Category Archives: Sunday Stuff

Sunday Stuff

On this day April 7

Today in History

  • 1990 An arson attack on the passenger ferry, Scandinavian Star, kills 159

    Insurance fraud is today considered the most likely motive for the attack. According to a 2013 report, 9 crew members started the fire and sabotaged the fire crew’s attempts to extinguish the blaze.

  • 1969 The internet is born

    The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) awarded a contract to build a precursor of today’s world wide web to BBN Technologies. The date is widely considered as the internet’s symbolic birthday.

  • 1948 The World Health Organization is established

    The WHO is a United Nations agency concerned with fighting disease and epidemics worldwide, building up national health services, and improving health education in its 194 member states.

  • 1827 The first friction match is sold

    English chemist John Walker produced and sold the first operable matches. They were soon banned in France and Germany because burning fragments would sometimes fall to the floor and start fires.

  • 1724 Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion is premiered

    The sacred oratorio is the oldest extant Passion by the German composer. The highly popular work is a dramatization of the final days of Jesus Christ, according to the Gospel of John.

Sunday Stuff

Sunday March 31

Bunsen Burner Day

Bunsen Burner Day on March 31 celebrates the inventor of the Bunsen Burner, German chemist Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen.

Students in a lab using a bunsen burner.

©iStockphoto.com/IPGGutenbergUKLtd

The most important contribution of Robert Bunsen, one that changed chemistry labs all over the world, was the Bunsen Burner.

Revolutionized Chemistry

A staple in all chemistry labs, the Bunsen Burner is a device that uses a flammable gas to produce a hot flame.

The Bunsen Burner was the precursor to the gas stove many people used in their homes today.

Photochemistry

Born on March 31, 1811, Robert Bunsen is thought to be a trailblazer in the field of photochemistry. Photochemistry is a specialized branch of chemistry that looks at the chemical effects of light.

He was also well-known for his work on the chemistry of arsenic, a chemical element that is used for a variety of purposes including preserving wood, but is also toxic to human beings and animals in larger quantities.

What To Do

  • Honor your chemistry teachers on this day. Thank them for all the knowledge they have imparted you.
  • Introduce young adults and children in your life to the joys of chemistry.
  • Learn more about the life of Robert Bunsen.

FYI…

…that Robert Bunsen also discovered cesium and rubidium with Gustav Kirchhoff? Cesium is one of 5 elements that are liquid at room temperature.

Fun Holidays, Sunday Stuff

Mario Day

Mario Day

March 10 is Mario Day, a day to celebrate the main character of the popular Nintendo video game franchise, Super Mario.

A Super Mario toy.

March 10 was chosen by fans of the game as the date for this holiday because March 10 when abbreviated and written without a space between the month and date – Mar10 – looks like the word Mario.

Fictional Italian Plumber

The Super Mario video games follows the adventures of Italian plumber Mario and his brother Luigi while they try to rescue Princess Peach from the evil Bowser. Princess Peach is the princess of the fictional Mushroom Kingdom in which the game is set.

Best-Selling Game

Considered to be the best-selling video game of all time and one of the most recognizable video game characters in the world, Mario was created by Shigeru Miyamoto. Since his first appearance in the 1981 Nintendo game, Donkey Kong as Jumpman, Mario has featured in over 200 video games, and several television shows and comics.

 

FYI…

…that when Mario made his first gaming appearance as Jumpman, he was not a plumber but a carpenter?

Sunday Stuff

Sunday March 2

Old Stuff Day

March 2 is Old Stuff Day. Take some time on this made-up holiday to appreciate the beauty of all things old and vintage.

An old workbench in a basement.

 

Or you can reflect on the same old, and sometimes boring, things that you do every day and take the opportunity to change things up.

Value

While people often see old things as something to be replaced by newer, shinier things, not all of them are useless. Wines, for example, are more valuable and tastier as they grow older.

Many old items like maps, books, jewelry, furniture, clothes, and artifacts also gain value as they age. This is because they represent workmanship and aesthetics of a previous historical era, as well as technology that may not exist in present times.

Much more valuable than old inanimate items is the wisdom and knowledge we can get from old people. From old family members, one can learn their family history, their genealogy, and their origins. Old people can provide us a richer and more colorful account of the past than any history book can.

Antique Or Vintage

Not all old things are created equal. Those who study history divide historical items into two groups based on their age. Antiques are items that are at least 100 years old, while vintage items usually have to be at least 30 years or more old.

 

FYI…

…that earliest known pieces of jewelry made by humans are thought to be about 100,000 years old? Found in a cave in Israel, the pieces were made from mollusk shells.

Quote

“Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.” —John Lennon