Today's Trivia and What Happened on December 22

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The word "whats" is misspelled.

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Quote: If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us. - Hermann Hesse

Quote: If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us. - Hermann Hesse Close Large View

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What Happened On

Shoe Bomber

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Shoe Bomber

December 22, 2001

Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63. He was subdued by the crew and passengers while attempting to light the bomb. He was unable to light the bomb because sweat from his feet had dampened the explosives. Reid, an Islamic fundamentalist from the United Kingdom and self-proclaimed Al-Qaeda operative, was sentenced to 3 life terms plus 110 years without parole.

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CC at 2 years old with her owner CC at 2 years old with her owner
Photo Credit: Pschemp

CC at 2 years old with her owner CC at 2 years old with her owner
Photo Credit: Pschemp
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First Cloned Pet

December 22, 2001

The first cloned pet, CC the cat is born. CC stands for "CopyCat" or "Carbon Copy." She was cloned by scientists at Texas A&M University. In 2006, CC gave birth to kittens. This was the first time a cloned pet gave birth. CC appears to be free of the cloning-related health problems that have arisen in some other animal clones.

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Vietnam War - First To Fall

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Vietnam War - First To Fall

December 22, 1961

Army Specialist 4 James Thomas Davis is killed in Vietnam. Several years later, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson would declare him as "The first American to fall in defense of our freedom in Vietnam."
Davis was killed when he was traveling as a military advisor with ten South Vietnamese soldiers when an enemy mine blasted the truck they were riding in. The explosion caused the vehicle to roll off the road and Viet Cong rebels began spraying the truck with machine gun fire. Davis survived the crash and managed to return fire before he was killed. All ten South Vietnamese soldiers were also killed.
Note: Even though Johnson declared him the first "official death", other American soldiers had previously died in Vietnam.

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Colo in 2009 Colo in 2009
Photo Credit: Adolphus79

Colo in 2009 Colo in 2009
Photo Credit: Adolphus79
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First Gorilla Born in Captivity

December 22, 1956

Colo is born at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio. She was rejected by her birth mother and zookeepers had to hand-raise her. She died in 2017.

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"NUTS!"

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"NUTS!"

December 22, 1944

During the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans had encircled the Allied forces with armored units and thinking they had certain victory, sent an ultimatum to Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe to surrender or face immediate annihilation. Upon hearing the demand, McAuliffe replied, "Aw nuts". He then sent back the following message:
"To the German Commander.
NUTS!
The American Commander."
The 101st held off the Germans and the Battle of Bulge ended in an Allied victory. It was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II.

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American children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with the Bellamy Salute in 1941 American children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with the Bellamy Salute in 1941

American children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with the Bellamy Salute in 1941 American children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with the Bellamy Salute in 1941
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Bellamy Salute Replaced with Hand Over Heart Salute

December 22, 1942

The Bellamy Salute is replaced with the hand-over-heart salute when Congress amends the Flag Code. The Bellamy Salute, which had been the official way to salute the American Flag when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, had lost favor because of its similarity to the salutes adopted by the Italian fascists and Nazis leading up to World War II. Propagandists would photograph Americans who were opposed to entering the war, such as Charles Lindbergh, giving the Bellamy Salute, but leave out the American flag, making it look like they were giving a Nazi salute.
The Bellamy Salute is named after Francis Bellamy, the author of the Pledge of Allegiance, who designated it as the proper way to salute the flag when reciting the pledge.
The original Bellamy Salute salute started with a military salute (extended right hand at forehead with palm down), and as the words "to my Flag" were spoken, the right hand was extended palm upwards towards the flag, dropping to the side at the end of the pledge. But, the palm-up gesture was difficult to perform for many people, so it was replaced with a palm-down salute.

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First Human X-Ray

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First Human X-Ray

December 22, 1895

Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen, German physicist and discoverer of the X-ray, makes a x-ray of his wife's hand. When she saw her skeleton, she exclaimed "I have seen my death!"

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Perforated Toilet Paper

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Perforated Toilet Paper

December 22, 1891

Seth Wheeler receives the U.S. patent for perforated toilet paper. His patent was for the ability to easily tear off sheets. This was accomplished via perforations starting at each side, but not quite meeting in the middle (See letter 'd' in the image). Wheeler also patented "Ornamental Toilet Paper."

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Johnson's 1882 lighted Christmas tree Johnson's 1882 lighted Christmas tree

Johnson's 1882 lighted Christmas tree Johnson's 1882 lighted Christmas tree
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First Christmas Tree With Electric Lights

December 22, 1882

Edward H. Johnson had a set of 80 red, white, and blue electric incandescent light bulbs wired together for his home Christmas tree. Johnson was an associate of Thomas Edison and vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company.
Electric bulbs were too expensive for the average home at the time and didn't start replacing tree candles until the 1930s.
In the early 1900s, you could rent Christmas tree lights for the season for $12 - That's equivalent to over $300 in today's money.

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Subway Vigilante

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Subway Vigilante

December 22, 1984

Bernhard Goetz shoots four black youths in a N.Y. subway car, claiming he was frightened when they asked for $5. He was seen as a hero to many New Yorkers, who were tired of the crime in the city. In 1981, he was the victim of a mugging and was upset because the attacker spent less time in the police station than Goetz himself. He was further angered when his attacker was charged only with criminal mischief, for ripping Goetz's jacket. Goetz applied for a concealed handgun permit, but was denied. He then bought a 5-shot .38-caliber revolver which he carried illegally. In 1984, four youths who were on their way to steal from a video arcade, confronted Goetz on the subway asking for $5. Two of the youths had moved next to Goetz, blocking him from the other passengers. Believing that he was being set up for a mugging, Goetz pulled his gun and began shooting the youths, hitting one in the chest, one in the back, the third in the arm and left side, and the fourth in the spinal column paralyzing him.
Although at the time, the youths claimed they were only panhandling, one later admitted that they did indeed intend to rob Goetz.
He was acquitted of attempted murder and first-degree assault charges, but convicted of criminal possession of a weapon and served eight months in prison.
In a 1996 civil trial, the paralyzed youth was awarded $43 million dollars.

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Thunderball

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Thunderball

December 22, 1965

The James Bond movie Thunderball premieres in the U.S., 4th in the James Bond series, it starred Sean Connery as 007. Bond's mission to find two NATO atomic bombs stolen by SPECTRE, which holds the world for ransom of £100 million in diamonds under its threat to destroy an unspecified metropolis.
This was originally intended to be first in Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman Bond series, but it got tied up in a legal dispute and Dr. No became their first Bond film.
With worldwide box office receipts of $141.2 million, it is the most successful Bond film in the series.

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United States Golf Association

December 22, 1894

United States Golf Association (USGA) is formed.

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Birthdays

Barbara Billingsley

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Barbara Billingsley (Barbara Lillian Combes)

Born December 22, 1915 d. 2010

American actress. TV: Leave It to Beaver (1957-63, June Cleaver), The New Leave It to Beaver (1985-89, June Cleaver), and Muppet Babies (1984-91, voice of Nanny). Film: Airplane! (1980, the elderly passenger who spoke jive).

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Diocletianic Persecution of Christians Diocletianic Persecution of Christians

Diocletianic Persecution of Christians Diocletianic Persecution of Christians
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Diocletian

Born December 22, 244 d. 311

Roman emperor (A.D. 284-305). Known for the Diocletianic Persecution (A.D. 303-11), the empire's last, largest, and bloodiest official persecution of Christianity. Despite these efforts, Christianity became the empire's preferred religion under emperor Constantine I. Diocletian was able to stabilize the empire's economy, which had been on the brink of collapse. He was the first Roman emperor to abdicate the position voluntarily, doing so due to health reasons.

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(top to bottom) Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb (top to bottom) Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb

(top to bottom) Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb (top to bottom) Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb
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Robin (d. 2012) and Maurice (d. 2003) Gibb

Born December 22, 1949

British-Australian singers, songwriters, with the Bee Gees. Music: Stayin' Alive (1977) and Night Fever (1977, #1).

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Diane Sawyer

Born December 22, 1945

American news correspondent. TV: 60 Minutes and PrimeTime Live.

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Ruth Roman (Norma Roman)

Born December 22, 1922 d. 1999

American actress. She played the title role in the 1945 thirteen-episode serial Jungle Queen. TV: Knots Landing (Sylvia Lean).

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Gene Rayburn

Born December 22, 1917 d. 1999

American TV personality. TV: The Match Game (emcee).

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Lady Bird Johnson

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Lady Bird Johnson (Claudia Alta Taylor)

Born December 22, 1912 d. 2007

American First Lady (1963-69), wife of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. As an infant, her nursemaid said that she was as "purty as a ladybird" and she used the name the rest of her life.
Johnson advocated for beautifying the nation's cities and highways, using the slogan "Where flowers bloom, so does hope".

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Edwin Arlington Robinson

Born December 22, 1869 d. 1935

American poet, 3-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, known for his short character sketches such as Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy.

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Giacomo Puccini

Born December 22, 1858 d. 1924

Italian operatic composer. Operas: La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), and Madama Butterfly (1904).

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William Ellery

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William Ellery

Born December 22, 1727 d. 1820

American patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

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James Edward Oglethorpe

Born December 22, 1696 d. 1785

English general, colonized Georgia and founded the city of Savannah (1733).

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Deaths

Darryl F. Zanuck

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Darryl F. Zanuck (Darryl Francis Zanuck)

Died December 22, 1979 b. 1902

American Oscar-winning movie producer and executive, co-founder of 20th Century Pictures (1933). In 1946 he predicted the quick demise of television stating, "People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."

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James Thomas Davis

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First To Fall In Vietnam

James Thomas Davis

Died December 22, 1961 b. 1936

American soldier. Davis was declared "The first American to fall in defense of our freedom in Vietnam" by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. On December 22, 1961, Davis was traveling as a military advisor with ten South Vietnamese soldiers when an enemy mine blasted the truck they were riding in. The explosion caused the vehicle to roll off the road and Viet Cong rebels began spraying the truck with machine gun fire. Davis survived the crash and managed to return fire before he was killed. All ten South Vietnamese soldiers were also killed.
Note: Even though he was declared the first "official death", other American soldiers had previously died in Vietnam.

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Gilda Gray

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Gilda Gray

Died December 22, 1959 b. 1901

Polish-born American dancer, singer. She popularized the Shimmy dance of the Roaring Twenties.

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Beatrix Potter

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Beatrix Potter

Died December 22, 1943 b. 1866

English author, illustrator. Writings: The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901). The story is about Peter Rabbit, his triplet siblings, Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and their widowed mother who warned them to stay clear of McGregor's garden, who's wife had put their father in a pie after he was caught in the garden.
The original story was written in 1893 for the five-year-old son of Potter's former governess. Potter revised the story in 1901 and after several publishers' rejections had 250 copies privately printed. The book has since sold over 45 million copies and is one of the best-selling books in history.

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Charles Kassel Harris go to Video for Charles Kassel Harris

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First Million-Seller Song

Charles Kassel Harris

Died December 22, 1930 b. 1867

American songwriter. "King of the Tear Jerker." He wrote After the Ball (1892), the first million-seller song. Sold as sheet music, it was the best-selling sheet music of its era and eventually sold 5 million copies. Although slow selling at first, it was performed regularly by John Philip Sousa and his band at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and soon became an international hit. It was also used in the 1927 musical Show Boat (and later film productions) to exemplify 1890's music.
His next hit was the 1897 song Break the News to Mother, about a dying soldier, which coincided with the Spanish-American War. It became a hit again in 1917 during World War I.

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Stephen Daye

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First British North American Printer

Stephen Daye

Died December 22, 1668 b. circa 1594

American printer. He was the first printer in British America with a broadside of Freeman's Oath (1639). He also printed the Bay Psalm Book (1640), the first book printed in America in English.

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Joe Cocker (John Robert Cocker)

Died December 22, 2014 b. 1944

British singer. Music: With a Little Help From My Friends (1968, #1 UK), You Are So Beautiful (1974), and Up Where We Belong (1982, #1).

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Butterfly McQueen (Thelma McQueen)

Died December 22, 1995 b. 1911

American Emmy-winning actress. Film: Gone with the Wind (1939, Scarlett O'Hara's maid Prissy. "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies!"). TV: Beulah (Oriole, 1950-52).

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Don DeFore

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Don DeFore

Died December 22, 1993 b. 1913

American actor. TV: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-57, next-door neighbor "Thorny" Thornberry) and Hazel (1961-65, Mr. Baxter).

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Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini

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First American Saint

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (Francesca Saverio Cabrini)

Died December 22, 1917 b. 1850

American religious sister, patron Saint of Emigrants. She was the first American declared a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church (1946). She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

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Baron Richard von Krafft-Ebing

Died December 22, 1902 b. 1840

German physician, neurologist, pioneer in clinical psychology. His Psychopathia Sexualis (1886) became a standard text and has been translated into seven languages.

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Vitellius dragged into the streets and killed Vitellius dragged into the streets and killed

Vitellius dragged into the streets and killed Vitellius dragged into the streets and killed
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Aulus Vitellius

Died December 22,  69 b.  15

Roman Emperor (A.D. Apr-Dec 69). Shortly after he took the throne, the armies of the eastern provinces proclaimed Vespian emperor. When Vitellius heard this news many of his supporters deserted him and he agreed to resign. However, when Vespian's army arrived they were attacked by the public and 50,000 people were killed in the ensuing battle. Vitellius was eventually dragged from his hiding place and killed uttering his final words, "Yet I was once your emperor."

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