Mr. Dooley is a fictional bartender created by American journalist Finley Peter Dunne, appearing in print between 1893 and 1915, and again in 1924 and 1926. The bartender's humorous but pointed commentary on American politics and international affairs first became nationally popular during the 1898 Spanish–American War. Dunne's essays are in the form of conversations in an Irish dialect of English between Mr. Dooley, the owner of a fictional tavern in the Bridgeport area of Chicago, and one of the bar's patrons. From 1898 onwards, the essays, and the books collecting them, gained national acclaim. Dunne became a friend of President Theodore Roosevelt, although the friendship did not curtail his satire. Beginning around 1905, Dunne had increasing trouble finding time and inspiration for new pieces, and, except for a brief resurrection in the mid-1920s, his columns ended in 1915. The columns originated lasting sayings such as "the Supreme Court follows the election returns".

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Dooley

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1848:

Switzerland became a federal state with the adoption of the Swiss Federal Constitution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland

1910:

Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8, one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire and popularly known as the "Symphony of a Thousand", was first performed in Munich (1916 performers pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._8_%28Mahler%29

1952:

Three boys in Flatwoods, West Virginia, U.S., reported seeing a ten-foot-tall (3 m) monster in the woods while investigating a UFO. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatwoods_monster

2015:

An explosion involving illegally stored mining detonators in Petlawad, India, killed 104 people and injured more than 150 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petlawad_explosion

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

connive: 1. (intransitive) Often followed by with: to secretly cooperate with another person or persons in order to commit a crime or other wrongdoing; to collude, to conspire. 2. (intransitive, botany, rare) Of parts of a plant: to be converging or in close contact; to be connivent. 3. (intransitive, obsolete) Often followed by at: to pretend to be ignorant of something in order to escape blame; to ignore or overlook a fault deliberately. 4. (intransitive, obsolete) To open and close the eyes rapidly; to wink. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/connive

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die.   --Steve Biko https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steve_Biko