Good morning.

It’s a beautiful and sunny Friday for Whitewater, with a high of sixty-three. Lovely.

On this day in 1814, during the War of 1812, Francis SCott Key writes a poem later that becomes our national anthem:

…Francis Scott Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The poem, originally titled “The Defence of Fort McHenry,” was written after Key witnessed the Maryland fort being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the sight of a lone U.S. flag still flying over Fort McHenry at daybreak, as reflected in the now-famous words of the “Star-Spangled Banner”: “And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.”

After one of Key’s friends, Dr. William Beanes, was taken prisoner by the British, Key went to Baltimore, located the ship where Beanes was being held and negotiated his release. However, Key and Beanes weren’t allowed to leave until after the British bombardment of Fort McHenry. Key watched the bombing campaign unfold from aboard a ship located about eight miles away. After a day, the British were unable to destroy the fort and gave up. Key was relieved to see the American flag still flying over Fort McHenry and quickly penned a few lines in tribute to what he had witnessed….

Branford Marsalis offers a jazz version of the anthem:

Scientific American offers a trivia question about sound, whether of jazz or anthems or anything else (clicking the question link leads to the answer):

Does sound travel faster in water or air?

Good morning.

We’ll have a sunny Thursday with a high of seventy-eight. Sunrise is 6:32 AM and sunset 7:10 PM.

On this day in 1940, remarkable cave paintings are discovered in France:

Near Montignac, France, a collection of prehistoric cave paintings are discovered by four teenagers who stumbled upon the ancient artwork after following their dog down a narrow entrance into a cavern. The 15,000- to 17,000-year-old paintings, consisting mostly of animal representations, are among the finest examples of art from the Upper Paleolithic period.

First studied by the French archaeologist Henri-Édouard-Prosper Breuil, the Lascaux grotto consists of a main cavern 66 feet wide and 16 feet high. The walls of the cavern are decorated with some 600 painted and drawn animals and symbols and nearly 1,500 engravings. The pictures depict in excellent detail numerous types of animals, including horses, red deer, stags, bovines, felines, and what appear to be mythical creatures. There is only one human figure depicted in the cave: a bird-headed man with an erect phallus. Archaeologists believe that the cave was used over a long period of time as a center for hunting and religious rites.

The Lascaux grotto was opened to the public in 1948 but was closed in 1963 because artificial lights had faded the vivid colors of the paintings and caused algae to grow over some of them. A replica of the Lascaux cave was opened nearby in 1983 and receives tens of thousands of visitors annually.

On 9.12.1892, UW-Madison opens some new schools:

1892 – UW-Madison Schools Open
On this date the School of Economics, Political Science and History at UW-Madison opened under the leadership of Professor Richard T. Ely. [Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison]

For Thursday, here’s a Scientific American trivia question about bears. (Clicking the question below takes you to the answer on the SciAm website.)

Which is bigger: a water bear or a sun bear?

Good morning.

Wednesday brings showers and thunderstorms to the Whippet City, mostly in the morning. We’ll have a high of eighty-four and light west winds at 5 to 10 mph.

It’s the twelfth anniversary of September 11th, and the New York Times website has an archive with the headline reporting on the attacks of that day.

Private space travel advances, and on

Sept. 5, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2) “Enterprise” successfully carried out its second supersonic test flight, reaching a maximum altitude of 69,000 feet. The flight was notable as being the first test flight that included the entire flight profile, only at a lower altitude — in 2014, SS2 will launch fee-paying space tourists 360,000 ft (approx 68 miles) to the edge of space, an altitude known as the Kármán line. The flight appears to have been a complete success.

For Wednesday, here’s a Scientific American trivia question about prizes. (Clicking the question below takes you to the answer on the SciAm website.)

When was the first Nobel prize awarded?

Good morning.

Tuesday will be a hot and sunny day, with a high of ninety.

At 5:30 PM tonight, there will be a joint Common Council and Planning session on the Zoning Rewrite project.

For Tuesday, it’s a Scientific American trivia question about inside temperatures. (Clicking the question below takes you to the answer on the SciAm website.)

Here’s the question for today:

How hot is the earth at its core?

They might know the answer, but they’ve their hands full as it is:

On this day in 1813, America wins a naval victory over Britain:

The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of British Royal Navy. This ensured American control of the lake for the rest of the war, which in turn allowed the Americans to recover Detroit and win the Battle of the Thames to break the Indian confederation of Tecumseh. It was one of the biggest naval battles of the War of 1812.

Good morning.

Whitewater begins her work week with cloudy skies through mid morning, then clearing, and a high of eighty-nine.

Whitewater’s Planning Commission meets this evening at 6 PM.

On this day in 1776, America becomes the United States:

…the Continental Congress formally declares the name of the new nation to be the “United States” of America. This replaced the term “United Colonies,” which had been in general use.

In the Congressional declaration dated September 9, 1776, the delegates wrote, “That in all continental commissions, and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words ‘United Colonies’ have been used, the stile be altered for the future to the “United States.”

A resolution by Richard Henry Lee, which had been presented to Congress on June 7 and approved on July 2, 1776, issued the resolve, “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States….” As a result, John Adams thought July 2 would be celebrated as “the most memorable epoch in the history of America.” Instead, the day has been largely forgotten in favor of July 4, when Jefferson’s edited Declaration of Independence was adopted. That document also states, “That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES.” However, Lee began with the line, while Jefferson saved it for the middle of his closing paragraph.

By September, the Declaration of Independence had been drafted, signed, printed and sent to Great Britain. What Congress had declared to be true on paper in July was clearly the case in practice, as Patriot blood was spilled against the British on the battlefields of Boston, Montreal, Quebec and New York. Congress had created a country from a cluster of colonies and the nation’s new name reflected that reality.

On 9.9.1954, the residents of Janesville debate alcohol restrictions:

1954 – Janesville Residents Debate Liquor Laws
On this date Janesville residents participated in a public forum at the Janesville Public Library. The topic of discussion was whether Janesville should allow women to be served at the bar, in taverns. Residents also debated whether dancing should be allowed in taverns. Speaking to lift the bans was Erv Lacey, field director of the Tavern League of Wisconsin. Lacey noted that the law against women being served was discriminatory and contended that Janesville taverns lose business because of the laws. The Rev. Frank Dauner, pastor of United Brethren Church, said the strict prohibitions should remian intact because alcohol threatened public health, safety and peaceful domestic life. [Source: Janesville Gazette]

On the 9.6.2013 Friday Poll: Dog or… Chupacabra?!?, there’s a fairly decisive result: 57.69% say chupacabra, to 42.31% who say dog. No need for a recount: a clear majority of respondents say those blue-eyed quadrupeds are blood-sucking demons from beyond.

A noted cryptozoologist fortuitously saw the Friday post, and kindly passed along a link to http://chupacabrapictures.org/. Much appreciated, to be sure.

I’ll mix things up a bit by adding a daily trivia question from Scientific American online. (Clicking the question below takes you to the answer on the SciAm website.)

Here’s the question for today:

How far do Monarch butterflies travel a day, on average, during migration?