Neat thread! Personally, I've always wanted to know where things like National Doughnut Week come from... is there a committee that is in charge of these things? I see these hashtags trending on Twitter every other day, it seems, and I always wonder why I never get the head's up beforehand so I can make plans.

I have kind of shied away from reading too much about WW1 these past couple of weeks because the staggering loss of life is so painful to contemplate, but I did listen to this podcast yesterday and it was a nice way to reflect on courage and hope in the midst of darkness. It's worth a listen, but the article summary is a nice read, too.

This Thanksgiving is a little extra special to some of us; specifically those of us who love history and... pirates. That's right. Thursday, November 22, 2018, will mark 300 years since the death of that infamous pirate of all pirates, BLACKBEARD! The ferocious sea marauder was cut down in battle with Royal Navy sailors on the deck of his ship off the coast of North Carolina on November 22, 1718. Now THERE'S an anniversary worth observing, me hearties!
In honor of this historic occasion, I will be temporarily changing my profile picture to one of Blackbeard. Anyone who wants can do this too.. or just do something piratey. A little weird, it being Thanksgiving and all, but... whatever. Maybe find a picture of a turkey with an eye patch. I don't know...

An interesting fact about WWI was that the actualy end of the war happened here in Zambia. The German soldiers surrendered on November 14, 1918 Cambeshi bridge at present day Mbala (back then it was known as Abercorn). It's located in the Northern Province. A memorial was erected there this year on the 100 year anniversary date. I just found it a really interesting piece of information and not one I had ever heard about until I came to Zambia

It was 50 years ago today that Apollo 8 was launched, carrying the first men who would orbit the moon. Space.com has this 50th anniversary retrospective from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine which talks about a number of risks taken with the Saturn V rocket, which had not completed testing and was still unreliable. It also includes the astronauts' Christmas Eve message to "all of you on the good earth."

Those old Saturn V launches were so spectacular! It seemed to take forever to build up enough thrust just to clear the tower.

(Now I feel old. I remember being glued to the TV or radio for any scrap of news about this mission).

Important date to note, Pi day is coming. And I have plans that have absolutely nothing to do with mathematics and everything to do with pie.

SnowAngel

Yes! It's definitely just about pie.
I should have posted this before, but March 6 is the anniversary of the famous battle of the Alamo. Flying my Texas independence flags this month!

Pi Day doesn't work on the eastern side of the Pond or Down Under because we write the date as day/month/year instead of month/day/year. So for us, to get the numbers 314, it would have to be either the 3rd day of the 14th month, or the 31st April.

That's too bad King_Erlian! Maybe you'll just have to flip the month and date around for that one day, just to have an excuse to eat pie.

I totally forgot about pi(e) day this year. I shall have to come up with something. The problem is that it falls on a Thursday which is hands down my busiest day of the week. Hmmm.....

Upcoming on July 16 - 24th is the anniversary of Apollo 11. It's not just any anniversary this year. It's the 50th. Johnson Space Center is having the original Mission Control restored and it should be reopened for tourists/visitors again. Awhile back, they closed it off to all but Level 9 tours and vip guests. I was on one of the last tours before they closed it for the renovations. Back in the late '90's, JSC had several open house events and I was able to go to those and getting to actually set foot in the MOCR was incredible. Going back for Level 9, you could see that age had definitely taken it's toll. This restoration should be totally worth it.

That also means the 50th anniversary of Apollo 13 will be the following April and Apollo 17 about a year and a half later. NASA's coming up on some major milestones.

As today is the first day of spring, Dairy Queen and Rita's are giving away free desserts. If you have one near you, go get some freebies!

Yes! I got my cone at DQ! Happy Spring everyone!
Historically, this was also the day on which Henry V (the guy whose picture was my previous avatar) was crowned King of England in 1413.
Also, on March 20, 1345, the Black Death was created, according to medieval scholars, who claimed that the continent-wasting plague was caused by "a triple conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars in the 40th degree of Aquarius."
Happy Plague Day!

For those living in the US, Friday is the anniversary of the battle of Concord and Lexington that in 1775 opened the war that Americans fought to get rid of their burdensome and unfair taxes.
Today is the day that we PAY our burdensome and unfair taxes.

Easter is coming up tomorrow, April 21st. Happy holiday to everyone here on NarniaWeb!

Yes! Happy International Marshmallow Peep Day!
....Otherwise known as Easter/Resurrection Day.