On This Day
The Marcomannic Wars (Latin: bellum Germanicum et Sarmaticum,[b] “German and Sarmatian War”) were a series of wars lasting from about 166 AD until 180. These wars pitted the Roman Empire against, principally, the Germanic Marcomanni and Quadi and the Sarmatian Iazyges; there were related conflicts with several other Germanic, Sarmatian and Gothic peoples along both sides of the whole length of the Roman Empire’s northeastern European border, the river Danube.
The struggle against the Germans and Sarmatians occupied the major part of the reign of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, and it was during his campaigns against them that he started writing his philosophical work Meditations.[c]
Born On This Day
1456 – Anne Neville, Princess of Wales and Queen of England (d. 1485)[7]
Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III. She was the younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the “Kingmaker”). Before her marriage to Richard, she had been Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, the only son and heir apparent of King Henry VI.
As a member of the powerful House of Neville, Anne played a critical part in the Wars of the Roses fought between the House of York and House of Lancaster for the English crown. Her father betrothed her as a girl to Prince Edward, the son of King Henry VI.[1] The marriage was to seal an alliance to the House of Lancaster and halt the civil war between the two houses of Lancaster and York.[1]
After the death of Prince Edward, Anne married Richard, Duke of Gloucester, younger brother of King Edward IV and of George, Duke of Clarence, the husband of Anne’s elder sister Isabel. Anne became queen when Richard ascended the throne in June 1483, following the declaration that Edward IV’s children by Elizabeth Woodville were illegitimate. Anne predeceased her husband by five months, dying in March 1485. Her only child, Edward of Middleham, predeceased her.
FYI
NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day
By Joshua Sokol, Science: THE STARGAZERS The historic Maya oriented their lives by the heavens. Today, their descendants and Western scholars team up to understand their sophisticated astronomy
By Jen Reeder, Today: Shelters get creative with dog names to help get pets adopted From Taylor Snift and Cindy Pawper to Ravioli and Side Salad, fun names for puppies and dogs can catch the eye of potential adopters — and make you smile.
AP News: Plant giveaway promotes Thailand’s medical marijuana sector
By Owen Bellwood, Jalopnik: I Can’t Stop Watching This Double Speedbump Launch Cars in the Air A set of double speed bumps in California has earned its own YouTube channel dedicated to destruction.
Bankless: 120 – Marc Andreessen & Chris Dixon of a16z | Reinventing the Internet
The FieldCraft Survival Channel: Carjackers exploit driver at a red light
By Kaitlin Sullivan, Catie Beck and Lauren Dunn, NBC News: Hospitals are required to post prices for common procedures. Few do. Hospitals must list the cash prices for services like X-rays or medical tests online, according to federal law. A new study finds the rule is largely ignored.
CMS.gov: Hospital Price Transparency
Is Happiness Around the Corner?
For a lot of people, happiness is just around the corner. They just need to get their degree, a particular job, a promotion, or a raise. Maybe they’re waiting to get married or have a child. Perhaps they will be happy when they retire.
Alfred D’ Souza said, “For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.” John Lennon put it another way, “Life is what happens while you are making other plans.”
The point is our lives are happening now. If we are to get the satisfaction and fulfillment we want, we have to learn to draw pleasure and joy from everything that happens to us and around us because these experiences are the very essence of our life. The more conscious we are that life consists of the journey, not the destination, the more likely we are to get the most out of it.
So, if there are things you want to do, begin to fit them in now or accept the fact that you can be happy whether or not you do them.
Happiness isn’t just around the corner. It’s now or it’s never.
The good news is you have everything you need to be happy. Philosophers, poets, and scientists all agree it can’t be attained through money, prestige, or power. Happiness is not a fact… it’s a mindset. All you need is optimism and gratitude.
Michael Josephson
Ideas
By gabriel.bertet: IOT BeeHive – Beehappy Project
By Waffleart: Gummi Bear Science
Recipes
Little House Big Alaska: Biscoff Cookie Butter Cookies
Just the Recipe: Paste the URL to any recipe, click submit, and it’ll return literally JUST the recipe- no ads, no life story of the writer, no nothing EXCEPT the recipe.
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- Spinach French Onion Cob Dip – Australia’s favourite dip! June 19, 2026Meet Australia’s favourite dip!!! This Spinach French Onion Cob Dip is made using a French Onion Soup mix and is served in a cob bread loaf. It is unapologetically retro, gloriously unfashionable, breaks every real-food rule I preach, and is completely addictive!! Spinach French Onion Cob Dip This dip has been a fixture at Australian... […]Nagi
- Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef June 16, 2026Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef is what you make when you want a big batch of crowd-pleasing food with relatively little effort. The succulent pulled beef is smothered in an incredible homemade barbecue sauce, and there’s so many ways to serve it – pile into sliders, heap onto plates or stuff into baked potatoes! Easy... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 19 June 19, 2026Picture of the day Alley on Escheckstraße (and part of the cuckoo clock trail), Schönwald im Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 18 June 18, 2026Picture of the day Red-headed weaver (Anaplectes rubriceps leuconotus) male building nest in the Soysambu Conservancy, Kenya.
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Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
Thanks to everyone involved to keep this forum going: our blogging team, the well-read Stumper Magicians, the many referrals, and of course to everyone who fondly remembers the wonder of books from their childhood and wants to share or revisit that wonder. Isn’t it amazing, the magic of a book?