On This Day
164 BCE – Judas Maccabeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, restores the Temple in Jerusalem. This event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah.
Two ancient Israelite and Jewish places of worship on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem have been called the Temple in Jerusalem, or the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, Modern: Bēt HaMīqdaš, Tiberian: Bēṯ HamMīqdāš; Arabic: بيت المقدس Bait al-Maqdis). The First or Solomon’s Temple was built in 957 BCE and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Second Temple was completed in 515 BCE and fell to the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
Projects to build a Third Temple have not come to fruition, but the Temple still features prominently in Orthodox and Conservative Jewish services. The Temple Mount is now the site of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Born On This Day
1631 – Catharina Questiers, Dutch poet (d. 1669)
Catharina Questiers (21 November 1631 – 3 February 1669) was a Dutch poet and dramatist. Along with Cornelia van der Veer and Katharyne Lescailje she was the most successful female Dutch poet of the second half of the 17th century. Her brother David also achieved some note as a poet.
FYI
By Ayun Halliday, Open Culture: Watch a Gripping 10-Minute Animation About the Hunt for Nazi War Criminal Adolf Eichmann
By Mark Linsenmayer, Open Culture: Stand-Up Comedy in the Internet Age — Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast #106
By Josh Jones, Open Culture: Why Scientists Can’t Recreate the Sound of Stradivarius Violins: The Mystery of Their Inimitable Sound
Open Culture: America’s First Banned Book: Discover the 1637 Book That Mocked the Puritans
Atlas Obscura: ‘Hobo Code’; Audley Square Spy Lamp Post; Saving the Giant Sable and more ->
By Elina Vessonen, Psyche: Hula hooping is not mindless, it is bodily problem solving
Funny!
Recipes
Atlas Obscura: America’s most unique Thanksgiving sides
Food Network Kitchen: The Best Parker House Rolls
By In The Kitchen With Matt: Honey Butter Glazed Roasted Carrots
By half-n-half: Twice Baked Potatoes
Homemade on a Weeknight: Dijon Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
Little House Big Alaska: Classic Chocolate Crinkles
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
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wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 16 June 16, 2026Picture of the day View of Kirchberg an der Jagst, Germany, from the river Jagst. At the right the listed bridge, build in 1779; behind it the hill which supports Kirchberg Castle (top) and the old town of Kirchberg.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 15 June 15, 2026Picture of the day Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
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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?