Datebook

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017

Today is the 299th day of 2017 and the 35th day of autumn.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1774, the first Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia.

In 1881, the legendary shootout between lawmen and outlaw cowboys near the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, left three men dead.

In 2001, President George W. Bush signed the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act into law.

In 2002, Russian special forces raided a theater in Moscow where Chechen separatists had held hundreds of patrons hostage for nearly three days. More than 130 hostages and all 40 militants were killed.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972), singer; Bob Hoskins (1942-2014), actor; Pat Conroy (19452016), novelist; Pat Sajak (1946- ), TV personality; Hillary Clinton (1947- ), politician; Dylan Mcdermott (1961- ), actor; Cary Elwes (1962- ), actor; Natalie Merchant (1963- ), singer; Keith Urban (1967- ), singer-songwriter; Seth Macfarlane (1973- ), actor/writer/tv producer; Jon Heder (1977- ), actor; Sasha Cohen (1984- ), figure skater.

TODAY’S FACT: Florida is the flattest state in the United States. Its highest elevation is only 345 feet above sea level.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1997, the Florida Marlins became the youngest Major League Baseball franchise ever to win a World Series, earning the championship in its fifth year of existence. The 4-yearold Arizona Diamondbacks surpassed the Marlins’ mark with a World Series win in 2001.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “I could bear the memory, but I could not bear the music that made the memory such a killing thing.” — Pat Conroy, “Beach Music”

TODAY’S NUMBER: $50 — advertised monthly pay for Pony Express riders and station keepers. The horseback delivery service, which relayed mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, officially ceased operations on this day in 1861.

TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (Oct. 19) and first quarter moon (Oct. 27).

If you open an old bottle of olive oil and it smells rancid, you definitely shouldn’t use it for cooking or salad dressing, but you also shouldn’t toss it into the trash. Rancid oil is still useful around the house. Grab a soft rag and use olive oil to condition leather furniture, belts and bags. Also, use the oil and rag to help moisturize wicker and rattan furniture; it’ll help prevent the natural materials from cracking. And that door that creaks every time you open it? Use olive oil as a lubricant around the hinges.