More than two million people die from work-related accidents or disease every year - equivalent to one death every 15 seconds - the UN's International Labor Organization said this week. Two years ago, the figure was just 1.2 million. The total is now three times the annual number of deaths in wars every year (650,000), or the equivalent of a September 11 tragedy every day. It also exceeds deaths from alcohol and drug abuse combined.
September 3, 1964 -
The Animals charted No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their hit The House Of The Rising Sun, on this date.
Historians have not been able to definitively identify The House Of The Rising Sun, but here are the two most popular theories:
1) The song is about a brothel in New Orleans. "The House Of The Rising Sun" was named after its occupant Madame Marianne LeSoleil Levant (which means "Rising Sun" in French) and was open for business from 1862 (occupation by Union troops) until 1874, when it was closed due to complaints by neighbors. It was located at 826-830 St. Louis St.
2) It's about a women's prison in New Orleans called the Orleans Parish women's prison, which had an entrance gate adorned with rising sun artwork. This would explain the "ball and chain" lyrics in the song.
September 3, 1973 -
The Rolling Stones released their hit, Angie, on this date.
The big rumor about this song is that it was written about David Bowie's wife, Angela, who wrote in her autobiography that she once walked in on Bowie and Mick Jagger in bed together - a story Jagger denies. According to the rumor, Jagger wrote this song to appease her, but it was Jagger's bandmate Keith Richards who wrote most of the song. Jagger had this to say about it: "People began to say that song was written about David Bowie's wife but the truth is that Keith wrote the title. He said, 'Angie,' and I think it was to do with his daughter. She's called Angela. And then I just wrote the rest of it."
September 3, 1982 -
Amy Heckerling's coming of age teen comedy (written by Cameron Crowe), Fast Times at Ridgemont High, went into general release on this date.
Universal didn't think the film would become a hit. In fact, the studio had thought about not releasing it on the East Coast so that the film would die quickly at the box office
September 3, 1983 -
One of the songs that defined MTV in the 80s, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by the Eurythmics, gave them their only US chart topper.
In 1978, Squeeze had a UK hit with Take Me I'm Yours, which features the line "Dreams are made of this" in the chorus.
Marilyn Manson recorded the song in 1995, giving a much darker tone to the song.
(In Manson's auto-biography, he related to this song by mentioning that he met people who wanted to be abused by him; and who wanted to use him as well.)
September 3, 1982 -
Culture Club released their third single, Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?, is released in the UK, on this date.
The four members of Culture Club wrote the songs for their first album Kissing To Be Clever together, with singer Boy George coming up with the lyrics. On this song, he later admitted that he wrote the lyrics about his relationship with their drummer Jon Moss. They had an affair for about six years that was kept hidden from the public, and George often felt hurt and emotional.
September 3, 2006 -
Justin Timberlake (featuring Timbaland) song SexyBack hit No.1 in the UK on this date.
There is a certain self-awareness in the song, as at different points we hear "Take it to the bridge" and "Take it to the bridge" introducing those sections. This keeps the song lighthearted and also makes it clear that the song structure is a focal point. James Brown did this a lot, telling his band and the listeners what was coming next.
Today's ACME court-ordered PSA
Today in History:On September 3, 301, during an epic game of hide-and-seek, St. Marinus the Stonemason ran up Mount Titano in Italy to hide from the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
He started his own country to pass the time and Most Serene Republic of San Marino survives to this day.
On September 3, 1189, Richard Lionheart, an enthusiastic french speaking sodomite (which was technical illegal in England,) was crowned King of England on this date.
When Richard finally returned to English soil he discovered there had been Intrigues, some of which involved his brothers. He therefore crossed the Channel and defeated France before dying from an arrow wound to the neck inflicted by an 11 year old boy.
He had only produced one son, and the most crushing defeat of Richard's tragic life was his discovery that the child was a little bastard.
September 3, 1838 -
Frederick Douglass escaped slavery disguised as a sailor on this date. Later he wrote about his experiences in a book called The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, the title of which may have diminished the effectiveness of his disguise.
September 3, 1935 -
Sir Malcolm Campbell became the first person to drive a car more than 300 miles per hour on this date.
Campbell achieved a speed of 301.337 miles per hour at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats. It was also the first time traffic cop adds "Wow!" to the usual "Do you know how fast you were going?"
September 3, 1939 -
Germany continued its invasion of Poland even though Britain had asked it very nicely to stop.
This upset the British sensibility. They declared war on Germany. France followed suit six hours later quickly joined by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada, making this the official launch of World War II in Europe on this date.
September 3, 1965 -
Carlos Irwin Estévez, actor, recovering substance abuser and noted panderer is another year older today.
Say what you want about Charlie; he seems to know how to live on his own terms and makes it work.
September 3, 1976 -
The unmanned spacecraft Viking 2, the second mission to Mars, landed at Utopia Planitia on the planet and begins transmitting pictures and soil analyses, on this date.
The lander houses instruments to examine the physical and magnetic properties of the soil, analyze the atmosphere and weather patterns of Mars, and to seek out evidence of the presence of life, be it past or present. It took 16,000 pictures in 1,281 days before its batteries died.
September 3, 2004 -
A siege on a Russian school ended with more than 300 people dead, many of them children. The school had been taken hostage by Chechen terrorists on September 1st.
To bring an end to the hostage situation, the Russian military (purportedly under direct order from President Vladimir Putin, who was able to use the crisis to consolidate more power for the Russian Presidency) stormed the school with explosives. 334 hostages died and several hundred others were injured or missing.
And so it goes
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