April 6, 1912: Manitoba; the Titanic; Atlantis; a Painting; and a Car

The town of Transcona, Manitoba was incorporated on this date in 1912. This is also the day in 1912 when the territory of Manitoba grew to its present size.

You'll find a whole lot more about what happened on April 6 in Canada, at "April 6," This Day in Canadian History.

The same year, April 6 was the day when the RMS Titanic was four days from starting its first voyage, and nine days from ending its last trip. ("RMS Titanic," Wikipedia)

Elsewhere in 1912:

• Leo Frobenius was in the last year of an expedition
  • In Africa
  • Where he thought he'd found Atlantis
• Gustav Klimt painted a picture of Mäda Primavesi
  • Neither of whom are particularly famous today
• Gaylords were still being built
  • It's a kind of car

None of which is likely to help you fill out your income tax forms. Which, if you're an American, are due April 15. Which, oddly enough, is the same date on which the Titanic sank.

Sort-of-related posts:

• "Gaylord: A Car, Another Car, a Company, a Town, and a Block of Wax"
  (November 18, 2011)
• "Woman 'Cut in Half:' Journalistic Hyperbole, Remarkable Account"
  (September 23, 2010)
  • A Manitoban's surgery in Mayo Clinic, Minnesota
    • That's three words starting with "M"
  • Minnesota is also the home of 3M corporation
    • Significant?
      • Probably Not
• "Map the Titanic: Big Ship, Big Job"
  (August 28, 2010)
• "African Art, Photos, and a Whacking Great Generalization"
  (June 21, 2010)
• "A Portrait by Gustav Klimt"
  (May 2, 2008)

About Luck, Lightning Strikes, and Family Names

"Lightning CAN strike twice; how people got their last names; more"
Jewish World Review (February 5, 2004) (or, 13 Shevat, 5764)

"Q: What are the odds of being struck by lightning twice in a lifetime? - Eric Fordley

"A: Eric, any discussion of multiple lightning strikes surely must begin with poor Roy Sullivan.

"Sullivan, a Virginia park ranger, survived seven lightning strikes, making him the world record holder. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Sullivan was first hit by lightning in 1942, and was struck six more times over the next 35 years. He was struck in the great outdoors. But he was also zapped in an office, and walking across his front yard to get the mail...."

Most of the column is about lightning strikes, luck, and statistics; and where family names came from. It's the sort of moderately in-depth trivia that I like to read. 'Your experience may vary.'

About that cryptic reference to Shevat: The column is dated in the western-conventional and the Hebrew calendar. There's a pretty good introduction to the Hebrew calendar at "Jewish Calendar" (Judaism 101).

Don't Know What to Say?

Here's what you do:

• Memorize all 82 facts at "Trivia about products, advertising, and inventions."
• Then, when conversation lags at a party, turn to the person next to you and say, "Americans spent over $360 million in 1982 to avoid having bad breath"
• If that doesn't liven things up, try, "IBM's motto is 'Think.'
• Keep going: one of those nuggets of knowledge is sure to be a hit!

Or not, but it's fun reading.