A Cure for Pokeritis is an American short silent film starring John Bunny and Flora Finch (pictured), released on February 23, 1912. A domestic comedy, it depicts a woman who stops her husband's gambling habit by having her cousin stage a fake police raid on his weekly poker game. It was one of many shorts produced by Vitagraph Studios, whose popularity made Bunny and Finch early film stars. Although its style of humor is dated, it is a historically important representative of its period and genre. The film was an early example of efforts to move beyond the conventions of stage plays: during the police raid, action took place in both the foreground and the background, with the actors moving between them. This cinematography technique improved the realism and pacing of the scene. A Cure for Pokeritis may be the first depiction of poker in film. Like Cassius Marcellus Coolidge's Dogs Playing Poker paintings, it reflects the early 20th-century perception of the game as a male-dominated social vice.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Cure_for_Pokeritis

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1778:

American Revolutionary War: Prussian military officer Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge as a volunteer for the Continental Army. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Wilhelm_von_Steuben

1854:

Britain signed the Orange River Convention to formally recognise the independence of the Orange Free State in the present-day Free State Province, South Africa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Free_State

1944:

In response to an insurgency in Chechnya, the Soviet Union began the forced deportation of native Chechen and Ingush of North Caucasus to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_the_Chechens_and_Ingush

1987:

Light from SN 1987A (remnant pictured), a supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud, reached the Earth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SN_1987A

2008:

A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber crashed on the runway shortly after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in the most expensive crash in U.S. Air Force history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Andersen_Air_Force_Base_B-2_accident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

gunzel: 1. (Australia) A railway or tram enthusiast; particularly (formerly derogatory) one who is overly enthusiastic or foolish. 2. (Australia, by extension) An enthusiast or geek with a specific interest. […] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gunzel

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

"What is the greatest surprise you have found about life?” a university student asked me several years ago. "Its brevity" I replied without hesitation. … Time moves so quickly, and no matter who we are or what we have done, the time will come when our lives will be over. As Jesus said, "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work" . … Life is short, and every day is a gift from God.   --Billy Graham https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Billy_Graham