23 May: Carl Linnaeus

Born on this date in 1707 was Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist who established conventions for the naming of living organisms that became universally accepted in the scientific world.

1. He was born in Sweden. His father was a curate, who taught his son Latin at a young age. Carl would sometimes use the Latin form of his name, Carolus Linnæus.

2. Carl’s mother wanted him to be a priest and even had him enrolled in priest training school, but he didn’t do well there and ended up having to leave.

3. He loved plants from a young age. He wasn’t very interested in the subjects his teachers expected him to be good at: Greek, Hebrew, mathematics and theology. He much preferred studying plants. One teacher did encourage his interest in botany by letting him work in his garden. His interest in science led his teachers to suggest a career in medicine, so he was given lessons in anatomy and physiology.

4. He studied medicine in Sweden but was expected to finish his degree elsewhere, so he finished his studies at the University of Harderwijk in the Netherlands, where he studied the causes of malaria and studied some more at the University of Leiden.

5. When he returned to Sweden he met Sara Elisabeth Moraeus and wanted to marry her. Her father said no until he’d finished his studies and got a job, proving that he’d be able to support her. He didn’t practice as a doctor for very long. He took a position as professor of medicine at Uppsala and later returned to his first love and became the head of the botanical garden.

6. He’s famous for his work on classifying living things and giving them the two part Latin names we use today. He has been called the "father of modern taxonomy" (the science of classifying living things), Princeps botanicorum (Prince of Botanists) and "The Pliny of the North". He was also the first scientist to treat the human species as an animal to be classified like any other. It was he who coined the name Homo Sapiens.

7. He held grudges and on at least two occasions named things after people he didn’t like. Siegesbeckia, a weed that produces an evil smelling fluid, was named after Johann Siegesbeck, a German scientist who was critical of his work. Aphanus rolandri, a type of beetle, was named after one of his students, Daniel Rolander, who’d refused to show Linnaeus his plant collection.

8. One might expect there are some Amphibians named after his enemies too, since Linnaeus was really not a fan of that particular class of animal. He wrote terribly insulting things about amphibians, describing them as “most terrible and vile animals… ghastly colour, cartilaginous skeleton, foul skin, fierce face, a meditative gaze, a foul odour, a harsh call, a squalid habitat, and terrible venom… an unsightly, hideous naked mob.” He did admit, however, that some Frogs sang beautifully.

9. The Swedish king, Adolf Fredrik, made Linnaeus a noble in 1757, after which he changed his name to Carl Linné.

10. He has some plants named after him. Linnaea and Linnaeosicyos, two kinds of flowering plant.

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/

22 May: Wigs

Today is National Wig-Out Day: 10 facts about wigs

1. They’ve been around since ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian fashion was for people to shave their heads or have short, cropped Hair. They wore wigs to protect their bald heads from the Sun.

2. The word wig is short for periwig, which came from the French word ‘perruque’. In the 18th and 19th centuries, wigmakers were called perruquiers.

3. In the 16^th century, wigs were more hygienic than real hair. Head lice were extremely common, and it was easier to de-louse a wig than real hair – you could take a wig off and boil it to get rid of the nits.

4. Another nasty thing common around that time was syphilis. While today that disease is quickly got rid of with antibiotics, in those days people were forced to suffer the ultimate effects which as well as madness and nasty sores, included hair loss. Being bald became a source of shame so those affected took to wearing wigs. Samuel Pepys wrote when his brother contracted syphilis that if he survived, “he will not be able to show his head—which will be a very great shame to me.”

5. Pepys wore wigs himself, but was rather ambiguous about it. He wrote about the day he had his head shaved and tried on his new periwig for the first time, mentioning concerns that his headwear might have been made from the hair of someone who’d died of the plague.

6. Wigs were very fashionable with royalty. Queen Elizabeth I owned 150 individual hair pieces. Louis XIV started to go bald at 17 and hired 48 wig makers to save his image. Charles II of England, his cousin, had a similar problem and wore elaborate long wigs. Their courtiers copied them and hence wigs became everyday wear at court. Needless to say, these fashion accessories became very expensive. Even the most basic wig would cost a week’s salary for an ordinary man in the street. This is where the word “bigwig” comes from, a bigwig being a person who could afford a larger, more elaborate wig.

7. It takes six heads of hair to make a full human hair wig.

8. The most expensive wig ever sold at an auction was one that had belonged to Andy Warhol. It sold for $10,800.

9. Wigs, of course, are often used by actors as part of their costumes. Film studios are among a modern wig maker’s best customers. The second Lord of the Rings film, The Two Towers holds the record for the highest number of wigs used in one film.

10. Ironically, today, especially at Halloween, people with hair wear "rubber wigs" to make them look bald!

21 May: Harold Robbins Quotes

Today, 10 quotes from Harold Robbins, US writer, who was born on this date in 1912. Among his best known books is The Carpetbaggers.

1. Sometimes something happens and you find that all the people you knew are like nothing and someone you never saw before will reach out a hand to help.

2. The only thing of value on this earth is that each of us is an individual and not a cog in a machine. No man is better than another because of circumstance or fortune, but each important to his own.

3. Every man has his price. For some it's money, for some it's women, for others glory. But the honest man you don't have to buy – he winds up costing you nothing.

4. To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die.

5. When I die, I don't want to leave any enemies, and I figure the only way to do that is to outlive them all.

6. People are not like a business. You can't buy and sell them like so much property. You can't lock them up in a vault and expect them to appreciate it.

7. Power, sex, deceit, and wealth: the four ingredients to a successful story.

8. A man is a thousand parts, All of them other people.

9. Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill.

10. There is no sorrow that love does not precede.

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/

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/

13 May: 133

Today is the 133rd day of the year. 10 fun facts about 133.

1. 133 is a track on Just a Little More Love, the debut studio album by David Guetta, released on 10 June 2002.

2. The A133 is a road in England which runs between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea.

3. According to NASA records, there were 133 successful Space Shuttle missions.

4. The year 133 was a common year starting on Wednesday, known at the time as the Year of the Consulship of Hiberus and Sisenna.

5. The SEAT 133 is a small rear-engined car designed and sold by SEAT in Spain from 1974 until 1979, and until 1982 to export markets.

6. 133 Cyrene is a large, bright main-belt asteroid discovered by J. C. Watson in 1873, and named after Cyrene, a nymph, daughter of king Hypseus and beloved of Apollo in Greek mythology.

7. In The Bible, Psalm 133 begins: “How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head.” (NIV)

8. London bus 133 runs from Streatham Station to Drake Street, Holborn.

9. The Roman numeral for 133 is Roman numeral CXXXIII and in binary it’s 10000101.

10. In numerology, 133 energy is introspective, intuitive, and self-reliant. It is also focused on knowing itself and understanding its environment.

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 May: Ian Dury

English pop star Ian Dury was born on this date in 1942. 10 things you might not know about him.

1. He was born in Harrow, Middlesex. It’s sometimes reported that he was born in Upminster, Essex or Mevagissey, Cornwall, during The Blitz. Untrue, although he did spend time in both places growing up. His mother’s parents lived in Mevagissey, so he had holidays there, and after his parents split up his mother moved to Upminster to live with her sisters.

2. His mother was a health visitor; his father a former boxer, coach driver, and chauffeur for Rolls-Royce.

3. He lived in Switzerland for a while as a child when his father was working as a chauffeur for a millionaire.

4. The bands he was in were Kilburn and the High Roads, the Kilburns, Ian Dury and the Blockheads and Ian Dury and the Music Students.

5. When he was seven, he caught polio. He believed he caught it at a swimming pool in Southend. He spent 18 months recovering and was left with a permanent paralysis on his left side. He attended a school for disabled children for a time, which focussed on teaching trades and toughening up the kids. His mother wanted him to have a more academic education so he was moved to a grammar school in High Wycombe.

6. He left school at 16 with three O levels in English Language, English Literature and Art, and then attended Walthamstow College of Art, where he met his first wife, Betty Rathmell.

7. He was an actor, too and had small parts in several films including The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Roman Polanski's Pirates and Judge Dredd.

8. He wrote and performed the theme song for the television series The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ based on the book by Sue Townsend, but turned down the chance to write the libretto for Cats, simply because he hated Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music.

9. He died of cancer at the age of 57. His last last public performance was a charity concert in aid of Cancer BACUP, supported by Kirsty MacColl and Phill Jupitus, just over a month before his death. Dury was noticeably ill by this time and had to be helped on and off stage.

10. A biopic titled Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll starring Andy Serkis as Dury was released in 2010.

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 May: Irving Berlin

This date in 1888 saw the birth of Irving Berlin, US composer who is famous for writing classic American songs like White Christmas, God Bless America, Puttin' on the Ritz, and There’s No Business Like Show Business.

1. He was born in Russia and given the name Israel Isidore Baline. His father, Moses, was a cantor, which meant he led the religious songs in the synagogue.

2. The family moved to America when he was five in order to escape anti-Jewish pogroms. He would later say that he remembered very little about Russia. His one abiding memory was of his house burning down.

3. In order to fit in, he went by the name of Izzy in New York. The name Berlin came when his first song was published and the credit read “I. Berlin”. He claimed it was a typo but it’s thought he chose it to sound more American and changed his name to Irving Berlin officially in 1911.

4. He co-wrote his first song in 1907. It was called Marie from Sunny Italy. It was sold to a music publisher for 75 cents; since he’d written it with someone else, Berlin only received half of that.

5. His father died when he was just 13, leaving the family struggling financially. He left school in order to go to work and earn Money. In due course he moved out of the family home so there would be one less mouth to feed. During this time he supported himself by busking on the street, eventually getting a job as a singing waiter.

6. Despite writing some of the best known songs ever, Berlin had no training in music at all. He couldn’t read or write Music – he had to pay secretaries to write the tunes down. He could only play the Piano using the black keys in the key of F, so he bought a special piano that would change key for him.

7. He was married twice. His first wife was Dorothy Goetz, who he married in 1912, but the marriage came to a tragic end in less than a year as Dorothy died from typhoid which she caught during their honeymoon. Berlin’s song When I Lost You was written while he was grieving for her. In 1925 he married Ellin Mackay, a Catholic whose father disowned her for marrying a Jew. They had three daughters and were together for 62 years until Ellin died in 1988.

8. They had a son, too, Irving Jr, but he died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, on Christmas Day, 1928. Every year, on Christmas Day, the Berlins would lay a Christmas wreath on his grave, a tradition their heirs continue to this day.

9. His service in WWI was to write patriotic songs to encourage the troops. During this time he wrote a musical revue called Yip! Yip! Yaphank! Which was initially performed by soldiers but eventually played at theatres as well. Berlin would perform a song called Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning at each performance himself. During World War II, Berlin wrote This Is The Army, which became a Broadway musical and 1943 film starring Ronald Reagan. He donated all the show’s earnings to the U.S. Army Emergency Relief Fund. Yip! Yip! Yaphank! Had also been written not for profit, but to raise money for a community building on his army base. Later, he would donate all the profits from the patriotic song God Bless America to the Boy and Girl Scouts and the Campfire Girls.

10. Irving Berlin died in his sleep at his home in Manhattan on September 22, 1989. He was 101 years old. When his death was announced, the lights on Broadway were dimmed as a mark of respect.

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 May: Rogation Sunday

Rogation Sunday falls on this date in 2026, so here are some facts about it.

1. Rogation Sunday is celebrated on the 5th Sunday after Easter. Although in many places today the customs and ceremonies associated with it will be observed by churches on the Sunday, officially the Rogation Days are the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday following.

2. The word “rogation” comes from the Latin rogare, meaning “to ask.”

3. The observances tend to be concerned with asking God to protect the crops so there will be a good harvest. Farmers would have their crops blessed by a priest at this time. While it started as a celebration of rural life and was concerned with farming, hunting and fishing, God’s bounty, in some parts of the world they now include commerce and industry in the prayers, and it’s also used to promote stewardship of the planet.

4. It’s also known as Rural Life Sunday or Soil Stewardship Sunday.

5. It’s said to have evolved from a Roman ceremony called Robigalia. Robigus was the god of crop diseases and so had to be placated in order to ensure healthy crops. Robigalia involved a procession through town and out to a designated spot, where they would sacrifice a Dog.

6. Rogation days were introduced around AD 470 by Mamertus, bishop of Vienne and the Council of Orleans ordered that people should observe it from 511.

7. Another aspect of it was re-establishing the borders of the parish. Hence the observance often included a ceremony called beating the bounds in which the vicar would lead a procession of church officials and parishioners around the parish boundary to pray for the protection of the parish in the coming year. In the north of England this was also known as 'Gang-day' or 'gan week'.

8. It can also be used as a time of preparation for the upcoming feast of the Ascension, a time of abstinence and fasting.

9. Texts dating back to the 12^th century describe the processions which took place at the time. People would carry banners representing various Biblical characters. In the lead would be the Dragon, representing Pontius Pilate, followed by a Lion, representing Christ. On Ascension Day there would be a similar procession, this time with the lion in front. Many people also carried torches which could weigh as much as 42 lb (19 kg).

10. Violet vestments are worn at the rogation litany and its associated Mass.

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/