Now You Can Visit the Oldest Library in the World by Leah Schnelbach   al-Qarawiyyin Library in Fez, Morocco, is the oldest library in the world, but until last month, only researchers had access to it.  Built in 859, the library was a beacon for scholars, poets, and theologians for hundreds of years, but in recent years it had fallen into terrible disrepair.  The al-Qarawiyyin Library opened to visitors in May 2016, so those of you who are Morocco-bound, be sure to check it out!  Read more, see stunning pictures and link to more information and pictures at  http://www.tor.com/2016/06/13/moroccos-al-qarawiyyin-library-oldest-in-world-newly-renovated-and-open-to-visitors/ 

Q:   How many times was a president elected who did not win the popular vote?  A:   It has happened four times.  In 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected president despite not winning either the popular vote or the electoral vote.  Andrew Jackson was the winner in both categories.  Jackson received 38,000 more popular votes than Adams, and beat him in the electoral vote 99 to 84.  Despite his victories, Jackson didn’t reach the majority 131 votes needed in the Electoral College to be declared president.  In fact, neither candidate did.  The decision went to the House of Representatives, which voted Adams into the White House.  In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes won the election (by a margin of one electoral vote), but he lost the popular vote by more than 250,000 ballots to Samuel J. Tilden.  In 1888, Benjamin Harrison received 233 electoral votes to Grover Cleveland’s 168, winning the presidency.  But Harrison lost the popular vote by more than 90,000 votes.  In 2000, George W. Bush was declared the winner of the general election and became the 43rd president, but he didn’t win the popular vote either.  Al Gore holds that distinction, garnering about 540,000 more votes than Bush.  However, Bush won the electoral vote, 271 to 266.  http://www.factcheck.org/2008/03/presidents-winning-without-popular-vote/  See also Controversial Elections at http://archive.fairvote.org/e_college/controversial.htm

Feedback to A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

From:  Bill Sweeney  Subject:  tachyphylaxis    Your readers might appreciate A.E. Housman’s untitled poem http://www.bartleby.com/123/62.html  beginning “Terence, this is stupid stuff”. 

From:  Dee Hunt  Subject:  Marrowsky   My mother and her identical twin sister were lovingly referred to as “the sin twisters”. 

From:  Hope Bucher   Subject:  Marrowsky  My first experience with marrowsky/spoonerism was when my college literature professor spoke of “Sheets and Kelley”.  The entire lecture hall erupted in laughter.  As a mother who enjoyed reading to her son, I encountered it again in Shel Silverstein’s last book “Runny Babbit”:  “Runny Babbit lent to wunch and heard the saitress way, “We have some lovely stabbit rew, our Special for today.”  It was a delightful way to introduce wordplay! 

From:  Roberta M. Eisenberg  Subject:  Marrowsky  The masters of these are the Capitol Steps, a DC comedy troupe.  More than 30 years ago, they started out as office interns to legislators.  Part of every show they do is called Lirty Dies, which is delivered at a rapid pace thereby making the audience think and concentrate very hard.  Samples of their very funny routines are at http://www.capsteps.com/lirty/

@ the Crossroads—A Sudden American Poem by Juan Felipe Herrera, Poet Laureate of the United States  Dedicated to Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Dallas police officers Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael J. Smith, Brent Thompson, and Patrick Zamarripa—and all their families.  And to all those injured.  Read poem at https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/crossroads-sudden-american-poem

United States Health Care Reform:  Progress to Date and Next Steps by Barack Obama, JD  JAMA.  Published online July 11, 2016. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.9797  http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2533698

Royal Troon Golf Club is a links golf course in Scotland, located in Troon, South Ayrshire, southwest of Glasgow.  The club was founded in 1878, initially with five holes.  George Strath was appointed in 1881 as the club's first golf professional.  Adjacent to the Firth of Clyde, Troon was granted its "Royal" accolade in 1978, during its centennial.  Its Old Course is one of the host courses for The Open Championship, one of the major championships on the PGA Tour and European Tour.  The Club has hosted the Open nine times, the most recent in 2016.  Past Open champions at Royal Troon include Justin Leonard, Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Watson, Tom Weiskopf, Arnold Palmer, Bobby Locke, and Arthur Havers.  The last six Opens at Troon have been won by Americans.  Royal Troon is home to both the longest and shortest holes in Open Championship golf.  Regarded as one of the top holes in the world, the par-3 8th hole ("Postage Stamp") measures a scant 123 yards (112 m), but its diminutive green measures a mere 2,635 square feet (293 sq yd; 245 m²).  Two holes earlier, the par-5 6th ("Turnberry") extends to a lengthy 601 yards (550 m).  The 11th hole ("The Railway") is one of the most difficult holes in major championship golf.  Now a long par-4, a blind tee shot has a long carry over gorse with out of bounds all along the railway on the right.  The lengthy approach shot is to a small green that falls away, with nearby out of bounds.  In addition to the trains, runway 13/31 of nearby Prestwick Airport provides an environment of low-flying large aircraft.  On 1 July 2016, Royal Troon members voted overwhelmingly to admit women into the club, avoiding a potential controversy that could have overshadowed the 2016 Open Championship.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Troon_Golf_Club

A small earthquake was felt along the Lake Erie coast hit near Cleveland on July 12, 2016, but caused no damage.  The quake was recorded at 4:11 p.m. about three miles into Lake Erie near North Perry, about 40 miles east of Cleveland.  Preliminary data show it registered a magnitude of 3.4, said Michael Hansen, coordinator of the Ohio Seismic Network, a division of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources that tracks earthquakes.  Hansen said researchers are particularly intrigued because it was the 10th and largest quake in northern Ohio this year.  The second-biggest was a 3.0 magnitude March 11, 2006, also beneath the lake."  Scientists say Ohio's earthquakes are linked to an ancient scar six-thousand feet deep that's known as the Akron Magnetic Boundary.  The fault runs diagonally through Summit County and into Geauga, Lake, and Ashtabula counties.  It was formed when North America tried unsuccessfully to split a billion years ago.  When the earth shifts, the fault sometimes shifts, causing an earthquake.

http://www.wtol.com/story/5057025/earthquake-recorded-near-cleveland   A small earthquake shook part of northwest Ohio for a few seconds but didn't cause any damage, the Ohio Seismic Network reported.  The quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 2.8, struck at 9:51 p.m. July 14, 2016 and was centered about eight miles west of Lima, said Mike Hansen, the network's coordinator.  Hansen said the quake occurred in the Anna Seismic Zone, an area of northwest and western Ohio named for the town of Anna in Shelby County.  

http://www.wtol.com/story/4895199/small-earthquake-hits-nw-ohio  In Toledo, the weights on our grandfather clock swayed rhythmically for a couple of hours on July 16, 2016--probably due to seismic activity.

Why do bookworms like history books?  Sweet--full of dates!

Where’s Waldo?  In Ohio.

Where’s Waldo?  Between Ralph and Emerson.

A hug is a perfect gift.  One size fits all and nobody minds if you exchange it.

Lois Thompson, librarian (1919-2016)

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1498  July 18, 2016   On this date in 1932, the United States and Canada signed a treaty to construct the St. Lawrence Seaway to connect the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean and to produce hydroelectric energy. http://www.thehistorybox.com/us_history/us_history_president_year_1932_article1492.htm  On this date in 1947, Harry Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act.  The original act of 1792 had placed the Senate president pro tempore and Speaker of the House in the line of succession, but in 1886 Congress had removed them.  The 1947 law reinserted those officials, but placed the Speaker ahead of the president pro tempore.   http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Presidential_Succession_Act.htm  Quote of the Day  It is never my custom to use words lightly.  If twenty-seven years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die. - Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel laureate (18 Jul 1918-2013)  Word of the Day  chinwag noun  (Britain, informal) An informal conversation, usually about everyday matters; a chat, a gossip.