September 17

On the 17th in 1859, Joshua Abraham Norton with little prompting and even less public fanfare declared himself Emperor Norton I of these United States and Protector of Mexico. One of Emperor Norton’s many pieces of legislation was the outlawing of the word ‘Frisco’ when referring to San Francisco. That alone guarantees his fame. Emperor Norton opened the door for a new breed of royalty, such as David Edward Sutch, who in 1963 assumed the title of Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow and founded the Monster Raving Loony Party. This entry comes just a bit too late to get into Louis T. Hardin who assumed the name Moondog. He also lived a rather, how shall I put it, unusual life. He died on September 8, 1999 so I guess I will wait until next year to write more about him because he really deserves an entry all to himself. He was however born in May of 1916 so perhaps then would be a more appropriate time.

September 16

Unsung American heroes Noah and Joseph McVicker received patent #3,167,440 for an invention that would bring joy and hours of fun to perhaps millions of children of all ages. On the 16th in 1956, their invention was delivered to an anxiously waiting world when Play-Doh ® made its entrance to a world yearning for a delightful diversion. America immediately took Play-Doh to its heart. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Play-Doh’s introduction, this year (2006) the Demeter Fragrance Library released a fragrance that smells just like Play-Doh. If this had been introduced several years ago Hasbro, the distributor of the modeling clay, might not have had to go court to get an order of protection barring me from coming within 100 yards of a Play-Doh display because once in its vicinity I was compelled to take the tops off the cans and inhale the distinctive Play-Doh smell. However, this new fragrance seems to take all the fun out of sneaking into the crafts section of a Toy-R-Us and “browsing” through the Play-Doh items. My hope is that the company marketing the fragrance doesn’t go belly-up before I have an opportunity to lay in an adequate supply of their fragrance.

September 15

The world’s first intercity passenger railway was the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which operated, oddly enough, between Liverpool and Manchester in England. After making it over several engineering hurdles, not the least of which was figuring a way to get a very heavy train across a bog without the cars sinking into it, work progressed surprisingly quickly. All obstacles having been cleared, service on this line was inaugurated on September 15, 1830. At one point during the opening run, the train came to a halt. William Huskisson, a Member of Parliament for Liverpool saw the opportunity to schmooze with the Duke of Wellington, who also happened to be the Prime Minister. Huskisson spoke to the Prime Minister from the roadbed next to the Duke of Wellington’s carriage. Apparently Wellington must have been quite the conversationalist because Huskisson failed to notice another train approaching. He was struck by the approaching train and was severely injured. He was loaded on to the train that had hit him and rushed to a hospital but he died later that day. That must have put a bit of a damper on the party to celebrate the railway’s opening held later that evening. There are unconfirmed reports that Huskisson’s last words were “No problem, he’s got plenty of room to get by.”

September 14

There is an entry in a well-known and widely used online encyclopedia that states that typewriter ribbon was patented on the 14th in 1886. I have been unable to verify this information at any other source. Generally, when I encounter the problem of not being able to confirm a fact at a variety of sources I take a pass on the entry and eliminate it from consideration for inclusion here. There is however, a link associated with this particular entry that is just too good to pass up. I suggest that you visit http://www.bostontypewriterorchestra.com and make use of the audio files available there. While the date that typewriter ribbon was patented is in doubt, there is absolutely no doubt that you will be impressed with the application of typewriters to the music of several composers. Trust me it is worth the trip.

September 13

On the 13th in 1987, Roberto dos Santos and Wagner Mota, two homeless squatters in Brazil, were scavenging in an abandoned hospital in Goiania, Brazil, with the hope that they would find something that they might be able to sell. Among the items they chanced upon in the course of the day was a small cylinder that gave off a distinctive blue color. Fortunately, the two men had made the acquaintance of Devair Alves Ferreira, a nearby junk dealer. Prior to the sale to Ferreira do Santos and Mota passed the cylinder to anyone they encountered who said they would like to see it. Several people even tried to taste it. When shown the mysterious cylinder Ferreira was immediately taken by its brilliant blue glow. He was certain that his wife would love a ring made from the metal of the cylinder and he promptly purchased the small item. Unfortunately, for Mr. And Mrs. Ferreira, as well as the staggering number of people who were exposed to this cylinder, the source of the distinctive blue glow was radioactive Cesium-137 and this tiny cylinder went on to cause one of the deadliest releases of radiation in the entire history of the Atomic Age.

September 12

On the 12th in 1962, during a speech given by President John F. Kennedy at Rice University, Kennedy stated his belief that the United States needed to pull ahead of the Soviet Union in the Space Race. He declared, “No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Previously, in a May 25, 1961 address to a joint session of Congress, Kennedy had revealed to those assembled his belief that “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth.” In documents from Kennedy’s administration that have only recently been de-classified, it is revealed that the man Kennedy had in mind was his vice-president Lyndon Baines Johnson.

September 11

One of the lessons to be learned from the events of September 11 is the value of persevering in the face of outrageous misfortune. We must straighten our backs and, to coin a phrase, stay the course. The construction of a bridge connecting Quebec City, Quebec with Levis, Quebec, Canada, cities which are across from each other on the Saint Lawrence River, has been discussed for a very long time. Discussions of building this span go as far back as 1852. The usual squabbles over the sources of funding for the construction broke out in 1852, 1867, 1882, and 1884. These arguments shadowed the bridge in to the 20th century. The construction of the bridge finally began in 1904 and it was completed in 1907. On August 29, 1907, the bridge gave a prolonged shudder and collapsed. Of the 86 people on the bridge 75 died and the remainder suffered life-threatening injuries. Not wanting to abandon the quest for a bridge, construction of yet another span began almost immediately. Do you need an illustration of the sound advice of ‘don’t count your chickens before they are hatched? Not wanting to cut and run the builders soldiered on and Quebec Bridge: the sequel, was completed in August 1916. On September 11, 1916, the Quebec Bridge collapsed again! It would take another 3 years for someone to build a bridge that could remain standing.