Posts Tagged ‘record’
“Few of them were to be trusted within reach of a trowel and a pile of bricks”*…
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It is oddly mesmerizing to watch Robert Boll win the the 1st annual World Champion Brick Olympics– and set a Guinness world record– by laying 914 bricks in one hour. Boll’s feat has been bested several times since, most recently, by Travis McGee:
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* P.G. Wodehouse
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As we get set for the paint drying event, we might recall that it was on this date in 1917 that the Victor Talking Machine Company released two songs recorded by The Original Dixieland Jass Band — “Livery Stable Blues” and “Dixie Jass Band One Step”– as two sides of a 78 rpm disc… the first jazz record ever released. As readers can see in the photo below, the band changed the spelling to “Jazz” later that year.
“Pray don’t talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing”*…
If you’re planning to relocate but want to live somewhere with a near-exact temperature profile, where should you go?
That depends: Folks in San Francisco might choose San Luis Obispo 200 miles south, or Portugal’s Cabo Carvoeiro 5,600 miles east, as these locales have 99 percent similar monthly temperatures. Chicagoans could go to Ottawa or Dalian, China, whereas New Yorkers will feel at home in Dover, Maryland; Milford, Delaware; or Makhachkala, Russia.
That’s according to an engrossing map tool from Codeminders that compares places with equivalent climates…
More at “A Guide to Finding Cities With Nearly Identical Temperatures“– and try it for yourself here.
* “Pray don’t talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me quite nervous.”
– Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
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As we ponder the differential impacts of climate change, we might recall that it was on this date in 1900 that a massive storm spread record snows from Kansas to New York State. Snowfall totals ranged up to 17.5 inches at Springfield IL and 43 inches at Rochester NY, with up to 60 inches in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.
Central Park, after the storm
“All art is propaganda”*…
Between 1943 and 1945, with the help of Warner Bros.’ finest animators, the U.S. Army produced a series of 27 propaganda cartoons depicting the calamitous adventures of Private Snafu.
Read the extraordinary story (replete with a cameo by Bugs Bunny) and learn how one of the cartoons inadvertently let slip one of the war’s greatest secrets– “Ignorant Armies: Private Snafu Goes to War.”
And watch the Private Snafu films here.
* Upton Sinclair
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As we stand to attention, we might recall that it was on this date in 1947 that Stan Musial tied Ty Cobb’s record for the most five-hit games in a season (four)– and he did it in style, hitting successfully on the first pitches from five different pitchers.
“How good was Stan Musial? He was good enough to take your breath away.”
— Vin Scully
“The score never interested me, only the game”*…
The story of the exotic Belgian import that is the most mystical, magical sport on Earth… and of the Detroit lifer who became its King… and of an art heist: “Believe in Featherbowling.”
* Mae West
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As we take our seats, we might recall that it was on this date in 1947 that Holt, Missouri set the world’s record for the fastest accumulation of rainfall: 12 inches (300 mm) of rainfall in 42 minutes.
“If the people of New Zealand want to be part of our world, I believe they should hop off their islands, and push ’em closer”*…
World Maps Without New Zealand is a stupid side project an attempt to raise the awareness of a very serious and troubling issue we are seeing taking place all around the world: the disrespectful cartographical neglect towards the country that gave you such amazing things as Lord of the Rings, Flight of the Conchords, Lorde, and ZORB. Here, we collect and share the real world examples of this atrocity.
The blog is curated by this guy, who is a humble Auckland based web developer by day, and an extra lazy one by night…
Many, many more at “World Maps Without New Zealand“–“It’s not a very important country most of the time…”
* Lewis Black
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As we get antipodeal, we might recall that it was on this date in 1954, at an athletics meeting in Gisborne (New Zealand), that Yvette Williams broke the long jump record held by Dutch athlete Francine Blankers-Koen. Williams record of 20 feet 7½ inches (6.29 m) stood for another 18 months.
Williams had already achieved international recognition by winning Gold in the Long Jump event at the at the 1950 Commonwealth Games and at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. She took Gold again at the Commonwealth Games later in 1954, but did not surpass her own record. She was inducted into the New Zealand Hall of Fame in 1990.
Williams, mid-jump
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