On This Day October 9th

  OTD

October 9 is the 282nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 83 days remain until the end of the year.

 Events

768 – Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned kings of the Franks.

1410 – The first known mention of the Prague astronomical clock.

1604 – Kepler's Supernova is the most recent supernova observed within the Milky Way.

1708 – Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya.

1804 – Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, is founded.

1834 – Opening of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, the first public railway on the island of Ireland.

1873 – A meeting at the U.S. Naval Academy established the U.S. Naval Institute.

1900 – The Cook Islands became a territory of the United Kingdom.

1919 – The Cincinnati Reds win the World Series, resulting in the Black Sox Scandal.

1984 – The popular children's television show Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends, based on The Railway Series by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, premieres on ITV.

1986 – Fox Broadcasting Company (FBC) launches as the fourth US television network.

 Birthdays

1593 – Nicolaes Tulp, Dutch anatomist and politician (d. 1674)

1837 – Francis Wayland Parker, American theorist and academic (d. 1902)

1892 – Ivo Andrić, Yugoslav novelist, poet, and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)

1903 – Walter O'Malley, American lawyer and businessman (d. 1979)

1911 – Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (d. 2006)

1940 – John Lennon, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1980)

1944 – John Entwistle, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (d. 2002)

1954 – Scott Bakula, American actor

1973 – Steve Burns, American actor, television host and musician

2000 – Penei Sewell, American football player

 Holidays and Observances

Curious Events Day

Curious Events Day is aptly named since it is itself a curiosity. Nobody knows how it originated or when, and indeed not why. All of which makes it an appropriate subject for interest. Or at least reasoned conjecture.

Some have theorized that it was intended as a day when we could feel free not to sweat the small stuff. The annoying squeak in the door of the medicine chest. Those hard-to-open blister packs. The speed with which refrigerated strawberries appear to have attracted dryer lint. With all that on our minds, we could concentrate on things worthy of our mental ability.

Everyone, for example, is curious about the Loch Ness Monster. Somebody saw something. We have photos. We have scientific instruments. All this time, and nobody has an answer. And what about those big stone heads on Easter Island? Archaeologists have researched moving them on sleds and walking them side-to-side on ropes. But we’re still curious. 

Don’t forget crop circles. What explanation will we accept for that? Aliens who drop in after midnight to prepare a landing field. Artistic cows who need something to do besides chew their cud? A PR stunt for a tractor that can turn on a dime? We can’t forget the massive 780-foot crop circle in 2001 in the remote area of Milk Hill in Wiltshire, England. The elaborate design is composed of 409 rings. The mystery has inspired countless books, blogs, fan groups, and Hollywood films. This, and other crop circles, remain a mystery to date. 

Curious Events Day may be a PR stunt. Or it may have been born in a late-night session involving too much drinking, with participants waxing silly, wondering if there is a Guinness record for many Sumo wrestlers jumping on bubble wrap, and why some insist that cilantro tastes like soap. Nevertheless, it’s a digital holiday now, and it’s the perfect day to be curiously baffled about ancient mysteries, modern conspiracy theories, and the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.

 

Others Include

Columbus Day

Fire Prevention Day

Indigenous People's Day

International Beer and Pizza Day

Leif Erikson Day

Moldy Cheese Day

National Kick Butt Day - October 9, 2023 (Second Monday in October)

National Nanotechnology Day - October 9, 2023 (On or around October 9)

National Online Banking Day - October 9, 2023 (Second Monday in October)

National Sneakers Day

Nautilus Night (Cephalopods)

Scrubs Day 

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