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Wednesday 15 June 2016

National Nature Photography Day



The eleventh anniversary of Nature Photography Day will be observed nationally on Wednesday, June 15. This day was designated by NANPA to promote the enjoyment of nature photography, and to explain how images have been used to advance the cause of conservation and protect plants, wildlife, and landscapes locally and worldwide.

In 2006, NANPA celebrated the first Nature Photography Day and placed it in McGraw-Hill’s reference work, Chases’s Calendar of Events.

Many media and websites took notice. Since then, people throughout the North American continent–from overseas, too–have discovered numerous ways to observe and enjoy the day.

NANPA encourages people everywhere to enjoy the day by using a camera to explore the natural world. A backyard, park, or other place close by can be just right. Walking, hiking, an riding a bike to take photos are activities that don’t lead to a carbon footprint. And fresh air can do wonders for the spirit!

And

National Smile Power Day



Smile Power Day is today.

Feel the power. Give everyone you see a big, friendly, "I like you" smile. You never know, you're warm smile just might turn someone's day right around...for the good!

Love may make the world go round. But, a smile makes the world a happy place. A smile is a powerful thing.

Best of all, it's contagious.

However, we do note that in order to be effective, a smile must be sincere. People can see right through phony or forced smiles.

Spend the whole day with a big, bright smile on your fae. Flash a toothy smile to everyone you encounter.

A smile is so powerful, that it can:

...Add years to your life

...Make you a happier person

...Make someone else a happier person It's a mood change for the giver and the receiver Improves relationships In business, it sends a great customer service message

Did you know?

It's easier to smile than to frown. A smile uses fewer muscles.

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Well, Ice, here's a smile to you for bringing us this thread. I enjoy it and don't express it enough...

Fun Facts and Daily Trivia Wednesday, June 15, 2016

The 167 day of the year 199 days left



763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history

860: -- Florence Nightingale started her School for Nurses at St. Thomas Hospital in London.

1667 – The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.

1752 – Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity (traditional date, the exact date is unknown).

1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army

1836 – Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.

1844 -- Charles Goodyear was granted patent #3,633 for vulcanized rubber.

1902: -- In possibly the worst baseball game ever pitched, Texarkana's C. B. DeWitt lost 51-3 to Corsicana in the Texas League. Corsicana’s Nig Clark hit eight home runs in a small park in Ennis, where the game had to be played because of Corsicana’s Sunday "blue" law.

1928: -- During a triple steal, 41-year-old Ty Cobb stole home the 50th and final time in his 24-year major-league career. Cobb’s Tigers beat the Indians 12-5.

1950: -- Michel Lotito was born in Grenoble, France. Known as "Mr. Eat-It- All," Michel ate metal and glass for years. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, he is the only human known to have actually eaten 10 bicycles, seven TV sets, a shopping cart, a coffin (handles and all), a computer, and a small Cessna airplane.

1992: -- U.S. Vice-President Dan Quayle advised a Trenton, New Jersey, elementary school student to spell "potato" p-o-t-a-t-o-e.

1994: -- Disney’s movie "The Lion King" opened in American theaters.

1996:-- Ella Fitzgerald, the "first lady of song," died in Beverly Hills at age 78. Her #1 hits included were "A- Tisket, A- Tasket," "I’m Making Believe," and "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall."

2002 – Near-Earth asteroid 2002 MN misses the Earth by 75,000 miles (121,000 km), about one-third of the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

2004: -- Tim Berners-Lee received the $1.2 million Millennium Technology Prize in Helsinki, Finland, for creating the World Wide Web.

Thrusday 16 June 2016

National Dump The Pump Day



More than 140 public transit systems a organizations will celebrate the 11th annu National Dump the Pump Day on June 16.

Sponsored by the American Publ Transportation Association (APTA), this nation public awareness day encourages people “Dump the Pump” by parking their car and ridi a bus or train instead.

The tag line is: Dump t Pump. Ride Transit. “Public transportation is vitally important for communities of all sizes and their residents, said Valarie J. McCall, APTA Chair and board member of the Greater Cleveland Region Transit Authority.

“Organizations participating National Dump the Pump Day are encouragi people to try public transit instead of driving June 16. Some public transit systems a offering free rides or contests for riders as way to persuade individuals to change th travel behavior.”

APTA first started National Dump the Pump Day in June 2006 when gas prices reached $3 per gallon and the public demand for publc transportation was growing in response to the high gas prices. According to the June 9, 2015 Transit Savings Report, on the average, individual in a two-person household can save nearly $9,500 a year when he or she downsizes by one car and takes public transit instead.

“National Dump the Pump Day participants highlight the many benefits that publc transportation provides to individuals and the communities,” said Richard A. White, APT Acting President and CEO. “Besides individuals financial savings, public transportation is catalyst for economic growth. It also contribut to a better environment and the reduction of o nation’s energy consumption.”

From urban to suburban to rural communitie public transportation is a cornerstone of o nation’s economy and local economies. Eve dollar invested in public transportation return four dollars in economic benefits to the community.

Additionally, public transportation an essential factor in creating an economical competitive community that attract new companies, offering new job opportunities residents. Public transportation also offers important environmental and energy benefits for communities and for the country.

Every year U.S. public transportation use saves 37 milli metric tons of carbon emissions and 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline.

And

National Fudge Day



The origins of Fudge Day are unknown, but it cannot be denied that celebrating this delicious, sweet treat is a great way to spend the day.

Fudge is soft, smooth confectionary made by heating and mixing milk, butter and sugar. A variety of other ingredients can then be added to create assorted flavours of fudge. Some of the most popular flavours include chocolate and peanut butter.

The earliest documented mention of fudge can be found in a letter composed by Emelyn Hartridge, who was studying at Vassar College, located in Poughkeepsie, New York.

The letter detailed that fudge had been made and sold in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1886. Other fudge recipes in the USA can be traced back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Mackinac Island fudge ice cream (vanilla ice cream blended with small chunks of fudge) is still sold on Mackinac Island in Michigan, and surrounding areas, where shops have been selling fudge to summer vacationers since the late nineteenth century.

Modern fudge recipes remain largely unaltered.

On Fudge Day, why not try making your own fudge? You can use this basic recipe to have your own delicious treat to enjoy right in your own kitchen! Melt three cups (700g) of chocolate chips along with fourteen ounces (400g) of sweetened condensed milk and ¼ cup (30g) of butter or margarine in a large bowl in the microwave. Cook on medium heat for approximately four minutes, or until the chocolate chips have all melted, stirring a couple of times during cooking. Add in any extra ingredients (nuts, fruit, biscuits, marshmallows, etc.) required and stir well. Pour fudge mixture into a greased 8″x8″ glass dish and refrigerate until set. Simple, quick and tasty!

Fudge Day is the perfect excuse to try some crazy new flavours of fudge. You could sample maple and pecan, or chomp down some rocky road fudge. If you want to go really wild, mix up some particularly unusual flavours, like carrot and orange, liquorice fudge, or – for grown-ups only – tequila and lime.

You could even hold competitions with work colleagues, friends or family to see who can come up with the most bizarre (but still edible!) variety of fudge.

Happy fudge tasting!

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Thursday, June 16, 2016
The 168 day of the year 198 days left to go


ON THIS DATE...

1858: -- Abraham Lincoln delivers his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois .

1883: -- The New York Giants baseball team admitted all ladies free to the ballpark-- the first Ladies Day.

1884: -- The first roller coaster in the U.S. became operational at Coney Island in New York.

1902: -- "The Wizard of Oz" (play) opened at the Grand Opera House in Chicago.

1903: -- The Ford Motor Company was incorporated.

1922: -- Henry Berliner completed the first helicopter flight. The event took place at College Park, Maryland.

1944: -- At age 14, George Junius Stinney, Jr. becomes the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century.

1952: -- "My Little Margie" debuted on CBS Television. The show starred Gale Storm and Charles Farrell.

1963: -- Valentine Tareshkova became the first woman in space when she blasted off in Russia's Vostok Six spacecraft. She spent three days orbiting Earth.

1970: -- Chicago Bears football player Brian Piccolo died with his best friend Gale Sayers at his side. Piccolo's story was recounted in the film "Brian's Song."

1972: -- the New York Jazz Museum opened. It's the only museum devoted exclusively to jazz music.

1978: -- "Grease" opened in theaters (Trailer).

1981: -- "The Chicago Tribune" purchased the Chicago Cubs from the P-K Wrigley Chewing Gum Company. The sale ended the longest, continuous ownership of a team which stayed in its original city.

1998: -- A 40-year-old Florida woman, identified only as Elizabeth, gave birth to a baby boy live on the Internet. It was the first-ever live birth on the Internet. An estimated two-million people watched the event.

2001: -- The Leaning Tower of Pisa opened for the first time since 1990 as work to keep it from falling over was completed; it now leans only 4.1 m (13.5 ft) off perpendicular, 44 cm (17 in) less than its previous lean.

2005: -- Hollywood actor Tom Cruise proposed to girlfriend, actress Katie Holmes at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

2011: -- New York Congressman Anthony Weiner announced his resignation from the House of Representatives amid a sexting scandal involving lewd pictures and messages to various women.

2013: -- Miss Connecticut, Erin Brady, was crowned Miss USA 2013 in Las Vegas.

I cannot believe I missed National Fudge day!!! I'm so pissed! I live near a boardwalk that makes fudge in every flavor imaginable. It would've been a great dessert to buy a bunch and play guess the flavor.
Of course, my favorite will always be chocolate walnut.

Friday 17 June 2016

National Apple Strudel Day



Apple strudel (German: Apfelstrudel; Czech: Štrůdl) is a traditional Viennese strudel, a popular pastry in Austria and in many countries in Europe that once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian empire (1867–1918).

"Strudel" a German word, derives from the Middle High German word for "whirlpool" or "eddy". The apple strudel variant is called "jabolčni zavitek" in Slovenian, Almásrétes in Hungarian and Apfelstrudel in German.

History

The oldest known strudel recipe is from 1696, a handwritten recipe housed at the Wienbibliothek im Rathaus. Whether as a type of sweet or savoury layered pastry with a filling inside, the strudel gained popularity in the 18th century through the Habsburg Empire (1278–1780). Austrian cuisine was formed and influenced by the cuisines of many different people (Turkish, Bosnian, Swiss, Alsatian, French, Dutch, Italian, German, Bohemian–Moravian (Czech), Hungarian, Polish, Croatian, Slovenian, Slovakian, Serbian, and Jewish cuisines) during the many centuries of the Austrian Habsburg Empire's expansion. Strudel is related to the Ottoman Empire's pastry baklava, and came to Austria via Turkish to Hungarian and then Hungarian to Austrian cuisine.



And

National Flip-Flop Day



If you’re tired of keeping your feet in stuffy shoes and need an excuse to expose those toes, Flip-Flop Day may just be the answer.

People have been wearing flip-flops for thousands of years, with the earliest wearers being the Ancient Egyptians in 4000BC. Since then, the sandals have been worn throughout the world and have become a favourite for people enjoying a relaxing day at the beach or walking around in the sunshine.

Flip-flops got their name because of the slapping sound they make against the ground when you walk in them!

Flip-flop day was founded by Tropical Smoothie Café. Customers who visit a participating Café on Flip-Flop Day wearing – you guessed it, flip-flops – will receive a free smoothie.

Not only does Tropical Smoothie Café give its customers a free drink and the chance to air their feet, it also uses Flip-Flop Day to raise money for Camp Sunshine – a camp that offers respite and support to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

Even if you don’t have a Tropical Smoothie Café near you, why not find your own way to celebrate the day? Dig out your favourite pair of flip-flops and take a stroll along the beach or through the park. If the weather isn’t quite right for sandals, you could put on some warmer footwear and go shopping for a great new pair of flip-flops to be more prepared for when the sun does arrive!

Not feeling like leaving the house at all? Why not put on flip-flops instead of your usual slippers and wear them at home to get yourself in the mood for summer? Although flip-flops can be great to wear on a fun casual day out, just be careful not to wear them for too long – the lack of support in flip-flops and their thin soles can lead to sore or injured feet!

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Fun Facts and Daily Trivia for
Friday, June 17, 2016
The 169 day of the year
197 days left to go


1631: -- Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.

1673: -- French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet reach the Mississippi River and become the first Europeans to make a detailed account of its course.

1856: -- The Republican Party opened its first convention, in Philadelphia.

1870: -- George Cormack was born in Scotland. In 1924, working in the U.S., he invented Wheaties, breakfast of champions.

1885: -- The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French ship Isere.

1901: -- The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.

1939: -- Last public guillotining in France: Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is guillotined in Versailles outside the Saint-Pierre prison

1950: -- Dr. Richard H. Lawler performed the first kidney transplant, in Chicago.

1957: -- Jerry Lee Lewis’s "Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On" entered the Billboard country chart after he performed the song on TV’s "Steve Allen Show." Sun Records had released the single seven months earlier, but radio stations had refused to play it.

1963: -- The Supreme Court struck down rules requiring the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or reading of Biblical verses in public schools.

1972: -- Five men carrying electronic surveillance equipment were arrested in the Watergate office headquarters of the Democratic Party National Committee. The arrest eventually led to the resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon.

1990: After eight days of work, 12 students in Singapore completed a pyramid built with 263,810 bottle caps.

1993: A local character stole two security cameras from a Brooklyn bank. Police knew it was him because the last pictures both cameras took showed him unscrewing them from the wall.

2006: -- In a real- life version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears - in reverse - a West Vancouver woman came home to find a young bear eating oatmeal in her kitchen. Police couldn't get the bear to budge, so they let the animal finish his oatmeal. Eventually the bear decided to go out the same way he got in, through a sliding glass door, and headed back down toward a forest.

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Saturday 18 June 2016

International Picnic Day



International Picnic Day celebrates the gathering together outdoors to eat and enjoy one another's company - The Picnic.

The true origin of International Picnic Day is unknown, but can be traced back to the end of the French Revolution and the Victorian Era. Picnics were ways for people to escape the restrictions of etiquette and formality. As an informal food holiday, there are few rules and lots of options.

International Picnic Day is observed on June 18th each year.

And

National Splurge Day



Are you tired of moderation, endless budgeting and taking the frugal option? If so then Splurge Day is definitely for you.

Whilst for the rest of the year you may be a model of financial prudence, Splurge Day is an opportunity to let your hair down and spend, spend spend.

There are numerous ways to celebrate this occasion, so don’t let a lack of imagination hold you back. On Splurge Day why stop at one biscuit when there’s a whole packet waiting?

Treat yourself to that luxury perfume or go to the best salon in town for a haircut with the wow factor.

Even better, why not splurge on someone else? Take someone special out for a meal, pick up the bar tab or stop by the jewellers and purchase a suitably expensive gift for a friend.

Splurge Day is a great occasion to treat yourself and others.

And

International Panic Day



International Panic Day is observed on June 18, 2016. International Panic Day is no reason or even challenge to panic. It is actually the opposite: on this day people should take the cause and refuse any kind of stress. Anything that represents the literal opposite of being confused and in panic is appreciated on International Panic Day.

Taking a day off to do unexciting stuff, like reading or sleeping, would be a good example. A humorous way of celebrating International Panic Day is to confuse people by doing strange things in a natural manner expressing pure relaxation.

This is statement to avoid stress because stress can make people ill and cause panic attacks. Millions of people all over the world suffer on panic attacks and are restricted in their daily life.

And

National Go Fishing Day



Whether you’re a fluff chucking river man, a deep-sea deckhand, or a float fanatic in lakes and ponds,

Go Fishing Day is the perfect excuse we’ve all been looking for to take a day off and get our lines wet. With fishing as a recreational sport on the up in younger generations, there’s never been more locations to have a go at certain types of fishing.

Try something new, or stick with what you’re already good at… either way, make sure you go fishing on June 18th.

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(06-13-2016, 10:18 AM)IceWizard Wrote: [ -> ]Monday 13 June 2016

Sewing Machine Day



Long ago, when mankind first started working with fibers to produce clothing, things were long and arduous. Fiber had to be laboriously broken down and spun into yarn and thread, and then thread woven into cloth. That cloth would then be cut and stitched together using a needle and thread, with someone laborious picking out every stitch by hand.

Then something amazing happened, the Sewing Machine was invented, and with it the process of making clothing grew ever more efficient. Sewing Machine Day celebrates the invention of this amazing device.

History of Sewing Machine Day

In 1755 there was a man who saw a need, and decided that he would be the one to fill that need with a miraculous device that took all the labor out of hand sewing. Charles Frederick Wiesenthal created the idea of a double pointed needle with an eye at an end, but it wasn’t until 1790 that the true revolution in sewing was conceived of by Thomas Saint, but alas, it failed to be properly introduced to the world, no sign of a working version of his invention still exists.

So the tale goes on until 1829, when Barthélemy Thimonnier invented and patented an amazing machine that would go on to revolutionize the textile industry. From that point forward the development of the sewing machine has only gotten better, with high power surgers and programmable embroidery machines coming along to fill every possible niche in the sewing world.

Sewing Machine Day celebrates the creation of this device, and all the men and women who have worked diligently over the years to produce the next best sewing machine. These wonderful people are directly responsible for the ease with which clothing is obtainable today, and how easily someone can pick up the age old art of sewing.

How to Celebrate Sewing Machine Day

Well first, if you’re an experienced seamstress or tailor, take some time to work with a piece of cloth without the benefit of a sewing machine. This may seem like a strange way to celebrate a device that made this method unnecessary, but by the time you’re finished, you’ll understand without question how important the sewing machine is in your daily life.

Alternately, if you’ve never sewn a stitch in your life, now is the time to finally pick up a trade that will be useful to you your whole life. Beg, borrow, buy, or rent a sewing machine and start putting needle to thread. Who knows, you may have found your new passion in life!



The 165 day of the year 201 days left to go.

1888: Congress created the Department of Labor.

1789: Mrs. Alexander Hamilton served a new dessert treat for General George Washington. The highlight of the dinner party was ice cream!

1916: A U. S. patent was issued for the Peeping Tom Rifle. It featured a curved barrel and periscope and was designed to shoot around corners.

1898: The Yukon Territory was organized in Canada; Dawson was named its capital.

1920: The U.S. Post Office Department rules that children may not be sent by parcel post.

1927: the American flag was displayed from the right hand of the Statue of Liberty for the first time.

1948: the New York Yankees retired Babe Ruth's uniform number three.

1966: In a case involving 23-year-old Ernesto Miranda, the U.S. Supreme Court granted criminal suspects the right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning. Miranda was retried, convicted, sent back to prison, paroled, and stabbed to death during a 1976 card game in Phoenix.

1991: An Atlanta firm paid $2.4-million for an original copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence in New York. A flea market buff had found the document stuffed in the frame of a $4.00 painting.

1967: President Lyndon Johnson appointed U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Thurgood Marshall to fill the seat of a retiring Supreme Court judge, making him the first African-American in the high court.

2003: A fisherman in Surin, Thailand, had emergency surgery to remove a live fish from his throat. The 26-year-old man was holding the fish in his mouth so his hands would be free to hold a fishing rod and rebait the line. But the fish pushed its way further into his mouth and got jammed in his throat. He managed to get home and his wife took him to a hospital.

2004: a day after celebrating his 80th birthday, former President H.W. Bush successfully completed a skydive at the Texas A and M campus in College Station, Texas. Bush performed a tandem jump with a member of the Army's Golden Knight's skydiving team.

HISTORY SPOTLIGHT

Miranda Rights  

On this day in 1966, the Supreme Court hands down its decision in Miranda v. Arizona, establishing the principle that all criminal suspects must be advised of their rights before interrogation. Now considered standard police procedure,

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you,"

has been heard so many times in television and film dramas that it has become almost cliche.

QUICK TRIVIA

The Banana Split, according to several sources, came to life in 1904. They were created by David Evans Strickler, a young 23-year-old apprentice at a pharmacy in Pennsylvania, who loved creating new sundaes.

While Strickler was its originator, Walgreens is ultimately credited with spreading banana split's popularity after adopting the dish as its signature dessert.

WORD OF THE DAY

cater-cousin [key-ter-kuhz-uhn] – noun

an intimate friend a person treated as a cousin who is not a blood relative.

And so the term "cuz", like "bro".  My grandmother in Oklahoma--my great grandfather participated in the "Oklahoma Land Rush" and that's how our family got the property.  Anyway, she had one of those foot pump sewing machines, a Singer.  I used to lay on the rug when she wasn't using it, and pump it up and down to pass time.  I think they worked fine, and would find a new market in today's energy conscious groups, and people in isolated areas.  Great invention, just the way it was.

Spanky

Sorry for the double post.  I blame Isis

Spank

Sunday 19 June 2016

Juneteenth



Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.

Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free .

Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order.

However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom.

Another, is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations.

And still another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All of which, or neither of these version could be true. Certainly, for some, President Lincoln's authority over the rebellious states was in question.

For whatever the reasons, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.

Read More of this Story Here

And

World Sickle Cell Awareness Day



Since 2008, World Sickle Cell Awareness Day has been held annually, in order to help increase public knowledge and raise awareness of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and the struggles sufferers and their families go through.

The date was chosen to commemorate the day on which a resolution was officially adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, recognising SCD as a public health concern. SCD affects millions of people around the world, including both adults and children.

It is apotentially fatal disease and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is one of the main causes of premature death amongst children under the age of five in various African countries.

Some health groups dedicated to SCD treatment or support hold special educational celebrations. However, even if you cannot attend one, why not spend the day researching the illness, learning about the signs and symptoms and increasing your understanding of its global impact?

And

Martini Day



The Martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist.

Over the years, the Martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. H. L. Mencken called the Martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet" and E. B. White called it "the elixir of quietude"

Get the complete history on Martinis Here

And the best for last.....

Garfield The Cat Day







11 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Garfield’

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To celebrate Garfield Day (the strip debuted on June 19th, 1978), here are 11 things you might not know about everyone’s favorite fat orange cat.

01. Jim Davis’ first comic strip was about bugs

Garfield’s pop Jim Davis got his professional start in cartooning with the long-running strip ‘Tumbleweeds’ when he got the knack to go at a series of his own. His first creation was a sarcastic bug named “Gnorm Gnat” but he was only able to sell the strip to one paper in his native Indiana. The biggest problem was that editors didn’t think readers could identify with bugs as characters. He took the five years of rejection as a learning experience and scanned the comics’ section to discover they were filled with strips about dogs, but none about cats.

02. Garfield is named after James A. Garfield, but not the 20th president

Davis grew up on his grandfather’s farm in Indiana, where there were a number of cats around his home and barn. Garfield’s wry and grumpy attitude came not from the cats, but from their loveable grumpy owner, James A. Garfield Davis who Jim described as “a large cantankerous man.”

03. The strip originally had a fourth central character

Davis’ initial run of the strips included another character who introduced one of its regular faces. Lyman was Jon’s mustachioed roommate and the dog Odie’s former owner. Davis said he needed someone for Jon Arbuckle to communicate with since Garfield couldn’t talk. But he soon found a way for Garfield and Odie to communicate to their owner, thus sending Lyman to the dustbin of forgotten characters along with Garfield’s annoying grey doppelganger Nermal.

04. Garfield originally walked on all fours until Charles Schulz taught him how to walk on two feet

Davis’ initial drawings of Garfield made him look like a morbidly obese feline than the merely chubby tabby we know and love. His creator wanted to make him more endearing while retaining some of the personality features that earned him so many readers.

Three years after Davis created the strip and started syndicating it, he drew the strip at a Hollywood studio shared by animator Bill Melendez who worked with ‘Peanuts’ creator Charles M. Schulz on animated films such as ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas.’

One day, Schulz found Davis trying to draw Garfield and suggested he draw the cat with bigger feet to make him stand on two feet.

Thus, the Garfield we know today was born.

05. The Chicago Sun Times cancelled the strip but a massive reader protest brought it back

A few years into Davis’ syndication in the late 1970s, one of his biggest papers dropped ‘Garfield’ just as it began to become popular. Davis said he never got a full explanation from the Chicago Sun-Times, except that it was for budgetary reasons.

The readers, however, didn’t buy it and started a massive letter writing and phone call campaign to get the paper to change their mind.

“Within a week, they had 1,300 phone calls and letters pour in demanding the return of ‘Garfield,'” Davis said in an interview with the Columbus Dispatch. “When I learned that, I thought: ‘Yes! We’re there.’ ”

06. It is the world’s most syndicated comic strip

While far from the oldest comic strip on the newspaper page (‘Gasoline Alley’ has a good six decades on it), ‘Garfield’ is without a doubt the most successful. Sure it has an endless stream of merchandising rights and entertainment spin-offs, but it’s also got the highest readership of any comic strip ever produced, a fact confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Since it started its initial syndication run with the Universal Press Syndicate, ‘Garfield’s’ peak appearance topped out at 2,570 newspapers in 2002.

07. ‘Garfield’ wasn’t Davis’ only comic strip

Davis’ work had earned him more than a few spots on the New York Times best seller list with his popular ‘Garfield’ books and national exposure for his work, but he noticed that something was still lacking in the comics section: a title for younger children.

‘U.S. Acres’ starred a bevy of barnyard animals with unique quirks, such as a rooster who overslept and a chick that still walked around in his egg shell. (Artists Bob Scott and Brett Koth also contributed writing and drawing duties.)

It only lasted three years in the newspapers, but was adapted for the popular Saturday morning cartoon show ‘Garfield and Friends.’ Classic ‘U.S. Acres’ strips are still published daily on the official Garfield website.

Davis also drew a short lived strip based on the classic toy Mr. Potato Head.

08. A staff of cartoonists now helps put together the ‘Garfield’ strips

Thanks to the success of ‘Garfield,’ Davis’ operations are now centralized on a strip of land in his Indiana home in a 50 staff operation called Paws Inc. A portion of these staffers handle the daily strip, according to an interview with the Telegraph.

He spends a week writing a bunch of strips at a time and doodling the panels for a team of sketch artists in his ink and lettering departments who put together the final product.

09. Garfield almost had his own theme park

Davis has not only established himself as a successful cartoonist, but a successful businessman as well. Since he bought a large portion of the merchandising rights from his syndicate, he parlayed those rights into his Paws business, part of whom handle all of the merchandising rights and prototype designs for various ‘Garfield’ toys, mugs, T-shirts and other products.

One of Paws’ bigger projects was a full theme park built in Davis’ native Indiana, a $120 million project filled with ‘Garfield’-themed thrill rides, entertainment venues and water attractions, according to EW.

Unfortunately, the idea was scraped and the closest it ever came was a dark water ride called ‘Garfield’s Nightmare‘ at Kennywood, an amusement park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.

010. The voice of ‘Garfield’ starred on ‘Rhoda’ and ‘The Real Ghostbusters’

Children who grew up with the Garfield cartoons will recognize the soothing tones of the late, great actor Lorenzo Music. In addition to supplying Garfield’s voice on 12 primetime specials and the ‘Garfield and Friends’ series, Music was a successful writer/producer who worked on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore’ show and went on to create ‘The Bob Newhart Show.’ (He also composed its jazzy theme.)

He also provided the voice of the unseen character Carlton the Doorman on ‘Rhoda’ and subbed in for Bill Murray as Peter Venkman on ‘The Real Ghostbusters.’

(Ironically Murray would take over for Music, who passed away in 2001, in the ‘Garfield’ films.)

11. Bill Murray agreed to do the ‘Garfield’ movie because he thought it was written by one of the Coen Brothers

http://youtu.be/BgWf1H6CSsg

One of Davis’ and Paws’ longest running pet (no pun intended) projects was a big screen ‘Garfield’ movie and that dream finally came true in 2004 with Bill Murray providing the voice for the CGI animated fat cat. Murray told GQ Magazine that he became interested in the project because he thought the “Joel Cohen” attached to the project as a screenwriter was actually one of the Coen Brothers, the acclaimed directors behind such classics as ‘The Big Lebowski’ and ‘Fargo.’

After they came back with a more acceptable salary offer, Murray began to record his lines and didn’t find the script up to the Coen Bros’ usual standards.

Finally, he asked to see a rough cut of the film and that’s when someone explained to him that it was actually a different Joel Coen whose name was on the script.

Thankfully, Bill got his revenge in his cameo in the horror comedy ‘Zombieland.’

From Dorothy Parker, famous American wit, writer, and member of the reknowned Algonquin Round table luncheons that included such as Oscar Wilde:

"I always enjoy a martini
But only two at the most.
After three I'm under the table
After four I'm under the host."