Historic Maryland Newspapers

P.S.A Today is National Meteor Watch Day. Be on watch for meteors falling from the sky. Meteors may be worth untold billions, but will cause immediate forfeiture of life on impact. Proceed with caution.

I love breakfast food, so a day that just celebrates waffle irons? Sign me up! Here’s a waffle iron from 1953.
If you’re interested in “everyday things that changed everything”, make sure to check out the National Museum of American History’s Object Project !

Beat the heat with a sweet treat today and support National Food Truck Day. Check out this advertisement for a new ice cream truck coming to town in 1917!

Would you believe there was a whole column written about the first First Lady to start shaking people’s hands? And to drive the point home, she shook 4,226 of them in one night, moving her hand over a mile in the process!

Have some summer time fun and celebrate national canoe day with these safety tips from Olympic sprint canoeist Steven Lysak all the way back in 1954!

With the beautiful weather we’ve been having around campus, why not go out and have a picnic on National Picnic Day, no less.

And for those of us with allergies take some heart in knowing that this ad from 1940 kept us in mind too.

https://buff.ly/4b9WviG

The brilliant soliloquy… to Kazoo or not to Kazoo?

Oh how Shakespeare would be proud.

How should you celebrate National Kazoo Day? Why, play the kazoo, of course.

National Geographic Day pays homage to the more than 100 years that the National Geographic Magazine has been in print!

Keeping with this theme, here’s an article about how Russian explorer Thaddeus von Bellingshausen ‘first sighted’ Antarctica on this day in 1820.

Handwriting has been celebrated on this day since the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association’s push for greater pen and pencil sales in 1977.

While maybe not as telling as a certain graphologist might claim, try analyzing your John Hancock to celebrate (he just so happens to share this birthday too)

You may remember an article on National Bird Day also written by the Maryland Game & Inland Fish Commission. Today, we direct our attention to the Bryant Fox Squirrel found on the Eastern Shore.

Squirrels are one of the most common animals on the planet. Viewed as vermin and house pets alike, let’s appreciate them for what they are, a part of nature that’s adapted to human dominance. Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day!

Winnie the Pooh Day is celebrated every January 18, on author A.A. Milne’s birthday.

Here’s a letter written in 1941 by a young Peggie A. to Mrs. Greenbelt, gushing over her love for children’s books.

On this Appreciate a Dragon Day, read this scathing review of a children theater’s production of “The Land of the Dragon”.

While not as popular today, hats used to be a part of everyday fashion. What’s your favorite type of hat?

Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi invented the first practical radio in 1895. In 1910, the first public radio broadcast was transmitted, a live performance at the Metropolitan Opera House.

Tune into your favorite station as we honor the birth of radio broadcasting today. And check out UMD’s Public Broadcasting Collection here: https://buff.ly/3H5xl7H

Before the semester starts, rejuvenate yourself with a bubble bath. I’m sure your mind, body, and soul will thank you later.

Did you know that Jupiter has 95 moons? On this day in 1610, Galileo observed the first four through his newly improved telescope.

282 years later, the fifth was found by a Prof. Barnard off the coast of California.

National Bird Day is today, so check out this entry on the official Maryland bird, the Baltimore Oriole.

Learn how to spot one on UMD’s campus here: https://buff.ly/4aJFmwA

Is it just me or do all attractions from the 1960’s look like they’re out of a horror flick?

Here’s an ad for Candy Cane City, a fun way to attract kids to Rock Creek Park near the Meadowbrook Riding Stable in 1960.

If you have a hankering for it, here’s a recipe for 7 quarts of Eggnog from 1939. I challenge you to drink that much on this National Eggnog Day!

Chocoholics rejoice! Today is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day.

Pour, spread, or drizzle chocolate over cakes, cupcakes, pies, pancakes or waffles, nuts, raisins, and even ants (yes, some people eat chocolate-covered ants!). We will let you decide what is too extreme, and how much is too much if any.

Did you know that President Theodore Roosevelt was the first American to win any Nobel Prize?

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his role in negotiating peace for the Russo-Japanese War.

He was given the prize on December 10, just like every other awardee dating back to 1901.

St. Nicholas Day is today, a December 6 holiday.

Yes, there really was a Christian Saint Nicholas. He lived in the country of Greece, just a couple hundred years after the birth of Christ.

The practice of hanging up stockings originated with Saint Nicholas. As the ancient legend goes, Saint Nicholas was known to throw small bags of gold coins into the open windows of poor homes. After one bag of gold fell into the stocking of a child, news got around. Children soon began hanging their stockings by their chimneys in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

On this day in history, Prohibition ended and Repeal Day was born!

After the 18th Amendment was passed, the US was under prohibition for thirteen years. Starting on January 17, 1920 and up through December 4, 1933, alcohol was illegal in the states. It wasn’t until the 21st Amendment was passed on December 5 that the 18th was effectively repealed, permitting alcohol in the states once again.

A huge disruption to everyday life for the average American, this was a time of strife for the public. Take a look at the ballot they voted on for the 21st Amendment, options were either “for beer law” or “against beer law”.

Have you ever heard of pineapple-banana fritters? Neither have I, but here’s a 1931 recipe for some to try today on National Fritters Day.

Humans have been fascinated with space since our very beginnings. And Mars has been especially close to our hearts all this time. Even back in 1924, the public and scientists turned their telescopes toward the red planet to find answers.

Today, only a month away from 2024, we hope to send the first astronauts there! We sure have come a long way; I wonder how we’ll view Mars in 2124… Happy Red Planet Day!

Happy Thanksgiving, folks! Check out this clipping from a 1932 newspaper after President Hoover issued his “proclamation calling upon Americans to set aside Thursday, November 24, as Thanksgiving day.”

Above is shown a facsimile of the first Presidential Thanksgiving proclamation, issued by George Washington and setting the date as Thursday, November 26, 1789.

“You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog
Cryin’ all the time
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog
Cryin’ all the time
Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit
And you ain’t no friend of mine”

Celebrate Jukebox Day with the King and check out this piece on the Rockville Teen Center’s success in getting their own jukebox in 1959 to listen to the King too!

On this day in history in 1869, construction on the Suez Canal was finished. This canal connects Europe to Asia without ships having to go all the way around Africa. Years later and this canal has been instrumental in instigating and resolving many global disputes.

Just in time for the holidays, today is Clean Your Refrigerator Day! But before you bust out those cleaning supplies, check out this ad for a 1958 GAS refrigerator. What a time to be alive?

Did you know that Scottish philosopher, John Duns Scotus, believed that cone-shaped hats increased learning potential? Today, let’s commemorate the death of John and his favorite head attire on Dunce Day.