Estonia’s path to renewed independence was peaceful, and they achieved it with their Baltic neighbors! Also: Happy World Mosquito Day! A dog-and-cat poem.
The date is August 20th, Tuesday, and today I’m coming to you from Portland, OR.
On this day in 1897, Sir Ronald Ross discovered that female mosquitoes transmit malaria to humans. As such today is also known as World Mosquito Day.
Sir Ronald Ross had studied all stages of development of the malaria parasite. He therefore was able to recognize the parasite in the gut bacteria of mosquitoes and in their saliva glands. There were already theories that malaria was caused by swamp-like conditions – conditions that are also conducive to high populations of mosquitoes. Ross and colleagues concluded that malaria was spread among humans by infected mosquitoes.
World Mosquito Day is commemorated by spreading awareness of how fend off mosquitoes. In addition to using screens, bed nets, and hat nets, using fans are a good deterrent as mosquitoes can’t fly well in even the slightest breeze. The average mosquito weighs about 2.5 milligrams – compare that to a single Cheerio, which weighs about 83 milligrams or an 8.5”x11” piece of paper which weighs 4500 milligrams.
And on this day in 1991 Estonia declared its independence from Soviet control.
It had been a long battle for freedom, but miraculously there was no bloodshed in the process. The Estonian people were able to rally together around a desire for democracy and protection of their homeland.
Four years prior, in 1987, the Soviet Union was about to undertake a massive mining project in Estonia to harvest Phosphorus. Word got out that the project would have detrimental effects on the environment and surrounding communities, launching the start of the Phosphorite War, a public environmental campaign.
A few years later Estonian citizens participated in the Baltic Chain, a peaceful demonstration of protest against Soviet rule and a show of solidarity with Latvia and Lithuania. The Baltic Chain was nearly 420 miles long and about two million people strong. Participants joined hands across the three Baltic nations, connecting three capitals.
The Soviet government finally acknowledged Estonia’s independence about a month later. Estonia was welcomed into the United Nations and joined the European Union and NATO in 2004. Estonia’s location on the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland means citizens and tourists can enjoy sweeping coastline vistas, deep fjords, and over 150 nature reserves.
The Duel
Eugene Field