Interrogatories
[channeling the HUAC]: Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party? Republican Party?
Not to get too personal, but do you still have all the parts you were born with? (circumcised males need not mention that)
Candy Corn: Food or flavored wax?
For Haunted Refrigerator Day, assuming yours was haunted, what would it be that haunted it?
The Twitter Emitter
On This Day
In 1938, Orson Welles performed a version of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, done as a radio news broadcast. It was widely reported that people all over the country freaked out, believing it was real (the show was done with no commercial interruptions). Now some historians say the panic was greatly exaggerated. I couldn't find any scheduled re-airings, unfortunately.
In 1945, Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the major league color barrier.
In 1953, President Eisenhower signed a top secret act declaring that the U.S. Nuke supply had to be maintained and increased so the dirty godless commies could not take over the world.
In 1960, the first successful kidney transplant was done by surgeon Michael Woodruff in Edinburgh.
Born on This Day
1629 - Jan Wouwerman, Dutch painter (d. 1666)
1657 - Jacques Autreau, French painter, poet, and playwright, (d. 1745)
1712 - Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich, German painter and etcher (d. 1774)
1735 – John Adams, American politician, 2nd President of the United States (d. 1826)
1737 - Niclas Lafrensen the younger, Swedish miniature painter (d. 1807)
1741 - Angelica Kauffman, Swiss-Austrian painter (d. 1807)
1799 - Emilius Baerentzen, Danish painter and lithographer (d. 1868)
1839 – Alfred Sisley, French-English painter (d. 1899)
1843 - Henri Regnault, French painter (d. 1871)
1853 - Louise Abbema, French painter (d. 1927)
1853 - Ottokar Walter, Austrian painter (b. 1904)
1857 – Georges Gilles de la Tourette, French neurologist (d. 1904)
1861 – Antoine Bourdelle, French sculptor and painter (d. 1929)
1885 – Ezra Pound, American poet (d. 1972)
1895 - Mario Tozzi, Italian painter (d. 1979)
1896 – Ruth Gordon, American actress (d. 1985) (See Tipple Jar)
1908 – Patsy Montana, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1996)
1911 – Ruth Hussey, American actress (d. 2005)
1914 – Anna Wing, English actress (d. 2013)
1915 – Fred Friendly, American journalist (d. 1998)
1915 – Jane Randolph, American actress (d. 2009)
1930 – Néstor Almendros, Spanish cinematographer (d. 1992)
1930 – Clifford Brown, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1956)
1939 – Eddie Holland, American singer-songwriter and producer
1939 – Grace Slick, American singer-songwriter and model (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and The Great Society)
1945 – Henry Winkler, American actor, director, and producer
1951 – Harry Hamlin, American actor
1965 – Gavin Rossdale, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Bush and Institute)
Died on This Day
1429 - Ambrogio di Baldese, Italian painter (b. 1352)
1661 - Alexander Adriaenssen, Flemish painter (b. 1587)
1809 – William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1738)
1848 - Martinus Schouman, Dutch painter (b. 1770)
1893 - Karl Bodmer, Swiss painter and graphic artist, specialized in the US West (b. 1809)
1895 - Adolf Stademann, German painter (b. 1824)
1910 – Henry Dunant, Swiss activist, founded the Red Cross, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1828)
1968 – Ramón Novarro, Mexican actor (b. 1899)
1968 – Conrad Richter, American author (b. 1890)
2002 – Jam Master Jay, American rapper and producer (Run–D.M.C.) (b. 1965)
Today is
National Candy Corn Day
Buy a Doughnut Day
Mischief Night
Create a Great Funeral Day
Haunted Refrigerator Night