Old Sailors' Almanac

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Week 42, 2016

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Victory at Yorktown on October 19, 1781

Victory at Yorktown on October 19, 1781

Victory at Yorktown: Hopelessly trapped at Yorktown, Virginia, British General Lord Cornwallis surrenders 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to a larger Franco-American force, effectively bringing an end to the American Revolution.

Lord Cornwallis was one of the most capable British generals of the American Revolution. In 1776, he drove General George Washington’s Patriots forces out of New Jersey, and in 1780 he won a stunning victory over General Horatio Gates’ Patriot army at Camden, South Carolina. Cornwallis’ subsequent invasion of North Carolina was less successful, however, and in April 1781 he led his weary and battered troops toward the Virginia coast, where he could maintain seaborne lines of communication with the large British army of General Henry Clinton in New York City. After conducting a series of raids against towns and plantations in Virginia, Cornwallis settled in the tidewater town of Yorktown in August. The British immediately began fortifying the town and the adjacent promontory of Gloucester Point across the York River.

General George Washington instructed the Marquis de Lafayette, who was in Virginia with an American army of around 5,000 men, to block Cornwallis’ escape from Yorktown by land. In the meantime, Washington’s 2,500 troops in New York were joined by a French army of 4,000 men under the Count de Rochambeau. Washington and Rochambeau made plans to attack Cornwallis with the assistance of a large French fleet under the Count de Grasse, and on August 21 they crossed the Hudson River to march south to Yorktown. Covering 200 miles in 15 days, the allied force reached the head of Chesapeake Bay in early September.

Meanwhile, a British fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves failed to break French naval superiority at the Battle of Virginia Capes on September 5, denying Cornwallis his expected reinforcements. Beginning September 14, de Grasse transported Washington and Rochambeau’s men down the Chesapeake to Virginia, where they joined Lafayette and completed the encirclement of Yorktown on September 28. De Grasse landed another 3,000 French troops carried by his fleet. During the first two weeks of October, the 14,000 Franco-American troops gradually overcame the fortified British positions with the aid of de Grasse’s warships. A large British fleet carrying 7,000 men set out to rescue Cornwallis, but it was too late.

On October 19, General Cornwallis surrendered 7,087 officers and men, 900 seamen, 144 cannons, 15 galleys, a frigate, and 30 transport ships. Pleading illness, he did not attend the surrender ceremony, but his second-in-command, General Charles O’Hara, carried Cornwallis’ sword to the American and French commanders. As the British and Hessian troops marched out to surrender, the British bands played the song “The World Turned Upside Down.”

Although the war persisted on the high seas and in other theaters, the Patriot victory at Yorktown effectively ended fighting in the American colonies. Peace negotiations began in 1782, and on September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, formally recognizing the United States as a free and independent nation after eight years of war. History Channel / Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / Mount Vernon.org / British Battles video


“A Vision upon the Fairy Queen”

The Old Salt’s Corner

“A Vision upon the Fairy Queen”

Methought I saw the grave where Laura lay,

Within that temple where the vestal flame

Was wont to burn; and, passing by that way,

To see that buried dust of living fame.

Whose tomb fair Love, and fairer Virtue kept:

All suddenly I saw the Fairy Queen;

At whose approach the soul of Petrarch wept

And, from thenceforth, those Graces were not seen:

For they this queen attended; in whose stead

Oblivion laid him down on Laura's hearse:

Hereat the hardest stones were seen to bleed,

And groans of buried ghosts the heavens did pierce:

Where Homer's spright did tremble all for grief,

And cursed the access of that celestial thief!

~ Sir Walter Raleigh


“Thought for the Day”

“Thought for the Day”

“Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.”

~ Christopher Parker


“What I Have Learned”

“What I Have Learned”

“Remember, for everything you have lost,

you have gained something else.

Without the dark,

you would never see the stars.”

~ Author Unknown


Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good – real news story)

Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good – real news story)

Secret army of UFOs is plotting war against us from under the SEA, new book claims

Secret army of UFOs is plotting war against us from under the SEA, new book claims

Everyone has heard the term UFO but few have heard of its underwater counterpart USO -unidentified submersible object - but a new book lifts the lid on the phenomenon.

It has often been said that we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about the world’s seas and oceans.

The study of USOs (Unidentified Submersible Objects) is a case in point.

THE SWIMMERS, RED SPHERE IN THE RED SEA, SILVER BEEHIVE, BERMUDA TRIANGLE, THE DEVIL'S SEA... Mirror (08/15/2016) video


How Does Blood Pressure Work?

Mr. Answer Man Please Tell Us: How Does Blood Pressure Work?

Your heart is the master pump for all the blood in your body. With every heartbeat, your heart pushes your blood to all the vital parts of your body, such as muscles and bones, through a network of arteries, capillaries, and veins. As blood flows through the tube-like arteries, it presses up against the walls of the blood vessels with varying degrees of strength. The strength or weakness of this pressure is called your blood pressure (BP).

Each time your heart squeezes, moving your blood to its various destinations, your blood pressure goes up—this number is referred to by a blood pressure reading as systolic. Then, as the heart relaxes after each contraction, your blood pressure goes down; that is called the diastolic reading. Together, these two numbers are presented as a score, systolic over diastolic: Your doctor might tell you that your BP is “120 over 80” (incidentally, a very healthy blood pressure).

According to the American Heart Association, normal blood pressure should reflect systolic pressure between 90 and 120, over a diastolic pressure between 60 and 80. Your doctor may take this measurement with a fancy-named instrument called a sphygmomanometer—an inflatable rubber cuff attached to a manual air pump. When the doctor inflates the cuff at your arm with air, it temporarily cuts off blood flow, and when it releases, the blood starts flowing again, revealing those two key numbers.

Nowadays, though, you’re just as likely to encounter an automatic blood pressure cuff, which does the same thing using a different method. While the manual cuff relies on auscultation, in which the doctor listens for the correct pressures using a stethoscope/microphone, automatic blood pressure cuffs are usually oscillometric. When blood passes under the cuff, the arm increases in circumference ever so slightly. And by measuring the amplitude of the oscillations (hence oscillometric) at a continuous interval of pressures, blood pressure can be calculated in much the same way.

If you have high blood pressure, or hypertension—approximately 140/90 or higher in a person of average health—your heart is working too hard to pump the blood through your body, which becomes dangerous. Your doctor will recommend changes to diet and exercise and probably medication. High blood pressure is often a precursor to heart disease or a heart attack and can be a side effect of other diseases, such as diabetes. However, your blood pressure can temporarily rise due to stress, pregnancy, and even some common medications, including over-the-counter pain relievers and antidepressants. One high reading will not necessarily mean you have hypertension—but it’s good to keep vigilant.

American Heart AssociationMayo Clinic.orgMental FlossWeb MDWikipedia


Where Did That Saying Come From? “Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey”

Where Did That Saying Come From?

Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey:”  Meaning: Very cold weather conditions. Also known by the derivative phrase - brass monkey weather.

Origin: Some references say that the brass triangles that supported stacks of iron cannon-balls on sailing ships were called monkeys and that in cold weather the metal contracted, causing the balls to fall off. The derivation of this phrase is difficult enough to determine without such tosh, so let's get that oft-repeated story out of the way first:

Cartoons of pirate ships always come complete with the usual icons - parrots, peg legs and pyramids of cannon-balls. That's artistic license rather than historical fact. The Royal Navy records that, on their ships at least, cannon-balls were stored in planks with circular holes cut into them - not stacked in pyramids. These planks were known as 'shot garlands', not monkeys, and they date back to at least 1769, when they were first referred to in print.

On dry land, the obvious way to store cannon-balls seems to be by stacking them. On board ship it's a different matter. A little geometry shows that a pyramid of balls will topple over if the base is tilted by more than 30 degrees. This tilting, not to mention any sudden jolting, would have been commonplace on sailing ships. It just isn't plausible that cannon-balls were stacked this way.

For those wanting a bit more detail, here's the science bit. The coefficient of expansion of brass is 0.000019; that of iron is 0.000012. If the base of the stack were one metre long, the drop in temperature needed to make the 'monkey' shrink relative to the balls by just one millimetre, would be around 100 degrees Celsius. Such a small shrinkage wouldn't have had the slightest effect. In any case, in weather like that, the sailors would probably have better things to think about than coining new phrases.

Another explanation that is given for this phrase is that it originated with the three wise monkeys. The original of these was a set of carved wooden monkeys in the Sacred Stable at Nikko in Japan. In 1896, Robert Hope introduced their meaning to the West in his The Temples & Shrines of Nikko:

“One group represents three monkeys, one closing its eyes with its hands, this is called Mi-zaru = 'don't see any wrong'; another one closing its ears with its hands, called Kika-zaru = 'don't hear any wrong'; the other one closing its mouth with its hands, called Iwa-zaru = 'don't talk any wrong'.”

If you've heard the phrase 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil' you are probably familiar with the brass version of these monkey figures, which have used as paperweights since at least the early 20th century. Their introduction to English-speaking countries, and knowledge of the three wise monkeys, come too late for the figures to have been the direct source of this phrase.

Phrases.org.UK


NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang - U.S. Navy America's Navy - A Global Force For Good

NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang


Mamasan: Proprietor of a bar or other such establishment where sex may be procured or negotiated. Generally found in the Western Pacific. A “madame”.

Man Pleaser: Mouth

Manatee: A dependent wife, usually in Pensacola or Jacksonville that is Manatee fat even though her husband has maintained the same basic size during their marriage. Related to the Whidbey Whale.

Mandatory Fun: Any command sponsored social event that everyone HAS to attend, or get into big trouble.

Mando Commando: Sailor assigned mandatory physical training (Mando PT) for being overweight or failing the Physical Readiness Test.


Just for MARINES - U.S. Marines Marines - The Few. The Proud.

Just for you MARINE


Mike: Minute.

Mike-mike: Millimeter.

Military Left: Pertaining to the left side of something or the direction to the left of the subject in question. Used sarcastically when giving orders when a subordinate turns the wrong way or is unsure of which way to turn.

Military Right: Pertaining to the right side of something or the direction to the right of the subject in question. Used sarcastically when giving orders when a subordinate turns the wrong way or is unsure of which way to turn.


Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

HSM-72 - Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron: “Proud Warriors”
Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida


The Strange, Mysterious or Downright Weird

The Strange, Mysterious or Downright Weird

Stunning maps that reveal the world at a glance: From manhood and breast size to obesity and divorce rates, how does YOUR country fare?

Stunning maps that reveal the world at a glance: From manhood and breast size to obesity and divorce rates, how does YOUR country fare?

Ever wondered where women with big breasts are abundant and which country has men that are most well-endowed?

It seems that some of the stereotypes are true at least with men in many African countries having the biggest penis sizes on average - women in Russia have the largest cup-size, with most females measuring in at a D-cup or above.

The revealing images are taken from “Vargic's Miscellany of Curious Maps: Mapping Out the Modern World”, created by a 17-year-old graphic designer from Slovakia. Daily Mail (12/22/2015) video


© CEASAR CHOPPY by cartoonist Marty Gavin - archives Ceasar Choppy's Navy! “© CEASAR CHOPPY” by Marty Gavin

SONG FACTS

“I Want You To Want Me” - Cheap Trick

“I Want You To Want Me” - Cheap Trick
Album: Live At Budokan
Released 1977 video

This song has a long and intriguing history. It was written by Cheap Trick's guitarist Rick Nielsen and recorded for their 1977 self-titled debut album, but it didn't make the cut. The song was included on their second album In Color, which was released later in 1977. This version had a medium tempo with a country feel and a honkey tonk piano throughout the song.

By 1978, the band had dropped it from their setlist, but restored it when they toured Japan that year, since Japanese audiences loved the song. They played it on April 28th and 30th at their famous concerts that took place at the Budokan temple in Tokyo, which was a big deal because many Japanese citizens felt the temple was sacred and not appropriate for rock concerts. The concerts were released as the Live At Budokan album, which captured Cheap Trick's live energy and turned their fortunes around in America, where the album was released in February 1979 and sold over 3 million copies. The extracted “I Want You To Want Me” became their first hit, charting at #7.

The famous At Budokan version of this song was inspired by a French cover version (“J'attends Toutes les Nuits”) by by a fairly obscure French synthpop artist named Niko Flynn, who sped up the tempo and put a beat to the song.

This is one of the few rock songs that starts with the chorus.

In 1978, this appeared as the B-side of Cheap Trick's single “California Manvideo.

Cheap Trick official site / Rock & Roll Hall of Fame / Rolling Stone Magazine / All Music / Song Facts / Wikipedia

Image: “Live At Budokan‎ (album)” by Cheap Trick


Trivia

Trivia

● MOUNT OLYMPUS: The highest mountain in Greece gives its name to the highest mountain in northwestern Washington state.

● Gearing up for holiday buying season, shoppers recognize the day after Thanksgiving as “Black Friday” - “Cyber Monday”

● How many whole numbers between 1 and 200 begin or end with the number 2?

29 2, 12, 21-29, 32, 42, 52, 62, 72, 82, 92, 102, 112, 122, 132, 142, 152, 162, 172, 182, 192.


People Who Know Everything

A Test for People Who Know Everything

Which Norman conqueror proclaimed himself King of England after defeating the English King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066?

Answer for People Who Do Not Know Everything, or Want to Verify Their Answer BBC


Answer to Last Week's Test

60% of the people at a party are males, and 60% of the females are there with their husbands. What percentage of the people are males who are not married to any of these women?

Answer: 36% assume 100 people - 60 males, 40 females - 24 females married / 24 husbands out of 60 means 36% Yahoo answers


Joke of the Day

Joke of the Day

A teacher is teaching a class and she sees that Johnny isn't paying attention, so she asks him, “If there are three ducks sitting on a fence, and you shoot one, how many are left?”

Johnny says, “None.”

The teacher asks, “Why?”

Johnny says, “Because the shot scared them all off.”

The teacher says, “No, two, but I like how you're thinking.”

Johnny asks the teacher, “If you see three women walking out of an ice cream parlor, one is licking her ice cream, one is sucking her ice cream, and one is biting her ice cream, which one is married?”

The teacher says, “The one sucking her ice cream.”

Johnny says, “No, the one with the wedding ring, but I like how you're thinking!”


Pun of the Day

Becoming a yoga instructor offers the possibilities of a unique teaching position.