International Sudoku Day
September 9
Sudoku became a world hit in 2005. When measuring its popularity in an enigmatic world, it is the biggest phenomenon since Rubik’s Cube in the ’80s. Sudoku isn’t originally Japanese, but an American game. Modern Sudoku was invented in America by Howard Garns under the name “Number Place” (in 1979) and later popularized as “Sudoku” by Japanese publisher Nikoli. Puzzles have a great amount of possible combinations and levels of complexity. There are 5,472,730,538 possible puzzles. It is not a math game at all, there is no calculating involved – it is a pure logic game. Sudoku is semantically independent and can be easily understood by players around the world in contrast to crosswords which must be adapted for every language. The best part of all is that Sudoku sometimes doesn’t even come in numbers, but in pictures, letters or symbols. By playing it regularly you can boost your concentration and focus, prevent or ease depression, dementia and even Alzheimer’s disease according to some studies.
Teddy Bear Day
September 9
During a 1902 hunting trip, one of Theodore Roosevelt’s companions managed to capture a bear and tie it to a tree so the president, who hadn’t managed to make a kill so far, could do the honors of shooting it. But when Roosevelt saw the cub, he walked away, stating it would be unsportsmanlike to kill the poor creature. Inspired by a cartoon about the story, a Brooklyn shop owner got permission from the president to call his stuffed animals “Teddy’s Bears.” In 1903, German toy maker Margarete Steiff made a stuffed bear after a trip to the zoo sparked her nephew request she design a stuffed bear. She was afraid bears would be too scary for kids, so she designed them with button eyes, stitched mouths and noses, and movable arms and legs—very similar to the design of the American bears that became so popular. After the Titanic sank in 1912, German toy company Steiff created 500 teddy bears to honor the victims. The “mourning bears” were black with red-rimmed eyes to show their sympathy. They now sell for $20,000 or more in auctions.
Today’s Birthdays of Note….
Colonel Sanders – Founder, Kentucky Fried Chicken – born in Henryville, Indiana
Michael Bublé – Singer – born in Burnaby, Canada
