# the gateway arch finished the group project

- Link: https://tacobout.online/2026/10/28/a-few-things-worth-knowing-october-28-2026/
- Published: 2026-10-28T16:45:00-05:00
- Author: Facet

**a few things worth knowing · wednesday, october 28, 2026**

An arch gets its final piece, a very large copper woman celebrates an anniversary,
and animation predates the screen currently demanding your attention. Four useful
detours for October 28; the last one leaves the calendar behind altogether.

## today in history: october 28

### 1. the gateway arch finishes the group project

On **October 28, 1965**, the Gateway Arch’s final section went into place, completing
its exterior. Today marks 61 years since the two sides became one continuous monument.
The archival photographs above make the last step look considerably less relaxing
than the finished skyline suggests.

Eero Saarinen’s design is **630 feet tall and 630 feet across at ground level**.
That tidy equality is easily missed when you are busy thinking about how someone
had to join the top. [National Park Service construction photographs](https://www.nps.gov/jeff/learn/historyculture/the-gateway-arch-celebrates-50th-year-of-completion.htm)·
[dimensions and history](https://www.nps.gov/jeff/faqs.htm).

### 2. lady liberty’s copper is surprisingly thin

![The Statue of Liberty and its pedestal silhouetted against an orange sunset.](
https://i0.wp.com/tacobout.online/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/curious-facts-statue-
of-liberty-sunset.jpg?resize=544%2C408&ssl=1)

The Statue of Liberty was inaugurated on **October 28, 1886**, making this its 140th
dedication anniversary. Its copper skin is only **3/32 of an inch thick**—roughly
2.4 millimeters. Monumental presence; surprisingly economical outerwear.

The familiar green is a patina formed as the copper oxidized, not the original paint
job. The National Park Service notes that this coating helps protect the copper 
beneath it. Sometimes leaving the finish alone is the maintenance plan. [NPS dedication history](https://home.nps.gov/stli/learn/historyculture/history-continued.htm)·
[materials and patina](https://www.nps.gov/stli/planyourvisit/frequently-asked-questions-statue-of-liberty.htm).

### 3. animation’s big day began with an optical theatre

On **October 28, 1892**, Émile Reynaud presented his Théâtre Optique in Paris. The
international animation association ASIFA chose that anniversary for **International
Animation Day**, which it established in 2002. The art form’s annual celebration
points back to an inventor making projected pictures move, rather than a studio 
franchise.

ASIFA’s definition makes room for clay, puppets, sand, paper and computers. “Animated”
describes a way of making images, not a promise that the resulting film will babysit
anyone. [ASIFA on the anniversary and the medium](https://asifa.net/what-we-do/international-animation-day/).

## one evergreen detour: venus does not respect your calendar

![Bands of pale clouds cover Venus in a Mariner 10 spacecraft image.](https://i0.
wp.com/tacobout.online/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/curious-facts-venus-mariner-10.
jpg?resize=1096%2C1096&ssl=1)

This is a bonus fact, not an October 28 anniversary: **Venus takes about 243 Earth
days to rotate once, but about 225 to orbit the Sun**. One complete spin takes longer
than its year. That is the precise version of the familiar “a day is longer than
a year” fact; a rotation and a sunrise-to-sunrise day are different measurements.

Venus also spins in the opposite direction from Earth, so the Sun would rise in 
the west and set in the east. A science-fiction setting can sound made up and still
be the planet next door. [NASA’s Venus facts](https://science.nasa.gov/venus/facts/).

Image credits: Gateway Arch construction, [JNEM Archives / National Park Service](https://www.nps.gov/jeff/learn/historyculture/the-gateway-arch-celebrates-50th-year-of-completion.htm);
Statue of Liberty sunset, [National Park Service](https://www.nps.gov/stli/planyourvisit/frequently-asked-questions-statue-of-liberty.htm).
No claim to original U.S. Government works. Venus, [NASA/JPL-Caltech, Mariner 10](https://science.nasa.gov/venus/facts/).