February 2, 2023 Ridley's Believe It Or Not

 

Those Americans shivering in the cold and battered by high home heating fuels cost were not pleased when that noted marmot weather forecaster Punxsutawney Phil came out of his hole this morning to see his shadow which means another 6 weeks of winter weather. In a World War II déjà vu of the Japanese sending incendiary bombs by balloons to create forest fires, news today that a Chinese “spy” balloon has entered American air space over some northern states but our military is not doing what would be entirely legal and appropriate—shooting it down (another Chinese test to see if we will come to the aid of Taiwan?) El Salvador has announced the opening a 40,000 inmate escape proof prison as a means to fight the deadly gang violence plaguing the country which is a good sign but perhaps an alarm that gangs like MS-13 will be induced to flee north across our open border to the safety of sanctuary cities.. I hope you enjoy today’s Ridley's Believe It Or Not  and find it worthy to read and if not reply “Unsubscribe” to be removed.  
Ridley’s Believe It Or Not February 2, 2023
          Noted Holidays: Lung Leavin Day,  everyone knows today is Ground Hogs’ Day but only here on Ridley's Believe It Or Not can you learn that today is also Lung Leavin’ Day created by cancer survivor Heather Von St. James in November 2005 after being diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2005 at 36 years old who had just given birth to her daughter 3 months earlier. The mesothelioma was probably caused by her as a child wearing her father’s work coat coated with drywall dust that contained asbestos after he came home from work. Rather than conventional treatment that promised very little odds for extension of life she opted to have her infected lung removed in conjunction with her treatment as is cancer free today.
          Word of the Day: The word of the day is “aerugo” which means the rusting of metal for which we have paints like Rust-Oleum.
          Number 1 Song of the Day: The number 1 song on this day in 1970 was “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” by B.J. Thomas on a run of 4 weeks  to share with 20 other songs achieving number 1 status, while 14 acts, including B.J. Thomas achieved their first number 1 song including Janis Joplin who became the 2^nd artist to achieve number 1 status posthumously.  Here is a recording with lyrics of B.J. Thomas performing the theme song for the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid--“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hziG9Nr6KHU
          Noted Birthdays: Christie Brinkley,  noted model, entrepreneur, and actress was born on this day in 1954 in Monroe, Mississippi, who was on the cover of Cover Girl  and 4 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editions and with her replacement hip due to a helicopter sky accident in Telluride going strong and perhaps best remembered as the girl in the red Ferrari in National Lampoon’s Vacation and the classy lady in her then husband Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV1MTZVQYoET  
          Notable Events that occurred on February 2:
          1.     1887— In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day was celebrated and has grown to a festive event with tourists with open wallets in attendence to be part of this weather forecast prediction which has little correlation to what happens in the following 6 weeks.
          2.     1925—The first dog sled led by a husky named Balto entered Nome with desperately needed diphtheria antitoxin to combat an epidemic. 150 mushers and 20 dog sleds participated in the almost 700 mile attempt which is now memorialized each year by the Iditarod “The Last Great Race on Earth” and Balto’s statue in NYC’s Central Park.
          3.     1972—The Ramsar Convention calling for the preservation of wetlands and their sustainable utilization was signed in signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran. Although signed by numerous countries the implementation of its goals has been half-hearted other than creating  World Wetlands Day which is celebrated in some 59 nations.
          4.     1989—The Soviet Union’s “Vietnam War” was coming to an end as the last Soviet Armored column left Kabul to be followed by the last Soviet troops exiting the country by February 15, 1989.
          5.     2004—Swiss tennis player Roger Federer was ranked as number 1 men’s singles tennis player a ranking he would hold for a record of 237 weeks.
          Quote of the Day: Dr. Curtis Welch, the only doctor in Nome, Alaska notice of a diphtheria epidemic and a radio telegram plea to the Public Health Service January 22, 1925:  “An epidemic of diphtheria is almost inevitable here STOP I am in urgent need of one million units of diphtheria antitoxin STOP Mail is only form of transportation STOP I have made application to Commissioner of Health of the Territories for antitoxin already STOP There are about 3000 white natives in the district.”
Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com
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