Cool Fact of the Day
First Jigsaw Puzzles
When were the first jigsaw puzzles made?
Jigsaw puzzles were first made to teach geography in England in the late 18th century. They
were called "dissected maps," and were made by drawing a map on a sheet of wood and
sawing it into irregular pieces with a saw.
Later, different kinds of pictures were made into puzzles, with topics like history, alphabets,
botany, and zoology.
Jigsaw puzzles reached a peak of popularity in the 1860's in Great Britain and the USA.
During the Great Depression, their relative cheapness made them popular again as gifts.
More about the history of jigsaw puzzles:
pentimento.com
Cool Word of the Day
aesthetic [n., adj. ess-THET-ik]
An aesthetic is a philosophy concerned with the creation of art, or a theory regarding beauty.
Example: "The aesthetic of modern society was reflected in his performance art piece."
Aesthetic can also mean pertaining to beauty or art. Example: "His aesthetic sensibilities were
offended by the new window treatments."
This word comes from the German asthetich, which can be traced to the Greek aesthetikos
(perceptible to the senses). Aesthetikos comes from aisthanesthai (to perceive, to feel). The
same root combined with the a- prefix (which means "not") gives us the word anesthesia (a
drug that induces numbness -- literally, "not feeling").
Person of the Day
Lue Gim Gong, 1860-1925
Horticulturist
While Spanish explorers had introduced orange trees to Florida centuries before Lue Gim
Gong arrived there in the 1880s, the trees were often sickly and their fruit production was
minimal. The self-educated botanist who had come to the U.S. as a teen began steadfastly
working with the stunted plants, cross-pollinating them hardier varieties until he had
completely changed their characteristics. The result was the creation of juicy oranges that
could thrive in the Floridian climate.
In 1911, Gong was honored for his achievement by the United States Department of
Agriculture with the American Pomological Society's Wilder Medal, the highest award
granted by that organization.
More about Gong:
naturalflorida.org
Quotes of the Day
Curiosity; Curiosity is an integral part of intelligence:
"Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect."
-- Samuel Johnson, 1709-84, English author, lexicographer
"Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last."
-- Samuel Johnson, 1709-84, English author, lexicographer
"Every age has a keyhole to which its eye is pasted."
,i>-- Mary McCarthy, 1912-89, American author, critic
"We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know enough to get by. Every
question we answer leads on to another question. This has become the greatest survival trick
of our species."
-- Desmond Morris, 1928-, British anthropologist
Today in History
June 21st
1633: Galileo Found Guilty of Heresy
The Inquisition found Italian scientist Galileo Galilei guilty of "suspected heresy" for defending
the Copernican heliocentric view of the world, in which the Earth and other planets are seen
as orbiting around the sun. Despite his forced public repudiation of the heliocentric view, he
was still sentenced to an unlimited period of house imprisonment.
More about Galileo:
es.rice.edu
1834: Mechanical Reaper Patented
Businessman and inventor Cyrus Hall McCormick patented the first mechanical reaper, a
horse-drawn machine to harvest wheat. McCormick founded his own company in 1848, and
over time he grew it into the largest farm equipment manufacturer in the United States.
McCormick's reaper allowed farmers to double their crop yield:
invent.org
1913: Broadwick Parachuted in U.S.
Georgia "Tiny" Broadwick became the first woman to parachute from an airplane in the
United States. The 18-year old dropped from an altitude of 1,000 feet (300 m) over Los
Angeles, California.
1964: Three Civil Rights Workers Disappeared
During the Freedom Summer, a project that brought hundreds of college students to help
African-Americans in the South, three civil rights workers -- James Chaney, Andrew
Goodman, and Michael Schwerner -- disappeared in Philadelphia, Mississippi. An FBI
search discovered that they had been murdered, leading to the eventual conviction of seven
Ku Klux Klan members.
1970: Final Game of Soccer World Cup
In the final game of the Soccer World Cup played in Mexico, Brazil beat Italy 4-1. Mexico's
world cup is considered by many to be the greatest world cup competition ever. With its epic
triumph, Brazil became the first country to win the cup three times, receiving the prestigious
Jules Rimet Cup. Brazil's Pele, who scored the first goal of the game, is regarded as one of
the greatest players in soccer history.
Holidays & Events
June 21
Arctic Open, Watermelon Thump
ICELAND: ARCTIC OPEN
The four-day Arctic Open 36-hole golf tournament is open to professional and amateur
competitors from around the world. The tournament is held among the snow-capped
mountains of Akureyri in Iceland; a highlight of the event is nighttime play lit by the midnight
sun. Tee-off is just before midnight and play continues until the early hours of the morning.
UNITED STATES: WATERMELON THUMP
The Watermelon Thump, an annual seed-spitting contest now in its 48th year, is being held
today in Luling, Texas. The champions of previous watermelon seed-spitting contests have
topped 68 feet, so you'll need to practice if you want to compete for the top prize. Otherwise
you can simply enjoy the Miss Watermelon Queen beauty contest, the carnival, the rodeo, or
music and dancing.
More about Luling, Texas:
rtis.com
In 1999, Luling painted a water tower to resemble a watermelon:
infomagic.net
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