Daily Pic 10/18/18 (Alaska Day)

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John Hyde/age fotostock

Fall comes to the Last Frontier

Join us in celebrating Alaska Day here at beautiful Mendenhall Lake, just a stone’s throw from the state capital of Juneau. It seems a timeless sight, but the lake actually began to form in the early 1900s as Mendenhall Glacier receded, leaving a deeply carved valley in its wake that was soon filled with glacial melt. Today, the glacier still feeds the lake, much to the delight of the many visitors who arrive in Juneau each summer on cruise ships.

Alaska Day commemorates the day in 1867 when the Russian Empire transferred Alaska to the United States in a sale for $7.2 million, or just around 2 cents per acre. It seems an astonishingly small price today, but at the time, opponents called it ‘Seward’s Folly’ after then-Secretary of State William H. Seward, who negotiated the deal. Few Americans moved to the ‘Last Frontier’ at first, but after 1898, when gold was discovered, a rush of prospectors and others began a wave of settlers in the territory. Ever since, Alaska, with its vast natural resources and staggering beauty, has been a prized American domain and an enduring symbol of American wilderness.

Daily Pic 10/18/17

© Juan José Pascual/age fotostock

Windmills in Consuegra, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain



Today in History 10/18 (BBC Founded)

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An early BBC broadcasting station at Savoy Hill in London in 1924 (© Central Press/Getty Images)(1922) The ‘Beeb’ begins its broadcasting reign
After two years of government and military control over a new innovation, radio broadcasting, the British public wants entertainment over their airwaves, and following hundreds of license requests and thousands of petition signatures, the British Broadcasting Company, or BBC, is founded.
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London and it is the world’s oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total, 16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting. The total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed-contract staff are included.
Website: www.bbc.co.uk
Customer service: +44 370 410 1060
Founded: Oct 18, 1922 · London, England
Revenue: £4.95 billion GBP
Headquarters: London, England
Founder: John Reith, 1st Baron Reith
Subsidiaries: BBC Worldwide · BBC Symphony Orchestra · BBC Philharmonic · BBC Sport · BBC One · BBC National Orchestra of Wales · BBC Two · BBC News · BBC World News · BBC Three · BBC Concert Orchestra · BBC Four · BBC Films · CBeebies · BBC HD

King George V making his annual Christmas Broadcast to the nation 1934.
King George V giving the 1934 Royal Christmas Message on BBC Radio. The annual message typically chronicles the year’s major events.
wiki/BBC
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(1922) The ‘Beeb’ begins its broadcasting reign.
Also on this day,

1851 | Tale of a white whale surfaces in England as ‘Moby-Dick’ published
A London publisher releases a 927-page epic sea yarn, ‘The Whale,’ by American author Herman Melville. The US edition will be published a month later, almost 300 pages shorter, and re-titled ‘Moby-Dick.’ What will later be hailed as one of the greatest novels ever written will initially sell poorly.
1945 | Argentina’s future president marries Evita as Juan and Eva marry
Actress Maria Eva Duarte stands with Colonel Juan Perón as they exchange wedding vows. Less than a year later Perón will be Argentina’s president and his wife First Lady, where she will rise to prominence on the world stage known better by her affectionate nickname, Evita.
1968 | Olympic athletes ousted as ‘Black Power’ salutes lead to Olympic suspensions
Two days after sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood atop the Olympic medal stand and raised their fists in a ‘Black Power’ salute, they are suspended from the US team and banned from Mexico City’s Olympic village. Their civil rights protest draws both criticism and praise.

Today in History 10/18/17

US athletes Tommie Smith, center, and John Carlos extend gloved hands skyward in racial protest during the medal ceremony at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City (© AP)(1968) 'Black Power' salutes lead to Olympic suspensions
Two days after sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood atop the Olympic medal stand and raised their fists in a 'Black Power' salute, they are suspended from the US team and banned from Mexico City's Olympic village. Their civil rights protest draws both criticism and praise.
The 1968 Olympics Black Power salute was a political demonstration conducted by African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City. After having won gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the 200-meter running event, they turned on the podium to face their flags, and to hear the American national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner". Each athlete raised a black-gloved fist, and kept them raised until the anthem had finished. In addition, Smith, Carlos, and Australian silver medalist Peter Norman all wore human rights badges on their jackets. In his autobiography, Silent Gesture, Smith stated that the gesture was not a "Black Power" salute, but a "human rights salute". The event is regarded as one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern Olympic Games.
Date: Oct 16, 1968
John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Peter Norman 1968
Gold medalist Tommie Smith (center) and bronze medalist John Carlos (right) showing the raised fist on the podium after the 200 m race at the 1968 Summer Olympics; both wear Olympic Project for Human Rights badges. Peter Norman (silver medalist, left) from Australia also wears an OPHR badge in solidarity with Smith and Carlos.

wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_salute
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Daily Pic 10/17/18 (National Fossil Day)

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wanderluster/Getty Images

Let’s talk fossils

Was there a time in your childhood when you told your parents, ‘I want to study dinosaurs when I grow up!’? On National Fossil Day, we encourage you to channel that childhood curiosity. The event, a celebration of paleontology, often includes activities at local museums, parks, and schools. Participants may get to see amazing remnants of the past, such as the dinosaur tracks on our homepage, which were photographed near Tuba City, Arizona, in the Navajo Nation.

Paleontologists from Northern Arizona University have determined that these tracks were formed in the early Jurassic Period, which started approximately 200 million years ago, when the ancestors of dinosaurs like the stegosaurus, brontosaurus, and brachiosaurus began roaming North America. (The specific type of dinosaur that left these tracks can’t be verified). Bones are often the first thing that comes to mind when fossils are mentioned, but the term also encompasses elements such as footprints, burrows, and feeding marks, which are all examples of ‘trace fossils.’

Daily Pic 10/17/17

© Carson Ganci/First Light/age fotostock

Elk River in British Columbia, Canada




Today in History 10/17 (Loma Prieta Earthquake)

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Workers check the damage to Interstate 880 in Oakland, California on October 19, 1989, after it collapsed during the Loma Prieta earthquake two days earlier (© Paul Sakuma/AP)(1989) San Francisco Bay Area rocked by major quake
Just minutes before Game 3 of the World Series is scheduled to start in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, a violent earthquake hits Northern California, severely pounding the San Francisco Bay Area. The quake collapses bridges and freeways, causes $7 billion in damage, nearly 4,000 injuries, and 67 deaths.
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred in Northern California on October 17 at 5:04 p.m. local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park approximately 10 mi northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of the San Andreas Fault System and was named for the nearby Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains. With a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX, the shock was responsible for 63 deaths and 3,757 injuries. The Loma Prieta segment of the San Andreas Fault System had been relatively inactive since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake until two moderate foreshocks occurred in June 1988 and again in August 1989.
Date: Oct 17, 1989
Areas affected: Central Coast (California), San Francisco Bay Area, United States
Depth: 12 mi (19 km)
Max. intensity: IX (Violent)
Total damage: $5.6–6 billion

1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Photograph of a collapsed five-story tower, St. Joseph's Seminary, Los Altos, California. One person, Curtis Lee Currin, working in the tower was killed
One person died when a five-story tower collapsed at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Santa Clara County.
wiki/1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake
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(1989) San Francisco Bay Area rocked by major quake.
Also on this day,

1860 | 1st Open Championship as golfers play a new tournament near Glasgow
A single-day championship is held near Glasgow, Scotland at Prestwick Golf Club, a 12-hole course hosting eight professional golfers for a three-round game to determine the winner of The Open. The tournament will become the oldest in golfing and be known in the US as the British Open.
1931 | A Chicago mobster’s criminal career ends with taxes due as Al Capone convicted
Brooklyn native Al Capone is brought to justice after a violent criminal career, but it’s not a rival’s bullets or a murder conviction that finally does him in. The 32-year-old known as ‘Scarface’ is convicted on tax evasion charges and sentenced to a prison term of 11 years.
1979 | Spreadsheets come to personal computers as VisiCalc released
Personal computers get down to business as VisiCalc is released for the Apple II. It will go on to sell about a million copies, with versions for the IBM PC and other platforms added in the coming years. The day will later be known as National Spreadsheet Day.

Today in History 10/17/17

Chicago crime boss Al Capone, left, wearing white hat, as he leaves the courtroom in Chicago on October 12, 1931 (© AP)(1931) A Chicago mobster's criminal career ends with taxes due
Brooklyn native Al Capone is brought to justice after a violent criminal career, but it's not a rival's bullets or a murder conviction that finally does him in. The 32-year-old known as 'Scarface' is convicted on tax evasion charges and sentenced to a prison term of 11 years.
Alphonse Gabriel Capone, sometimes known by the nickname Scarface, was an American mobster, crime boss, and businessman who attained fame during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the Chicago Outfit. His seven-year reign as crime boss ended when he was 33 years old.
Lived: Jan 17, 1899 - Jan 25, 1947 (age 48)
Height: 5' 10" (1.79 m)
Spouse: Mae Capone (m. 1918 - 1947)
TV shows: The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults
Children: Albert Francis Capone (Son)
Buried: Mount Carmel Cemetery
Capone’s criminal record in 1932
Capone's FBI criminal record in 1932, showing most of his criminal charges were discharged/dismissed
Highlights
  • 1918: Capone married Mae Josephine Coughlin at age 19 on December 30, 1918.

  • 1920: Torrio took over Colosimo's crime empire after Colosimo's murder on May 11, 1920, in which Capone was suspected of being involved.

  • 1926: On September 20, 1926, the North Side Gang used a ploy outside the Capone headquarters at the Hawthorne Inn, aimed at drawing him to the windows.

  • 1927: In January 1927, the Hawthorne's restaurant owner, a friend of Capone's, was kidnapped and killed by Moran and Drucci.

  • 1931: An indication of the attitude of local law enforcement to Capone's organization came in 1931 when Belcastro was wounded in a shooting; police suggested to skeptical journalists that Belcastro was an independent operator.

  • 1947: On January 25, 1947, Capone died of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke.

wiki/Al_Capone
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Daily Pic 10/16/18 (Boss’s Day)

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Susan Portnoy/Offset

Hey, who’s in charge here?

On Boss’s Day, we’re showcasing a working relationship with unusual power dynamics. The oxpecker bird and the African buffalo, while of starkly different sizes, make a good team. The oxpecker feeds exclusively while perched on the buffalo’s body, removing bothersome parasites and bugs while getting a steady supply of food for itself. Some scientists believe this to be an example of a mutualistic relationship, but others think the oxpecker behaves more like a parasite. Ah, office politics.

Daily Pic 10/16/17

© David Schultz/Mint Images/SuperStock

Eland antelope and giraffe at Etosha National Park, Namibia