“Arbor Day is not like other holidays. Each of those reposes on the past, while Arbor Day proposes for the future.” These are the words of J. Sterling Morton, the originator of the Arbor Day idea. He was among the many pioneers moving into the Nebraska Territory in 1854. With the decided lack of trees on the Nebraskan plains, Morton made it his cause to plant trees, not just for beautification but also to preserve the soil. He encouraged civic organizations to join in the effort, proclaiming the first Arbor Day in 1872. By 1885, Arbor Day was officially observed by the entire state and then by other states and schools nationwide. Today the most common date for the state observances is the last Friday in April, although many states celebrate it whenever conditions there are best for planting trees. Several U.S. presidents have proclaimed a national Arbor Day. Read more about Arbor Day.
Question of the Day
Can you tell me the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?
Literally and botanically speaking, the two are not related. Both the yam and the sweet potato grow underground and have yellowish-orange flesh, but there the similarity ends. Yams are large, starchy, edible tuberous roots that can grow two to three feet long and weigh as much as 80 pounds. They grow in tropical/subtropical countries and need eight to ten months of warm weather to mature. The two words became entwined in our household vernacular partly through a publicity campaign. Early in this century, sweet-potato promoters attached the word yam to the deep orange, moist-fleshed varieties and left the words sweet potato to the smaller, yellowish, dry-fleshed varieties. Today it is common to find either or both words used in supermarkets, but whichever is used, what’s on sale is the sweet potato.
Advice of the Day
Repel raccoons with dog hair, human hair, or mothballs.
Home Hint of the Day
Want to examine the condition of the paint on the bottom of a hanging door without taking it off its hinges? Simply slide a small mirror under the door and examine the paint job in the reflection.
Word of the Day
Snub
A post on a dock or shore, around which a rope is thrown to check the motion of a vessel.
Puzzle of the Day
What do sea monsters eat?
Fish and ships!
Born
John James Audubon(naturalist)–
Frederick Law Olmsted(landscape architect)–
Ma Rainey(blues singer)–
Charles Richter(seismologist)–
Carol Burnett(actress)–
Duane Eddy(musician)–
Jet Li(actor and martial artist)–
Kevin James(actor)–
Tom Welling(actor)–
Died
John Wilkes Booth(assassin of President Lincoln, was shot by federal troops at a farmhouse near Washington, D.C.)–
Eduard Suess(geologist)–
Count Basie(jazz orchestra leader)–
Lucille Ball(actress)–
Mason Adams(actor)–
Phoebe Snow(singer
)–
George Jones(country music singer)–
Events
William Shakespeare baptized–
Meteorites fell on the town of L’Aigle, France–
First U.S. weather report broadcast, by WEW in St. Louis, Missouri–
America’s first guide dog for the blind, a German Shepherd named Buddy, was teamed up with its owner, Morris S. Frank–
The first international satellite, Ariel 1, was launched from Cape Canaveral–
A herd of buffalo got loose and wandered around an upscale neighborhood in Maryland, disrupting traffic and alarming homeowners before police officers managed to corral them in a tennis court–
Five explorers reached the North Pole, setting a world record by coming in several hours earlier than a 37-day trek by American explorer Robert Peary for the same journey in 1909–
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury stole home. This was the first straight-steal of home plate by a Red Sox player since Billy Hatcher in April of 1994.–
Weather
Severe frost, Huntsville, Alabama–
Boston and the surrounding communities experienced a severe snowstorm–
Twelve inches of snow, Hanover, NH–
An F5 tornado hit Andover, Kansas, killing more than 15 people–
