August 10 is Lazy Day

Lazy Day seems like such a good idea, doesn't it?

But, lazy as we are, we would be remiss were we to omit that Saturday, August 10 is also Garage Sale Day, S'Mores Day, and Smithsonian Day.

Yes, the Smithsonian Institution was created on August 10, 1846 when President James K. Polk signed legislation specifying how to spend James Smithson's 1829 bequest. James Smithson was an Englishman who died in Italy -- and he never laid eyes on the United States -- but he left the new nation his entire fortune, requiring America to establish an institution (to be named in his honor) "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge."

Image from RhondaFleming.com

And August 10 is the 90th birthday of actress Rhonda Fleming, born Marilyn Louis in Hollywood, California on August 10, 1923.

Watching a Rhonda Fleming Picture, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, would be a very appropriate way to commemorate Lazy Day: One of the highlights of the film is the song "Busy Doing Nothing," sung by Bing Crosby, William Bendix, and Sir Cedric Hardwicke.

Herbert Hoover was born on August 10, 1874. Antonio Banderas turns 53 on August 10.

SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research was founded on August 10, 1971. Before that, we got all the stats we needed on the back of baseball cards. The baseball cards came with gum -- and WAR meant a conflict between or among nations.

According to Usual Suspect History.com, it wasn't until August 10, 1776 that news of the American Declaration of Independence arrived in London.