Wednesday, February 21st. Day 52 of 2024
1842: John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine
1848: The Communist Manifesto was published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
1878: The first telephone directories are issued in the U.S. to residents in New Haven, CT. The single sheet had 50 names and numbers
1947: Edwin Land demonstrated the Polaroid Land Camera to the Optical Society of America in New York City. It was the first camera to take, develop and print a picture on photo paper all in about 60 seconds. The camera went on sale the following year
1948: NASCAR is incorporated
1965: Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City at the age of 39 by assassins identified as Black Muslims
1975: Former U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2 1/2 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up
1995: Steve Fossett lands in Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon
In the News: More than 700 Alexander County voters have already cast a ballot…County Veteran Service Office will be closed Thursday, Friday and Monday…Taylorsville woman jailed after traffic stop…Morganton woman arrested in Alexander County…Two men charged with trying to steal rocks !
Weather: Sunny and 58
Sports: Cougar Women and Men gets NWC Tournament wins, advance to semi-finals tonight in Boone…NC State loses a game couldn’t afford to lose…Wake gets important win…It’s official, the College Football Playoff will include 12 teams
Happy Birthday: William Petersen, Kelsey Grammer, Alan Trammell. Mary Chapin Carpenter, William Baldwin, Jennifer Love Hewitt
Alleged KC Super Bowl Parade shooter says he was “just being stupid” https://nypost.com/2024/02/20/us-news/alleged-kansas-city-chiefs-parade-shooter-lyndell-mays-told-cops-he-was-just-being-stupid-court-docs/
A Snake story https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/26062367/worlds-largest-snake-amazon-rainforest/
Word of the Day: oxymoron [ok-si-mohr-on] A figure of speech that produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect. A combination of contradictory or incongruous words (such as cruel kindness) broadly : something (such as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements. Sentence: The comedian’s act was filled with witty oxymorons that left the audience laughing and scratching their heads at the same time.
Quote of the Day: “The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again”… Erma Bombeck (Born this day in 1927)