Five Things to Know Today, April 19

Welcome to Thursday. Here are some things to know today.

The weather: Be careful during your commute this morning - we may have some fog until about 11 a.m. Then we should have at least a little sunshine and a cool high of 74 degrees. The low tonight is predicted to be around 58.

Gas prices: Woohoo, at least one place in Lilburn is selling regular fo $3.69 a gallon, according to www.georgiagasprices.com (QuikTrip, 4900 Stone Mountain Hwy near Stone Drive). The highest prices reported to the website for Lilburn was $3.78 (at Golf, 127 Arcado Road at North River), one cent less than yesterday.

Morals. Risqué funny lady Mae West made a very quotable career out of living fast and fun. “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it,” was one her lines. She started on vaudeville in New York in the 1910s but first made a national mark with a scandal. In early 1927 she and the cast of the play “Sex” - which West wrote, directed and starred in - were arrested and April 19, 1927. She was sentenced to 10 days in jail on a morals charge. The hyperactive, celebrity-crazed and sex-obsessed press of the 1920s loved the story and gave her national recognition. West went on to a life of Hollywood and Broadway and lived to the ripe old age of 87, the last 26 years with an adoring younger boyfriend and former Mr. California, Paul Novak, who stayed with her until she died.  

Bike trip: It’s Bicycle Day, but not what you think. This was the day in 1943 when Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hoffman, who three days earlier had accidently invented LSD, took a deliberate dose. He then started bicycling home from his lab at the chemical company Sandoz in Basel. The psychedelic effects of the drug kicked in while he was biking. As he described it, “…little by little I could begin to enjoy the unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind my closed eyes.” Hoffman went on to a long, distinguished research career and died in 2008 at age 102. He disapproved of the 1960s popular use of LSD but always thought it should be used in research.  

Meteors: In the coming nights, the 2012 Lyrid meteor shower will grow increasingly active, probably peaking in the pre-dawn hours Sunday. But any night from now on is fair game for watching, especially in the hours after midnight. An added benefit is the lack of moonlight right now, during the new moon. It’s considered a moderate shower, with about 10 to 15 meteors per hour.

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