Today in History

Ham, a four-year old chimpanzee, was put into suborbital flight aboard the Mercury-Redstone 2 rocket. During his sixteen-minute flight, Ham was wired to medical sensors to monitor his vital signs. The capsule reached an altitude of 108 miles and speeds in excess of 13,000 mph. NASA used Ham to test the capabilities of the Mercury capsule before putting a human life at risk. The success of Ham's flight enabled NASA to put Alan Shephard, the first Mercury astronaut, into space three months later.

Link*
http://www.cosmeo.com/viewTodayInHistoryEvents.cfm?guidAssetId=71b7160d-3bf8-4bee-b622-6c7440a7c6a9&eventId=687

Word of The Day

Macroscian

Having or casting a long shadow.

Links*

http://www.answers.com/

Today in History

January 29, 1485, Allan Poe's "The Raven" appears in the New York Evening Mirror. That poem is then featured in periodicals throughout the country and published as a book.

Link:

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?

Word of The Day

Lucullan

Lavish, Luxurious

Sentences:

Last Summer I went to a lucullan spa.

That dress is so lucullan.

Links:

http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl

Today in History

All eyes were watching the Challenger lift off, carrying aboard the first ordinary U.S. civilian. Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher from New Hamshire, won a competition making her one of seven crew members to travel into space. The space shuttle took off with millions watching, including McAuliffe's students and family. Seventy-three seconds after take-off it exploded, killing all seven crew members on board. Accident investigators determined that the cause of the explosion was a faulty "O-ring" seal in one of the solid-fuel rockets. NASA grounded astronauts for more than two years while the shuttle was redesigned.

Link*
http://www.cosmeo.com/viewTodayInHistoryEvents.cfm?guidAssetId=63763f4c-bc1f-46e4-815e-f0f38a310e12&eventId=684

Word of The Day

Neophyte: A Novice or Beginner.

Sentences:

I am a Neophyte in Medical School.

She is a Neophyte in Politics.

Link*
http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/archive/2008/01/28.html

My Hello Kitty Collection

Today in History

From now on, I am going to name the 'On This Day' posts to 'Today in History'..

In 1907, Robert Baden-Powell held an experimental camp with 20 boys from different classes in English society. Already a respected soldier, Baden-Powell had written a handbook for soldiers — Aids to Scouting — which proved to be popular among British youth. He put his theories about training boys into practice at the camp and a few months later, 100 years ago today, he founded the official organization of Boy Scouts and published the first issue of Scouting for Boys. The book became one of the top-selling publications in Britain and the organization became the world's number one youth group.

Bibilography:

Answers - Today's Highlights

Word of The Day

Megaron

Form of tripartite rectangular hall or building particularly associated with Mycenaean citadels, in which a rectangular room is approached through a forecourt and vestibule forming an extension of one end. The principal room commonly contained a central hearth surrounded by four columns and a dais to one side.

Bibilography:

Answers