Happy hump day, Bombdroppers! How are you all today? For me it's till all uphill until the end of the workday, after that it's downhill (in a good way). I only have two conference calls today! Blessed relief.
Now, spill!
Interrogatories
Are you a bargain hunter? If so, what is the best bargain you ever found? Do you prefer showers or baths? How green are you/your habits/your home? What is your favorite ethnic food? What, of that food, is your favorite dish?
The Twitter Emitter
On This Day
In 1834, the city of Toronto was incorporated.
In 1836, in San Antonio, Texas, the Alamo fell to Mexican forces after a 13-day siege.
In 1857, in its Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court held that Scott, a slave, could not sue for his freedom in a federal court.
In 1912, the National Biscuit Co., which later became Nabisco, introduced Oreo cookies.
In 1951, the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg began.
In 1964, Nation of Islam's Elijah Muhammad officially gave boxing champion Cassius Clay the name Muhammad Ali.
In 1967, Joseph Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva, defected to the United States.
In 1981, after 19 years of presenting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signed off for the last time.
In 2006, Gov. Mike Rounds signed legislation banning most abortions in South Dakota. (The ban was later rejected by the state's voters).
In 2007, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted of lying and obstructing an investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.
Born on This Day
1340 – John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (d. 1399)
1459 – Jakob Fugger, German banker (d. 1525)
1475 – Michelangelo, Italian artist and sculptor (d. 1564)
1619 – Cyrano de Bergerac, French soldier, poet (d. 1655)
1817 – Princess Clémentine of Orléans (d. 1907)
1834 – George du Maurier British illustrator and writer (d. 1896)
1882 – Guy Kibbee, American actor (d. 1956)
1885 – Ring Lardner, American writer (d. 1933)
1893 – Furry Lewis, American blues guitarist (d. 1981)
1913 - Ella Logan, Scottish actress (d. 1969)
1913 - Stewart Granger, English actor (d. 1993)
1916 - Rochelle Hudson, American actress (d. 1972)
1923 – Herman Leonard, American photographer (d. 2010)
1923 – Ed McMahon, American television personality (d. 2009)
1923 – Wes Montgomery, American jazz musician (d. 1968)
1926 – Alan Greenspan, American economist, former Federal Reserve chairman
1927 – Gordon Cooper, American astronaut (d. 2004)
1927 – Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian writer, Nobel Prize laureate
1936 – Marion Barry Jr., American politician
1936 – Sylvia Robinson, American singer, musician and record producer (Mickey & Sylvia) (d. 2011)
1940 – Ken Danby, Canadian realist painter (d. 2007)
1942 – Flora Purim, Brazilian jazz singer (Return to Forever)
1944 – Kiri Te Kanawa, New Zealander opera singer
1944 – Mary Wilson, American singer (The Supremes)
1945 – Hugh Grundy, British drummer (The Zombies)
1946 – David Gilmour, British musician (Pink Floyd)
1953 – Phil Alvin, American singer and guitarist (The Blasters)
1963 – D. L. Hughley, American comedian and actor
1964 – Madonna Wayne Gacy (Stephen Gregory Bier Jr.), American musician
1974 – Guy Garvey, British musician (Elbow)
1981 – Ellen Muth, American actress (Dead Like Me)
1984 – Chris Tomson, American musician (Vampire Weekend)
Died on This Day
1836 - James "Jim" Bowie, American pioneer and soldier (b. 1796)
1836 - Davy Crockett, American frontiersman (b. 1786)
1888 – Louisa May Alcott, American novelist (b. 1832)
1895 – Camilla Collett, Norwegian writer and feminist (b. 1813)
1899 – Victoria Kaiulani, Hawaiian princess (b. 1875)
1917 – Valdemar Psilander Danish actor (b. 1884)
1927 - Marie Spartali Stillman, painter (b. 1844)
1932 – John Philip Sousa, American conductor, and composer (b. 1854)
1933 – Anton Cermak, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1873)
1935 – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., American politician (b. 1841)
1951 – Ivor Novello, Welsh actor, musician, and composer (b. 1893)
1973 – Pearl S. Buck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
1976 – Mary Petty, American illustrator (b. 1899)
1984 – Henry Wilcoxon, Dominican actor (b. 1905)
1986 – Georgia O'Keeffe, American artist (b. 1887)
2005 – Teresa Wright, American actress (b. 1918) (in the tipple jar)
Today is
Alamo Day
Read Aloud Day
National Frozen Food Day
National White Chocolate Cheese Cake Day
Fun Facts About Names Day
Dentist’s Day