Good morning.
We’ll have a one-third chance of afternoon thunderstorms this Wednesday, and a high of seventy-seven.
July 31, 1777, a young French aristocrat begins serving America without compensation:
On this day in 1777, a 19-year-old French aristocrat, Marie-Joseph Paul Roch Yves Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, accepts a commission as a major-general in the Continental Army—without pay.
Lafayette served at Brandywine in 1777, as well as Barren Hill, Monmouth and Rhode Island in 1778. Following the formal treaty of alliance with Lafayette’s native France in February 1778 and Britain’s subsequent declaration of war, Lafayette asked to return to Paris and consult the king as to his future service. Washington was willing to spare Lafayette, who departed in January 1779. By March, Franklin reported from Paris that Lafayette had become an excellent advocate for the American cause at the French court. Following his six-month respite in France, Lafayette returned to aid the American war effort in Virginia, where he participated in the successful siege of Yorktown in 1781, before returning to France and the further service of his own country.
On this day in 1967, Lake Geneva’s local government, having no more immediate work before them, decided to strike a blow in defense of Western Civilization:
1967 – Lake Geneva Bans Go-Go Girls
On this date the Lake Geneva city government passed an ordinance banning go-go girls, dancers in bikinis, and swimsuit-clad waitresses from working in establishments that served alcohol. [Source: Janesville Gazette]
Puzzability has a series this week, from 7.29 to 8.2, entitled Last Laughs:
Last Laughs
For your amusement this week, we started each day with the name of a TV star who won an Emmy for his or her lead performance in a comedy series. Then we replaced all the letters in each word—except the last letter—with asterisks.
Example:
***Y ****R ****E
Answer:
Mary Tyler Moore
Here’s Wednesday’s puzzle:
***N ***A