7-19-14

     

Tucson Weather Today

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"Some of the biggest cases of mistaken identity are among intellectuals who have trouble remembering that they are not God."
--Thomas Sowell

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Did You Know . . .?

Weight for weight, spider's silk is stronger than steel, but not as strong as Kevlar. Silk is, however, tougher than both.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1943, the United States bombed railway yards in Rome in an attempt to break the will of the Italian people to resist. President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill appealed to the Italian civilian population to reject Mussolini and Hitler and "live for Italy and civilization." As an "incentive," American bombers raided the city, destroying its railways. Panic broke out among the Romans,who were told by Mussolini that no on would ever bomb the holy city.. The bombing did more than shake their security in the city -- it shook their confidence in their leader.

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WORD FOR TODAY

Cryogenian
noun
(geology) The Cryogenian period.
adjective
(geology) Of a geologic period within the Neoproterozoic era from about 850 to 600 million years ago.

The name of the geologic period refers to the very cold global climate of the Cryogenian: characteristic glacial deposits indicate that Earth suffered the most severe ice ages in its history during this period

Cryogenian Period

Snowball Earth

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Anthony Charles Edwards

(born July 19, 1962)

Anthony Edwards is an American actor and director. He has appeared in various movies and television shows, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Top Gun, Zodiac, Miracle Mile, Revenge of the Nerds, Planes, Northern Exposure, and ER.

Vikki Carr

(born July 19, 1941)

Vikki Carr is a three-time Grammy Award–winning American singer and humanitarian.

George Stanley McGovern

(July 19, 1922 - Oct 21, 2012)

George McGovern was an American historian, author, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 presidential election.

Lizzie Andrew Borden

(July 19, 1860 - June 1, 1927)

Lizzie Borden was an American woman who was tried and acquitted in the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. Following her release from the prison in which she had been held during the trial, Borden chose to remain a resident of Fall River, Massachusetts, for the rest of her life. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts elected to charge no one else with the murder of Andrew and Abby Borden; speculation about the crimes still continues more than 100 years later.

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"We can never be gods, after all -- but we can become something less than human with frightening ease."
--N.K. Jemisin


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