Today's Trivia and What Happened on February 8

What did Captain Hook die of?

What did Captain Hook die of? Close Large View

Jock itch.

Thumbs Up
12
Thumbs Down
7

Quote: Insanity is hereditary. You can get it from your children. - Sam Levenson

Quote: Insanity is hereditary. You can get it from your children. - Sam Levenson Close Large View

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

What Happened On

Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver Close Large View

Taxi Driver

February 8, 1976

Martin Scorsese's psychological thriller starring Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster opens. It's about a lonely veteran (De Niro) working as a taxi driver, who descends into insanity as he plots to assassinate a presidential candidate. John Hinckley, Jr. would become obsessed with this movie and Jodie Foster, prompting him to attempt to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in order to impress Foster. Hinckley's defense played the movie at his trial.
De Niro improvised the line "You talkin' to me?", which has become part of the pop culture lexicon.

Thumbs Up
4
Thumbs Down
0

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Hollywood Walk of Fame Close Large View

Hollywood Walk of Fame

February 8, 1960

Official groundbreaking ceremonies are held for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Previously, in August of 1958, eight stars were chosen at random from the initial list of 1,558 to be temporarily installed on the northwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue to demonstrate how the stars would look. Joanne Woodward was one of these eight and is often credited as the first star installed. However, there was no official first, but she was the first to pose for photographers with her star. The first permanent star was that of director Stanley Kramer, installed the next month.

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
1

Add Trivia to Your Web Page

The Stars and Stripes

The Stars and Stripes Close Large View

The Stars and Stripes

February 8, 1918

The first issue of The Stars and Stripes is published. It was the first U.S. Army newspaper, and was originally published for the troops during World War I.

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
1

Join Us on Facebook

The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation Close Large View

The Birth of a Nation

February 8, 1915

D.W. Griffith's landmark film is released. Controversial for its portrayal of blacks as unintelligent and sexually aggressive towards white women, and the portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) as a heroic force. It has been called both "the most controversial film ever made in the United States" and "the most reprehensibly racist film in Hollywood history". The film is also credited with helping revitalize the KKK in the months following the film.
It was a huge commercial success, made on a budget of $110,000, it grossed between $50-100 million at the box office.
It was also the first motion picture to be screened in the White House, viewed by President Woodrow Wilson, his family, and members of his cabinet.
The film was innovative and groundbreaking in its theatrical techniques that included dramatic close-ups, tracking shots, parallel action sequences, and crosscutting.

Thumbs Up
2
Thumbs Down
8

Boy Scouts of America

Boy Scouts of America Close Large View

Boy Scouts of America

February 8, 1910

The Boys Scouts of America is founded, by William D. Boyce. Boyce had been lost in the fog while visiting London and encountered a boy who guided him to his destination. The boy refused Boyce's tip, explaining that he was a Boy Scout and was merely doing his daily good deed. Intrigued, Boyce met with the Boy Scouts headquarters and upon his return to the U.S. he incorporated the Boy Scouts of America. Former U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt, who had long complained of the decline in American manhood, became an ardent supporter.

Thumbs Up
4
Thumbs Down
1

Mary Queen of Scots is Executed

Mary Queen of Scots is Executed Close Large View

Mary Queen of Scots is Executed

February 8, 1587

Mary Queen of Scots, the former queen of Scotland (1542-67), is beheaded for her participation in a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I.

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
1

Hustler

February 8, 1977

Publisher of Hustler magazine Larry Flynt is convicted of promoting obscenity and participating in organized crime.

Thumbs Up
4
Thumbs Down
2

Saturday Evening Post

February 8, 1969

Saturday Evening Post publishes its last issue.

Thumbs Up
2
Thumbs Down
52

First Gas-Chamber Execution

February 8, 1924

Convicted murderer Gee Jon is executed in Nevada.

Thumbs Up
19
Thumbs Down
1

First Airplane Flight Across the U.S. from West to East

First Airplane Flight Across the U.S. from West to East Close Large View

First Airplane Flight Across the U.S. from West to East

February 8, 1912

Robert Grant Fowler arrives in Jacksonville, Florida. He had departed Los Angeles, on October 19th.
His first attempt the previous September ended after engine failure caused him to crash his Wright Brothers B plane. He then made this successful attempt in a Wright Cole Flier biplane.

Thumbs Up
8
Thumbs Down
0

First U.S. Woman to Buy Life Insurance

February 8, 1843

Isabella Chambers of New York becomes the first woman in the U.S. to buy life insurance.

Thumbs Up
4
Thumbs Down
0

First Opera Performed in America

February 8, 1735

Flora; or Hob in the Well. The play appeared in the book The Dramatic Works of Colley Cibber, Esq., but is attributed to Thomas Doggett and John Hippisley.

Thumbs Up
5
Thumbs Down
0

Wren building c. 1859 Wren building c. 1859

Wren building c. 1859 Wren building c. 1859
Close Large View

College of William and Mary

February 8, 1693

The College of William and Mary is granted its charter by King William III and Queen Mary II. It is the second oldest college in the U.S.

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

Birthdays

James Dean

James Dean Close Large View
This is a birthday

James Dean

Born February 8, 1931 d. 1955

American actor. He starred in only three films, of which only East of Eden (1955) was released before his death. His other films were Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). His first job in TV (1952) was testing stunts for Beat the Clock. He died at age 24 in a car crash, just a month before Rebel Without a Cause was released.

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

Lana Turner

Lana Turner Close Large View
This is a birthday

Lana Turner (Julia Turner)

Born February 8, 1921 d. 1995

American actress. In 1958, her daughter stabbed Lana's gangster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato, Jr. to death. Stompanato was beating Lana Turner when her 14-year-old daughter came in a stabbed him with a knife. The coroner ruled the daughter acted in self defense. Film: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) and Peyton Place (1957).

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

First Xerox copy First Xerox copy
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Xerox

First Xerox copy First Xerox copy
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Xerox
Close Large View
This is a birthday

Invented Xerox Copying

Chester F. Carlson

Born February 8, 1906 d. 1968

American physicist, inventor of the Xerox copying (1938). Carlson approached IBM with his invention, but they turned it down. In 1947, Carlson sold the rights to the Haloid Company (later renamed Xerox), who used the technology to create the Xerox 914 in 1959. It was the first plain paper photocopier, and has been called the "most successful product of all time."

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

Mendeleev's 1871 periodic table Mendeleev's 1871 periodic table

Mendeleev's 1871 periodic table Mendeleev's 1871 periodic table
Close Large View
This is a birthday

Dmitri Mendeleev

Born February 8, 1834 d. 1907

Russian chemist. He created the periodic table of elements (1869).

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman Close Large View
This is a birthday

War is Hell

William Tecumseh Sherman

Born February 8, 1820 d. 1891

American Civil War general (Union), known for his destruction of Georgia and his statement "War is hell."

Thumbs Up
19
Thumbs Down
1

This is a birthday

Gary Coleman

Born February 8, 1968 d. 2010

American actor, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" His short 4 foot 8 inch (142.24 cm) stature was due to congenital kidney disease and its treatment. TV: Diff'rent Strokes (1978-86).

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

John Grisham

Born February 8, 1955

American author. His first book, A Time To Kill (1989), was rejected by a dozen publishers. Writings: The Firm (1991), The Pelican Brief (1992), The Client (1993).

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Robert Klein

Born February 8, 1942

American comedian.

Thumbs Up
5
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Nick Nolte

Born February 8, 1941

American actor. Film: 48 Hours (1982) and Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986). TV: Rich Man, Poor Man (1976).

Thumbs Up
6
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Ted Koppel

Born February 8, 1940

British-born Emmy-winning journalist.

Thumbs Up
19
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

John T. Williams

Born February 8, 1932

American Emmy-Grammy-Oscar-winning movie composer and conductor of the Boston Pops (1979-83). Film: The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982, Oscar), and Jurassic Park (1993).

Thumbs Up
11
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Jack Lemmon (John Uhler Lemmon III)

Born February 8, 1925 d. 2001

American Oscar-winning actor. Film: Mister Roberts (1955, Oscar, Ensign Pulver), The Odd Couple (1968), Save the Tiger (1974, Oscar), and Grumpy Old Men (1993).

Thumbs Up
7
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Audrey Meadows (Audrey Cotter)

Born February 8, 1922 d. 1996

American actress. TV: The Honeymooners (1955-56, Alice Kramden).

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

Jules Verne

Jules Verne Close Large View
This is a birthday

Jules Verne

Born February 8, 1828 d. 1905

French science fiction author. His writings foreshadowed many things that were to come, such as air conditioning, gas-powered automobiles, and television. Writings: A Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).

Thumbs Up
4
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Proclus

Born February 8, 412 d. 485

Greek mathematician. He discovered that with a given point only one line can be drawn which is parallel to another given line.

Thumbs Up
2
Thumbs Down
0

Deaths

Mary Wilson

Mary Wilson Close Large View
This is a death

Mary Wilson

Died February 8, 2021 b. 1944

American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer. Founding member of the Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. history. Music: Where Did Our Love Go (1964, #1) and Stop! In the Name of Love (1965, #1).
Writings: Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme (1986).

Thumbs Up
7
Thumbs Down
0

Anna Nicole Smith

Anna Nicole Smith Close Large View
This is a death

Anna Nicole Smith (Vickie Lynn Hogan)

Died February 8, 2007 b. 1967

American actress, model, Playmate of the Year (1993). At age 26, she married 89-year-old billionaire J. Howard Marshall. She died of an accidental overdose from a combination of drugs she was taking to fight a stomach flu.
Quote: "I'm sick of being accused of gold-digging. It just so happens I get turned on by liver spots."

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
33

Fritz Zwicky

Fritz Zwicky Close Large View
This is a death

Fritz Zwicky

Died February 8, 1974 b. 1898

Swiss Astronomer. He coined the terms "supernova" (1934) describing the transition of stars into neutron stars, and "dark matter" (1993, dunkie materie) to explain why the gravitational mass of galaxies was at least 400 times greater than expected from their luminosity.
He also said rockets could not operate in space as they required the atmosphere to push against to provide thrust, later admitting he was wrong.

Thumbs Up
2
Thumbs Down
0

Charles Curtis

Charles Curtis Close Large View
This is a death

Charles Curtis - First Native American U.S. Vice-President

Charles Curtis

Died February 8, 1936 b. 1860

31st U.S. Vice-President (1929-33). As a member of the Kaw Nation born in the Kansas Territory, Curtis was the first person of significant Native American ancestry to serve as vice president, and is still the highest-ranking enrolled Native American ever to serve in the federal government. As a child, he was raised on the Kaw reservation with his maternal grandparents. His mother was Native American of mixed Kaw, Osage, and French ancestry. His father was of English, Scots, and Welsh ancestry.
He is also the last Executive Branch officer born in a territory rather than a state, having been born in the Kansas Territory a year before it became a state.
Curtis is also the last vice president who was unmarried during his entire time in office.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
102

Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots Close Large View
This is a death

Mary Queen of Scots

Died February 8, 1587 b. 1542

Queen of Scotland (1542-67). She ascended to the throne when she was only six days old. She was beheaded for her participation in a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
19

Burt Bacharach

Burt Bacharach Close Large View
This is a death

Burt Bacharach

Died February 8, 2023 b. 1928

American Oscar-winning composer. Music: Magic Moments (1958), What's New Pussycat? (1965), Do You Know the Way to San Jose? (1968), Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (1969, Oscar, Grammy), Close To You (1970), and Arthur's Theme (1981, Oscar).

Thumbs Up
7
Thumbs Down
0

Robert Conrad

Robert Conrad Close Large View
This is a death

Robert Conrad (Conrad Robert Falk)

Died February 8, 2020 b. 1935

American actor. TV: The Wild Wild West (1965-69, secret agent Jim West) and Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976-78, Pappy Boyington).
Conrad had an undefeated professional boxing record of 4-0-1 and was inducted into the Stuntman's Hall of Fame for his stunt work on The Wild Wild West.

Thumbs Up
5
Thumbs Down
0

This is a death

Del Shannon (Charles Westover)

Died February 8, 1990 b. 1934

American singer. Music: Runaway (1961, #1).

Thumbs Up
7
Thumbs Down
0