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April 26, 1962 –The NASA Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon after sixty-four hours of flight, on this date. The probe’s mission was to rough-land a seismometer capsule on the Moon, to collect gamma-ray data in flight, to study the radar reflectivity of the lunar surface, and to continue testing the Ranger program forContinue reading “On the Moon”

April 26, 1978 – NBC aired a a musical version of The Prince and the Pauper, Ringo, starring Ringo, Art Carney, Angie Dickinson, Carrie Fisher, Vincent Price, John Ritter, and George Harrison narrating, on this date. Really, don’t feel you have to watch the whole thing (it’s not very good.)

Malaria Awareness Day was designated on this date by President George W. Bush in 2007, to remind people that Malaria kills 3,000 children a day. He asked the world to join the fight to wipe out malaria on the African continent. So I encourage all Americans to begin heavily drinking Gin and Tonics to honorContinue reading “Today is Malaria Awareness Day.”

April 25, 1953 –Francis Crick and James D. Watson published Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid, describing the double helix structure of DNA, in the scientific journal Nature, on this date. In it, Crick and Watson reveal the double helix structure of DNA and explains how DNA transmits hereditary informationContinue reading “Watson and Crick’s article about DNA was published on this date”

April 25, 1959 –The Fleetwoods hit No. 1 with their recording of Come Softly to Me on this date. The original title of this song Come Softly, was changed because Dolphin (later Dolton) Records owner Bob Reisdorff feared that AM radio DJs would think it to be too suggestive. He was being extra-cautious, Dolphin RecordsContinue reading “Come Softly to Me went to No. 1”

April 25, 1992 – The final episodes of Who’s the Boss, aired on this date on ABC-TV (Sorry, this is a very bad copy of the show.) The original ending for the series, as proposed by the writers, was for Angela and Tony to get married. ABC executives, however, balked at this ending and wereContinue reading “Who’s the Boss finale”

April 24, 1961 –Del Shannon started a four week run at No.1 on the Billboard singles chart with Runaway, on this date. Shannon and his keyboard player, Max Crook, came up with this while they were playing a club in their hometown of Battle Creek, Michigan. Crook played a keyboard called a “Musitron” on theContinue reading “Runaway hits No. 1”

April 24, 1970 –The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, was launched aboard a Long March rocket on this date. Upon reaching orbit, the satellite transmits the popular Communist Chinese song, The East is Red. With the launch, China became the fifth country with a satellite in space. And so it goes

(Latin Dionysiacus, from Greek Dionusiakos, from Dionusios.), adjective 1. Of or relating to Dionysus, the god of wine and of an orgiastic religion celebrating the power and fertility of nature. Of or relating to Dionysia, ancient Greek festivals held seasonally, chiefly at Athens, in honor of Dionysus. 2. Often dionysiac. Ecstatic or wild; Dionysian. KeepContinue reading “Dionysiac ( die-uh-NIS-ee-ak )”

And put no faith in that new-fangled Gregorian calendar – Christos Anesti! (And save a red dyed egg for me!)