Tampa is home to the world’s longest continuous sidewalk. Alongside Bayshore Blvd in downtown Tampa, the sidewalk is4.5 miles long, The path is used by cyclists, joggers, and walkers alike, and is lined with palm trees and features never ending views of the bay.
Not in play, just curious: what are you using as a definition of a sidewalk? Must it be in an urban setting? Must it be alongside a named street? Must it be paved? Must it be one continual uninterrupted stretch, or can it be broken up by intersections with cross streets?
Because looking at that stretch on Google Maps satellite view, I could very easily consider that to be an example of a multi-use recreational path suitable for cycling, walking, jogging, skateboards, etc. as well.
Unlike their stingray cousins, the much larger Devil rays have lost their stinging tails through evolution. They owe their menacing name to appendages on their heads that resemble devil’s horns. The Tampa baseball team, known ass the Rays, is officially named for an emission of sunlight, not the endangered fish.
Those fish are at the ballpark. A 10,000 gallon tank filled with cownose stingrays is in the center field section of Tropicana Field, the home ballpark of the Tampa Bay Rays.
In 2012, two aquariums were installed behind home plate in the Florida Marlins ballpark. These were stocked with tropical fish and were very popular attractions.
In 2017, a foul ball hit by Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto struck one of the aquariums, causing the glass to crack and water to begin spilling out.
Damages were soon repaired and none of the fish in the aquarium were harmed. Later, Marlins president David Samson joked: “After the game, we’re placing two fish on the disabled list and we’re calling up two other fish from the Minors.”
Samson (Cornish: Enys Samson) is the largest uninhabited island of the Isles of Scilly, off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. It is 38 hectares (0.15 sq mi) in size. The island consists of two hills, North Hill and South Hill, which are connected by an isthmus on which the former inhabitants built many of their sturdy stone cottages. The island was inhabited until 1855, when the Lord Proprietor Augustus Smith removed the remaining population from the island. By this point, the population was found to be suffering from severe deprivation—particularly due to a diet of limpets and potatoes—and consisted of only two families: the Woodcocks and the Webbers.
And Bicycle Bill: I must needs fear that the sidewalk info came from a Tampa Bay resource, so there might be a bit of civic pride in the description…but it is a path next to a street and people walk on it,so…
Samson Agonistes is a tragic dramatic poem by John Milton, published with Paradise Regained in 1671. It is drama meant to be read aloud but not performed on the stage. Based on the story of Samson from the Old Testament book of Judges, Milton combined elements from Greek drama with scripture.
Milton was losing his sight later in life, and blindness is a major theme in the work, both inner and outer blindness. The phrase “Eyeless in Gaza” appears in the work.
It features an unusual spelling of Delilah as “Dalila,” which has tripped up English majors for years.
Handel’s oratorio Samson is based on Milton’s work.
“Milton the Toaster” was the first mascot for Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts breakfast pastries. Milton appeared in Pop-Tarts advertising in the 1960s and 1970s, as an actual, chrome-finished toaster with an animated face; the lever for raising and lowering food in the toaster served as the character’s nose.
In 1964, Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts were first introduced.
In 1967, the first frosted Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts were sold.
In 2014, Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts had its 32nd consecutive year of increased sales.
Adrian “Pop” Anson was a dominant figure in early baseball. At 6’3", he towered over all other great players in the 1870s. A native of Iowa, he had the influence to ban any black players, and instituted the color bar that would hold sway for three generations.
Actor Anson Williams, known for his role as Warren “Potsie” Weber from 1974-1984 on TV’s Happy Days, was born with the last name of Heimlich — he was born Anson William Heimlich. He is the nephew of Dr. Henry Heimlich, for the Heimlich Maneuver which was first published in 1974, the first year for Happy Days.
On August 8, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first US President to resign from the office. He was succeeded by Gerald Ford.
3 months later, in the general election, Democrats picked up 4 seats in the Senate to increase their margin over the GOP. The Democrats held 60 seats to 38 by the Republicans, with two independents. One independent caucused with the Dems; the other, with the GOP.
In the House, the Democrats picked up 49 seats to increase their majority to 291-144.
The Ford GT supercar built for civilians for public roads is based on the Ford GT40 race car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four straight years, 1966-1969. The race is held near Le Mans, France which is about 125 miles SW of Paris and roughly midway between Paris and Nantes (map —
). The Ford GT was made in 2005-2006 for its first generation (web image —
), and then from 2017 to today for its second generation (web image —
On the night of June 7/8, 1944, 20 Canadian prisoners of war were executed by members of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend in the Ardenne Abbey near Caen, France, by being shot in the back of the head or bludgeoned by rifle butts. Two more Canadian POWs were killed by members of the same SS unit on June 20. In all, a total of 156 Canadian POWs were estimated to have been killed by the SS unit in the months after D-Day.
The commander of the SS unit, Waffen-SSStandartenführerKurt Meyer, was tried for war crimes after the war. He was found guilty and sentenced to death, commuted to life imprisonment, of which he served nine years.
The longest word in any of the major English language dictionaries is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a word that refers to a lung disease contracted from the inhalation of very fine silica particles, specifically from a volcano; medically, it is the same as silicosis.
Other long English words include floccinaucinihilipilification (the act of estimating something as valueless), antidisestablishmentarianism (opposing withdrawal of government support for a church) and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (used by Mary Poppins for when one has nothing to say).
These long words are only used when giving examples of long words. These lists sometimes include obscure Welsh towns, or other interesting English words like strengths, tsktsks or euouae which play with vowels or consonants.
In the Mary Poppins (1964) movie, the role of Constable Jones, a police officer, was played by actor Arthur Treacher (1894-1975). Treacher was known for playing English stereotypes, especially butler and manservant roles, such as the P.G. Wodehouse valet character Jeeves (Thank You, Jeeves, 1936) and the kind butler Andrews opposite Shirley Temple in Heidi (1937).
He lent his name to the Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips chain of restaurants.
Julie Andrews, born in 1935, began her acting career in London’s West End in 1948 and first appeared on Broadway in 1952. She made her film debut in 1964 when she starred in the title role in the movie Mary Poppins. She was awarded the Oscar for Best Actress.
Queen Elizabeth II’s principal London residence is Buckingham Palace, called “Buck House” by some courtiers, although there are other royal palaces in the capital. The Palace appears in such TV shows and movies as Sherlock, SS-GB, Children of Men, The Queen and The Crown.
