NEW Improved Monday Open Thread: August 27 is National Banana Lovers Day

August 27 is the 239th day of the year; as well as Prickle-Prickle, Bureaucracy 20, 3184 YOLD to discordians.

3 cubed, woo hoo, a triangle of triangles. We could go all fractal from here, but it takes a lof of time,.

Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift, look out kid, ...

On this day in:

410 - The Visigoths finished or at any rate stopped sacking Rome. It only took them 3 days, meaning that they either were very quick or weren' very thorough.

1859 - They discovered Petroleum in Titusville, PA and drilled what is billed as the world's first commecrially successful oil well to get it. There are many other claims around the world for first, though the champions of this well claim that those were drilled for other purposes, like brind or water, and produced oil by accident or as a byproduct.

1883 - The Krakatoa volcano put forth four enormous explosions tht destroyed the island and changed the climate for several years thereafter.

1927 - The "Famous Five" women petitioned the Supreme Court of Canada, to decide if the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, included "female persons". The courts reply in the negative was slapped down by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on October 18, 1929, which gave women the right to be appointed to the Senate.

1928 - The Kellogg-Briand Pact which outlawed the use of war to resolve "disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be: was signed by fifteen nations. The US, of course, had its fingers crossed. This is why Congress never will declare war, but will happily issue AUMFs and fund all out wars all across the globe, because it isn't war if we don't call it that.

1939 - The first flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft, took place.

1980 - After John Birges planted a bomb at Harvey's Resort Hotel to blackmail the casino, the FBI, having studied the bomb for over a day with X-Rays, Ouija Boards, and all of their other craft, decided to blow the detonator off of the bomb with a shaped charge made of C-4 explosive. The resulting explosion not only destroyed much of the casino, but also damaged Harrah's next door.

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Born this day in:

1770 - Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, philosopher who invented triangulation

1858 - Giuseppe Peano, mathematician and philosopher

1871 - Theodore Dreiser, novelist and journalist

1875 - Katharine McCormick, biologist, suffragette, and activist. Funded a lot of the research that went into developing the pill.

1890 - Man Ray, photographer and painter

1896 - Leon Theremin, physicist, engineer and inventor

1899 - C. S. Forester, novelist

1908 - Lyndon B. Johnson, the last of the Johnson Democrats, last old democrat president

1909 - Lester Young, sax and clarinet player

1919 - Murray Grand, singer, songwriter, and pianist

1929 - Ira Levin, novelist, playwright, and songwriter

1937 - Alice Coltrane, pianist and composer

1939 - William Least Heat-Moon, writer and historian, drove the blue highways

1940 - Fernest Arceneaux, singer and accordianist

1940 - Sonny Sharrock, guitarist

1942 - Daryl Dragon, keyboard player, muskrat aficionado, and songwriter

1944 - Tim Bogert, singer and bassist

1949 - Jeff Cook, singer, songwriter, and guitarist, founding member of Alabama

1953 - Alex Lifeson, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1956 - Glen Matlock, singer, songwriter, and bass player

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Died this day in:

1576 - Titian, painter

1635 - Lope de Vega, poet

1963 - W. E. B. Du Bois, sociologist, historian, and activist

1971 - Bennett Cerf, publisher

1975 - Haile Selassie, emperor, L:ion of Judah

1990 - Stevie Ray Vaughan, singer, songwriter, guitarist

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Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days and such: National Banana Lovers Day National Pots De Creme Day

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Kellogg-Briand Pact

Leon Theremin

Lester Young

Alice Coltrane

Fernest Arceneux

Sonny Sharrock

Darryl Dragon

Tim Bogert

Jeff Cook

Alex Lifeson

SRV

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picture:

It's an open thread, so do your thing

Crossposted from http://caucus99percent.com

Edit — attempted restoration of original format destroyed by site’s auto-concatenate bug