Nowadays Olive Can't Even Write

On April 12, 1990, the Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center (located at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts) announced that it would be naming Asteroids 4147, 4148, 4149, and 4150 to Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr respectively. All four of them are between 5 and 10 diameters, and were discovered in 1983 and 1984 by Brian A. Skiff and Dr. Edward L.G. Bowell. Both worked in the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona at the time. Credit: Apple Corps Ltd. "My colleague and I have been fans of the Beatles for 25 years or so, ever since their early days. We thought this would be an unusual distinction for them." Bowell says. He then goes on to add, "It is customary to name asteroids after distinguished scientists or Greek and Roman goddesses, but times are changing, and we think it is a fun thing to honor some other people we like and who we think have done nice things in the world." The two astronomers had discovered a...

While today marks what would have been the 80th birthday of former Beatle George Harrison, it also marks the 8th birthday of the George Harrison tree's replacement, which couldn't have been needed for a more amusing reason. Source: Anna Pantoliano The original tree, which was a Canary Island pine, was planted on Harrison's birthday a few months after his death on this day in 2002. It managed to survive until 2014, when it was eaten by beetles. Ceremony organizer Paula Greenfield blames California's long-standing drought for the infestation, adding  “It’s because of the drought that beetles are able to get into the trees to begin with. I’ve had neighbors who’ve lost trees during this drought — when they take them down they’re totally hollowed out.” The replacement tree was planted the following year on what would have been his 72nd birthday. In order to avoid this one having the same ironic fate as the first tree, a yew pine was chosen instead. Less likely to be eaten b...

 On February 1, 2008, US space agency NASA announced its decision to beam the Beatles' " Across the Universe " into space. It was the first song to be used as such.  Source: Harper Collins/Press Association The song was to be aimed at the North Star, Polaris, 431 light-years away as a means to celebrate the song's 40th anniversary. It was officially beamed on the 4th through the deep space network, which is a series of giant radio antennas used to support spacecraft missions. Paul McCartney wrote to the space agency, stating: "Amazing! Well done, NASA. Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul." Yoko Ono also added a statement. "I see that this is the beginning of the new age in which we will communicate with billions of planets across the universe." As a result of the event, fans have dubbed February 4 as Across the Universe Day. If you would like to read more on the event, you can check it out on NASA's website here . Happy listening!