~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
October 26th, 2011

★~ Today’s Question: What does your joy look like today?

★~ Diwali Day: 

Diwali is a national holiday in many countries around the world. It is a celebration of light and family that celebrates the victory of good over evil, the triumph of light over darkness, and the renewal of life.

To celebrate the five days of Diwali, people decorate their homes with lights (often using small oil lamps called diyas), watch fireworks, wear new clothes, and distribute gifts to friends and family members.

Happy Diwali. Goodness, light, and renewal are something all of us can celebrate.

★~ Pumpkin Day:

It’s National Pumpkin Day! Pumpkins are the harbinger of the harvest season, appearing every year as the first sign of autumn. Did you know that the word pumpkin comes from the Greek word pepon, meaning “large melon”? Since I shared pumpkin facts on Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, let me tell you about the Jack-o-lantern. People have been making Jack-o-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated with an Irish myth about a man nicknamed Stingy Jack. According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Click for the rest of the story about Stingy Jack.

To celebrate Pumpkin Day, carve a pumpkin, enjoy pumpkin seeds, bake a pumpkin pie, watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, light a pumpkin in honor of Diwali…

★~ World Pasta Day: 

Felice tardivo Giornata Mondiale Pasta! (Happy Belated World Pasta Day!)

October 25th (Tuesday) was World Pasta Day. I missed it…which may be worse than when I missed Lady Gaga’s birthday.

Mi spiego. (Let me explain.) October is Pasta Month, and inside of Pasta Month we have National Pasta Day, International Pasta Day, and World Pasta Day. Questo è un sacco di pasta! (That’s a lot of pasta!) El Morno celebrated Pasta Day, so I thought we had covered all our pasta bases; however, it was pointed out to me that I might cause an international pasta rift between El Morno and Italy if we did not celebrate World Pasta Day. So under the assumption that a day late is better than not at all, today we are celebrating World Pasta Day.

On the 25th of October 1995, delegates from nations around the world gathered in Rome to establish the annual World Pasta Day. The aim of the day is to recognize pasta as a staple food that is consumed on five continents. For more El Morno pasta facts, click here.

Pasta lovers everywhere…Buon appetito

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1785 – Anniversary of the first importation of Spanish jacks to the US, a gift from King Charles III of Spain. Mules are said to have been bred first in this country by George Washington from this pair of jacks delivered at Boston, Oct 26, 1785.

♥~ 1881 – Doc Holliday joined the Earp brothers, Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan, in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, AZ. They went upagainst members of the Clanton gang of suspected cattle rustlers. Wyatt Earp and Billy Clanton opened the battle — the most famous gunfight of the Old West — with Doc shooting Billy in the chest. Less than thirty seconds later, three men lay dead and three were wounded. Doc had shot each of the dead cowboys at least once. Virgil had been shot in the leg and Morgan through both shoulders. Holliday was wounded in the hip. Only Wyatt Earp survived the fight untouched.

♥~ 1992 – Pearl Jam set a first-week sales record, selling 950,000 copies of their Vs. album. (The record was broken in 1998 by Garth Brooks and in 1999 by the Backstreet Boys.)

♥~ 2000 – Four new moons were discovered in orbit around Saturn. The discovery brought to the number of known moons near Saturn to 22.

♥~ 2010 – A Brazilian court ordered McDonald’s fast-food chain to pay a former franchise manager $17,500 because he had gained 65 poundswhile working there a dozen years. The 32-year-old man said he had been forced to sample food products each day to ensure that quality standards remained high.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1803 – Joseph Hansom architect, inventor: Patent Safety Cab [2-wheeled, horse-driven cab with the driver seated above and behind the passengers]: the hansom cab; died Jun 29, 1882

♥~ 1941 – Steven Kellogg author, illustrator of children’s books: Johnny Appleseed, Chicken Little, The Mysterious Tadpole, Pecos Bill, The Island of the Skog, Can I Keep Him?, Pinkerton, Behave!, How Much is a Million?

♥~ 1945 – Pat Conroy author: The Prince of Tides, The Water Is Wide, The Lords of Discipline, The Great Santini

♥~ 1945 – Jaclyn Smith, Actress  Graduated from high school and originally aspired to be a famous ballerina. In 1973, she landed a job as a Breck shampoo model. In 1976, she was offered a chance to star in a new pilot for a planned television series, entitled “Charlie’s Angels” (1976). The pilot was slick and the show was an instant hit when it debuted on September 22, 1976 on ABC. Smith has the distinct honor of being the only Angel *not* to leave the show in its entire five-season run (1976-1981).

♥~ 1946 – Pat Sajak TV host: Wheel of Fortune, The Pat Sajak Show

♥~ 1953 – Keith Strickland musician: drums: group: The B-52s: Rock Lobster, Quiche Lorraine, 606-0842, Dance This Mess Around

♥~ 1967 – Keith Urban musician: guitar, singer: But for the Grace of God, Days Go By, Raining on Sunday, You Think of Me, You Look Good in My Shirt, Song for Dad

★~ Did You Know: 

♥~ Since its debut in 1983, Wheel of Fortune has awarded more than $190 million in cash and prizes to its contestants.

♥~ Wheel of Fortune’s original name was “Shoppers Bazaar” and included a wheel that was much bigger and featured carnival sound effects.

♥~ More than 10,000 people try out each year and fewer than 600 lucky contestants are selected to appear on the show.

♥~ In 1992, the “Guinness Book of World Records” listed Vanna White as the world’s most frequent clapper. Vanna puts her hands together for contestants some 28,080 times a season – an average of 720 times per show.

♥~ Over 90 million Americans have never known a world withoutWheel of Fortune.

♥~ On October 14, 2008, newlywed Michelle Loewenstein became the biggest winner on Wheel of Fortune, winning $1 million.

♥~ The show’s original letter board was retired in 1997, making Vanna White a letter-tapper rather than a letter-turner.

#

Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday! If you have a morno moment leave a comment–Odd Loves Company!

♥
Kb