Today is...

[IceWizard]

03 June 2017


Insect Repellent Awareness Day



Most of us have been bitten by a mosquito or similar insect at one point in our life. Usually just an annoyance, insect bites can also prove very serious. Insect Repellent Awareness Day aims to promote the use of insect repellents to not only prevent bites but the spread of diseases, such as Malaria, carried by insects. Insect repellents can be used in various forms, including sprays, creams and tablets, and can help reduce insect bites significantly.

Launched in 2014, Insect Repellent Awareness Day was founded by scientists at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to help people understand the importance of using repellents both in this country and, most importantly, when traveling abroad. Schools can tie in a celebration of the day with projects about bugs and perhaps link in with first aid knowledge around what to do if you are bitten and how to use repellents.



And




Chimborazo Day



Sometimes what qualifies as the biggest or tallest thing is dependent upon one’s perspective in life. Such is the case with the mountain known as Chimborazo. While its elevation is less than that of Everest, it has the unique trait of being the highest point on Earth when measured from the Earth’s core. Chimborazo Day honors and celebrates this (kind of) highest of all mountains and its important cultural role in the Chimborazo province of Equador.

So what’s so special? Come with us and find out.

History of Chimborazo Day

Chimborazo was long thought to be (not entirely incorrectly) the tallest mountain in the world and, like Everest, became a destination spot for those intrepid adventurers who would make the attempt to climb to its highest peak and proclaim themselves heroes for a day for having done so. It bears an important role in geographic history as being one of the two key points that was used to determine the actual shape of the Earth.

Working with the French Geodesic Mission, a Lapland team used data gathered from almost, but not quite, the top of this great volcano and determined that the earth was not, in fact, a sphere. From that point forward it was known without question that the Earth was more of an oval/flattened shape known as an oblate spheroid.

For 80 years men and women tried to climb to the peak of the mountain, each time being turned back by its daunting height, craggy slopes, and the perils of altitude sickness. Alexander von Humbolt climbed the mountain in 1802, and reached a point 5,875m high making him, at the time, the European who had climbed to the highest altitude. It wasn’t until 1886 that Edward Whymper successfully scaled the mountain to its very peak and stood atop it, proud and triumphant as the man who conquered Chimborazo.

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June 3 Birthdays



Anderson Cooper - 50




Jefferson Davis - (1808 - 1889) (81)




Tony Curtis - (1925 - 2010) (85)




Billy Powell - (1952 - 2009) (57)




Ian Hunter - 78








June 3rd

2000: Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts was arrested in his Florida home after threatening his wife with a knife, destroying his living room & disappearing. He would be placed in a psychiatric unit after he was discovered in a helicopter search.

1998: Van Halen canceled a concert in Hamburg, Germany after drummer Alex Van Halen bruised his arm when plaster chunks fell from the ceiling during a soundcheck.

1994: Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder married longtime girlfriend Beth Liebling in Rome. It was Vedder’s first marriage and the couple would later divorce in September of 2000.

1989: Guns N’ Roses peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with “Patience”, their fourth top ten single in the U.S.

1983: Derek and the Dominos drummer & co-writer of “Layla” Jim Gordon murdered his mother with a hammer. The following year Gordon was diagnosed with schizophrenia & sentenced to life in prison.

1972: Jethro Tull reached the top of the Billboard 200 Album Chart for the first time with Thick as a Brick which spent two week on top of the album chart.

1972: Pink Floyd released Obscured by Clouds which was based on their soundtrack of the French movie La Vallee. The album would peak at number 46 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart & be certified Gold in 1994.

1970: Ray Davies of the Kinks made a trip from New York to London to change the word coca cola to cherry cola in the song “Lola” due to an advertising ban on the BBC.

1970: Deep Purple released their fourth studio album Deep Purple in Rock which was their first album to contain their classic Mark II lineup featuring singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover.



Birthdays:

Michael Clarke - Drummer for The Byrds born in 1946

Ian Hunter - Singer for Mott the Hoople born in 1946

Dave Alexander - Bassist for The Stooges born in 1947

Mickey Finn - Percussionist for T. Rex born in 1947

Billy Powell - Keyboardist for Lynyrd Skynyrd born in 1952