Dream of the Rarebit Fiend was a newspaper comic strip by American
cartoonist Winsor McCay, begun September 10, 1904, that depicted
fantastic bizarre dreams. It was McCay's second successful strip, after
Little Sammy Sneeze secured him a position on the cartoon staff of the
New York Herald. Rarebit Fiend was printed in the Evening Telegram, a
newspaper published by the Herald. The strip had no continuity or
recurring characters. Instead, it had a recurring theme: a character
would have a nightmare or other bizarre dream, usually after eating a
Welsh rarebit—a cheese-on-toast dish. The dreams often revealed
unflattering sides of the dreamers' psyches—their phobias,
hypocrisies, discomforts, and dark fantasies. The strip is mostly
recognized as an adult-oriented precursor to McCay's signature strip,
Little Nemo. The popularity of Rarebit Fiend and Nemo led to a job with
William Randolph Hearst's chain of newspapers with a star's salary. Many
characters from the strip, such as giant monsters laying waste to
cities, anticipated later fiction and films, including King Kong and
Godzilla.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_of_the_Rarebit_Fiend>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1279:
The Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order suffered a great loss
when 71 knights died in the Battle of Aizkraukle.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aizkraukle>
1616:
Nicolaus Copernicus's De revolutionibus orbium coelestium,
describing his heliocentric theory of the Solar System, was prohibited
by the Roman Catholic Church.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_revolutionibus_orbium_coelestium>
1811:
Peninsular War: In the Battle of Barrosa, an Anglo-Spanish-
Portuguese force trying to lift the Siege of Cádiz was able to defeat a
French attack, although they were ultimately unable to break the siege
itself.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Barrosa>
1936:
The prototype of the Supermarine Spitfire, a British single-
seat fighter that was later used by the Royal Air Force and many other
Allied countries during the Second World War, flew for the first time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire>
1966:
BOAC Flight 911 disintegrated and crashed near Mount Fuji
shortly after departure from Tokyo International Airport, killing all
113 passengers and 11 crew members on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_911>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
mesmerism:
The method or power of gaining control over someone's personality or
actions, as in hypnosis or suggestion.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mesmerism>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Two things have always been true about human beings. One, the
world is always getting better. Two, the people living at that time
think it`s getting worse. It's because you get older, your
responsibilities are different. Now I'm taking care of children instead
of being a child. It makes the world look scarier. That happens to
everyone.
--Penn Jillette
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Penn_Jillette>