The Geekly with a Twist: July 20th-26th

Wow. What a week. For those of you that follow astrology at all, Mercury’s in retrograde…so blame that for all of the crazies, mishaps, and issues of the week. In another few weeks I’ll find something else to blame…but this excuse will hold you through the 8th of August (might as well use and abuse it, right?). It’s going to be an insane weekend, too, so without too much stalling…onward with the history! (…and the insanity!)

July 20th, 1804: The man who coined the word “dinosauria” (later dinosaur), Richard Owen is born in Lancaster, England.

July 20th, 1822: The one and only Gregor Mendel (think friar who was the founder of genetics) is born in Heinzendorf bei Odrau in the Austrian Empire (a part of the modern-day Czech Republic).

July 21st, 1961: “Gus” Grissom becomes the second American in space aboard the Liberty Bell 7.

July 21st, 1998: One of the Mercury Seven (and the only one to walk on the moon) Alan Shepard dies in Pebble Beach, California of leukemia.

July 21st, 2011: NASA’s Space Shuttle program meets its official end when the Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

July 22nd, 1940: 1940 – This man, who hosts Jeopardy! (potentially the best nerdy game show on TV), is born in Sudbury, Ontario. (Who is Alex Trebek?, Alex.)

July 22nd, 1951: Dezik and Tsygan, two Soviet cosmo-dogs, become the first dogs to make a sub-orbital space flight. Both dogs survive the flight.

July 22nd, 1967: The hilarious and gifted Rhys Ifans (Xenophilius Lovegood, James Hook, and The Lizard are among his conquests) is born in Haverfordwest (in Wales).

July 22nd, 1972: The perfect everyman (except for his like of that icky Montreal hockey team 😉 ), Sheriff Carter himself (Colin Ferguson, fyi) is born in Montreal.

July 23rd, 1989: The face of The Boy Who Lived, Daniel Radcliffe, is born in London, England.

July 23rd, 1995: The “Great Comet of 1997,” Hale-Bopp, is discovered.

July 24th, 1964: 1964 – Colleen Doran, the artist behind A Distant Soil as well as the illustrations of everything from the works of Neil Gaiman to J. Michael Straczynski, is born.

July 24th, 1981: Summer Glau (you revoke your geek card now if I have to tell you who this is) is born in San Antonio, Texas.

July 25th, 1932: Paul J Weitz, an American astronaut who was on first manned Skylab mission as well as the commander of the first of the space shuttle Challenger missions, is born in Erie, Pennsylvania.

July 26th, 1963: Syncom 2 is launched from Cape Canaveral, making it the first geosynchronous satellite successfully in orbit.

For more history and fun with the events of the week, check out these past issues of The Geekly:

• This Week in Geek History + The Geekly Cocktail: July 15th-21st
• The Geekly with a Twist: July 22nd- 28th

In honor of Mister Radcliffe, I’m feeling a bit brave this morning. But are you brave enough to Twist The Gryffindor?

• 1 part raspberry liqueur (Chambord is especially yummy)
• 1 part cranberry juice
• 1 part orange juice

Shake the juices with the liqueur in a shaker with ice. Strain into a hurricane glass and garnish with a sword-picked cherry and a twist of orange. Lion’s mane around the glass is optional. 🙂

So, of course, for a fun Garnish on your week, it’s Comic-Con Wrap Up Time!

Geeks are Sexy has an awesome bunch of pics, you can check out our Facebook page, and, of course, we have several articles here on the site ranging from Debbie’s Experiences to Nathan Fillion’s card-carrying adventures.

And, of course, until next week, geek on!

FYI: The Winner of the Anniversary Giveaway will be notified over the weekend, so watch your emails, folks!