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Iditarod: Racing Across Alaska
On this date in 1985, Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail sled dog race. Here are some things you might not have known about the annual tradition. The Iditarod is run in honor of the 1925 serum run, which was a sled dog relay to deliver a diphtheria antitoxin to…
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St. Patrick’s Day: Common Misconceptions
Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Here are some things you should know. While a four-leaf clover may be lucky, it’s not a shamrock. Shamrocks have three leaves and are more common than their quad-leaved brethren. It’s said that St. Patrick used the three leaves of the shamrock to help explain the Christian Holy Trinity to…
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1820: Maine, America’s Vacationland
On this date in 1820, Maine was admitted to the Union. Here are some things you may not have known about the 23rd state. The first inhabitants of what would become Maine was a loose confederacy of Algonquin-speaking people, called the Wabanaki. The first European contact came about 800 years ago when Norwegians arrived on…
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March 14, 2017: A Tuesday Short Show
For the foreseeable future, we’ll be scaling back our episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We’ll still bring you all the features that usually run in the second half of the show. Today is Pi Day, in celebration of the mathematical constant pi, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. In several Asian countries,…
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1930: Pluto Discovered, Controversy Ensues
On this date in 1930, the dwarf planet Pluto was discovered. Here are some things you may not have known about what was once considered the ninth planet in the solar system. Although it wasn’t discovered until 1930, astronomers had predicted in the late 19th century that something besides the newly discovered Neptune was disturbing…
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1926: Book of the Month Club Starts Delivering
On this date in 1926, the first Book of the Month Club selection was published. Here are some things you might not have known about it. The Book of the Month Club was founded by Harry Scherman in New York. Scherman had earlier success selling a collection of 30 leather-bound books for just under $3.…
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An Abbreviated Thursday Show
Today is Teachers’ Day in Lebanon. It’s unofficially False Teeth Day, Barbie Day, and National Meatball Day. It’s the birthday of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who was born in 1934; actor Raul Julia, who was born in 1940; and actress Juliette Binoche, who is 53. This week in 1967, the top song in the U.S. was…
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1985: “We Are The World” Helps Fight Famine in Ethiopia
On this date in 1985, the charity song “We Are The World” was released. Here are some things you may not have known about it. More than a million people died as a result of a widespread famine in Ethiopia between 1983 and 1985, in the midst of more than two decades of insurrection and…
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Australia Act of 1986: Full Independence Down Under
On this date in 1986, the Australia Act of 1986 came into effect. Here are some things you may not have known about Australia’s independence from the United Kingdom. The Australia Act of 1986 cut the last constitutional ties between Australia and the UK. The process began in 1901 with the creation of the Dominion…
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1933: “King Kong” Premieres in New York
On this date in 1933, the film “King Kong” premiered in New York. Here are some things you may not have known about it. “King Kong” is the tale of a wildlife filmmaker and his crew, who stumble upon an enormous gorilla-like ape on an uncharted island off of Indonesia. The ape falls in love…