Opera Day and International Scotch Whiskey Day are celebrated around the world on February 8.
This day also combines significant historical events, scientific achievements and tragedies that have left their mark in world history.
Opera day
This holiday is dedicated to one of the greatest genres of art. The opera combines music, drama, scenography and vocal skill, creating a unique atmosphere for the audience.
The history of this genre dates back to the 16th century in Italy, when a group of Florentine artists decided to revive the traditions of ancient theater. They experimented with musical drama, which eventually led to the appearance of the first known opera, Daphne by Jacopo Peri. Since then, the opera has spread throughout Europe, and later throughout the world.
Opera is a spectacular art, as well as a cultural phenomenon that influenced the development of society and shaped the aesthetic taste of different eras. It has undergone transformations, changing forms and styles: from the baroque works of Handel to the grand romantic operas of Verdi, from Wagner’s experiments to modern productions that use the latest technologies.
Today, opera remains an important part of world culture. It sounds in legendary theaters — La Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, Bayreuth Festival Theater. Thanks to the development of digital technologies, masterpieces of opera art are available not only to theatergoers, but also to viewers of online broadcasts around the world.
Interesting facts
The first opera that has reached us is “Euridice” by Jacopo Peri, written in 1600.
The longest opera “A Man Without Properties” by composer Jörg Widmann lasts more than 12 hours.
The shortest opera, The High Voice by Michel van der Aa, lasts only 10 minutes.
Opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins became famous not because of her talent, but because of her terrible vocals, which made her performances comical.
Some opera parts require extreme vocal prowess: for example, the Aria of the Queen of the Night from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” contains notes that reach almost impossible heights for the human voice.
International Scotch Whiskey Day
This is an unofficial holiday dedicated to one of the most famous drinks of mankind. Although this date has no official state status, it is celebrated by whiskey lovers, experts and producers all over the world.
International Scotch Whiskey Day became popular thanks to the initiative of Diageo, one of the largest producers of alcohol. It was first celebrated in 2017, when the company decided to popularize the culture of whiskey consumption and talk about its rich history. The date was not chosen by chance – it coincides with the birthday of Alexander Walker, the son of the founder of the legendary Johnnie Walker brand.
Whiskey is produced in many countries, but it is the Scottish version that is considered the standard of quality and has official protection. According to Scottish law, real Scotch Whiskey must mature for at least three years in oak casks in Scotland. There are several main categories of Scotch whiskey: Single Malt, Blended, Grain Whiskey and others.
Interesting facts
The first mention of whiskey production in Scotland dates back to 1494. A record of the supply of malt for the production of aquavita (“water of life”) has been preserved in the archives.
Scotch whiskey is exported to more than 180 countries worldwide, with annual sales exceeding £4 billion.
More than 40 bottles of Scotch whiskey are sold in the world every second.
The most expensive bottle of whiskey in the world – The Macallan Fine & Rare 1926 – was sold for 1.9 million pounds.
There are over 140 distilleries officially operating in Scotland, each with a unique style of production.
Historical events on this day
1106 year Prince Volodymyr Monomakh of Kyiv composed “Teaching” – the first didactic and artistic work of Kyivan Rus. It is a sort of moral testament to posterity, containing advice on public administration, ruler behavior and the importance of justice.
1347 year ended the civil war in Byzantium, which lasted several years and led to the weakening of the empire.
1587 year by order of Queen Elizabeth I of England, Mary Stuart, former Queen of Scotland and claimant to the English throne, was executed. She was accused of plotting against the Queen of England.
1600 year the court of the Inquisition adopted the death sentence of the philosopher and astronomer Giordano Bruno for his views that contradicted the dogmas of the church.
1627 year the use of explosive technologies in mining was recorded for the first time in writing, which became an important step in the development of the mining industry.
1672 outstanding physicist Isaac Newton presented a report on his theory of the nature of light and color, which laid the foundations of modern optics.
1692 in the American village of Salem, a doctor declared that three teenage girls were under the power of the devil. This marked the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials, which led to a series of executions and persecutions.
1879 Scottish-Canadian engineer Sandford Fleming proposed the introduction of time zones, the zero meridian and the 24-hour universal time format, which became the basis of the modern time calculation system.
1885 Bernard Shaw’s first story was published, which marked the beginning of his great writing career.
1904 Japan attacked the Russian Empire at Port Arthur, which was the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War.
1910 in the USA, the Boy Scouts organization was founded, which became the basis of the worldwide scouting movement.
1931 year New Delhi, the new capital of India, was inaugurated.
1948 created the Korean People’s Army, which later played a key role in the Korean War.
1950 Stasi was founded – the secret police of East Germany, which was engaged in political surveillance and repression.
1956 in London, the famous double-decker red buses began to run, which became a symbol of the city.
1964 year the British band The Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time, starting the “British Invasion” of American music.
1965 year in Great Britain, cigarette advertising was banned on television, which was the first step in the fight against tobacco smoking.
1965 year A Douglas DC-7 plane crashed on an Eastern Air Lines flight from Boston to Atlanta, killing 84 people.
1968 American police brutally dispersed a demonstration of black students in South Carolina. 3 people died, 28 were injured.
1971 NASDAQ, one of the largest stock exchanges in the United States, began operating.
1981 in Athens, 21 people died during a stampede after a football match at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium.
1989 A Boeing 707 crashed in the Azores, killing 144 people.
1993 The Czech Republic and Slovakia introduced their own currencies: the Czech crown and the Slovak crown, which was the final stage of the division of Czechoslovakia.
1993 a Tu-154M and a Su-24 fighter collided over Tehran (Iran), resulting in the death of 133 people.
Invention of the telegraph
In the first half of the 19th century, the transmission of information at a distance was a complex and lengthy process. However, it was on February 8, 1838 that an event took place that became revolutionary in the field of communications. Samuel Morse, a 47-year-old American artist and inventor who once studied electricity at Yale University, first publicly demonstrated the electromagnetic telegraph system. It happened at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
Morse developed the very system of encoding messages, which was called “Morse code”. It allowed text to be transmitted using short and long signals – “dots” and “dashes”. However, the signaling device itself was developed by his associate and technical partner, Alfred Weil.
A few days later, Morse presented his development to the Commerce Committee of the US House of Representatives, and on February 21, he personally demonstrated it to the country’s president, Martin Van Buren. However, the first official message by telegraph was transmitted only on May 24, 1844. That day, a short but symbolic telegram arrived from the Supreme Court in Washington to Baltimore:
“What hath God wrought!” (“This is what God does!”).
The Morse code system became the first digital information transmission technology. She used a binary code – in the form of two different signals, which later became the basis for the development of binary systems in computer technology. During the next century, the code was repeatedly changed: colons and pauses gradually disappeared from it, and the modern international standard was adopted only in 1939.
Due to the versatility of Morse code, it could be used in a variety of ways:
— write messages;
— transmit signals using light;
— to give sound signals with a whistle or a bell;
– wave flags;
– even in espionage – to transfer information with a handshake.
Due to the global use of the telegraph system, Morse code is often called the “Victorian Internet”. For almost 200 years, it has been used around the world for emergency communication, military and civilian messages. Morse’s invention became the basis for the development of telecommunications and the first step towards the modern digital world.
Appearance of the word “helicopter”
On February 8, 1929, a new word – “helicopter” – appeared in the history of aircraft construction. That is how the Soviet aircraft designer Mykola Ilyich Kamov called his invention – the first Soviet helicopter Kaskr-1 “Red Engineer”. It was a unique machine of its time, which became an important stage in the development of vertical take-off and landing. The name “helicopter” comes from the combination of the words “vertical” and “fly”, which best reflected the main feature of the device.
Work on the Kaskr-1 was carried out together with another aircraft designer, Mykola Skrzynski. The helicopter had two large coaxial propellers that rotated in opposite directions. This design made it possible to reduce the lateral moment, which affected the stability of the flight. However, due to technical difficulties and insufficient engine power, the first prototype did not become serial. However, this development gave impetus to the further development of rotorcraft, and later Kamov’s design work was used in the creation of new models of helicopters, which became important for aviation.
The first takeoff of the Boeing 247
On February 8, 1933, the Boeing 247, a plane that changed civil aviation, took to the air for the first time in the United States. It was the world’s first modern passenger plane that had advanced technologies for its time. Its main feature was an all-metal fuselage, which significantly increased the safety and durability of the structure. In addition, the Boeing 247 was equipped with an autopilot and retractable landing gear, which improved aerodynamics and reduced air resistance.
The plane could carry 10 passengers and two pilots, which at the time was considered a major achievement in commercial aviation. It was also significantly faster than its competitors, which made it attractive to airlines. However, despite its innovation, the Boeing 247 had one significant drawback — the Boeing company initially refused to sell it to other airlines, preferring its own carrier, United Airlines. This forced competitors to look for alternatives, which eventually led to the Douglas DC-3, an even more advanced aircraft that defined the face of passenger air travel for decades to come.
These two events, which took place on February 8, became important milestones in the history of aviation. The invention of the “helicopter” opened up new possibilities for air transport, and the appearance of the Boeing 247 ushered in a new era of commercial air transport.
Ukraine’s first step towards NATO
On February 8, 1994, Ukraine took one of the most important steps in the direction of Euro-Atlantic integration – it joined the NATO program. On this day, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anatoly Zlenko, signed the framework document of the NATO program “Partnership for Peace” in Brussels. Ukraine became one of the first states to join this initiative, ahead of only Romania, Lithuania, Poland and Estonia.
The “Partnership for Peace” program defined the general principles and mechanisms of cooperation between NATO and partner countries. It provided for the development of a common security policy, military exercises, cooperation in crisis situations and the gradual bringing of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to NATO standards. Subsequently, these agreements were enshrined in the Charter on a special partnership between Ukraine and NATO, signed in 1997. This document became the basis for the creation of the Ukraine-NATO Commission, which coordinates cooperation between the parties.
Over the years, Ukraine’s official position on joining NATO has changed. It is interesting that all the presidents of the country declared the need to hold a referendum, at which Ukrainians should decide on possible membership in the Alliance.
The situation began to change after 2014. In June 2017, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law that defined NATO accession as a strategic goal of Ukraine’s foreign policy. And already in 2019, the relevant provisions were enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine.
The next step took place on June 12, 2020, when Ukraine received the status of a partner with enhanced capabilities of NATO. There are six such countries in total, and all of them play a significant role in the Alliance’s missions and contribute to the strengthening of its security initiatives.
