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May 17, 1940 –Garson Kanin’s screwball comedy, My Favorite Wife, opened on this date. Leo McCarey was supposed to direct the film, but shortly before the filming began, he was injured in an automobile accident and had to hand over the direction to Garson Kanin. Gail Patrick has stated that the severity of McCarey’s injuriesContinue reading “My Favorite Wife premiered”

May 17, 1899 –Thomas Alva Edison copyrighted the first western film, The Cripple Creek Bar Room, which he had shot at his Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey, on this date. Although there was little, if any, plot to this short film (please note, the role of a barmaid was played by aContinue reading “The first Western”

May 17, 1980 –Call Me by Blondie reached No. #1 on the Billboard charts on this date. Call Me was the most successful of all Blondie singles in the USA, where it was the best-selling single of 1980.

May 16, 1966 – The Beach Boys released their 11th studio album, Pet Sounds on this date. It has since been recognized as one of the most influential albums in the history of popular music and is widely regarded as one of the best albums of the 1960s. All that beautiful music and barking dogs,Continue reading “Pet Sounds was released on this date”

May 16, 1986 –In one of the most notorious cheats in the history of television, Pam Ewing woke up to find her husband Bobby in the shower — no small feat, considering he’s been dead for a whole season. In order to revivify Bobby’s character, the Dallas writers resorted to dismissing the entire preceding yearContinue reading “It was all a dream”

A crocodile can’t stick out its tongue. Crocodiles have a membrane that holds their tongue in place on the roof of their mouth so it doesn’t move. This makes it impossible for them to stick it outside of their narrow mouths. That can be handy for the reptile when snapping its jaws shut rapidly. ItContinue reading “At least they won’t bite their tongues”

The first inoculation against Smallpox was administered on May 14, 1796, by Edward Jenner, when Jenner took fluid from a cowpox blister and scratched it into the skin of James Phipps, an eight-year-old boy (a brief aside – how much do you trust your kid’s doctor –“Good Afternoon Mr and Mrs. Phipps. Little Jimmy seemsContinue reading “Follow along, it will all make sense”

It’s Friday the 13th. In most large cities in the United States, many building don’t have 13th floors. In Japan, they don’t have 4th floors, because the word for four sounds similar to the word for DEATH! Some say that the modern basis for Friday the 13th phobia dates back to Friday, October 13, 1307.Continue reading “Boo!”

Limerick, Ireland’s third largest city, was founded by the Vikings in 812. Some of Limerick’s well-known sons and daughters include actor Richard Harris, rock legends The Cranberries, broadcaster Terry Wogan, novelist and playwright Kate O’Brien and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt. But that has nothing to do with the fact that it’s Edward Lear’s birthday.Continue reading “Why are there so many buckets in Nantucket?”

May 11, 12 and 13 are the feast days of Saints Mamertus, Pancras and Servais (or Servatuis or Gervatuis.) These three are known as the The Icy Saints not because they were cold during their lifetimes, but because these days are traditionally the coldest of the month. English and French folklore (and later American) heldContinue reading “Another page from that book”