Today is...

[IceWizard]

16 May 2017


International Virtual Assistants Day



Virtual assistants are individuals who mostly work on a freelance basis to deliver managerial, administrative and personal assistance related services to clients. They usually make extensive use of the latest technology and mostly the internet to undertake their duties. Tasks usually range from taking calls to carrying out online research.

The International Virtual Assistants Day is a day set aside to acknowledge the effort, determination and commitment of virtual assistants. The day is usually sponsored by the Alliance for Virtual Businesses and the celebrations held during the Online International Virtual Assistants Convention. The Alliance for Virtual Businesses, which is composed of a team of virtual professionals are the originators of this day, which is usually celebrated annually on every third Friday of the month of May. Its main purpose is usually to create awareness about virtual assistants’ services in the business community.



And




National Sea Monkey Day



If you were a comic book fan as a kid, or a science buff, you may remember these ads existing in your favorite magazine or catalog. They were heavily marketed in the same pages as X-Ray Goggles, Magic Tricks, and chemistry sets. They advertised the most unlikely of pets, monkeys that lived in salt water that you could easily have for your own. They’d be sent to you freeze-dried, and then burst into life when added to water. What you may not know is that Sea-Monkeys exploded into an amazing fortune that were loved by people everywhere.

History of Sea Monkey Day

The history of sea monkeys starts, oddly enough, with ant farms. Milton Levine had popularized the idea of Ant-farm kits in 1956 and, presumably inspired by the success of his idea, Harold von Braunhut invented the aquatic equivalent with brine-shrimp. It was really ingenious looking back on it, and ultimately he had to work with a marine biologist to really bring it all together. With just a small packet of minerals and an aquarium you’d suddenly have a place rich with everything your brine-shrimp needed to survive.

So why sea monkeys? Because who was going to buy brine-shrimp? It was all a good bit of marketing, though the name didn’t come about for nearly 5 years. They were originally called “instant life”, referencing their ‘just add water’ nature. But when the resemblance of their tails to monkeys tails was noted by fans, he changed it to ‘Sea-Monkeys’ and so it’s been ever since! The marketing was amazing too! 3.2 million pages of comic book advertising a year, and the money just flowed in the door.

So what are Sea Monkeys exactly?

They’re clever mad science really. Sea Monkeys don’t (or didn’t) exist in nature before they were created in a lab by hybridization. They’re known as Artemia NYOS (New York Ocean Science) and go through anhydrobiosis, or hibernation when they are dried out. Then, with the right mixture of water and nutrients they can spring right back into life! Amazing!

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May 16 Birthdays



Megan Fox - 31




Janet Jackson - 51




Pierce Brosnan - 64




Tori Spelling - 44




Danny Trejo - 73




Krist Novoselic - 52




Darrell Sweet - (1947 - 1999) (51)








May 16th

2010: Ronnie James Dio, singer for Rainbow, Black Sabbath & Dio died of stomach cancer in Houston. He was 67 years old.

1998: Keith Richards broke his ribs after falling off of a ladder in his library, which caused the Rolling Stones to reschedule several dates of their European tour in support of Bridges to Babylon.

1992: Red Hot Chili Peppers peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with Blood Sugar Sex Magik which went on to sell seven million copies in the U.S.

1992: U2 peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with “One” which was their fifth top ten single in the U.S.

1987: U2 topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart for the first time with the song “With or Without You” which stayed on top for three weeks.

1984: Ozzy Osbourne was arrested in Memphis, TN on charges of public intoxication on Beale Street. According to the police report, Osbourne was “staggering drunk”.

1970: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young reached number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with Déjà Vu which spent one week on top of chart & went on to sell seven million copies in the U.S.

1969: Pete Townshend spends the night in a New York City jail after assaulting a man who jumped onstage during a Who concert at The Filmore East. It turned out that this man was a plainclothes police officer trying to warn the audience that a fire had broken out, which Townshend wasn’t aware of.

1966: Jeff Beck recorded “Beck’s Bolero” which would be the B-Side of his debut single “Hi Ho Silver Lining” at IBC Studios in London. The song was written by Jimmy Page who also played on the song along with John Paul Jones and Keith Moon.



Birthdays:

Robert Fripp - Guitarist for King Crimson born in 1946

Darrell Sweet - Drummer for Nazareth born in 1947

Krist Novoselic - Bassist for Nirvana born in 1965