The story of the zipper begins when Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine, received a patent in August 1851 for an "Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure." It didn't go much further beyond that, though, until 1893 when inventor Whitcomb Judson marketed a "Clasp Locker" device similar to the system described in the 1851 Howe patent, and eventually Whitcomb got credit for being the "inventor of the zipper." My tie looks rather ordinary but it has the special feature of zipping up!
Beth helped me get the right look for National Bow Tie Day! This is the eighth time I've celebrated with this cyan tie; three other years I've worn my rubber duckies, and twice I wore my wood bow tie. I began following this tradition in 2012, missing out only in 2015.
For National Dog Day I'm wearing my Snoopy "checkerboard" tie. Our own dog (Belle) Pepper, a black lab mix, is 9 years old! Today is also National Toilet Paper Day . . .
It’s International Strange Music Day! I think this tie is a little strange, with an image that combines a globe with a music score. So it’s appropriate!
The main point for this “Day” is to encourage you to listen to some new/unfamiliar/out-of-your-comfort-zone music. One source to consider is “world music” as collected at this site.
Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream" was stolen from a museum in Oslo, Norway, on 22 August 2004. It was recovered two years later.
My astronomer/mathematical-physicist friend Jessica Crist had a birthday yesterday! I asked her to choose a tie and she asked for "Einstein with equations." When it is tied, several important equations are relatively obscured inside the knot, so I'm showing all of them in the detail photo. I'm also doing general outdoor work in our hyper-localized universe (our yard) today, so I'm wearing my special Einstein tee shirt.
Yesterday (16 August) was David Haskins' birithday. David is one of our sons-by-inclusion. He loves bow ties and asked me to wear my wood bow tie (which he and his family gave me for Christmas 2018).
For no special occasion on 15 August I chose to wear this Jerry Garcia "Snail Garden Swirls" tie for Friday morning donuts. It's a great design that I hadn't worn since June 2024.
For World Elephant Day I'm wearing my blanketed elephants tie. To celebrate with Branston and Evelyn we will be reading 3 books starring elephants: Horton Hears a Who, Horton Hatches the Egg, and You're Here For a Reason. Our stuffy elephant Kwabena will help us enjoy those stories.
Beth and I have now been married for 50 years! On Saturday (9 August) we celebrated with an excellent dinner at Papaleno's in Berea, and on Sunday (10 August) we had a family celebration at Outback Steakhouse in Richmond. I borrowed Jonathan's gold circles tie, and I added my gold "K" tie clip (which was crafted from one of my mother's pins). The extra photo captures the moment in 1975 when I carried Beth "over the threshold" on our way out to our honeymoon trip. My tie for that occasion appears to have been plain old boring solid brown.
My New York City tie is here to celebrate the Statue of Liberty. The cornerstone for its installation on Bedloe's Island was laid on 5 August 1884. The island became known as Liberty Island through an act of Congress in 1956.
Today's tie was a birthday gift from granddaughter Evelyn. It is one of the very few textured ties in my collection. From a distance it appears dark and bland, but the real pattern is a whirligig of blue on bright red!
Can you guess what I got for my birthday? NEW TIES! This shiny silver-gold-and-brown pattern was chosen by grandson Branston. He says it resembles snakeskin. In other news, 5 August Is remembered as the birthday of Anna Margaretha Klink Lange (1855-1892), one of Beth’s four great-grandmothers, and as the date for the laying of the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty in 1884.
Happy Birthday to me! Given that I have upwards of 370 ties, the set of those I haven't worn for several years keeps growing! About forty haven't seen daylight for three years or more. My choice for today from that set is covered with beach chairs and umbrellas, because during this retirement summer we've spent a good number of days relaxing near our small pool while our grandchildren play in the water! And yes, it is a little weird to be wearing a tie while enjoying my hammock.
Today we are celebrating Evelyn's birthday (yesterday). She asked me to wear these pink and purple shiny stripes and diamonds, and she also asked us to have a plate of cheesecakes (in six flavors) for dessert. My own birthday is tomorrow, so we decorated the cheesecake plate with the appropriate numerical candles -- I am TWELVE TIMES Evelyn's age!
