Happy 26th Leap Second Day!

Wear a dress!


In 1972 the first leap second was added to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to account for a solar day being roughly 86,400.002 seconds (not a flat 86,400 seconds). Earth's rotation is slowing down, and a mean solar day hasn't lasted 86,400 seconds since 1820. Who knew!

Mission San Francisco de Asis is founded, 1776

No dress.


Although named for St. Francis of Assisi, it was called Mission Dolores because of a creek nearby called Arroyo de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores ("Our Lady of Sorrows Creek").

Coney Island Cyclone opens, 1927

Wear a dress!

Great photos here.


Also, TODAY: Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage! Yes!

Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned Queen of Hungary, 1741

Wear a dress!

Also, the rainbow flag makes its debut in the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade of 1978 (designed by SF artist Gilbert Baker).

And Harry Thaw murders architect Stanford White.

Thaw

White

Evelyn Nesbit

Outbreak of St. John's Dance in Aachen, Germany causes people to dance until exhaustion, 1374

If you're going to wear one dress this week, wait. If you're going to wear two dresses this week, wear a dress today.

The Dancing Mania, Pilgrimage of the Epileptics to the
Church at Molenbeek. Pieter Breughel the Elder, 1564

Pieter Breughel the Younger

Meryl Streep was born, 1949

Celebrate, but not dress today.

U.S. Marine Hosptial opens in the Presidio, 1975

You brave dressers out there, wear a dress.

Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the (1872) presidential election, 1873

No dress!

Sir Francis Drake claims Northern California ("Nova Albion") for England, 1579

If you own the dress equivalent of these -- and you shouldn't -- today would be the day to wear it.

Engraving by Theodor D Bry, 1590

Painting by Gheeraerts the Younger, 1591

Lord Byron reads four houseguests Fantasmagoriana and challenges them to each write a ghost story, 1816

Close, but no cigar.

Mary Shelley (above) wrote Frankenstein, John Polidori wrote The Vampyre, and Byron wrote the poem Darkness.

Waylon Jennings was born, 1937

No, don't wear a dress.

(Pictured above with Johnny Cash and below with Willie Nelson's braids.)

Inventors' Day, Hungary (Albert Szent-Györgyi discovered Vitamin C)

Wear a dress.

Egon Schiele was born, 1890 / (also, Popeye's was founded, 1972)

Yes. If you have ever wanted to wear a summer dress, today is the day.

Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin escape from Alcatraz, 1962

Hold off. This time your patience will be rewarded.

Gustave Courbet's birthday (1819)

Do not wear a summer dress today.