"Oct" means eight, but October is the tenth month. It was moved back when Julius Caesar's ego's imposed a necessity to have months named after them. Of course, time had to be Caesar-sized: 31 ­ day months found only in the best weather. So July and August were inserted on the summer months, effectively shifting the date months of September, October, November and December by two.

In Britain, you can drink October. Not only is the name of the month, "October" also used to describe ale that was brewed in that month of the year.

October was a popular month for the births of presidents. Statistically, almost twice as many were born in the month than should have been. October presidents include: John Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester Alan Arthur, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Jimmy Carter. President great Theodore Roosevelt wasn't just born in October; he almost died in the tenth month too. In 1912 he was running for president as the nominee of the Bull Moose Party. On October 14th, just 5 minutes before delivering a speech in Milwaukee, a deranged gunman shot him as he got out of a car and bowed to adoring citizens. He was shot in the chest. The bullet just missed his right lung. Reports claim that either his thick coat or multi page speech manuscript hidden inside should be credited for saving his life. The bullet, too risky to remove remained in his chest until he died.

The Great Chicago Fire occurred on October 8, 1871. It tragically left 300 dead, roughly one third of the population homeless and nearly $200 thousand in damage. As the story goes, Mrs. O'Leary was milking her cow. It kicked over a lantern, igniting her barn and a large portion of the Windy City. O'Leary long denied it and 126 years later the Chicago City Council officially cleared her cow of any wrong doing.

So what did start the fire? It will probably remain an October mystery, but by comparing stories and land records, some think the fire was a result of drinking and card playing. Mr. Louis M. Cohn said it was the result of the "hottest craps game this town will ever see." He and some other boys, including O'Leary's son were playing in the barn. According to sources, Cohn, who would have been 18 at the time, admitted, "When I knocked over the lantern I was winning," and never denied that he made sure to grab the money before fleeing.

Harry Houdini died on October 31, 1925. Before he died, he promised his wife that if there was a way to deliver a message from the great beyond, he would surely do it. For the next ten years, his wife held a séance on the anniversary of his death. Finally, on October 31, 1936, she declared to the world that she had come to the conclusion that speaking with the dead was truly impossible.

Disgusted with "fraudulent" psychics, Houdini felt that they exploited the grieving and throughout his life he lobbied for laws banning fortune telling. He also exposed many clever techniques used by the profession. In 1922, he jointed a panel at Scientific American Magazine that offered "$2,500 to the first person who produces a visible psychic manifestationto the full satisfaction of the judges." The sum was later raised to $10,000, but no one ever collected on the reward.