On This Date Inventor Trivia Happy Birthday!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 1291 – A pact was made to form the Swiss Confederation. The anniversary “It’s pretty clear now that of this founding is celebrated what looked like it might with paper lantern parades, bonfires, and fireworks. have been some kind of counterculture is, in reality, 1834 – The Slavery Abolition Act just the plain old chaos of

took effect, outlawing slavery in the

undifferentiated weirdness.” British Empire.

1893 – Henry Perky received a ~ Jerry Garcia patent for a machine to make “little whole wheat mattresses,” now known worldwide as shredded Happy Birthday! wheat. In 1901, he opened a factory in Jerry Garcia (1942–1995) was Niagara Falls, New York, born in San Francisco, California. which is still producing He is best known for forming the the cereal today. group the Grateful Dead in the ’60s. With albums like American Beauty, Inventor Trivia the band toured for decades with fans known as “Deadheads” Marion Donovan, a following the band on tour. In the post–World War II 1970s, Garcia released mother, invented the numerous projects as a disposable diaper. solo artist and with This followed her innovative diaper other musicians, such cover with pinless snaps. Pampers as his well-known went on the market in 1961. Touch of Gray album.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 1610 – Henry Hudson sailed into what is now known as Hudson Bay, “If it’s anything I can’t stand, thinking he had made it through the it’s yes-men. When I say no, Northwest Passage and reached the I want you to say no, too.” Pacific Ocean. ~ Jack Warner 1909 – The first passenger flight in

Canada was made in Nova Scotia. The Silver Dart Happy Birthday! airplane flew five times that day Jack L. Warner (1892–1978), born before crash in London, Ontario, was a co- landing. Both the pilot and founder and production executive passenger were uninjured. Today, for Warner Bros. Studios in the plane is on display at the Canada Burbank, California. His career Aviation and Space Museum. spanned some 45 years, during which 1991 – The Viking longship replica he kept pace with Gaia landed in Newfoundland rapid changes in the (Vinland) for the 1,000th anniversary industry. His many of Leif Eriksson’s voyage. box office hits

range from The Jazz Singer (1927) to My Daily Trivia Fair Lady (1964). Warner was known as an insensitive tyrant at the The extinct colossus penguin stood studio and often banned actors from about 6 feet 8 inches and weighed the executive dining room, saying, about 250 pounds, about the same “I don’t need to look at actors size as LeBron James. when I eat.”

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day

1492 – Christopher Columbus set sail on the Santa María. “Marriage is the alliance of Two other ships, the Niña two people, one of whom

and Pinta, accompanied never remembers birthdays him. Columbus and crew and the other who never left Spain to begin the forgets them.” search for a water passage to India. Instead, on October 12, ~ Ogden Nash they landed on an island now known as San Salvador in the Bahamas. 1933 – The Mickey Mouse watch Happy Birthday! was introduced for the price of $3.25. Marcel Dionne, born in 1951, is The watch, created by Ingersoll- Waterbury, was such a hit that it saved a retired Canadian professional ice the Connecticut clock company from hockey centre who played 18 bankruptcy. More than 11,000 were seasons in the National Hockey sold at Macy’s in New York the first League for the Detroit Red Wings, day it was released. Los Angeles Kings,

and New York Did You Know? Rangers. He was the third of six men to reach the 700-goal plateau. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Henry Thoreau spent nine years Fame in 1992. Dionne currently writing his masterpiece Walden, or lives in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Life in the Woods. Thoreau’s owns Marcel Dionne Enterprises. writings inspired John Muir, Dionne’s younger brother, Gilbert, founder of the Sierra Club. also played in the NHL.

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 2018

On This Date

1892 – Andrew Borden and his Humor of the Day

wife, Abby, were murdered at their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. “I write my own quotes.

Their daughter, Lizzie, was tried Except this one. I obviously but not convicted of the crime. The stole this from somebody

case was memorialized in a popular really clever.” rhyme beginning with “Lizzie Borden took an axe….” ~ Brian Celio 1922 – Every telephone in the U.S. and Canada went dead as AT&T and the Bell System shut down all its Happy Birthday! switchboards for one minute in memory of Alexander Graham Bell, Louis Vuitton (1821–1892) walked who had died two days earlier. to Paris as a teenager in search of

1944 – Acting on a tip from a Dutch work. He began as an apprentice informer, the Nazi Gestapo captured trunk maker and packer, and in 1853 15-year-old Jewish diarist Anne he was chosen to be the personal Frank and her family. box maker for the wife of Napoleon III. His original design of Did You Know? a stackable rectangular canvas bag replaced the heavy, Alexander Graham Bell believed domed trunks of the that his greatest invention was not day. Vuitton died in the telephone but rather the 1892, but his fashion photophone, which allowed for brand continues to voice transmission on a beam thrive and is known of light. It was a precursor to for its high-quality trunks, luggage, modern fiber-optic communication. and handbags.

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2018

On This Date 1583 – Explorer Sir Humphrey Proverb of the Day

Gilbert founded the first English colony in North America, near “The gem cannot be polished

Saint John’s, Newfoundland. The without friction, nor man colonists were mutinous, however, perfected without trials.” and the expedition quickly returned to England. Gilbert’s personal motto ~ Chinese proverb

was Quid non? (“Why not?”)

1858 – The first transatlantic

telegraph cable was laid from Ireland to Newfoundland. Happy Birthday!

Maureen McCormick, born in 1956, is best known for her role as eldest daughter Marcia Brady in the iconic sitcom The 1928 – Bobbie Rosenfeld, Jane Bell, Brady Bunch from Ethel Smith, and 1969 to 1974. After Myrtle Cook won the show ended, she Olympic Gold in had trouble finding the 4x100 relay in serious acting roles Amsterdam. and ended up acting in several Brady Did You Know? Bunch sequels. McCormick married Michael Cummings in 1985 and In 2008, Maureen McCormick they have one daughter. In 2016, she published an autobiography, Here’s appeared on Dancing with the Stars, the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady where she was eliminated after week and Finding My True Voice. seven in the competition.

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MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2018

On This Date Quote of the Day 1806 – The Holy Roman Empire came to an end when Francis II “An artist is somebody who formally resigned as its emperor produces things that people after losing territory to Napoleon. don’t need to have.” 1825 – The Republic of Bolivia was created after a 16-year struggle for ~ Andy Warhol independence from Spain. The nation was named after its revolutionary leader, Simón Bolívar. Happy Birthday!

1926 – Nineteen-year-old Gertrude Andy Warhol (1928–1987) was Ederle became the first a prolific painter woman to swim across best known for his the English Channel. “pop art” images, The American Olympic including the iconic champion’s time was 14 Campbell’s soup hours and 31 minutes, can. He also created beating the previous portraits of some of record (held by a man) the day’s biggest by nearly two hours. stars, like Marilyn

Monroe and Mick Jagger. He enjoyed Celebrity Trivia his celebrity status and was regularly seen in famous New York Night Warhol’s modest family clubs like Studio 54. Warhol also roots influenced his work: it’s dabbled in other types of art, such thought his mother’s choice of as sculpture and photography. His lunchtime staple prompted his work is said to both celebrate and Campbell Soup series. criticize American culture.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 1858 – Ottawa became the capital of Canada. At that time, the House of “If you think you are Commons and Senate were located too small to make a in the Victoria Memorial Museum, currently the Canadian Museum difference, try sleeping of Nature. with a mosquito.”

1888 – Theophilus Van Kannel of ~ Dalai Lama Philadelphia received a patent for the revolving door. His invention was intended to replace swinging Happy Birthday! doors that let in drafts Carl Switzer (1927–1959) is best and made it difficult to control the temperature known for playing Alfalfa in the of buildings. Despite some stories to Our Gang short films from the the contrary, there is no evidence 1930s. Switzer was that Van Kannel did not like holding a gifted singer and doors open for women. musician, though he was always typecast and did not get Daily Trivia many serious acting The fat in milk roles. One of his contains carotene, later roles was a small part in which gives the milk It’s a Wonderful Life. In addition to a yellowish color. acting, he bred and trained hunting That is why nonfat dogs for some of the Hollywood milk is whiter than elite, including Roy Rogers, James whole milk. Stewart, and Henry Fonda.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 1907 – Bill Miner escaped from a penitentiary in British Columbia, “My bed is a magical place where he was serving time for a where I suddenly remember train robbery, one of a series of everything I forgot to do.”

robberies and escapes throughout ~ Anonymous his life. He had a ballerina tattooed

on his arm that the authorities often used to identify him. The movie Happy Birthday! The Grey Fox was based on his life. Matthew Henson (1886–1955) was 1942 – Six Nazi saboteurs were an African American explorer who executed by electric chair at the was best known for being a Washington, DC, jail. member of the exploration team of 1975 – Hank Williams Jr. suffered Commander Robert Peary. Trained major head injuries in a mountain- as a ship’s cabin boy, Henson climbing accident. After re-learning accompanied Peary on several how to speak and sing, he became a Arctic expeditions, country music star. His signature including when look includes a beard and sunglasses Peary reached the that hide his facial scars. North Pole for the

first time. Peary Celebrity Trivia relied heavily on Henson, at one Kit Kat, the chocolate-covered point stating, “Henson must go all wafer bar, is a big hit in Japan, in the way. I can’t make it without part because kit kat translates to him.” They reached the North Pole “You will surely win.” They are on April 6, 1909, with only six of often given as good luck charms the original 24 men; the rest had to students ahead of school exams. turned back.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 1930 – Canada’s Percy Williams established a world record of 10.3 “Fine! He is being passive

seconds for the 100-metre dash at the aggressive with me, and it’s inaugural British Empire Games. He gonna backfire; I’m gonna had already won two gold medals at the 1928 Olympics. be active friendly.”

1930 – Betty Boop made her first ~ Natalya Vorobyova appearance in the cartoon Dizzy

Dishes. The character was modeled

after Helen Kane, a Happy Birthday! famous singer of the 1920s, and Clara Bow, Pamela Lyndon Travers (1899– a popular actress in 1996), born in Australia, was an the 1920s. actress, journalist, poet, and novelist 1971 – Leroy “Satchel” best known as the author of Mary Paige, the pitching legend, Poppins (1934) and its seven sequels. was inducted into the She disliked the 1964 Disney film Baseball Hall of Fame in Mary Poppins because she felt that Cooperstown, New York. the movie made the character too sweet, and she also disapproved of the animation used in the movie. Daily Trivia She was interested in In 1965, at the age of 59, Satchel mythology and spent Paige pitched three scoreless two summers living innings for the Kansas City among the Navajo, Athletics in a game against Hopi, and Pueblo the Boston Red Sox. He peoples studying gave up just one hit. their mythology.

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2018

On This Date

1876 – Alexander Graham Bell Humor of the Day

made the world’s first long-distance “I told my psychiatrist that telephone call. He rang the Bell everyone hates me. He said homestead in Paris, Ontario, using a 13 km-long line strung from I was being ridiculous — Brantford. Soon after, Bell offered everyone hasn’t met me yet.” to sell the telephone patent outright to Western Union for $100,000. The ~ Rodney Dangerfield president of Western Union balked, believing that the telephone was nothing but a toy. Two years later, he said he would consider it a Happy Birthday! bargain if he could get the patent for $25 million. Antonio Banderas, born in 1960, is a Spanish actor who moved to 1966 – A daylight meteor streaked the United States in the early 1990s across the sky from Utah to when he began to receive Canada. It is the only known meteor international recognition for his to skip through Earth’s atmosphere work in Spain. He is and leave it again. best known in the United States for Did You Know? his roles in Evita and The Mask of Zorro. Banderas also portrayed the voice of “Puss in Tootsie Rolls were introduced in Boots” in the Shrek series of movies 1896 by Leo Hirshfield. He named and in the movie Puss in Boots. He them after his daughter, whose has a daughter with his former wife, nickname was “Tootsie.” actress Melanie Griffith.

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 1883 – The first CPR construction train puffed into Calgary, a tent city “If this is coffee, please bring whose only permanent structures me some tea; but if this

were the barracks of the North West is tea, please bring Mounted Police and the stores of the me some coffee.” Hudson’s Bay and the I.G. Baker ~ Abraham Lincoln trading companies.

1901 – The first patent for instant Happy Birthday! coffee was issued to Satori Kato, a Japanese scientist. It was entitled Paul Soles, born in 1930, was “Coffee Concentrate and Process of one of the original Making Same.” He introduced the hosts of the CBC’s powdered substance to the public at popular TV program the 1901 Pan American Exposition. Take 30, which went on the air in 1962. 1909 – The steamship Arapahoe was The daytime series the first ship to use the radio distress evolved into a call SOS. The ship found itself in showcase for serious journalism, trouble off Cape Hatteras, North airing documentary reports and Carolina, and radioed for help. interviews. In 2001, he played the role of Shylock in the Stratford

Did You Know? Festival of Canada production of Morse code is still widely The Merchant of Venice. For recognized, even if it is not as decades, Paul Soles has been a popular as it once was. It is still fixture in Canadian theatre, radio, popular among amateur radio television, and film. Soles and his enthusiasts, and navies use it to wife, Lucy, have several children communicate by signal lamps. and grandchildren.

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 1865 – Dr. Joseph Lister became the first surgeon to perform an “There is nothing so useless

antiseptic operation using carbolic as doing efficiently acid as a disinfectant. that which should

1888 – Bertha Benz, wife of Karl not be done at all.” Benz (inventor of the three-wheeler ~ Peter Drucker motor carriage), took the first

motor trip. Without her husband’s knowledge, she borrowed one of his cars and traveled 100 Happy Birthday! kilometres to visit her mother. She was gone Francois Hollande, born in 1954, for five days. was the 24th president of France and a member of the French Socialist 1990 – Sue, the world’s largest, Party. He was born in Rouen and most complete, and best preserved entered politics as a town Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, was councilman in 1983. discovered in South Dakota by He also served as paleontologist Sue Hendrickson. It Mayor of Tulle and is now a star attraction at Chicago’s as a member of the Field Museum of Natural History. National Assembly. Hollande was a supporter of equality Did You Know? for all and is quoted as having said, “Each country has a The 52 cards in a deck represent soul, and France’s soul is equality.” the 52 weeks in a year. The four Hollande left office in 2017 and is a suits represent the seasons. supporter of the current president.

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MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day

1930 – Ontario native Guy “I ain’t afraid to love Lombardo and his band the Royal Canadians recorded their hit “Go a man. I ain’t afraid

Home and Tell Your Mother.” to shoot him either.”

1961 – Construction began on the ~ Annie Oakley Berlin Wall. East Germany built it to prevent a “brain drain” of educated Happy Birthday! young people to the west. The wall stood as a symbol of oppression until Annie Oakley (1860–1926) was November 1989. born Phoebe Ann 1980 – The sunken merchant ship Mosey to poor HMS Breadalbane was discovered in parents in rural the Northwest Passage near Beechey Ohio. She learned Island. She had been crushed by to shoot at an early polar ice and submerged in 1853. The age to help support well-preserved vessel is the world’s her family. After northernmost found shipwreck. winning a contest against a traveling sharpshooter, she Cinema Trivia joined his traveling show, and the two became both an act and a The motion picture Psycho (1960) couple. The name Oakley came is now regarded as one of Alfred from the Cincinnati neighborhood Hitchcock’s best efforts, but where she and her husband lived. initially it received very mixed She joined the Buffalo Bill Wild reviews. Walt Disney so detested West Show and continued her the film that he banned Hitchcock shooting career well into her 60s. from entering Disneyland. She won her last award in 1924.

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2018

On This Date Quote of the Day 1880 – The Cologne Cathedral was completed 632 years after building “Magic is who I am on began in 1248. It was badly the basketball court. damaged during World War II but Earvin is who I am.” later repaired. The

church is the largest ~ Ervin “Magic” Johnson gothic cathedral in northern Europe. 1932 – The Philips Radio Company Happy Birthday! made its one-millionth radio. Philips began operations in 1891 producing Earvin “Magic” Johnson, born in lightbulbs and then diversified into 1959, is a retired radios in 1927. basketball player. After being the 1953 – The Wiffle ball, a ball that number one pick in curves when it is thrown, was the 1979 NBA draft, invented by David Mullany. He made he played point it for his 13-year-old son. Back then, guard for the Los when you struck out, you “whiffed,” Angeles Lakers for 13 seasons. hence the name. Johnson was a member of the gold An Apple a Day medal-winning “Dream Team” at the 1992 Olympics. He announced Keeps the Doctor Away that he had HIV in 1991 and briefly The earliest version of this phrase left the NBA but returned to play is a Pembrokeshire proverb dating 32 games for the Lakers in 1996. to the 1860s: “Eat an apple on going Johnson has become a successful to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor businessman and an advocate for from earning his bread.” HIV/AIDS prevention.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2018

On This Date Quote of the Day 1057 – In events later used in one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, “The person, be it gentleman the Scottish king Macbeth was or lady, who has not pleasure killed by Malcolm Canmore, son of King Duncan I, whom Macbeth had in a good novel, must be murdered 17 years before. intolerably stupid.”

~ Jane Austen 1877 – Thomas Edison decided that hello would be a more appropriate greeting when answering the phone than ahoy, as suggested by Alexander Happy Birthday! Graham Bell. Ben Affleck, born in 1972, is an 1945 – Japanese Emperor Hirohito American actor, writer, and director announced to his people that he had who has starred in a number of hit accepted the terms of movies. You may know him from surrender demanded by Good Will Hunting, Pearl Harbor, the allies, effectively and Armageddon. ending World War II. Affleck was married to actress Jennifer Garner from 2005 Celebrity Trivia through 2017. In addition to his work Ben Affleck and actor Matt Damon in Hollywood, he has also been have known each other since active in charity work for a number childhood. Affleck encouraged of causes, including childhood Damon to try acting, and they hunger and stem cell research. He is pooled their money to pay an avid poker player who has won for audition expenses. several tournaments.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018

On This Date Quote of the Day 1812 – Facing what he incorrectly believed to be superior forces, “The magic doesn’t come American General William Hull from within the director’s surrendered Fort Detroit without a mind, it comes from within fight to the British Army. the hearts of the actors.”

1829 – The original Siamese twins, ~ James Cameron Chang and Eng Bunker, arrived in Boston. They were born to Chinese parents in Siam (Thailand). Experts still disagree on whether they could Happy Birthday! have survived a separation. James Cameron, born in 1954, is a 1969 – The first Canada Summer screenwriter, producer/director who Games opened in Halifax-Dartmouth. developed an interest in movies The games are held once every two early. He wrote the screenplay for years and alternate between winter his movie The Abyss during his high and summer games. school biology class. He has written, 1989 – A solar flare created a produced or directed many of geomagnetic storm that disrupted the box office hits of the past 30 power throughout most of Quebec years, including The Terminator, and caused auroras as far south as Aliens, The Abyss, True Lies, Texas. It even led to a halt of all Titanic, and Avatar. trading on Toronto’s stock market. He married Suzy Amis in 2000, and Did You Know? they have one son and two daughters. He also The Venus flytrap feeds primarily has a daughter from a on ants, not flies. previous marriage.

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2018

On This Date Quote of the Day 1835 – Solymon Merrick patented the first wrench, a tool “Personality is the glitter for tightening bolts that sends your little gleam

and nuts. across the footlights and the

1896 – Gold was discovered in orchestra pit into that big Bonanza Creek in the Klondike black space where the

region of Canada’s Yukon Territory. audience is.”

A gold rush began the following year. ~ Mae West 1939 – The Wizard of Oz premiered in New York City. It was the first movie to use the combination of Happy Birthday! color and black and white film. Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney actually Mae West (1893–1980) was an appeared onstage for 30-minute actress, singer, and comedian. She song and dance routines between began performing as a child, and her showings of the film. career continued until the late 1970s. West was known for writing Daily Trivia a 1928 play called Diamond Lil about a smart and easygoing woman from the 1890s. The character was a hit, and West The tombstone of Mel Blanc, the revived it many famed voice of cartoon characters times throughout her career. She Bugs Bunny, Sylvester the Cat, was known for saying, “You only Tweety Bird, and Porky Pig, reads: live once, but if you do it right, once “That’s all folks.” is enough.”

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 1227 – Genghis Khan, the Mongol leader who forged an empire, died in “Whenever you want to camp. He may have succumbed to marry someone, go have

injuries incurred during a fall from a lunch with his ex-wife.” horse in the previous year. ~ Shelley Winters 1587 – Virginia Dare, granddaughter of Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, became the first Happy Birthday! English child born in the Americas. Shelley Winters (1920–2006) was 1957 – The U.S. military detonated an American actress a nuclear device at its Nevada who appeared on Test Site. Patrons at Las Vegas stage and screen. hotels watched the mushroom cloud She was known for while they drank cocktails. The test her roles in The was part of Operation Plumbbob, Great Gatsby, A the most controversial test series in Place in the Sun, the continental United States. and The Diary of Anne Frank, the last winning her What Big Eyes You Have an Oscar for best supporting actress. Winters was politically minded, Giant squids have the briefly addressing the marchers largest eyes in the world, outside Selma, Alabama, during the size of soccer balls. the march there for civil rights. She Deep in the ocean those was married four times, including large eyes are useful in to long-time companion Gerry spotting their predator, DeFord, whom she married hours the sperm whale. before her death.

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 19, 2018

On This Date

Quote of the Day 1812 – “Old Ironsides” (the USS Constitution) won a battle against “Dress shabbily and they the British frigate HMS Guerrière remember the dress; dress off the coast of Nova Scotia. impeccably and they

1839 – Louis Daguerre’s photographic remember the woman.” technique was introduced. It needed only 20 to 30 minutes of exposure ~ Coco Chanel compared to a previous eight-hour requirement. Happy Birthday! 1914 – Quebec offered Belgium four million pounds of cheese as a Coco Chanel (1883–1971) was a form of wartime support. French fashion designer. She was 1919 – The Kingdom of Kabul gained raised in a convent, its independence and changed its where she learned name to Afghanistan. to sew. Chanel was among the first to

create fashionable Inventor’s Quiz clothing that did not require a corset. She designed her Q: Which was invented first: famed interlocking CC monogram in the Band-Aid, the teabag, the 1920s. Chanel also developed or bubble gum? the iconic Chanel No. 5 perfume. A: The teabag was invented Her earnings made her one of in 1908. The Band-Aid the wealthiest women in the world. was invented in 1920, and Although linked with many bubble gum in 1928. influential men, she never married.

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MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2018

On This Date Proverb of the Day 1944 – Major David Currie’s squadron captured the French village “Judge not your beauty of St. Lambert, thereby blocking a by the number of people vital German escape route from who look at you, but rather France. Major Currie became the by the number of people only Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross for action in Normandy who who smile at you.”

did not die in the process of earning it. ~ African proverb 1977 – NASA launched Voyager 2, an unmanned spacecraft, toward Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, Happy Birthday! and then on toward interstellar space. It carries a 12-inch copper Cynthia Nicholas (1957–2016) phonograph record containing achieved fame at the greetings in dozens of languages, age of 16 when she samples of music, and sounds of swam across Lake nature. The spacecraft has now been Ontario in 15 hours operational and in contact with Earth and 10 minutes. She for 45 years. went on to swim the English Channel a total of 19 times, including five two-way trips. She Did You Know? was inducted into the International Elephants in Myanmar (formerly Swimming Hall of Fame in 2005 Burma) have been known to and served in the Ontario legislature silence bells hung around their from 1987 to 1990. She practiced necks by clogging them with law in Scarborough, Ontario, and was mud so they will not be heard parliamentary assistant to Ontario’s when stealing bananas. solicitor general from 1989 to 1990.

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2018

On This Date Quote of the Day 1919 – Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII and Duke of “Nobody roots for Goliath.” Windsor), arrived in Quebec to

officially open the Quebec cantilever ~ Wilt Chamberlain bridge over the St. Lawrence River. The bridge had suffered two major collapses, in 1907 and 1916, killing 88 people. The new design was Happy Birthday! hailed as a marvel of engineering. The Quebec bridge was designated Wilt Chamberlain (1936–1999) a National Historic Site of Canada was a professional basketball player in 1995. who played for the Warriors, 76ers, and Lakers. At 7'1" and 275 pounds, he was known by the nickname “The Big Dipper” since he had to dip his head through 1961 – Country music singer Patsy doorways. During Cline recorded the vocals to Willie his playing days, he Nelson’s Crazy. It became her earned many signature song. accolades, including four MVP awards. Daily Quiz He is the only player

The “night parrot” of Australia is to score 100 points in considered one of the most elusive a single NBA game. birds on Earth. Fewer people After he retired from alive today have seen one with the league, he would their own eyes than have ever sometimes perform with the Harlem walked on the moon. Globetrotters in exhibition games.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 1902 – The Cadillac Automobile Company was formed. It was named “If they can make penicillin after the French explorer who out of moldy bread, they founded Detroit in 1701. can sure make something 1938 – Fred Astaire and Ginger out of you.” Rogers appeared on the

cover of LIFE magazine. ~ Muhammad Ali The glamorous couple offered people an escape from the dreariness of the Great Depression. Happy Birthday!

1964 – The Beatles gave their first Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) Canadian concert in Vancouver. was a French humanist photographer They played songs from their new who pioneered street photography. album, Something New. The top He had an innate ability to capture ticket price was $5.25. the decisive moment that made a great candid shot. Cartier-Bresson Daily Trivia studied art, literature, and English at the University of Cambridge and Henri Cartier-Bresson started a then traveled the world taking tradition of testing new camera pictures. He became lenses by taking photographs famous for his of ducks in urban parks. He photos of Gandhi’s never published the images but funeral in 1948 and referred to them as “my only his coverage of the superstition” as he considered end of the Chinese it a “baptism” of the lens. Civil War in 1949.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

On This Date Quote of the Day 1541 – Jacques Cartier arrived at the Iroquois village of Stadacona during “Intense feeling his third trip to Canada and began to too often obscures

build Charlesbourg-Royal. Located the truth. ” at the western tip of Cape Diamond, it was the first French fort in ~ Harry Truman

Canada and first French settlement

in North America. Happy Birthday! 1917 – The city of Berlin was allowed to change its name to Barbara Eden, born in 1931, is an Kitchener due to wartime anti- American actress German sentiment. best known for her iconic role in the 1943 – Trans Canada Airlines (TCA) TV sitcom I Dream began transatlantic military passenger of Jeannie. She and postal delivery service. studied acting in 1967 – The Anglican Church of school and played Canada voted to allow divorced a number of roles persons to remarry. in TV and film before being cast as Jeannie in 1965. The show ran for five years and was a runaway I Dream of Jeannie Trivia success. Eden’s career continued afterward, and she made Barbara Eden’s midriff- appearances in movies and TV baring costume was a big hit, but shows up until 2016. She also wrote she was covered up for the first 10 a memoir of her life entitled Jeannie episodes. It was not censorship but Out of the Bottle, which debuted on rather because she was pregnant. the New York Times bestseller list.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 79 – Mt. Vesuvius erupted for the first time in recorded history, destroying “It’s just a job. Grass grows, southern Italy’s cities of Pompeii, birds fly, waves pound the Stabiae, and Herculaneum. The volcano exploded without warning, sand. I beat people up.”

covering Pompeii in a layer of ash ~ Muhammad Ali nearly 13 feet deep. The other two cities were buried under mud and debris. Archaeologists have uncovered what Happy Birthday! life was like in Roman times from the volcanic William Wilberforce (1759–1833) ash-preserved remains was an English politician best known of the cities. Vesuvius is for his work to abolish slavery. still active. Wilberforce believed in the importance of religion, morality, and education, and his work directly contributed to the passing of the Why Didn’t I Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, which Think of That? outlawed slavery in the British Empire. Mr. Bernard Sadow He was also one of reinvented the suitcase by the founders of the adding wheels in 1972. Royal Society for He met strong resistance the Prevention of on early sales calls, Cruelty to Animals. when he was told that A movie about his life starring men would not accept Benedict Cumberbatch was released suitcases with wheels. in 2007.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2018

On This Date

1835 – The New York Sun perpetrated Quote of the Day

“The Great Moon Hoax,” a series of articles about the supposed “To achieve great things, two

discovery of life on the moon. The things are needed; a plan, and articles described fantastic creatures, not quite enough time.” including unicorns and humanoids. The reports were meant as satire, but ~ Leonard Bernstein

the public swallowed the story.

1937 – The Ontario Legislative Assembly at Queen’s Park, Toronto, Happy Birthday! announced a delay of school openings due to a polio epidemic Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) sweeping southern Ontario. was a composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and 1944 – The German garrison in pianist. In addition to Paris surrendered to Allied forces. being the longtime To his credit, the German commander director of the New General Dietrich von Choltitz York Philharmonic, disobeyed Hitler’s orders to destroy he also wrote the music the city. for many popular shows, including

West Side Story, Peter Pan, and On the Waterfront. He won eight Grammy Awards for his music as Daily Trivia well as a Grammy for Lifetime Von Choltitz’s defiance of Hitler Achievement. His musical score for was portrayed in the 1966 movie West Side Story is credited for Is Paris Burning? and also a helping bridge the gap between 1965 book by the same title. classical and popular music.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2018

On This Date Quote of the Day 1498 – The master artist Michelangelo was “If we have no peace, commissioned to carve it is because we have the Pietà. This work has forgotten that we belong interested historians for centuries because the to each other.”

sculpture does not feature the perfect ~ Mother Teresa human proportions that are the hallmark of Michelangelo’s work.

1883 – Mount Krakatoa, an island Happy Birthday! volcano in the Dutch Indies (now Indonesia), erupted with violent Mother Teresa (1910–1997) was an explosions that destroyed two-thirds Albanian-Indian Catholic nun. She of the island and killed about joined the Sisters of Loreto at age 18 36,000 people. and took her religious vows three years later. She is internationally 1946 – Animal Farm, by George known for her work with India’s Orwell, was published in the U.S. The poor and campaigned throughout allegory is based on totalitarianism her life for the most and injustice taking place in the Soviet marginalized in Indian Union. It is included in the list of society. She was fluent Great Books of the Western World. in five languages and occasionally traveled Daily Trivia outside India for The full moon always humanitarian reasons. She was rises at sunset and canonized by the Catholic Church in sets at sunrise. 2016 and is recognized by the Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 1660 – John Milton’s books were burned in London because of the “A man who writes for author’s attacks on King Charles II. a living does not have to Milton is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. go anywhere in particular, and he could rarely afford 1938 – At a poetry reading given by Archibald MacLeish, another to if he wanted.”

poet set fire to some papers in a ~ C.S. Forester fit of jealousy in order to disrupt

the recital. That jealous poet was Robert Frost. Happy Birthday! 1939 – Luftwaffe pilot Erich C. S. Forester (1899–1966) was an Warsitz flew the world’s first English novelist best known for his practical jet-powered airplane, the Horatio Hornblower novel series. Heinkel He 178. It Forester wrote over 30 novels, plus remained airborne plays and short stories. He also for seven minutes. wrote children’s

books to encourage

his youngest son to Weather Trivia finish his meals. Some of his works A virga is an observable streak of rain were used in films, that falls from a cloud but evaporates such as The African before reaching the ground. In North Queen. Unable to join the military America, it is commonly seen in for health reasons, during World the western United States and the War II, Forester wrote propaganda Canadian prairies. for the Allied Powers.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018

On This Date Quote of the Day 1937 – The Toyota Motor Company was founded by Kiichiro “Life is a blank canvas, and Toyoda. Today, it is the you need to throw all the largest company in Japan, with about 350,000 paint on it you can.”

employees. ~ Danny Kaye 1963 – Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. He Happy Birthday! originally prepared a short speech about the sufferings of African Nancy Kulp (1921–1991) was an Americans attempting to realize American actress best known for her their freedom in a society of role as Miss Jane Hathaway on the discrimination. He was about to sit TV show The Beverly Hillbillies. down when gospel singer Mahalia Kulp only got into acting by Jackson called out, “Tell them about coincidence. She was working for your dream, Martin!” the publicity department at MGM

and one of the Flower Trivia directors convinced

Most varieties of her to take up acting. hydrangeas produce She soon began pink flowers in landing small roles in alkaline soil and blue film and TV. She was ones in acidic soil. nominated for an White hydrangea Outstanding Supporting Actress flowers do not in Comedy Emmy award for her role change their color. as Miss Hathaway.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2018

On This Date Quote of the Day 1966 – After two years as a star on the show, Mia Farrow “There are things I want to withdrew from the cast say: They are very important of the prime-time TV to me, and, not being drama Peyton Place at a writer, I do it the urging of her through movies.” husband, Frank Sinatra.

1991 – The Supreme Soviet, the ~ Richard Attenborough

parliament of the U.S.S.R., suspended all activities of the Communist Party. This marked the end of the party’s Happy Birthday! 75-year controlling regime in the Soviet Union. Richard Attenborough (1923– 2014) was an English actor, 2005 – Hurricane Katrina’s storm filmmaker, and politician. He is surge caused 53 different levee famous for many films, including breaches in greater New Orleans, The Great Escape (1963), Miracle submerging 80% of the city. on 34th Street (1994), Jurassic

Park (1993), and Gandhi (1982), which won two Academy Awards, Geography Trivia for Best Picture and Best Director. Attenborough served The Atacama Desert is the driest in the film unit of place in the world. Some parts of it the Royal Air Force have not received rainfall in more during World War II. than 400 years. It is located in He was a Member of the rain shadow of the Andes Parliament from 1993 Mountains in South America. until his death in 2014.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018

On This Date

1146 – A conference of European Humor of the Day

leaders outlawed the crossbow. By banning such an effective weapon, “Normal is nothing

the leaders believed that they had more than a cycle on ended wars for all time. a washing machine. ”

1682 – William ~ Whoopi Goldberg Penn sailed from England on this day and went on to establish the colony Happy Birthday! of Pennsylvania. A 37-foot bronze statue of him has stood atop City Mary Shelley (1797–1851) was Hall in Philadelphia since 1894. an English novelist, biographer, and travel writer who is Penn Statue Trivia best known for her book Frankenstein. A gentlemen’s agreement that Shelley conceived no structure should rise above the the story during a summer in Penn statue was violated in 1986 Switzerland with her husband, when a taller building was erected, Percy Bysshe Shelley. He bringing about a supposed curse on collaborated with Mary on the local sports teams. The curse ended novel, and historians still debate in 2008 when the Phillies won the how much of the work was his. World Series, just 16 months after Shelley was a feminist ahead of a small Penn statuette had been her time and strongly believed that affixed to the top of the new women were capable of being Comcast Center. intellectual equals.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2018

On This Date Humor of the Day 1527 – John Rut wrote to King Henry VIII noting that there were “For fast-acting relief, 14 French and Portuguese fishing try slowing down.” vessels in the harbor. It was the first recorded letter written from Canada. ~ Lily Tomlin

1897 – Thomas A. Edison received a U.S. patent for his kinetoscope, a device for producing moving pictures. Happy Birthday!

1997 – Princess Diana of England James Coburn (1928–2002), in a died along with her companion, career spanning 45 years, made department store heir Dodi Fayed, over 70 film and 100 television when their car crashed in Paris while appearances. His breakthrough role trying to evade the paparazzi. was as the knife-wielding Britt in The Magnificent Seven (1960). A capable, rough-hewn leading man, A Deep Thought his lanky physique made him a perfect tough guy in Challenger Deep in the Mariana numerous roles in Trench is the deepest known point westerns and action in Earth’s oceans. The bottom is films, such as The 10,924 meters (35,840 feet) below Magnificent Seven, sea level. In 1960, it was visited Hell Is for Heroes, by the manned bathyscaphe Trieste. and The Great If Mount Everest, the highest Escape. Coburn was also interested mountain on Earth, were placed at in fast cars and is credited with this location, it would be covered by introducing Steve McQueen to more than one mile of water. Ferrari cars.