On This Day May 9th

 OTD

May 9th is the one-hundred-twenty-ninth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 236 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

1386 – England and Portugal formally ratify their alliance by signing the Treaty of Windsor, making it the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world still in force.

1662 – The figure who later became Mr. Punch (Punch & Judy) makes his first recorded appearance in England.

1671 – Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal England's Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.

1877—Mihail Kogălniceanu reads the Declaration of Independence of Romania in the Chamber of Deputies. This date will become recognized as Romania's Independence Day.

1926 – Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole (later discovery of Byrd's diary appears to cast some doubt on the claim.)

1927 – The Old Parliament House, Canberra, Australia, officially opens.

1960 – The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill.

1980 – In Florida, United States, Liberian freighter MV Summit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, making a 1,400-ft—section of the southbound span collapse. Thirty-five people in six cars and a Greyhound bus fall 150 ft. into the water and die.

1988 – New Parliament House, Canberra officially opens.

 

Birthdays

1147 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shōgun (d. 1199)

1746 – Gaspard Monge, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1818)

1800 – John Brown, American activist (d. 1859)

1837 – Adam Opel, the German engineer, founded the Opel Company (d. 1895)

1860 – J. M. Barrie, Scottish novelist and playwright (d. 1937)

1874 – Howard Carter, English archaeologist and historian (d. 1939)

1914 – Hank Snow, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)

1937 – Sonny Curtis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist.

1949 – Billy Joel, American singer-songwriter and pianist.

1970 – Ghostface Killah, American rapper and actor

1979 – Rosario Dawson, American actress

 

Holiday Highlight

Lost Sock Memorial Day

The origin of Lost Sock Memorial Day is as big a mystery as the whereabouts of the socks the day is meant to memorialize. But socks have been around for centuries, and Americans love their socks. In 2018, we purchased over $11 billion in socks in the US alone. Most men wear socks daily — including those particularly fashionable guys wearing socks with sandals.

 The sock industry continues to grow in sales and expand in variety. Gone are the days of the one-color, one-style sock. Today, socks serve multiple purposes and are manufactured to perform based on need. Of course, dressy trousers in neutral colors exist for professional or fancy occasions, but the markets for fun and functional socks are making a name for themselves. Themed graphic socks are trendier for the modern, less casual work environment.

 With each American having an ever-growing sock drawer, the odds of a paired sock losing its mate increase. In a recent survey of 2,000 people, it was determined that the average person loses 1.3 socks each month! That’s a lot of socks yearly—over 15 per person yearly. So you can see how this universally hits home and causes great distress when a sock goes missing.

 Today, we stand together to pay tribute to our dearly departed socks. We offer clever ways to honor our lost socks and help those surviving socks press on.

 

Holidays And Observance

Ascension Day (of Jesus)

Hurrah For Buttons Day

Lost Sock Memorial Day

National Butterscotch Brownie Day

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day

National Moscato Day

Tear The Tags off the Mattress Day