Good morning, Whitewater.

Sunday in town will be cloudy in the morning, but sunny in the afternoon, with a high of twenty-eight.  Sunrise is 6:56 and sunset 4:26, for 9h 29m 58s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing gibbous with 84.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

Friday’s FW poll asked readers how much snowfall they thought Whitewater would get over this weekend.  We easily passed the ‘more than 6 inches’ choice (that 25% of respondents picked).

On this day in 1963, America experiences a tragic loss and a depressing statistic of her politics: Pres. Kennedy becomes the fourth U.S. president to be assassinated:

Good morning, Whitewater.

We’ll have continuing snowfall in the morning and cloudy skies this afternoon, with a daytime high of thirty.  Sunrise is 6:54 and sunset 4:26, for 9h 31m 50s.  The moon is a waxing gibbous with 75.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

This month, Théo Sanson probably set a world slackline record.  What’s that like?  It’s like this —

Quite the feat, and beautifully recorded.

On this day in 1783, two Frenchmen ride in an untheterd balloon for about five miles:

François Laurent le Vieux d’Arlandes  and Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier made the first manned free balloon flight on 21 November 1783, in a Montgolfier balloon.

D’Arlandes was born in Anneyron in the Dauphiné. He met Joseph Montgolfier at the Jesuit college of Tournon. He became an infantry officer in the French royal guard.

The first public demonstration of a balloon by the Montgolfier brothers took place in June 1783, and was followed by an untethered flight of a sheep, a cockerel and a duck from the front courtyard of the Palace of Versailles on 19 September. The French KingLouis XVI decided that the first manned flight would contain two condemned criminals, but de Rozier enlisted the help of theDuchess de Polignac to support his view that the honour of becoming first balloonists should belong to someone of higher status, and d’Arlandes agreed to accompany him. The King was persuaded to permit d’Arlandes and de Rozier to become the first pilots.

After several tethered tests to gain some experience of controlling the balloon, de Rozier and d’Arlandes made their first untethered flight in a Montgolfier hot air balloon on 21 November 1783, taking off at 1:54 p.m. from the garden of the Château de la Muette in the Bois de Boulogne, in the presence of the King. Also watching was U.S. envoy, Benjamin Franklin. Their 25-minute flight travelled slowly about 5½ miles (some 9 km) to the southeast, attaining an altitude of 3,000 feet, before returning to the ground at the Butte-aux-Cailles, then on the outskirts of Paris. After the flight, the pilots drank champagne to celebrate the flight, a tradition carried on by balloonists to this day.

D’Arlandes proposed a flight to cross the English Channel in 1784, but the plan came to nothing.

Good morning, Whitewater.

Friday will grow cloudy, with a daytime high of forty, and snow beginning in the evening. Sunrise is 6:53 and sunset is 4:27, for 9h 33m 45s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 64.7% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1820, a whale sinks a whaler:

The American whaler Essex, which hailed from Nantucket, Massachusetts, is attacked by an 80-ton sperm whale 2,000 miles from the western coast of South America.

The 238-ton Essex was in pursuit of sperm whales, specifically the precious oil and bone that could be derived from them, when an enraged bull whale rammed the ship twice and capsized the vessel. The 20 crew members escaped in three open boats, but only five of the men survived the harrowing 83-day journey to the coastal waters of South America, where they were picked up by other ships. Most of the crew resorted to cannibalism during the long journey, and at one point men on one of the long boats drew straws to determine which of the men would be shot in order to provide sustenance for the others. Three other men who had been left on a desolate Pacific island were saved later.

The first capture of a sperm whale by an American vessel was in 1711, marking the birth of an important American industry that commanded a fleet of more than 700 ships by the mid 18th century. Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick(1851) was inspired in part by the story of the Essex.

(Of the sinking of the Essex, there is a major motion picture to be released this December, In the Heart of the Sea.)

Here’s Puzzability‘s final game in its Partners in Rhyme series:

This Week’s Game — November 16-20

Partners in Rhyme

Here’s our business plan. For each day, we started with the name of a company or brand, past or present, of the form ___ & ___. The day’s clues lead to two answer words (around the ampersand) that rhyme with the company or brand.

Example:

Beach collectible & A, E, I, O, U, or sometimes Y

Answer:

Bell & Howell (shell & vowel)

What to Submit:

Submit the company or brand and the rhyming words (as “Bell & Howell (shell & vowel)” in the example) for your answer.

Friday, November 20

Pulver’s rank in Mr. Roberts & frat house newbies

Good morning, Whitewater.

Thursday will be partly cloudy and windy with a high of forty-two. Sunrise is 6:52 and sunset 4:28 for 9h 35m 42s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 52.7% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission meets this evening at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1863, Pres. Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address as part of a dedication ceremony for a national ceremony in that city. The New York Times hardly mentions Lincoln or his speech in its account of the dedication, leaving us with confirmation that (then and now) the press often overlooks what’s truly significant and memorable:

The ceremonies attending the dedication of the National Cemetery commenced this morning by a grand military and civic display, under command of Maj. Gen. Coucs. The line of march was taken up at 10 o’clock, and the procession marched through the principal streets to the Cemetery, where the military formed in line and saluted the President. At 11-1/4 the head of the procession arrived at the main stand. The President and members of the Cabinet, together with the chief military and civic dignitaries, took position on the stand. The President seated himself between Mr. Seward and Mr. Everett after a reception marked with the respect and perfect silence due to the solemnity of the occasion, every man in the immense gathering uncovering on his appearance….

Mr. Everett then commenced the delivery of his oration, which was listened to with marked attention throughout. [The oration of Mr. Everett will be found on our second page.]

Here’s Puzzability‘s Partners in Rhyme puzzle for Thursday:

This Week’s Game — November 16-20

Partners in Rhyme

Here’s our business plan. For each day, we started with the name of a company or brand, past or present, of the form ___ & ___. The day’s clues lead to two answer words (around the ampersand) that rhyme with the company or brand.

Example:

Beach collectible & A, E, I, O, U, or sometimes Y

Answer:

Bell & Howell (shell & vowel)

What to Submit:

Submit the company or brand and the rhyming words (as “Bell & Howell (shell & vowel)” in the example) for your answer.

Thursday, November 19

Causes to jump in surprise & insurance adjuster’s cases

Good morning, Whitewater.

Wednesday in town will be windy and rainy with a high of sixty.  Sunrise is 6:51 and sunset is 4:28, for 9h 37m 42s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 41.9% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets today at 5 PM.

On 11.18.1863,  Pres. Lincoln travels to Gettysburg:

On this day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln boards a train for Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to deliver a short speech at the dedication of a cemetery of soldiers killed during the battle there on July 1 to July 3, 1863. The address Lincoln gave in Gettysburg became one of the most famous speeches in American history.

Lincoln had given much thought to what he wanted to say at Gettysburg, but nearly missed his chance to say it. Shortly before the trip, Lincoln’s son, Tad, became ill with a fever. The president and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln were no strangers to juvenile illness: They had already lost two sons to disease. Prone to fits of hysteria, Mary Lincoln panicked when her husband prepared to leave. However, Lincoln felt the opportunity to speak at Gettysburg and present his defense of the war was too important to miss, so he boarded a train and headed to Pennsylvania.

Despite his son’s illness, Lincoln was in good spirits during the journey. He was accompanied by an entourage that included Secretary of State William Seward, Postmaster General Montgomery Blair, Interior Secretary John Usher, Lincoln’s personal secretaries John Hay and John Nicolay, several members of the diplomat corps, some foreign visitors, a Marine band, and a military escort.

When Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg, he was handed a telegram that lifted his spirits: Tad was feeling much better. Lincoln enjoyed an evening dinner and a serenade by the Fifth New York Artillery Band before he retired to finalize his famous Gettysburg Address.

On this day in 1930, Prohibition takes its toll in Beloit:

1930 – Beloit Area Home Raided

On this date federal agents and county deputies raided Otto Matschke’s home, north of Beloit, and seized an illegal still and 300 gallons of contraband moonshine. [Source: Janesville Gazette November 19, 1930, p.1]

Here’s the midweek game from Puzzability, the third in the Partners in Rhyme series:

This Week’s Game — November 16-20

Partners in Rhyme

Here’s our business plan. For each day, we started with the name of a company or brand, past or present, of the form ___ & ___. The day’s clues lead to two answer words (around the ampersand) that rhyme with the company or brand.

Example:

Beach collectible & A, E, I, O, U, or sometimes Y

Answer:

Bell & Howell (shell & vowel)

What to Submit:

Submit the company or brand and the rhyming words (as “Bell & Howell (shell & vowel)” in the example) for your answer.

Wednesday, November 18

Tooth gunk & playing piece that can get kinged