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The Daily Dose/May 22, 2008
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
   
We're back, with more notes from the Human Experience, and just in the nick of time, too, because the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket. You won't read about any of it, here, of course, as today we have the usual crap going, including extensive On This Date action, sub-including what the 1908 Chicago Cubs did on this date, plus a sort of interesting court ruling, Trivia, and the Column Four Foto, actress and birthday girl Lisa Edelstein!
TAP, TAP, IS THIS MIC ON?: All right, we're back. Maybe not by popular demand, but we know several of you out there were curious. We could tell. Don't bother to deny it.
GAVEL TO GAVEL COVERAGE: On this date, in 1832, the first Democratic National Convention opened in Baltimore. It endorsed the reelection of President Andrew Jackson and nominated Martin Van Buren for Vice President, over Phillip Barbour and future Vice President Richard Johnson.
We Just Like Saying CONCACAF: On this date, in 1904, soccer's international governing body, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is founded in Paris. Seven European nations, none of them England, where the game was invented and who was responsible for the games rules, are its first members. Its first tournament in 1906 as a failure, and the English Football Association runs the Olympic tournaments in 1908 and 1912. FIFA recovers though and today has 208 member nations, 16 more than the United Nations, and three more than the International Olympic Committee.
Editor's Note: In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Cubs last World Series title, the On This Date segment is pleased to take a look back at the Cubs' 1908 season.
Uh-Oh: After raising their World Series banner from the previous season, the Cubs - more or less typically, in retrospect - go out and lose to the Boston Doves 11-3 at West Side Grounds. The Cubs give up runs in innings two through six, inclusive, and seal the loss by giving up four in the eighth.
Elsewhere In The National League: Philadelphia defeated Cincinnati 6-5 and New York defeated St. Louis 8-4. Brooklyn and Pittsburgh were rained out.
Dry, Technical Matter: Despite the loss, the Cubs remain in first place in the National League with a 16-8 record, two-and-a-half games up on the both the Pirates and Phillies.
The Other League: An ad in the May 22, 1908 Washington Post advises that day's ballgame between the Detroit Tigers will start at 4:30 pm, possible in that day and age before night baseball because most major league games usually lasted about two hours.
Really Dry, Technical Matter: The May 22, 1908 Washington Post also reported the US Treasury had total Customs, Internal Revenue and miscellaneous receipts of $1,605,437.38 for the previous day, and expenditures of $2,440,000, leaving a deficit for the day of $834,562.62.
Dry, Technical FunFact: In 2008 dollars, those figures equate to approximately $35.2 million, $53.6 million and $18.3 million.
More Of Your Government In Action: On this date, in 1956, the United States exploded the first airborne hydrogen bomb over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Prior tests had been conducted on land or underwater. The bomb was dropped from 50,000 feet and exploded at 15,000 feet and produced a fireball estimated at four miles in diameter and brighter than four (4) suns.
Fuckin' Nukes: The US navy nuclear submarine the USS Scorpion (SSN 589) - returning to its homeport in Norfolk, Virginia after concluding operations in the Mediterranean Sea - is last heard from by a naval communications station in Greece. It is presumed lost in early June and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on June 30. In October portions of Scorpion's hull were found in 10,000 feet of water approximately 400 nautical miles southwest of the Azores. 99 officers and men were lost.
No Duh: To this day the navy is not entirely sure how the Scorpion was lost, explaining it officially that "an unexplained catastrophic event occurred".
Standard Internet Disclaimer: The writer of this column qualified on the USS Blueback (SS 581), which was the last diesel submarine in the US fleet. The term "fuckin' nukes" was used both derisively and affectionately - depending on how drunk the crew happened to be - while referring to their nuclear-sailing brethren. Diesel Boats Forever, dammit.
NOW HEAR THIS: The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit ruled Tuesday that current US paper money is discriminatory towards the blind because it is difficult for the blind to tell the difference between, say, a one dollar bill and a five dollar bill.
The government actually acknowledged that current money hinders the blind, however they argued the blind have more or less adapted by using currency readers and having others tell them what bills they are possessing.
Catch-22: Currency readers run upwards of $300, out of the reach of many blind people because they can't tell what denomination bill they are giving the cashier. Oh, and blind people don't always have high paying jobs, either.
FunFact: Over 100 nations offer their citizens different sized currency.
Test of Time: The government and the American Council for the Blind have been bickering about this for six years, and if the government appeals to either the full Circuit Court or the Supreme Court, they will continue to bicker for the foreseeable future.
Maybe They Could Slap-Fight It Out: Our government's views notwithstanding, this is not completely unreasonable and you would think that all blind advocates would be on board with this, but the National Federation ForThe Blind actually disagrees with the decision, having told the court that no changes need to be made to the country's currency.
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The Four Seasons biggest hits were Sherry and Big Girls Don't Cry, both of which spend five (5) weeks at #1 in 1962. As usual, all chart data was stolen from official Billboard chart archives. Thank you, Billboard.
Today's Trivia Question: Sherry and Big Girls Don't Cry were prevented from being consecutive #1's in the #1 spot by which two songs? - Answer whenever we get around to writing a column again!
Threats? Recipes? Trivia question answers? Email The Writer's Shack Here!
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