You might be one as they are

February 20, 1932 -
Tod Browning's incredible film, Freaks, about sideshow performers, was released on this date.



On the lot, one of the most beloved of the sideshow performers was Schlitze, the most prominently featured "pinhead." His fans on the lot included Norma Shearer, but when he asked to meet his favorite star, Jackie Cooper, the child actor was highly disturbed by this. Schlitze was so enamored with the filmmaking process he even came to the set on days he wasn't called.


February 20, 1936 -
United Artists released one of the early science fiction classics H.G. Wells The Shape of Things to Come directed by William Cameron Menzies on this date.



Soon after the premiere, a special screening of this movie was held in Washington, D.C. for U.S. government officials. H.G. Wells addressed the audience from Great Britain via a transatlantic telephone.


February 20, 1952 -
John Huston's excuse for big game hunting, The African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, opened in general release at Capitol Theater in NYC on this date.



Sources claimed that everyone in the cast and crew got sick except Humphrey Bogart and John Huston, who said they avoided illness by essentially living on imported Scotch whiskey. Bogart later said, "All I ate was baked beans, canned asparagus and Scotch whiskey. Whenever a fly bit Huston or me, it dropped dead."


February 20, 1956 -
The wonderfully evil comedy, The Ladykillers, starring Alec Guinness and Peter Sellars, opened in New York on this date.



The producers originally rejected director Alexander Mackendrick's choice of Katie Johnson for the role of Mrs. Wilberforce on the grounds that she might be too frail for the project, and so they cast a younger actress who died before filming began. Because Katie Johnson was already 76 when she got the role, director Alexander Mackendrick went to the distributor and asked if her name could be prominently above the title, saying that this might be her last movie. The distributor agreed. Two years later, Johnson died. She only made one more movie.


February 20, 1970 -
The Plastic Ono Band released the single Instant Karma! in the US, on this date.



George Harrison played guitar and Billy Preston played piano on this song.


February 20, 1988 -
The Pet Shop Boys (featuring Dusty Springfield) song What Have I Done To Deserve This? climbed to No. #2 on the Billboard charts in America, on this date. The song marks Dusty Springfield first big hit since 1969.



The song's co-writer Allee Willis was later responsible for the Friends theme, I'll Be There For You. Among her other songwriting credits are September and Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind & Fire and Neutron Dance by the Pointer Sisters.


Another book from the back shelves of the ACME Library


Today in History:
February 20 is just one many dates on which Francois-Marie Arouet may have been born in 1694.

Francois-Marie was a supremely intelligent, fiercely independent man and was therefore instructed to leave Paris.



Each time he was kicked out, however, he simply came back, said something witty, and was kicked out yet again.

Eventually the French invented reverse psychology. They invited Francois-Marie back from his latest exile and threw a big party for him. The shock of his reception killed him and Paris has mourned his loss ever since.

Except now they call him Voltaire.


February 20, 1703 -
The Mount Gay Estate opened in Barbados, on this date.



It is the oldest existing brand of rum in the world.


February 20, 1829 -
The Yuengling Brewery opened in Pottsville Pennsylvania, on this date.



It is the oldest brewery still operating in the U.S.


February 20, 1872 -
The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened its doors to the public for the first time. The Museum first was housed at the Dodworth Building at 681 Fifth Avenue between 53rd and 54th Streets.



The Museum remained in its first home until 1873, when it moved to larger quarters in the Douglas Mansion on West 14th Street. In 1880, the Metropolitan opened its first building at its current location in Central Park. Currently, its permanent collection contains more than two million works and most of it you can see on-line. (That's a lot of art to dust.)


February 20, 1907 -
Pres. Theodore Roosevelt signed an immigration act which excluded "idiots, imbeciles, feebleminded persons, epileptics, and insane persons" from being admitted to the US on this date.

I've said it before: Certain political operatives in this country should rejoice that there is not a 'sanity clause' for the native born citizen.


February 20, 1935 -
Although the Antarctic had been discovered almost 200 years before, Caroline Mikkelsen became the first woman to set foot on the continent on this day.

She was part of a Danish expedition along with her husband Captain Klarius Mikkelsen. A mountain in Antarctica was named in her honor.


February 20, 1947 -
A chemical mistake at the O'Connor Electro-Plating Co. in Los Angeles caused a blast that destroyed/damaged more than 55 structures in a 300-foot radius, killing 15 people and injuring 150 more.

The incident resulted in the city's first ordinance stipulating regulations for the storage, transportation, production, processing, and use of hazardous chemicals and led to one of the first Hazmat Dictionaries in the U.S.

Oops.


February 20, 1962 -
... Godspeed John Glenn.



While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn orbited the Earth three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth. Remember, NASA hadn't invented the astronaut diaper yet; I bet he had to pee something wicked.



The people of Perth in Australia all turned their lights on at the same time on February 20, 1962 to greet astronaut John Glenn who was orbiting above them in Friendship 7.


February 20, 1967 -
If you die you're completely happy and your soul somewhere lives on. I'm not afraid of dying. Total peace after death, becoming someone else is the best hope I've got.



Kurt Cobain, musician and lead guitarist of seminal grunge band Nirvana, was born on this date.


February 20, 1971 -
An erroneous warning is emitted on the Emergency Broadcast System causing a number of stations to go off the air (for more than 30 minutes,) and others to completely ignore the alert (thus pointing out that many key stations would not react to any emergency broadcast over the system.)



So remember (as they have proven in Hawaii) this just a test, unless it's not.


February 20, 1980 -
After some heavy drinking, Bon Scott, vocalist for heavy metal band AC/DC, was found in a friend's automobile - he apparently choked to death on his own vomit.



His family was comforted in the knowledge that he hadn't choked to death on someone else vomit.


February 20, 1984 -
See you in Heaven if you make the list

Ballerina Julia Pak married Heung Jin Moon, son of Sun Myung Moon, religious icon, on this date. The ceremony was a tasteful affair save one small detail - Heung Jin Moon was prevented from attending the service in person; he had died in an auto accident the previous December.

As adult Moonies are only allowed to enter Heaven once they are married; there was a dire need for this awkward necro-ceremony.

Don't forget, the traditional gift given for the 38th zombie wedding anniversary is a beryl gemstone - nothing says I love you more to the undead than jewelry.


February 20, 1998 -
Ice skater Tara Lipinski of the U.S. became the youngest gold medalist in Winter Olympics history when she won the ladies’ figure skating title in Nagano, Japan, aged 15 years and 8 months.



The previous year Tara Lipinski was the youngest champion women's World Figure Skating Champion at the age of 14 years and 10 months.



And so it goes.