If there's anything I dread as much as or more than the heat and humidity of a New York summer, it's the insects the weather brings out. One I particularly fear is the Asian tiger mosquito, or Aedes albopictus. I discovered these mosquitoes only last year. I'd go out into the yard, try to do some weeding, and immediately be swarmed by these quick, aggressive fliers.

Turns out I was lucky to have evaded them for as long as I have. The Asian tiger mosquito is an invasive species in the U.S. It was unintentionally introduced to the continental U.S. in 1985. And an indication of just how tenacious they are, these mosquitoes--which are native to Asia--are believed to have hitched a ride here through used tires imported from Japan. They don't need much water in which to lay and hatch their eggs. They're also active during the day.

But these mosquitoes are not just suburban irritants. Their range has increased as global temperatures have risen, and scientists are worried the diseases they can carry will spread as well. Asian tiger mosquitoes can transmit the viruses that cause dengue, encephalitis, and West Nile. An outbreak of chikungunya occurred in Italy last year, the first recorded instance of this virus being spread in Europe.

Asian Tiger Mosquito, Species Profiles (National Invasive Species Information Center)
Division of Vector Borne Infectious Diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Chikungunya fever (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control)
"As Earth Warms Up, Tropical Virus Moves to Italy" (New York Times)

Photo: "Asian Tiger Mosquito" in Vero Beach, Florida, by smccann.

Alexander Street Press is offering free access to their online Civil War collection for all of June. It includes a comprehensive index of 4.3 million soldiers and thousands of battles, as well as databases for letters and diaries, newspapers and magazines, and photographs, posters, and ephemera.
As always, several government agencies, most notably the Library of Congress, have online Civil War archives that are always free.

The American Civil War Online [Alexander Street Press]
US Civil War: Selected Resources including Photographs and Maps [Library of Congress]
Civil War, forging a more perfect union [National Park Service]

"Antietam, Md. Battlefield on the day of the battle" from the Library of Congress' Selected Civil War Photographs collection

The Social Security Administration released its list of most popular baby names for 2007 earlier this week. Jacob and Emily remained the top choices for boys and girls. Michael stayed the second most popular boy's name, while Isabella overtook Emma at the number two position for girls.
You can find the Top 10 First Names of Americans by Decade of Birth in The World Almanac 2008 on page 726.

Boys Top 10 2007: Jacob, Michael, Ethan, Joshua, Daniel, Christopher, Anthony, William, Matthew, Andrew

Boys Top 10 2006: Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Ethan, Matthew, Daniel, Christopher, Andrew, Anthony, William

Girls Top 10 2007: Emily, Isabella, Emma, Ava, Madison, Sophia, Olivia, Abigail, Hannah, Elizabeth

Girls Top 10 2006: Emily, Emma, Madison, Isabella, Ava, Abigail, Olivia, Hannah, Sophia, Samantha

Popular Baby Names [Social Security Administration]

CuTe BaBy from the Flickr page of 44444 U.A.E.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Today is the 130th day of 2008 and the 51st day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presented his proposal for European integration, called the "Schuman Declaration." In 1961, Newton Minow, newly appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, gave a speech to broadcasters in which he described network TV as a "vast wasteland." In 1974, the U.S. House of Representatives opened impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon. In 2001, during a soccer game in Ghana, 126 people died in a stampede caused by an encounter between fans and police.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: J.M. Barrie (1860-1937), playwright; Howard Carter (1874-1939), archaeologist; Mike Wallace (1918- ), journalist, is 90; Candice Bergen (1946- ), actress, is 62; Billy Joel (1949- ), musician, is 59; Tony Gwynn (1960- ), baseball player, is 48; Rosario Dawson (1979- ), actress, is 29.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, the White Sox finally won a 25-inning game that had been suspended from the day before. It was the longest timed game in Major League Baseball history, at 8 hours and 6 minutes.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Ambition--it is the last infirmity of noble minds." J.M. Barrie [or "I'm not young enough to know everything." JM Barrie from The Admirable Crichton]

TODAY'S FACT: Mike Wallace has been a mainstay of the TV news program 60 Minutes since its start in 1968. He announced his retirement in March 2006 but has continued work on the show as a "Correspondent Emeritus."

TODAY'S NUMBER: 27 - number of member-nations in the European Union, a descendant of the Schuman Declaration; Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 5) and first quarter (May 11).

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Today is the 129th day of 2008 and the 50th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1886, prohibition in Atlanta, GA spurred the sale of the first "Coca-Cola" soft drink. In 1945, the Allies celebrated World War II V-E (Victory in Europe) day. In 1973, a 10-week standoff in Wounded Knee, SD, between federal authorities and American Indian Movement activists ended. In 1999, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, graduated its first female student.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), U.S. president; Don Rickles (1926- ), comedian/actor, is 82; Sonny Liston (1932-1970), boxer; Thomas Pynchon (1937- ), novelist, is 71; Keith Jarrette (1945- ), jazz musician, is 63; Enrique Iglesias (1975- ), singer, is 33.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, the Soviet Union announced that it would boycott that year's Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it." - Harry S. Truman

TODAY'S FACT: The U.S. captured 173 medals--including a record 83 gold medals--at the Soviet-boycotted 1984 Summer Olympics.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 14 - women in The Citadel's 2007 graduating class, out of 436 cadets.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 5) and first quarter (May 11).

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Today is the 128th day of 2008 and the 49th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1915, during World War I, a German U-Boat sunk the RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198. In 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered and withdrew from World War II. In 2000, Vladimir Putin assumed the presidency in Russia's first democratic change of office.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), composer; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), composer; Gary Cooper (1901-1961), actor; Eva Peron (1919-1952), Argentine first lady/actress; Johnny Unitas (1933-2002), football player; Tim Russert (1950- ), journalist, is 58; Breckin Meyer (1974- ), actor, is 34.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1925, Glenn Wright of the Pittsburgh Pirates became the fourth player in history to turn an unassisted triple play.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "In Westerns you were permitted to kiss your horse but never your girl." - Gary Cooper

TODAY'S FACT: After being cut from the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955, Johnny Unitas played a year of semi-pro ball with the Bloomfield Rams, and was paid $6 a game plus daily trolley fare.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 7 - number of symphonies composed by Tchaikovsky.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 5) and first quarter (May 11).

Today is the 121st day of 2008 and the 42nd day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States. In 1803, representatives of the United States and France concluded negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase. In 1945, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide as Allied troops approached his bunker in Berlin, Germany. In 2003, Mahmoud Abbas took office as the first Palestinian Prime Minister.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Eve Arden (1908-1990), actress; Sheldon Harnick (1924- ), lyricist, is 84; Cloris Leachman (1926- ), actress, is 82; Willie Nelson (1933- ), singer, is 75; Isiah Thomas (1961- ), basketball player, is 47; Kirsten Dunst (1982- ), actress, is 26.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1993, a deranged fan ran stabbed tennis star Monica Seles at a tournament match in Hamburg, Germany.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me, [is] sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications..." - George Washington, in his inaugural address

TODAY'S FACT: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun married on April 29, 1945, one day before their joint suicide.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 827,192 - number of square miles that the U.S. took possession of in the Louisiana Purchase, at a cost of less than three cents per acre.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter (April 28) and new moon (May 5).

A terrific visualization from Ben Fry (who has also updated his Salary vs. Performance page for the current baseball season):

All of the streets in the lower 48 United States: an image of 26 million individual road segments. No other features (such as outlines or geographic features) have been added to this image, however they emerge as roads avoid mountains, and sparse areas convey low population. The pace of progress is seen in the midwest where suburban areas are punctuated by square blocks of area that are still farm land.

Also of note to World Almanac fans: Fry's zipdecode, an interactive map of ZIP codes in the U.S., which does a fantastic job of, yes, decoding the numbering scheme for postal codes. Click on the image, type "Z," and then start tapping in your favorite ZIP codes.

More at benfry.com

Today is the 120th day of 2008 and the 41st day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1429, Joan of Arc lifted the siege of Orleans, France. In 1992, riots broke out in Los Angeles after four police officers were acquitted of beating Rodney King. In 2004, President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney met with the September 11 Commission in closed hearings.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Beecham (1879-1961), orchestra conductor; Duke Ellington (1899-1974), jazz musician; Jerry Seinfeld (1955- ), comedian, is 53; Daniel Day-Lewis (1957- ), actor, is 51; Michelle Pfeiffer (1958- ), actress, is 50; Andre Agassi (1970- ), tennis player, is 38.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1986, Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens became the first to strike out 20 batters in a nine-inning game, a feat he repeated in 1996.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The thing about performance, even if it's only an illusion, is that it is a celebration of the fact that we do contain within ourselves infinite possibilities." - Daniel Day-Lewis

TODAY'S FACT: Duke Ellington's father worked as a butler at a number of homes in Washington, DC, including the White House.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 19 - age of Joan of Arc at the time of her death.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter (April 28) and new moon (May 5).

Today is the 119th day of 2008 and the 40th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1789, a mutiny broke out on the British trade ship Bounty. In 1945, Italian partisans executed dictator Benito Mussolini. In 2004, the first Abu Ghraib prison abuse photos were shown on CBS's 60 Minutes II.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: James Monroe (1758-1831), U.S. president; Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954), actor; Oskar Schindler (1908-1974), businessman; Harper Lee (1926- ), author, is 82; Ann-Margret (1941- ), singer/actress, is 67; Jay Leno (1950- ), TV personality, is 58; Penelope Cruz, (1974- ), actress, is 34.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A little flattery will support a man through great fatigue." - James Monroe

TODAY'S FACT: After the 1789 mutiny on the Bounty, the captain and 18 crewmembers were cast out on a 23-foot launch boat in which they safely traveled an astounding 3,618 miles to Timor.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 40 - The number of languages in which Harper Lee's classic To Kill A Mockingbird is available.

TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter (April 28).