IOTD

Calendar day; August 8, 2015

Saturday, the 8th of August, 2015 is the 220th day in 2015 and in the 32nd calendar week.

General Events:

World Cat-Day 2015
August 8, 2015 in the World

World Cat Day, also known as Internation Cat Day, is celebrated throughout the world on August 08, 2015. It was founded in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other animal rights groups. The cat is a small, furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests. Although cat ownership has commonly been associated with women, a US poll reported that men and women were equally likely to own a cat.

Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years, and are currently the most popular pet in the world. Owing to their close association with humans, cats are now found almost everywhere in the world. Cats are a common companion animal in Europe and North America, and their worldwide population exceeds 500 million. In 1998 there were around 43 million cats in Western Europe, 33 million in Eastern Europe, seven million in Japan and three million in Australia. A 2007 report stated that about 37 million US households owned cats, with an average of 2.2 cats per household giving a total population of around 82 million. In contrast, there are about 72 million pet dogs in that country.

Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species and use a variety of vocalizations, pheromones and types of body language for communication. These include meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting. Interactions with cats may improve health and reduce physical responses to stress: for example the presence of cats may moderate increased blood pressure. Cat ownership may also improve psychological health by providing emotional support and dispelling feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness. Their ability to provide companionship and friendship are common reasons given for owning a cat.

Where is the event?
Worldwide

Dalek Day
August 8, 2015 in the World

Not to be confused with International Dalek Remembrance Day (Dec 21), today is Dalek Day. Terry Nation created the daleks and August 8 was his birthday.

So talk like a dalek, quote daleks, reference daleks any chance you get.

Where is the event?
Worldwide

National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day
August 8, 2015 in the USA

Experienced gardener’s know that Zucchini is one of the most prolific plants in all of the gardening world. A single plant produces a seemingly endless supply of Zucchini. A small row of zucchini has the potential to end world hunger.

By the time August arrives, gardeners are reaping far more zucchini than they can possibly use. They use it daily in an untold number of recipes, from soups and stews, to breads and dips. Still, the fruit matures on the vine faster than anyone can even pick it. Zucchini growers become desperate, as they try to give zucchini away to family, friends and everyone they encounter. By August, even non-gardeners have had enough. Everyone avoids you, with your arms laden with giveaway fruit.

Desperate times calls for desperate measure. It’s time to sneak over, under the cover of darkness, to your neighbors porch, and unload some zucchini. Today is that day.

Where is the event?
Nationwide USA

Historical Events on 8th July:

1497 – Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama departs for on his first voyage – becomes first European to reach India by sea

1579 – Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, was discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan

1716 – Great Northern War: Battle of Dynekilen, a Danish-Norwegian force under Peter Tordenskjold trapped and defeated a similar Swedish force

1800 – Dr Benjamin Waterhouse gives 1st cowpox vaccination in the US to his son to prevent smallpox

1864 – The Shinsengumi sabotage the Choshu-han shishi’s planned attack on Kyoto, Japan at Ikedaya. This event is known as Ikedaya Jiken

1892 – St. John’s, Newfoundland is devastated in the Great Fire of 1892

1905 – The soldiers of the Russian battleship “Potemkin” who mutinied, surrender to Rumanian authorities, who turn ship over to Russian authorities soon after

1908 – Uprisings spread throughout Turkey

1947 – Reports are broadcast that a UFO has crashed landed in Roswell, New Mexico.

1949 – The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No 55 prohibiting marriage or a sexual relationship between White people and people of other race groups is passed in South Africa

1968 – Israeli-Egyptian artillery duel along Suez Canal

1975 – Quake damages over 2,000 temples in Pagan Burma, 20-foot-high seated Buddha of Thandawgya decapitated

1986 – Farthest thrown object-an “Aerobie” flying ring, 383 m (1,257′)