Well, here it is July already — a month filled with celebrations…. not only the 4th of July in the United States, but today (July 1) Canada celebrates their independence from the British empire with Canada Day. France celebrates Bastille Day on July 14th and many other countries like Algeria, Argentina and Belgium celebrate their nationhood this month.
If these patriotic celebration aren’t enough, July 2nd is World UFO Day, July 6th is International Kissing Day and July 24th is National Tequila Day.
On July 20th of 1969 I was in Saigon and remember watching Neil Armstrong become the first human to set foot on the moon. I watched it on a very small black and white TV in a bar on Tu-Do Street. (I blogged about that experience a few years ago — you can check the archives, if you’re interested.)
Tomorrow, July 2nd is the exact middle of the year — seems like that should be some kind of a holiday, but I guess it might bump World UFO Day our of the spotlight.
July is usually the hottest month of the year — the hottest temperature ever recorded in the United States was in Greenland Ranch, California — 134º on July 10th, 1913.
In case you’re interested in even more “July events,” the first ever rabies vaccine was administered by Louis Pasteur on July 6th, 1885 and the first atomic bomb was detonated in New Mexico on July 16th, 1945. The first ever international phone call was made on July 1, 1881. The call originated in the Canadian province of New Brunswick and was received in Maine in the United States.
And for junk food fans, July is National Ice Cream Month, National Chocolate Month, National French Fry Month and National Hot Dog Month.
Seven (7) US Presidents have passed away in July — the most of any month. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the 2nd and 3rd US Presidents, died on the same day — July 4th, 1826.
July 4th is aphelion — the time/point when the Earth is the farthest it will get from the Sun for the entire year… specifically, it’ll be 94,509,598 miles away from the Sun.
They say that if ant hills are high in July, the coming winter will be hard.
So we’re off to a busy month — maybe it won’t be as eventful as 1969, but I think we can all reflect on that memorable year and and hope that Neil Armstrong’s words can someday be true… “Here men from the plant Earth first set foot upon the Moon. July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind.”
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