L. Weaver Jr., the president of NBC, decided to expandContinue reading “The Tonight Show”

(Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, North America, South America) New Zealand is actually part of a much bigger, sunken landmass. Dubbed Zealandia, it was only discovered after humans had traveled to space as they were able to easily see it from above the Earth. Some scientists believe it should be formally recognized as the world’sContinue reading “Kids will have to relearn ‘Eat an apple as a nighttime snack’.”

September 26, 1580 –Francis Drake returned to Plymouth, England, on this date, ending a three-and-a-half year journey around the world. Drake was knighted and awarded a prize of 10 thousand pounds (which he probably invested in his delicious snack cake company.) It was nearly four more centuries, however, before The Beverly Hillbillies premiered on CBS-TVContinue reading “You figure out the connection”

On this day in 1789, Congress proposed twelve amendments to the Constitution of the United States. Habeas Corpus Luteum and Freedom from Unreasonably Surging Seashores were ultimately rejected but the other ten passed and have come to be known as the “Bill of Rights.” In honor of this important anniversary, I have chosen to celebrateContinue reading “Give ten cheers”