On This Day
SS Vestris was a 1912 steam ocean liner operated by Lamport and Holt Line and used on its service between New York and the River Plate. On 12 November 1928 she began listing about 200 miles (300 km) off Hampton Roads, Virginia, was abandoned, and sank, killing more than 100 people. Her wreck is thought to lie some 1.2 miles (2 km) beneath the North Atlantic.[3]
The sinking attracted much press coverage at the time and remains notable for the loss of life, particularly of women and children when the ship was being abandoned.[4][5][6] The sinking and subsequent inquiries may also have shaped the second International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in 1929.[7]
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1961 – Terry Jo Duperrault is the sole survivor of a series of brutal murders aboard the ketch Bluebelle.[12]
Bluebelle was a 60-foot (18 m) twin-masted sailing ketch based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ship was scuttled following an act of mass murder by the ship’s captain, Julian Harvey, on November 12, 1961.[3]
Harvey committed suicide on November 17 within hours of receiving news that 11-year-old Terry Jo Duperrault had survived the scuttling. She had been rescued at sea three-and-a-half days after the incident, having drifted upon a small cork dinghy without food, water or shelter for approximately 82 hours.[4][5]
Terry Jo’s survival led to her becoming known within international media as the “Sea Waif”[6] and the “Sea Orphan”.[7]
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Born On This Day
1606 – Jeanne Mance, French-Canadian nurse, founded the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (d. 1673)
Jeanne Mance (November 12, 1606 – June 18, 1673) was a French nurse and settler of New France. She arrived in New France two years after the Ursuline nuns came to Quebec. Among the founders of Montreal in 1642, she established its first hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, in 1645. She returned twice to France to seek financial support for the hospital. After providing most of the care directly for years, in 1657 she recruited three sisters of the Religieuses hospitalières de Saint-Joseph, and continued to direct operations of the hospital.
FYI
By David Armstrong and Ryan Gabrielson, Pro Publica: St. Jude Hoards Billions While Many of Its Families Drain Their Savings
By Ernie Smith, Tedium: The Scrolling Orb The evolution of the trackball, which is more than an upside-down mouse. It’s the Royal Canadian Navy’s greatest gift to modern-day computing. Really.
By Ayun Halliday, Open Culture: Watch 30+ Exceptional Short Films for Free in The New Yorker’s Online Screening Room
By Josh Jones, Open Culture: What Is Sun Tzu’s The Art of War About?: A Short Introduction
By Josh Jones, Open Culture: Meet the Mysterious Genius Who Patented the UFO
Robert Cray on cutting ties with Eric Clapton: “I’d rather not associate with somebody who’s on the extreme and being so selfish” Cray initially attempted to understand why Clapton was comparing lockdowns to slavery.
By Matt Goff, Sitka Nature: Sunny and Warm Start to November
NSFW
Recipes
Territorial Seed Company’s Braised Radicchio with Roasted Garlic Dressing
I Wash You Dry: Garlic Parmesan Chicken Bites
RecipeTinEats
- Golden Saffron Rice Bake with Baharat Spiced Meat March 6, 2026This is a fragrant, golden Saffron Rice Bake that’s stuffed with a layer of baharat spiced meat. It’s big (serves 10), easy to assemble and will make your kitchen smell incredible. I’ve been describing it to people as a Middle Eastern rice lasagna. I know, I know, I’m so basic! 😂 Golden Saffron Rice Bake... […]Nagi
- Baharat spice blend (Lebanese 7 Spice) March 6, 2026This is a recipe for Baharat (also known as Lebanese 7 Spice), the fabulous Middle Eastern spice blend I love using in recipes but can be a bit tricky to find if you don’t have Arabic stores nearby. Luckily, it’s so easy to make and only calls for pantry staple spices! Baharat Baharat – also... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for March 6 March 6, 2026Picture of the day Two Glanville fritillaries (Melitaea cinxia) on a red clover. Today is Kaede Hondo's birthday, she voiced Kokoro Yotsuba in Kamisama Minarai: Himitsu no Cocotama.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for March 5 March 5, 2026Picture of the day Ground shoot of one Euphorbia griffithii Beautifully colored ground shoot emerges in a natural border. Focus stack of 15 photos.
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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?