Today's Trivia and What Happened on February 17

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Quote: The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them. - Thomas Jefferson on misinformation in newspapers of his day

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What Happened On

Cheney's Got A Gun go to Video for Cheney's Got A Gun

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Cheney's Got A Gun

February 17, 2006

Six days after U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney accidentally shot Harry Whittington while on a quail hunting trip in Texas, Whittington apologizes to Cheney stating, "My family and I are deeply sorry for everything Vice President Cheney and his family have had to deal with." Cheney has yet to apologize to his victim, stating he didn't need to apologize.

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First Weather Satellite

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First Weather Satellite

February 17, 1959

The U.S. launches Vanguard 2, the first weather satellite. It was 20 inches (50.8 cm) in diameter and was designed to measure cloud-cover distribution during the daylight portion of its orbit for 19 days (the life of its batteries). After that it would be optically tracked from Earth for studies of atmospheric drag and the gravity field for the life of its orbit (about 200-300 years). It is still in orbit.

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House on Haunted Hill

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House on Haunted Hill

February 17, 1959

The low-budget horror film House on Haunted Hill, starring Vincent Price, is released. It was produced and directed by William Castle, who was known for his use of gimmicks to promote his horror films. This film featured an effect he called "Emergo", in which a plastic skeleton would fly over the theater audience during the corresponding scene in the movie. House on Haunted Hill was made on a budget of about $200,000 and earned over $2.5 million at the box office. Its huge success inspired Alfred Hitchcock to make his own low-budget horror movie Psycho.

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First Color Merry Melodies Cartoon go to Video for First Color Merry Melodies Cartoon

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First Color Merry Melodies Cartoon

February 17, 1934

Honeymoon Hotel premieres. It used Cinecolor since Walt Disney had exclusive rights to the Technicolor process.
The story follows an insect couple who check into a hotel which catches on fire.

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Authorities Destroying Illegal Alcohol Authorities Destroying Illegal Alcohol

Authorities Destroying Illegal Alcohol Authorities Destroying Illegal Alcohol
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Prohibition

February 17, 1933

The Blaine Act is passed by the U.S. Senate, leading to the end of the prohibition of alcohol in the U.S.
Federal prohibition had been in effect as per the 18th Amendment since 1920 and while it did not prohibit the consumption of alcohol, it did ban the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.

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First Recurring Comic Strip Character

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First Recurring Comic Strip Character

February 17, 1895

The Yellow Kid, by Richard Felton Outcault, makes his newspaper debut. The Yellow Kid was the first recurring comic strip character. The character had been featured in Truth magazine starting in 1894. The Yellow Kid represented the kids of the New York slums of the late 1800s. His head was shaved, as was common in children that had been treated for lice, and wore a nightshirt that was a hand-me-down from an older sister. Initially, the Yellow Kid's speech was written on his shirt, but this later changed to word balloons (1896). Outcault's comics popularized the use of word balloons and multi-paneled comic strips.

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Ferdinand Marcos Wins Fraudulent Election

February 17, 1986

Ferdinand Marcos is declared the winner of the Philippine presidential election. Later reports of widespread fraud caused him to flee the country ending his 20-year rule.

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Jack Dempsey KO'd

February 17, 1917

Fireman Jim Flynn knocks Jack Dempsey out in the first round; the only time Dempsey was ever knocked out.

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PTA

February 17, 1897

The National Congress of Mothers is founded. In 1908, the organization changed its name to the National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA).

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Canned Sardines

February 17, 1876

The first canning of Sardines, in Eastport, Maine.

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Civil War - Sherman Takes Columbia

February 17, 1865

Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman (Union) takes Columbia, S.C., claiming that the fires, which destroyed two-thirds of the city, were set by retreating Confederate soldiers.

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First U.S. Street Lit by Gaslight

February 17, 1817

Baltimore, MD.

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Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson
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U.S. Presidents

February 17, 1801

Thomas Jefferson is elected President by the House of Representatives after an electoral tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr.

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First U.S. Government Loan

February 17, 1790

The U.S. government takes out its first loan, for the amount of $191,608.81. It was paid off in June.

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Birthdays

René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec Photo Credit: Science and Society Picture Library

René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec Photo Credit: Science and Society Picture Library
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Inventor of the Stethoscope

René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec

Born February 17, 1781 d. 1826

French physician. He invented the stethoscope (1816). His was a hollow tube made of wood and brass. Laennec was inspired by schoolchildren holding their ears up to long hollow sticks while scratching the opposite end with a pin; the stick transmitted and amplified the scratch. The modern stethoscope, with rubber tubing going to both ears, was not developed until the 1850s.

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Paris Hilton

Born February 17, 1981

American celebrity, Hilton hotel fortune heir.

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Michael Jordan

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Michael Jordan

Born February 17, 1963

American basketball player and two-time Olympic gold-medal winner.

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Larrry the Cable Guy promo for NASA TV Larrry the Cable Guy promo for NASA TV

Larrry the Cable Guy promo for NASA TV Larrry the Cable Guy promo for NASA TV
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Larry the Cable Guy (Daniel Lawrence Whitney)

Born February 17, 1963

American comedian. Known for his catch phrases, "GIT-R-DONE", "Lord, I apologize, and be with the starvin' Pygmies in New Guinea. Amen", and "I don't care who ya are, that's funny right there". He was part of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour and Blue Collar TV, which also included Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White.

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Zina Bethune

Born February 17, 1945 d. 2012

American dancer, actress. TV: Love of Life (Barbara Sterling Latimer). She founded Dance Outreach (1982), which enrolls about 1,000 disabled children in dance-related activities.

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Huey Newton

Born February 17, 1942 d. 1989

American political leader, co-founded the Black Panthers (1966) with Bobby Seale. His 1967 conviction for killing a police officer was overturned after a nationwide "Free Huey" campaign.

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Mary Ann Mobley

Born February 17, 1937 d. 2014

American actress, Miss America (1959). TV: Diff'rent Strokes (the second Maggie McKinney).

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Sir Alan Arthur Bates

Born February 17, 1934 d. 2003

British actor. Film: The Fixer (1968).

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Hal Holbrook

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Hal Holbrook (Harold Rowe HolBrook Jr.)

Born February 17, 1925 d. 2021

American Tony-Emmy-winning actor. Famous for his on-stage portrayal of Mark Twain. In 2008 at age 82, he became to oldest male actor nominated for an Oscar. Film: All the President's Men (1976, Deep Throat). TV: Designing Women (1988-90. Reese Watson) and Evening Shade (1990-94, Evan Evans).

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Thomas John Watson Sr.

Born February 17, 1874 d. 1956

American businessman. He took control of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. (1914) and turned it into the international-giant IBM.

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Samuel Sidney McClure

Born February 17, 1857 d. 1949

American publisher. Founder of McClure syndicate (1884) and McClure's Magazine (1893, which he ran from 1893-1911).

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Aaron Montgomery Ward

Born February 17, 1843 d. 1913

American businessman. Creator of mail-order (1872).

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Deaths

Geronimo

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Geronimo

Died February 17, 1909 b. 1829

Apache Indian chief. Opposed to the policy of placing Indians on reservations, he raided Arizona settlements until his capture in 1886.

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Sholes' typewriter - 1873 Sholes' typewriter - 1873

Sholes' typewriter - 1873 Sholes' typewriter - 1873
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Inventor of QWERTY

Christopher Latham Sholes

Died February 17, 1890 b. 1819

American inventor. He and Samuel W. Soule invented the first commercially-successful typewriter (1868). It was only able to type capital letters and the numbers 2 through 9 and was manufactured by E. Remington & Sons. He also coined the word "type-writer" and created the QWERTY keyboard layout (1873). The QWERTY keyboard was designed to split up commonly-used letter combinations in order to reduce key jamming.

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Rush Limbaugh Photo Credit: Nicolas Shayko

Rush Limbaugh Photo Credit: Nicolas Shayko
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Rush Limbaugh (Rush Hudson Limbaugh III)

Died February 17, 2021 b. 1951

American conservative political commentator. His talk radio program, The Rush Limbaugh Show, was the most listened-to talk-radio program in the U.S. Writings: The Way Things Ought to Be and (1992, New York Times Best Seller) and See, I Told You So (1993, New York Times Best Seller).

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Kathryn Grayson (Zelma Hedrick)

Died February 17, 2010 b. 1922

American actress. Star of many MGM musicals of the 1940s and '50s. Film: Show Boat (1951) and Kiss Me Kate (1953).

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Vernon "Lefty" Gomez

Died February 17, 1989 b. 1908

American Baseball Hall of Famer. He won 189 games with the N.Y. Yankees, and was the winning pitcher for the first All-Star game (1933).

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Lee Strasberg

Died February 17, 1982 b. 1901

acting teacher, the father of method acting in America. His disciples include Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino.

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William Gargan

Died February 17, 1979 b. 1905

American actor. TV: Martin Kane, Private Eye (title role). After losing his voice to cancer in 1960, he became an anti-smoking advocate.

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Alfred P. Sloan

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Alfred P. Sloan (Alfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr.)

Died February 17, 1966 b. 1875

American industrialist. As president (1923-37) and chairman (1937-56) of General Motors, he made it one of the greatest industrial enterprises in history.

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Robert Moore Brinkerhoff

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Robert Moore Brinkerhoff

Died February 17, 1958 b. 1880

American cartoonist. Creator of Little Mary Mixup (1917).

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Albert I

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Albert I

Died February 17, 1934 b. 1875

King of Belgium (1909-34). He was killed while mountain climbing.

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Sir Wilfrid Laurier

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Sir Wilfrid Laurier

Died February 17, 1919 b. 1841

Canadian statesman, premier of Canada (1896-1911).

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Heinrich Heine

Died February 17, 1856 b. 1797

German author, poet, lyricist. Among his writings are some of Germany's best-known lyrics.

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