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Daily Pic 09/21/18 (International Day of Peace)

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Arctic Images/Alamy

A tower of light

Today is the International Day of Peace, an annual observance created by the United Nations and first celebrated in 1982. To recognize this noble effort, we bring you to Viðey Island, just north of Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik. The island is home to the Imagine Peace Tower, a ring of lights and mirrors that beams up nearly 2.5 miles into the night sky. It was created by Yoko Ono as an extension of the peace campaign started by the artist and her late husband, John Lennon. The base features the phrase ‘Imagine Peace’ in 24 different languages. When speaking of today’s observance, the UN defines ‘peace’ in the broadest terms–ceasefires and truces, however temporary, are all lauded as efforts to create a world free of violence.

Daily Pic 09/21/17

© Frank Chmura/age fotostock

Procida Island in the Gulf of Naples, Italy



Today in History 09/21 (B-29 Superfortress)

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US Air Force B-29 Superfortress bombers (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)(1942) One of history’s largest warplanes takes to the skies
The B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight from Seattle’s Boeing Field. Almost 4,000 of the enormous US combat planes will be built, including the two that will drop the world’s first atomic weapons over Japan.
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing, which was flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. It was one of the largest aircraft operational during World War II and featured state-of-the-art technology. Including design and production, at over $3 billion it was the single most expensive weapons project undertaken by the United States in World War II, exceeding the cost of the Manhattan Project by between $1 and 1.7 billion. Innovations introduced included a pressurized cabin, dual-wheeled, tricycle landing gear, and an analog computer-controlled fire-control system directing four remote machine gun turrets that could be operated by a single gunner and a fire-control officer. A manned tail gun installation was semi-remote. The name “Superfortress” continued the pattern Boeing started with its well-known predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress. Designed for the high-altitude strategic bomber role, the B-29 also excelled in low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing missions. One of the B-29’s final roles during World War II was carrying out the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Maximum speed: 356.98 mph
Range: 5,592 miles
Maiden flight: Sep 21, 1942
Length: 99′ 0″
Wingspan: 141 feet
Notable aircrafts: Enola Gay · Bockscar · Big Stink · The Great Artiste · Full House · Jabit III

Boeing-Wichita B-29 Assembly Line - 1944
Boeing assembly line at Wichita, Kansas (1944)
wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress
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(1942) One of history’s largest warplanes takes to the skies.
Also on this day,

1780 | Benedict Arnold plots to betray US Continental Army
General Benedict Arnold is dissatisfied with how his US Continental Army career has progressed and today meets with his ostensible enemy, British Major John André, to handover of his command, West Point, to the redcoats. His plot later exposed, Arnold’s name will become a byword for treason or betrayal.
1937 | ‘The Hobbit’ is published in London
J.R.R. Tolkien’s new novel ‘The Hobbit’ is published in London, and will sell out fast as the Oxford professor’s tale proves a hit with readers and critics alike. Publishers request a sequel, and more than a decade later ‘The Lord of the Rings will be delivered.
1970 | A football tradition starts as ‘Monday Night Football’ debuts on ABC
Don Meredith, Keith Jackson, and Howard Cosell call the action as the Cleveland Browns meet the New York Jets in the debut broadcast of ‘Monday Night Football.’ The ABC network show will garner great ratings and become an institution in prime-time TV sports viewing.

Today in History 09/21/17

Engraving depicting American army officer Benedict Arnold handing papers to British officer John Andre during the American Revolutionary War (© Stock Montage/Getty Images)(1780) Benedict Arnold plots to betray US Continental Army
General Benedict Arnold is dissatisfied with how his US Continental Army career has progressed and today meets with his ostensible enemy, British Major John André, to handover of his command, West Point, to the redcoats. His plot later exposed, Arnold's name will become a byword for treason or betrayal.
Benedict Arnold was a general during the American Revolutionary War, who fought for the American Continental Army, and later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fortifications at West Point, New York, overlooking the cliffs at the Hudson River, and planned to surrender them to British forces. This plan was exposed in September 1780. He was commissioned into the British Army as a brigadier general.
Born: Jan 14, 1741 · Norwich, CT
Died: Jun 14, 1801 · London, England
Spouse: Peggy Shippen (m. 1779 - 1804) · Margaret Mansfield (m. 1767 - 1775)
Buried: St Mary's Church, Battersea
Children: Lt.-Gen. James Robertson Arnold (Son) · John Sage Arnold (Son) · Capt. William Fitch Arnold (Son) · Sophia Matilda Phipps (Daughter) · Henry Arnold (Son) · Lt. Richard Arnold (Son) · Lt.-Col. George Arnold (Son) · Lt. Edward Shippen Arnold (Son) · Captain Benedict Arnold, VI (Son) · Mary Arnold (Daughter)
Parents: Hannah Arnold (Mother)
Highlights
  • 1776: Arnold was promoted to brigadier general for his role in reaching Quebec, and he maintained an ineffectual siege of the city until he was replaced by Major General David Wooster in April 1776.

  • 1776: General Washington assigned Arnold to the defense of Rhode Island, following the British seizure of Newport in December 1776, where the militia were too poorly equipped to even consider an attack on the British.

  • 1779: Peggy and Arnold married on April 8, 1779.

  • 1780: In July 1780, he was awarded command of West Point.

  • 1780: On August 3, 1780, Arnold obtained command of West Point.

  • 1801: He died after four days of delirium on June 14, 1801, at the age of 60.

wiki/Benedict_Arnold
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Daily Pic 09/20/18 (Blackpool Tower Ballroom)

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Dosfotos/Getty Images

May we have this dance?

Dancers have been waltzing across the mahogany floors at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, in Lancashire, England, for more than a century. For those on this side of the pond, Blackpool is a popular seaside resort in the UK, home to the 518-foot-tall Blackpool Tower, a tourist destination built in 1894 and inspired by the Eiffel Tower. These days, when people talk about the tower, they may be referring to the building’s many associated venues–a circus, theater, and the ornate ballroom shown here.

Daily Pic 09/20/17

© Werner Dieterich/plainpicture

Vineyards in Baden-Württemberg, Germany



Today in History 09/20 (Battle of the Sexes)

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Billie Jean King shakes hands with retired tennis champion Bobby Riggs after defeating him in a 'Battle of the Sexes' match (© Bettmann/Corbis)(1973) No love lost in tennis battle of the sexes
Having bested Margaret Court months earlier, former Wimbledon champ Bobby Riggs, 55, meets women’s tennis superstar Billie Jean King, 29, in what the media dub “the battle of the sexes.” Riggs’ dream of proving male athletic superiority is smashed when King handily wins the match in front of spectators and millions of TV viewers.
In tennis, “Battle of the Sexes” is a term that has been used to describe various exhibition matches played between a man and a woman. Most famously, the term is used for a nationally televised match in 1973, held at the Houston Astrodome, between 55-year-old Bobby Riggs and 29-year-old Billie Jean King, which King won in three sets. The match attracted massive attention and was viewed by an estimated 90 million people around the world; King’s win is considered a milestone in public acceptance of women’s tennis.
First occurred: May 13, 1973

From the
Paraphernalia from the Billie Jean King vs Bobby Riggs match
wiki/Battle_of_the_Sexes_(tennis)
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(1973) No love lost in tennis battle of the sexes.
Also on this day,

1746 | Bonnie Prince Charlie escapes Scotland after failed uprising
As the second Jacobite claimant to Britain’s throne, Charles Edward Stuart has spent a year in Scotland struggling to do what his father, ‘The Old Pretender,’ could not. This ‘Young Pretender’ has no better luck, and breaks for France as the dream of a Catholic British king dies out.
1873 | Panic on Wall Street as bonds and banks fail as a depression looms
Wall Street is in free fall in the wake of US railroad bonds defaulting and the biggest banks in the US failing, and the crisis will close the New York Stock Exchange for 10 days. A major worldwide economic collapse follows and will not let up in some countries for two decades.
1946 | 1st Cannes opens to glamour, commerce, and art converging
Scheduled to hold an inaugural gala in 1939, Cannes had to delay its film festival’s rollout for seven years while WWII raged. Now that the all-clear has sounded, the Cannes Film Festival begins its annual tradition as the film world descends on the French Riviera resort.

Today in History 09/20/17

Illustration of officials closing the doors of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during the panic of 1873 (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)(1873) Bonds and banks fail as a depression looms
Wall Street is in free fall in the wake of US railroad bonds defaulting and the biggest banks in the US failing, and the crisis will close the New York Stock Exchange for 10 days. A major worldwide economic collapse follows and will not let up in some countries for two decades.
The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered a depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 until 1879, and even longer in some countries. In Britain, for example, it started two decades of stagnation known as the "Long Depression" that weakened the country's economic leadership. The Panic was known as the "Great Depression" until the events in the early 1930s set a new standard.
Start date: 1873
End date: 1879
Panic of 1873 bank run
A bank run on the Fourth National Bank No. 20 Nassau Street, New York City, from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 4 October 1873

wiki/Panic_of_1873
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Daily Pic 09/19/18 (Talk Like a Pirate Day)

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Phil Noble/Reuters

Talk like a pirate—or walk the plank

Blimey! Feast your eyes on the battered pirate ship that seems to have washed up on the shore here at New Brighton Beach, in Wallasey, England. The ship, built of driftwood by artist Frank Lund, is nicknamed the Black Pearl. It puts us in mind of the so-called Golden Age of Piracy, in the 17th and 18th centuries, which has long captured our imaginations, and inspired books and movies about swashbucklers on the high seas.

So much do Americans love pirates, that they created a holiday dedicated to blabberin’ like one. Talk Like a Pirate Day was first imagined in 1995 by two Oregon residents who pitched the idea to columnist Dave Barry. From there, it went viral. These days, September 19 is celebrated internationally, with major brands and media personalities joining in the silliness. We’re fans, too. Just picture us typin’ this here with an eye patch, peg leg, an’ pocket full o’ swag doubloons. Arrrrr!

Daily Pic 09/19/17

© Ray Cooper/Solent News/REX/Shutterstock

A sparrowhawk in Kirkcudbright, Scotland