April 19

Bicycle Day is celebrated on the 19th (see April 16)

April 18

The 15th century was a rather rough patch for Joan of Arc, what with her being burned at the stake and all. The 20th century proved to be a much friendlier century for her. On the 18th in 1909, Pope Pius X. beatified dear Joan.

April 17

On the 17th in 1397, in the court of King Richard II, Geoffrey Chaucer gave the first reading of his Canterbury Tales. The tales were picked up for a second season.

April 16

Dr. Albert Hoffman stumbled upon the psychedelic effects of LSD on the 16th in 1943 after accidentally ingesting it through his fingertips while conducting an experiment. There is no truth to the rumor that Hoffman compulsively sucked his thumb until he, also accidentally, discovered that LSD works just as well in pill form. Or so I have been told by generally reliable sources

April 15

Leonardo da Vinci, all around smart guy, and a real mensch to boot, was born on the 15th in 1452.

April 14

As hard as it may be to believe there are still a few people who rely on actual dictionaries to check their spelling or, more rarely, look up a word’s definition. Most people seem to rely, instead, on Bill Gates’ spell-check. If you actually have a dictionary and know how to use it, pause for a moment on the 14th and offer a word of thanks to Noah Webster, who, on that date in 1828, copyrighted his first dictionary.

April 13

Many people, me included, feel marginally more comfortable when their schedules are organized. In the news, we are constantly being advised to have go-bags packed and ready by the front door, so that we are prepared in the event of a disaster, such as the one that occurred when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. These preparations are also helpful in the event that we are hit with any of a wide-array of devastating natural disasters or the Rolling Stones announce that they are retiring. Therefore, on your next grocery-shopping trip you might want to throw a couple of extra bottles of water and a few cans of Spam into your grocery cart. Then, when you get back from your neighborhood Food Town, break out your day planners and note that on the 13th in 2029 asteroid 99942, Apophis, will make a pass by the Earth, carrying with it a chance of 1 in 45,000 of colliding with us.