Good morning, Whitewater.

We may have our last snowfall of the season today. We will likely get about an inch of snow, mixed with sleet and freezing rain. The high for today will be thirty-five. Sunrise is 6:25 and sunset 5:47, for 11h 21m 17s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 95.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

Common Council meets tonight at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1931, Pres. Hoover signs a bill about a particular song:

President Herbert Hoover signs a congressional act making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official national anthem of the United States.

On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key composed the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing the massive overnight British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812. Key, an American lawyer, watched the siege while under detainment on a British ship and penned the famous words after observing with awe that Fort McHenry’s flag survived the 1,800-bomb assault.

After circulating as a handbill, the patriotic lyrics were published in a Baltimore newspaper on September 20, 1814. Key’s words were later set to the tune of “To Anacreon in Heaven,” a popular English song. Throughout the 19th century, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was regarded as the national anthem by most branches of the U.S. armed forces and other groups, but it was not until 1916, and the signing of an executive order by President Woodrow Wilson, that it was formally designated as such. In March 1931, Congress passed an act confirming Wilson’s presidential order, and on March 3 President Hoover signed it into law.

Here’s the Tuesday, vegetable-themed game from Puzzability:

This Week’s Game — March 2-6

Vegging In

We’re dishing up a healthy serving every day this week. For each day, we’ve taken the name of a vegetable, added a letter, and scrambled all the letters to get a new word. The answer phrase, described by each day’s clue, is the vegetable followed by the new word.

Example:

Deep-dish meal with a vegetable base

Answer:

Escarole casserole

What to Submit:

Submit the phrase, with the vegetable first (as “Escarole casserole” in the example), for your answer.

Tuesday, March 3

Vegetable-shaped clothing patch applied using heat

Good morning, Whitewater.

Monday in town will be increasingly cloudy with a high of twenty-five. Sunrise is 6:27 and sunset is 5:46, for 11h 18m 25s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 90.7% of its visible disk illuminated.

It’s Dr. Seuss’s birthday:

Theodor Seuss Geisel (…March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991) was an American writer and cartoonist. He was most widely known for his children’s books, which he wrote and illustrated under the pseudonym Dr. Seuss (/su?s/).[2] He had used the pen name Dr. Theophrastus Seuss in college and later used Theo LeSieg and Rosetta Stone.[3]

Geisel published 46 children’s books, often characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use of anapestic meter. His most-celebrated books include the bestselling Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, Fox in Socks, The King’s Stilts, Hop on Pop, Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. His works have spawned numerous adaptations, including 11 television specials, four feature films, a Broadway musical and four television series. He won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958 for Horton Hatches the Egg and again in 1961 for And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. Geisel also worked as an illustrator for advertising campaigns, most notably for Flit and Standard Oil, and as a political cartoonist for PM, a New York City newspaper. During World War II, he worked in an animation department of the United States Army, where he wrote Design for Death, a film that later won the 1947 Academy Award for Documentary Feature.

He was a perfectionist in his work and would sometimes spend up to a year on a book. It was not uncommon for him to throw out 95% of his material until he settled on a theme for his book. For a writer he was unusual in that he preferred to be paid only after he finished his work rather than in advance.[4]

Geisel’s birthday, March 2, has been adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day, an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association.

Puzzability begins a new, vegetable-related series:

This Week’s Game — March 2-6

Vegging In

We’re dishing up a healthy serving every day this week. For each day, we’ve taken the name of a vegetable, added a letter, and scrambled all the letters to get a new word. The answer phrase, described by each day’s clue, is the vegetable followed by the new word.

Example:

Deep-dish meal with a vegetable base

Answer:

Escarole casserole

What to Submit:

Submit the phrase, with the vegetable first (as “Escarole casserole” in the example), for your answer.

Monday, March 2

Farm vehicle for use on just one kind of vegetable crop

Good morning, Whitewater.

March arrives, with (relatively) warmer temperatures – our high today will be twenty five, with a likelihood of flurries. Sunrise is 6:29 and sunset 5:44, for 11h 15m 31s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 84.8% of its visible disk illuminated.

A Washington State motorist contended that he struck a utility pole because he was chasing an owl. Most respondents to Friday’s FW poll considered that an insufficient explanation.

On this day in 1961, by executive order, Pres. Kennedy creates the Peace Corps:

John F. Kennedy first announced the idea for such an organization during the 1960 presidential campaign, at a late-night speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, October 14, 1960, on the steps of the Michigan Union. He later dubbed the proposed organization the “Peace Corps.” A brass marker commemorates the place where Kennedy stood. In the weeks after the 1960 election, the study group at Colorado State University, released their feasibility a few days before Kennedy’s Presidential Inauguration in January 1961.[10]

Critics opposed the program. Kennedy’s opponent, Richard M. Nixon, predicted it would become a “cult of escapism” and “a haven for draft dodgers.”[11][12][13] Others doubted whether recent graduates had the necessary skills and maturity. The idea was popular among students, however, and Kennedy pursued it, asking respected academics such as Max Millikan and Chester Bowles to help him outline the organization and its goals. During his inaugural address, Kennedy again promised to create the program: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country”.[14] President Kennedy in a speech at the White House on June 22, 1962, “Remarks to Student Volunteers Participating in Operation Crossroads Africa”, acknowledged that Operation Crossroads for Africa was the basis for the development of the Peace Corps. “This group and this effort really were the progenitors of the Peace Corps and what this organization has been doing for a number of years led to the establishment of what I consider to be the most encouraging indication of the desire for service not only in this country but all around the world that we have seen in recent years”.[15] The Peace Corps website answered the question “Who Inspired the Creation of the Peace Corps?”, acknowledging that the Peace Corps were based on Operation Crossroads Africa founded by Rev. James H. Robinson.[16]

On March 1, 1961, Kennedy signed Executive Order 10924 that officially started the Peace Corps. Concerned with the growing tide of revolutionary sentiment in the Third World, Kennedy saw the Peace Corps as a means of countering the stereotype of the “Ugly American” and “Yankee imperialism,” especially in the emerging nations of post-colonial Africa and Asia.[17][18] Kennedy appointed his brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, to be the program’s first director. Shriver fleshed out the organization with the help of Warren Wiggins and others.[7] Shriver and his think tank outlined the organization’s goals and set the initial number of volunteers. The Peace Corps began recruiting in July 1962; Bob Hope cut radio and television announcements hailing the program.

Good morning, Whitewater.

The last day of the month in town will be increasingly cloudy with a high of seventeen. Sunrise is 6:30 and sunset 5:43, for 11h 12m 39s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 77.4% of its visible disk illuminated.

Use of drones for photography allows shots that would be impossible (or almost impossibly dangerous) to photographers.

Video technology and science converge on an active volcano in Vanuatu, where explorer Sam Cossman operated camera-mounted drones to capture high-definition images of the spectacular yet dangerous Marum Crater. Cossman and his team piloted the drones over the 7.5-mile-wide (12-kilometer) caldera while confronting toxic gases and boiling lava. Although two drones succumbed to the harsh environment, the team was able to bring back video and photos that will help scientists learn more about the volcano and the life around it.

See, Drones Sacrificed for Spectacular Volcano Video @ YouTube.

On this day in 1844, an explosion on the USS Princeton kills six:

The USS Princeton was launched on September 5, 1843 and was considered a state-of-the-art ship. It included the very first screw propellers, as well as 42-pound carronades. The ship was also home to two long guns, the “Oregon” and the “Peacemaker”. The latter was the largest naval gun in the world. She was brought to Alexandria, Virginia for a display. Dignitaries present included President John Tyler and his cabinet, former First Lady Dolley Madison, Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, as well as 400 other dignitaries. Refreshments were served in the salon below deck.

Captain Robert Stockton, who was excited to prove the Princeton’s speed and weaponry agreed to fire the Peacemaker in front of many onlookers. The original gun, the Orator (later renamed the Oregon, due to political disputes between Britain and the United States) and the Peacemaker were mounted onto the Princeton. Though the Orator had undergone intensive testing and had been reinforced due to cracks that were detrimental to the integrity of the cannon, Stockton rushed the second cannon (Peacemaker) and mounted it without much testing. According the Kilner, the Peacemaker was “fired only five times before certifying it as accurate and fully proofed.” After several test runs, the Princeton was considered ready.

The disaster occurred after Thomas Gilmer urged everyone to go upstairs for another demonstration of the guns. President Tyler was luckily stopped for drinks by another dignitary. As the Peacemaker fired one last time it exploded instantly sending hot metal around the deck, killing six, and injuring 20. The dead included Secretary of State Abel Upshur, Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer, David Gardiner, Captain Beverly Kennon, the Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, Virgil Maxcy of Maryland, and President Tyler’s slave Armistead. None of the gun crew was killed.[2]

Good morning, Whitewater.

We’ll have a sunny but chilly day in the Whippet City, with a high of fourteen degrees. Sunrise is 6:23 and sunset is 5:42, with 11h 09m 47s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 68.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

On February 27, 1776, America defeats Britain at the Battle of Moores Creek:

In the early-morning hours of February 27, 1776, Commander Richard Caswell leads 1,000 Patriot troops in the successful Battle of Moores Creek over 1,600 British Loyalists. It would go down in history as the first American victory in the first organized campaign of the Revolutionary War.

Responding to the call by North Carolina Royal Governor Josiah Martin, British Colonel Donald McLeod began marching 1,600 Loyalists from Cross Creek, North Carolina, towards the coast, where they were supposed to rendezvous with other Loyalists and Redcoats at Brunswick, North Carolina. When Commander Caswell and the Patriots arrived at Moores Creek Bridge ahead of the British Loyalists, Caswell positioned his troops in the woods on either side of the bridge, awaiting the British with cannons and muskets at the ready. The British learned of the Patriot troops at Moores Creek in advance, but, expecting only a small force, decided to advance across the bridge to attack. The British Loyalists shouted, “King George and Broadswords!” as they advanced across the bridge; they were swiftly cut down by a barrage of Patriot musket and cannon fire.

The British Loyalists quickly surrendered, giving the Patriots their first victory of the Revolutionary War. The victory aborted British plans to land a force at Brunswick, North Carolina, and ended British authority in the state. Within two months, on April 12, 1776, North Carolina became the first state to vote in favor of independence from Britain.

The National Park Service commemorates the victory at Moores Creek with a National Battlefield Park at the site, which was established in 1926.

For more about the area, see Moores Creek National Battlefield, North Carolina.

Here’s the final game in Puzability‘s Singled Out series:

This Week’s Game — February 23-27

Singled Out

There are hits missing this week. For each day, fill in the two-word title of a #1 hit song so that a familiar phrase or compound word is formed by the first word in the clue followed by the first word in the song title, and likewise a phrase or word is formed by the second word in the song title followed by the second word in the clue.

Example:

GILA ____ ____ NOTE

Answer:

“Monster Mash”

What to Submit:

Submit the song title (as “Monster Mash” in the example) for your answer.

Friday, February 27

WEEK ____ ____ PITCH