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October 4 Saints of the Day – Paul the Simple and Francis of Assisi
On this day in 1957, Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, was launched, beaming panic into the homes of Americans nationwide. Paul the Simple of Egypt (d. ca. 339) was a...
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October 6 Saints of the Day – Apostle Thomas and Francis Trung Van Tran
On this day in 1903, the High Court of Australia sat for the first time, thanks to a shipment of chairs from Taiwan. Thomas (d. 72) was one of the Twelve Apostles, and (in)famous for not believing the...
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October 16 Saints of the Day – Longinus and Bertrand of Comminges
On this day in 1814, the London Beer Flood occurred in London, spilling about 1.5 million liters (390,000 gallons) of beer into the streets of St. Giles. Asked if they thought this was a tragedy, local...
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October 20 Saint of the Day – Artemius of Antioch
On this day in 1864, US President Abraham Lincoln formally established Thanksgiving as a national holiday. It was originally to be called “Black Friday Eve” but Honest Abe thought “Thanksgiving”...
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October 23 Saints of the Day – James the Just and John of Capistrano
On this day in 4004 BC, according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher, the world was created. It was of course a Sunday; it might have been a Saturday, had 4004 not been a leap year. James...
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November 13 Saints of the Day – Brice and Frances Xavier Cabrini
On this day in 1952, fake fingernails first went on sale. They were a hit, and the stores rapidly sold all they had on hand. The Orthodox may think I’m dumb. “Today,” they say, “is Chrysostom!” But...
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November 21 Saints of the Day – Entrance of the Theotokos and Albert of Louvain
On this day in 164 BC, Judas Maccabaeus restored the Temple in Jerusalem. He would have done it yesterday but the oratorio choir kept getting in the way. The Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into...
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November 24 Saint of the Day – Catherine of Alexandria
On this day in 1971, Dan “D.B.” Cooper parachuted over southwestern Washington State from a Northwest Airlines 727 with $200,000 in cash, and has never been found. Nobody believes the Ariel,...
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December 17 Saints of the Day – Three Holy Youths and Lazarus
On this day in 1903, Orville Wright made the first sustained motorized airplane flight. Without lemon-soaked paper napkins. The Three Holy Youths (VI cent. BC(E)) had two names each, making for a total...
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December 25 Feast of the Day – The Nativity of Our Lord, God, and Savior...
On this day in 1651, the Massachusetts General Court instituted a five-shilling fine for “observing any such day as Christmas.” They also outlawed gambling, food with flavor, and non-scratchy clothes....
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