FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Mirai Aileen Nagasu (長洲 未来, Nagasu Mirai, born April 16, 1993) is an American figure skater. She is a 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents medalist (silver in 2016, bronze in 2011 and 2017), the 2007 JGP Final champion, a two-time World Junior medalist (silver in 2007, bronze in 2008), and a seven-time U.S. national medalist (gold in 2008, silver in 2010 and 2018, bronze in 2011 and 2014, pewter in 2016 and 2017).

In 2008, Nagasu became the youngest woman since Tara Lipinski in 1997 to win the U.S. senior ladies’ title, and the second-youngest in history at the time. She is the first lady since Joan Tozzer in 1937 and 1938 to win the junior and senior national titles in consecutive years. Nagasu represented the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics at the age of 16 and placed 4th in the ladies’ event. In 2017, she landed the difficult triple Axel jump for the first time in international competition at the 2017 CS U.S. Classic. During her free skate in the team event at the 2018 Olympics, she became the first American ladies’ singles skater to land a triple Axel at the Olympics, and the third woman from any country to do so. This also made her the first senior ladies skater ever to land eight triple jumps (the maximum allowed in the free skate under the Zayak rule) cleanly in international competition.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Sexagesima

The season of Pre-Lent, once marked by the Roman Catholic Church, developed in the seventh century and included the three Sundays before the beginning of Lent. These Sundays are Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima—roughly 70, 60, and 50 days before Easter. The Ordinary Form of the Mass (Novus Ordo), introduced in 1969, does not officially celebrate Pre-Lent. However, these Pre-Lent Sundays are still included in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass (Traditional Latin Mass or Tridentine Mass). These three Sundays are also celebrated by certain other Christian denominations.

Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday

The 16th president of the United States was born on the morning of Sunday, February 12, 1809, in a one-room, 16×18-foot, log cabin with a dirt floor. Called Sinking Spring Farm, the land was situated near Hodgenville, Kentucky. Abe’s father, Thomas, was a farmer and carpenter, and his mother, Nancy, was a seamstress. His sister, Sarah, was 2 at the time. Abraham was named after his paternal grandfather. Lincoln pursued a legal career before turning to a political one that eventually led to the U.S. presidency. In addition to his more famous achievements, Lincoln is the only U.S. president to have received a U.S. patent, for something he described in this way: “A new and improved manner of combining adjustable buoyant air chambers with a steamboat or other vessel for the purpose of enabling their draught of water to be readily lessened to enable them to pass over bars, or through shallow water, without discharging their cargoes.” If you can’t get to Washington, D.C., honor Lincoln by visiting the Lincoln Memorial, part of our National Park System.

Question of the Day

How can I loosen glued chair joints that are still tight so that I can reglue other joints that have loosened?

If the joints are stubborn, lay the chair on its side and brush the joints with warm vinegar. Or put the vinegar in a small, clean oilcan and apply it to just the right spot. It should dissolve the glue without damaging the finish. (Tip: Yellow carpenter’s glue is best for regluing a chair.)

Advice of the Day

Public opinion in this country is everything. —Abraham Lincoln

Home Hint of the Day

If you’re having a tough time pushing wood over the metal of your machines, rub the metal machine surface with beeswax. It will lubricate the sticky area and remove some of the wood resins that are causing the binding.

Word of the Day

Altostratus cloud

Grayish or bluish layer of clouds that can obscure the Sun.

Puzzle of the Day

What is the geometrical form of an escaped parrot?

A polygon (Polly gone)

Born

• Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams (U.S. First Lady) – 1775
• Charles Darwin (naturalist) – 1809
• Abraham Lincoln (16th U.S. president) – 1809
• Lorne Greene (actor) – 1915
• Josh Brolin (actor) – 1968
• Tara Strong (voice of Bubbles on The Powerpuff Girls) – 1973
• Jesse Spencer (actor) – 1979
• Christina Ricci (actress) – 1980

Died

• Ethan Allen (patriot) – 1789
• The Earl of Dufferin (Canadian Governor General 1872 – 1878) – 1902
• Sal Mineo (actor) – 1976
• Eubie Blake (jazz musician) – 1983
• Charles Schulz (Peanuts cartoonist) – 2000
• David Groh (actor) – 2008
• David Kelly (actor) – 2012
• Sid Caesar (comedian & actor) – 2014

Events

• Lady Jane Grey, a rival for the English throne, was beheaded under the rule of Queen Mary I– 1554
• James Oglethorpe founded Savannah, Georgia– 1733
• Gala carnival at first U.S. skating rink, Madison Square Garden, New York City– 1879
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) formed– 1909
• Construction began on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.– 1915
• The Scream painting stolen, Oslo, Norway– 1994
• 17th Olympic Winter Games opened in Lillehammer, Norway– 1994
• Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude opened The Gates, Project For Central Park 1979-2005 in NYC’s Central Park– 2005
• For the first time, a beagle won ‘Best in Show’ at the Westminster Kennel Club– 2008
• A magnitude 6.6 earthquake shook southern Mexico– 2008
• Figure skater Mirai Nagasu became the first American woman (and third woman overall) to land a triple axel at the Winter Olympic Games (which took place at PyeongChang, South Korea, that year).– 2018

Weather

• Forty-seven degrees below zero F, Camp Clarke, Nebraska– 1899
• Fort Myers, Florida, had a trace of snow– 1977
• A Northeaster left 27 inches of snow in Central Park, New York– 2006

COURTESY www.almanac.com