In July of 2011, Philip A. Contos, 55, while participating in a ride with 550 other motorcyclists to protest the state's mandatory helmet law, hit his brakes and was sent over the handlebars of his 1983 Harley Davidson, hitting his head on the pavement. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. A local state trooper, present at the time stated, "The medical expert we discussed the case with who pronounced him deceased said that he would've no doubt survived the accident had he been wearing a helmet."
July 22nd is Spooner's Day, honoring Reverend William Archibald Spooner, a 19th Century British clergyman, who was born on this date in 1844. Spoonerisms are usually a two-word phrase in which the first letters (and occasionally the initial vowels) of the words are reversed.
Reverend Spooner was adept at the art of the oopsy linguae, or misspeak. As a result, certain verbal miscues have been tagged Spoonerisms.
July 22, 1959 -
Either considered the worst or greatest film ever made, Ed Wood Jr's sci-fi classic, Plan 9 from Outer Space, starring Bela Lugosi, Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson, Vampira and narrated by Criswell, opened in the US on this date.
Bela Lugosi appears in footage shot just before his death, but with no script in mind. Edward D. Wood Jr. wrote the script to accommodate all the footage shot in a cemetery and outside Tor Johnson's house in the new production. Lugosi was doubled by Tom Mason, Wood's wife's chiropractor, who was significantly taller than Lugosi, and played the part with a cape covering his face.
July 22, 1964 -
One of Hitchcock's most underrated (and sexually twisted) films, Marnie premiered on this date.
After rehearsing just a few scenes with Sean Connery, Tippi Hedren asked Alfred Hitchcock, "Marnie is supposed to be frigid, have you seen him?" referring to the young Connery. Hitchcock's reply was reportedly, "Yes, my dear, it's called acting."
July 22, 1967 -
The Toho Studio released King Kong Escapes (Kingu Kongu no gyakushû,) directed by Ishiro Honda in Japan on this date. (Despite the master villain being named Dr. Who, this film has no connection to Doctor Who.)
The voice of Dr. Who is the legendary Paul Frees, the man of a thousand voices, who also voiced both Burgermeister Meisterburger and Grimsby in another Rankin/Bass production, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.
July 22, 1983 –
20th Century Fox jumped on the strange new bandwagon of Dad's taking care of their kids when the film, Mr. Mom, starring Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Martin Mull, Ann Jillian, and Christopher Lloyd went into a limited release on this date.
The premise came about when John Hughes told Lauren Shuler Donner about a disastrous experience he had looking after his two children while his wife was away. Donner found it hilarious. Hughes asked if that could make a good movie, and Donner replied that "it sure sounds funny to me". Hughes wrote the film, and flew to Los Angeles to re-write the script with Donner.
Another failed ACME product
Today in History:
July 22, 1587 -
Roanoke, the colony founded by Sir Walter Raleigh, might have gone missing on this date.
Recent development point to the fact that the inhabitants of Roanoke didn't go missing, they appear to have originated the joke that after certain people left, everyone else moved and didn't leave a forwarding address.
July 22, 1933 -
Wiley Post (who possessed his flying license signed by Orville Wright) took off from Floyd Bennett Field in New York City and traveled 15,596 miles over a period of 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes and became the first person to fly solo around the world on this date.
Post lands back at Floyd Bennett Field in New York, completing the first round-the-world solo flight. His return was greeted by some 50,000 people.
July 22, 1934 -
John Dillinger was shot dead outside Chicago's Biograph Theatre, on this date in history. And one of the most bizarre urban legends was born.
According to the rumor, J Edgar Hoover, pug ugly head of the FBI and notorious transvestite, rushes to Chicago to see the corpse, Dillinger, Public Enemy No. 1, himself. Dillinger was a ladies man and was reported to be very specially endowed.
The Smithsonian museum is still flooded with requests annually to view this 'special exhibition'.
July 22, 1951 -
It's the first episode of Dogs In Space -
The Russian space program used dogs quite often to determine whether a particular space mission would be safe for humans. Little know fact: the real reason Nikita Khrushchev slammed his shoe on the desk in the UN - Khrushchev had just been passed a note about a ten year investigation of Tsygan's over-familiarity with his shoe.
At the time of his death on this date in 1982, King Sobhuza II was the longest-reigning monarch in the world. His death also established him as the most recently-deceased monarch in the world. Today he is on a long list of continuously dead rulers.
The Brits wrote a Constitution before they left, but Sobhuza did not discover it until 1973, at which point he discarded it on the grounds of its being British. Five years later he implemented a better Constitution that, surprisingly enough, left all political power in his own hands.
He died in 1982. The Constitution declared that he should be succeeded by one of his children, which seemed simple at first but was complicated by the revelation of his having had over 600 children.
(Apparently he had time on his hands for more than political power.) It took four years to find the right son, and King Mswati III has reigned ever since.
July 22, 1982 -
It's a happy 38th anniversary for over 2000 couples who were married by Rev. Moon in Madison Square Garden on this date in NYC.
And so it goes.
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