Good morning.
We’ll have a partly sunny Tuesday with a high of forty-four.
Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets this afternoon at 4:30 PM, and her Common Council at 7 PM.
On this day in 1797, a first – a successful parachute jump:
Google has changed the design of its homepage to celebrate Andre-Jacque Garnerin’s jump on October 22 1797 from a balloon above Parc Monceau in Paris.
The Frenchman used a seven-meter silk parachute resembling an umbrella to ease his path to the ground.
When Garnerin’s balloon reached 3,000 feet above the park, he cut his basket loose and opened the parachute.
Visitors to Google’s homepage can now recreate that leap using their right and left arrow keys to guide the path of their parachutist safely towards the ground.
The French daredevil emerged from the basked unscathed, despite it jerking in the air and a violent landing.
Garnerin became an international celebrity following the leap and was awarded the title of Official Aeronaut of France.
His wife, Jeanne Genevieve Labrosse, was also a balloonist and the first ever female parachutist. The couple visited England in the early 1800s and took part in several balloon flights while in the country.
On October 22, 1935, a Footville man wins again:
1938 – Footville Man Wins Husking Title
On this date Dick Post of Footville won his sixth county title by husking a record 24.5 bushels of corn in 80 minutes. Two days later, he husked 1,868 pounds in 80 minutes to win the state championship. Post finished fourth in the nationals at Sioux Falls, S.D. [Source: Janesville Gazette October 22, 1938, p.4]
Scientific American‘s daily trivia question asks about tourism. (Clicking on the question leads to its answer.)