National Oyster Day
August 5
Oysters have been around for 180 million years and Neolithic man consumed vast quantities some 5,000 years ago. The Chinese were probably the first to raise oysters artificially in ponds and to use their crushed shells in medicines. The Ostrea genus (of which our native oyster is a member) is bisexual. These are “protandrous alternating hermaphrodites”, which means that they start off as males producing sperm then switch to egg producing females and can then switch back to being males again. Eggs produced during the female stage are held in the gills and mantle cavity and are then fertilized by sperm drawn in from the surrounding waters. The fertilized eggs are then incubated within the oyster for 7-10 days before being expelled to begin their veliger stage in the open sea.
National Blogger Day
August 5
According to Wikipedia, while the term “blog” was not coined until the late 1990s, the history of blogging starts with several digital precursors to it. Before “blogging” became popular, digital communities took many forms, including Usenet, commercial online services such as GEnie, BiX and the early CompuServe, e-mail lists and Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). In the 1990s, Internet forum software, such as WebEx, created running conversations with “threads”. Threads are topical connections between messages on a metaphorical “corkboard”. The modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. Most such writers called themselves diarists, or journalists.
Today’s Birthdays of Note….
Neil Armstrong – Astronaut & 1st Man on Moon – born in Wapakoneta, Ohio
Patrick Ewing – Pro Basketball Hall of Fame – born in Kingston, Jamaica
