~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
November 10, 2012

★~ Today’s Quote: 

There’s just one you
Nobody like you
Take a look, it’s true
Just one you
The smile on your face is like no smile that I’ve seen
You’re one special person if you know what I mean -Big Bird

★~ Forget Me Not Day:

A Medieval knight and his beloved were walking near a river when he fell into the water. The weight of his armor kept him from escaping his fate. Before he slipped away he handed his love a handful of blue flowers and said, “forget me not.”  Today is a good day to touch base with with family, friends and loved ones, especially those who we haven’t seen in a while.

★~ Vanilla Cupcake Day:

Did you know that cupcakes are called “fairy cakes” in England? The name is inspired by the idea that the miniature cakes are the perfect size for a party of fairies to enjoy. Today enjoy a vanilla cupcake! Maybe with some colorful little sprinkles, some tea and your favorite wee fairy!

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1775 – The U.S. Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress and have since served in every American armed conflict.  Semper Fi!

♥- 1951 – Direct-dial, coast-to-coast telephone service began as Mayor Leslie Denning of Englewood, New Jersey, called the mayor of Alameda, California. Eighty-four area codes were assigned for areas in the U.S., Canada, and many Caribbean nations.

♥~ 1969 – “Sesame Street,” starring a big yellow bird and a little green frog, debuted on PBS television.

♥~ 1969 – Twenty years after the first release of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Gene Autry received a gold record for the single.

♥~ 1991 – Lightening,  a pet turtle who lived in Hutchinson, Kansas, snapped onto an 8-year-old’s upper lip and wouldn’t turn loose. The parents called 911, but before help arrived they offered Lightening a carrot and he let go. The boy’s lip swelled, but the boy was okay. There was no mention of the fate of the turtle.

♥~ 1994 – The Codex Leicester, the only Leonardo da Vinci manuscript owned in the United States and the only one in the world still in private hands, was sold at auction. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates paid $30.8 million for it. It has been since been exhibited in Venice, Milan, Rome, Paris and New York.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1925 – Richard Burton (Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.) actor: Camelot, Hamlet, Anne of the Thousand Days, Becket, The Desert Rats, The Longest Day, Look Back in Anger, The Night of the Iguana, The Robe, The Sandpiper, The Taming of the Shrew, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; TV narrator: Winston Churchill-The Valiant Years, Ellis Island; one of Elizabeth Taylor’s ex-husbands

♥~ 1948 – Greg Lake- musician: bass, singer: group: Emerson, Lake and Palmer: From the Beginning, Lucky Man; solo: I Believe in Father Christmas

♥~ 1959 – (Laura) Mackenzie Phillips actress: One Day at a Time, American Graffiti, Eleanor & Franklin; daughter of singer John Phillips [The Mamas and The Papas]

♥~ Did You know: Area Codes were used more or less for the first time today in 1951 so lets look at up a few fun phone facts.

♥~ In the early days of phone service, you’d call the operator and ask to be patched through to a particular line. This system was first questioned in 1879 by Alexander Graham Bell’s friend, Dr. Moses Greeley Parker of Lowell, MA. The town was suffering from an epidemic of measles and the doctor quite sensibly suggested that if the town’s phone operators fell ill, replacement operators would struggle to run the system. Numbers instead of names was seen as a better solution which, as you all know, is the system we still use today

♥~ The First U.S. Area Codes: Conceived in the late Forties, area codes were not established until the introduction of New Jersey’s 201 area code in 1951. The area codes we use today are an evolution of the original “North American Numbering Plan.” Initially there were under 90 codes. Codes were dished out based on population. The areas with the largest populations received codes that were quick to dial on a rotary phone. New York was given 212, Los Angeles 213 and Chicago 312 while more rural areas like Texas and Kansas got 915 and 913.

♥~ All About Emergency Numbers: Emergency numbers differ from country to country. While 911 was eventually adopted as the standard number in the United States and Canada, in Europe you’ll need to dial 112, although 999 also works in the UK, where there’s been an emergency number system since the 1930s. In contrast, 911 was not official until the late ’60s, when it was first known as “nine-eleven,” and then later changed to “nine-one-one” to avoid confusion with people wasting precious time looking for the “11” button. Prior to the one-number system, you’d call the operator to summon the correct emergency service, although in the States some fire departments could be reached by dialling “3-4-7-3” — which spells “FIRE.”

♥~ The Most Expensive Phone Number: The most expensive number sold was cell phone number 666-6666, auctioned off for charity in Qatar. It sold for a dizzy $2.7 million, far and away surpassing the previous record holder. The Chinese number 8888-8888 sold for $280,000.

♥~ Woz Owned 888-8888: Legend has it that Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak (who was really into repeating digits, hence pricing the Apple I at 6.66) once owned the phone number 888-8888. The only problem with such a cool number was that it earned over a hundred prank calls a day. Although not malicious in nature, being dialed repeatedly by mischievous children must have taken its toll.

♥~ How to Find Your Personalized Phonewords:  PhoneSpell, will tell you if your phone numbers offer interesting “phonewords.” Enter your digits and the site will generate a list of interesting combinations.. http://www.phonespell.org/

♥~ A Neat Phone Number Magic Trick There’s a neat phone number-related trick you can impress your friends with, thanks to the magic of math. Take a seven-digit phone number, for example, 941-7990. Multiply the first three digits by 80. Add one. Multiply by 250. Add the last four digits of the original phone number. Add the last four digits again. Subtract 250 and divide by two.

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I  love the phone. One my fondest childhood memories is of dialing time and temperature for FREE on our home phone. Ok. So I was easily amused. I was also ahead of my time, when I would call 411, and ask cooking question, if my sweet mom was unavailable. I googled before google existed!  My home phone number has been associated with our house for 50 plus years and I would never do away with it…The cost is minimal and I like the number. Do you still have a home phone?

Cloudy Saturday. @Carol do you remember…it snowed this time last year in Rockford, Il?  Not sure what the day will bring but I’m up for for a good book and some hot chocolate. What are your plans for the day?

♥~