George Washington (1732–99) by Gilbert Stuart Photo: Public Domain (Wikimedia Commons)
Although today is referred to as “President’s Day” it is not a federal holiday by that name. It is officially designated as Washington’s Birthday under federal law. There was a movement to combine both Washington and Lincoln’s birthday (since they occur days apart) or honor the office of president. That never came to be. Instead in 1968 the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was past and came into force in 1971. That shifted most federal holidays to a Monday if it fell during the week. Washington’s Birthday name was not changed and so under federal law it is still Washington’s Birthday. However many states issue their own proclamations celebrating not only Washington but Lincoln and others from their own state. Advertisers have caught on as well. So today many call it President’s Day but who it commemorates beyond George Washington is up to the state governors.
The unity of Government, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty, which you so highly prize.
President George Washington,Farewell Address, 19 September 1799.
We’re all familiar with the story of the RMS Titanic, the British passenger liner that hit an iceberg in the Atlantic ocean and sank during her maiden voyage in 1912. What few people realize, however, is that the Titanic was not the first ship to sink during its first journey, and by no means the last. Some faced a similarly overwhelming number of casualties, while others were more fortunate. From German battleships to Dutch trading vessels, here are ten lesser-known ships that sank during their maiden voyages.
What happened during those years is the subject of rumors and theories. It was said that, initially, Gibson was a sympathizer of Nazism and also that he was an intelligence agent, although the information that has reached our days in this regard is unreliable and contradictory. In 1944, Gibson refused to participate in the Nazi regime and was arrested as an anti-fascist agitator. The exactress was incarcerated in a prison in Milan, from where she managed to escape with two other prisoners, a journalist and a general, both Italians. The Archbishop of Milan, Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, was a key figure in rescuing him. The second of his life.
Valentine’s Day is used by many to show their affection or love for someone they care about. It has spawned an industry for greeting card makers, candies, and of course flowers. However there is a real religious component as many Christian denominations celebrate it as feast day, commemoration, or optional for the local diocese (such as the Catholic Church). Valentine was the name of many Christian martyrs in the early Church resulting in them all being remembered for their acts of sacrifice for the faith. Some denominations, such as Eastern Orthodox Church, celebrate a particular St. Valentine on two different days.
Shrine of St. Valentine in Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland Photo: Blackfish (Wikimedia Commons)
The association with romantic love could be linked to an ancient Roman festival has been made but there is no evidence of any link. Most seem to believe the link began with Chaucer’s Parlemont of Foules where he indicates birds choose their mates on St. Valentine’s Day although 14 Feb might not be the day Chaucer was referring to. Other poems made the association of love and St. Valentine’s Day in the medieval period and English Renaissance. For those who needed love verses but lacked the ability to compose them, publishers starting offering them. Then putting them on paper and sending them became possible. Paper valentines became very popular in 19th century England resulting in their industrial production. They became popular in the United States as well. With such cards being popular, you needed other things to accompany a card. Roses and chocolates became popular, likely due to skillful marketing to associate them with the day. And so Valentine’s Day became a very major day for greeting card companies, chocolate makers, and sellers of flowers (roses being the most popular flower for the day).
Of course we ought to remember that it is based upon Valentine, who became a saint after he was martyred in Rome in 269 and buried on Flaminian Way. He is the patron saint of Love, Young People, Happy Marriages.
[I want to apologize to my readers. I was distracted by personal matters and volunteering for a group that assists people during tax time. So was distracted and not able to post.]
Titanic lost: Belfast Telegraph front page on 16 April 1912 Source: Belfast Telegraph
An Edinburgh man was shocked to discover a 110-year-old newspaper from the day after the Titanic sank – after sorting through his late grandmother’s belongings. Graeme McCallum, 34, found the newspaper in a box of memories from his gran, who sadly passed away in 2006. He believes that her dad, his great-great grandfather, would have bought the Mirror newspaper, now believed to be worth £6,000, while living in Newcastle in 1912. Graeme shared the amazing find with his 70-year-old dad John, who was able to shed some light on how the over 100-year-old paper ended up in Edinburgh.
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It is amazing how many clever theories have been thought up about the fictional characters Jack and Rose from Cameron’s Titanic. It makes for entertaining reading on its own. Now a new one is that Jack was a time traveler from the future sent back to save Rose. Using some of Jack’s lines that seem to indicate historical inaccuracies as they have not yet happened, this is putting some creative minds to work about Jack the Time Traveler. And there is a tie in to another one of Cameron’s great movies, The Terminator. I will not spoil what that is here.
Mrs. J.J. “Molly” Brown presenting trophy cup award to Capt. Arthur Henry Rostron, for his service in the rescue of the Titanic. Photo:Public Domain (US Library of Congress, digital id# cph 3c21013)
Molly Brown was a first-class passenger of the Titanic who was looked down upon by other women from that same social status, particularly Rose’s mom, who described her as “vulgar” and “new money”. Molly was different from them in terms of her being open-minded, comprehensive, empathetic, and kind to everyone, not just those from first-class. Molly famously helped Jack get ready for dinner at the first-class dining saloon and lent him a suit that was for her son, and in the final act of Titanic, she did her best to convince the crew in her lifeboat to return to save more passengers, but the crewman opposed. Molly Brown is one of the characters in Titanic who are based on a real person, and the real Molly Brown’s story is an interesting one.
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Titanic Wreck Bow Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)
There’s no doubt about that. Some experts hypothesize that the rest of the Titanic will fully disintegrate within the next few decades. And we have bacteria to blame: The minuscule microbes, a hodgepodge that both creates rust and then consumes it, are actively recycling the ship’s parts into the ocean ecosystem at this very moment.
For millennia, people navigated and traded across the northern coast of Australia and the Coral Sea. When early European seafarers came face-to-face with the world’s largest coral reef system, it was not the beauty they saw, but a nearly unnavigable structure that could easily sink their ships. Throughout the past 230 years, over 1,200 vessels met their end on the reef – but only 114 have been found. Each site holds the potential for a wealth of archaeological and historic heritage, as well as tales of disaster, death and lessons learnt about the reef. Preservation, future management and care of these sites is essential.
It should come as no surprise then, that some props take on a life of their own. They become cultural touchstones, instantly recognizable even by those who have never seen the film in question. In celebration of the way these sometimes ordinary, sometimes out-of-this-world objects have defined our culture and lives, Stacker surveyed popular film history and chose 25 memorable and meaningful props, and found out where they are now.
February by Leandro Bassano,1595/1600 Public Domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
January has been sent to the exit and we welcome February. February is the second month on the current Gregorian and the old Julian calendar. The month is the shortest on the calendar: 28 days in regular years and 29 during a leap year. Meteorologically speaking, it is the last month of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. However, winter can and often does continue after February no matter what a certain groundhog indicates. February comes from Februa, a Roman ritual of cleansing. The amethyst is the birthstone for February with its birth flowers are the viola and the primrose.
Why the leap year?
The old Roman calendar was ten months, which began in March and ended in December. When January and February were added it meant February became the last month of the year. That meant the month had to have 28 days to fit into the calendar. A leap month was introduced every few years after February to make room for the thirteenth month. This meant February had to be shortened. As you might guess, this made things a bit confusing. Julius Caesar introduced the new calendar in 46 BC (named for him of course). He abolished the 13th month and introduced the leap year so that every fourth year, February would have 29 instead of 28 days. Thus, the leap year was born and became part of the Gregorian calendar as well.
February has some important events in it. There is Groundhog Day (Feb 2) where a groundhog comes out of its burrow in Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, and its behavior determines–if he goes back in or stays out–whether winter will last six weeks more, or spring will start early. German immigrants used to see hedgehogs coming out of hibernation as a sign of winter ending back in Germany. Unfortunately, hedgehogs are not found in the wild in Pennsylvania (or most of North America except as domesticated pets where allowed) so the groundhog became the substitute.
For many Americans, Superbowl Sunday (the first Sunday in February) is the big event where two top teams in the NFL duke it out. It is one the biggest sports events of the year and millions tune in to watch. Fast food places get lots of orders for delivery on that day and bars showing the game are often overflowing (at least before the Covid shutdown). And the ads for the game itself are specially tailored for the event. For everyone else (like some friends of mine), watching the original Star Wars IV, V, and VI or The Godfather I & II are that Sunday afternoon.
Of course, the other big day is Valentine’s Day on February 14 which is celebrated in the U.S. and around the world as well. Restaurants, florists, and chocolate makers all are major beneficiaries of this day set aside to show our affection to our wives, girlfriends, and others close to us.
RMS Titanic pictured in Queenstown, Ireland 11 April 1912 Source:Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh Ireland/Wikimedia Commons
James Cameron’s Titanic was a wonderful presentation and got the atmosphere right but had some inaccuracies says Claes-Göran Wetterholm, the Swedish historian and curator of the London Titanic exhibit. He gave an interview recently where he debunks many of the myths. There is nothing new here, but it is interesting to read.
Swedish historian Claes-Göran Wetterholm, the curator behind a new immersive Titanic exhibition in London, tells The Sun: “The Hollywood movie, ‘Titanic,’ directed by James Cameron is the best movie ever to be made about what never happened. “There are so many things I cannot agree with in it and when I met Cameron at the premiere I told him this. But the film’s theme is fantastic and perfectly captures the atmosphere on the ship. “I have spent many years researching what really happened that night and have spoken to survivors and family members of survivors to help uncover the real story.”
2. Titanic Themed Airbnb
I have read of many things done to redecorate a home with a Titanic theme. It seems someone over in Belfast, who rents out space he decked out in such a theme, through Airbnb. Judging from the pictures though, it may be a bit much for some.
But if exceptionally bright colours, a lot of images of couples kissing and dozens of paintings of weird-looking crowds is your kind of thing, who are we to judge? The rest of the rental leans heavily into the romantic image of Titanic (rather than, y’know, the mass death bit), featuring a nautical-themed breakfast bar, ambient sea sounds and even a ‘kissing room’ hot tub. So, what about the other amenities? Well, Rose has three bedrooms and can fit up to five guests. It’s got Wi-Fi, a flatscreen TV and all your usual kitchen and bathroom stuff. The host, David, has a pretty impressive 4.88 star rating, with guests generally praising his rental as ‘unique’, ‘comfortable’ and ‘hospitable’.
I do often see news reports of Titanic themed weddings so often that I hardly take notice of them anymore. Some are more extravagant than others certainly catches the eye. But what happens with the person you are marrying is not keen on the idea?
Unfortunately, one groom-to-be has been left feeling conflicted after his fiance expressed a longing for their nuptials to be themed around the classic romantic tearjerker, Titanic. The fiance is said to be ‘obsessed’ with the movie, while he doesn’t really care for it all that much. Taking to Reddit’s AmITheA**hole forum, the 23-year-old groom revealed that his fiance wanted to go all out for the theme, decorating an old hall like the Titanic dining room, with absolutely everything themed around Titanic or the 1910s. As well as an iceberg wedding cake – arguably a rather morbid feature given the historical basis of the film – the fiance wants their first dance to be to the sound of Celine Dion weepie, My Heart Will Go On.
Titanic Wreck Bow Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)
2. OceanGate To Study Titanic wreak ecosystem
Those who have visited the wreck have noted that nature has adapted itself to the wreck in interesting ways. And now OceanGate plans to make that a serious study before the wreck is totally consumed by the Atlantic Ocean.
OceanGate Expeditions announces that Dr. Steve W. Ross, Research Professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, will be the Chief Scientist of the 2022 Titanic Survey Expedition. Dr. Ross will lead a team of accomplished scientists in a first-of-its-kind survey of the marine ecosystems on and near the Titanic. The wreck of the Titanic, sitting at 3,800 meters on a barren abyssal plain, serves as a refuge for life forms like corals, squat lobsters, brittle stars, and rattail fish. The scientific team will utilize the 5-crewmember Titan submersible as a research platform to observe and record the deep dwelling sea life.
Parks continued: “If Evans had remained at his station and received Titanic’s distress call, could the Californian – arguably the closest ship – have come to the rescue before Carpathia? “Could Californian have averted the heavy loss of life? I would say no. “In daylight, it took her over two hours to work her way slowly out of the ice into clear water and reach the scene of the disaster. At night, it would have taken much longer.“In short, had Evans received Titanic’s distress call, it would have already foundered and most of the people in the water would have died from cold shock and exposure before Californian arrived.
