(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . 08/03 Open Thread – Grab some nuts day [1] ['Enhydra Lutris', 'Greg Dworkin', 'Meteor Blades', 'Wafflehacker Aka Joshhacks', 'Bill In Portland Maine', 'Dan K'] Date: 2026-08-03 – ********** – – ********** I furnished the body that was needed to sit in the defendant’s chair. – – ********** Take away the right to say ‘fuck’ and you take away the right to say ‘fuck the government. – ********** – ********** – – The Siege of Algeciras began on this date in 1342 and lasted almost two years. The port of Algeciras is the monster port and harbor located down next door to the city of Gibraltar. Then as now, it was a key port. It was part of “Moorish Spain”, which was not monolithic. The Umayyad Caliphate conquered Visigothic Spain starting in 711. Eventually, a chunk of the southern coast, up to and including Algeciras became the Emirate of Grenada. In 1329 it was conquered by and became part of the Marinid Sultanate out of Morocco. In retrospect this was probably a dumb move because it weakened both the Sultanate and Grenada during the early days of the Spanish Reconquista. Grenada did send troops to help during the siege, which was undertaken by forces of the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, as well as the Republic of Genoa. Needless to say, the “Spanish” prevailed, as they did throughout “Spain”. (And here you probably thought that Spain was a thing.). The Reconquista, fwiw, is traditionally deemed to have ended in January 1492 when the united kingdoms of Aragon (Ferdinand) and Castile (Isabella) finally whupped Grenada (and segue into Christoforo Colombo or whoever he was sailing on this date for mostly Isabella from Palos de Frontera). It is some sort of mileage marker of historical waypoint that this was the first known use of gunpowder in a military conflict in Europe.Just as a sidenote, Catalonia (and Barcelona) were not part of Castille or “Spain” at this time, FWIW. Catalonia was involuntarily included in Spain in 1716 after supporting the wrong side in the War of Spanish Succession.1342 – The Siege of Algeciras began; the first use of gunpowder in combat in Europe1492 – Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.1527 – The first known letter from North America was sent1678 – Robert LaSalle built Le Griffon, the first known ship built on the Great Lakes.1778 – Milan’s La Scala theater was inaugurated1795 – Treaty of Greenville was signed, ending the Northwest Indian War in the Ohio Country.1829 – The Treaty of Lewistown was signed by the Shawnee and Seneca peoples, exchanging their land in Ohio for land west of the Mississippi River.1859 – The American Dental Association was founded1921 – Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis confirmed the ban of eight Chicago Black Sox players1936 – Jesse Owens won the 100 meter dash at the Berlin Olympics.1948 – Whittaker Chambers accused Alger Hiss of being a communist and a spy for the Soviet Union.1958 – The USS Nautilus became the first vessel to complete a submerged transit of the geographical North Pole.1972 – The United States Senate ratified the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.1977 – Tandy Corporation announced the TRS-802007 – Former Deputy Director of the Chilean secret police Raúl Iturriaga was captured~~ John Thomas Scopes1811 – Elisha Otis, businessman1900 – Ernie Pyle, soldier and journalist1900 – John T. Scopes, educator1904 – Clifford D. Simak, journalist and author1907 – Lawrence Brown, trombonist and composer1909 – Walter Van Tilburg Clark, author and educator1917 – Les Elgart, A trumpet player and bandleader1918 – Eddie Jefferson, singer and songwriter1920 – P. D. James, author1920 – Charlie Shavers, trumpet player and composer1924 – Connie Converse, musician, singer, and songwriter1924 – Leon Uris, Asoldier and author1926 – Tony Bennett, singer and actor1934 – Michael Chapman, bassoon player1934 – Jonas Savimbi, founded UNITA1935 – Vic Vogel, pianist, composer, and bandleader1939 – Jimmie Nicol, English drummer1940 – James Tyler, guitarist and songwriter1941 – Beverly Lee, singer1944 – Nino Bravo, singer1946 – Syreeta Wright, singer and songwriter1946 – John York, bass player, songwriter, and producer1949 – B. B. Dickerson, bass player and songwriter1953 – Ian Bairnson, saxophonist and keyboard player1953 – Marlene Dumas, painter1956 – Kirk Brandon, singer, songwriter, and guitarist1956 – Dave Cloud, singer, songwriter ,and actor1959 – Martin Atkins, drummer and producer1961 – Lee Rocker, bassist1963 – Tasmin Archer, pop singer1963 – James Hetfield, singer, songwriter, and guitarist1963 – Ed Roland, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer1964 – Lucky Dube, singer and keyboard player1966 – Gizz Butt, singer, songwriter, and guitarist1967 – Skin, singer and guitarist1970 – Stephen Carpenter, guitarist and songwriter1970 – Gina G, singer and songwriter1984 – Chris Maurer, singer and bass player1985 – Brent Kutzle, bass player and producer~~ Lenny Bruce1780 – Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, epistemiologist and philosopher1879 – Joseph Severn, painter1894 – George Inness, painter1916 – Roger Casement, poet and activist1917 – Ferdinand Georg Frobenius, mathematician and academic1924 – Joseph Conrad, novelist1929 – Emile Berliner, inventor and businessman, invented the phonograph1929 – Thorstein Veblen, economist and sociologist1936 – Konstantin Konik, surgeon and politician,1942 – Richard Willstätter, organic chemist and academic1954 – Colette, novelist and journalist1961 – Hilda Rix Nicholas, artist1964 – Flannery O’Connor, short story writer and novelist1966 – Lenny Bruce, comedian, actor, and screenwriter2003 – Roger Voudouris, singer, songwriter, and guitarist2004 – Henri Cartier-Bresson, photographer and painter2006 – Arthur Lee, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer2008 – Erik Darling, singer and songwriter2008 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, novelist, dramatist and historian2010 – Bobby Hebb, singer and songwriter2014 – Kenny Drew, Jr., pianist and composer2015 – Margot Loyola, singer, songwriter, and guitaristGrab Some Nuts DayInternational Beer DayAssistance Dog DayNational Watermelon DayClean Your Floors Day (Once a year? 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