Trivia for 3/10/2009

Likely Candidate(s) for “Last Week’s Question:”

Okay, so, I admit, I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have been last week. I’ll do better this week, I promise. The only question sticking out in my mind right now is:

Q: “Deep, Dark, Shocking and Brink (?) are all shades of which color?” A: Pink (signified by the playing of Aerosmith’s song “Pink” off of their 1997 release, Nine Lives.)

Today in History

-The first successful voice transmission over Alexander Graham Bell's telephone took place in Boston as his assistant heard Bell say, "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you." Watson became concerned when he believed he heard Bell breathing heavily and whispering something to the effect of “oh baby, oh baby…” as the connection faded.

-“Buffy The Vampire Slayer” debuted on the then WB network in 1997.

-Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and conductor on the Underground Railroad died in 1913 at the age of 83.

-The US Senate approved the 26th Amendment to the US Constitution, lowering the legal voting age in the US to 18 years old.

Birthdays

Chuck Norris (actor, superhuman) 69 yrs. old
James Earl Ray (assassinated MLK) Deceased, but would have been 70 yrs. old
Sharon Stone (actress) 51 yrs. old
Timbaland (rapper, illiterate) 37 yrs, old

Random Facts

-The average adult human skeleton has 206 bones, as opposed to the average human skeleton at birth, which has approximately 270 bones.

-The Nuestra Señora de Atocha also known as simply the Atocha, a Spanish galleon, was lost during a hurricane off of Key West, FL on Sept. 6, 1622, near the Dry Tortugas. It was later salvaged by American treasure hunter, Mel Fisher on July 20, 1985. The recovered cargo from the Atocha, consisting of gold, silver, and precious stones, is valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. An estimated ½ of the ship’s original load is still missing.

- Purim, the Jewish Festival of Lots, began at sunset on March 9, 2009 (5769) and celebrates the victory of Queen Esther over Haman, an advisor to King Ahasuerus, who had planned to destroy the Jewish people because Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, refused to bow to Haman. Mordecai convinced Esther to risk her life by speaking to King Ahasuerus on behalf of the Jewish people and she convinced him to spare the Jews. Haman was hanged, and now Megan gets tasty cookies and apple sauce at work! And oh yes, that tasty cookie is called a “hamentaschen” and is a triangular affair, filled with fruit, custard, or some other sweet filling, and is meant to represent Haman’s hat. In addition to the reading/hearing of the Meghillah, the only other requirement from the Tamuhd regarding Purim is that a person is required to drink until he cannot tell the difference between "cursed be Haman" and "blessed be Mordecai," though opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is.

-Saab was the first auto manufacturer to introduce the seat belt as a standard on the Saab GT 750 in 1958.

Current Affairs

-A suicide car-bomber killed 33 and wounded at least 46 in Baghdad, Iraq at a peace conference on Monday, March 9, 2009. Fuckers.

-President Barack Obama lifted the Bush Administration’s restrictions on Embryonic Stem Cell research on Monday, March 09, 2009

-“The Cobbe Portrait” the only known portrait of William Shakespeare to have been painted during the poet/playwright’s lifetime, was discovered in an Irish home on Monday, March 9, 2009. The portrait is over 400 years old and depicts Shakespeare as young, healthy and affluent, contradictory to the previous images of Shakespeare as penniless and sickly.

- The Continuity IRA, a splinter faction of the Irish Republican Army terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the March 9, 2009 death of Police Officer, Stephen Paul Carroll in Craigavon, a suburb of Belfast. Officials fear that Carroll’s death could signal an end to the 10 year peace that began with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 and initiate a return to the cycle of violence in Northern Ireland between Protestant and Catholic extremist groups.

Irony/Weird/No Shit Report

-American toy manufacturer, Mattel, introduced the Barbie Doll on March 9, 1959. Barbie, named for the doll designer’s daughter, was loosely based on a German cartoon character named “Lilli” who “used sex to get what she wanted.” The original Lilli doll was sold as “a sexually-themed gag toy for men.” So in addition to causing eating disorders, 50 years worth of body-image issues and an ever-increasingly materialistic society, Barbie also encourages prostitution and sexual deviance. CNN Article

-In 1893, New Mexico State University cancelled its first graduation ceremony, because the only graduate was robbed and killed the night before the ceremony.

-San Francisco-based Seasteading Institute has announced plans for the construction of a platform based floating city to be built on the Pacific Ocean. While details remain obscure, plans to call the new floating city “Bluthton” or “Sea-Britain” have been divulged. It is also rumored that Kevin Kostner, star of the 1995 film “Waterworld” is being recruited for local government, based on his prior maritime governing experience. (Okay, I made everything up except for the first sentence. On reading the article further, however, it’s almost funnier than what I made up. CNN Article)

-A skeleton excavated from a 16th century Venetian grave site may be the earliest example discovered of a body being treated at the time of its burial as a vampire. The female skeleton was found with a small brick wedged into the mouth of the skull, a practice which was believed to have been a cure for vampirism during the Middle Ages. The skeleton was found in a mass grave for victims of Venice’s 1576 plague.

- MADRID, Spain (March 6) -- Spanish police arrested a man arriving at Barcelona's airport from Chile after determining that the cast on his fractured left leg was made of cocaine.

Sports

-The Mann Cup is awarded in Canada for the men’s Lacrosse championship.

-I give up on sports facts. Dan, this is all you tonight, buddy.

Entertainment

-Beginning on April 21, 2009, Julien’s Auctions will begin auctioning off personal items from Michael Jackson, including a painting by Macauly Culkin and video tapes/other evidence used in Jackson’s 2005 child molestation and conspiracy trial. Fox News found it important to note that Jackson’s discarded noses and chins were not among the items up for sale.

-Radio legend and Chicago native, Paul Harvey passed away on February 28 at the age of 90.

-Chris Brown has been charged with two counts of assault against girlfriend Rihanna (real name, Robyn Fenty). If convicted, Brown could face up to 8 months in jail.

Military/Weapons/War

- March 10, 1864 – Ulysses S. Grant is appointed commander of the Union armies during the Civil War

- In 1848, the Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War.