Thunder is the horse mascot for the Denver Broncos, an American football team. Three gray purebred Arabians whose coats turned white with age have held this role since 1993, named JB Kobask, Winter Solstyce, and Me N Myshadow. Ann Judge has been their rider and trainer for almost two decades, and Sharon Magness-Blake has been their owner. The first Thunder performed in Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII, and Thunder III appeared in XLVIII and Super Bowl 50. The mascot routinely attends parades and other public functions, and makes hospital and school visits. He has flown on airplanes, ridden in elevators, and appeared indoors at press conferences and banquets. His duties include leading the team onto the field at the start of every home game and galloping down the length of the field whenever they score a touchdown or field goal. Thunder also greets fans, and children are allowed to pet him. He remains calm around exploding pyrotechnics and thousands of cheering fans, situations that frighten most horses. Thunder shares mascot duties with Miles, a human who wears a horse head mask atop a Broncos uniform.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunder_(mascot)
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
81:
Domitian, the last Flavian emperor of Rome, was confirmed by the Senate to succeed his brother Titus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian
1723:
António Manoel de Vilhena, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, laid the first stone of Fort Manoel in Malta. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Manoel
1901:
Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States at age 42, the youngest person ever to do so, eight days after William McKinley was fatally wounded in Buffalo, New York. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt
1982:
President-elect of Lebanon Bachir Gemayel was assassinated when a bomb exploded in the Beirut headquarters of the Phalange. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachir_Gemayel
2008:
All 88 people aboard Aeroflot Flight 821 died when the aircraft crashed on approach to Perm International Airport in Perm Krai, Russia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_821
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
crow over: (transitive) To triumph over (someone). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/crow_over
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Character is something you forge for yourself; temperament is something you are born with and can only slightly modify. Some people have easy temperaments and weak characters; others have difficult temperaments and strong characters. We are all prone to confuse the two in assessing people we associate with. Those with easy temperaments and weak characters are more likable than admirable; those with difficult temperaments and strong characters are more admirable than likable. Of course, the optimum for a person is to possess both an easy temperament and a strong character, but this is a rare combination, and few of us are that lucky. --Sydney J. Harris https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sydney_J._Harris