Interrogatories
Do any of the keys on your keyboard have that telltale crunch from food crumbs you've gotten in it? What food is the culprit?
Do you use the words 'Sir' and 'Ma'am'? Do you like the words being used on you?
Did you ever make yourself dizzy on purpose?
What expressions, exclamations, and cliches do you find annoying?
Were you or anyone you know present at the March on Washington?
The Twitter Emitter
On This Day
In 1609, explorer Henry Hudson arrived at Delaware Bay.
In 1845, Scientific American was first published.
In 1898, Caleb Bradham invented Pepsi-Cola, though it did not yet have that name.
In 1922, WEAD aired the first radio commercial. It couldn't have been as obnoxious as present-day radio commercials.
In 1955, young Emmett Till was viciously murdered by whites in alleged retaliation for flirting with a white woman.
In 1957, Senator Strom Thurmond began his filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. He lasted 24 hours and 18 minutes. Thankfully, it passed despite his efforts.
In 1963, more than 200,000 marchers converged at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, and heard Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech.
In 1968, rioting broke out at the Democratic National Convention as the police moved in on protesters lawfully assembled there.
In 1990, an F-5 tornado struck Plainfield and Joliet, IL.
In 1996, Princess Di and Prince Charles divorced.
In 2005, Mayor Ray Nagin issued an evacuation order in New Orleans in advance of Hurricane Katrina.
In 2011, Hurricane Irene struck the East Coast, making landfall in North Carolina, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.
Born on This Day
1592 – George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1628)
1749 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and scientist (d. 1832)
1774 – Elizabeth Ann Seton, American nun and saint (d. 1821)
1799 - Auguste-Xavier Leprince, French painter and lithographer (d. 1826)
1810 - Constant Troyon, French painter (d. 1865)
1812 - Rudolf von Alt, Austrian painter (d. 1905)
1814 – Sheridan Le Fanu, Irish author (his Camilla may have been the first vampire novel) (d. 1873)
1833 – Edward Burne-Jones, British artist (d. 1898)
1859 – Vittorio Sella, Italian photographer (d. 1943)
1878 – George Whipple, American physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
1884 – Peter Fraser, New Zealand politician, 24th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1950)
1899 – Charles Boyer, French actor (d. 1978) See Tipple Jar
1901 – Anna Zinkeisen, Scottish painter (d. 1976)
1911 – Joseph Luns, Dutch politician and diplomat, 5th Secretary General of NATO (d. 2002)
1916 – Jack Vance, American author (d. 2013)
1917 – Jack Kirby, American writer and illustrator (d. 1994)
1918 – L. B. Cole, American illustrator and publisher (d. 1995)
1925 – Donald O'Connor, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 2003)
1930 – Ben Gazzara, American actor (d. 2012)
1940 – William Cohen, American politician and author, 20th United States Secretary of Defense
1942 – Sterling Morrison, American singer and guitarist (The Velvet Underground) (d. 1995)
1943 – David Soul, American-English actor and singer
1944 – Melvin Dummar, American forger of Howard Hughes estate
1945 – Robert Greenwald, American director and producer
1945 – Bob Segarini, American singer-songwriter and composer (The Wackers)
1949 – Hugh Cornwell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Stranglers)
1957 – Daniel Stern, American actor
1960 – Dinah Cancer, American singer-songwriter (45 Grave)
1962 – David Fincher, American director
1965 – Shania Twain, Canadian singer-songwriter
1969 – Jack Black, American actor, singer, and guitarist (Tenacious D)
1982 – LeAnn Rimes, American singer-songwriter and actress
1986 – Florence Welch, English singer-songwriter (Florence and the Machine)
2003 – Quvenzhané Wallis, American actress
Died on This Day
476 – Orestes, Roman general and politician
683 – K'inich Janaab' Pakal, Mayan ruler (b. 603)
1623 - Frederik van Valckenborch, Flemish painter (b. 1570)
1652 - Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp, Dutch painter (b. 1612)
1665 - Elisabetta Sirani, Italian Baroque era painter (b. 1638)
1784 – Junípero Serra, Spanish missionary (b. 1713)
1805 – Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader (b. 1722)
1818 – Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, American founder of Chicago (b. 1750)
1842 – Peter Fendi, Viennese painter, engraver, lithographer, and creator of some really NSFW stuff (his dancer/acrobat series is particularly inventive, if highly unlikely). (b. 1796)
1862 – Albrecht Adam, German painter (b. 1786)
1903 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American journalist and landscape designer (b. 1822)
1904 – Arthur Melville, Scottish painter (b. 1855)
1916 - Henri Harpignies, French landscape painter (b. 1819)
1943 – Boris III of Bulgaria (b. 1894)
1976 – Anissa Jones, American actress (b. 1958) (Buffy from Family Affair)
1978 – Robert Shaw, English actor and author (b. 1927)
1985 – Ruth Gordon, American actress (b. 1896)
1987 – John Huston, American director (b. 1906)
2007 – Hilly Kristal, American businessman, founded CBGB (b. 1932)
Today is
National Cherry Turnover Day
World Sauntering Day
National Radio Commercials Day (this is something to celebrate???)
National Bow Tie Day
Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day
Crackers Over The Keyboard Day