Well, we’ve reached Friday again: February 24, 2017—the 55th day of the year—and another day closer to both the weekend and the grave. It’s also National Tortilla Chip Day, and in Iran it’s Sepandārmazgān, or Woman’s Day, characterized by Wikipedia as “a celebration day of love towards mothers and wives.” Would it be too much for the government to allow women to dress as that want today—and maybe take off the headscarf?
On this day in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII announced the advent of the Gregorian calendar with a Papal Bull. The Papal Cow was nowhere to be seen. In 1854, a new version of the Penny Red postage stamp made its appearance in Britain: the first stamp ever having perforations. Its predecessors, the Penny Black and the unperforated Penny Red, had to be cut from a sheet with scissors. The UK apparently remains the only country in the world not bearing its name on its postage stamps, deeming a Royal profile sufficient.
On February 24, 1868, Andrew Johnson was the first U.S. President to be impeached (which means to be brought to trial in the Senate, not to be convicted). He was acquitted of “high crimes and misdemeanors”. On this day in 1920, the Nazi Party was founded; note that it was only 16 months after the end of World War I. Exactly 60 years later, the US hockey team completed its “miracle on ice”: after an unexpected win over the Soviet Union, it beat Finland 4-2 to nab the gold medal. It was on this day in 1989 that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie, also offering a $3 million (US) bounty for the author’s death. And it was on February 24, 2008, that Fidel Castro resigned as President of Cuba.
Notables born on this day include botanist Joseph Banks (1743), Winslow Homer (1836), Steve Jobs (1955), and Judith Butler and Eddie Murray (both 1956). Those who died on this day include Malcolm Forbes (1990), Dinah Shore (1994), Don Knotts (2006), and Harold Ramis (2014). Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili got wormed, and Sarah photographed the process, which involved rubbing goo onto the cat that she licks off. It went pretty well this time:
A: We have to de-worm you.Hili: And have you tried out this treatment on yourselves?(Photo: Sarah Lawson)
Ja: Musimy cię odrobaczyć.
Hili: A wypróbowaliście ten środek na sobie?
(Foto: Sarah Lawson)
This particular treatment works a bit differently. You put it in an inaccessible place so the cat cannot lick it. It goes through the skin into the bloodstream (I think) and gets rid of the worms.
Thanks for that clarification. Same thing we have used here on our cats. Sure is much easier than the old pill method.
Keep in mind Bull has connotations other than those relating to cattle.
The Penny Red – apparently it cost one penny for almost 40 years. Hadn’t inflation been invented yet?
@Ron_Miksha In answer to your question – the annual inflation in the era 1840 to around 1897 was in negative numbers more years than not!
The uniform penny post was a bit of a financial disaster for the GPO, taking a generation to reach pre-1840 levels of profitability, but it did afford a FIVE FOLD increase in mail volume in only 10 years.
We have had huge increases in post costs recently in the UK & yet, because of inflation, it is still cheaper than the days of the Penny Black & the Penny Red & much, much cheaper than pre-1840 when prices were scandalous.
It’s a pity it’s going to the private sector bit-by-bit [or rather the private sector is skimming off the most profitable parts of the mail service]
Thanks, much! I was guessing that the system stayed profitable for those 40 years because of efficiencies via increased volume (and low inflation), so it’s nice to get a more complete story.
I’ve seen postage go from 5 cents when I was 5 years old, 17 cents when I turned 17 to 33 cents at age 33 and 50 cents at age 50. Lucky for me, I seem to be getting younger – at 62, our Canadian postage has reached 82 cents! As you note, the profitable bits have gone to the private sector (even here in Canada), so I suppose that’s why our fees have accelerated.
The UK didn’t use a country name on its stamps for the same reason the USA didn’t have a .usa top-level domain – they got there first.
Isn’t there a top level domain name .US? I’m sure I’ve seen it, mainly associated with county governments IIRC.
per Wikip: “It was established in 1985. Registrants of .us domains must be United States citizens, residents, or organizations, or a foreign entity with a presence in the United States.”
We use something similar, onto the Skin at the back of it’s neck, where it is absorbed.
The Oncilla is a lovely creature. I can’t help worrying about it’s welfare into the future. What about logging in the cloud forests? Global warming could evaporate the clouds. It seems every thought about natural beauty is accompanied by fear of it’s destruction. I’ve given myself another headache haven’t I ?
“…split off in 2013 from DNA evidence (a dicey proposition).”
Why is it dicey?
Demarcating species by genetic distance alone is always a subjective exercise. Yes, sometimes applying the reproductive criterion is subjective, as when species don’t live in the same place, but genetic distance is always subjective.
Be sure to remind the folks to tip their bartenders and waitresses.
Well, the Postal Service over here in the UK has got steadily worse, so much for the “efficiency of Private Enterprise” bollocks.