August 30th - Victor perfects the roasted marshmallow

 As one of the geeks out there, you know a few things and you like to correct people on their less than you knowledge... like "it's not actually the monster that's Frankenstein... Victor Frankenstein was the scientist who made the monster..."  I know, I'm one of those people.

When it comes to Frankenstein, the book, it was written by the goth queen herself, Mary Shelley.  Not a bad read, I liked it.

It's Mary Shelley's birthday today, well in 1797.

It's also apparently National Toasted Marshmallow Day... 

One of the best things about camping and on its own great, but with some chocolate and a graham cracker - you've got a s'more!

Another good thing to toast over the fire?  A frozen pierogi, trust me.

August 27th - Bats in the Zanzibar Playhouse

 If you're a child of the 80s like I am, you can't forget some TV shows - especially the Saturday morning ones.  And doubly so if it was just weird, like Pee-wee's Playhouse.  Wow, that was weird.

And all that weird is attributed to Pee-wee Herman, or Paul Reubens.

He just turned 69... 'nuff said.

Another weird thing - is that there once was a 38 minute war.  The Anglo-Zanzibar war.

In 1896, the UK was in some sort of peace agreement with Zanzibar which expired at 9am on August 27, 1896.  At 9:02 they started some bombardment.  500 were killed before the firing ceased at 9:46.  The apparently shortest war in history.

OP much?

The next year, in the UK one of my favourite books was released: Dracula.  Which centres mostly about a dude who can turn himself into a bat.

It's "International Bat Night" today... now, there's no such thing as Dracula - the vampire - but there are vampire bats; but trust me you don't have to fear them, so let's celebrate the cool winged rodents.

I just think they're neat.

August 26 - Women stay home to eat a burger and pet the dog on their Equality Day

 Nothing on the 'international front' as far as I could tell, today's observances entirely happen within the US.

First up, it's the celebration of the passing of women's right to vote, the nineteenth amendement to the US Constitution happened in 1920 and has been celebrated since 1971 as Women's Equality Day.

What better way to celebrate than with a really good burger, at least in my mind.  Today is also Burger Day.

What kind of burger would you have?

I know dogs wouldn't care what kind (just no lettuce), and is National Dog Day, or International Dog Day, depending on which sites you visit.

Dogs... man's (and women's) best friend.  Loyal to the end.  They wouldn't forget about you, like how Kevin's parents forgot him for a family trip... twice!

It's actor Macaulay Culkin's birthday.

He's 41 today!

August 25 - Bond shares dessert with the moon men

 Picture in your mind James Bond... the 007 with the license to kill.

I bet you that Sean Connery is that mental image.  The quintessential Bond in my mind, amongst other great acting as well (who can forget Zardoz).  If Sean had not died last year, he would have been 89 today.

There was that time that Bond went to space in Moonraker, but never got to the moon itself.

If he had, maybe he could have looked up to see if the Great Moon Hoax was in fact true...

In 1835 the New York Sun published a story (they said it was from some famous astronomers, it wasn't) about how they looked through a telescoope at the moon and saw creatures with wings and furry...

The Sun never retracted this story.

I like to think it's what inspired that French film "A Trip to the Moon" and then that in turn inspired the Smashing Pumpkins' Tonight video.

Speaking of pumpkins, apparently it'll be pumpkin spice latte season soon (way sooner than normal) and ... ick... one thing you shouldn't put pumpkins in?  

A banana split.  Happy National Banana Split Day.

August 24 - Chappelle listens to some strange waffles on Pluto

 I heard a line once - before memes, we just shouted Chappelle quotes to each other.  

Truer words were never spoken.  I remember when it was out and friends who'd watch it before others and say lines and you'd have to wait to catch the episode on rerun in order to get it.

It's that m-f'er's birfday.  He's 48 today.

Happy Birthday Chappelle!

Now, if you watched the Chappelle Show enough, you'd know he liked his music.  That image above had John Mayer in the background at one of his shows, and if you recall there's a really funny sketch with his music.

Does he like strange music?  I betcha he does.

And it's an unofficial International Strange Music Day.

A day created by musician and composer Patrick Grant who felt that listening to a wide variety of music is good for your brain!  

A more wrinkly brain is a smart brain, no?

And try to think of a more wrinkled food than WAFFLES.

It's National Waffle Day in the United States.

Everybody on the planet loves waffles.

But not everybody on the planet Pluto... because in 2006, Pluto it stopped being a 'planet'... 

Poor Pluto

August 23rd - William wishes for a Cuban

 I often don't like pickles.  In a good burger, maybe, it's hidden by a ton of other flavours, so I hardly notice it.  But, there's one sandwich that I think it's just a must.

A Cuban.  And it's National Cuban Sandwich Day in the US.

I don't know what it is about the cubano that just makes the pickle perfectly complementary to the flavours, but it is.

I could wish for a cubano, but I think I'd need something like a genie to help me with that.  For that, it's Barbara Eden's birthday.

You remember I Dream of Jeannie!  She's 90 now.

Someone who had a wish, and ultimately paid the price for his wish of "FREEEDOM" was William Wallace.

Yes, that William Wallace that you know from Braveheart.  He was publicly executed for his 'treason' in 1305.

Turned in by actually a fellow Scot, his punishment was brutal even for the time.

August 20 - LED Mosquito eating Pie

 I love my summer, except I've always wondered why are there mosquitoes?  I don't know of any positive benefits to them, and they just make some summer nights awful.

And yet, today we 'celebrat'e World Mosquito Day.

It's 'celebrated' as in 1897 is when the guy who was researching malaria discovered that it was transmitted through the females of the species in their gut.  

Again, I'll ask: Why are there mosquitoes??

What's not annoying, but definitely something that 'buzzes' in my brain is some good ol' fashioned Led Zeppelin.  I can't listen to anything from IV and not be suddenly transported back in time to grade 10 and studying for exams.

Led's frontman, Robert Plant is turning 73 today.

And you can't have a birthday without some pie.  Wonder if Robert likes pecans ... in the USA it's National Chocolate Pecan Pie day.

August 19th - flying humans around the world for laughter while saving the orangutans

 Today, in 1871, the man who would eventually invent the airplane, or one of them, Orvill Wright was born.

And the plan became such a ubiquitous tool, it helped make our planet smaller.  Making us smaller made us realize we need to help one another, and today is also World Humanitarian Day.

Although, not humans, but a distant cousin, are the Orangutans, and it's International Orangutan Day.

Did you know that their population has almost halved in just 5 years?

Pretty sombering, and then I bet a perfectly timed comedian like Groucho Marx would have something to say to lift the mood.  

Groucho died in 1977 (the year I was born) - he would have been 86.

August 18th - Peralta books Genghis over a Pinot Noir scam

 Detective Peralta, played by hilarious actor, Andy Samberg (of Lonely Island fame, with which I am more accustomed) just turned 43... 

...dang, I'm a year older than that guy, look what he's done!

And thinking of legacies, there's none larger than Genghis Khan himself.  Not even speaking of all that the Mongols conquered, it's said he had over 500 concubines... now apparently only legitimized 4 sons (and acknowledged 14), but dude probably had his DNA in way more pools than you think.  They say 1 in every 200 men alive today is a relative of his.

He died in 1227 of unknown reasons.  They don't really know if he was either 65 or 72.

All this during Pinot Noir day.

August 17 - Feet, De Niro & Brian

 In 1979, to a ton of criticism - just because they were a troop of characters who pushed every boundary - Monty Python released their "LIFE OF BRIAN" epic movie.

Graham Chapman playing the role of Brian, the hapless person who unwittingly becomes the messiah in a huge Christianity spoof of the life of Jesus.  

I laughed the whole way through it the first time I watched it, and still do.  Such hilarity, gentlemen... well done.

Speaking of acting, not so much a 'funny guy', playing someone you definitely wouldn't want to cross is Robert De Niro.

He turns 78 today.  How many movies has he played an amazing role in, Vito Corleone (The Godfather II), Frank "The Irishman" (The Irishman), Jack Byrnes (Meet the Parents), Louis Gara (Jackie Brown), Max Cady (Cape Fear)... so many roles.

All of this on "Love Your Feet Day".  

Maybe it was from that scene in Life of Brian where he loses his sandal and walks barefoot... who knows how these days come about.

August 16th - Sports, Madonna, Taika and the King

 Growing up around my house with brothers and a dad who were very sports obsessed, we had a lot of Sports Illustrated issues around.  

The very first issue came out on August 16th, 1954.

A few years later, a certain queen of pop, Madonna was born (1958)

Then in 1975, Taika Waititi was born.

...and he's done some funny stuff I tell you.  Still have to finish watching Jo Jo Rabbit

Then in 1977 Elvis Presley was found dead.

Unless you're one of those who believes he's still alive... (he'd be 86).

All, during Rum Day.

Except for Taika, he was born in New Zealand and Rum Day is an American thing.

August 13th - going left from scary to food

 It's August 13th, and not just any day - it's a Friday the 13th.

Friday the 13th has always been an auspicious day - filled with superstition - there was even a whole series of horror movies surrounding it.

You almost don't know anything about Friday the 13th EXCEPT that movie franchise.  There's a ton of theories about why FRIDAY is the bad 13th, but I think it's more so that people really didn't like the number 13.

Speaking of horror movies, it also is the birthday of the modern horror movie filmmaker - Alfred Hitchcock (he would have been 122).

And then in other famous people news, Julia Childs, the famous TV chef star died on 2014 (age 91).

I bet Julia probably made this dish a few times: filet mignon.  And it's National Filet Mignon day (in the US).

I'd always thought that bacon was a must, for it to be filet mignon.  Guess I'm always learning things.

It's also International Left Handers Day - so go have a guess which of the above folks were left handed... it's about 10% of the population, given the number of Friday the 13th movies, I bet one of those Jasons was.

Aug 12 - Schrodinger's Young Elephant

 Ask people about Schrodinger, and they may - just may be able to remember something about him and a cat in a box.  But Erwin Schrodinger (who would have been 134 today) brought much more than a gedankenversuch about a cat that's both dead and alive - that thought experiment came out of his explanation of how something can be 2 things in quantum mechanics.

He won the nobel prize for his Schrodinger equation which describes the behaviour of the wave function.

Now, as for the young elephant.

Today is also International Youth Day

Isn't that every day for them?

And it's also, my son's favourite animal (speaking of youth), World Elephant Day.

Wonder if Schrodinger first tried to do his thought experiment with a young elephant in the jungle before he settled on cats in boxes with poison.