DIANE'S CORNER ... Celebrate Puzzle Day

With the advent of digital entertainment, the common puzzle may be falling by the wayside. Puzzle Day is your chance to go back to basics; do a jigsaw, solve a crossword or buy a Rubik’s Cube and frustrate your friends!

Word of the Day

skelf

MEANING:

noun:
1. A splinter.
2. A tiny amount of something.
3. A thin or slight person.
4. An annoying or troublesome person.

USAGE:

“Trying to get the garden in order, I got a skelf in my finger.”
Neil McIntosh; Road to Skelf-Destruction; Daily Record (Glasgow, UK); Jul 7, 2016.

Idiom of the Day

Busy as a bee

If someone says you are as a busy as a bee it means you are very busy or very active.

Example: She's as busy as a bee, always going to meetings and organizing parties; The Teacher said: "I want everyone to be as busy as bees".

Did you know...? The first recorded usage of this idiom is from well known 'Canterbury Tales' written in the 14th Century.

This Day in History

1728 - John Gay's The Beggar's Opera was first performed at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, London.

1802 - John Beckley became the first Librarian of Congress.

1845 - Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" was published for the first time in the "New York Evening Mirror."

1856 - Britain's highest military decoration, the Victoria Cross, was founded by Queen Victoria.

1861 - In America, Kansas became the 34th state of the Union.

1924 - R. Taylor patented the ice cream cone rolling machine.

1936 - The first members of major league baseball's Hall of Fame were named in Cooperstown, NY.

1940 - The W. Atlee Burpee Seed Company displayed the first tetraploid flowers at the New York City Flower Show.

1963 - The first members to the NFL's Hall of Fame were named in Canton, OH.

1972 - David Bowie performed as "Ziggy Stardust" for the first time.

1987 - "Physician’s Weekly" announced that the smile on the face of Leonardo DeVinci's Mona Lisa was caused by a "...facial paralysis resulting from a swollen nerve behind the ear."

2014 - Archaeologists announced that they had uncovered what they believed to be the oldest temple in Roman antiquity. The temple was found at the Sant'Omobono site in central Rome.

DAILY SQU-EEK

If You Were Born Today, January 29

You are extremely likable and quite brilliant. You love a good debate, friendly challenge, and stimulating conversations, and always have something unique to share. Although you seem wiser than your years while young, you have a youthful quality that is with you throughout your life. There is a gentle and caring quality about you that others love. While you could get away with a whole lot just because you are so easy to like, you are fair to an extreme and will always end up doing your share. Famous people born today:

1737 Thomas Paine, English-American political essayist (Common Sense, Age of Reason), born in Thetford, England (d. 1809)

1843 William McKinley, 25th US President(Republican: 1897-1901), born in Niles, Ohio (d. 1901)

1860 Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright (Cherry Orchard), born in Taganrog, Russia (d. 1904)

1945 Tom Selleck, actor (Lance-Rockford Files, Magnum PI), born in Detroit, Michigan

1954 Oprah Winfrey, American TV talk show host and actress (The Oprah Winfrey Show, Colour Purple), born in Kosciusko, Mississippi

READERS INFO

1.

1845 -

Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Raven" was published for the first time in the "New York Evening Mirror on this day.

Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849)

2.1936 -

On this day, Ty Cobb received the most votes of any player
on the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes (98.2%); no other player received a higher percentage of votes until Tom Seaver in 1992. In 1999, editors at the Sporting News ranked Ty Cobb third on their list of "Baseball’s 100 Greatest Players".

TY COBB, BABE RUTH, HONUS WAGNER, CHRISTY
MATHEWSON, WALTER JOHNSON.

3.

TNNA Winter NeedleArts Market 2019

Jan 31 - Feb 3, 2019 | Portland, NV

Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland Washington Square|9000 SW Washington Square Rd

Let granny serve as a reminder for you to attend the TNNA Winter NeedleArts Market when she's knitting your warm and comfy socks. Those who are crafty with a needle will enjoy the weekend by meeting other thread enthusiasts, learning about the hottest trends in the industry and shopping for great products. It's the perfect event for networking and inspiring creativity even if you're only packing some colored thread and a needle.

further information: Winter Market - The National Needlearts Association

4.

U.S. National Snow Sculpting Competition 2019

Jan 30 - Feb 3, 2019 Dates Unconfirmed | Lake Geneva, WI

Flat Iron Park|201 Wrigley Dr

You could roll a ball of snow into a morbidly obese snowman, but building snowmen is becoming a dying art. That's why you should sled on over to the U.S. National Snow Sculpting Competition to see what marvelous works of art can come from frozen water. With the best packing snow available, these sculptors will create any life-sized object you can think. From Greek Gods and ice dragons to army tanks and ferocious wildlife, there's no such thing as impossible in snow sculpting.

further information: United States National Snow Sculpting Championship

Pictures of the day

Zabriskie Point is an area in Death Valley National Park noted for its beautiful erosional landscape. It is called a badlands due to its difficult to traverse topography.

GREAT WHITE SHARK