This delicious, gooey treat is loved by millions across the United States.
Speaking of roasting something over an open fire; Today is the feast of St. Lawrence. St. Lawrence was said to have been martyred on an iron outdoor stove on this date in 258 AD. During his torture, Lawrence cried out "I' m already done on this side and it is time to turn me over."
Interesting aside: the Perseid Meteor Shower has been known for years as the Tears of Saint Lawrence because they usually occur every year in mid-August, on or near Saint Lawrence's feast day.
This year the event peaks on the night of August 11th/12th.
August 10, 1950 -
Billy Wilder's caustic, black-hearted masterpiece, Sunset Boulevard premiered in New York City, on this date.
The "Desmond mansion" was located not on Sunset Blvd. but at 641 S. Irving Blvd. on the corner of Crenshaw and Irving. It was built in 1924 by William Jenkins, at a cost of $250,000. Its second owner was Jean Paul Getty, who purchased it for his second wife. Mrs. Getty divorced her millionaire husband and received custody of the house; it was she who rented it to Paramount for the filming. The only addition was the swimming pool, which wasn't equipped with a means of circulating the water so it was useless after filming. The pool was used in its empty condition in Rebel Without a Cause. The mansion was torn down in 1957, and a large office building for Getty Oil built on the site still stands on the spot.
August 10, 1960 -
The Rat Pack's summer vacation home movie, Ocean's Eleven, premiered on this date.
Most filming was accomplished early in the morning, before sunrise, since most of the actors also had shows in Las Vegas that they performed nightly during the shooting. The actors would wake up in the afternoon, do one or two shows in the evening, then go through make-up and arrive at the shooting locations for principal photography. Each shooting location was fully set up in advance so that minimal time would be wasted once the actors arrived.
August 10, 1962 -
While not the worst film ever made - it is the sickest. The Brain That Wouldn't Die, premiered on this date. (Watch it now.)
This was the first movie watched by Michael J. Nelson after Joel Hodgson had left in the previous episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
August 10, 1962 -
Comic book hero Spider-Man made his debut in issue 15 of Marvel Comics’ Amazing Fantasy on this date.
August 10, 1963 -
Stevie Wonder's single Fingertips (Part 2) becomes the first live recording to hit #1 in the US on this date.
Little Stevie Wonder, just 12 years old, was part of a Motown package tour called The Motortown Revue, and was thrilling crowds with his high-energy performances. On March 10, 1963, the Revue came to the Regal Theatre in Chicago, where Wonder's performance was recorded. On this night, he played a highly improvised version of his song Fingertips, which went on for about 10 minutes as the crowd went absolutely nuts and the stage manager, concerned because the show was running late, tried to get him off so the next act could perform. Wonder fed off the crowd and kept going, even doing a little bit of Mary Had a Little Lamb on his harmonica. When Wonder ends the song (about 2:05 in), the band starts to clear the stage, and the band for the next act, The Marvelettes, hustles on. At this point, Wonder starts playing again, at which point you can hear the Marvelettes bass player Joe Swift ask "What key?" and the performance picks up again with a little encore played by at least some members of the new band.
August 10, 1970 -
Frank Perry's proto-independent film, Diary of a Mad Housewife, written by Eleanor Perry and starring Carrie Snodgrass, Frank Langella, and Richard Benjamin premiered on this date.
According to Carrie Snodgress, actor Richard Benjamin insisted that he and Carrie not have any interaction off-screen in order to have their onscreen tensions be more believable and authentic.
August 10, 1979 -
Michael Jackson's meteoric second career as a solo artist began with the release of his first solo album Off the Wall, on this date.
Quincy Jones, who produced the album, encouraged Jackson to write his own songs, and the young singer quickly developed a talent for composition. Jackson wrote or co-wrote 10 #1 hits in his career, including Don't Stop Til You Get enough an We Are The World.
August 10, 1982 -
Frank and Moon Zappa appear on Late Night with David Letterman and discuss their recent release Valley Girl on this date.
The song makes fun of Valley Girl talk, an early '80s trend that started in California and led to teenage girls around the country saying things like "Gag me with a spoon." It pokes fun at what Zappa believed were spoiled rich girls living in the San Fernando Valley of California. Laraine Newman was doing variations on the Valley Girl character on Saturday Night Live at the time.
August 10, 1984 -
United Artists released John Milius jingoistic war film Red Dawn, starring Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, and Jennifer Grey, on this date. It's was the first film to be released in the US with a Motion Picture Association of America PG-13 rating.
The film made the Guinness Book of Records for having the most acts of violence of any film up to that time. According to their calculations, one hundred thirty-four acts of violence occur per hour, or 2.23 per minute.
Another job posting from The ACME Employment Agency
Today in History:
August 10, 1628 -
The 228-foot Swedish warship Vasa, built by Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus to assist in his war with Poland, capsized and sank in Stockholm harbor on her maiden voyage because the ballast was insufficient to counterweight the 64 guns. The Vasa was the most expensive and richly ornamented warship of its time in Sweden. Twenty-five men and women drowned when the ship sank.
The ship remains submerged until it is raised in 1961 to become a tourist attraction.
Please note that the ABBA museum is across the street from the Vasa museum in Stockholm. I can think of no finer outing.
August 10, 1793 -
The Louvre became a royal palace in the fourteenth century under Charles V and was used from time to time by the kings of France as their main Paris residence. In 1682 Louis XIV abandoned the Louvre, and moved his court to Versailles.
The Louvre was converted into an Art Museum during the French Revolution opening on this date, with an exhibition of 537 paintings and 187 art objects. Most of its exhibits at the time consisted of treasures confiscated from the royal family or the Church.
August 10, 1846 -
In 1826, James Smithson, a British scientist, drew up his last will and testament, naming his nephew as beneficiary. Smithson stipulated that, should the nephew die without heirs (as he did in 1835), the estate should go “to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.”
The motivation behind Smithson’s bequest remain mysterious. He had never traveled to the U.S. and seems to have had no correspondence with anyone there. An Act of Congress signed by President James K. Polk established The Smithsonian Institution, on this date, as a trust to administer the generous bequest of James Smithson in an amount over $500,000.
August 10, 1921 -
Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio at his summer home on the Canadian island of Campobello, New Brunswick on this date. Mrs. Roosevelt acted as her partially paralyzed husband’s eyes and ears by traveling, observing and reporting her observations to him.
As First Lady, an author and newspaper columnist and, later, a delegate to the United Nations, Eleanor Roosevelt labored tirelessly for the poor and disadvantaged. In the words of historian John Kenneth Galbraith, she showed "more than any other person of her time, that an American could truly be a world citizen."
August 10, 1937 -
The world's first electric guitar (US patent #2,089,171) was awarded to Electro String Corporation on this date.
August 10, 1966 -
Last words of James French, sent to the Electric Chair by the state of Oklahoma: "How about this for a headline for tomorrow's paper? FRENCH FRIES."
August 10, 1968 -
According to the strip below, Snoopy's birthday is August 10.
August 10, 1969 -
Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were brutally murdered in their Los Feliz, California home by followers of Charles Manson.
Some of the victims' blood was used to smear the words 'HELTER SKELTER' on the refrigerator door.
August 10, 1977 -
Postal employee and avid dog listener David Berkowitz was arrested in Yonkers, N.Y. on this date, accused of being the "Son of Sam" gunman responsible for six random slayings and seven woundings. Berkowitz is currently serving six consecutive terms of 25 years to life in state prison.
So much for the rantings of the neighbor's dog.
August 10, 1996 -
Heated by the sun, power lines began to sag in Oregon. Somehow this triggered a series of failures which cascaded throughout the Western states. Over seven million people lost electrical service in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Montana and Texas.
And so it goes.
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