Thursday 31 July 2008

31 July - Notable Events and Celebrations



Flower of the Month

Larkspur



Gemstone of the Month: Ruby


Nomanda’s Happy Special Day blog is a celebration of events and anniversaries that have touched our lives. If today is your special day join us in looking at a few other events that have occurred on your day. Enjoy!



Take a deep breath, enjoy the feeling of your lungs expanding and give thanks to Joseph Priestley who on this day in 1774 discovered oxygen. Although there are other contenders for the discovery of this life giving gas it is generally attributed to Priestley as he was the first to publish his findings. Goes to show you have to be on the ball! Whilst researching oxygen and air Nomanda discovered that air is composed of (the figures have been rounded) 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon and just 0.0384% carbon dioxide. Now Nomanda isn’t a scientist but if these figures are correct what on earth is all the global warming and the dangers of carbon dioxide emissions all about! Are we all being conned?

A couple of days ago Nomanda mentioned that it always seems to rain in Holland. Well over the years July has been an outstandingly warm (all things are relative) month for the Dutch. July 1852 had an average temperature of 20.2°, July 1983 20.1° and in July 1994 a steamy 21.4° which was the warmest July since 1793. In a conversation with a Dutchman Nomanda was told that nothing is free in Holland except for the sunshine and that the sun doesn’t shine very often. Those words must be melting in his mouth!

Beefy” Botham and all lovers of shredded wheat will be having an extra bowlful of the muck today in celebration of Henry Perky’s invention on this day in 1893. He really wanted to sell the machines he’d invented to make the stuff but he found out that the “biscuits” sold like hot cakes (sorry!) so he set up The Shredded Wheat Company and churned them out! Nomanda can’t wait for the “Weetabix” inventor to come out of the woodwork! It doesn’t get much better than this!

In a typical gesture of Beatles’ generosity they gave away all the goods from their unsuccessful Apple Boutique that closed on this day in 1968. So no bankers and accountants hovering around the skies to feather their nests in that one! Well done, boys!

Vaulting his way into the record books on this day in 1994 was the prolific pole vaulting champion Sergei Bubka sailing over the bar at a remarkable 6.14 metres, a record that still stands today. It was to be his 35th world record vault and forgive me if I’m cynical but don’t athletes get a nice little bonus every time they break a world record? Nice work if you can get it and if you can get it 35 times, even nicer! He is a superb athlete and as you can see clears the bar with lots to spare!

First up for birthday wishes today is the actor and martial arts specialist Wesley Snipes (1962) who is probably best known for his “Blade” films. He’s currently awaiting the result of an appeal relating to the “wilful failure to file federal income tax returns”. Best of luck, Wesley!

J K Rowling, the author of the “Harry Potter” fantasy books, will be celebrating her birthday (1965) in style today. She has sold over 400 million books and has become quite a philanthropist following her success. Good on you JK!



Our final birthday wishes go to the talented musician Will Champion (1978) of Coldplay who will probably perform at his birthday bash!




Happy Special Day to one and all!!



If you know someone who is celebrating their birthday, anniversary or a special day today or sometime soon why not send them a nice e-card so they get it as soon as they log on! Even better, why not send this page to your friend!
Don’t know what to get for a present? Think about what your special person enjoys doing and the things they like.


For Girls, I know that flowers and chocolates are a bit cliché but nevertheless they always seem to work! Of course, if your budget stretches that far, jewellery, watches, perfume and fashion items are always appreciated!

For Boys, all boys like toys! It’s just as they get older the toys get more expensive. So gadgets and gimmicky things work. Again, if you have the budget then car accessories, sporting equipment and clothes, and man type jewellery like watches and gold chains will go down very well!

And, if all else fails, you could always send them a gift voucher and they can choose whatever they want!

If you are celebrating a birthday, anniversary or other special event today I hope you got lots of cards and presents and that there is someone special in your life who will make this day a very happy and special day for you.



Happy celebrations to you from the Happy Special Day Blog!!

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