Friday, May 16, 2014

Ridley's Believe It Or Not-This Day In History-May 16, 2014 Endangered Species Day MaiCa



Ridley's Believe It Or Not—May 16, 2014: Hope all are getting ready to enjoy the weekend and will enjoy these holidays, or celebrate in a culinary fashion, found for today along with the factoids and quotes.
             1. National Bike to Work Day—first observed in 1956 and promoting using bikes as means of commuting to burn more calories and less fuel; today is especially a day for motorists to “share the road”.
             2. NASCAR Day—celebrating not the daring exploits of those epitomes of fuel guzzlers in auto racing, but rather the work of the NASCAR Foundation and its numerous scholarship programs.
            3. Endangered Species Day—promoting the need to protect that unfortunately growing list of species that due to primarily human activity are in danger of becoming extinct. 
            4. National Defense Transportation Day—designated by Congress on this day in 1957 to promote awareness and recognition of our transportation system in time of peace and war—if you have driven the California highways recently or have heard that the Federal Highway Trust Fund will run out of money this summer, this might also be a day to express your concern to your elected officials.
            5. National Coquilles St. Jacques Day—seared scallops, topped with a mixture of mushrooms, Gruyere cheese and breadcrumbs then into the oven until browned—do not know about you but my mouth is watering and my conscience is pure as scallops are not on the endangered species list—Enjoy!
On this day in:
            a. 1960 Theodore Maiman operated the first optical laser at the Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, CA.  
            b. 1988 in a tell us something we do not already know or suspect moment, the Surgeon General C. Evert Koop released a report stating that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.  
            c. 2005 in a welcome to the 21st Century vote, Kuwait’s National Assembly agreed 35-23 to permit women’s suffrage.
If you ever thought Big Tobacco did not market to kids, think again: “Younger adult smokers have been the critical factor in the growth and decline of every major brand and company over the last 50 years. They will continue to be just as important to brands/companies in the future for two simple reasons: The renewal of the market stems almost entirely from 18-year-old smokers. No more than 5 percent of smokers start after age 24.” Memo from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Diane Barrows, 2/29/1984 “Today’s teenager is tomorrow’s potential regular customer. . . The smoking patterns of teenagers are particularly important to Philip Morris . . . the share index is highest in the youngest group for all Marlboro and Virginia Slims packings.” Philip Morris report from researcher Myron E. Johnston
Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join almost 140 growing followers and please follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs--click on links below. www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for poems on Mother’s Day; climbing into the mountains to be nearer to God; the 2014 Boston Marathon; on the Mustangs going to the Dance with a losing record; to honor Cindy Abbott, a half blind 54 year old mother suffering from a rare disease who competed in last year's Iditarod until forced out with a broken pelvis after 600 miles to join a great collection of my poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy. Go to Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times for poems on Sudan preparing to hang a pregnant wife for marrying a Christian; Eleanor Clift’s assertion that Ambassador Stevens wasn’t murdered only died from smoke inhalation; CA AB1965 allowing dogs in outside dining areas; on ICE releasing convicted murderers and violent felons onto our streets; celebs boycotting Beverly Hills Hotel due to Brunei adopting Sharia law; Boko Haram’s jihadist war on school girls; Blues and Reds uniting to force approval of Keystone XL to join numerous other comments on news events always in rhyme of course.
©May 16, 2014 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

No comments:

Post a Comment