Today's Trivia and What Happened on March 5

Is lipstick made from fish parts?

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Many shimmery lipsticks use a substance called guanine. It is made from fish scales. So next time someone tries to kiss you with fish lips…

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Quote: No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness. - Mary Shelley (Creator of Frankenstein)

Quote: No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness. - Mary Shelley (Creator of Frankenstein) Close Large View

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What Happened On

Killer Spared the Electric Chair, Killed by Electric Toilet

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Killer Spared the Electric Chair, Killed by Electric Toilet

March 5, 1989

Michael Anderson Godwin, a convicted killer once sentenced to the electric chair, accidentally electrocutes himself to death while sitting naked on a metal toilet repairing a set of earphones connected to a plugged-in TV set. Sentenced to the electric chair for murder, Godwin got his sentence overturned on appeal and commuted to life imprisonment. He was spared the electric chair, only to die on an "electric toilet."

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John Belushi Dies of Overdose

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John Belushi Dies of Overdose

March 5, 1982

33-year-old comedian John Belushi, one of the seven original cast members of Saturday Night Live (1975-81), dies of an overdose from a lethal combination of cocaine and heroin, known as a speedball.
Two months later, the woman who was with Belushi at the time of his death, Cathy Smith, gave an interview with the National Enquirer in which she admitted she had administered the fatal speedball shot. The article was titled "I Killed Belushi". The case was then reopened and Smith was charged with first-degree murder. A plea bargain reduced the charge to involuntary manslaughter, and she served 15 months in prison.

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Patsy Cline Dies in Plane Crash

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Patsy Cline Dies in Plane Crash

March 5, 1963

30-year-old country singer Patsy Cline dies when her plane crashes in inclement weather. Her pilot was not instrument rated and was trying to fly in heavy weather. She was returning home after performing at a benefit for the family of disc jockey "Cactus" Jack Call, who had died in an automobile crash a little over a month earlier.

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Hula Hoop Patented Photo Credit: BeenAroundAWhile

Hula Hoop Patented Photo Credit: BeenAroundAWhile
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Hula Hoop Patented

March 5, 1963

In 1957, Joan Anderson brought back a bamboo "exercise hoop" from Australia and called it a Hula Hoop after the motion used by Hawaiian dancers. Her husband showed it to Arthur "Spud" Melin of Wham-O and they agreed on a gentleman's handshake that they would share in any profits. However, the company would cut them out of the deal, and they got nothing.
A fad for the toy began in July 1958 with twenty-five million plastic hoops sold in less than four months, and more than 100 million units sold in two years. Melin later claimed he invented it and applied for a patent in 1959, which was granted March 5, 1963.
Art Linkletter was a major investor in the Hula Hoop.

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Iron Curtain go to Video for Iron Curtain

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Iron Curtain

March 5, 1946

Winston Churchill remarks, "An iron curtain has descended across the continent" referring to the Russian threat. The term "The Iron Curtain" would become synonymous with the boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II until the end of the Cold War in 1991.

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Early Spitfire airplane Early Spitfire airplane

Early Spitfire airplane Early Spitfire airplane
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First Flight of the Spitfire

March 5, 1936

The British Spitfire airplane makes its first flight. It was designed to counter the German Messerschmitt.

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U.S. Confiscates Gold

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U.S. Confiscates Gold

March 5, 1933

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the executive order calling for the confiscation of privately-held gold in the U.S.

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Adolf Hitler

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Adolf Hitler

March 5, 1933

Nazis win almost half of the seats in the German elections. Combined with the support of the Nazis' coalition partner, the German National People's Party, they had a majority in parliament. On March 23, Adolf Hitler used this majority to pass the Enabling Act, which effectively gave him dictatorial powers. He then used that power to ban other political parties.

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Boston Massacre as engraved by Paul Revere Boston Massacre as engraved by Paul Revere

Boston Massacre as engraved by Paul Revere Boston Massacre as engraved by Paul Revere
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Boston Massacre - Presumption of Innocence and Reasonable Doubt

March 5, 1770

British Army troops fire into a Boston mob, killing five. Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and others used the event to call for rebellion against the British authorities. Future U.S. President John Adams defended the troops in a court case that established the presumption of innocence.
A mob of Boston colonists had formed around a British sentry who was guarding the King's money stored inside the Custom House. The colonists began insulting the guard who struck one with his bayonet. The colonists retaliated by throwing snow and stones. The guard, fearing a riot and concerned for the loss of the King's money, called for reinforcements. When the colonists began striking the officers with clubs they fired back, killing five people and wounding six others.
The British soldiers were found not-guilty of murder, but two of them were found guilty of manslaughter and were branded on the thumbs as first offenders per English law.
John Adams in his opening comments for the defense of eight British soldiers accused of murder, "…that many guilty persons should escape unpunished, than one innocent person should suffer. The reason is, because it's of more importance to community, that innocence should be protected, than it is, that guilt should be punished; for guilt and crimes are so frequent in the world, that all of them cannot be punished; and many times they happen in such a manner, that it is not of much consequence to the public, whether they are punished or not. But when innocence itself, is brought to the bar and condemned, especially to die, the subject will exclaim, it is immaterial to me, whether I behave well or ill; for virtue itself, is no security. And if such a sentiment as this, should take place in the mind of the subject, there would be an end to all security what so ever."
This set the precedence for presumption of innocence of clients and that they must be proven guilty as opposed to proving they are innocent.
This trial was also the first time the phrase "reasonable doubt" was used in court when Justice Peter Oliver instructed the jury, "If upon the whole ye are in any reasonable doubt of their guilt, ye must then, agreeable to the rule of law, declare them innocent."

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Gulf War

March 5, 1991

Baghdad radio announces that Iraq has voided the annexation of Kuwait and would return Kuwaiti assets.

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Voyager I

March 5, 1979

Voyager I makes its closest approach to Jupiter, 172,000 miles.

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The Village People - In the Navy go to Video for The Village People - In the Navy

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The Village People - In the Navy

March 5, 1978

The Village People record the music video for their hit In the Navy aboard the USS Reasoner. After the success of Y.M.C.A. in promoting the YMCA, the group was asked to write a recruitment song for the Navy. They gave the Navy the rights to use the song in recruiting ads in exchange for allowing them to shoot the video on the deck of the Reasoner.

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Hall of Fame for Great Americans

March 5, 1900

The Hall of Fame for Great Americans opens in New York.

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Presidential Impeachment

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Presidential Impeachment

March 5, 1868

The Senate begins impeachment proceedings against U.S. President Andrew Johnson. The final vote would be 35-19, one short of the two-thirds majority necessary for impeachment.

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Birthdays

John Schrank and X-Ray of bullet in Roosevelt's chest John Schrank and X-Ray of bullet in Roosevelt's chest

John Schrank and X-Ray of bullet in Roosevelt's chest John Schrank and X-Ray of bullet in Roosevelt's chest
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McKinley's Ghost Told Him to Shoot Theodore Roosevelt

John Schrank

Born March 5, 1876 d. 1943

Bavarian-born New York saloon keeper. He shot former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt (1912, Milwaukee). He claimed William McKinley's ghost told him to shoot Roosevelt to avenge his death and as a warning to those who'd run for three terms as President. Roosevelt, who served as President from 1901 to 1909, was running for reelection.
Roosevelt was on the way to deliver a speech when shot. The bullet was deflected by his eyeglasses and a 50-page copy of his speech he was carrying in his jacket. Despite the wound, he insisted on delivering his speech before being taken to the hospital. Roosevelt completed his 90-minute speech with blood seeping through his shirt, opening with, "Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose. But fortunately I had my manuscript, so you see I was going to make a long speech, and there is a bullet - there is where the bullet went through - and it probably saved me from it going into my heart. The bullet is in me now, so that I cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best."
Doctors determined it would be too dangerous to remove the bullet, so Roosevelt carried it with him for the rest of his life.
Schrank was declared insane and institutionalized for the remainder of his life.

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This is a birthday

Michael Warren

Born March 5, 1946

American actor. TV: Hill Street Blues (1981-87, officer Hill).

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Samantha Eggar

Born March 5, 1939

English actress. TV: Anna and the King (1972, Anna).

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Fred Williamson

Born March 5, 1938

American football player, actor. TV: Julia (Steve Bruce).

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Dean Stockwell

Born March 5, 1936 d. 2021

American actor. TV: Quantum Leap (1989-1993, the holographic Al) and Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009, Brother Cavil).

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Rex Harrison (Reginald Carey Harrison)

Born March 5, 1908 d. 1990

British Tony-Oscar-winning actor. Film: Anna and the King of Siam (1946, the King), My Fair Lady (1964), and Doctor Dolittle (1967).

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Bob Dunn

Born March 5, 1908 d. 1989

American cartoonist. Author and artist for They'll Do It Every Time (1963-89).

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Édouard Belin

Born March 5, 1876 d. 1963

French engineer. He made the first telephoto transmission (1907). Using his own invention, he sent one from Paris to Lyon to Bordeaux and back to Paris.

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James Merritt Ives

Born March 5, 1824 d. 1895

American lithographer, co-founder of Currier & Ives (1857). Their prints recorded the last half of 19th-century American history.

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Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac

Born March 5, 1658 d. 1730

French explorer. Founder of Detroit, Michigan (1701) and for whom the Cadillac automobile was named.

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William Oughtred

Born March 5, 1574 d. 1660

English mathematician, credited with inventing the slide rule (1621), and introduced the use of 'X' to denote multiplication.

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David II

Born March 5, 1324 d. 1371

King of Scotland (1329-71).

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Henry II

Born March 5, 1133 d. 1189

King of England (1154-89).

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Deaths

Michael Anderson Godwin

Michael Anderson Godwin Close Large View
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Convicted Killer Electrocutes Himself

Michael Anderson Godwin

Died March 5, 1989 b. 1960

American criminal. He accidentally electrocuted himself to death while sitting naked on a metal toilet repairing a set of earphones connected to a plugged-in TV set. He was electrocuted when he bit into the electric cord.
Sentenced to the electric chair for murder, Godwin got his sentence overturned on appeal and commuted to life imprisonment.

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John Belushi

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John Belushi

Died March 5, 1982 b. 1949

American Emmy-winning comedian.
In 1971, Belushi joined the Second City comedy group and then joined the off-Broadway cast of National Lampoon's Lemmings, and in 1971 was hired as a writer for the syndicated National Lampoon's Radio Hour. In 1975, he became one of the seven original cast members of TV's Saturday Night Live (1975-81), where his physical style of comedy made him a star.
Belushi died from an overdose of heroin and cocaine at the age of 33. The woman who injected the drugs in him, Cathy Smith, was convicted and spent 15 months in prison for supplying him with the drugs. Smith was the subject of Gordon Lightfoot's 1974 song Sundown. Lightfoot was having an affair with Smith when he wrote the song.
TV: Saturday Night Live (1975-81). Film: National Lampoon's Animal House (1978, Bluto Blutarsky) and The Blues Brothers (1980, "Joliet" Jake Blues).

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Jay Silverheels

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Jay Silverheels (Harold J. Smith)

Died March 5, 1980 b. 1912

Canadian-born Mohawk Indian, actor. TV: The Lone Ranger (1949-57, Yes Kemosabe, it's Tonto).
Jay earned the nickname Silverheels while playing Lacrosse during the 1930s with the North American Amateur Lacrosse Association and was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1997. He also placed 2nd in the 1938 Middleweight class of the Golden Gloves tournament.

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Patsy Cline

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Patsy Cline (Virginia Peterson Hensley)

Died March 5, 1963 b. 1932

American Hall of Fame country singer. Music: I Fall to Pieces (1961, #1) and Crazy (1961). She was the first female solo performer elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1973). She died in a plane crash. Her pilot was not instrument rated and was trying to fly in heavy weather. She was returning home after performing at a benefit for the family of disc jockey "Cactus" Jack Call, who had died in an automobile crash a little over a month earlier.

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Painting by Isaak Brodsky Painting by Isaak Brodsky

Painting by Isaak Brodsky Painting by Isaak Brodsky
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Joseph Stalin

Died March 5, 1953 b. 1878

Russian dictator (1929-53). In 1893 he entered a seminary to study for the priesthood, but was expelled in 1898 for his Marxist activities. He also founded the newspaper Pravda (1911) and was Time magazine's 1939 and 1942 Man of the Year.

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Éole Patent Drawings Éole Patent Drawings

Éole Patent Drawings Éole Patent Drawings
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First Manned, Powered, Heavier-than-Air Flight

Clément Ader

Died March 5, 1926 b. 1841

French inventor. He made the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight in 1890, 13 years before the famous Wright Brothers' flight. He flew his Éole, a batwing monoplane that flew 160 feet (50 meters) during secret military tests. However, his craft was not well controlled, leaving controlled flights to later aviators, such as the Wright brothers.

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Clement VIII

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Popularized "Satan's Drink"

Clement VIII

Died March 5, 1605 b. 1536

Italian religious leader, 231st Pope (1592-1605). Declared that, "This Satan's drink (coffee) is so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it." He is responsible for the popularity of coffee use among Catholics. Coffee use was previously discouraged because it was believed to be the "bitter invention of Satan" due to its use among Muslims.

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Hugo Chávez (Hugo Rafael Chávez FrĂ­as)

Died March 5, 2013 b. 1954

President of Venezuela (1999-2013).

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Richard Kiley

Died March 5, 1999 b. 1922

American Emmy-winning actor. TV: The Thorn Birds (Emmy) and A Year in the Life (Emmy).

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Andy Samuel

Died March 5, 1992 b. 1909

American actor, one of the Little Rascals; he appeared in 19 Our Gang films as one of the oldest of the little gang members.

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Alessandro Volta

Died March 5, 1827 b. 1745

Italian physicist, inventor of the electric battery, and for whom the volt, the standard unit of electromotive force, is named.

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Franz Mesmer

Died March 5, 1815 b. 1734

German physician. Created the theory of mesmerism, the forerunner to hypnotism.

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Saint Lucius I

Died March 5, 254 b. ????

Italian religious leader, 22nd Pope (253-254).

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