14 July: Gerald Ford Quotes

Born this date in 1913 was former US President Gerald Ford. 10 quotes:

1. Never be satisfied with less than your very best effort. If you strive for the top and miss, you'll still 'beat the pack.'

2. A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.

3. I hope never to see the day that I cannot admit having made a mistake.

4. The American dream does not come to those who fall asleep.

5. If compassion and mercy are not compatible with politics then something is the matter with politics.

6. Real assistance is to help people to help themselves. We can't do everything for everybody, but there is room for all who try to make it.

7. It's more like it is now than it ever has been.

8. I know I am getting better at golf because I am hitting fewer spectators.

9. I strongly support the feeding of children.

10. The harder you work, the luckier you are, and I worked like hell.

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/

13 July: Don't be Cruel

On this date in 1956 Elvis Presley's Don't Be Cruel was released. 10 facts about it.

1. The song was written by Otis Blackwell, who also wrote Return To Sender and All Shook Up, among several other Elvis hits. It was recorded just 11 days before it was released. Elvis recorded Hound Dog and Any Way You Want Me in the same recording session.

2. It was released as a single with Hound Dog.

3. In the US, both sides reached number one, the only single ever to achieve that.

4. In the UK, Don't Be Cruel was the B side to Hound Dog. It was 1978 before Don’t Be Cruel became a hit in its own right, when it was re-released after Elvis died.

5. Performers on the single included Scotty Moore on lead guitar, Bill Black on double bass, D. J. Fontana on Drums, Shorty Long on Piano, with the Jordanaires providing backing vocals.

6. Bill Black went on to have a hit with an instrumental version in 1960.

7. There has also been an R&B version by Barbara Lynn and a country version by the Judds. In 1988 it was covered by the band Cheap Trick.

8. The Quarrymen, who would become The Beatles, are said to have performed the song regularly in their early days, although they never recorded it at that time.

9. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.

10. In 2004, it was ranked No. 197 in Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

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/

12 July: 193

12 July is the 193^rd day of a non-leap year. Here are 10 fun facts about the number.

1. A quote from Desmond Morris, British zoologist and ethologist: "There are 193 species of Monkeys and apes, 192 of them are covered with hair."

2. The year 193 was a common year starting on Monday, known at the time as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius.

3. As of 2023, 193 countries were members of the United Nations.

4. 193 Ambrosia is a main belt asteroid discovered by J. Coggia in 1879, and named after either Ambrosia, the food of the gods in Greek mythology, or Ambrosia, one of the Hyades.

5. In Saskatchewan, Canada there is a rural municipality called Eyebrow No. 193.

6. The A193 is a road in England which runs from the A1068 in Bedlington to the A167(M) in Newcastle city centre.

7. The Trial of the 193 was a series of criminal trials held in Russia in 1877–1878 under the rule of Tsar Alexander II. The defendants were 193 socialist students and other "revolutionaries" charged with populist "unrest" and propaganda against the Russian Empire.

8. London bus route 193 runs from: Queen's Hospital to Essex Gardens.

9. The Knights Templar existed for 193 years.

10. In numerology, the energy of 193 is focused on building a secure future on a solid foundation, not only for itself but to benefit humanity. While it will map out and follow steps to reach its goal, it is more than capable of taking a creative approach when plans have to change.

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/

11 July: John Quincy Adams Quotes

This date in 1767 was the birth date of US President John Quincy Adams. 10 things he said.

1. If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

2. Try and fail, but don't fail to try.

3. To believe that everyone is honest is folly, but to believe that no one is honest is worse.

4. Idleness is sweet, and its consequences are cruel.

5. Individual liberty is individual power.

6. Whoever tells the best story wins.

7. Every temptation is an opportunity of our getting nearer to God.

8. The laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy.

9. The four most miserable years of my life were my four years in the presidency.

10. I would much rather be found guilty of making a serious mistake in judgment, than to be accused of being even a little bit insincere.

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/

10 July: Paprika

As today is National herbs and spices day, here are 10 things you might not know about paprika.

1. Paprika is made by grinding the pods of the pepper plant capsicum annuum, a species which includes both sweet peppers and spicier ones. Hence there are many varieties of paprika. Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Aubergine (eggplant) are its distant cousins.

2. The first recorded use of the word paprika in English dates back to 1830, in The Times. "A' borsos levecskét – the pepper soup, or paprika soup, made of the capsicum annuum of Linne ... a favourite dish among the Magyars, Turks, and Servians".

3. In 1937, the Hungarian chemist Albert Szent-György won the Nobel Prize for research on the vitamin content of paprika. There is more Vitamin C in paprika than in an equivalent amount of citrus fruit.

4. It’s also rich in antioxidants, so has been used in the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics.

5. A nitrogen compound called capsaicin gives paprika its pungency, while carotenoid, an antioxidant, gives it the rich Red colour.

6. The plants from which paprika is made are native to South America and were likely brought back to Europe by Christopher Columbus. The spice became popular in Spain and Portugal and then spread with Spanish and Portuguese explorers to the Balkans and even to India, Asia and the Middle East.

7. It is the national spice of Hungary, which has a paprika museum in the town of Kaloscsa.

8. It is an essential ingredient for the Hungarian dish, goulash, as well as being used to make edible oils, meat products, and Cheese.

9. Smoked paprika is a thing, prepared by smoking peppers over an oak fire rather than simply drying them. In Spain, smoked paprika is called pimenton.

10. The rose paprika of Hungary, made from pods with a sweet flavour and aroma, is generally considered to be the finest variety. Another of Hungary’s eight different varieties is Koenigspaprika (king’s paprika), and is made from the whole pepper, not just the pods.

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/

9 July: The Hayward Gallery

This date in 1968 was the official opening of the Hayward Gallery on London’s South Bank. 10 things you might not know:

1. The address of the gallery is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX. The nearest tube stations are Waterloo and Embankment.

2. Its close neighbours in the Southbank Centre include the Queen Elizabeth Hall/Purcell Room, the BFI Southbank repertory cinema, the Royal Festival Hall and the National Theatre.

3. The gallery is named after Sir Isaac Hayward who was the leader of the London County Council when the gallery was built.

4. It was designed by a group of young architects which included Dennis Crompton, Warren Chalk, and Ron Herron, who were part of the architectural collective, Archigram. It was built by a company called Higgs and Hill.

5. It is the only gallery in the world to be built in the Brutalist style of architecture, which was popular in the 1960s.

6. Another thing which makes it different is that it doesn’t have its own permanent art collection but rather hosts a series of temporary exhibitions.

7. The Hayward Gallery’s main focus is modern art; has a reputation for taking risks and showing art that is not necessarily mainstream, but is more experimental. Well known names who have featured in the Hayward’s exhibitions include Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, Antony Gormley, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, and Grayson Perry. That said, artists from before the modern era, such as Leonardo da Vinci, have on occasion been shown here as well.

8. The founding director was Joanna Drew. At time of writing the position is held by Sally Tallant, who took over from Ralph Rugoff in 2026.

9. The original plan for the Hayward Gallery included five main art spaces. There are two levels of indoor galleries and three outdoor sculpture courts. It has a large, glass-fronted foyer designed by Haworth Tompkins and added in 2003. A new glass pavilion, designed by Dan Graham, was also added above a new cafe.

10. Not based anywhere near London? The gallery has formed a partnership with Google Arts & Culture to create virtual exhibitions that can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

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/

8 July: Twister

On this date in 1966, a patent was granted for the game of Twister. 10 things you might not know about Twister.

1. Twister was invented by Ron Guyer, when he was working in his father’s ad design office trying to come up with an idea for an ad for shoe polish when he suddenly had a completely unrelated idea: What if there was a game where the players are the pieces?

2. Guyer experimented with a few ideas and eventually applied for a patent for the game we know today, although his original name for it was “Pretzel” because that was what the players would end up looking like.

3. Pretzel, however, was already in use as a name for a toy dog already on the market, so toy company Milton Bradley changed the name to Twister. Guyer hated the name, however, as he associated it with deadly Tornadoes and not a fun evening playing games with family and friends.

4. Its first tagline was ‘The game that ties you up in knots.’

5. It got off to a rocky start because some retailers, including Sears, decided it was too racy to sell. They called it ‘sex in a box’ and boycotted it. Even some executives at Milton Bradley agreed and thought mixed sex games would be in poor taste. Even using cartoon characters on the box rather than photographs of real people failed to placate the detractors.

6. The company were about to give up on Twister, but they’d already forked out for a promotional slot on Johnny Carson’s show. That went ahead, with Carson playing Twister with actress Eva Gabor. Which, you’d think, would only reinforce the risqué reputation. In any event, the public loved it. The day after the show aired, people were queuing outside Abercrombie and Fitch, one of the few shops which hadn’t boycotted the game. Guyer says. “By Christmas 1966, we were the game of the year.” There were subsequent press reports that teenagers were playing the game naked, which would have dealt a severe blow in relatively prudish 1960s America, but it all blew over and Twister, and the company, survived.

7. Twister was banned in Germany, not because it was too sexy, but because at the time, it was frowned upon in that country for women to take their shoes off in public.

8. Colour blind and even totally blind people can play, thanks to adaptations to make it more accessible, using textures and Braille. Sighted players can join in wearing blindfolds. Blindfolded Twister is an accessible variant with four different tactile symbols on the mat.

9. In 2015, Twister was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

10. The record for the world’s largest Twister board was set in 2015 country music singer Thomas Rhett spliced together 1200 regular-sized mats to create a 27,159 square-foot playing area as a publicity stunt at one of his concerts. The record for the most players, however, wasn’t broken at this event. The 1987 record of 4,160 players was still held by students at the University of Massachusetts.

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/