Rollercoaster Day is celebrated annually on the 16th August. The origins of the celebration are not completely clear, however, the most widely believed explanation for Rollercoaster Day is that the date was chosen to mark the 16th August, 1898, which was when the very first patent for a rollercoaster ride was issued. The date has been marked by fairgrounds and fans of rollercoasters all over the world since the eighties.
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (noun) An error in printing or writing, especially such an error noted in a list of corrections and bound into a book. | ||
| Synonyms: | misprint, typo, literal error | ||
| Usage: | Subsequent printings of the book contained an index of the errata that had been noted since the first printing. | ||
Idiom of the Day
History
Joseph Kittinger Parachutes from a Balloon at 102,800 feet (31,300 m) (1960)
Kittinger is a former command pilot and career military officer in the US Air Force known for setting a number of records, including highest parachute jump and fastest speed reached by a human traveling through the atmosphere. In 1960, as part of the Air Force's Project Excelsior, he jumped from a balloon nearly 20 miles above the earth and fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds before opening his parachute.
Christian Mortensen (1882)
| When Mortensen died at the age of 115 years and 252 days, he was the oldest man who had ever lived whose age is undisputed. Mortensen was born in Denmark in 1882 and immigrated to the US in 1903. He worked in various trades until he retired in 1950. Twenty-eight years later, at the age of 96, he reportedly rode his bicycle to a retirement home in San Rafael, California, where he lived for the rest of his life. |
Pine Battle of Vinuesa
The Pine Battle or Pinochada of Vinuesa in the province of Soria, Spain, takes place where King Juan I located his main residence in the 14th century. On August 16, the final day of the festival, there is a ceremonial mock battle in which the women of Vinuesa attack the men with pine branches. Centuries ago, when an image of the Virgin was found between two pine trees near the boundary between Vinuesa and Covaleda, a quarrel broke out over who would keep the image. The women tore branches from the pine trees and used them to strike their opponents, thus winning the battle for Vinuesa.
NASA's New Climate Model of Ancient Venus Shows a Picture of a Habitable World
For a 2-billion-year-long span, ending about 715 million years ago, Venus was likely a much more pleasant spot that it is today.READ MORE:
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1457: The first book ever printed was published by a German astrologer named Faust.
1858 - A telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to U.S. President Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.
1923: the comic strip "Felix The Cat" debuted.
1937 - Harvard University became the first school to have graduate courses in traffic engineering and administration.
1991: The Agricultural Progress Exhibit in Rock Springs, Pennsylvania, introduced cow shoes, rubber shoes for cows with hoof injuries.