All those thrill and out in public, no less.

Each year on August 16th, many people at amusement parks and theme parks across the country participating in National Roller Coaster Day which is celebrated on this date.



J.G. Taylor received one of the earliest patents (US patent #128,674) for an inclined railway in 1872.  In 1878, Richard Knudsen received a patent (US #198,888) for an inclined-plane railway.  For years, history has believed the first roller coaster in America designed by LaMarcus Thompson, opened at Coney Island on June 16, 1884.

An article was discovered reporting the anticipated excitement of J.G. Taylor’s elevated railway in 1872 at Rocky Point, Rhode Island. According to the Providence Evening Press from June 18, 1872, the reporter describes a ride of 400 feet where nine passengers are given a shove and gravity does the rest.

So whenever the roller coaster was first in operation, get out and enjoy the ride.


August 16, 1930 -
Fiddlesticks, was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's first sound cartoon. It is about a happy-go-lucky, needy frog, named Flip the Frog.



This cartoon was created by Ub Iwerks in 1930. He had drawn a frog and his girlfriend in Night, one of the last Silly Symphonies short films he drew while working for Walt Disney.


August 16, 1940 -
The first of Alfred Hitchcock's war-time thrillers, Foreign Correspondent, starring Joel McCrea, Laraine Day and Herbert Marshall, premiered on this date



Shooting on the film was completed on May 29, 1940, after which Alfred Hitchcock made a visit to England. He returned on July 3 with the word that the Germans were expected to start bombing at any time. Ben Hecht was hurriedly called in and wrote the tacked-on final scene set at a London radio station. It was filmed on July 5, and the real-life bombing started on July 10, 1940.


August 16, 1976 -
ABBA release Dancing Queen, the most popular single of the 70s, in Sweden on this date.



The song was conceived as a dance song with the working title Boogaloo. ABBA members Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson drew inspiration from the 1974 George McCrae disco hit Rock Your Baby, and from the drumming on the 1972 album Gumbo by Dr. John.


And then everything changed


Today in History:
August 16, 1819 -
Sixty cavalrymen charge into a crowd of approximately 70,000 protesters at St. Peter's Field in Manchester, England on this date.



The soldiers began to hack away at the people with their sabers and trample them under hoof. Eleven died and 400 were wounded in the Manchester Massacre, also called the Battle of Peterloo.


August 16, 1858 -
U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.



However, once again America was ill advised by the request for Prince Albert in a can: Victoria was not amused. The cable stretched from Valentia, Ireland to Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, Canada but failed after only five days and was discontinued being used by September of that year. The first permanent telegraph line across the Atlantic Ocean was laid in 1866.


August 16, 1938 -
Blues musician Robert Johnson, who presumably sold his soul to the devil (the story was referred to in the movie Crossroads), was poisoned by a jealous husband in Three Forks, Mississippi and died on this date.



Besides being a seminal figure in the history of the Blues, Johnson is often cites as an early influence in the development of Rock and Roll.


August 16, 1948 -
Famed booze hound, skirt chaser and home-run slugger George Herman "Babe" Ruth died at age 53 in New York City.



He is credited with turning baseball from a game of speed and skill to one of power.


August 16, 1954  -
Sports Illustrated was first published by Time Inc. on this date.  It was claimed that 250,000 subscriptions had been sold before the first issue came off of the presses.

The magazine would become the most recognized, widely read sports periodical in the English language. The magazine is currently read by more than 23 million people each week and has more than 3 million subscribers.


August 16, 1956 -
Bela Lugosi, Broadway star, Hollywood star, portrayer of the undead in countless films and formaldehyde connoisseur, died of a heart attack on this day while lying in bed in his Los Angeles home. He was 73.



Bela Lugosi was buried wearing one of the many capes from the Dracula stage play, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Contrary to popular belief, Lugosi never requested to be buried in his cloak; Bela Lugosi, Jr. has confirmed on numerous occasions that he and his mother, Lillian, made the decision.


One thing I've learned is that I'm not the owner of my talent; I'm the manager of it.



Happy Birthday to the Material Girl.


August 16, 1977 -
Elvis Presley died (or not) in his home at the age of 42, while sitting on the toilet. While doing his business, he had been perusing The Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus. Presumably, Elvis' search was concluded shortly thereafter.



Elvis has long left the building



Remember, add more bran to your diet.


August 16, 1987 -
Mercury, Venus and Mars all get bunched up near the Sun in what some call the Harmonic  Convergence on this date.

Thousands of nutballs clustered at sacred locations like Mount Shasta, California begin meditating their asses off for some damn reason.


August 16, 1991 -
Shamu the Whale died at 16, from respiratory failure, on this date.

After a brief but very moving service, the Japanese mourners at the graveside were invited to consume the dearly departed; wasabi sauce and pickled ginger was served on the side.



And so it goes.


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