St. Swithin was a beloved ninth-century bishop of Winchester, England, who requested that he be buried in the churchyard—some say to be close to the common people, whom he loved; some say so that he could enjoy God’s gift of rain for all eternity. When he died in 862, his request was honored. About 100 years later, however, it was deemed unseemly that so holy a man should rest in a common grave. On July 15, the saint’s feast day, the people attempted to enshrine his remains in his church. Legend has it, however, that St. Swithin caused torrential rains to fall for 40 days, until the intended transfer was abandoned. This is the source of a very old Scottish weather proverb regarding rain on July 15: “St. Swithin’s Day if thou dost rain, / For forty days it will remain.”
Question of the Day
My brown sugar always turns rock hard in summer, no matter how I store it. How can I soften it?
Try putting the sugar in a plastic container and microwaving it for 30 to 60 seconds. If it is still hard, add a couple of drops of water and microwave again. Or you can preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, then put the sugar in a pan and place it in the oven. Turn off the heat and let the sugar stand in the oven until it is soft. To prevent hardening in the future, try storing half an apple in a canister with the sugar.
Advice of the Day
Place flowering sprigs of summer savory in drawers to repel moths.
Home Hint of the Day
To maintain vinyl siding, just give it an annual hosing off. Stains can be removed with either abrasive or nonabrasive cleaners (the color isn’t just a surface finish; it actually permeates the vinyl).
Word of the Day
Solstice
Summer: The Sun reaches its greatest declination (23-1/2°) north of the celestial equator. Winter: The Sun reaches its greatest declination (23-1/2°) south of the celestial equator.
Puzzle of the Day
My first and second designate abbreviations of two states. My whole these states would be before the Revolution, see?(What’s the word? Here are clues to its parts!)
Colo-NY (colony)
Born
Rembrandt(artist)–
Clement Moore(writer)–
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini(missionary)–
Edward Shackleton(explorer)–
Iris Murdoch(writer)–
Jocelyn Bell Burnell(astronomer)–
Linda Ronstadt(singer)–
Terry O'Quinn(actor)–
Barry Melrose(hockey player)–
Forest Whitaker(actor)–
Scott Foley(actor)–
Bryan Helmer(ice hockey player)–
Died
Gianni Versace(fashion designer)–
Ed Flesh(designer of the wheel on the TV game show Wheel of Fortune)–
Martin Landau(actor)–
Events
In the Egyptian village of Rashid, French Captain Pierre Bouchard found the Rosetta Stone–
Georgia became the last of the Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union–
First Buddhist temple established in U.S.–
The Second Battle of the Marne began with a German offensive from both sides of Reims which met strong resitance from French and American forces (WW I)–
The duck-billed platypus was first exhibited to the U.S. public, at the Bronx Zoo in New York City–
Super Florida mosquito stowaway reported on board American craft of Apollo/Soyuz Test Project–
Lun Lun, a giant panda at Zoo Atlanta, gave birth to twins–
Weather
Hailstones measuring two to three inches in diameter fell during a storm in southeastern Connecticut–
Hail at least three inches around fell in southeast Connecticut–
