Saturday, May 31, 2025
ON THIS DAY
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May 31, 2005
Deep Throat revealed as Mark Felt
It was publicly revealed on May 31, 2005 that former FBI official Mark Felt was “Deep Throat,” the anonymous informant at the centre of the Watergate scandal that involved U.S. President Richard Nixon's administration.
Felt (1913 – 2008) was an American law enforcement officer who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1942 to 1973. Felt was an FBI special agent who eventually rose to the position of Deputy Director, the Bureau's second-highest-ranking post.
In 2005, at age 91, Felt revealed to Vanity Fair magazine that during his tenure as Deputy Director of the FBI he had been the anonymous source known as "Deep Throat", who provided The Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with critical information about the Watergate scandal, which ultimately led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.
Woodward, who had long vowed not to reveal Deep Throat's identity while the source was still alive, quickly confirmed Felt's claim. Though Felt's identity as Deep Throat was suspected, including by Nixon himself, it had generally remained a secret for 30 years. Felt finally acknowledged that he was Deep Throat after being persuaded by his daughter to reveal his identity before his death.
BTW:
Felt agreed to provide Woodward and Bernstein with information on a deep background basis, which meant he would neither confirm nor deny his involvement in the investigation. In order to protect his identity, Post editor Howard Simons tagged him as “Deep Throat”, after the widely known pornographic film Deep Throat.
Felt provided Woodward and Bernstein with information about the Watergate cover-up, including details about a slush fund used by the Nixon administration to pay for the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. He also provided information about the White House’s attempts to obstruct justice by concealing evidence of the break-in. Felt and Woodward communicated under a shroud of secrecy, often meeting in a dimly lit parking garage in Rosslyn, Virginia.
It has been reported that Felt, a devout Christian, was ashamed at the pseudonym given to him.
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REMEMBERING HEROES
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The stories behind the names on the signs at the rest stops on the Remembrance Driveway, which goes from Sydney to Canberra.
The highway commemorates slected, representative persons awarded the Victoria Cross by naming rest stops after them.
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces
The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War.
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Sir Hughie Edwards
Air Commodore Sir Hughie Edwards
VC, KCMG, CB, DSO, OBE, DFC
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Location of rest stop:
Majura, on the alternative route (exiting from Federal Highway) to Canberra and Queanbeyan.
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About:
Air Commodore Sir Hughie Idwal Edwards, VC, KCMG, CB, DSO, OBE, DFC (1 August 1914 – 5 August 1982) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force, Governor of Western Australia, and an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces.
Edwards enlisted in the Australian Army in March 1934 and was posted to the 6th Heavy Battery, Royal Australian Artillery, with the rank of private. In 1935, he was selected for flying training with the Royal Australian Air Force at RAAF Point Cook, after which he transferred to the RAF, being granted a short service commission as a pilot officer on 21 August 1936. Posted to No. 15 Bomber Squadron, he was appointed adjutant of No. 90 Squadron in March 1937, flying Bristol Blenheim bombers. He received a promotion to flying officer on 21 May 1938.
On 4 July 1941, Edwards led a daylight attack ("Operation Wreckage") against the port of Bremen, one of the most heavily defended towns in Germany. Edwards' force of twelve Blenheims attacked at a height of about 50 feet through telephone wires and high voltage power lines. The bombers successfully penetrated fierce anti-aircraft fire and a dense balloon barrage, but further fire over the port itself resulted in the loss of four of the attacking force. Edwards brought his remaining aircraft safely back, although all had been hit and his own Blenheim (serial V6028) had been hit over 20 times.
His actions in the raid earned him the Victoria Cross.
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Citation:
The full citation for Edwards' Victoria Cross appeared in the London Gazette on 22 July 1941, it read:
Air Ministry, 22nd July, 1941.ROYAL AIR FORCEThe KING has been graciously pleased to confer the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery:—Acting Wing Commander Hughie Idwal Edwards, D.F.C. (39005), No 105. Squadron.Wing Commander Edwards, although handicapped by a physical disability resulting from a flying accident, has repeatedly displayed gallantry of the highest order in pressing home bombing attacks from very low heights against strongly defended objectives.On 4th July, 1941, he led an important attack on the Port of Bremen, one of the most heavily defended towns in Germany. This attack had to be made in daylight and there were no clouds to afford concealment. During the approach to the German coast several enemy ships were sighted and Wing Commander Edwards knew that his aircraft would be reported and that the defences would be in a state of readiness. Undaunted by this misfortune he brought his formation 50 miles overland to the target, flying at a height of little more than 50 feet, passing under high-tension cables, carrying away telegraph wires and finally passing through a formidable balloon barrage. On reaching Bremen he was met with a hail of fire, all his aircraft being hit and four of them being destroyed. Nevertheless he made a most successful attack, and then with the greatest skill and coolness withdrew the surviving aircraft without further loss.Throughout the execution of this operation which he had planned personally with full knowledge of the risks entailed, Wing Commander Edwards displayed the highest possible standard of gallantry and determination.
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Post-WW2:
Born in Fremantle, Western Australia, Edwards joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1935, and a year later was granted a short service commission with the RAF. Serving throughout the Second World War, he gained a permanent commission and continued his career in the RAF after the war; he retired in 1963 with the rank of air commodore.
Returning to Australia, he was appointed Governor of Western Australia in 1974.
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Awards:
Edwards became the most highly decorated Australian serviceman of the Second World War:
Victoria Cross
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Flying Cross
Knight of the Order of St John
Mention in Despatches
Edwards' medal group at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
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On 26 November 2002 a life-size bronze statue depicting Edwards was unveiled by then Governor of Western Australia, John Sanderson, in Kings Square, Fremantle.
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Gallery:
Friday, May 30, 2025
ON THIS DAY
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May 30, 1431
Joan of Arc burned at the stake
Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d'Arc, ‘dark; c. 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War. Claiming to be acting under divine guidance, she became a military leader who transcended gender roles and gained recognition as a saviour of France.
She was captured by Burgundian troops on 23 May. After trying unsuccessfully to escape, she was handed to the English in November. She was put on trial by Bishop Pierre Cauchon on accusations of heresy, which included blaspheming by wearing men's clothes, acting upon visions that were demonic, and refusing to submit her words and deeds to the judgment of the church. She was declared guilty and burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, aged about nineteen.
In 1456, an inquisitorial court reinvestigated Joan's trial and overturned the verdict, declaring that it was tainted by deceit and procedural errors.
Joan has been described as an obedient daughter of the Roman Catholic Church, an early feminist, and a symbol of freedom and independence. She is popularly revered as a martyr. After the French Revolution, she became a national symbol of France. In 1920, Joan of Arc was canonized by Pope Benedict XV and, two years later, was declared one of the patron saints of France.
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FUNNY FRIDAY
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I told some family members that my father and his brother, when young in Holland during the early years of the Occupation in WW2, used to catch and skin cats, then sell them as rabbits. Apparently there were lots of buyers.
So today’s Funny Friday includes some items about not cats but rabbits.
Enjoy.
Caution: risqué content ahead.
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SOME HUMOUR:
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A man complains about his neighbour walking naked around the garden.
His wife says "You can't even see into her garden." The man replies, "Well, you can if you stand on this box."
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A 90 year-old Jewish man is on his deathbed. Summoning his last bit of strength, he lifts his head and whispers: "Is my beloved wife Sarah here with me?" And Sarah says, "Yes, I am here."
He then says: "Are my children -- my wonderful children -- are they here with me?" and they reply, "Yes father, we are here with you."
And he says: "Are my brothers and sisters here with me as well?" They too tell him that they are here.
The old man lays back quietly, closes his eyes, and says, "If everybody is here ... why is the light on in the kitchen?"
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I lost my job as a diplomat
I thought people who live in Paris were called Parisites.
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Three men are in a hotel room in Soviet Russia.
The first two men open a bottle of vodka, while the third is tired and goes straight to bed. He is unable to sleep however, as his increasingly drunk friends tell political jokes loudly.
After a while, the tired man gets frustrated and walks downstairs for a smoke. He stops in the lounge and asks the receptionist to bring tea to their room in five minutes.
The man walks back into the room, joins the table, leans towards a power outlet and speaks into it:
"Comrade major, we want some tea to room 62 please."
His friends laugh on the joke, until there is a knock on the door. The receptionist brings a tea pot. His friends fall silent and pale, horrified of what they just witnessed. The party is dead, and the man goes to sleep.
After a good night's rest, the man wakes up, and notices his friends are gone. Surprised, he walks downstairs and asks the receptionist where they went.
The nervous receptionist whispers that KGB came and took them before dawn.
The man is horrified. He wonders why he was spared.
The receptionist responds:
"Well, comrade major did quite like your tea gag."
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Years ago while lying in my hammock and drinking JD from the bottle I noticed my dog dragging something under the fence. Upon inspection, to my dismay, I realised it was the next door neighbour`s 10 year old daughter`s rabbit.
For years I had watched her come home from school and head straight out to its cage, free it and play with it in the yard. I knew today would be no different and fearing for our dog, I had to think fast. The rabbit was quite dirty, as if it had put up quite a struggle, so I washed it off with the hose, combed it with the dog brush and blew it dry with the leaf blower. Upon finishing the grooming I jumped the fence and placed it back in its cage hoping its death would be written off as "natural causes".
Back to the hammock and JD. Within the hour the neighbour’s Volvo pulled in as usual and out popped the little girl, and as usual she headed straight for the cage. Only this time she stopped about six feet away and screamed: "DDDDDAAAADDDDDDDYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!"
Her father, panic stricken, stood looking at the cage. Being the good neighbour that I am I rushed to fence and asked if there was anything I could do.
Her father less than calmly blurted, "What kind of sick individual would dig up a little girl`s dead rabbit and put it back in its cage?"
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From a past Bytes. . .
A few days ago I posted an item about coincidences and said that I didn’t regard them as portents or omens, nonetheless I threw salt over my shoulder and rubbed a rabbit’s foot.
That reference to a rabbit foot for luck reminded me of a story from years ago when my son was working in the legal practice with me.
I have checked with son Thomas and he is okay with me reposting it. The post was on May 24, 2013, but the photo of Thomas dates from 2008.
Here is that post . . .
My son Thomas, when he worked in my office as a solicitor before becoming a barrister, had carried out some tasks for John, an elderly, eccentric Scottish client. John took a liking to Thomas and would often pass on bits of advice, tell him some stories and so on.
Not long after Thomas had completed the tasks mentioned above, he received a letter from John in the office mail.
The letter said that:
- the item enclosed was for good luck and should be worn around the neck;
- John’s father had been an ace poacher in Scotland and had never been caught;
- his father had told him to wear one but he, John, hadn’t and he was nicked in 1942;
- there was an extra one for a friend.
Inside the envelope was a wrapped parcel which smelt horrible (being the middle of a hot summer). Tom opened it and found two rabbit’s feet…
John died a couple of years ago. We never did find out whether he was serious or if it was a joke.
I suspect that he was serious.
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A precious little girl walks into a pet shop and asks in the sweetest little lisp, "Excuthe me, mithter, do you keep widdle wabbits?"
As the shopkeeper's heart melts, he gets down on his knees, so that he's on her level, and asks, "Do you want a widdle white wabbit or a thoft and fuwwy bwack wabbit or maybe one like that cute widdle bwown wabbit over there?"
She, in turn blushes, puts her hands on her knees, leans forward and says in a quiet voice, "I don't think my python weally givth a thit"
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The Chicago Police, the FBI, and the CIA are all trying to prove they are the best at catching criminals. They are set a test, a rabbit is released into a forest and each of them has to catch it.
The CIA people go in. They place animal informants throughout the forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of extensive investigations, they conclude that the rabbit does not exist.
The FBI goes in. After two weeks with no leads they burn the forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and make no apologies: the rabbit had it coming.
The Chicago Police go in. They come out two hours later with a badly beaten bear. The bear is yelling: "Okay! Okay! I'm a rabbit! I'm a rabbit!"
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LIMERICK OF THE WEEK:
There once was a fellow named Weir,
Who had not one atom of fear.
He felt the desire
To touch a live wire. . .
and any last line will do here.
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GALLERY:
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CORN CORNER:
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A priest, a minister, and a rabbit walk into a bar...
The rabbit says, “I think I might be a typo.”
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Two rabbits were being chased by a pack of hungry wolves.
The wolves chased the rabbits into a thicket. After a few minutes, one rabbit turned to the other and said, "Well, do you want to make a run for it, or should we stay here for a few days and out number them?"
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Elton John got his pet rabbit a treadmill for Xmas.
It's a little fit bunny.
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Thursday, May 29, 2025
ON THIS DAY
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May 29, 1953
Mount Everest summit reached by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. From 1985 to 1988 he served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal.
On the morning of May 29, Hillary discovered that his boots had frozen solid outside the tent. He spent two hours warming them over a stove before he and Tenzing, wearing 30-pound (14 kg) packs, attempted the final ascent.The final obstacle was the 40-foot (12 m) rock face later called "Hillary Step"; Hillary later wrote:
I noticed a crack between the rock and the snow sticking to the East Face. I crawled inside and wriggled and jammed my way to the top ... Tenzing slowly joined me and we moved on. I chopped steps over bump after bump, wondering a little desperately where the top could be. Then I saw the ridge ahead dropped away to the north and above me on the right was a rounded snow dome. A few more whacks with my ice-axe and Tenzing and I stood on top of Everest.
Tenzing wrote in his 1955 autobiography that Hillary took the first step onto the summit and he followed. They reached Everest's 29,028 ft (8,848 m) summit – the highest point on earth – at 11:30 am.
They spent about 15 minutes at the summit. Hillary took a photo of Tenzing posing with his ice-axe, but there is no photo of Hillary; Tenzing's autobiography says that Hillary simply declined to have his picture taken.
Tenzing left chocolates at the summit as an offering, and Hillary left a cross.
Hillary and Tenzing on return from the summit of Everest
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OZ VERNACULAR
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CHUCK A WOBBLY:
Meaning:
To lose one's self-control in a fit of nerves, panic, temper, annoyance, or the like. ‘Chuck’ in this context means ‘throw’.
To chuck a wobbly is a variant of the Standard English idiom to throw a wobbly, where wobbly means ‘a fit of temper or panic’.
In Australian English chuck in the sense of ‘throw’ or ‘stage’ is used in other expressions with the same meaning, such as chuck a mental and chuck a mickey.
Chuck a wobbly is first recorded in 1986. In 1992 it appears in the record of a parliamentary debate in the Australian Senate, when one senator chastises another: ‘Stop chucking a wobbly, Senator Ray. Behave yourself. You will have a heart attack.’
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CHUCK, CHUNDER:
To vomit. Also used as noun for ‘vomit’.
Chunder possibly comes from a once-popular cartoon character, 'Chunder Loo of Akim Foo', drawn by Norman Lindsay for a series of boot polish advertisements in the early 1900s.
It is possible that 'Chunder Loo' became rhyming slang for spew. Chunder, however, is the only form to be recorded. The earliest evidence is associated with Australian troops in action to the north of Australia during the Second World War.
Barry McKenzie in The Adventures of Barry McKenzie offers his explanation of the origin of ‘chunder’ before singing a song: that when convicts were being sent to Australia and were high up in the rigging, they would often get seasick and nauseous, yelling out to those below before throwing up “Watch under”.
His song:
Lyrics:
The Old Pacific Sea
I was down by Bondi Pier,
Drinkin' tubes of ice cold beer,
With a bucket full of prawns upon my knee,
When I swallowed the last prawn,
I had a technicolor yawn
and I chundered in the old Pacific Sea.
Drink it up, drink it up,
Crack another dozen tubes and prawns with me,
If you want to throw your voice,
Mate you won't have any choice,
But to chunder in the Old Pacific Sea.
I was sittin’ in the surf, when a mate of mine called Murf,
Asks if he can crack a tube or two with me.
The bastard barely swallowed it,
When he went for the big split,
And he chundered in the Old Pacific Sea.
Drink it up, drink it up,
Crack another dozen tubes and prawns with me,
If you want to throw your voice,
Mate you won't have any choice,
But to chunder in the Old Pacific Sea.
I've had liquid laughs in cars, and I've hurled from moving cars,
And I've chucked when and where it suited me.
But if I could choose the spot,
To regurgitate me lot,
Then I'd chunder in the Old Pacific Sea.
Drink it up, drink it up,
crack another dozen tubes and prawns with me,
If you want to throw your voice,
Mate you won't have any choice,
But to chunder in the Old Pacific Sea.
BTW:
"I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover", yeah
- Lyric from Land Down Under, Men at Work
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VERANDAH OVER THE TOY SHOP:
(Variant: verandah over the tool shed).
A man's large protruding belly; a ‘beer gut’.
This phrase is an allusion to toy shop in the sense ‘sexual wares’ (with reference to the male genitals). In standard English a verandah is ‘a roofed platform along the outside of a house, level with the ground floor’, but in Australia it also refers to the same kind of open-sided roofed structure over a shop or commercial building. The verandah is a significant architectural feature in Australia, developed from earliest date for shade, both under the varandah and to shield the windows from the sun. Although Australian shops now rarely have such verandahs, the phrase verandah over the toy shop is still current. It is first recorded in 1987.
1991 Australian Financial Review (Sydney) 10 September:
Santa training courses start in October—so pull out that red suit with the fur trimmings, and get accustomed to sticky fingers and wet patches on your knee. A small veranda over the toy shop probably wouldn't hurt either.
Ken Maynard drew marvellous cartoons in the strip The Ettamogah Mob, which featured the Ettamogah Pub with its bullnose corrugated iron verandah:
The Ettamogah Mob cartoons, an iconic series of weekly cartoons, were published in The Australasian Post for nearly 50 years until that publication closed in the early 2000s. As a boy, Ken would cycle around a water hole called Ettamogah, an Aboriginal word meaning 'place of good drink'. The pub, in his cartoons, had timber sloping with an old Chevy ute parked on top. According to Ken Maynard's Ettamogah cartoons, the 1927 Chevy truck washed up on top of the pub in the floods and none of the regulars could be bothered to get it down. Ettamogah spelt backwards and said fast actually says ‘’how you going, mate’’?
The pub has since been built in various locations, including Sydney in New South Wales, and Cunderdin in Western Australia.
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LONELY AS A BASTARD ON FATHERS DAY:
Phrase used to express unluckiness or unhappiness.
Earliest reference:
1958 Frank Hardy The Four-legged Lottery: ‘I’ve got about as much luck as a bastard on Father’s Day.’
From The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) of Sunday 5th July 1970—the Australian tennis player Ken Rosewall (born 1934) had been defeated at Wimbledon by the Australian tennis player John Newcombe (born 1944):
Rosewall, after losing to Rod Laver once in Boston, expressed the way he felt yesterday: “I felt like a bastard on Father’s Day,” he said that day.
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Wednesday, May 28, 2025
ON THIS DAY
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Leonardo da
Vinci's "The Last Supper" back
on display
The scene is understood to depict the Bible verse John 13:22, showing the reactions of the Twelve Disciples at the Last Supper to Jesus's announcement that one among them will betray him.
The last
renovation lasted for 21 years, until May 28, 1999.
The Superintendent for Artistic and Historical Heritage in Milan ordered a complete examination of Leonardo's work in 1976. This examination included sonar and radar tests, core samples of the wall, infrared cameras, and x-rays. The Superintendent appointed Pinin Brambilla Barcilon, a respected art restorer, to oversee a full restoration. During this restoration, steps were taken to carefully remove dirt and grime before starting to reverse past restoration attempts. The restoration team removed the numerous layers of shellac, paint, and oils using "solvent applied with tiny blotters of Japanese paper." Areas that were too damaged or unrecognizable were filled in with light watercolor paints, so as not to detract from the blank areas. One of the major discoveries during this renovation was a tiny pinhole that marked Leonardo’s vanishing point, or point of perspective.
The former refectory was converted into a climate-controlled, sealed room to help counteract the environmental hazards that could lead to further deterioration.[22] Since then visitors are required to pass through several pollution and humidity filtration chambers before entering to see the painting, and are only allowed to remain for 15 to 20 minutes.
Jesus after and before restoration
WEIRD WEDNESDAY
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Instead of both nostrils taking in the same amount of air when you breathe, you actually inhale most of your oxygen through one nostril at a time. Every few hours, the active nostril will take a break and the other one will take over until they ultimately switch back again.
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The vast majority of drownings occur in fresh water. According to ThoughtCo, a staggering 90 percent of drownings take place in swimming pools, bathtubs, and rivers, not only because of circumstances, but also because of the way the different types of water affect the human body in potentially fatal situations.
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A study by The Journal of Dairy, Food, and Environmental Sanitation, conducted in 2017, assessed the cleanliness of coffee mugs in office kitchens—or lack thereof, according to the findings. The study found that a whopping 90 percent of the mugs tested contained some type of bacteria, and 20 percent of them actually had fecal matter on them. The culprit, the study found, is the sponges used to clean the cups, which are often the germiest items in the entire kitchen.
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The snakehead fish is an elongated, predatory fish distinguished by its long dorsal fins, large mouths, and shiny teeth. They have both gills and an organ located in their “gill arches” that permits them to breathe oxygen. They sometimes come up on land in search of food.
They are valuable as a food source and have become notorious as an intentionally released invasive species, with no natural predators. These fish have been kept as pets but as they get larger, people let them go into ponds, lakes, and rivers, making these fish invasive. They cane be as big as 14 pounds / 6.35 kilos.
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Much of the dust you see around your home is composed of dead skin cells. You shed skin nearly constantly and your entire epidermis completely regenerates approximately every 27 days. While the amount varies greatly per person, you’ll most likely shed at least half your body weight in skin cells throughout your entire life.
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Canadians say “sorry” so much that a law was passed in 2009 declaring that an apology can’t be used as evidence of admission to guilt.
__________
In 2006, a Coca-Cola employee offered to sell Coca-Cola secrets to Pepsi. Pepsi responded by notifying Coca-Cola.
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In the Harry Potter films, Harry’s glasses had no lenses. This was to prevent reflections from anything happening behind the scenes. The glass lenses were added in post-production.
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Hershey’s Kisses are named after the kissing sound the deposited chocolate makes as it falls from the machine on the conveyor belt.
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In English, leaving a party without telling anyone is called a “French Exit.” In French, it’s called a “partir à l’anglaise,” to leave like the English.
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Syphilis had a variety of names, usually people naming it after an enemy or a country they thought responsible for it. The French called it the ‘Neapolitan disease’, the ‘disease of Naples’ or the ‘Spanish disease’, and later grande verole or grosse verole, the ‘ great pox’, the English and Italians called it the ‘French disease’, the ‘Gallic disease’, the ‘morbus Gallicus’, or the ‘French pox’, the Germans called it the ‘French evil’, the Scottish called it the ‘grandgore‘, the Russians called it the ‘Polish disease’, the Polish and the Persians called it the ‘Turkish disease’, the Turkish called it the ‘Christian disease’, the Tahitians called it the ‘British disease’, in India it was called the ‘Portuguese disease’, in Japan it was called the ‘Chinese pox’, and there are some references to it being called the ‘Persian fire’.
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The Buddha commonly depicted in statues and pictures is a different person entirely. The real Buddha was actually incredibly skinny because of self-deprivation.
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Astronaut is a compound word derived from the two Ancient Greek words “Astro,” meaning “star,” and “naut” meaning “sailor.” So astronaut literally means “star sailor.”
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Tuesday, May 27, 2025
ON THIS DAY
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May 27, 1940
Dunkirk evacuation begins.
Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk, involved the rescue of more than 338,000 British and French soldiers from the French port of Dunkirk between 26 May and 4 June 1940.
On 10 May 1940, Germany had invaded France and the Low Countries, pushing the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), along with French and Belgian troops, back to the French port of Dunkirk. A huge rescue, Operation 'Dynamo', was organised by the Royal Navy to get the troops off the beaches and back to Britain. Admiral Bertram Ramsay directed the evacuation. Ramsay had retired before the war but was recalled in 1939. He and his staff worked in a room deep in the Dover cliffs that had once contained a dynamo, a type of electrical generator, giving the operation its name.
'Dynamo' began on 26 May. Strong defences were established around Dunkirk, and the Royal Air Force sent all available aircraft to protect the evacuation. Over 800 naval vessels of all shapes and sizes helped to transport troops across the English Channel. The last British troops were evacuated on 3 June, with French forces covering their escape.
The gently shelving beaches meant that large warships could only pick up soldiers from the town's East Mole, a sea wall which extended into deep water, or send their boats on the beaches to collect them. To speed up the process, the British Admiralty appealed to the owners of small boats for help. These became known as the 'little ships'.
Churchill and his advisers had expected that it would be possible to rescue only 20,000 to 30,000 men, but in all 338,000 troops were rescued from Dunkirk, a third of them French. Ninety thousand remained to be taken prisoner and the BEF left behind the bulk of its tanks and heavy guns. All resistance in Dunkirk ended at 9.30am on 4 June.
The Dunkirk evacuation was an important event for the Allies. If the BEF had been captured, it would have meant the loss of Britain's only trained troops and the collapse of the Allied cause. The successful evacuation was a great boost to civilian morale, and created the 'Dunkirk spirit' which helped Britain to fight on in the summer of 1940.
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ORIGINS OF SUPERSTITIONS
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Superstition:
belief that is not based on human reason or scientific knowledge, but is connected with old ideas about magic, etc.
- Cambridge Dictionary
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Superstitions - beliefs that certain actions, symbols, or rituals can bring good or bad luck, even if there is no logical or scientific explanation – are relied upon by many for comfort, security, and a sense of control over unpredictable situations. Witness for example athletes having a lucky piece of clothing.
The human mind tends to seek patterns and connections between actions and outcomes, even when there is no direct relationship. This psychological phenomenon is known as magical thinking, and it explains why many superstitions persist even in modern, rational societies.
Magical thinking:
when a person believes that specific words, thoughts, emotions, or rituals can influence the external world.
At the heart of superstition is the psychological need for control, especially in situations of uncertainty. When we feel anxious or helpless, we often turn to rituals that give us the illusion of control. This concept is known as illusory control.
Illusion of control:
The illusion of control consists of overestimating the influence that our behavior exerts over uncontrollable outcomes. Available evidence suggests that an important factor in development of this illusion is the personal involvement of participants who are trying to obtain the outcome.
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Origins of some superstitions . . .
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Breaking a mirror = 7 years’ bad luck:
The Greeks believed that a person’s reflection on the surface of a pool of water revealed one’s soul. The Romans took this one step further: they developed mirrors from polished metal surfaces, and believed their gods observed souls through these devices. To damage a mirror resulted in the gods raining bad luck on the person at fault.
However the Romans did not believe that the resulting bad luck would last forever. They believed that the body renewed itself every seven years, whereupon the bad luck would end.
There is also a superstition which claims that if it breaks into small shards, your bad luck will be smaller than if it breaks into large pieces.
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Friday the 13th:
One source mentioned for the unlucky reputation of the number 13 is a Norse myth about twelve gods having a dinner party in Valhalla. The trickster god Loki, who was not invited, arrived as the thirteenth guest, and arranged for Höðr, the god of darkness, to shoot Balder, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died, triggering much suffering in the world, which caused the number 13 to be considered unlucky.
In many Western countries the number 13 is considered unlucky, and Friday the 13th is seen as particularly ominous. This may have roots in Christianity, where Judas, the 13th guest at the Last Supper, betrayed Jesus, leading to his crucifixion on a Friday.
BTW #1:
The fear of the number 13 is known as triskaidekaphobia.
Fear of Friday 13th is known as paraskevidekatriaphobia.
BTW #2:
Tupac died on a Friday 13th in 1996 and on this date during the Blitz Buckingham Palace was bombed. Kitty Genovese was also murdered on this unlucky day as no one called for help, in a phenomenon that became known as the Bystander Effect.
Bystander Effect:
The bystander effect, or bystander apathy, is a social psychological theory that states that individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim in the presence of other people.
The theory was first proposed in 1964 after the murder of Kitty Genovese, in which a newspaper had reported (albeit somewhat erroneously) that 37 bystanders saw or heard the attack without coming to her assistance or calling the police.
Much research, mostly in psychology research laboratories, has focused on increasingly varied factors, such as the number of bystanders, ambiguity, group cohesiveness, and diffusion of responsibility that reinforces mutual denial. If a single individual is asked to complete a task alone, the sense of responsibility will be strong, and there will be a positive response; however, if a group is required to complete a task together, each individual in the group will have a weak sense of responsibility, and will often shrink back in the face of difficulties or responsibilities.
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More to come.
Monday, May 26, 2025
MUSIC MONDAY
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MORE MUSIC FACTS AND TRIVIA
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Michael Jackson:
Michael Jackson once tried to buy Marvel Comics. The King of Pop never managed to get the rights though, and Marvel’s Stan Lee admitted he didn’t see Jackson as a good businessman. Stan Lee has recalled this story several times during his lifetime, and it has been further confirmed by one of his brothers, Taj Michael, who also added that he believed that Michael wanted be, and play, Spiderman.
Disney stepped in to purchase Marvel in 2009 for $4 billion. Considering that the Marvel Comics Universe movies have grossed more than $22 billion combined at the box office, that has proved to be one of the best investments in the history of entertainment.
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Titanic:
You probably know the story of the Titanic band that played music while the ship was sinking. Many of the survivors said that Wallace Hartley and the 8-member band continued to play until the very end, a scene which appears in the scene in the movie too.
However the ‘band’ that was initially supposed to be on the ship was the London Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra booked the Titanic, but they changed boats at the last minute.
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Metallica:
In 2013, Metallica set a new Guinness World Record for becoming the first musical act to perform on all 7 continents. They set the record after playing at Carlini Station in Antarctica where they performed for 120 scientists and competition winners.
The concert, titled Freeze ‘Em All, featured ten songs played over the span of an hour. To prevent noise pollution, the show was played without any traditional amplification and was instead transmitted to the audience through headphones. The concert was later released as a live album, and a documentary centered around the production of the concert and the band's time in Antarctica was released in 2015.
Equally impressive, they held the concerts on all 7 continents within one year.
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Yuri Gagarin:
The Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin wasn’t only the first man human being in space – he was also the first to sing in space.
He sang a Shostakovich song, “My Homeland Hears”, over the radio on his first space mission.
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Prince:
Prince’s debut album For You came out in 1978, when he was only 20 years old.
Nevertheless, all tracks were composed, produced, arranged, and performed by Prince. He also played the instruments on all the recordings, 27 musical instruments, including electric guitar, bass, piano, drums, syndrums (electronic drums), slapsticks, bongos, congas, finger cymbals – just to name a few.
BTW:
Slapsticks consists of two pieces of hardwood that are hit together either with a spring mechanism for single hand use or two pieces of wood on a hinge with handles for both hands. This is often called a whip sound effect.
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Janet Jackson:
Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction inspired the creation of Youtube
Jawed Karim is one of the founders of YouTube an,d in one of the interviews, he said how he got the idea for the platform - the main inspirations were two different events: Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” during a Super Bowl show, and the Asian tsunami.
In 2004, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake performed at the Super Bowl halftime show. At one point during their performance, Justin reached over and pulled off a piece of Janet's costume, exposing her right nipple. Jawed Karim noted that it was near impossible to see the clip anywhere on the internet.
Karim and his friends Steve Chen and Chad Hurley began working on code for a site where people could upload their own content. That site would end up being YouTube, which launched not long after. Once YouTube launched, it was an enormous success, thanks in part to people looking for clips of Janet and Justin’s performance. Just one year later, Google saw the potential of the site and purchased it for over $1.5 billion. In addition to that figure, the three were offered plenty of stock, which made them very wealthy.
Sadly, Jackson’s career never bounced back from the damage it suffered in 2004.
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Bruce Springsteen:
Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” actually isn’t Pro-American. Regardless of the song’s upbeat tempo and lyrics, “Born in the USA” was written as a criticism of the country’s treatment of Vietnam vets. The song was misinterpreted many times though but Springsteen made it clear that it’s a protest against the Vietnam war and the way the soldiers were treated upon their return home.
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Barry Manilow:
Barry Manilow didn’t write the song called “I Write the Songs”
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One in five country music songs refer to alcohol, one in three to tears and one in seven to “mama”.
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Leo Fender, the founder of the iconic electric guitar and bass brand and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, never learned to play either instrument.
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The longest song title ever is Hoagy Carmichael’s 1943 “I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with my Honolulu Mama Doin' Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito Blues.”
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The word Music originates from the Greek word (mousike) which means “art of Muses”.
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Studies have it that, heartbeats changes their pace and tends to mimic the music you listen to.
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Being in a place where there is a loud music, there is a likelihood you will drink more within a short time. Don’t be surprised it’s like that in a bar or club.
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Earworm is a stuck song syndrome which makes a catchy piece of music to continually repeat itself through your mind after it has stop playing.
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Karaoke is a Japanese word coined from two other words “karppo” meaning empty and “okesutura” meaning Orchestra. Hence Karaoke means EMPTY OCHESTRA.
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Historically, from 1912-1948, music, painting, poetry, literature and even architecture used to be part of the modern Olympic Games.
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Monaco’s Military Orchestra has more soldiers than its Army. The Monaco’s Army has 82 soldiers while its Orchestra has 85 soldiers.
