Daily Almanac for Saturday, September 9, 2023

By Lady Washington

On this date in 1954, Canadian swimmer, Marilyn Bell, became the first person to swim across Lake Ontario (courtesy soloswims.com)
Lake Ontario seen from the International Space Station on August 24, 2013. The cloudy yellowish substance is algae bloom. By NASA, Public Domain, https commons.wikimedia.org

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Marilyn Grace Bell Di Lascio OOnt (born October 19, 1937) is a Canadian retired long distance swimmer. She was the first person to swim across Lake Ontario and later swam the English Channel and Strait of Juan de Fuca.

On September 8, 1954, at 11:07 pm, Bell started her swim across Lake Ontario from Youngstown, New York, at virtually the same time as world-famous United States long-distance swimmer Florence Chadwick. The CNE had offered Chadwick CA$10,000 to swim the lake as a publicity effort for the annual exhibition. The offer to Chadwick had disappointed Canadian swimmers, Bell included, who had expected the CNE to hold a marathon race. Because of the criticism, the CNE decided to allow other swimmers, at first as part of a relay race, but Bell decided to try the whole swim herself. According to Bell, she “did it for Canada.” Bell took on the challenge without pay with the encouragement of Alexandrine Gibb, a Toronto Daily Star reporter. A third swimmer, Torontonian Winnie Roach, who had swum the English Channel, also decided to swim the lake.

After several hours, Chadwick was forced to give up with stomach pains and vomiting at 6 am. Roach quit at about three-quarters distance, due to cramps. Bell swam for 20 hours and 59 minutes before she finally reached a breakwater near the Boulevard Club, west of the CNE grounds. The planned route straight across the lake was 51.5 kilometres (32.0 mi), but she actually had to swim much further because of strong winds and the lack of modern navigation equipment. Waves that day were almost 5 metres (16 ft) high, water temperature was 21 °C (70 °F) and lamprey eels were attacking her legs and arms.

Bell kept up her strength with Pablum, corn syrup, and lemon juice with water, along with heroic encouragement from her boat crew, including fellow swimmer Joan Cooke and her coach, Gus Ryder. Radio stations broadcast hourly reports of her progress and rival newspapers published “extra” editions throughout the day. At the start, Bell was accompanied by two boats, but a flotilla of boats gathered around her by mid-day. When she finally arrived at about 8:15 p.m., a crowd estimated at over 250,000 was gathered to see her arrive. CNE officials had hoped that Bell would arrive at the CNE waterfront, where a grandstand had been set up, but Ryder guided her to Sunnyside where the amusement park was brightly lit and she could navigate to, and the waves were smaller.

Bell was the first person ever to swim the 32 miles (51 km) distance. The CNE decided to give Bell the $10,000 prize, and she was later given numerous gifts, including a car, television, clothing, and furniture. Bell appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. In an article, Bell later thanked the Toronto community for the support, especially Alexandrine Gibb, the Toronto Star reporter.[21] Bell later recounted that she did not hear the crowds cheering when she arrived at the waterfront. Bell heard the cheering for the first time when she heard a recording made by a radio station a few days later.

Bell’s swim was front-page news in Toronto. The Toronto TelegramThe Globe and Mail and the Toronto Daily Star all competed to get her interview. The Star had signed for an exclusive, providing boats to the swim team, but the Telegram tried to “scoop” the story by having a Telegram reporter pose as a nurse.

Marilyn Bell had to overcome the Lamprey Eel who lives in rivers and lakes to complete her swim in Lake Ontario. By Tiit Hunt – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https commons.wikimedia.org

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Question of the Day

Where does Ugli fruit come from?

This is a trademark for the tangelo, a tropical fruit that is a hybrid between a grapefruit and a tangerine or mandarin orange. Tangelos originated in Jamaica.

Advice of the Day

When closing up a summer house, run a cycle of warm water and 1 cup vinegar through the washing machine and dishwasher before draining the pipes.

Home Hint of the Day

Buy narrow T-shaped hardware to cover the gap between your kitchen counter and stove. This will seal a gap up to 1/4 inch wide and prevent food from collecting there.

Word of the Day

Fathom

1 fathom=2 yards=6 feet

Puzzle of the Day

The Green Mountain State.(Name the U.S. state!)

Vermont

Died

  • John Singleton Copley (artist) – 
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (painter) – 
  • Bill Monroe (American musician) – 
  • Burgess Meredith (actor) – 

Born

  • Leo Tolstoy (author) – 
  • Harland Sanders (founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken) – 
  • Phyllis Whitney (writer) – 
  • Sylvia Miles (actress) – 
  • Otis Redding (singer & songwriter) – 
  • Tom Wopat (actor & singer) – 
  • Angela Cartwright (actress) – 
  • Hugh Grant (actor) – 
  • Adam Sandler (actor) – 
  • Eric Stonestreet (actor) – 
  • Michael Bublé (singer) – 
  • Michelle Williams (actress) – 

Events

  • Continental Congress declared “United States of America” would be the name of the new nation– 
  • John Herschel took the first glass plate photograph– 
  • California was admitted as the 31st state– 
  • Tom Fleming won the first national log rolling championship– 
  • Canadian swimmer, Marilyn Bell, became the first person to swim across Lake Ontario– 
  • Elvis Presley appeared for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was hosted by Charles Laughton because Sullivan was recovering from injuries received in a car accident– 
  • USS Long Beach, the first nuclear-powered surface warship, was commissioned– 
  • Arthur Ashe won the U.S. Open tennis title– 
  • The comic strip For Better or For Worse debuted– 
  • Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning monarch in Britain’s history– 
  • Football game between Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans lasted about 7 hours 8 minutes due to 3 hours 59 minutes of weather (lightning) delays. This made it the longest game in NFL history since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. Dolphins beat the Titans 27-20.– 

Weather

  • Thrall, Texas, had 38.2 inches of rain within 24 hours– 

COURTESY www.almanac.com