Open Thread for May 23, Happy World Crohn's and Colitis Day.

May 23rd is the 143rd day of the year, there are 222 days remaining.

23 is: The 9th prime and the sum of 3 consecutive primes; 5, 7 and 11 The atomic number of Vanadium The number of chromosomes in a human sperm or ova (haploid) The number of times that Julius Caesar was stabbed.

The 23 enigma is the belief that most incidents and accidents, events and happenstances, and stuff, are somehow directly connected to the number 23. Robert Anton Wilson, William S. Burroughs, The Illuminatus! Trilogy (fnord), Principia discordia, etc. Like this open thread, for example.

Title 23 of the US Code is Highways

The 23rd Amendment grants the citizens of DC the right to vote in presidential elections. DC is granted the lesser of the number of electors it would have if it were a state, or the number of electors allowed to the least populous state. Currently, that number is 3, either way it is computed.

23 BCE Was the "Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Varro". Was allegedly when Herod the Great built a palace in Jerusalem. Had the usual problems with a plethora of gods, goddesses, demigods, prophets, seers, priests, priestesses and suchwhat running around loose; along with all of the concomitant auguries, sacrifices, soothsaying, prophecy and other nuisances that we find throughout antiquity.

23 CE Was the "Year of the Consulship of Pollio and Vetus" This was the year in which the Greek geographer Strabo finally published his "Geography", a work describing the world known to the Romans and Greeks in Emperor Augustus' day. No similar works of similar antiquity exist. Pliny the Elder, a Roman scientist and writer, was born. Liu Xuan, a descendant of the Han Dynasty overthrew Wang Mang and ended the Xin Dynasty. Restored the Han Dynasty, he did. Same old gods and shit.

On this day in: 1430 -- Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians. 1498 -- Girolamo Savonarola was burned at the stake in Florence 1829 -- Cyrill Demian was awarded a patend on the accordion. 1844 -- On the evening of the 22nd, a merchant of Shiraz announced that he was a Prophet. He is considered a forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith, so Bahá'ís celebrate the 23rd as a holy day. 1934 -- The Auto-Lite strike culminated in the "Battle of Toledo". 1949 -- The Federal Republic of Germany was established. 1995 -- The first version of the Java programming language was released. 1998 -- The Good Friday Agreement was accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland. 2002 -- The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto Protocol was reached after its ratification by Iceland. 2012 -- Adam Lambert became the first openly gay artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album Charts. 2015 -- The Republic of Ireland legalized same-sex marriage by popular vote.

So, Adam Lambert, really?

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Born this day in: 1707 -- Carl Linnaeus, a botanist, physician, and zoologist 1834 -- Carl Bloch, a painter and academic 1848 -- Otto Lilienthal, a pilot and engineer 1910 -- Artie Shaw, a clarinet player, composer, and bandleader 1920 -- Helen O'Connell, a singer 1921 -- James Blish, an author and critic 1921 -- Humphrey Lyttelton, a trumpet player and composer 1925 -- Mac Wiseman, a singer, songwriter and guitarist (Foggy Mountain Boys) 1928 -- Rosemary Clooney, a singer and actress 1934 -- Robert Moog, a businessman who invented the Moog synthesizer 1943 -- General Johnson, a singer, songwriter and producer (Chairmen of the Board and The Showmen) 1967 -- Philip Selway, a drummer and songwriter (Radiohead) 1973 -- Maxwell, a singer, songwriter and producer 1974 -- Jewel, a singer, songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet 1982 -- Tristan Prettyman, a singer,songwriter and guitarist (23)

Died this day in: 1498 -- Girolamo Savonarola, a friar and preacher 1670 -- Ferdinando II de' Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany 1857 -- Augustin-Louis Cauchy, a mathematician and academic 1868 -- Kit Carson, a frontiersman 1906 -- Henrik Ibsen, a director, playwright, and poet 1934 -- Clyde Barrow, a criminal 1934 -- Bonnie Parker, a criminal 1937 -- John D. Rockefeller, a criminal businessman 1945 -- Heinrich Himmler, an infamous Nazi 1994 -- Joe Pass, a guitarist and composer 2008 -- Utah Phillips, a labor organizer, singer, songwriter and poet. Also a legend of sorts. 2013 -- Hazel Hawke, the 23rd Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia. His 23rd spouse? What?

Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days and such: Declaration of the Báb (Bahá'í Faith) World Crohn's and Colitis Day World Turtle Day It's Turtle Day! It's Turtles all the way down! Its - Bob Dylan??

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So, for music we gots -- Artie Shaw Helen O'Connell Humphrey Lyttelton Mac Wiseman Rosemary Clooney Robert Moog General Johnson Philip Selway Maxwell Jewel Tristan Prettyman Joe Pass Utah Phillips

Artie Shaw

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Helen O'Connell

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Humphrey Lyttelton

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Mac Wiseman

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Rosemary Clooney

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Robert Moog (his device)

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