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Saturday, July 25, 2026

Almanac for July 25th

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for July 25th: https://ko-fi.com/post/July-25th-St-James-Day-E1E0103RGV

Today's Observance: St. James' Day (feast day of St. James the Greater)

Read St. James' Day (Pagan Spirits #3) here:

Beatles Trivia
I had stuffed crust pizza for supper. Ringo Starr stars in those commercials. He says, “I’d do it in a second. The fans will dig it. They’ve been waiting long enough. I think I can convince them. I’ll say, ‘Lads, the time has come...to eat our pizza crust-first!” And then The Monkees show up and Ringo says, “Wrong lads.”

Bummer July 25

July 25, 1955: Pentecostal minister George Went Hensley, who believes that the Bible commands all Christians to handle poisonous snakes (and popularizes the idea of religious “snake handling”), dies after being bitten on the wrist by a snake of an unknown species in Calhoun County, Florida. Because Hensley voluntarily handled the animal, the Calhoun County sheriff’s office classifies Hensley’s death as a suicide.

July 25, 1966: Poet Frank O’Hara dies from a ruptured liver. The previous night he had been struck by a dune buggy on Fire Island while standing near a beach taxi that had broken down.

July 25, 1984: Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, the first artist to record “Hound Dog,” dies of a heart attack and liver disease at age 57 in Los Angeles.

July 25, 2001: When rain falls on the southern Indian state of Kerala, local people who get caught in the rain notice reddish, almost blood-like stains on their clothing. The colored rain falls sporadically on Kerala in July and September, sometimes colored yellow, green, or black. 

Although strange, the colloquially-named “blood rain” has a mundane explanation: the color comes from algae blooms.

Friday, July 24, 2026

Almanac for July 24th

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for July 24th: https://ko-fi.com/post/July-24-Dawn-L4L71HQFRA

Artist Birthday: Alexandre Dumas, pere



It's also the birthday of Jennifer Lopez.




Bummer July 24th

July 24, 1913: Donald A. Kenny and Christopher Gustin die during a hazing ritual performed by the Loyal Order of Moose in Birmingham, Alabama. Told they’re going to be branded, the men are touched with a rubber brand attached to an electrical current. Apparently the current is much stronger than intended, and the two men die of electrocution.

July 24, 1915: The Western Electric Company charters four ships to sail passengers consisting of its employees and their families to Michigan City, Indiana, for a company picnic holiday. One of the ships, the SS Eastland, is loaded with passengers and crew members when it suddenly rolls onto its side, trapping many of those onboard underwater. An unfortunate 844 people die.

Thursday, July 23, 2026

Almanac for July 23rd

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for July 23rd: https://ko-fi.com/post/July-23-Middlemarch-P5P51HQFLD

Bummer July 23rd

July 23, 1846: Henry David Thoreau is put in jail for refusing to pay a $1 poll tax. He’s protesting the poll tax on the grounds that it supports slavery. 

July 23, 1982: Actor Vic Morrow (age 53) and child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen are killed in a helicopter accident during the filming of the Twilight Zone movie. The filming was illegal, with director John Landis violating child labor laws and failing to obtain the required permits for the helicopter stunt filmed in Valencia, California.


Landis called for the Bell UH-1B Iroquois helicopter to hover over Morrow while he carried the two children. During filming, an explosion effect damaged the tail rotor of the helicopter. The helicopter spun out of control. The falling helicopter crushed Renee Shin-Yi Chen and decapitated Myca Dinh Le and Vic Morrow.

July 23, 2005: Thoroughbred horse racing jockey Emanuel Jose Sanchez dies of dehydration and extreme food restriction at age 22 at Richmond (Virginia) Community Hospital. The previous day, he’d been found unconscious in the shower after riding a horse in an afternoon race at Colonial Downs.

July 23, 2011: English jazz singer Amy Winehouse passes away, having recently completed rehabilitation for a severe alcohol addiction. 

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Almanac for July 22nd

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for July 22nd: https://ko-fi.com/post/July-22-Hale-Bopp-B0B21HQFGJ

Artist Birthday: Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks movie Modern Romance article by Movies of the 80s


Bummer July 22nd

July 22, 1934: Criminal John Dillinger is shot dead by FBI agent Melvin Purvis outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago. 



Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Almanac for July 21st

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for July 21st: https://ko-fi.com/Post/July-21-Lady-Chatterlys-Lover-F1F71HQFBW

Artist Birthday: Ernest Hemingway
Julie S. Howlin post of the day: Ernest Hemingway's birthday

Bummer July 21st

July 21, 1796: The poet Robert Burns dies at the age of 37, leaving behind his wife and five children.

July 21, 2023: Vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova, who posted nutrition content on social media accounts including Instagram and TikTok under the name Zhanna D’Art, dies at age 39 of an apparent infection at a hospital in Phuket, Malaysia. Samsonova’s “raw food” diet included only uncooked plants, leaving her with a very thin body type that may have contributed to her body’s inability to fight off infection.


Monday, July 20, 2026

Almanac for July 20th

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for July 20th: https://ko-fi.com/post/July-20-Cedar-Lake-R6R61HQF77

Bummer July 20th

July 20, 1948: Herpetologist Grace Olive Wiley, the first person to successfully breed rattlesnakes in captivity, dies after being bitten by a venomous Indian cobra. Wiley had been posing for a photo with the snake when the camera’s flash startles the animal and it strikes Wiley while she attempts to restrain it. She dies less than three hours later at the hospital, having accidentally broken her only vial of antivenom.

July 20, 1973: 32-year-old Bruce Lee, who has been suffering from cerebral edema since May of that year, takes the painkiller and muscle relaxant Equagesic. He lies down to take a nap and can’t be revived, apparently having had an allergic reaction to the medicine. Lee is declared dead on arrival at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kowloon, Hong Kong.


July 20, 1981: All six crews members and 44 passengers are killed when Somali Airlines Flight 40 crashes shortly after takeoff into the town of Balad. Thunderstorm conditions and, possibly, human error cause the plane to spiral dive and the crew are unable to recover from the dive.

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Sunday, July 19, 2026

Almanac for July 19

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for July 19: https://ko-fi.com/Post/July-19-Indiana-Fever-P5P61HQEV9


Bummer July 19

July 19, 1374: Tuscan poet Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca) dies on the eve of his 70th birthday.

July 19, 1850: Journalist Margaret Fuller returns, with her husband and child, from assignment as the New York Tribune’s European correspondent aboard the merchant ship Elizabeth. The vessel’s captain has died of smallpox during the 5-week voyage. The Elizabeth, being piloted by her less-experienced first mate, strikes a sandbar off of Fire Island and is run aground. Many of the crew abandon ship and are able to swim to shore, but Fuller and her husband are never found and are presumed to have drowned. Their son’s body is found washed up on the shore.

July 19, 1977: Heavy rains cause six dams in Conemaugh Valley, Pennsylvania to overflow and fail. 84 people were killed in the flooding.

July 19, 2017: Chanson réaliste singer-songwriter-musicologist Barbara Weldens is electrocuted while performing barefoot when her foot comes in contact with faulty electrical wiring. Welden is 35 years old.