A Pinch of Thought 3-26-18
Published March 26, 2018
A Pinch of Thought[edit | edit source]
Murderous Math[edit | edit source]
Any prime number that is one more than a multiple of 4 (e.g. 5 = 4 +1, 13 = 12 + 1, 29 = 28 + 1, 41 = 40 + 1, ...) is the sum of two squares (e.g. e.g. 5 = 4 +1, 13 = 4 + 9, 29 = 4 + 25, 41 = 16 + 25, ...).
Horrific History[edit | edit source]
Seat Belt Fastened at All Times[edit | edit source]
There weren’t many old BAC One-Elevens still flying in 1990, but one of them, British Airways 5390, was en route from Birmingham to the Spanish island of Malaga on June 10. It was a sunny Sunday, with 81 happy beachgoers aboard, when the entire pilot’s-side windscreen blew out as the One-Eleven climbed through 17,300 feet. The captain, Tim Lancaster, was almost instantly sucked out the opening—he’d removed his shoulder harness after takeoff and loosened his lapstrap—but fortunately the backs of his knees jammed against the top of the windscreen frame while his feet were caught under the yoke of his control column. Steward Nigel Ogden, who had just entered the cockpit, grabbed Lancaster by the legs while the first officer got the airplane under control.
Ogden was on the verge of being dragged out as well when a second steward reached the cockpit and secured him with a strap from the captain’s shoulder harness. By this time, Lancaster had slipped sideways from the roof of the cockpit, and his bloodied head was flailing against the left side window. The crew assumed that he was already dead. “His eyes were wide open,” Ogden recalled. “I’ll never forget that sight.” Lancaster was actually comatose, his systems shut down as a result of the incredible shock and the excruciating cold of the high-speed slipstream. A second steward eventually had to relieve Ogden, who was frostbitten and losing his grip, and by the time the airplane landed at Southampton, England, Lancaster was being held only by his ankles. He in fact survived with a fractured arm and wrist, and his first words after being pulled back into the cockpit were “I want to eat.” (“Just like a pilot,” Ogden reportedly said.) It was soon determined that an overworked mechanic had used undersized bolts on 84 of the windscreen’s 90 hold-down fittings.
Wacky Holidays[edit | edit source]
1 National Pig Day
1 Peanut Butter Lovers' Day
1 Purim
2 Old Stuff Day
2 Employee Appreciation Day
2 National Salesperson Day
2 World Day of Prayer
3 Caregiver Appreciation Day
3 I Want You to be Happy Day
3 If Pets Had Thumbs Day
3 National Anthem Day
3 Peach Blossom Day
4 Holy Experiment Day
4 Hug a GI Day
4 Oscar Night
5 Multiple Personality Day
6 Dentist's Day
6 National Frozen Food Day
7 National Crown Roast of Pork Day
8 Be Nasty Day
8 International (Working) Women's Day
8 Popcorn Lover's Day second Thursday
9 Panic Day
10 Middle Name Pride Day
11 Johnny Appleseed Day
11 Worship of Tools Day
12 Girl Scouts Day
12 Plant a Flower Day
13 Ear Muff Day
13 Jewel Day
14 Learn about Butterflies Day
14 National Potato Chip Day
14 National Pi Day
15 Dumbstruck Day
15 Everything You Think is Wrong Day
15 Ides of March
16 Everything You Do is Right Day
16 Freedom of Information Day
16 Incredible Kid Day
17 Corned Beef and Cabbage Day
17 National Quilting Day
17 Submarine Day
17 Saint Patrick's Day
18 Goddess of Fertility Day
18 Supreme Sacrifice Day
19 Poultry Day
20 International Earth Day
20 Extraterrestrial Abductions Day
20 Proposal Day
20 National Agriculture Day
20 Spring (Vernal) Equinox
20 Tea for Two Tuesday
21 Credit Card Reduction Day
21 Fragrance Day
22 National Goof Off Day
23 Melba Toast Day
23 National Chip and Dip Day
23 National Puppy Day
23 Near Miss Day
24 National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day
25 Feast of the Assumption
25 Pecan Day
25 Palm Sunday
25 Waffle Day
26 Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
26 National Spinach Day
27 National "Joe" Day
28 Something on a Stick Day
28 Weed Appreciation Day
29 National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day
29 Smoke and Mirrors Day
30 Good Friday
30 I am in Control Day
30 National Doctor's Day
30 Passover
30 Take a Walk in the Park Day
31 Bunsen Burner Day
31 National Clam on the Half Shell Day
31 World Backup Day