Monday Open Thread; May 7 is the Anniversary of Dien Bien Phu

April 30 is the 127th day of the year, there are 238 days left

Boomtime, Discord 54, 3184 YOLD for the discordians amongst us)

Today's number is 7

7 is -

7 is a prime (the 4th prime) -

999,999/7 = 142,857. Any fraction consisting of an integer divided by 7 will have a repeating decimal consisting of those digits in that order starting at a different, determinable digit unless the numerator is an even multiple of 999,999 or 7. For example, 1/7 = 0.142857142857..., 2/7 = 0.285714285714..., 3/7 = 0.42857142857.... -

The short-cut is to multiply 0.142857 by the remainder of the long division, and then repeat that decimal component. Thus, the fractional part of 11/7 is 4/7 = 4 x 0.148257 repeated, generating 0.571428571428571428 etc. -

This arithmetic oddity was something of a pain for accountants in days of yore because the shortest depreciable life to generate the maximum investment tax credit was 7 years. As a result, 7 was a very popular useful life and the computation of 150% and 200% declining balance depreciation would involve using a rate of either 1.5 x 1/7 or 2 x 1/7. -

7 is the most likely result from rolling 2 regular 6 sided dice. 7 is neutral pH 7 is Nitrogen

Title 7 of the US Code is AGRICULTURE.

7 BCE was the Year of the Consulship of Nero and Piso Emperor Cheng of Han and his royal consort Zhao Hede died

7 CE was the Year of the Consulship of Metellus and Nerva. Caesar Augustus was emperor and appointed Publius Quinctilius Varus (yep, that Varus) governor of Germania. Varus almost immediately created a lot of dissension among the various and sundry German tribes, just as he had pissed off the residents of Syria and Judea when stationed in those outposts. This would bite him in the ass in 9 CE at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest where some of said German tribes annihilated him and his 3 legions. The Romans did, much later, recover their 3 "Eagles", but never again had a 17th, 18th or 19th legion.

On this day in:

1487 -- The Siege of Malaga began 1664 -- Louis XIV of France started work on the Palace of Versailles 1718 -- The city of New Orleans was founded 1824 -- Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premiered 1895 -- The Popov Lightning detector was demonstrated 1915 -- The U-20 sunk the Lusitania 1942 -- The Battle of the Coral Sea, wherein two fleets fought without sighting each other 1945 -- General Alfred Jodl signed Germany's unconditional surrender 1946 -- Sony was founded 1954 -- The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ended, along with French rule of Viet Nam 1960 -- Kruschev announced that the USSR had Gary Powers, starting the U-2 Crisis 1992 -- Michigan ratified the 27th Amendment, making it law 1992 -- The Space Shuttle Endeavour was launched on its first mission 1999 -- NATO bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade

Born this day in:

1711 -- David Hume, economist, historian, and philosopher, noted empiricist 1748 -- Olympe de Gouges, playwright, activist, feminist and abolitionist 1812 -- Robert Browning, poet and playwright 1833 -- Johannes Brahms, pianist and composer 1840 -- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composer 1845 -- Mary Eliza Mahoney, first African American nurse in US, and activist 1892 -- Archibald MacLeish, poet and playwright 1892 -- Josip Broz Tito, partisan leader, revolutionary, politician 1919 -- Eva Peron, Evita 1923 -- Jim Lowe, American singer, songwriter, and disc jockey 1931 -- Teresa Brewer, singer 1936 -- Jimmy Ruffin, singer 1946 -- Thelma Houston, singer and actress 1946 -- Bill Kreutzmann, drummer 1950 -- Prairie Prince, drummer, heh 1951 -- Bernie Marsden, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1963 -- Johnny Lee Middleton, bass player and songwriter 1964 -- Denis Mandarino, Brazilian guitarist and composer 1969 -- Eagle-Eye Cherry, singer and songwriter 1998 -- Eddie Rabbitt, singer songwriter and guitarist

Died this day in:

1825 -- Antonio Salieri, composer 1987 -- Paul Popham, activist and co-founder of Gay Men's Health Crisis 1995 -- Ray McKinley, drummer, singer, and bandleader

Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days and such: The Vietnamese celebrate Dien Bien Phu

Brahms

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Tchaikovsky

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Jim Lowe

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Teresa Brewer

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Jimmy Ruffin

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Thelma Houston