Interrogatories
What movies did you ever see at a drive-in?
Are you handy with a yo-yo?
How many words do you know in Russian? Do you at least know your way around a menu?
Were you ever a boy/girl scout or a reasonable facsimile thereof (like campfire girls)? How long? What made you quit?
The Twitter Emitter
On This Day
In 1844, the first YMCA opened in London, providing wholesome living quarters and entertainment for respectable young Christian males.
In 1889, downtown Seattle was destroyed in a massive fire. It was later rebuilt a good 20 feet higher than originally (the underground ruins are now a hot tourist destination).
In 1892, the Chicago 'L' began service.
In 1932, the first gasoline tax in the U.S. was enacted with the passing of the Revenue Act of 1932. It was a whole penny per gallon.
In 1944, Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France.
In 1946, the NBA was formed, consisting at that time of 11 teams.
in 1978, voters in California voted in favor of Proposition 13, an anti-tax measure. The unintended negative effects of this measure are still being felt today.
In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana users can still be prosecuted under the law.
In 2011, Anthony Weiner finally admitted that he had sent lewd pictures to several women via Twitter.
Born on This Day
1542 – Richard Grenville, English soldier and explorer (d. 1591)
1599 – Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter (d. 1660)
1638 - Gerrit Adriaenszoon Berckheyde, Dutch painter (d. 1698)
1756 – John Trumbull, American painter (d. 1843)
1799 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet (d. 1837)
1844 – Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter (d. 1905)
1867 – David T. Abercrombie, American businessman, founder of Abercrombie & Fitch (d. 1931)
1868 – Robert Falcon Scott, English navy officer and explorer (d. 1912)
1875 – Thomas Mann, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
1896 - Henri-Victor Wolvens, Belgian painter (d. 1977)
1897 - Ismaël Gonzalez de La Serna, Spanish artist (d. 1968)
1898 – Ninette de Valois, Irish-English dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 2001)
1902 – Jimmie Lunceford, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1947)
1923 – V. C. Andrews, American author (d. 1986)
1934 – Roy Innis, American civil rights activist
1936 – Levi Stubbs, American singer and actor (The Four Tops) (d. 2008)
1941 – Alexander Cockburn, Scottish-American journalist (d. 2012)
1944 – Edgar Froese, German musician and songwriter (Tangerine Dream)
1948 – Richard Sinclair, English singer and musician (Caravan, The Wilde Flowers, Camel, and Hatfield and the North)
1949 – Holly Near, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1951 – Dwight Twilley, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
1952 – Yukihiro Takahashi, Japanese singer, drummer, producer, and actor (Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sadistic Mika Band, and Sketch Show)
1952 – Harvey Fierstein, American actor
1959 – Jimmy Jam, American musician, songwriter, and producer (The Time)
1963 – Eric Cantor, foul demon spawn of hell
1963 – Jason Isaacs, English actor
1964 – Jay Bentley, American singer and bassist (Bad Religion)
1966 – Sean Yseult, American musician (White Zombie and The Cramps)
1967 – Paul Giamatti, American actor
1969 – Erik Prince, American businessman, founder of Blackwater Xe Academi, and total religious fanatic wingnut
1970 – James Shaffer, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Korn, Fear and the Nervous System, and L.A.P.D.)
1978 – Carl Barât, English singer, guitarist, actor, and author (The Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things, and The Chavs)
1988 – Maria Alyokhina, Russian singer and activist (Pussy Riot)
Died on This Day
1676 - Jan Olis, Dutch painter (b. 1610)
1678 - Pieter Jansz van Asch, Dutch landscape painter (b. 1603)
1731 - Giovanni Odazzi, Italian painter (b. 1663)
1740 – Alexander Spotswood, English-American lieutenant and politician, Governor of Virginia (b. 1676)
1799 – Patrick Henry, American attorney, planter, and politician, Governor of Virginia (b. 1736)
1846 - Adèle Romany, French painter (b. 1769)
1861 – Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, Italian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1810)
1878 – Robert Stirling, Scottish clergyman and inventor, inventor of the stirling engine (b. 1790)
1880 - Eugen Adam, German painter (b. 1817)
1914 - Gabriel Joseph Marie Augustin Férier, French painter (b. 1847)
1922 – Lillian Russell, American actress (b. 1860)
1944 - Ker-Xavier Roussel, French painter (b. 1867)
1948 – Louis Lumière, French director, writer, and producer (b. 1864)
1951 – Olive Tell, American actress (b. 1894)
1955 – Max Meldrum, Scottish painter (b. 1875)
1961 – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist (b. 1875)
1968 – Robert F. Kennedy, American politician, 64th United States Attorney General (b. 1925)
1968 – Randolph Churchill, English journalist and politician, son of Winston Churchill (b. 1911)
1976 – J. Paul Getty, American industrialist, founded the Getty Oil Company (b. 1892)
1979 – Jack Haley, American actor (b. 1898)
1991 – Stan Getz, American saxophonist (b. 1927)
1994 – Barry Sullivan, American actor (b. 1912)
1998 - Carlos Nadal, Spanish painter (b. 1917)
2005 – Anne Bancroft, American actress (b. 1931)
2006 – Billy Preston, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (b. 1946)
2006 – Hilton Ruiz, Puerto Rican pianist (b. 1952)
2010 – Marvin Isley, American singer-songwriter, bassist, and composer (The Isley Brothers and Isley-Jasper-Isley) (b. 1953)
Today is
Drive-in Movie Day
National Yo-Yo Day
Teacher's Day
National Applesauce Cake Day
UN Russian Language Day