On this date in . . .
1880: U.S.
patent #254,828 was issued for the tuxedo life jacket, an inflatable formal jacket for
dining out at sea.
1960:
16-year-old Brian Hyland=s
"Itsy Bitsy Teenie
Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" entered the
Billboard
Hot 100 music chart. Composer Paul Vance wrote the song after watching his 2-year-old
daughter Paula at the beach in her new bikini.
1964: The
Beatles released the single
"A Hard Day=s Night" in England.
Flipside:
"Things We Said
Today."
1967: Bobbie Gentry recorded "Ode to Billie Joe" (Capitol
#5950). It was #1 for four weeks in August and September.
1989:
The British pop group The Monkees received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1991: Millie
Bush, America's First Dog, became
a millionaire as royalties from her book about a dog's life in the White
House reached $1.1-million. Millie gave the money to First Lady Barbara Bush's family literacy
foundation. Millie died in May, 1997.
1993: A
37-year-old San Antonio man ran over himself when he tried to jump from his moving car
while fleeing from police. The suspect survived to face charges of stealing 13 bags of
potting soil from a builder's supply store.
1996: A
former employee of Orlando's Gatorland theme
park was sentenced to six months in jail for selling two of the park's 2,400 alligators
to an Indiana tourist for $75.00 each. The 3-foot gators were discovered in the tourists
motel room after he called the state game commission for suggestions on how to transport
them to Indiana.
1996: Tipper
the cat, choking on his flea collar in Tampa, was rescued after he called 9-1-1.
Fortunately, Tipper's owner had
programmed the speed-dial button on the phone to dial 9-1-1, so the cat only had to push
one button.
1998:
The Diocese of Dallas agreed to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who
said they had been molested by a priest.
2002: Peter Paul Rubens' painting "The Massacre of
the Innocents" sold at auction for $76.2 million.
2003:
A 32-year-old Israeli woman was recovering well from surgery after she tried to retrieve a
cockroach that had jumped into her mouth with a fork. She swallowed the fork.
2004:
In his weekly radio address, President
Bush said legalizing gay marriage would redefine the most fundamental
institution of civilization, and that a constitutional amendment was needed
to protect traditional marriage.
Birthdays:
 | actor Ron Glass 64; |
| actor Adrian Grenier is 32; |
| actress Jessica Simpson 30; |
| singer Ken Mellons 41; |
| singer Cheryl Wheeler 55; |
| Pet Shop Boy Nat Tennant 52; |
| banjoist Bela Fleck 48; |
| son Elijah Blue Allman 30.
|
Q: Emily Dickinson wrote more than 900 poems. How
many were published during her lifetime? (a) Four; (b) 40; or (c) 400?
A:
Four.
Q: You are suffering from
insomnia. Should you: (a) lay there and try harder to go to sleep; (b) count clones; or
(c) get up, go to another room, and do something really dull?
A: In another room, do something totally mindless, like
watching an infomercial (Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center in Minneapolis).
Q: What does People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals do with the thousands of fur coats they receive each year
from converts? Do they: (a) donate them for transplants to animals with skin problems; (b)
sell them and donate the money to the SPCA; or (c) give them to homeless people?
A: Winter gifts to the homeless.
