20 May: Socrates

This date in 467 BC was, according to astro.com, the birthday of Socrates. Some facts about him:

1. He was born in Athens, Greece. His father, Sophroniscus, was a stonemason and his mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife.

2. He learned the stonemasonry trade from his father and worked as a mason, too, as he didn’t have enough money to be a philosopher full time.

3. Socrates didn’t write any of his teachings down. We only know about him because some of his students wrote about his life and work. His students included Aristotle, Plato, Xenophon, Aristophanes and Alexander the Great.

4. He was said to be extremely ugly, which might explain his belief that the mind was far more important than physical beauty. He’s described as being short with bulging Eyes, a snub nose and a pot belly.

5. He did his compulsory military service during which he served in Peloponnesian War, and was present at the battle of Amphipolis, and the battle of Potidaea. During the latter battle, he saved the life of a general called Alcibiades.

6. Which brings us to his sexuality. He was openly bisexual and attracted to men, and was said to have been in love with the general Alcibiades.

7. Nevertheless, he married a woman, albeit late in life, at the age of 50. Her name was Xanthippe and she was a lot younger than him. They had three sons, Menexenus, Lamprocles, and Sophroniscus who were said to be extremely boring people and nothing like their father at all. Socrates sometimes complained about his wife, but it's unclear if he was serious or not.

8. We already know he didn’t write books or treatises. He didn’t give boring lectures, either. He’d go to the town square on a busy market day and engage in conversation with random people, asking them questions and using biting wit and logic to trap them. He targetted people of all ages and social stations, both men and women, though his most popular discourses were the ones where he brought down high and mighty types. Crowds would gather to watch. Many of his “victims” would simply get annoyed but others had epiphanies. One such was a young poet called Aristocles who went home and burned all his writings. He would later be known as Plato.

9. Socrates got into trouble in the end for allegedly corrupting young people. It wasn’t so much about his sexuality but his rejection of the dominant religion of the time. He saw the widely worshipped Greek gods as no more than power hungry beings who meddled in society and needed to be constantly appeased with sacrifices. Just like politicians. That said, he wouldn’t have described himself as an atheist, either. He believed in a god called diamon, which was benevolent, rational and wise. What peed the authorities off was that he tried to turn young people away from the established gods towards one they’d never heard of.

10. His execution by drinking Hemlock is one of the most famous stories about him. Sentenced to death for his alleged crimes, he declared that he wasn’t afraid to die and refused to allow his friends to bribe the guards into letting him go. Trying to get out of his punishment, he said, was not something a true philosopher would do.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

19 May: 139

Today is day 139 of 2026. 10 139 fun facts.

1. There were 139 episodes of the American fantasy sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, and of 3rd Rock From The Sun.

2. 139 Juewa is a large main belt asteroid, the first asteroid discovered from China. It was discovered by the visiting American astronomer James Craig Watson in 1874 when he was in China to observe the transit of Venus. Watson asked Prince Gong to name the asteroid. He chose "Star of China's fortune" and Juewa is a rough translation of that, using the convention of the time.

3. The word 'begat' occurs 139 times in the KJV Bible.

4. The A139 is a road in England which runs from the A1305 Ring Road at Stockton-on-Tees to the A19 south of Billingham. It was previously allocated to a road between Ipswich and Felixstowe where a road ferry crossed to Harwich. This became the A45.

5. Camp 139 is a 2013 film directed by Matthew J. Adams and Benjamin James and starring Shane Dean, J. Lyle and Victoria Paege. It’s about four high school students who go on a camping trip in order to take drugs but it all goes wrong when a militant killing machine stalks them through the wilderness, luring them towards an abandoned Army hospital.

6. 139 is a toll free number in India for train related enquiries.

7. London bus route 139 runs from Golders Green Station to Waterloo Station.

8. 139 is the 34th prime number.

9. Psalm 139 in the Good News Bible begins: “Lord, you have examined me and you know me. You know everything I do; from far away you understand all my thoughts.

10. In numerology, 139 energy is pragmatic and focused. People influenced by it are people who can be trusted to get things done.

18 May: Soufflé

Today is National Cheese Soufflé Day, so here are some facts about soufflé.

1. The word soufflé comes from the French verb souffler, which means to blow, inflate or puff. It is the past participle of that verb.

2. The earliest soufflé recipe appeared in 1742 is Vincent La Chapelle’s book Le Cuisinier Moderne. La Chapelle was Madame de Pompadour’s chef.

3. However, it was the famous French chef Marie-Antoine Carême who really made the dish popular in the early 1800s. He was known as the “King of Chefs and Chef of Kings,” and many of the techniques he developed for producing the perfect soufflé are still used today.

4. The word soufflé first appeared in English in Louis Ude’s The French Cook, 1813. By 1845 the soufflé had become standard fare in recipe books.

5. Soufflés were savoury dishes in the beginning, flavoured with vegetables, herbs or Cheese. Sweet soufflés became popular during the Victorian era. Fruit, jam and Chocolate are popular sweet soufflé flavourings.

6. There are two main components to a soufflé. One is the sauce used to flavour it and the other is Egg whites which is what makes the dish light and fluffy.

7. The majority of soufflés are wheat free so suitable for people with gluten intolerance, although some flavourings may be less so. They depend on eggs, though, so vegans had better steer clear.

8. May 18th is National Cheese Soufflé Day, but people who prefer the sweet ones can celebrate on 28 February, which is National Chocolate Soufflé Day.

9. The most expensive soufflé sold for US $2,500 (UK £1,889, EUR €2,223). It has been made by Chefs Richard Farnabe and Alexandre Petrossian at their restaurant in New York, since September 2016. The ingredients include quail eggs and royal reserve caviar. The dish is topped with gold leaf and flambé Hennessey Richard.

10. If you’re looking more for quantity, Palestine is the place to be as it was home to the largest soufflé ever: 3,891 pounds (1,765 kg) and 243 feet long, produced in Nablus. The tallest was created by chef Jean-Michel Diot, in the year 2000 and was over 52 inches tall (approx. 1.32 meters).

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

17 May: Godspell

On this date in 1971, the Musical Godspell opened at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York. 10 things you might not know about it.

1. The music and lyrics are by Stephen Schwartz and it’s based on a book by John-Michael Tebelak.

2. John-Michael Tebelak was a drama student in Pittsburgh who’d thought about becoming a minister before deciding to study drama. He was inspired to write Godspell after attending an Easter service and thinking the joy and energy of the teachings of Jesus were lacking.

3. The show is based on the Gospel of Matthew.

4. It began as a project for drama students which eventually moved to La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village of Manhattan.

5. There are ten characters – Jesus, Judas and eight non-biblical characters who act out the parables. The names of the latter characters vary, often taking the names of the actors playing them. In the original script, Jesus and Judas were known as David and Stephen, after the actors in the roles.

6. All ten actors are on stage throughout the whole of the production.

7. The biggest hit song from the show was Day by Day. It has been covered by Cliff Richard, Cilla Black, Shirley Bassey, The New Seekers, Judy Collins and many more. Other numbers include Learn Your Lessons Well, Turn Back, O Man and By My Side.

8. In the original production, members of the audience were encouraged to go up onto the stage during the interval to drink Wine and dance with the cast.

9. Godspell opened in London in November 1971 and was on at the same time as Jesus Christ, Superstar. It was made into a film in 1973.

10. Needless to say there was some criticism from religious groups, because Jesus was shown wearing a Superman t-shirt and the resurrection wasn’t included. The cast answered the latter by saying that of course Jesus rose from the dead – how else could He appear for the curtain call?

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

16 May: 136

On the 136^th day of the year, 10 fun facts about the number 136.

1. The Roman numeral for 136 is CXXXVI.

2. It’s 10001000 in Binary.

3. 136 Austria is a main-belt asteroid discovered by Johann Palisa in 1874. It was his first asteroid discovery and named after his homeland.

4. The A136 is a road in England which runs between the A120 in Harwich and Harwich International Port.

5. The year 136 was a leap year starting on Saturday, known at the time as the Year of the Consulship of Commodus and Civica. In this year, Pope Hyginus succeeded Pope Telesphorus as the ninth pope, and Hadrian dictated his memoirs at his villa near Tivoli.

6. Psalm 136 begins “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.” (NIV).

7. London bus number 136 runs from Elephant & Castle/Newington Causeway to Grove Park Station.

8. 136 was the name of a talk show in Greece which began in 2012.

9. Section 136 of the Mental Health Act allows the Police in England & Wales to detain somebody in a public place who appears to be mentally disordered and in need of immediate care and/or control – this includes suicide attempts.

10. In numerology the energy of this number resonates with new beginnings and creativity. A person under its influence may explore new places/ideas or invent things.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

15 May: The Aurora Borealis

On this date in 1719 The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) appeared for the first time to New Englanders, USA. 10 facts about the Aurora Borealis:

1. The name was coined by Galileo in the 17^th century. He named the phenomenon after Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn and Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind. The Aurora Australis which occurs in the southern hemisphere is named for the Greek god of the south wind, Auster.

2. Galileo wasn’t the first to observe an aurora by any means. Cro-Magnon cave paintings in Spain dating to 30,000 BC feature them. The oldest known written record of the aurora was in a Chinese legend written around 2600 BC.

3. So what causes it? Charged particles being emitted by the Sun and hitting the Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field. "Coronal mass ejections", when the sun ejects more particles than usual is when you get the most impressive auras. Dr Affelia Wibisono, from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich describes it as “a big sneeze by the Sun."

4. Auroras are colourful. The different colours which can be seen are due to the different gases in the atmosphere. Green lights are caused by Oxygen and the Purples, Blues and Pinks by nitrogen. When particles hit oxygen at very high altitudes, however, it produces a Red glow.

5. The lowest part of an aurora is usually about 50 miles (80 km) above the Earth's surface. The highest part could be 150 miles (800km) above the Earth. This means that Astronauts on the International Space Station sometimes fly right through it.

6. Northern Lights are seen most often in regions close to the North Pole such as Scandinavia, Greenland, Alaska, Canada and Russia, but occasionally further south – they have been seen as far south as the Caribbean. The Southern lights are commonly seen across Antarctica and sometimes in the south of Australia and New Zealand. The northern hemisphere is more densely populated which is why you tend to hear more about the Aurora Borealis than the Aurora Australis.

7. The best time to spot auroras is around the equinoxes (March-April and September-October), because there are more magnetic storms then. The brightest auroras tend to be around 11pm to midnight local time.

8. It’s not just a light show, either. The auroras make sounds as well. People have reported hearing hissing, snapping or popping sounds. This happens when negative charges are released after being trapped in the inversion layer, a part of the atmosphere where temperature increases with altitude, rather than decreases.

9. Since it’s caused by what’s happening on the sun, it stands to reason that the other planets in the solar system get them, too, although they’d look different in terms of colours because the atmospheres are made up of different gases. The Hubble Space Telescope, and the Cassini and Galileo spacecraft have allowed us to see auroras on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

10. Ancient peoples came up with their own explanations of what those lights in the sky meant. These include: a giant Arctic fox running across the sky making sparks with its tail; the gods burning torches; the spirits of the dead giving guidance, messages or warnings, or dancing, or playing football in the sky with a walrus skull.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

14 May: Hebrides (Fingal's Cave)

On this date in 1832, Felix Mendelssohn's Hebrides premièred. 10 things you might not know about it.

1. This work is now popularly known as Fingal's Cave, but its title when published was Die einsame Insel (The Lonely Island) or Mendelssohn's Op. 26.

2. It’s described as a concert overture, which means it might sound as if it’s the prelude to an opera but is actually a stand alone composition to be played at a concert. This was a common form in Mendelssohn's time.

3. Felix Mendelssohn was 20 years old when he wrote it.

4. It was inspired by a trip he took to Britain in 1829 which included a boat trip to the uninhabited Scottish island of Staffa, which has a basalt sea cave known as Fingal's Cave. The young Mendelssohn found the cave so inspiring that he immediately began jotting down ideas for the music. He was so excited by it that he wrote a letter to his sister, Fanny, and included in it a few bars from the beginning of the piece.

5. According to legend, the cave is the site of what was once the royal castle of Fion na Gael ("Fingal"), ruler of the kingdom of Morven and father of the celebrated third-century warrior and bard known as Ossian.

6. Mendelssohn finished his first draft on 16 December 1830. There’s a theory that this wasn’t accidental. This date happens to be the one day of the year when the cave is fully lit by sunlight, when the sun lies 5.6 degrees above the horizon; so it’s possible Mendelssohn purposely arranged to write the final note on this date.

7. He dedicated the piece to Frederick William IV of Prussia, then Crown Prince of Prussia.

8. Performances of the overture typically last between 10½ and 11 minutes. 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 Trumpets, timpani and strings are required to play it.

9. Johannes Brahms was so impressed by it that he said, "I would gladly give all I have written, to have composed something like the Hebrides Overture".

10. The original handwritten score was purchased by the Bodleian Library on the 400th anniversary of its founding in 2002 for £600k.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/