Good morning.

Whitewater will have an even chance of afternoon showers today, with a high of fifty-eight.

The Tech Park Board meets today at 8 AM.

On this day in 1800, the Library of Congress is born:

…legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress,” thus establishing the Library of Congress. The first books, ordered from London, arrived in 1801 and were stored in the U.S. Capitol, the library’s first home. The first library catalog, dated April 1802, listed 964 volumes and nine maps. Twelve years later, the British army invaded the city of Washington and burned the Capitol, including the then 3,000-volume Library of Congress.

Former president Thomas Jefferson, who advocated the expansion of the library during his two terms in office, responded to the loss by selling his personal library, the largest and finest in the country, to Congress to “recommence” the library. The purchase of Jefferson’s 6,487 volumes was approved in the next year, and a professional librarian, George Watterston, was hired to replace the House clerks in the administration of the library. In 1851, a second major fire at the library destroyed about two-thirds of its 55,000 volumes, including two-thirds of the Thomas Jefferson library. Congress responded quickly and generously to the disaster, and within a few years a majority of the lost books were replaced.

After the Civil War, the collection was greatly expanded, and by the 20th century the Library of Congress had become the de facto national library of the United States and one of the largest in the world. Today, the collection, housed in three enormous buildings in Washington, contains more than 17 million books, as well as millions of maps, manuscripts, photographs, films, audio and video recordings, prints, and drawings.

On this day in 1977, Whitewater loses an establishment:

1977 – Morris Pratt Institute of Spiritualism Moves to Waukesha
On this date the Morris Pratt Institute, dedicated to the study of Spiritualism and Mediumship, moved from Whitewater to Waukesha. Founded in 1888 and incorporated in 1901, it was one of the few institutes in the world that instructed spiritualists. These were people “who believe as the basis of his or her religion, in the communication between this and the Spirit World by means of mediumship and who endeavors to mould his or her character and conduct in accordance with the highest teachings derived from such communication.” [Source: Morris Pratt Institute]

Here’s Puzzability‘s Thursday game:

This Week’s Game — April 21-25

Mark Antonyms

We’ve searched high and low for this week’s opposites. For each day, we’ll give definitions of two words that, using different meanings, are antonyms of each other.

Example:

Strange / smooth

Answer:

Odd / even

What to Submit:

Submit the antonym pair (as “Odd / even” in the example) for your answer.

Thursday, April 24

Flatland / quite like

Good morning.

Wednesday in the Whippet City will be increasingly cloudy with a high of fifty-five.

Whitewater’s public meetings today show the gap between existing independent businesses and government-backed (and wasteful) efforts to manipulate the local economy to the advantage of insiders’ preferred projects.

Downtown Whitewater’s Board meets at 8 AM, and later today at 3:30 PM the Community Development Authority’s Seed Capital ‘Screening Committee’ meets, followed by a CDA board meeting at 5 PM.

On this day in 1934, a crook gets away:

1934 – FBI rousts Dillinger from Little Bohemia Lodge
On this day the FBI raided the Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Waters, Vilas Co. They had been tipped off that gangster John Dillinger was hiding at Little Bohemia, but during their raid an innocent Civilian Conservation Corps worker was killed and Dillinger escaped.

Twenty years to the day later, something much better:

1954 – Aaron Hits First Big League Home Run
On this date Hank Aaron, playing for the Milwaukee Braves, hit his first major league home run. Twenty years later he broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record of 714. Aaron ended his career with 755 home runs, a record that stood until 2007. [Source: Sporting News]

Here’s Wednesday’s Puzzability game:

This Week’s Game — April 21-25

Mark Antonyms

We’ve searched high and low for this week’s opposites. For each day, we’ll give definitions of two words that, using different meanings, are antonyms of each other.

Example:

Strange / smooth

Answer:

Odd / even

What to Submit:

Submit the antonym pair (as “Odd / even” in the example) for your answer.

Wednesday, April 23

Acknowledge applause / forbiddingly serious

Good morning.

Earth Day in Whitewater will be sunny, with a high of fifty-five, and northwest winds at ten to 15 mph.

The Urban Forestry Commission meets today at 4:30 PM.

For Earth Day, Google’s published a doodle with links to information about several animals (Rufous hummingbird, veiled chameleon, moon jellyfish, dung beetle, puffer fish, macaques):

Earth Day has a strong Wisconsin connection:

1970 – First Earth Day Celebrated
On this date the first Earth Day was celebrated. The event was organized by a 33-member committee in Philadelphia. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson advocated Earth Day to focus national attention on ecological issues. [Source: Earth Day Information Center]

Here’s Puzzability‘s Tuesday game:

This Week’s Game — April 21-25

Mark Antonyms

We’ve searched high and low for this week’s opposites. For each day, we’ll give definitions of two words that, using different meanings, are antonyms of each other.

Example:

Strange / smooth

Answer:

Odd / even

What to Submit:

Submit the antonym pair (as “Odd / even” in the example) for your answer.

Tuesday, April 22

Traffic signal / villain in a movie

Good morning.

Monday brings a probability of afternoon showers or thundershowers and a high of seventy-five.

SpaceX, a private aerospace firm, had a successful launch of its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule on Friday. Two days’ time later, on Easter, the capsule successful arrived at the International Space Station with tons (literally) of supplies and equipment.

Here’s NASA’s video of the Friday launch:

Today is the day (by tradition from 753 BC) on which Rome is founded.

It’s John Muir’s birthday:

1838 – John Muir Born
On this date John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland. He immigrated with his family to Wisconsin in 1849 and spent his youth working on his father’s farms in Marquette County, experiences that are recounted in The Story of My Boyhood and Youth (1913). In 1868 he moved to Yosemite Valley, California, where he became a conservationist and leader in the forest preserve movement. His work led to the creation of the first national parks, the saving of California’s redwoods, and the founding of the Sierra Club. [Source:  Dictionary of Wisconsin Biography, SHSW 1960, pg. 261]

Puzzability has a new series, entitled, Mark Antonyms.  Here’s Monday’s game:

This Week’s Game — April 21-25

Mark Antonyms

We’ve searched high and low for this week’s opposites. For each day, we’ll give definitions of two words that, using different meanings, are antonyms of each other.

Example:

Strange / smooth

Answer:

Odd / even

What to Submit:

Submit the antonym pair (as “Odd / even” in the example) for your answer.

Monday, April 21

Long overhead microphone holder / woman’s measurement