November 14 – King Hussein's Birthday in Jordan

Posted on November 14, 2014

Like many other nations in the world, the Arabic nation of Jordan still has a king. His name is not, however, King Hussein – it's King Abdullah II. King Hussein was the present king's father, but he died in 1999.

So why is Jordan celebrating their king's dad's birthday today?

King Hussein ruled during the Cold War and during a time of incredible tension between Arab countries and Israel. Yet during that tense time, Hussein put his efforts toward peace, education, empowerment for women and girls, and socioeconomic growth. Under Hussein's leadership, Jordan was the second Arab country to recognize Israel, and he was a part of peace efforts. Former Prime Minister of the U.K. Tony Blair said of Hussein, “He was an extraordinary and immensely charismatic persuader for peace. At the peace talks in America when he was extremely ill, he was there, talking to both sides, urging them forward, telling them nothing must stand in the way of peace."

Hussein's fourth wife, Queen Noor, continues the work of improving the lives of Jordanians, including improving education and conditions for women and girls.

Learn about Jordan

It used to be the Emirate of Transjordan. Now it is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is one of the freest economies in its region and is classified as a country of “high human development.” You can probably tell: that's a good thing! Of course, these praises for Jordan are partly through Hussein's efforts on behalf of his country.

I always love ancient things, and so it's no surprise that one of my favorite things about Jordan is the archeological city of Petra, which is carved into reddish rocks.

Only about 2% of Jordan's land can be farmed! That is because most of the country is desert. It does, however, border on the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, at the northern tip of the Red Sea.

Gulf of Aqaba

The Gulf of Aqaba is pretty normal sea + coast sort of stuff. 

But the Dead Sea is not really a sea at all, because it doesn't connect directly to an ocean. Instead of being a sea, it is a large hypersaline lake. That means it's really, really, really, really salty.

And it's really low – it's the lowest part of Earth that is on land!

Did you know that it is really easy to float in super salty water?

Did you know that the Dead Sea is more than 8 times saltier than the ocean?

Lying among the salt formations...

Did you know that almost no plants or animals can live in such salty water? Almost no microbes, even! (A few kinds of bacteria and fungi do live there – but compared to almost everywhere else on Earth, the Dead Sea is very, very dead!)

The Dead Sea has salt formations in  it, and it also spits up pebbles and blocks of black asphalt! Weird, huh?

Asphalt

Also on this date:

Author Astrid Lindgren's birthday 

Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day 

Artist Claude Monet's birthday 

Anniversary of the launch of Nellie Bly's journey around the world

Anniversary of the invention of cellophane 

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• November holidays
• November birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in November
  

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• December holidays 
• December birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in December
  

December 23, 2011 - Man Crosses Ocean with No Food (?)

– 1952

Don't try this at home! Or on the ocean! Or anywhere!

On this date in 1952, Frenchman Alain Bombard arrived in Barbados after sailing across the Atlantic Ocean alone with almost no provisions. That means he had almost no food or fresh water with him on his small inflatable boat!

Or so he claimed.

Bombard was a biologist and doctor. He had already sailed across the ocean solo twice before, but this time he wanted to prove that a human being could survive such a trip without provisions. By testing his theory, he said that he would help save thousands of lives – which seems to me a weird claim. (Surely shipwrecked and lost people don't commit suicide once their water runs out, right? They try to survive, I imagine...)

Bombard visited his newborn daughter in France and then set off on October 19. He said he made a harpoon and hooks and was able to catch or spear fish with these—and the fish were a source of fresh water as well as of food. He also harvested surface plankton with a small net. According to Bombard, he sipped a little salt water when necessary. (Warning: drinking salt water will cause dehydration, and eventually seizures and death. Don't do it – not even in little sips.) 

On the fourth day of his journey, Bombard's backup sail was blown away, and he had to mend a torn sail to continue. On his 53^rd day, he encountered a ship. The people on the ship gave him a meal and warned him that he was still 1,000 kilometers away from his goal, but Bombard chose to go on.

When Bombard arrived in Barbados, he had lost 25 kg (around 55 pounds), and he had to go to the hospital for a short time. However, he recovered, wrote a book about his adventure, and lived to be 80 years old.

Some people think that Bombard's story is too unlikely to be true. A German doctor named Hannes Lindemann tested Bombard's claim by trying to repeat his journey. However, he found that he needed fresh water from rain most days. Lindemann has speculated that either Bombard secretly took fresh water along on his journey or was secretly provided supplies along the way. The World Health Organization bases its recommendations for ocean crossings on Lindemann's findings, not on Bombard's story.

Also on this date:

LinguistJean-Francois Champollion's birthday

Night of the Radishes 

Festivus—the Holiday for the Rest of Us