...that the the only way to effectively manage the bacterial plant disease citrus canker is to destroy all infected citrus trees? ...that panel painting was the primary painting medium used in the West, from about the 13th to the 16th century, before canvas and oil paint became the norm? ...that George Gershwin selected tap dance innovator John W. Bubbles to play a major role in his opera Porgy and Bess though he did not even read music? ...that after actor Philip Loeb committed suicide, an article in the New York Times noting his passing commented that "He died of a sickness commonly called 'the blacklist'."? 

Twenty years after Bob Geldof rocked the world with his Live Aid concerts, rockers take to the stage again today in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Philadelphia, in what he has dubbed "Live 8" concerts. The original concerts raised $100m to help fight famine in Ethiopia. Today's concerts are aimed at raising awareness of poverty in Africa, just before the G8 summit meets in Scotland. Among the artists set to perform at the concerts are Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey, Bon Jovi, Sting, U2, Faith Hill, Stevie Wonder, Madonna and more.

"It went beyond idealism and that ridiculous term activism, which basically means talking about something but doing nothing. We made giving exciting." – Bob Geldof

eleemosynary: benevolent; related to charity

James Garfield: US president was shot by assassin; he died 3 months later (1881) Ernest Hemingway: author shot himself to death (1961) Steve Fossett: completed first solo nonstop balloon flight around the world (2002)

Hermann Hesse: author, Siddhartha, Steppenwolf (1877-1972) Thurgood Marshall: 1st African-American US Supreme Court justice (1908-1993) Lindsay Lohan: actor, Mean Girls (19)