August 22, 2016 Open Thread, Saint Nessie's Birthday

August 15 is the 234th day of the year. There are 131 days left.

Today's number is 22

Today's number is Twenty-Two

22 is the product of two primes, 2 and 11 Being a product of 11 generates some fun we'll look at later 22 sevenths has been used as a rough approximation of pi for millenia 22 is titanium, a seriously kick-ass metal, but brittle in a pure state A cricket pitch is 22 yards long Catch 22 is a novel by Joseph Heller A "Catch 22" is a type of gotcha or puzzle such as occur in that novel .22 and .22LR (long rifle) are common small caliber weapons designations

"Fun" with "math" 1/11 = .090909 repeated forever 1/22 = 1/2 of 1/11 = 0.5 x .0909 = .04545454545 ad infinitum Thus, a/22 = a x .045454545 etc In doing mental arithmetic, multiplying by eleven is often easiest done by multiplying by 10 and then adding the original number. For example, 14 x 11 = 10 x 14 + 14 = 140 + 14 = 154 Similarly, multiplying by 22 is often easily done by multiplying by 2 and then multiplying the product by 11. Thus 14 x 22 = 28 x 11 = 280 + 28 = 308 Multiplying by 22 can also be made easier by first multiplying by 11 and then doubling the result. Thus 14 x 22 = (140+14) x 2 = 154 x 2 = 308 22 squared = 484, which just happens to be 4 x 11 squared. Hint: (2 x 11)(2 x 11) = (2 x 2)(11 x 11)

22 BCE was the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Arruntius Gaius Petronius, Roman governor of Egypt, destroyed the Nubian capital 22 CE was the Year of the Consulship of Agrippa and Galba Roman law replaced Celtic law and customs in Gaul. The earth wept. Valeria Messalina, the third wife of Emperor Claudius was born

On this day in: 0565 -- St. Columba reported seeing a monster in Loch Ness, Scotland. Worse yet, it rejected holy communion. Uh, huh. 1485 -- The Battle of Bosworth Field, the death of Richard III and the end of the House of Plantagenet 1639 -- Madras (now Chennai), India, was founded by the British East India Company 1642 -- Charles I called the English Parliament traitors. The English Civil War began 1791 -- The Haitian Slave Revolution started in Saint-Domingue. 1831 -- Nat Turner's slave rebellion started just after midnight in Southampton County, Virginia, 1848 -- The United States annexed New Mexico. 1864 -- Twelve nations signed the First Geneva Convention. 1950 -- Althea Gibson became the first black competitor in international tennis. 1952 -- They permanently closed the penal colony on Devil's Island, up next, Gitmo 1963 -- Joe Walker reached an altitude of 67.08 mi (354,200 feet) in an X-15 1966 -- The NFWA and AWOC merged to become the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC) 1978 -- The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FLSN) occupied the national palace in Nicaragua. 1992 -- FBI HRT sniper Lon Horiuchi killed Vicki Weaver at her home at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. No hostage was found or rescued. 1996 -- Bill Clinton signed his so-called welfare reform into law

Born this day in: 1647 -- Denis Papin, physicist and mathematician, developed pressure cooking 1862 -- Claude Debussy, pianist and composer 1880 -- George Herriman, cartoonist 1893 -- Wilfred Kitching, 7th General of The Starvation Army, pegnant with celestial fire 1893 -- Dorothy Parker, poet, critic, author, wit, member of the Algonquin Roundtable, Hollywood Blacklistee 1902 -- Leni Riefenstahl, actress and director 1908 -- Henri Cartier-Bresson, photographer and painter 1914 -- Jack Dunphy, dancer, author, playwright, Capote fancier 1915 -- David Dellinger, pacifist, activist, radical, 1/7th of Chicago 7. 1917 -- John Lee Hooker, singer, songwriter and guitarist, who deserves his own essay 1918 -- Mary McGrory, journalist and author (d. 2004) 1920 -- Ray Bradbury, author and screenwriter 1928 -- Karlheinz Stockhausen, composer and academic 1936 -- Chuck Brown, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer. Godfather of go-go. 1936 -- Dale Hawkins, singer, songwriter and guitarist; swamp rocker, Suzie-Q. 1945 -- Ron Dante, singer, songwriter and producer (The Archies, The Cuff Links, and The Detergents) 1947 -- Donna Jean Godchaux, singer, songwriter (Grateful Dead, Heart of Gold Band, Jerry Garcia Band, Donna Jean Godchaux Band) 1948 -- David Marks, singer, songwriter and guitarist (The Beach Boys and Delaney & Bonnie) 1950 -- Scooter Libby, lawyer, politician, go-fer, leaker, perjurer and all-around scum. 1958 -- Vernon Reid, guitarist and songwriter (Living Colour) 1959 -- Juan Croucier, singer, songwriter, bass player, and producer (Ratt and Dokken) 1961 -- Roland Orzabal, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Tears for Fears and Graduate) 1961 -- Debbi Peterson, singer and drummer (The Bangles and Kindred Spirit) 1963 -- Tori Amos, singer, songwriter, pianist, and producer (Y Kant Tori Read), activist (RAINN) 1966 -- GZA, rapper and producer (Wu-Tang Clan) 1967 -- Layne Staley, singer, songwriter (Alice in Chains, Class of '99, Mad Season, and Sleze) 1972 -- Paul Doucette, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and drummer (Matchbox Twenty, The Break and Repair Method, and Tabitha's Secret) 1976 -- Bryn Davies, bassist, cellist, and pianist - look her up sometime

Observation - Poem by Dorothy Parker

If I don't drive around the park, I'm pretty sure to make my mark. If I'm in bed each night by ten, I may get back my looks again, If I abstain from fun and such, I'll probably amount to much, But I shall stay the way I am, Because I do not give a damn.

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