Today In History

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Brings a tear to your eye.

Incredible! 97-year-old WW2 paratrooper vet returns to Normandy to recreate his D-Day jump.

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These guys.

“Every one of us was prepared to give our life to kick Hitler’s ass out of Europe!” 101-year-old D-Day veteran Jake Larson tells me that he knew exactly what they were fighting for 80 years ago today. “I lost friends, everybody lost friends. But we were soldiers. We were prepared to give our life.”

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90 years ago - June 9, 1934 - The cartoon character Donald Duck makes his first appearance

Donald Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known for his semi-intelligible speech and his mischievous, temperamental, and pompous personality. Along with his friend Mickey Mouse, Donald was included in TV Guide's list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time in 2002,[5] and has earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has appeared in more films than any other Disney character.[6]

Donald Duck appeared in comedic roles in animated cartoons. Donald's first appearance was in The Wise Little Hen (1934), but it was his second appearance in Orphan's Benefit that same year that introduced him as a temperamental comic foil to Mickey Mouse.[7] Throughout the next two decades, Donald appeared in over 150 theatrical films, several of which were recognized at the Academy Awards. In the 1930s, he typically appeared as part of a comic trio with Mickey and Goofy and was given his own film series starting with Don Donald (1937). These films introduced Donald's love interest and permanent girlfriend Daisy Duck and often included his three nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. After the film Chips Ahoy (1956), Donald appeared primarily in educational films before eventually returning to theatrical animation in Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983). His last appearance in a theatrical film was in Fantasia 2000 (1999). However, since then Donald has appeared in direct-to-video features such as Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004), television series such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006–2016), and video games such as QuackShot (1991) and the Kingdom Hearts series.

In addition to animation, Donald is well known worldwide for his appearances in comics. Donald was most famously drawn by Al Taliaferro, Carl Barks, and Don Rosa. Barks, in particular, is credited for greatly expanding the "Donald Duck universe", the world in which Donald lives, and creating many additional characters such as Donald's rich uncle Scrooge McDuck. Donald has been a popular character in Europe, particularly in Nordic countries where his weekly magazine Kalle Anka & C:o was the comics publication with the highest circulation from the 1950s to 2009. In Italy, Donald is a major character in many comics, including a juvenile version named Paperino Paperotto, and a superhero alter ego known as Paperinik (Duck Avenger in the US and Superduck in the UK).


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Duck

The Wise Little Hen is a 1934 Walt Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon, based on the fable The Little Red Hen. The cartoon features the debut of Donald Duck, dancing to "The Sailor's Hornpipe".[3] Donald and his friend Peter Pig try to avoid work by faking stomach aches until Mrs. Hen teaches them the value of labor.

Though distributor United Artists gave June 9, 1934 as the cartoon's release date, it was actually first shown on May 3, 1934, at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles for a benefit program, while it was later given its official debut on June 7 at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.[2][4]

This cartoon featured the first appearance of Clarence Nash in a Disney production. Nash had been a performer in Chautauqua and vaudeville during the 1920s and later met Wilfred Jackson who wanted Nash to provide bird sounds for a cartoon. During the call, Nash performed a rendition of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" as a duck, and Jackson sent the music into Walt Disney's office. Disney himself proclaimed "[t]hat's our talking duck".[6]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wise_Little_Hen

[chancery]

Jerome Starkey
@jeromestarkey
British Paras jumping into Normandy are greeted by French customs

Plus ca change.
#dday80

[RTH10260]

do not overstay your 90 days and be sure to leave the EU prior to reaching 180 in the last twelve months

[zekeb]

Yeah, I remember my return from Desert Storm. After a 20-hour flight, we were told to stay on the aircraft until customs arrived. After a 30-minute wait, with the aircraft getting hotter and hotter, we were told to go ahead and get off the plane. The agricultural customs officer never showed up.

[keith]

Maybe a few days late. So sue me (not really - leave me alone you lawyers you)

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_ ... 's_Day_Off

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jennifer Grey, Jeffrey Jones, Cindy Pickett, Edie McClurg, Lyman Ward, and Charlie Sheen. It tells the story of a high school slacker, Ferris, who skips school with his best friend Cameron and his girlfriend Sloane for a day in Chicago, regularly breaking the fourth wall to explain his techniques and inner thoughts.

[Suranis]

Never saw the appeal of that movie. Jennifer Grey was the best thing about it.

Anyway. ET The Extra Terrestrial was released on June 11th 1982.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_ ... errestrial

[pipistrelle]

Never saw the appeal of that movie. Jennifer Grey was the best thing about it.

It fit with its era of coming-of-age/teen movies. Also, fast car, hot girl, buddy, and no adults-perfect fantasy.

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390 years ago - ca 1634 - The Great Theater of the World (El Gran Teatro del Mundo) play by Spanish writer Pedro Calderón de la Barca

The Great Theater of the World (El Gran Teatro del Mundo) is a c. 1634 play from Spanish writer Pedro Calderón de la Barca (17 January 1600 – 25 May 1681). The play is an allegorical explanation of man's place in world according to the Catholic Church doctrine.[1]

In the play there is an Author (God) who writes the actual Play that is the world; humans are given characters according to the Author’s will: the King who has the power, the poor who suffers, the rich who enjoys very much his stay in the Play, etc., etc. These characters are just playing their roles in this “Play” that is the world and is just a test. Those who do a good performance of their characters will be rewarded by the Author at the end of the (brief, short, and fast) Play while those who do a bad performance will receive their just punishment.

The play is a depiction of the Catholic Church’s doctrine on how humans are on Earth just for a brief and fast test while the real (and eternal) existence is the one that begins with death as in the afterlife.[2] Calderón uses again this doctrinal and philosophical concept of human existence in the world in his more famous play, Life Is a Dream.

This concept of human existence is today’s official Catholic doctrine and an argument against God’s nonexistence due to the suffering and evil present in the world. This doctrine states that only God and the afterlife are the source of absolute justice as they are the only guarantee that evil but powerful and rich people will receive just punishment and good but poor/ill people who suffer on Earth will receive just reward.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great ... _the_World

see also an English description by the Spanish theatre of Matadero Madrid. Centre for Contemporary Creation from 2013
THEATRE OF THE WORLD
By Calderón de la Barca
https://www.mataderomadrid.org/en/sched ... atre-world

English translation on Google Books https://www.google.ch/books/edition/The ... XxUC?hl=en

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100 years ago - 1924 - First performance of the play «Das grosse Welttheater» at the Priory of Einsiedeln, Switzerland

The performance is repeated every few years (like 7 year intervals) in Einsiedeln. The initial text used was based on the translation of the German poet Joseph von Eichendorff, the recent ones based on further adaptions by contemporary Swiss authors.

The centenial performance is playing this summer, in German https://www.welttheatereinsiedeln.ch/home

Joseph von Eichendorff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Fr ... ichendorff

[Suranis]

Lest we forget....
Michael Jackson

August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009

Farrah Fawcett
February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009

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50 years ago - June 26, 1974 - Barcode Scanning goes commercially live

The History of Barcodes

The barcode has become an integral part of our daily lives, with its presence in supermarkets, airports, and warehouses. It is hard to imagine how we would have kept track of inventory, prices, and other important data without it. In this article, we will take a look at the history of the barcode, its impact on modern society, and its future prospects.

Barcode Beginnings

Barcodes were invented by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver in 1949. However, it wasn’t until April 3rd 1973 that the UPC (Universal Product Code) barcode was adopted as a standard for use in retail stores in the United States, and the first barcode was scanned on June 26th 1974 in a Marsh store in Troy, Ohio. The UPC barcode is a series of vertical lines of varying thicknesses and spaces that represent a numerical code, which can be scanned by a barcode reader to identify a product or item. The information is stored only across the barcode (hence 1D barcodes), to make it easy to print, and the height of the barcode just makes it easier for laser scanners to find the lines.

Since its introduction, the barcode has gone through various iterations and advancements, including the 2D barcode and the QR code. The 2D barcode can store more information than the traditional barcode and is often used in shipping and logistics. 2D barcodes store data in their height and width and require imagers (cameras) to scan (hence the slow death of the laser barcode scanner). The QR code is a type of 2D barcode that can be scanned using a smartphone camera and has become popular for advertising and marketing purposes.

https://www.viziotix.com/2023/04/03/his ... barcode-bl

[RTH10260]

55 years ago - June 28, 1969 - Stonewall riots, also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion



ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots

[Suranis]

In 1928, Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter perform the first ever aerial refueling in a DH-4B biplane

[RTH10260]

In 1928, Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter perform the first ever aerial refueling in a DH-4B biplane

Interesting!

ref: https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit ... refueling/

Two months later on Aug. 27-28, Smith and Richter made an endurance flight which lasted 37 hours, 15 minutes, with 16 refueling contacts. During this flight, they set 16 new world records for distance, speed and duration. On Oct. 25, 1923, Smith and Richter flew nonstop from the Canadian to the Mexican border, a distance of 1,250 miles, by being refueled three times while in the air. The theory of extending the range of an airplane by mid-air refueling became a demonstrated fact.

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Off Topic

55 years ago - Summer 1969

A TFB poster who intends to remain anonymous encountered for the first time an alien - some big iron - also called a mainframe computer.

Carried the tag of Univac U492, later Sperry-Univac.

Original design date was around 1964 as onboard computing power for Navy vessels.

Also used in some commercial applications, the specimen in mind was used at one of the big Swiss banks.

[RTH10260]

60 years ago - July 2, 1964 - Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed

Sixty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law one of the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation in history — the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. That day, our Nation moved closer to our North Star, the founding ideal of America: We are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. We have never fully lived up to that idea, but we have never walked away from it either. On this anniversary, we promise we will not walk away from it now.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo ... ights-act/

[RTH10260]

300 years ago - July 2, 1724 - Birth of German poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (German: [ˈklɔpʃtɔk]; 2 July 1724 – 14 March 1803) was a German poet. His best known works are the epic poem Der Messias ("The Messiah") and the poem Die Auferstehung ("The Resurrection"), with the latter set to text in the finale of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2. One of his major contributions to German literature was to open it up to exploration outside of French models.[1]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich ... _Klopstock

[raison de arizona]

This day in history. Washington DC, July 4, 2019:

The dumbest president in history makes the dumbest presidential speech in history, saying that the 1775 Revolutionary Army “manned the amparts, it ranned the ramparts & it took over the Airports.”
#TrumpIsNotFitToBePresident

[RTH10260]

the evidence of airports built by aliens must have inspired the Wright Brothers to come up with a device for using them

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61 years ago today, The Ronettes recorded one of the greatest pop records of all time, "Be My Baby," written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector.

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[raison de arizona]

Ah, music to my ears! And I see a direct line from The Ronettes to the En Vogue music I heard during the CNN July 4th celebration last night.