Today is...

[IceWizard]

18 Aug 2017


Mail Order Catalog Day



Although Benjamin Franklin has a good claim to be the world’s first mail order entrepreneur, it is the anniversary of the first Montogomery Ward catalogue of 1872 that has provided the date for Mail Order Catalog Day. Over the intervening years, it grew from a single page of products to a monster capable of striking fear into the stoutest of postal workers!

Alas, the Montgomery Ward behemoth is no longer with us, having faded away in 1985, but stalwarts such as Sears still carry the torch, whilst the catalogue with the longest run to date, the Hammacher Schlemmer, still plies tools and building materials (no doubt including torches, should Sears ever drop theirs).

Celebrate the day in style by signing up for a few mail order catalogues and ordering some goodies. Running shoes are a great place to start, especially if your postman is not of a forgiving nature.


And




Serendipity Day



Serendipity is the term for a “happy accident” or a “pleasant surprise.” Thus, Serendipity Day encourages people to look for and notice those unexpected good things that are always out there, if we have the eyes to see them. In fact, the creators of this holiday believe that serendipity is no accident at all, but an attitude or a lifestyle in which you are always reaching for those unexpected things and expecting happy surprises to occur.

I know I got excited by etymologies just a few days ago (see Chauvin Day), but bear with me again. I learned something new and I found it fascinating!

The word serendipity was coined in the mid 1700s by a man named Horace Walpole. In a letter to a friend, he explained how he had created the term from a Persian fairy tale known in English as The Three Princes of Serendip. The story tells of three princes who were banished from the kingdom of Serendip (another term for Sri Lanka) in order to prove their worth. As they wander the world, “serendipitous” moments occur to them time after time, in a rather unbelievable amount, much like some children’s stories, where they just happen to run across the perfect place or the clue to solve the mystery, or old, corny superhero movies, where they just happen to have the antidote lying around.

In other words, it seems like Walpole first created the word serendipity as some mild ridicule of these “happy accidents” and now the term is a favorite inspirational line everywhere: “seek serendipity!”

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August 18 Birthdays




Patrick Swayze - (1952 - 2009) (57)




Edward Norton - 48




Christian Slater - 48




Roberto Clemente - (1934 - 1972) (38)




Robert Redford - 81




Miesha Tate - 31




Meriwether Lewis - (1774 - 1809) (35)








August 18th


1997: The Rolling Stones drove to a press conference at the Brooklyn Bridge in a 1955 Cadillac to announce their tour in support of Bridges to Babylon.

1992: Courtney Love gave birth to her only child with Nirvana singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain. They had a daughter named Frances Bean.

1990: During Aerosmith’s set at the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington in the U.K., Jimmy Page joined Aerosmith onstage for a rendition of The Yardbirds’ “Train Kept A-Rollin’”. Other acts on the bill included Whitesnake & Poison.

1987: Aerosmith released their ninth studio album Permanent Vacation which was considered to be their “comeback” album. The album went on to peak at number eleven on the Billboard 200 Album Chart and sell five million copies in the U.S.

1986: Bon Jovi released their third album Slippery When Wet which went on to be their commercial breakthrough selling over 28 million copies worldwide to date.

1984: The fifth annual Monsters of Rock took place at Castle Donington in the U.K. AC/DC headlined a bill that included Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, & Motley Crue.

1983: The Police headlined a concert at Shea Stadium in New York City in front of 70,000 fans. The concert sold out in five hours. Also on the bill were Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and R.E.M.

1977: The Police performed their first concert as a three piece at Rebecca’s in Birmingham, U.K.

1973: Jethro Tull reached number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart for the second and final time with A Passion Play which spent one week on top of the chart.




Birthdays:

Dennis Elliott - Drummer for Foreigner born in 1950