Mardi Gras is French for “fat Tuesday”—the final feasting before the fasting of Lent, which begins tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. Fat Tuesday is also called Shrove Tuesday, a name that comes from the practice of shriving—purifying oneself through confession—prior to Lent. Many of the names applied to this day relate to food and eating. In many Latin countries, Mardi Gras is the culmination of the carnival season of revelry and feasting. (Carnival from the Latin carnem levare, means to take meat away.) Among the Pennsylvania Dutch, this Tuesday is Fastnacht (fast night), and everyone enjoys the traditional fastnachtkuchen, a rectangular doughnut with a slit in the middle. For the English, Shrove Tuesday is also called Pancake Day, as they use up the cooking fats that are forbidden during Lent. Learn more about Mardi Gras and find great recipes including Shrove Tuesday Pancakes!
Daily Calendar for Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Question of the Day
Who built the world’s tallest snowman?
According to the Guiness Book of Records, Angus was his name, and he was completed in February of 1999 by the residents of Bethel, Maine. Angus, named for Angus King, governor of Maine, stood a whopping 113 feet, 7.5 inches tall. In 2008, the tallest snowwoman was also built in Bethel, Maine. She was 122 feet, 1 inch tall. She didn’t fully melt until July!
Advice of the Day
To cure hiccups, pant like a dog.
Home Hint of the Day
If you’re using urethane varnish and are looking for extra protection for a hardwood floor in a high-traffic area such as a kitchen, apply an extra coat of the varnish.
Word of the Day
Hogshead
1 hogshead=63 gallons
Puzzle of the Day
What men may be said to be made from trees?
Aldermen
Died
- Jethro Tull (agriculturist, inventor of the horse-drawn seed drill) –
- Malcolm X assassinated in NYC –
- Dame Margot Fonteyn (ballerina) –
- Bart Howard (songwriter known for writing Fly Me to the Moon) –
- Billy Graham (evangelist) –
- Peter Tork (musician, member of The Monkees) –
Born
- Anais Nin (novelist) –
- W.H. Auden (poet) –
- John Robert Lewis (American politician; civil rights leader) –
- Alan Rickman (actor) –
- William Petersen (actor) –
- Kelsey Grammer (actor) –
- Jennifer Love Hewitt (actress) –
- Corbin Bleu (actor) –
Events
- The half-cent denomination was discontinued in the United States –
- Lucy Hobbs Taylor became the first woman to graduate from a dental school, the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in Cincinnati, Ohio–
- First telephone directory published, New Haven, Connecticut –
- The Washington Monument was dedicated by President Arthur in Washington, D.C. It took 102 years to complete, beginning in 1783 when Congress proposed it. It was the largest man-made structure in the world at the time–
- First issue of The New Yorker published–
- Polaroid instant camera first demonstrated–
- President Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit a country not diplomatically recognized by the U.S. when he visited China–
- UFO sighted in Portland, Oregon–
Weather
- Granville, North Dakota, experienced a spectacular chinook temperature swing. The temperature rose from -33F in the morning to 50F in the afternoon.–
- Destructive ice storm began in areas of Wisconsin, lasting through February 23–
- Twelve days of heavy rain and snow in California finally came to an end–
- Two tornadoes hit the Sacramento, California, area–