Today's Puzzle
What 4-letter word can be written forwards, backwards, or upside down and can still be read from left to right?
What Happened On
Michael Jackson's Moonwalk
May 16, 1983
First TV broadcast of Michael Jackson's signature move, the Moonwalk. Michael Jackson performed the dance move during the song Billie Jean for the TV show 
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, which had been taped before a live audience March 25, 1983.
Tabei in 1985
Photo Credit: Jaan Künnap
Tabei in 1985Photo Credit: Jaan Künnap
First Woman to Summit Mt. Everest
May 16, 1975
Junko Tabei of Japan summits Mt. Everest. In 1992, she also became the first woman to ascend all Seven Summits by climbing the highest peak on every continent.
First Known AIDS Death
May 16, 1969
A 15-year-old St. Louis boy dies of a disease that baffled his doctors. In 1987 it was determined through stored blood samples that he had died of AIDS.
The AIDS epidemic wasn't recognized until 1981, after a report was issued concerning an unexplained outbreak, among homosexual men, of a type of pneumonia which usually affects only cancer patients.
First Laser
May 16, 1960
Theodore Maiman emits the world's first laser light. His laser utilized a synthetic pink ruby crystal as the lasing medium and a helical xenon flash lamp as the excitation source.
The term "laser" is an acronym for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation". A laser emits light that is coherent which allows the beam to stay narrow over long distances and to be focused to a tight spot, enabling applications such as laser cutting and laser pointers.
First Academy Awards
May 16, 1929
Wings wins the Oscar for best film.
Amelia Earhart
May 16, 1922
The famed aviator Amelia Earhart is issued her pilot's license. She was the 16th woman to be issued a pilot's license by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
The Nickel
May 16, 1866
The nickel 5-cent piece is authorized by the U.S. Congress, replacing the silver half-dime. It was composed of 25% nickel and 75% copper and became known as the "Shield Nickel". Industrialist Joseph Wharton, co-founder of Bethlehem steel, advocated for Congress to mint the coin from nickel, a metal in which he had significant financial interests.
Dan Quayle
May 16, 1989
U.S. Vice-President Dan Quayle states that President George H. W. Bush had asked him, "I know you've had some rough times, and I want to do something that will show the nation what faith that I have in you, in your maturity and sense of responsibility. Would you like a puppy?"
Smoking is Addictive
May 16, 1988
The Surgeon General issues a report declaring tobacco products as addictive. The Tobacco Institute refuted the report. (Hmm… Whom to believe?)
Ornamental Toilet Paper
May 16, 1893
Seth Wheeler, the inventor of perforated toilet paper, receives another toilet paper patent, this time for the "PROCESS OF ORNAMENTING PAPER" to create decorative toilet paper. This was done by wrinkling the surface so as to produce permanent raised and sunken portions on the surface of the paper.
Birthdays
Photo Credit: Allan warren
Photo Credit: Allan warren
Liberace (Wladziu Valentino Liberace)
Born May 16, 1919 d. 1987
American flamboyant pianist. He captivated audiences with his extravagant costumes and elaborate candelabra. His television show, The Liberace Show (1952-69), was an instant hit, garnering him over 10,000 fan letters a week. He ended each show with his signature closing song I'll Be Seeing You.
Liberace was one of the first major celebrities to die of AIDS.
Charles F. Brannock
Born May 16, 1903 d. 1992
American inventor. He invented the "Brannock Device" (1925), the metal shoe-size measurer used in thousands of shoe stores. Brannock managed the company that manufactured the devices until his death at age 89 in 1992.
Brannock was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1992.
Gabriela Sabatini
Born May 16, 1970
Argentine tennis player, U.S. Open winner (1990).
Janet Jackson
Born May 16, 1966
American singer, actress, sister of the Jackson Five members. During the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, she had a "wardrobe malfunction" that exposed her right breast. TV: Diff'rent Strokes (Charlene DuPrey), and Good Times (Penny).
Olga Korbut
Born May 16, 1955
Russian gymnast, winner of three gold medals in the 1972 Olympics. She was the first person to perform a backwards somersault on the balance beam.
Photo Credit: Alice Attie
Photo Credit: Alice Attie
Debra Winger
Born May 16, 1955
American actress. Film: Urban Cowboy (1980), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982, voice of E.T., along with Pat Walsh), An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), and Terms of Endearment (1983).
Pierce Brosnan
Born May 16, 1953
Irish actor. TV: Remington Steele (Remington Steele). Film: Starred as 007 in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. Also starred in Mamma Mia! The Movie (2008).
Chris Browne (Christopher Kelly Browne)
Born May 16, 1952 d. 2023
American cartoonist. Son of Hägar the Horrible creator Dik Browne. After his father's death in 1989, he became the artist and writer for Hägar the Horrible until 2023.
Billy Martin (Alfred Manuel Pesano, Jr.)
Born May 16, 1928 d. 1989
American baseball manager of the New York Yankees.
Henry Fonda
Born May 16, 1905 d. 1982
American Oscar-winning actor. Film: My Darling Clementine (1946), Mr. Roberts (1955), and On Golden Pond (1981, Oscar).
Levi P. Morton (Levi Parsons Morton)
Born May 16, 1824 d. 1920
American politician. 22nd U.S. Vice-President (1889-93), governor of New York (1895-96), United States Minister to France (1881-85), and U.S. House of Representatives (1879-81, New York).
William Henry Seward
Born May 16, 1801 d. 1872
American statesman. He purchased Alaska for the U.S. from Russia for 2¢ an acre, which was derisively called "Seward's Folly." He was also governor of New York (1839-43), U.S. Senator (1849-61), and U.S. Secretary of State (1861-69).
He also gave President Abraham Lincoln two kittens, which became the first two pet cats in the White House. Lincoln named them Tabby and Dixie.
Innocent XI
Born May 16, 1611 d. 1689
Italian religious leader, 240th Pope (1676-89).
Deaths
Edgar C. Whisenant
Died May 16, 2001 b. 1932
American NASA engineer and Bible student. His book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988, which sold 4.5 million copies, predicted the Rapture would occur between September 11 and 13, 1988. As the date loomed, Trinity Broadcasting Network provided special bulletins with instructions on preparing for the Rapture. Whisenant claimed, "Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong".
After the predicted date passed, he followed up with books predicting the Rapture in 1989 and 1993, and the destruction of the Earth by nuclear bomb fire in 1994. He continued making doomsday predictions up to 1997.
Sammy Davis Jr.
Died May 16, 1990 b. 1925
American singer, dancer, actor. Music: That Old Black Magic (1956) and Candy Man (1972, #1). He and Nancy Sinatra engaged in U.S. TV's first interracial kiss on her TV special Movin' with Nancy (1967). After a 1954 car crash that robbed him of his left eye, he joked of being "the world's only one-eyed Jewish n--ger."
Jim Henson
Died May 16, 1990 b. 1936
American Emmy-winning muppeteer. Creator of the Muppets (1956), including Kermit the Frog, and winner of 18 Emmy, 7 Grammy, 4 Peabody, and 5 ACE awards. He died of toxic shock syndrome after experiencing flu-like symptoms.
Margaret Hamilton
Died May 16, 1985 b. 1902
American actress. Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz (1939, also played bicycle-riding Miss Almira Gulch) - "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" During the filming of The Wizard of Oz, Hamilton received second-degree burn on her face and a third-degree burn on her hand while filming the wicked witch's fiery exit from Munchkinland. Her injuries required hospitalization and six weeks of recovery in her home before she could resume filming.
She also played Cora in the TV commercials for Maxwell House coffee.
Andy Kaufman
Died May 16, 1984 b. 1949
American actor, comedian. TV: Taxi (1978-83, Latka Gravas). He was banned from Saturday Night Live after losing a viewer phone-in vote by 26,358 votes.
Known as a performance artist, he once stated in an interview, "I am not a comic, I have never told a joke. The comedian's promise is that he will go out there and make you laugh with him. My only promise is that I will try to entertain you as best I can."
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood
Charles Perrault
Died May 16, 1703 b. 1628
French author. In 1697, he published his now famous versions of popular folk tales, which included: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Bluebeard, Little Red Riding-Hood, and Puss in Boots.
Dabney Coleman (Dabney Wharton Coleman)
Died May 16, 2024 b. 1932
American Emmy-winning actor. Film: 9 to 5 (1980), On Golden Pond (1981), Tootsie (1982), and You've Got Mail (1998). TV: Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976-77, Merle Jeeter).
Inventor of the Curveball
Candy Cummings (William Arthur Cummings)
Died May 16, 1924 b. 1848
American baseball Hall of Famer. Inventor of the curveball.
Levi P. Morton (Levi Parsons Morton)
Died May 16, 1920 b. 1824
American politician. 22nd U.S. Vice-President (1889-93), governor of New York (1895-96), United States Minister to France (1881-85), and U.S. House of Representatives (1879-81, New York).
Photo Credit: Mbrickn
Photo Credit: Mbrickn
William Nast
Died May 16, 1899 b. 1807
American clergyman. Founder of the first German Methodist church in the U.S.
Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier
Died May 16, 1830 b. 1768
French mathematician. He developed the Fourier Series, one of the landmarks of mathematics.