28 October 2017
coulomb
[koo-lom, -lohm, koo-lom, -lohm]
noun
1. the standard unit of quanitity of electricity in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the quantity of charge transferred in one second across a conductor in which there is a constant current of one ampere.
Abbreviation: C.
Origin of coulomb
1880-1885 First recorded in 1880-85; after Coulomb
Coulomb
[koo-lom, -lohm, koo-lom, -lohm; French koo-lawn]
noun
1. Charles Augustin de [sharl oh-gy-stan duh], 1736–1806, French physicist and inventor.
Dictionary.com
Anagram
Club Moo
cool bum
cub loom
Today’s quote
The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or humiliated. And the only thing people regret is that they didn’t live boldly enough, that they didn’t invest enough heart, didn’t love enough. Nothing else really counts at all.
– Ted Hughes
On this day
28 October 1922 – Benito Mussolini, of the National Fascist Party, takes over the leadership of Italy’s government, after forcing Prime Minister Luigi Facta to resign following the ‘March on Rome’. Mussolini took the title ‘IL DUCE’ (The Leader).
28 October 1962 – end of the Cuban Missile Crisis, known in Cuba as the October Crisis and in Russia as Kарибский кризис (Caribbean Crisis), one of the major events of the Cold War as it brought the world to the brink of nuclear conflict. It started when a USAF U-2 plane photographed evidence of Soviet air bases being constructed in Cuba on 14 October 1962. The U.S. considered bombing the bases, but ended up blockading Cuba, preventing Soviet weapons being delivered. Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev wrote to U.S. President John F. Kennedy, stating the blockade constituted an act of war. For 13 days, the Americans and Soviets conducted talks to resolve the crisis. On 28 October 1962, Kennedy and UN Secretary General U. Thant reached a public and secret agreement with Khrushchev. Publicly, the Soviets agreed to dismantle their weapons in Cuba, while the U.S. gave an agreement to never invade Cuba. Secretly, the U.S. agreed to dismantle its ballistic missiles in Turkey.
28 October 1965 – Ernest Hemingway wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. Author of ‘The Old Man and the Sea‘.
28 October 1998 – death of Ted Hughes, English poet, children’s writer. Has been described as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes married American poet, Sylvia Plath in 1957. They separated in 1962 after she discovered he was having an affair with Assia Wevill, a German-born Jewish woman who escaped the Nazis during World War II. Plath suicided six months after the separation, at the age of 30. Plath had a history of suicide attempts and there is conjecture that her death could have been accidental as she had left a note to call her doctor. However, others believe the effort put into this attempt indicate that she intended to kill herself. Plath died from carbon monoxide poisoning after placing her head in a gas oven with the gas turned on. She had sealed the rooms between her and her sleeping children, with wet towels to ensure the gas didn’t harm the children. Hughes was devastated by her suicide and stopped writing poetry for three years. He had been having an affair with Assia Wevill and eventually had a child to her. Their daughter was named Alexandra Tatiana Elise (nicknamed ‘Shura’). In 1969, Wevill also suicided in the same manner as Sylvia Plath, by sealing the kitchen door and window, and turning on the gas stove. Whereas Plath had protected her children from the gas, Wevill gave 4 year old Shura a sleeping tablet mixed in a glass of water. Their bodies were found laying on a mattress in the kitchen. Some blamed Hughes for both suicides, alleging that he was abusive to both women. Hughes was unable to finish his poetry series, ‘The Crow’ after the death of Wevill. In 1970, he married Carol Orchard, who remained his wife until his death. From 1984, Hughes served as Poet Laureate. Born 17 August 1930.