Interrogatories
It's Corn on the Cob Day. How do you prepare/prefer it? Grilled, boiled, roasted? With butter, or mayo and chile powder, or something else or not at all?
Have you switched from incandescent bulbs to CFLs yet? If you switched, did you notice a difference in cost?
A lot of people I know have nasty summer colds now. Do you know any good home remedies?
How careful are you with your information online? If a website wants to know your location, for instance? Or if they want access to your Facebook account (if you have one)?
The Twitter Emitter
On This Day
In 1184 BC, it has been calculated that the sack of Troy occurred today.
In 1509, England's King Henry VIII married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
In 1776, the Continental Congress tasked the Committee of Five to come up with The Declaration of Independence. Those five were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman.
In 1963, Governor George Wallace of Alabama blocked the entrance at the University of Alabama to prevent the registration of Vivian Malone and James Hood, both black students.
In 1987, Margaret Thatcher won another (third) term as Prime Minister of Great Britain. Ugh.
In 2002, the popular reality show American Idol debuted on television.
In 2010, the FIFA World Cup tournament opened in South Africa, and the world was introduced to the vuvuzela.
Born on This Day
1456 – Anne Neville, English wife of Richard III of England (d. 1485)
1726 – Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (d. 1746)
1776 – John Constable, English painter (d. 1837)
1812 - Wouterus Verschuur, Dutch artist (d. 1874)
1838 - María Fortuny, Spanish painter (d. 1874)
1840 - Henri de Braekeleer, Flemish painter (d. 1888)
1847 – Millicent Fawcett, English suffragist and feminist (d. 1929)
1864 – Richard Strauss, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
1880 – Jeannette Rankin, American politician, feminist, and pacifist (d. 1973)
1888 – Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian anarchist and murderer (d. 1927)
1910 – Jacques Cousteau, French biologist, author, and inventor, co-developed the aqua-lung (d. 1997)
1912 - William Baziotes, US abstract painter (d. 1963)
1913 – Vince Lombardi, American football coach and manager (d. 1970)
1913 – Coby Whitmore, American painter and illustrator (d. 1988)
1919 – Richard Todd, English actor (d. 2009)
1920 – Hazel Scott, American singer and pianist (d. 1981)
1925 – William Styron, American novelist and essayist (d. 2006)
1932 – Athol Fugard, South African playwright
1933 – Gene Wilder, American actor
1937 – Chad Everett, American actor (d. 2012)
1939 – Christina Crawford, American actress and writer
1939 – Bernard Purdie, American drummer
1945 – Adrienne Barbeau, American actress
1949 – Frank Beard, American musician and songwriter (ZZ Top and American Blues)
1950 – Lynsey de Paul, English singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress
1956 – Joe Montana. American football player
1959 – Hugh Laurie, English actor and comedian
1969 – Peter Dinklage, American actor (Currently playing Tyrion on Game of Thrones)
1969 – Steven Drozd, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (The Flaming Lips)
1982 – Marco Arment, American web developer, co-created Tumblr
1986 – Shia LaBeouf, American actor
Died on This Day
1712 – Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme, French marshal (b. 1654)
1722 - Abraham van Calraet, Dutch painter (b.1642)
1727 – George I of Great Britain (b. 1660)
1757- Matthäus Terwesten, Dutch painter (b. 1670)
1796 – Samuel Whitbread, English brewer and politician, founded the Whitbread Company (b. 1720)
1837 - Jean-François Garneray, French painter (b. 1755)
1842 - Jean-Victor Bertin, French painter (b. 1767)
1852 – Karl Briullov, Russian painter (b. 1799)
1907 - Charles Wilda, Austrian orientalist painter (b. 1854)
1936 – Robert E. Howard, American writer (b. 1906)
1937 - Agnes Slott-Møller, Danish painter (b. 1862)
1956 - Sir Frank Brangwyn, Welsh painter (b. 1867)
1985 – Karen Ann Quinlan, American right-to-die patient (b. 1954)
1986 – Chesley Bonestell, American artist (b. 1888)
1996 – Brigitte Helm, German actress (b. 1908)
1999 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (b. 1920)
2001 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist, conducted the Oklahoma City bombing (b. 1968)
2003 – David Brinkley, American journalist (b. 1920)
2012 – Ann Rutherford, Canadian-American actress (b. 1920)
Today is
Corn on The Cob Day
National German Chocolate Cake Day
Hug Holiday
King Kamehameha Day