Daily Calendar for Monday, May 6, 2024

Question of the Day

I saw an old sign that read “Think Safety First … Philip Morris” and had a picture of a bellboy on it. What do bellboys, cigarettes, and safety have in common?

The cigarette company’s logo — or mascot — was a bellboy. In fact, an actor played the role for years, both in TV and radio commercials (his famous line was “Call for Philip Morris!”) and promotional appearances. The signs appeared in America in the 1930s and 40s in factories, stores, and other workplaces as both a reminder to put safety first and an encouragement to buy Philip Morris cigarettes.

Advice of the Day

A good mess of dandelions is in order now.

Home Hint of the Day

To prevent moss from forming on a roof, mix up a solution of 2 capfuls of household (5 percent) bleach and 1 gallon of water. Apply it to the shingles with a sponge.

Word of the Day

Bluey
A bushman’s blanket; — named from its color, or a bushman’s bundle; a swag; — so called because a blanket is sometimes used as the outside covering.

Puzzle of the Day

Why isn’t your nose 12 inches long?
Because then it would be a foot!

Born

  • Sigmund Freud (neurologist & psychiatrist)
  • Rudolph Valentino (actor)
  • Orson Welles (actor & director)
  • Willie Mays (baseball player)
  • Bob Seger (musician)
  • Tony Blair (British Prime Minister)
  • Tom Bergeron (television personality)
  • George Clooney (actor)

Died

  • Henry David Thoreau (writer)
  • L. Frank Baum (author)
  • The Duke of Devonshire (Canadian Governor General 1916-1921)
  • Ethelda Bleibtrey (Olympic swimmer)
  • Marlene Dietrich (actress)
  • Otis Blackwell (songwriter)
  • Lillian Asplund (last American survivor of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912)

Events

  • London and Gore Railroad Co. incorporated
  • First postage stamps issued in the U.K.
  • Dr. John Gorrie patented an ice machine
  • Linus Yale, Jr. received a patent for a lock and key
  • Confederate General James Longstreet was seriously wounded by his own troops by mistake, Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia
  • Successful flight of Samuel Langley’s model Aerodrome No. 5 aircraft
  • Babe Ruth hit his first homerun
  • At California’s March Field, Bob Hope performed his first USO show
  • The Channel Tunnel, more commonly known as the Chunnel, linking England and France opened
  • Racehorse Barbaro won the 132nd Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky
  • Lt.-Col. Maryse Carmichael became the first female commander of the Canadian Snowbirds

Weather

  • State of emergency declared due to flooding, Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • Kentucky Derby horses and people alike endured the coldest temperature recorded since the race was introduced in 1875 - a brisk 43F.
  • Milwaukee recorded 0.6 inch of snow, the first measurable snowfall ever on this date
  • A cold wave brought morning lows of 17 degrees F to Bismarck, North Dakota