August 24, 1869 -
Today is National Waffle Day.
August 24, 1937 -
William Wyler's crime-drama film, Dead End, premiered in NYC on this date.
This was the first appearance of the Dead End Kids, who later evolved into the East Side Kids and, later, the Bowery Boys. Producer Samuel Goldwyn brought the boys - who had appeared in the original Broadway production of the play - to Hollywood to appear in the movie. He later regretted the decision, as the boys ran wild through the studio, destroying property and crashing a truck through the wall of a soundstage. Afterwards, Goldwyn decided not to employ the boys again and sold their contract to Warner Brothers.
August 24, 1966 -
One of the quintessential films of the 60s, Alfie, opened in the US on this date.
Several well-known actors (including Richard Harris, Laurence Harvey, James Booth, and Anthony Newley) turned down the title role, due to the then taboo subject matter of abortion. Despite having played Alfie on Broadway, Terence Stamp categorically declined to reprise the role on film, thus giving his good friend, and then roommate Michael Caine, the breakthrough role of his career.
August 24, 1966 -
The (still surprising good) sci-fi film, Fantastic Voyage, premiered on this date.
The scenes of crew members swimming outside the sub were shot on dry soundstages with the actors suspended from wires. There was some additional hazard involved because, to avoid reflections from the metal, the wires were washed in acid to roughen them, which made them more likely to break. To create the impression of swimming in a resisting medium, the scenes were shot at fifty percent greater speed than normal, then played back at normal speed.
August 24, 1968 -
The Rascals' song People Got to Be Free topped the charts on this date.
Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals wrote this song in reaction to the deaths of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, condensing King and Kennedy's message into a simple missive calling for unity and understanding. It's hard to argue with the song's message, as it's not overtly political and doesn't lash out at any person or organization in particular. Combined with an uptempo rock groove, it had all the makings of a hit.
August 24, 1979 -
NBC-TV introduced the girls of Eastland School, an all-girls boarding school in Peekskill, New York, to audiences when The Facts of Life premiered on this date.
The pilot Rough Housing may have been the very first children's program on network television to discuss gender confusion and sexual identity crises among youth; as well as anti-gay bullying among teenagers.
August 24, 1988 -
The Joan Micklin Silver romantic comedy, Crossing Delancey, starring Amy Irving, Peter Riegert, and Sylvia Miles, premiered on this date.
The pickle store as referred to in the film was Guss' Pickles, located at 35 Essex Street, below Delancey Street. A New York tradition, since 1920. Currently, The Pickle Guys, located at the corner of Essex and Grand Streets, continues that tradition.
August 24, 1994 -
Singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley's sole album Grace was released on this date.
The song Grace was the album's first single, and it was also released as a video. Buckley performed the song for a long time before he recorded it, and an early demo appears on an album he made with Gary Lucas that was released posthumously called Songs to No One 1991-1992. Lucas and Buckley were part of a project called Gods & Monsters when they wrote this song; they also collaborated on the Grace track Mojo Pin.
Word of the Day
Today in History:
August 24, 79 –
Pliny the Elder, who was not as old as his father, Pliny the Dead, witnessed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum being fired by Mount Vesuvius on this date. Vesuvius, ever the vengeful volcano god buried those happening Roman vacation spots, apparently to punish the debauchery that made the towns famous. Tens of thousands of people perished only to have plaster casts made centuries later of the hollows their bodies once occupied.
Once again, People, this is what happens when a city goes on the cheap and starts sacrificing any old whore rather than a proper virgin. One ever faithful reader suggests that you skip visiting Pompeii and visit Ercolano (Herculaneum) instead. It is not so crowded and there are some cool little bars near the ruins where you can enjoy views of the bay of Naples and Vesuvius.
August 24, 1572 -
Troops loyal to the French crown alongside Catholic civilians massacre the Protestant Huguenots of Paris, estimates range between 20,000 and 100,000 deaths. At news of this carnage of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, a gleeful Pope Gregory XIII ordered celebrations and a medal to be struck.
Sometimes, you just have to be embarrassed to be a Catholic.
August 24, 1680 -
Colonel Thomas Blood, Irish adventurer who stole the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London in 1671, died on this date.
Captured after the theft, he insisted on seeing King Charles II, who had a reputation for liking bold scoundrels. Charles not only pardoned him, but granted Blood Irish lands worth £500 a year!
August 24, 1814 -
The White House and other public buildings in the District of Columbia were torched by the invading British army on this date.
The President's wife, Dolley Madison and Paul Jennings, her husband's enslaved manservant, are torn away from Mrs. Madison's ice cream and candy making duties to save a couple of chairs,
and an unfinished portrait of some dead Virginian Slave holder, Masonite and dope smoker.
August 24, 1853 -
It is believed that the original potato chip recipe was created by chef George Crum, at Moon's Lake House near Saratoga Springs, New York, on this date.
He was fed up with a customer (the popular myth wrongly identifies him as Cornelius Vanderbilt) who continued to send his fried potatoes back, claiming that they were too thick and soggy. Crum decided to slice the potatoes so thin that they couldn't be eaten with a fork, nor fried normally in a pan, so he decided to stir-fry the potato slices. Against Crum's expectation, the guest was ecstatic about the new chips. They became a regular item on the lodge's menu under the name Saratoga Chips. They soon became popular throughout New York and New England.
You don't want to know how Crum got the vinegar flavor for that damn chip.
August 24, 1932 -
Amelia Earhart flew from Los Angeles to Newark, becoming the first woman to complete a non-stop, transcontinental flight on this date.
August 24, 1958 -
Red China commenced the shelling of the islands of Quemoy and Matsu, which hold one-third of Chiang Kai Shek's troops, on this date. The United States threatens nuclear retaliation for this, but the American people do not support the stance.
A very strange compromise is worked out, permitting China to shell the islands on odd dates and Chiang Kai Shek's troops to resupply the islands on even dates.
August 24, 1959 -
Three days after Hawaiian statehood,
August 24, 1968 –
France exploded its first hydrogen bomb, thus becoming the world's fifth nuclear power.
The Germans break out in an ever slight sweat. (The 1998 film Godzilla uses this particular test as the basis for the monster Godzilla, an infant green iguana mutated by the fallout from the blast.)
Another reason to hate the French.
August 24, 1989 -
Pete Rose was suspended from baseball for life for gambling on this date.
Unfortunately, Pete may never get into the Hall of Fame but the Cincinnati Reds did put up a statue of him outside the stadium a couple of years ago.
August 24, 2006 -
The planet Pluto was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on this date. Pluto's status was changed due to the IAU's new rules for an object qualifying as a planet.
The other planets have been picking on Pluto ever since.
(Damn you, Neil deGrasse Tyson!)
And so it goes.
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1 comment:
Amelia Earhart taught for a few years at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. There's a residence hall there named for her. It was a women's dorm at first, but those were the days of innocence. Purdue is still known for its aeronautical engineering program.
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