New Year's Baby

On this date in 1997, perhaps with the idea of looking both at the year behind and the one to come, South African and American surgeons separate Zambian Siamese twins joined at the head. Possibly to prevent contemplative gazing today in 1695 a window tax is imposed in England and many shopkeepers brick up their windows to avoid paying it.

In 1904 on this day the first New Year's Eve celebration is held in New York City's Times Square, then known as Longacre Square. Three years later it is the site of the famous ball-dropping herald and in 1929 Guy Lombardo plays Auld Lang Syne for the first time at the Roosevelt Hotel. For unsurprising reasons it is National Champagne Day and on this date in 1938 Indiana's Dr. R.N. Harger introduces the "drunkometer" — the first breath test. It is also Unlucky Day so please take it easy.

The No Resolutions infant bodysuit — more styles here — is from the Attitude area of the CafePress.com DadTShirts store.


This Club's Baby Tile Coaster (Goo!) — the entire line here — is from the Posters from Theatrical Plays division within the Vintage Poster Art section of the CafePress.com my disgusting art online store. (Their very wide selection of goods includes some items that are suitable for adults only.) If you play your cards right tonight you will be able to flaunt their I Survived Yesterday gear tomorrow.

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It's what's inside...

NOW YOU KNOW!

Yet another day in which we must decide what to celebrate — will it be National Bicarbonate of Soda Day, Relaxation Day, Falling Needles Family Fest Day or Festival of Enormous Changes at the Last Minute? Really, it is quite the dilemma.

On this date in 1817 the first coffee is planted in Hawaii and furthermore from the Department of Caffeine today in 1851 Coca-Cola is invented by Asa Griggs Candler. In more buzz, or rather buzz-kill news, wearing masks at balls is forbidden in Boston on this date in 1809. And, if ever there was a party to attend it would have been one in London held today in 1853 within a life-size model of an Iguanodon dinosaur, the work of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, a British sculptor who specialized in such objects, and British paleontologist/zoologist/dinosaur maven Sir Richard Owen, the first scientist to significantly bring dinosaurs to public attention. Imagine sitting down to dinner and filling your own belly whilst in that of such a beast? They were definitely enjoying Bicarbonate of Soda over there, I am sure. As for Enormous Changes at the Last Minute today in 1967 The Beatles' song Hello Goodbye goes to #1 on the pop charts.

You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go, go, go

This stomach instructional T-Shirt is from the Mondo Betty Gets Edgy quarter of the groovily retro CafePress.com Mondo Betty shop.

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Strike!

Today is No Interruptions Day as well as Tick Tock Day so you have your choice of important celebrations.

In 1852 Emma Snodgrass is arrested in Boston on this day for wearing pants. On this date in 1862 the bowling ball is invented and in 1864 the Fire Department celebrates its first annual Ball. Today in 1965 United Artists releases the James Bond film Thunderball. Speaking of gravity and flames on this day in 1940 the German Luftwaffe begins dropping incendiary bombs on London. And in death of a different kind today in 1972 LIFE Magazine ceases publication.

This practical and attractive Bowl For Health tote bag sports an evocative vintage 1930s line drawing and can be found in the CafePress.com Bowl for Health emporium.

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Creative Juice

Today marks the 1922 birthday of Stan Lee, creator of such comic book characters as Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk. Rod Serling, of Twilight Zone fame also appeared on this planet today in 1924 as did Elizabeth Jordan Carr — in 1981 — the first American test-tube baby, produced without the physical union of a man and a woman. We wish her a happy 25th birthday! The Doors release their hit single Touch Me today in 1968. On this date in 1849 M Jolly-Bellin discovers dry-cleaning when he accidentally tips a lamp containing turpentine and oil onto his clothing and sees stains vanish.

This hand print T — other variations here — is from the Humor area of the outspoken and well designed CafePress.com Bitch Pride Tees shop. Some items for adults only.

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Pure

This date marks the 1822 birth of Louis Pasteur, the French bacteriologist, microbiologist and chemist, who invented a process which became known as pasteurization in which liquids such as milk are heated to kill most bacteria and molds present within them.

On this day in 1845 ether is used as an anesthetic in childbirth for the first time. The doctor is Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Georgia and the patient is his wife, who successfully brings a baby girl into the world.

Today in 1937 Mae West — who once remarked "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted" — performs an Adam and Eve skit that gets her banned from NBC radio. And, on this date in 1900 prohibitionist Carrie Nation a k a Carry A. Nation smashes her first saloon, the Hotel Carry Annex Bar in Wichita, Kansas. She did not carry an ax but was, in fact, known to employ a hatchet during such activities.

This got snow? "infant creeper" — the same phrase is available on other wares here — is in the Holidays section of the Got Parodies? zone (poking fun at the famed milk advertisement campaign — some "Rated X" designs on board) within the quite varied inventory of the CafePress.com Rinkydinks shop.

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Light and Shadow

Today is National Whiners Day. I'm all for it.

On this date in 1891 Henry Miller is born, author of Tropic of Capricorn, Tropic of Cancer and Sexus, among many other fine books well worth reading. This day also marks the 1893 birthdate of Mao Tse-Tung, who wrote a small book which, while not quite as hot as Henry Miller's output, was indeed red. Today in 1878 the first store in the United States — in Philadelphia — installs electric lights. From the opposite corner, on this date in 1954 The Shadow airs the last episode of its radio program series (the FM radio is patented today in 1933). Time Magazine names its man of the year on this date in 1982: a computer.

This vintage-looking Idea Bulbs T-Shirt is inspiration waiting to happen within the Cartoon Equipment area of the entertaining and animated CafePress.com SCOTTOONS Store.

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WWAD?

What would Atticus do?

Today is Children's Day in the Republic of Congo and on this date in 1962 Universal Pictures releases one of my favorite childhood films — To Kill a Mockingbird — starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, consummate father and lawyer with a sense of integrity beyond reproach as exemplified in his quotidian activities and by his earnest and awe-inspiring defense of an innocent man. Today in 1874 The Lambs Club is established in New York City — the first professional theatrical social organization in the United States. In 1959 on this date a synagogue in Cologne, Germany is desecrated with swastikas.

:(

Indeed, what would Atticus do?

This poetic WWAD? shirt provides food for thought — more items with the motif here — and in fact can be found in the Comfort Food For Your Head division of the eclectic CafePress.com k8company!Two shop, among their other fine wares.

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...roasting on an open fire...

It is National Egg Nog Day. I wonder why. In a multi-kulti blending, on this date in 1997 a Chanukah candle is officially lit in Vatican City for the first time. While we are on the subject of flames today in 1851 the Library of Congress catches fire, burning 35,000 books in the process. One of them, perhaps, is the Bible, which on this day in 1968 is the printed matter aboard NASA's Apollo 8 Mission; astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders, the first men to orbit the Moon, recite passages from the Book of Genesis which are transmitted back to Earth on live television. Today also marks the first radio program broadcast, in 1906. It comprises a poetry reading, a violin solo and a speech. On a sad end note, it is on this date in 1991 that 1,025 pound Walter Hudson dies at the age of 46. Probably some of that extra weight was due to the over-consumption of egg nog and chestnuts.

Today we offer a duo of T-Shirts, representing those two seasonal culinary delights — the yellow Egg Nog T and the grey Chestnuts T, respectively from the CafePress.com Egg Nog and Chestnuts shops. They are stylistically so similar that I suspect the same designer is behind them, probably alternating between drinking and eating both substances at this very moment.

Peace.

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Take-Out

On this day in 1852 the first Chinese theater in United States, the Celestial John, opens in San Francisco, California. Speaking of drama today in 1888 Vincent Van Gogh cuts off his left ear with a rusty razor whilst in a rage and brings it to a prostitute by the name of Rachel. Moving on to other body parts — on this date in 1954 doctors perform the first human organ transplant, of a kidney, at Boston's Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. This is also the day in 1938 when Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West costume catches fire during filming of The Wizard of Oz; she is severely burned. In a morbid segue today marks the 1972 rescue of the last of 16 airplane crash victims who spent 70 days high in the South American Andes surviving by cannibalism. Yum. Fava beans and a nice Chianti.

This lovely Chopstick Instructions Hoodie (this is the back view) — more styles here — is from the Randomness on T-Shirts & Gifts department of the highly aesthetically-tuned and prolific CafePress.com Lekker Designs shop, whose beautiful works I have featured before. (Lekker happens to mean "tasty" in Dutch and unlike today's edition their creative production is not disgusting at all.)

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Labels

Today marks the first day of Capricorn, the tenth astrological sign — one of the few groups to which I happen to belong. According to Wikipedia Capricorns are associated with hard work (yes), business affairs (no) and are characterized as ambitious (in theory), patient (yes and no), responsible (yes), stable (my therapist thinks so), trustworthy (absolutely), shrewd (depending on your definition thereof) and persistent (most definitely) but also prone to coldness (not me), conservatism (no way!), rigidity (only when my control freaking strikes), materialism (worthless glittery things that would appeal to a magpie — unless you count hoarding newspapers), and dullness (I think not!). Anatomically speaking, Capricorn is said to rule the knees (ok so far), bones (I think mine are composed of blackboard chalk sticks but I have yet to break one — knock wood) and skin (true but currently dry — Oilcan!). In terms of geography, Capricorn is linked with Albania, Bulgaria, India, and Mexico. (Who knew? Four places I've never seen.) Physically — still per Wikipedia — individuals born under the sign of Capricorn tend to have straight and dark hair (yes and yes), steady eyes (very), a dark complexion (sorry, white as snow over here), capable hands (if only you knew just how!), and prominent cheekbones (yes, both of them).

This colorful vintage retro Capricornio Oranges Fruit Crate Label T-Shirt — the entire Carpricornio division here — is just one of many beautiful designs in the Fruit Crate Label Art section of the overflowing CafePress.com W2Arts Gift Mall shop. (They also specialize in flags, should you need to represent Albania, Bulgaria, India or Mexico).

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Black, White and Red All Over

It's a very black and white kind of day. Today marks the first day of the harshest of seasons. Darkness falls early. Spirits can ride low. Conversely, or maybe because of, this is also Look at the Bright Side Day and National Flashlight Day — surely there is a relationship there. It is also Humbug Day (no kidding).

On this date in 1937 Walt Disney's Snow White, the first feature length color and sound cartoon, premieres. Miss White, as I remember, didn't have much coloring herself, being mostly black and white except for her ruby lips. Speaking of red on this day in 1933 dried human blood serum is first prepared at the University of Pennsylvania, and — back to black and white — today in 1913 the New York World publishes the first crossword puzzle, Arthur Wynne's Word Cross, which contains 32 clues.

This Crossword Puzzle Baseball Jersey is part of the expressive yet wordless output of the CafePress.com Crossword Puzzle shop.

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'nuf said...

All I can manage today. Sorry. Workers on strike.

This I'm Having a Bad Shirt Day T-Shirt — the complete panoply of Bad Shirt Day options here — sums up my bad attitude quite nicely. The design is within the Other Pop Culture Funny T-Shirts department of the CafePress.com Funny T-Shirts shop. Offensive and adult humored products can be found among the wide array of their offerings.

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Yes or No?

Today is the birthday of French chanteuse Édith Piaf, known as The Little Sparrow due to her petite stature — she was 4' 8" (142 cm) tall — and famous for many songs, notably Non, je ne regrette rien (No, I regret nothing) and La Vie en rose — poignant ballads sung with a voice that broke hearts around the globe. Her work reflected a tragic and short life — she died of cancer at the age of 47 — which included a troubled childhood filled with disease and parental abandonment, a baby born when she was sixteen — the product of her first love — who died in infancy of meningitis. Her greatest amour, a boxer named Marcel Cerdan, was killed in a 1949 plane crash. She was married twice — her second husband twenty years her junior. The Little Sparrow's funeral procession in 1963 drew hundreds of thousands of mourners onto the Parisian streets and more than 40,000 fans attended the ceremony at the Père Lachaise Cemetery. Fellow singer and friend Charles Aznavour noted that it was the only time since the end of the Second World War he'd seen Paris traffic brought to a complete halt.

On this date in 1922, in England, Theresa Vaughn, age 24, goes on trial for bigamy. She confesses in court to having 62 husbands.

Thinking of loves loved and loves lost we offer this sweet do you like me? yes no Notes in Class T-Shirt — the full line is here — reminiscent of the folded missives passed secretly between boys and girls in school. It can be found in The Main Section of the abundant and sassy CafePress.com Lynda's Studio Designs shop. Some products suitable for adults only.

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A Mixed Bag

Today is Wear a Plunger On Your Head Day. Really, people, I don't make this stuff up. And we are in the midst of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, so a big high-five to our fellow Hebrew nationals. In an unfortunate coincidence on this date in 1892 Rabbi H. Rosenberg is expelled from Temple Beth Jacob in Brooklyn for eating pork! Speaking instead of tongue, on this day in 1996 "Ebonics" is declared a language or dialect by the school board of Oakland, California. In more news from the Communications Lab today in 1997 HTML 4.0 — without which we could not be publishing this daily enterprise on anything other than paper — is released by the World Wide Web Consortium. On this date in 1968 John Lennon and Yoko Ono arrive for a London press conference whilst canoodling inside a large paper bag — the first Bagism performance. Finally, one last tidbit from the World of Wood — on this day in 1999 Julia "Butterfly" Hill ends her two-year, anti-logging protest called the Luna Tree Sit wherein she lives atop a redwood tree. I wonder if she had a plunger in her perch.

This Plunger iconTee — No, I will not fix your toilet is the product description — can be pulled from the groovy Terrific! Tees room of the Cafe Press.com Big Star Shirts shop.

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Toast!

Today The Daily Shirt ruminates on things which ignite, in more ways than one. On this date in 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first powered-airplane flight (the Wright Flyer held a gasoline engine) in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Today in 1880 Thomas Alva Edison incorporates the Edison Electric Illuminating Company to provide electric light to New York City. Also on this day in 1924 the first diesel-electric locomotive goes into service in the Bronx, New York. This was also a popular date for going up in flames: In 1938 the Utrecht Central Station (the Netherlands) is destroyed this way and on this day in 1961 a disgruntled employee — I'm thinking it has to be a clown — sets fire to a circus tent in Niteroi, Brazil. Continuing in the vein of combustible materials and flammability today in 1892, also in North Carolina, federal agents destroy 5,000 gallons of moonshine (a record at the time), in 1936 on this date Edgar Bergen debuts over network radio with his flammable wooden friend Charlie McCarthy, in 1895 George Brownell patents a machine to make paper twine in Massachusetts and today in 1965 the Sunday New York Times — which sells for 50 cents — reaches a record 946 pages. That's a lot of kindling! This day also marks the 1875 Bread Riot in Montreal. I'm not exactly sure what happened there but perhaps the event included some heated incidents of toast.

This simple shirt, with its minimalist statement, is the lone offering — the single slice — of the CafePress.com Toast Shop.

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Fowl Line

Today in 1859 Wilhelm Grimm — of the fairy tale collecting Brothers of fame — dies at the age of 73; The Golden Goose (Die goldene Gans) is but one example of their ouvre. And, of the oeufs which hatch that particular bird — this day in 1976 is also the last for George, a goose that lives to be 49 years and 8 months old. Yet more sorry news from the World of Fowl — on this date in 1980 "Colonel" Harland Sanders, founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken fast-food chain, takes his last breath. He is 90. Continuing with chicks, albeit of a different variety, on this day in 1903 New York's Majestic Theater becomes the first in the United States to employ women ushers. And on the very subject of variety today in 1905 the show-biz rag of that name publishes its initial edition. Back not to fowl, but rather to fouls, on this date in 1983 Yogi Berra is named manager of the New York Yankees baseball team for the second time. It's déjà vu all over again. In our last segue and with that sport's playing field shape in mind, today in 1954 General Electric Research Laboratories first produces synthetic diamonds.

This GOOD EGG Kids T — the complete oeuf ouvre here — is from the Vegan + Veggie aisle of the small but strong CafePress.com Veggie's Shop!

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I Enjoy Being a Girl!

This edition of The Daily Shirt is dedicated to reportage on things of a sexual nature, at times obliquely defined. We observe the 1832 birthday of Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the French engineer who — ahem — erected his eponymous Tower. Continuing our tumble with international phallic symbols of architecture today in 2001 a newly upright Torre di Pisa reopens in Italy, after being closed for ten years.

Christine Jorgensen is the first person to undergo a sex-change operation (gender reassignment) on this day in 1952. Born 1926 as George William Jorgensen, Jr. in New York City, Jorgensen endures an unhappy childhood and after much research has the history-making surgery done in Copenhagen. She chooses the name Christine to honor the Danish surgeon who performs the operation and supervises her hormone therapy, Dr. Christian Hamburger. Previously a noted photographer, Miss Jorgensen finds herself an instant celebrity post-op and, among other things, tours university campuses during the 1970s and 1980s to talk about her experiences. Years later she parlays her natural abilities as a performer into a nightclub act, singing several songs, including I Enjoy Being a Girl and is also an active spokesperson for transsexual and transgender people.

On this day in 1973 Charlie Rich's song The Most Beautiful Girl climbs to the top of the pop-singles charts and the American Psychiatric Association declares that homosexuality is not a mental illness. In a somewhat related aside today is Underdog Day. On this date in 1939 nylon yarn is commercially manufactured for the first time in Seaford, Delaware and today in 1995 Playboy Magazine goes back on sale in Ireland after a 36-year ban. I don't know precisely where this fits in but I know it goes somewhere — today in 1969 the San Francisco Fire Department replaces leather helmets with ones made of plastic.

Perhaps Christine Jorgensen would have flaunted this shirt — the complete I'm not a Boy assortment is here — from the New & Soon-to-Be Parents department of the expansive CafePress.com American Angst shop. Adult humor on board hither and thither.



And no boudoir would be complete without this Brunette Babe Throw Pillow, beautifully displaying a saucy men's magazine cover from bygone days — the bevy of Brunette Babes here — from the Vintage Babes section of the World War 2 Christmas Gifts zone in CafePress.com's overflowing SagArt shop. Some spicy items here as well for adults of all ages.

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Small Round Things

Today is the birthday of French Astrologer and publisher of dubious prophecies, Nostradamus, who was born Michel de Nostredame on this date in 1503. Also trained as an apothecary, he became famous for creating a "rose pill" that supposedly protected against the Plague. In other orb news allegedly on this day either in 1925 or 1929 — more ambiguity — the first American miniature golf course opens in Florida. In a parallel hobby and diameter universe today in 1901 the London Royal Aquarium hosts the first table-tennis tournament and, speaking of poisson, on this date in 1656 Parisian rosary-bead maker M. Jacquin first produces artificial pearls — made of gypsum pellets, they are covered with fish scales. From the Cross-Section Department — on this day in 1902 the first telegraph cable is laid across the Pacific Ocean. And, in our last ode to small round things, today in 1968 American singer Marvin Gaye's I Heard it Through the Grapevine reaches number one on the pop-singles charts.

This idiosyncratic comic expression pink pin (one inch Ø) — an object selected in homage to today's topic — is from the small but tidy CafePress.com Ink Blot Comics shop.

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Buon Compleanno!

A day filled with music, festivity and sweets: It's Ice Cream and Violins Day! It's National Cocoa Day! Today in 1759 the first US music store opens in Philadelphia. On this day in 1928 George Gershwin premieres An American in Paris at New York's Carnegie Hall. We also mark the birthday of a brilliantly inventive and prolific American composer, Alvin Curran — born 1938 in Providence, Rhode Island, he has lived most of his life in Rome, Italy; un'Americano a Roma. To celebrate the occasion we are serving ice cream — on this date in 1903 Italo Marcioni patents the ice cream cone in New Jersey — and dressing up in our Wednesday best (today in 1928 the clip-on tie is introduced).

With this Harmonica/Blues Harp Baseball Jersey we offer up a sartorial and virtual rendition of Happy Birthday. The design appears on other wares and wear in the Misc. Musical Instruments area within the mellifluous Music Instrument Graphics section inside the MUSIC Merchandise zone of CafePress.com's CHM Design Store - Music Stuff & More. We hope we manage to stay in tune.

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Whoosssh!

The Daily Shirt dedicates today's edition to movement of all kinds. On this date in 1925 Arthur Heinman coins the term motel (motor hotel) and opens the first — the Motel Inn, in San Luis Obispo, California. More transportation news, out of the Going from Point A to Point B (in this case to Point #26) Department, today in 1988 the New York City subway system adds a new network of stations, the Z line. We also mark the 1913 birthdate of African-American track star Jesse Owens, who spoils Mr. Hitler's "Aryan"-centric 1936 Berlin Olympics by winning four gold medals. In other sport velocity news on this day in 1949 baseball's American League owners reject a rule that would have legalized the "spitball" pitch. Finally, in movement of a different, more invisible sort, today in 1901 Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal — Cornwall, England to Newfoundland, Canada. The distance between the two points is about 3,500 kilometers (2,100 miles). The transmission consists of the three dots of the Morse code letter S sent repeatedly.

This La Llanta - The Tire Loteria Card Tote Bag (for when you're on the move), bearing a beautiful illustration of that circular band of rubber, not seemingly in motion — see it on other products here — is from the fabulous and colorful Loteria division of the wondrous CafePress.com Screaming Screens shop whose abundant output includes things offensive and adult. If it's not your bag you can simply move on.

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Oy!

Today is National Noodle Ring Day. Kugel, a noodly dessert, is traditionally served on the Jewish Sabbath and holidays. Originally ring-shaped, Kugel means "ball" or "globe" in German.

This Kugel T-Shirt — all the design variations are here — a visual spoof on the Google logo (Kugel rhymes with Google), is one of the many Jewish-themed products from the CafePress.com Everything's Jewish shop. I particularly like their Oy! line as well — perfect for everyday use.

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Rumblings

Periodic Table of Elements

On this day in 1896 Swedish Chemist Alfred Nobel dies. In his honor, and as stipulated in his will, Nobel Prizes are awarded today (since 1901) in fields including physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. It may seem ironic that a prize dedicated to peace should be founded by the man who created dynamite but it was precisely Nobel's unease with the military usage of his explosive inventions — he was condemned by a French newspaper as a "merchant of death" — that motivated him to establish the five prizes using interest from the invested capital of his formidable estate.

In other seismic news — on this date in 1966 the Beach Boys' song Good Vibrations tops the pop-singles charts in the United States.

This educational Periodic Table of Elements Infant/Toddler T-Shirt — discover the entire line here — is from the productive and versatile CafePress.com Plastic Earlobe shop. If you'd prefer a similar simple black and white Periodic Table in Lithuanian, they have that, too! Plastic Earlobe's wide array of offerings include some items for adult use only, just like dynamite.

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Self Service

Today in 1994 US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders is forced to resign after making comments in support of masturbation, another Dark Day in American history.

And today I went on a date, which I am going to stop doing because it seriously interferes with my masturbation schedule.

The Snicker Bar offers this user-friendly throw pillow — "For those who have earned it... Place it proudly! Great icebreaker for your dorm or bedroom!" — among the goods in their CafePress.com shop. Peruse the entire collection of "spanking new wares on an old theme" — shirts for men, women and dogs (my own personal favorite), bags and a bumper sticker — all visual puns on martial arts ranking belts. Let everyone know just how good you are with your own equipment and therefore how great you would be with theirs. ;)


Here is an example of the design on apparel. "Best visual impact when worn under an open jacket, shirt, sweater, et cetera. Quite the provocative nightshirt, too!" You get the general idea. If the text is not legible here click on the shirt and then on "View Larger" and "Zoom In On Image" and you will see things in full swing, so to speak.

Enjoy yourself!

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Cradle to Grave

Hello My Name Is Going To Be...

Today Christians worldwide celebrate the "Immaculate Conception" — in 1854 on this day Pope Pius IX proclaims its dogma in an apostolic letter, Ineffabilis Deus. Obtusely related — on this date in 1952 pregnancy is acknowledged for the first time on television, during an I Love Lucy episode.

On the flip side of the mortal coil today in 1980 the former Beatle John Lennon is murdered in front of his Manhattan apartment building and in 1792 on this day the first human cremation takes place in the United States.

This Hello My Name Is Going To Be Ricky shirt is from the Someone's Pregnant wing of the My Name Club (a k a Name Fan Club) CafePress.com shop. I wrote about their wares November 9th.

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?

Sometimes things happen that just make you want to scratch your head and ask Why? Why is today National Cotton Candy Day? Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor on this date in 1941? Why did Richard Dodd return a book to the University of Cincinnati Medical Library today in 1968 that his great-grandfather James Curie had checked out in 1823? And why did he not pay the $22,646 fine? The book, by the way, was Medical Reports of the Effects of Water, Cold & Warm, Remedy in Fever & Febrile Diseases. Why not something by, say, Cicero, who is assassinated on this day in 43 BC — Roman soldiers decapitating him and cutting off his right hand? He certainly could not have scratched his head at that point and asked Why or, maybe that was all he could have done.

This question mark T is for thinkers with many questions and no answers. It's from the Strange and Unique division of the CafePress.com Yazooy shop, whose work I have praised here before.

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Paper Trail

On this day in 1822 John Eberhard builds the first large-scale pencil factory in the United States. It is also the birthday (1886) of Joyce Kilmer, an American poet whose poem Trees — perhaps written with an Eberhard Faber yellow pencil — was recited by generations of schoolchildren. And how many of those wooden writing implements would one tree yield? Or reams of paper? Today in 1768 the first edition of Encyclopædia Britannica is published in Scotland as a weekly installment. To cap our literary theme, on this date in 1933 Federal Judge John M. Woolsey rules that James Joyce's Ulysses is not obscene and the ban on the titillating tome is summarily lifted.

Appropriate wear for the day might be this READ BANNED BOOKS shirt, whose graphic looks like it was cranked out on a vintage vinyl label maker. A panoply of wares with the image can be browsed here amidst the department of Education stacks in CafePress.com's BigDogma Online Store.

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Buyer's Remorse

I just spent a sh!tload of money for a HUGE computer display. It looks like crap. I am not very happy right now.

This shirt — the full line of HUGE MISTAKES can be seen here — is from the very fine Lekker Designs CafePress.com shop, in their Couch Potatoes (aka TV & Movie T-Shirts & Gifts) nook.

Maybe I'll feel better about this tomorrow.

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Laying an Egg

For whatever unknown esoteric reason today is Wear Brown Shoes Day. And on this date in 1680 a hen in Rome, Italy, lays an egg — perhaps a brown one — imprinted with a comet not seen until December 16th. Continuing our color wheel spin: In 1843 on this day Manila paper (made from sails, canvas and rope) is patented in Massachusetts; and — from the Department of Brown Air — today in 1952 a "killer fog" descends on London and the term "Smog" (for "smoke" and "fog") is coined.

This shirt — a wry comment on one of the most notorious sartorial errors possible to commit; you could say the ultimate laying of an egg in the world of fashion — announces BLACK BELT on the front and BROWN SHOES on the back. It's also an insider martial arts joke, from what I can gather from the Atlas Gymwear CafePress.com shop, where it is sold in the Black Shirt Brown Shoes category of their Text Designs offerings.

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Turn On

Today in 1910 neon lights are first revealed to the public at the Paris Auto Show. And, when I think of lights, neon or otherwise, I think of Broadway, where on this date in 1947 the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire premieres at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (it runs for 855 performances). Speaking of runs and performances — on this day in 1967 a fancy cousin to the streetcar, the luxury train 20th Century Limited, rides the rails from New York to Chicago for the very last time.

Marlon Brando — who played the animalistic, sexually charismatic, "primal brute" Stanley Kowalski, both in the play and later in the film version — popularized the T-shirt (beginning with his Broadway role) as apparel to be worn as a sexy, stand-alone, outer-wear garment. It was originally issued by the U.S. Navy (around 1913) as a crew-necked, short sleeved, white cotton undershirt, to wear beneath a uniform.

This fitted T — the entire B'way offerings are here — would have looked quite fetching on Marlon Brando but then again anything would have draped appealingly on the physique he had at the time. The shirt is from the Streets of New York zone within the USA section of the World of Signs CafePress.com shop. Wear where you're at, or have been or want to be.

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The Body Shop

On this day in 1828 Simon Paap, a Dutch cabaret artist of diminutive stature (he stood 56 centimeters — 22 inches — "tall"), dies at the age of 39. In other news of small people today in 1952 the first human birth is televised to the public on KOA-TV in Denver, Colorado. From the related Annals of Anatomy, three entries for this date: In 1964 Beatle Ringo Starr's tonsils are removed; in 1982 the first permanent artificial heart (Model # Jarvic-7) is successfully implanted (at the University of Utah) in retired dentist Barney Clark — he lives another 112 days — and in 1986 vocalist Annie Lennox exposes her breasts to more than 10,000 fans at a Eurythmics concert in England.

Today also marks the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, an unspeakable practice where human beings are considered merely as bodies with parts meant to be exploited. There are at least 12 million people currently enslaved worldwide even though it is an illegal abuse under international law.

This "Naked" shirt is for anyone wishing to flaunt certain hidden physical attributes without following the example of Ms. Lennox. It's from the CafePress.com Birthday Suits shop — "Our designs always turn heads!"

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X

Today is Day Without Art/World AIDS Day. In its honor and to remember friends I've lost to this disease I wasn't going to post anything at all but then I found something appropriate, which even echoes the presence of an absent body in its empty shape.

This X shirt is from the CafePress.com Designed for YOU shop. I have featured their creations before. The complete array of Alphabet Shirts is here — numbers and some punctuation are also included. So, buy a few shirts, grab some friends to wear them and spell out something meaningful.

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