Today is...

National Tortilla Chip Day

It’s National Tortilla Chip Day! Rebecca Webb Carranza invented tortilla chips in the 1950s. Carranza and her husband owned the El Zarape Tortilla Factory in Los Angeles and were among the first to automate the production of tortillas. The machine often produced misshapen tortillas, and Carranza decided to try and use them instead of throwing them away. She cut the rejected tortillas into triangles, fried them, and sold them for a dime a bag.

Tortilla chips soon became a nationwide sensation, served alongside salsa, chili, guacamole, and a variety of other appetizers. In 2003, the state of Texas made the tortilla chip the official state snack!

To celebrate National Tortilla Chip Day, buy a bag of your favorite tortilla chips (or try making your own) and enjoy them with your favorite dip!

This week is National Pancake Week

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February is Black History Month & Potato Lover's Month & National Weddings Month

mages and text courtesy of MyPunchbowl.com" -- http://www.mypunchbowl.com/

1510 - Pope Julius II excommunicates the republic of Venice 1525 - Battle at Pavia: Emperor Karel V's troops beat French king 1525 - Francois I caught taken/8700 killed 1525 - Imperial forces defeat French in battle of Pavia 1527 - Ferdinand of Austria crowned as king of Bohemia 1528 - Hungarian anti-king Janos Zapolyai & Sultan Suleiman signs treaty 1530 - 1st imperial coronation by a Pope, Charles V crowned by Clement V 1538 - King Ferdinand of Austria & King Janos Zapolyai of Hungary sign Peace of            Grosswardein 1538 - Treaty of Nagyvarad between Ferdinand I and John Zápolya.

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"When people say to me: 'How do you do so many things?' I often answer them, without meaning to be cruel: 'How do you do so little?' It seems to me that people have vast potential. Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence to take the risks. Yet most people don’t. They sit in front of the telly and treat life as if it goes on forever."

--Phillip Adams

Today is...

National Chili Day

Today is National Chili Day! Whether you prefer it Texas-style, Mexican-style, or vegetarian, chili served with a side of cornbread is a fabulous comfort food for the winter season.

Despite popular belief, chili does not come from Mexico. The recipe has certainly been influenced by Mexican culture, but it also incorporates elements from Native American and Spanish culinary traditions. Many historians believe chili originated in Texas where all three of these cultures intersected.

According to legend, Spanish priests called the first chili “the soup of the Devil” because they believed that chili peppers were an aphrodisiac. To celebrate National Chili Day, indulge in a delicious bowl of this historical spicy stew!

Today is also National Banana Bread Day & National Dog Biscuit Day

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This week is National Pancake Week

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February is Black History Month & Potato Lover's Month & National Weddings Month

mages and text courtesy of MyPunchbowl.com" -- http://www.mypunchbowl.com/ 

History
for February 23

1944		American bombers strike the Marianas Islands bases, only 1,300 miles from Tokyo.
1945		Eisenhower opens a large offensive in the Rhineland.
1945		U.S. Marines plant an American flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima.
1946		Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita is hanged in Manila, the Philippines, for war crimes.
1947		Several hundred Nazi organizers are arrested in Frankfurt by U.S. and British forces.
1950		New York's Metropolitan Museum exhibits a collection of Hapsburg art. The first showing of this collection in the U.S.
1954		Mass innoculation begins as Salk's polio vaccine is given to children for first time.
1955		Eight nations meet in Bangkok for the first SEATO council.
1960		Whites join Negro students in a sit-in at a Winston-Salem, N.C. Woolworth store.
1964		The U.S. and Britain recognize the new Zanzibar government.
1967		American troops begin the largest offensive of the war, near the Cambodian border.
1972		Black activist Angela Davis is released from jail where she was held for kidnapping , conspiracy and murder. _________________________________________________________ "Life is what we are alive to. It is not length but breadth. To be alive only to appetite, pleasure, pride, money-making, and not to goodness, kindness, purity, love, history, poetry, music, flowers, stars, God and eternal hope is to be all but dead." --Maltbie D. Babcock

Today is...

National Margarita Day

Today is National Margarita Day! The margarita cocktail—a famous concoction of tequila, Cointreau or Triple Sec, and lime juice—has been around since the 1940s. Every bartender in the world has put a unique spin on this classic, but no one knows who created the original!

Dozens of people claim that they invented the margarita, including a bartender named Willie from Mexico City. He said that in 1934 he created and named the drink for his friend Marguerite Hemery. Another popular legend is that Carlos “Danny” Herrera developed the drink at his restaurant in Tijuana in 1938. He invented it for Marjorie King, a customer who was allergic to all hard alcohol except tequila, and didn’t like its sour taste. Another story is that the Dallas socialite Margarita Sames mixed up the drink in 1948 for a house full of guests. One of them was Tommy Hilton who later added to the drink to the bar menu at his hotels.

While the true identity of the tequila master may never be known, the margarita will go down in history as one of the most popular mixed drinks of all time. To celebrate National Margarita Day, send a free Margarita Day eCard, invite some friends over, and enjoy a pitcher of homemade margaritas!  

Today is also World Thinking Day

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This week is National Pancake Week

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February is Black History Month & Potato Lover's Month & National Weddings Month

mages and text courtesy of MyPunchbowl.com" -- http://www.mypunchbowl.com/

History for February22  1935   All plane flights over the White House are barred because they are disturbing President Roosevelt's sleep. 1942   President Franklin Roosevelt orders Gen. Douglas MacArthur to leave the Philippines. 1951   The Atomic Energy Commission discloses information about the first atom-powered airplane. 1952   French forces evacuate Hoa Binh in Indochina. 1954   U.S. is to install 60 Thor nuclear missiles in Britain. 1962   A Soviet bid for new Geneva arms talks is turned down by the U.S. 1963   Moscow warns the U.S. that an attack on Cuba would mean war. 1967   Operation Junction City becomes the largest U.S. operation in Vietnam. 1984   Britain and the U.S. send warships to the Persian Gulf following an Iranian offensive against Iraq.

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"To compose our character is our duty, not to compose books, and to win, not battles and provinces, but order and tranquility in our conduct. Our great and glorious masterpiece is to live appropriately."

--Michel De Montaigne