The Daily Dose/January 6, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Looking for some things to whine about for today’s column that didn’t involve our government we came across the tidbit that the Chinese have landed a spacecraft and accompanying rover on the far side of the moon, the first spacecraft to land there.
(One of the reasons we don’t get invited to any parties is we think it’s important you know the far side of the moon is sometimes and incorrectly referred to as the dark side of the moon. The far side, like the near side, can be either lit or dark. Furthermore, we never see the far side because the moon shows the same side all the time, a phenomenon known a tidal locking. This occurs because the moon rotates on its axis at the same speed it revolves around the earth, actually fairly common in the Solar System.)
Now, this is not a manned mission, of course. America remains the only nation to do that, this year being the 50th anniversary of the first one and, if you really wanna impress us go bring one of our flags back. Still, though, this is a fairly nice accomplishment because it involved sending another satellite into a halo orbit 40,000 miles past the far side of the moon so the spacecraft could communicate with Earth, because you can’t send signals to Earth directly from the far side of the moon.
50 years after Apollo we are left to get worked up over a third-rate space power landing a robot on the far side of the moon. Really, this should be a matter of no particular consequence, or at least had been accomplished 40 years ago, but – the same 50 years after Apollo – we still have not put man on Mars. And there is no prospect of it, either, for at least a generation. We have lost out on the technological advancements a manned Martian mission would have generated, plus other attainments those chasing this dream would have produced. We know what Mars is made of, but we have no one to tell us what it is like to be there.
Our loss.
Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow, for the first time, reaches the maximum number of items allowed for a single transaction at the retailer, plus The Wife makes a splendid dinner of salmon and rice. Plus, everyone is advised to keep quiet when Sparrow is offering expert advice.
When it’s all done I will tear the first receipt off and present it for your signature and while you are doing that I will staple the other two together…I will then present this like one of those girls on The Price is Right, telling you the top receipt is your copy of the actual transaction, noting the reference number your recipient will need, then I lift the top copy as if I’m displaying a sacred mystery of the Orient to show you the receipt for payment…
We have not forgotten about the final NFL Bottom Ten of the season, either. Promise.
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On This Date
In 1960 – National Airlines Flight 2511, carrying 34 people, explodes above North Carolina. The blast originated just ahead of the right wing, everyone was killed and all of the bodies were recovered, some at the crash site and one as far away as 16 miles, a man named Julian Frank. Frank had extensive injuries more consistent with an explosion than an airline accident, and he was under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney for fraud and the accident investigation showed Frank was also seated near the explosion, though the official investigation assigned him no blame and the investigation remains open.
In 1951 – The Indianapolis Olympians defeat the Rochester Royals 75-73 in six overtimes, establishing a new NBA record for Longest Game. The game was tied 65-65 at the end of the fourth quarter, neither team scored in the second or fourth overtimes and Rochester was shutout in the sixth overtime. The old record was five overtimes when Syracuse Nationals defeated the Anderson Packers 125-123 in November 1949. The record still stands. Red Holzman, who later founded long-time Harlem Globetrotter fodder the Washington Generals, had three points in the game.
In 1951 – The Tennessee Waltz by Patti Page is at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart – a predecessor of the Hot 100 – for the second of nine consecutive weeks. The song was also in its second of 13 non-consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Most Played in Jukeboxes chart and peaked at #2 on Billboard’s country chart. It was Page’s second of four #1’s on the Best Sellers in Stores chart. The song was originally released as the B-side to the holiday song Boogie Woogie Santa Claus.
Quotebook
We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
Albert Einstein
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
The original name of the Peanuts comic strip was L’il Folks.
Today’s Stumper
What is the longest NBA game played this century? –Answer next time!
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