The Daily Dose/March 25, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
Leading Off will return.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow heads home a little earlier than planned. Today’s Diary.
And not only was yours truly alert the whole way, but there also weren’t even any yawns; it was as if we’d headed out after a full nite’s rest…It was so easy, in fact, that after the second cup of coffee, further caffeination was waved off.
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On This Date
History’s long march.
In 421 – The city of Venice in what is now northeast Italy s founded by refugees from neighboring war-torn cities. For centuries Venice was a major financial and maritime power and from 697-1797 was the capital of the Republic of Venice. Today the city sits on 118 islands connected by over 400 bridges and has a population of about 258,000. The name comes from the Venit people, who had occupied the region since the 10th century BC.
In 1934 – Horton Smith of the US wins the first Masters golf tournament, shooting a final round 72 to finish 4-under, defeating Craig Wood of the US by one stroke. It was the first of two Masters titles for Horton (1936) and remain his only two major tournament victories. The tournament was then known as the Augusta National Invitation Tournament and became the Masters in 1936. The green jacket has been awarded to the winner since 1949.
In 1989 – Mike + the Mechanics is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with The Living Years. It was the fourth Top 40 hit for the group, their third Top 10 hit, and remains their only #1 song. The song went to #1 in four other countries including Canada and Japan and peaked at #2 in Great Britain. The song was written by Mike Rutherford and B.A. Robertson.
Following are entries from yesterday, March 24:
In 1944 – Seventy-six allied prisoners of war attempt to escape from a Nazi POW camp in what is now western Poland. Planning had begun the previous March and due to assorted problems, only three managed to escape while 50 of those caught were executed. Two of the escapees made it to Sweden while the third eventually made it to Spain. The event was later dramatized in the 1963 US movie The Great Escape.
In 1975 – Muhammed Ali defends his WBC and WBA heavyweight boxing titles, defeating Chuck Wepner in a 15-round knockout in Cleveland. Ali had won the title the previous October with a victory over George Foreman and he would defend nine more times until losing to Leon Spinks in 1978. An enduring story of the fight is that Wepner declined Ali’s offer to call him a racial slur during an appearance on The Mike Douglas Show in order to sell more tickets for the fight. It was Wepner’s only title shot.
In 1990 – Alannah Myles is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two consecutive weeks with Black Velvet. It was the first of two Top 40 hits for Myles and remains her only #1 song. The song also went to #1 in Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway, peaked at #2 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 18th-biggest song of the year. Later in the year, a version by Robin Lee peaked at #12 on Billboard’s country chart.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
History was flinging the dice.
Gore Vidal
The Golden Age
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
One US Navy ship has been named after Patrick Henry. The USS Patrick Henry was a nuclear submarine, SSBN/SSN 599.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was Billboard’s biggest song of 1989? – Answer next time!
