Daily Almanac for Friday May 24, 2024

By StephanieLee Elliott

 

“Radar” from M*A*S*H, Gary Burghoff is 81 today. Here he is at a convention in 2003. By Anonymous, CC BY-SA 3.0, https commons.wikimedia.org

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Gary Rich Burghoff (born May 24, 1943) is an American actor who is known for originating the role of Charlie Brown in the 1967 Off-Broadway musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and the character Corporal Walter Eugene “Radar” O’Reilly in the film M*A*S*H, as well as the TV series. He was a regular on television game show Match Game from 1974 to 1979 for 204 episodes, standing in for Charles Nelson Reilly, who was in New York doing a Broadway play, and continued to make recurring appearances afterwards.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Ember Days happen four times a year at the start of each season. Traditionally observed by some Christian denominations, each set of Ember Days is three days, kept on a successive Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Ember Days for 2023
September: 20, 22, 23
December: 20, 22, 23

Ember Days for 2024
February 21, 23, 24
May 22, 24, 25
September 18, 20, 21
December 18, 20, 21

These three days are set apart for fasting, abstinence, and prayer. The first of these four times comes in winter, after the Feast of St. Lucia, December 13; the second set comes with the First Sunday in Lent; the third set comes after Whitsunday/Pentecost Sunday; the four and last set comes after the Feast of the Holy Cross. Their dates can be remembered by this old mnemonic:

“Sant Crux, Lucia, Cineres, Charismata Dia Ut sit in angaria quarta sequens feria.”

Which means:

“Holy Cross, Lucy, Ash Wednesday, Pentecost, are when the quarter holidays follow.”

In Latin, Ember Days are known as the quattuor anni tempora (the “four seasons of the year”). Folklore has it that the weather on each of the three days foretells the weather for three successive months.

As with much folklore, this is grounded in some common sense since the beginning of the four seasons cue the changes in weather as well as a shift in how we keep harmony with the Earth and respect our stewardship of the Earth, our “garden of Eden.”“

Question of the Day

How long does a cow stay in calf? And can a cow support more than one calf? If so, how many?

The gestation period for beef cows is 279 to 290 days and for dairy cows 262 to 300 days. In response to the second part of the question, it is not uncommon for cows to produce twins. We featured a story some years ago about a Hereford that produced quadruplets! So yes, a cow can support (we assume you mean “nurse”) more than one calf.

Advice of the Day

Collars around seedlings will help keep cutworms at bay.

Home Hint of the Day

To keep oil paint from skinning over, pour a little thinner on top of the paint, then close the lid tight. The fumes from the thinner leave no air in the can to cause the paint to dry out.

Word of the Day

Whangdoodle

An imaginary creature, or an undefined character.

Puzzle of the Day

Why should you never tell a joke to an egg?

Because it might crack up.

Died

  • Nicolaus Copernicus (astronomer) – 
  • William Lloyd Garrison (writer) – 
  • Duke Ellington (jazz composer, pianist, & bandleader) – 
  • Milton Shedd (co-founder of Sea World) – 
  • Dick Martin (comedian) – 
  • Tina Turner (singer) – 

Born

  • Queen Victoria (British monarch) – 
  • George Grey Barnard (sculptor) – 
  • Bob Dylan (musician) – 
  • Gary Burghoff (actor) – 
  • Patti LaBelle (singer) – 
  • Priscilla Presley (actress) – 
  • Jim Broadbent (actor) – 
  • Kristin Scott Thomas (actress) – 
  • John C. Reilly (actor) – 
  • Billy Gilman (country singer) – 

Events

  • Canada’s first medical graduate, William Logie, awarded degree by McGill University– 
  • Samuel Morse transmitted the first telegraphic message from the U.S. Supreme Court room, Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. The message: What hath God wrought– 
  • The steamer, Victoria, sank in Thames River near London, Ontario– 
  • Ohio Anti-Saloon League founded, Oberlin, Ohio– 
  • First major league baseball night game was played in Cincinnati, Ohio– 
  • Aurora 7 took flight. It was the second U.S. manned orbital space flight– 
  • United States and USSR agreed to cooperate in space exploration– 
  • Crop circle discovered in Haysville, Kansas– 
  • Canada’s famous clock on the Peace Tower of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa stopped for the first time– 

Weather

  • Snowstorm across Kentucky with accumulations of 4 to 6 inches of snow– 
  • Hail fell to a depth of 6 to 8 inches near Ada, Oklahoma– 
  • Snow whitened the Green Mountains of Vermont– 

 

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