Today's Puzzle
Racecar backwards is still racecar.
But, what is racecar upside down?
What Happened On
Royal Intruder
July 12, 1982
32-year-old Michael Fagan sneaks into Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom at Buckingham Palace. Initial reports claimed he and the queen sat and talked for about 10 minutes. After she was awakened, the Queen phoned the palace switchboard twice for police, but none arrived, so she used her bedside alarm bell.
Fagan had scaled Buckingham Palace's 14-foot-high (4.3 m) spiked barbed wired perimeter wall and climbed up a drainpipe. An alarm sensor detected his movements, but police thought the alarm was faulty and silenced it.
Earlier that month, Fagan had entered into Buckingham Palace by shimmying up a drainpipe. A housemaid called security, but he disappeared before guards arrived, who then didn't believe the housemaid. Fagan said he then entered the palace through an unlocked window on the roof and wandered around for the next half-hour enjoying cheese, crackers, and wine. Three alarms in total were tripped, but the police turned them off, believing they were faulty.
Newark Race Riots
July 12, 1967
The riots in Newark, New Jersey begin. Six days of rioting left 26 dead and 727 injured. The riots were in response to two Newark Police officers who arrested and beat an African American taxi driver. This was one of 159 race riots that swept U.S. cities during the "Long Hot Summer of 1967".
The Rolling Stones
July 12, 1962
The Rolling Stones make their first public performance. It was at the Marquee Club in Soho, London.
At the time, they were billed as "the Rollin' Stones" and the band consisted of Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ian Stewart, and Mick Taylor. Bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts would join the band later.
Etch A Sketch
July 12, 1960
The popular drawing toy Etch A Sketch is first produced.
The Quarrymen (Later known as The Beatles)
July 12, 1958
The Quarrymen record their first song In Spite of All the Danger as a vanity recording. The Quarrymen later became the Silver Beatles and then The Beatles. The group at the time consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, pianist John "Duff" Lowe, and drummer Colin Hanton. They also recorded That'll Be the Day during that session.
Lowe left the group to join in a band with Ricky Tomlinson and Hanton left the group after an argument with the rest of the band following a disastrous performance at the Speke Bus Depot Social Club in Wavertree in January of 1959.
Smoking Causes Cancer
July 12, 1957
Surgeon General Leroy Burney becomes the first U.S. federal official to acknowledge the connection between smoking and cancer. He issued a report stating, "It is clear that there is an increasing and consistent body of evidence that excessive cigarette smoking is one of the causative factors in lung cancer." The American Medical Association, which for years had investments in tobacco, countered in 1959 that there was insufficient evidence to warrant the assumption that smoking was the principal factor for the increase in lung cancer. Burney himself was a smoker.
US Army Medal of Honor (1862-95)
US Army Medal of Honor (1862-95)
U.S. Army Medal of Honor
July 12, 1862
The Medal of Honor is authorized by the U.S. Congress for noncommissioned Army officers and privates. It had been authorized for Navy personnel since 1861. The first recipients were awarded it for their actions in "The Great Locomotive Chase".
Crash test dummy testing seatbelts
Crash test dummy testing seatbelts
Seatbelts
July 12, 1984
New York becomes the first state to require seatbelt usage for the driver, front-seat passengers, and children under the age of 10.
Geraldine Ferraro
July 12, 1984
Walter Mondale chooses Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate in his unsuccessful bid for the U.S. presidency. She would become the first woman nominated for U.S. Vice-President by a major political party (Democratic).
First Feature-Length Film Shown in the U.S.
July 12, 1912
Queen Elizabeth, made in France and starring Sarah Bernhardt, is given a special showing in New York City. It was released to the public the following month in Chicago.
Its success convinced other American companies that feature films were commercially viable.
Adolph Zukor, who brought the film the U.S., used the profits to create what became Paramount Pictures.
Joseph Smith's first wife Emma
Joseph Smith's first wife Emma
Mormon Revelation on Polygamy
July 12, 1843
According to Brigham Young, Mormon founder Joseph Smith receives a revelation allowing polygamy. Smith was killed by a mob the following year, and this revelation was not made public by Young until 1852. Smith's wife claimed that Young made it up. Although most historians agree Smith had multiple wives, the exact number is disputed, ranging from 38 to 48. Some of the marriages occurred after his death, with a proxy standing in for Smith. Earlier in his life, Smith had publicly condemned the act of polygamy.
Birthdays
Bill Cosby
Born July 12, 1937
American Emmy-winning comic actor. TV: I Spy (1965-68) and The Cosby Show (1984-92). In 2014, TV Guide named Cosby's character Cliff Huxtable from The Cosby Show as the "Greatest Television Dad of All Time".
In a 2005 civil suit against Cosby, he admitted to having casual sex involving the recreational use of the sedative methaqualone (Quaaludes) with a series of young women.
In 2018, he was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against a Toronto woman, and sentenced to three to ten years in state prison and fined $25,000 plus court costs. In 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Cosby's conviction and he was released from prison.
Curly Joe (left) with fellow stooges Moe Howard and Larry Fine
Curly Joe (left) with fellow stooges Moe Howard and Larry Fine
"Curly Joe" DeRita (Joseph Wardell)
Born July 12, 1909 d. 1993
American comic, one of the Three Stooges. He joined with Moe Howard and Larry Fine, replacing Joe Besser. Film: Have Rocket Will Travel (1959), Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961), and The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962).
Note: Not to be confused with previous stooge Curly Howard, who died in 1952.
Milton Berle (Mendel Berlinger)
Born July 12, 1908 d. 2002
American Emmy-winning comedian. As the host of NBC's Texaco Star Theatre (1948-1953), he was the first major American television star and was known as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television." His show dominated Tuesday night ratings with as much as a 97% share of the viewing audience. Fewer movie tickets were sold on Tuesday's with some theaters and restaurants choosing to close up during the evening of his show.
He got his start in advertising as the Buster Brown kid. TV: Batman (1966-68, Louie the Lilac).
Bebé (Tiago Manuel Dias Correia)
Born July 12, 1990
Portuguese footballer. Raised in an orphanage and living parts of his childhood on the street, he was signed to Manchester United in 2010 for £7.4 million ($11.6 million USD).
Jamey Sheridan
Born July 12, 1951
American actor. TV: Shannon's Deal (Jack Shannon).
Cheryl Ladd (Cheryl Stoppelmoor)
Born July 12, 1951
American actress. TV: Charlie's Angels (1977-81, Kris Munroe).
Richard Simmons (Milton Teagle Simmons)
Born July 12, 1948 d. 2024
American fitness guru. Creator of Deal-a-Meal (1986) and Sweatin' to the Oldies (1988). Feeling that the regular gyms catered only to already fit people, Simmons opened a chain of gyms that catered to overweight people. He himself lost 123 pounds (56kg) after reaching a peak of 268 pounds (122 kg).
TV: General Hospital (1979-2013, as himself), The Richard Simmons Show (1980-84, host), and guest on numerous talk and game shows. As an art student, he appeared uncredited in the Federico Fellini films Satyricon (1968) and The Clowns (1970).
Jay Thomas (Jon Thomas Terrell)
Born July 12, 1948 d. 2017
American actor, radio talk show host. TV: Cheers (1987-89, Eddie LeBec) and Love & War (1992-95, Jack Stein).
Barbara Cowsill
Born July 12, 1928 d. 1985
American singer, member and mother of the singing family The Cowsills (They were the basis for TV's The Partridge Family). Music: The Rain, The Park & Other Things (1967, #2) and the title song for the musical Hair (1969, #2).
Richard Buckminster Fuller
Born July 12, 1895 d. 1983
American architect, invented the geodesic dome.
Oscar Hammerstein II
Born July 12, 1895 d. 1960
American lyricist,. Teamed with Richard Rodgers to form Rodgers and Hammerstein. Music: Oklahoma! (1943), Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949, 1950 Pulitzer Prize for drama).
Ads from 1888 and 1900
Ads from 1888 and 1900
George Eastman
Born July 12, 1854 d. 1932
American inventor. Founder of the Eastman Kodak Company. He patented the first practical roll film camera (Kodak, 1888).
In 1879, Eastman invented an emulsion-coating machine which enabled him to mass-produce photographic dry plates and he began selling them in 1880 in New York. Before dry plates, wet plates had to be coated, immediately exposed, and then developed while still wet. Dry plates could be exposed and then developed later.
later.
Henry David Thoreau
Born July 12, 1817 d. 1862
American poet, philosopher. Known for his book Walden. He also wrote the essay Civil Disobedience after being arrested for refusing to pay his poll tax.
Deaths
The Spy Who Got Away
Edward Lee Howard
Died July 12, 2002 b. 1951
American CIA agent. He was the first CIA officer to defect to the Soviet Union (1985). After failing a routine polygraph, he was fired by the CIA. He was later accused by a KGB agent who defected to the U.S. of working for the KGB. However, the KGB agent re-defected back to the USSR and it is believed he may have been acting as a re-doubled agent in order to provide false information to the U.S. One night, as Howard and his wife were driving, he jumped out of the car as they slowed to round a corner. A dummy was placed in his seat to fool pursuing agents. Once at home, his wife called a pre-recorded message left on an answering machine in order to fool the wiretap listeners and buy her husband more time. From New York, Howard flew to Helsinki, where he went to the Soviet embassy. He maintained his innocence until his death.
Howard is the subject of the book The Spy Who Got Away.
Lon Chaney, Jr. (Creighton Chaney)
Died July 12, 1973 b. 1906
American horror actor. Known for his monster characters, such as the Wolf Man (1941), Frankenstein's monster, and the Mummy (1940).
"Even a man who is pure in heart
And says his prayers by night
May become a wolf when the wolfs bane blooms
And the autumn moon is bright"
Mary Agnes, by Robert Henri (1924)
Mary Agnes, by Robert Henri (1924)
Robert Henri (Robert Henry Cozad)
Died July 12, 1929 b. 1865
American painter, teacher. He was an organizer of "The Eight," a group of artists who protested the restrictive exhibition practices of the National Academy of Design. He was one of the leaders of the Ashcan School that are known for works portraying daily life in New York, often in the city's poorer neighborhoods. Works: The Laughing Boy (1907) and Portrait of Mrs. Robert Henri (1911).
Co-Founder of Rolls-Royce and First English Airplane Fatality
Charles Stewart Rolls
Died July 12, 1910 b. 1877
English auto maker, aviator, co-founded the Rolls-Royce automobile company (1904). He was the first person to fly across the English Channel (1910). He was killed a month later at an air show making him the first British airplane fatality.
Hamilton on the U.S. $10 Bill
Hamilton on the U.S. $10 Bill
Killed in Duel With Vice President
Alexander Hamilton
Died July 12, 1804 b. 1757
American statesman, the first Secretary of the U.S. Treasury (1789-1795). He died of a gunshot wound from a duel with U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr. Burr was running for governor of New York State and Hamilton campaigned against him as unworthy. Burr took offense and challenged him to a duel in which Burr shot and mortally wounded Hamilton.
Hamilton also founded the U.S. Coast Guard (1790) and the first U.S. political party (1789, Federalist Party).
Dr. Ruth Westheimer (Karola Ruth Siegel)
Died July 12, 2024 b. 1928
German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, and Holocaust survivor. As the Nazis came to power, her parents sent ten-year-old Ruth to Switzerland for safety. They remained behind to care for her elderly grandmother and were both subsequently sent to concentration camps where they were killed. At 17 years of age, Ruth joined the Haganah (Zionist paramilitary organization) and was trained as a sniper, but never saw combat.
From 1980 to 1990, Westheimer hosted a radio call-in show called Sexually Speaking. By 1983 it was the top-rated radio show in the area. She then started her television show, The Dr. Ruth Show (1984-91), which attracted up to 2 million viewers a week. She became known for her tag phrase, "Get some".
John Chancellor
Died July 12, 1996 b. 1927
American TV anchorman, commentator for NBC.
Bill Burrud
Died July 12, 1990 b. 1925
American TV personality. TV: Animal Safari (host) and Safari to Adventure (host).
Sidney Hook
Died July 12, 1989 b. 1902
American author, political philosopher.
Alfred Dreyfus
Died July 12, 1935 b. 1859
French army officer of Jewish descent. In 1894, he was wrongly convicted of treason by an anti-Semitic military court. A national scandal erupted in 1897 when evidence surfaced indicating his innocence. He was again convicted, but was pardoned by the French president.
Dreyfus had been convicted based on handwriting evidence, which later determined to be that of the true culprit, a Catholic officer named Esterhazy.
Invented the Outboard Engine
Ole Evinrude
Died July 12, 1934 b. 1877
Norwegian inventor. After rowing a boat to a picnic, he decided there had to be a better way and invented the outboard marine engine (1909).
Cyrus West Field
Died July 12, 1892 b. 1819
American financier. He laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable (1858). It failed after only a month of operation. He failed again in a second attempt in 1865 before succeeding in 1866.
Tom Taylor
Died July 12, 1880 b. 1817
English playwright. Writings: Our American Cousin (1858) which was being presented at Ford's Theater during Lincoln's assassination.
Dolley Madison (Dorothea Dandridge Payne)
Died July 12, 1849 b. 1768
American First Lady (1809-17), wife of James Madison. Known for her social graces, she helped define the role of the First Lady. Dolley also helped furnish the newly constructed White House (then known as the "President's House"). When the British set fire to it in 1814, she saved many of its valuables, including the classic portrait of George Washington.
David Douglas
Died July 12, 1834 b. 1798
Scottish botanist, for whom the Douglas fir tree is named.
Jean Picard
Died July 12, 1682 b. 1620
French astronomer, regarded as the founder of modern astronomy in France. He is noted for his accurate measurement of Earth's polar radius, which he calculated to be 3,932.6 miles (6328.9 km). Modern calculations place the value at 3,950 miles (6357 km).