As a semi-dedicated oenophile, this day marks an important anniversary for me. On this day in 1860, a device which, officially, was called a “covered gimlet screw with a ‘T' handle” (aka "a corkscrew"),was patented by M. L. Byrn of New York City.
Today is also the birthday of Sarah Vaughn, aka The Sassy One, aka The Divine One. She was and is my favorite female jazz vocalist, and she would have been 85 years old today if she was still alive. Sarah started here professional career after winning an amateur contest at New York's Apollo Theater in 1943.
And here is the most incedible Fun Fact of all - In the past six years, according to the Bank for International Settlements, the global financial derivatives market exploded as a global haven for speculative investment - growing from $127 Trillion in 2002 to $684 Trillion in 2008! And the Fun Fact about this - in 2008, financial obligations amounting to 12 times the ENTIRE WORLD'S GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT were written and traded and re-traded among financial institutions. When the music stops (like now), that is a whole lotta leverage that needs to come out of the system. No wonder the world is shakin' and bakin'!!
This last Fun Fact makes me want a nice tall glass of Bordeaux.
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