Today's Trivia and What Happened on June 14

Today's Puzzle

Today's Puzzle

How did the hipster burn the roof of his mouth?

He ate pizza before it was cool.

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Quote: If one door closes and another opens, you are probably in prison. - Anonymous

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Holidays

Flag Day

Celebrating the flag.

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What Happened On

The Black and White Minstrel Show

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The Black and White Minstrel Show

June 14, 1958

The British variety show The Black and White Minstrel Show (1958-78) premieres on BBC. It presented American minstrel and country songs, music hall numbers, adorned with lavish costumes. The show was controversial due to its use of blackface. Rising objections to the use of blackface as being offensive and racist caused it to be replaced by Music Music Music, in which the minstrels appeared without blackface. Due to the poor ratings of Music Music Music, the show was brought back. The show spawned a stage show that toured until 1989.

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"Under God" Added to Pledge of Allegiance

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"Under God" Added to Pledge of Allegiance

June 14, 1954

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the Congressional bill adding the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. The original pledge, written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy a devout Christian, had no mention of God, as Bellamy strongly believed in the separation of church and state.
The previous version: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all," was changed to "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

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What Happened To Channel 1?

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What Happened To Channel 1?

June 14, 1948

The FCC removes channel 1 from the U.S. television broadcasting channels. Channel 1's frequency range of 44–50 MHz was then allotted to land and mobile services. Instead of renumbering 2 through 13, channel 1 was simply removed. There were originally channels 1 through 19 allocated in 1938, but channels 14 through 19 had already been removed.

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First Black Performer on Television

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First Black Performer on Television

June 14, 1939

Ethel Waters becomes the first black performer on television when NBC broadcasts the one-hour variety show The Ethel Waters Show. The show featured skits and Waters performing a scene from her recent Broadway play Mamba's Daughters, along with two black actresses from the production, Georgette Harvey and Fredi Washington. The show also included white performers Joey Faye and Philip Loeb.
Waters also went on to become the first black star of a TV dramatic series (1950-51, Beulah) and the first black actress nominated for an Emmy (1961, for an episode of Route 66).

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Two variations of the 1777 flag Two variations of the 1777 flag

Two variations of the 1777 flag Two variations of the 1777 flag
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American Flag

June 14, 1777

The flag of 13 stars and 13 stripes is adopted by the Second Continental Congress, replacing the Grand Union flag. It did not specify any particular arrangement, number of points, nor orientation for the stars, or whether the flag had to have seven red stripes and six white stripes or vice versa. Those choices were left up to the flag maker.

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Longest Time Between Birth of Triplets

June 14, 1993

A Vancouver, British Columbia woman delivers the last two of her triplets. The first baby was born 45 days earlier.

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Zsa Zsa Gabor Slaps a Cop

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Zsa Zsa Gabor Slaps a Cop

June 14, 1989

The Hungarian beauty queen, Zsa Zsa Gabor, slaps a Beverly Hills police officer who stopped her for a traffic violation. She was sentenced to three days in jail and $13,000 in court costs.

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Gun Control Hypocrisy

June 14, 1988

Columnist and Gun control advocate Carl Rowan shoots a teenager with an illegal gun. He had previously stated in his column that "…anyone found in possession of a handgun except a legitimate officer of the law goes to jail—period."

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The Gong Show

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The Gong Show

June 14, 1976

The Gong Show debuts on NBC. It was created, produced, and hosted by Chuck Barris.

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Dr. Spock Convicted for Aiding in Draft Evasion

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Dr. Spock Convicted for Aiding in Draft Evasion

June 14, 1968

The famed baby doctor and Olympic gold medal winner, Dr. Benjamin Spock, is convicted of conspiracy to aid others in draft evasion during the Vietnam War. He was sentenced to two years.
Dr. Spock wrote of The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946), which was one of the best-selling books of the twentieth century, selling 500,000 copies in its first six months and 50 million by the time of Spock's death in 1998.

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USS Nautilus launched in 1954 USS Nautilus launched in 1954

USS Nautilus launched in 1954 USS Nautilus launched in 1954
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First Nuclear Powered Submarine

June 14, 1952

The keel is laid for the USS Nautilus. It was launched in 1954.

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World War II

June 14, 1940

Paris falls to Germany.

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Bligh and his men being set adrift Bligh and his men being set adrift

Bligh and his men being set adrift Bligh and his men being set adrift
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Mutiny on the Bounty

June 14, 1789

William Bligh (aka Captain Bligh) arrives safely on the Island of Timor. 45 days earlier Fletcher Christian had led a mutiny on Bligh's ship the HMS Bounty and set Bligh and 18 of his men adrift on an open boat 3,600 miles away. Christian and the mutineers lived out their lives on Pitcairn Island among the native inhabitants.

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Birthdays

Donald Trump

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Donald Trump

Born June 14, 1946

American businessman, real estate developer, politician. 45th U.S. President (2017-21). He was at the time the oldest (age 70) person to assume the U.S. presidency (until Joseph Biden) and wealthiest person to assume the U.S. presidency. He is the first U.S. president without prior military or governmental service.
TV: WrestleMania IV and V (1988-89, host and in 2013 Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame), The Apprentice (2004-17, executive producer, host, with Trump's catchphrase "You're fired"), and Miss Universe pageant (1996-2015, producer, for which he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame).

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Burl Ives

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Burl Ives (Burle Icle Ivanhoe)

Born June 14, 1909 d. 1995

American Oscar-winning actor, singer. He was jailed in Mona, Utah, for singing Foggy Foggy Dew (An Irish ballad) in public, which authorities deemed a bawdy song.
Film: Big Country (1958, Oscar) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958, Big Daddy). TV: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964, voice of Samuel The Snowman) and The Bold Ones: The Lawyers (1969-72, Walter Nichols).

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Harriet Beecher Stowe

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Harriet Beecher Stowe

Born June 14, 1811 d. 1896

American author. Writings: Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852, which was the first American novel to sell 1,000,000 copies).

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Boy George (George Allan O'Dowd)

Born June 14, 1961

British singer. Music: Do You Really Want To Hurt Me (1982, #1) and Karma Chameleon (1983, #1).

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Eddie Mekka

Born June 14, 1952 d. 2021

American actor. TV: Laverne & Shirley (1976-83, Carmine Ragusa).

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This is a birthday

Bob Frankston

Born June 14, 1949

American computer scientist. He and Dan Bricklin created VisiCalc, the first computer spreadsheet (1979).

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Jack Bannon (John James Bannon)

Born June 14, 1940 d. 2017

American actor. TV: Lou Grant (1977-82, assistant editor Art Donovan).

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Sam Wanamaker

Born June 14, 1919 d. 1993

American actor. Film: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and Private Benjamin (1980). He is best known for rebuilding London's famous Globe Theater.

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Gene Barry (Eugene Klass)

Born June 14, 1919 d. 2009

American actor. Film: The War of the Worlds (1953, Dr. Clayton Forrester). TV: Bat Masterson (title role).

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Dorothy McGuire

Born June 14, 1916 d. 2001

American actress. Film: The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965, the Virgin Mary) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960, the mother).

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Karl Landsteiner

Born June 14, 1868 d. 1943

Austrian-born American pathologist, discovered the four basic blood types (1900) and that the donor and recipient of blood transfusions must be compatible types.

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Nikolaus August Otto

Born June 14, 1832 d. 1891

German co-inventor of the internal combustion engine (1867) and built a four-stroke Otto cycle engine (1876) which is used in most automobiles.

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John Bartlett

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Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

John Bartlett

Born June 14, 1820 d. 1905

American publisher, editor. He compiled A Collection of Familiar Quotations (1855), now called Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, often simply called Bartlett's, and is still in publication.

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Charles Augustin Coulomb

Born June 14, 1736 d. 1806

French physicist, and for whom the coulomb (a measure of electrical charge) is named.

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Deaths

Marlin Perkins

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Marlin Perkins

Died June 14, 1986 b. 1905

American zoo director, TV personality. Host of TV's Wild Kingdom from 1963 to 1985. During his previous show, Zoo Parade (1950-57), Perkins was bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a rehearsal. This event has become an urban legend as many people "remember" seeing it on television, however, it wasn't filmed and consequently was never broadcast. (This type of false memory shared by multiple people is known as the "Mandela Effect.")

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Baird using dummies to demonstrate an early TV system Baird using dummies to demonstrate an early TV system

Baird using dummies to demonstrate an early TV system Baird using dummies to demonstrate an early TV system
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Father of the Television

John Logie Baird

Died June 14, 1946 b. 1888

Scottish inventor, "Father of the Television." He gave the first demonstration of true TV in London (1926) and the first public demonstration of color TV (1928). He also later patented a 3-D TV system (1944).
Some of Baird's other inventions were less successful. He tried to create diamonds by heating graphite, but shorted out Glasgow's electricity supply in the process. He invented a glass razor, which was rust-resistant, but shattered. He attempted to make pneumatic shoes with semi-inflated balloons, but they burst.

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Benedict Arnold

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Benedict Arnold

Died June 14, 1801 b. 1741

American general, traitor. He attempted to betray West Point to the British during the American Revolution. Before this, he was considered an American hero of the Revolution: Arnold helped capture the British garrison of Fort Ticonderoga, hindered a British invasion of New York at the Battle of Lake Champlain, and played a crucial role in the surrender of British General John Burgoyne's army at Saratoga. However, he began spying for the British and plotted to surrender West Point. When his plot was exposed, he began fighting for the British.

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Henry Mancini

Died June 14, 1994 b. 1924

American Oscar-Grammy-winning composer. Music: Moon River (1961) and The Pink Panther (1964).

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V.T. Hamlin

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V.T. Hamlin (Vincent Trout Hamlin)

Died June 14, 1993 b. 1900

American cartoonist. Creator of Alley Oop (1932).

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Alan Reed (Teddy Bergman)

Died June 14, 1977 b. 1907

American actor. TV: The Flintstones (voice of Fred).

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Adlai Ewing Stevenson I

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Adlai Ewing Stevenson I

Died June 14, 1914 b. 1835

American politician. 23rd U.S. Vice-President (1893-97 under Grover Cleveland), U.S. House of Representatives (1875-77, 1879-81, Illinois). While serving as first Assistant Postmaster General in 1885, he fired over 40,000 Republican workers and replaced them with Southern Democrats. In 1893, due to mouth cancer he required the replacement of his upper jaw with a prosthesis. Not wanting to start another panic on Wall Street, the operation was kept secret by performing it on a yacht.

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Designer of Washington D.C.

Pierre Charles L'Enfant

Died June 14, 1825 b. 1754

French-born American Revolutionary War officer, engineer. He designed the city of Washington D.C.

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