Daily Calendar for Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Question of the Day
What is the origin of American football, and when was the first game played?
Football is an American version of English rugby. It was first played, on the college level, in 1869 — in a 6-4 victory of Rutgers over Princeton.
Advice of the Day
Strong chamomile tea, rubbed over your skin, is a natural bug repellent.
Home Hint of the Day
If the bricks in your chimney are starting to crumble from age, seal the outsides with a clear masonry sealer, applied with a paintbrush. Preventing the bricks from absorbing rainwater will extend their life.
Word of the Day
Lenticular Cloud
Lenticular clouds are only seen around mountains. These strange clouds are easy to spot, because they look like flying saucers or a stack of pancakes. Their most interesting characteristic is that they don’t move. Winds blow right through them, while other clouds are swept away.
Puzzle of the Day
What subject do witches like best?
Spelling.
Died
- Christopher Columbus (explorer) –
- Joseph Carr (president of NFL) –
- Gilda Radner (actress) –
- Stephen Jay Gould (paleontologist & author) –
- Robin Gibb (musician; member of the Bee Gees) –
Born
- William Thornton (architect) –
- Dolley Madison (U.S. First Lady) –
- William Fargo (businessman) –
- Allan Nevins (historian) –
- Jimmy Stewart (actor) –
- Joe Cocker (musician) –
- Cher (singer & actress) –
- Tony Stewart (race car driver) –
- Trinity Rodman (soccer player) –
Events
- First Council of Nicaea (which standardized how to calculate the date of Easter) likely convened –
- D. Hyde patented the fountain pen –
- Homestead Act signed –
- The Saturday Evening Post published its first cover with a Norman Rockwell painting –
- Charles Lindbergh began first nonstop solo flight across Atlantic –
- First airplane catapulted from a dirigible –
- A 680-pound goliath grouper was caught off Fernandina Beach, Florida –
- Rare Madagascar teal duck born, Louisville Zoo, Kentucky –
- Up to 20 million honeybees escaped from a tractor-trailer after it overturned on a highway in Newark, Deleware –
Weather
- Strafford, Vermont, received 10 inches of snow –
- Six inches of snow fell on Lexington, Kentucky –
- Codell, Kansas, hit by a tornado –
- For the second year in a row, Codell, Kansas, was hit by a tornado on this date –
- For the third year in a row, Codell, Kansas, was hit by a tornado on this date –
- A tornado took to the ground in Kansas City, Missouri, and traveled 71 miles –
- Near Eloy, Arizona, scientists began a 3.5 week experiment to study the nature of dust devils. –