On July 9, 1937, fire gutted a film storage facility (pictured) in Little Ferry, New Jersey, rented by the American studio 20th Century- Fox. Flammable nitrate film had previously contributed to several high- profile fires in film industry laboratories, studios, and vaults, although the precise causes were often unknown. In Little Ferry, gases produced by decaying film, subjected to high temperatures and inadequate ventilation, spontaneously combusted. The fire caused one death and two injuries, and destroyed all of the archived film in the vaults, resulting in the complete loss of most of the silent films produced by the Fox Film Corporation before 1932. Also destroyed were negatives from Educational Pictures and films of several other studios. The fire brought attention to the potential for decaying nitrate film to spontaneously ignite, and to the need for fire safety in film preservation. Production and use of nitrate film were gradually phased out in favor of safer alternatives.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Fox_vault_fire
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1745:
War of the Austrian Succession: The French victory at the Battle of Melle enabled their subsequent capture of Ghent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Melle
1877:
The inaugural Wimbledon Championship, the world's oldest tennis tournament, began in London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_Wimbledon_Championship
1955:
Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell and nine other preeminent intellectuals and scientists issued the Russell–Einstein Manifesto, calling for a conference to assess the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%E2%80%93Einstein_Manifesto
1995:
Sri Lankan Civil War: After having advised civilians to take shelter in places of worship, the Sri Lanka Air Force bombed a church in Navaly, killing at least 147 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navaly_church_bombing
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
hyperparasite: 1. (biology) Any parasite whose host is a parasite. 2. (entomology, specifically) An insect that parasitizes another parasitic insect. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hyperparasite
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Poetry for the People rests upon a belief that the art of telling the truth is a necessary and a healthy way to create powerful, and positive, connections among people who, otherwise, remain (unknown and unaware) strangers. The goal is not to kill connections but, rather, to create and to deepen them among truly different men and women. --June Jordan https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/June_Jordan