Daily Almanac for Wednesday July 3, 2024

By Cynthia Charlene Greason

 

The voice of Lisa Simpson of The Simpsons, Yeardley Smith is 64 today. Here she is being interviewed on The Woody Show in 2019. By The Woody Show – https www.youtube.com, CC BY 3.0, https commons.wikimedia.org

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Martha Maria Yeardley Smith (/ˈjɑːrdli/ YARD-lee; born July 3, 1964) is an American actress. She stars as the voice of Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons.

Smith became an actress in 1982 after graduating from drama school. She moved to New York City in 1984, where she appeared in the Broadway production of Tom Stoppard‘s The Real Thing. She made her film debut in 1985’s Heaven Help Us, followed by roles in The Legend of Billie Jean and Maximum Overdrive. She moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and took a recurring role in the television series Brothers.

In 1987, Smith auditioned for the Simpsons shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. Smith intended to audition for the role of Bart Simpson, but the casting director felt her voice was too high, and she was cast as Bart’s sister Lisa. In 1989, the shorts were spun off into their own half-hour show, The Simpsons. For her work on The Simpsons, Smith received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992.

Lisa Simpson. Image by Fox, Fair use, https en.wikipedia.org

TODAY’S ALMANAC

The phrase “Dog Days” conjures up the hottest, most sultry days of summer. The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists the traditional timing of the Dog Days: the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, coinciding with the heliacal (at sunrise) rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. The rising of Sirius does not actually affect the weather (some of our hottest and most humid days occur after August 11), but for the ancient Egyptians, Sirius appeared just before the season of the Nile’s flooding, so they used the star as a “watchdog” for that event. Since its rising also coincided with a time of extreme heat, the connection with hot, sultry weather was made for all time: “Dog Days bright and clear / indicate a happy year. / But when accompanied by rain, / for better times our hopes are vain.”

Question of the Day

Where did the different birthstones originate, and why are certain birthstones for certain months?

The wearing of the gemstone associated with your birth month is thought to bring good luck and good health. Astrologers long ago attributed supernatural powers to certain gemstones. The ones we associate with certain months now are not necessarily the same ones as in ancient times. The list fluctuates with the availability and cost of the stones. Once, color was the most important feature of a stone. Ancients did not distinguish between a ruby and a garnet, for example. The names used in history may not relate to the stone we think of with that name today. For example, a sapphire in the Bible was probably what we know today as lapis, and the diamonds were probably a white sapphire or white topaz. The stones originally assigned to each month related to the stones appearing on the breastplate of a Jewish high priest.

Advice of the Day

Cap in hand never did any harm.

Home Hint of the Day

Use uncooked rice as a mild abrasive for cleaning narrow-necked bottles and vases. Mix a few tablespoons of rice with water in the bottle or vase. Shake gently, pour out the rice and water, wash, and rinse.

Word of the Day

March

Named for the Roman god of war, Mars. This was the time of year to resume military campaigns that had been interrupted by winter.

Puzzle of the Day

A food item and a vessel.(Use these clues to find the two words that, when combined, form the name of a flower.)

Answer: Buttercup

Born

  • Samuel Huntington (signer of the Declaration of Independence) – 
  • John Singleton Copley (painter) – 
  • Richard Bedford Bennett (11th Prime Minister of Canada) – 
  • George M. Cohan (composer) – 
  • Franz Kafka (novelist) – 
  • Ken Russell (film director) – 
  • Pete Fountain (jazz musician) – 
  • Harrison Schmitt (geologist, astronaut, politician) – 
  • Tom Stoppard (writer) – 
  • Betty Buckley (actress) – 
  • Frank Daryl Tanana (baseball player) – 
  • Thomas Gibson (actor) – 
  • Tom Cruise (actor) – 
  • Yeardley Smith (actress) – 
  • Kevin Hearn (musician) – 

Died

  • Jim Morrison (musician) – 
  • Rudy Vallee (musician & actor) – 
  • Jim Backus (actor) – 
  • Andy Griffith (actor) – 

Events

  • Quebec City founded by Samuel de Champlain– 
  • The first savings bank in America (Bank of Savings) opened in N.Y.C.– 
  • Mount Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire officially opened to the public.– 
  • Idaho became the 43rd state to enter the Union– 
  • Fruit Garden and Home magazine was published. The publication changed its name two years later to Better Homes and Gardens– 
  • President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited segregation in public places– 
  • The USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian passenger plane over the Persian Gulf, believing it to be a hostile fighter. All 290 civilians aboard were killed– 
  • Singer Kylie Minogue received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire from Prince Charles during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace– 

Weather

  • Black dust fell in Canada– 
  • Hartford, Connecticut, reached 102 degrees F– 
  • New York City reached 107 degrees F– 
  • Allentown, Pennsylvania, reached 105 degrees F– 

 

COURTESY www.almanac.com