Today's Trivia and What Happened on February 7

Why did the riot cop go to work early?

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So he could beat the crowds.

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Quote: Sales clerk: How much do you want to spend on your wife's gift? Jack Benny: Oh no, I have to get her something nicer than that. - Jack Benny

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What Happened On

America's Most Wanted

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America's Most Wanted

February 7, 1988

The crime show that asked citizens to call a crime hotline to help capture fugitives debuts on Fox television. It was hosted by John Walsh, whose son Adam Walsh was kidnapped and murdered. The show helped capture over 1,200 fugitives, including the kidnappers of Elizabeth Smart who was kidnapped in 2002.

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The Beatles Invade the U.S.

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The Beatles Invade the U.S.

February 7, 1964

The Beatles arrive for their first trip to the U.S. and are greeted by screaming mobs at the airport. When asked about the Detroit movement to stamp out the Beatles, they responded, "We're starting a movement to stamp out Detroit." Chet Huntley didn't consider their arrival important enough to show on the NBC evening news.

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First Woman Executed in the Electric Chair

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First Woman Executed in the Electric Chair

February 7, 1898

Martha M. Place murders her 17-year-old stepdaughter, for which she was executed the following year. Martha had attacked her stepdaughter with an axe, threw acid in her face, and then killed her by asphyxiation.
She pleaded not guilty at her trial, but with her husband as a witness against her, she was convicted of the murder.
Martha Place was struck in the head by a sleigh at age 23. Her brother said that the accident left her mentally unstable.
Although Place was the first woman to die in the electric chair, she was the third sentenced to die by electric chair, the first two being serial killer Lizzie Halliday (1894 conviction commuted and sent to an asylum) and Maria Barbella (sentenced in 1895 and acquitted the next year).

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Sullivan (left) vs. Ryan Sullivan (left) vs. Ryan

Sullivan (left) vs. Ryan Sullivan (left) vs. Ryan
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Last Bareknuckle World Heavyweight Boxing Champion

February 7, 1882

John L. Sullivan wins the title by knocking out Paddy Ryan in the 9th round. He successfully defended his title until his retirement in 1892.

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Mississippi Finally Abolishes Slavery (in 2013) Photo Credit: André Karwath aka Aka

Mississippi Finally Abolishes Slavery (in 2013) Photo Credit: André Karwath aka Aka
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Mississippi Finally Abolishes Slavery (in 2013)

February 7, 2013

Mississippi had finally ratified the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in 1995. However, they never officially notified the U.S. Archivist, therefore, the ratification was not official. This was corrected in 2013.
The 13th Amendment received the necessary ¾ of U.S. state ratifications needed to pass in 1865, with the remaining states going on to ratify the amendment, except for Mississippi, which didn't do so until 1995.

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Iraq War

February 7, 2003

At an appearance at Aviano Air Base in Italy, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld projected that the Iraq war "could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months."

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Dick Tracy Gets Divorced

February 7, 1994

Tess Trueheart serves the cartoon detective with divorce papers.

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First Human to Fly Free of a Spacecraft

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First Human to Fly Free of a Spacecraft

February 7, 1984

Captain Bruce McCandless from the space shuttle Challenger.

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11th Amendment Ratified

February 7, 1795

Judicial power of the U.S. does not extend to suits against one of the states by citizens of another state.

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Daniel Boone Captured by Indians

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Daniel Boone Captured by Indians

February 7, 1778

Daniel Boone is again captured by Indians. He manages to escape by traveling 160 miles through woods.

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Birthdays

Taco Bell Chihuahua

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Taco Bell Chihuahua (Gidget)

Born February 7, 1994 d. 2009

American mascot. She was the mascot for Taco Bell (1997-2000, voiced by Carlos Alazraqui). She was originally cast as the girlfriend of the Taco Bell Chihuahua, but was chosen at the last minute for the lead. She also appeared in the 2003 movie Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde as Bruiser's Mom.

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Roy C. Sullivan

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Roy C. Sullivan

Born February 7, 1912 d. 1983

American park ranger, "Human Lightning Rod." He was struck by lightning and survived a record seven times.

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Buster Crabbe

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Buster Crabbe (Clarence Linden Crabbe)

Born February 7, 1908 d. 1983

American athlete, actor. He played Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Tarzan in the movies. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for the 400-meter-freestyle swim and won bronze at the 1928 Summer Olympics for the 1,500 meters freestyle.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder

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Little House on the Prairie

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Born February 7, 1867 d. 1957

American author. Her Little House on the Prairie books (1932-43) about her life on the frontier were the basis for the TV series.

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James Murray

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James Murray

Born February 7, 1837 d. 1915

Scottish-born lexicographer. Chief editor (1879-1915) of the original Oxford English Dictionary, a comprehensive dictionary of the English language. It is considered to be one of the greatest literary achievements of all time.

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Frederick Douglass

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Frederick Douglass

Born February 7, 1817 d. 1895

American orator and journalist. Born into slavery, he escaped to Great Britain where he raised the money to buy his freedom. Abolitionists used him to counter arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens.

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Charles Dickens

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Charles Dickens

Born February 7, 1812 d. 1870

English author. Writings: Oliver Twist (1837-39), A Christmas Carol (1843), David Copperfield (1849-50), and A Tale of Two Cities (1859).

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John Deere

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John Deere

Born February 7, 1804 d. 1886

American blacksmith. He created the first commercially-successful cast-steel plow (1837). After noticing that cast-iron plows did not work well in the tough prairie soils of Illinois, he had the idea to make a polished steel plow. With the success of his plow, he founded Deere & Company.

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Garth Brooks

Born February 7, 1962

American Grammy-winning country singer, Country Music Association's Male Vocalist of the Year (1991) and one of the best-selling solo artists of all time. Albums: Garth Brooks (1989), Ropin' the Wind (1991), and Double Live (1998).

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David Bryan (David Rashbaum)

Born February 7, 1962

American keyboardist, with Bon Jovi. Music: Livin' on a Prayer (1986, #1) and Bad Medicine (1988, #1).

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Bill Hoest

Born February 7, 1926 d. 1988

American cartoonist. Creator of The Lockhorns (1968), Agatha Crumm (1977), Laugh Parade (1980), Howard Huge (1981), and What a Guy! (1986).

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Sinclair Lewis

Born February 7, 1885 d. 1951

American author. He was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (1930 for his 1922 book Babbitt, a satirical novel about American culture).

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Alfred Adler

Born February 7, 1870 d. 1937

Austrian psychiatrist. He was the chief proponent of the "inferiority complex" as the source of psychological problems.

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Deaths

Frank Robinson

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Frank Robinson

Died February 7, 2019 b. 1935

American baseball Hall of Famer. He was the first to win the Most Valuable Player award in both major leagues (1961 National, 1966 American), the first black major-league manager (1974, Cleveland Indians), and the only player to hit a home run completely out of Memorial Stadium.

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Dale Evans

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Dale Evans (Lucille Wood Smith)

Died February 7, 2001 b. 1912

American actress, cowgirl. Movie partner and wife of Roy Rogers. She also wrote the song Happy Trails. In 1995, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. Outspoken about her Christianity, she wrote a number of religious and inspirational books and she and Roy Rogers performed with the Billy Graham Crusades, singing gospel songs.
When she was 14, she eloped and had a son when she was 15. Early in her career, after leaving her husband, she claimed that her son was her brother, whom she was caring for.
TV: The Roy Rogers Show (1951-57).

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Jewish twins used in Mengele's deadly experiments Jewish twins used in Mengele's deadly experiments

Jewish twins used in Mengele's deadly experiments Jewish twins used in Mengele's deadly experiments
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Josef Mengele

Died February 7, 1979 b. 1911

German SS officer and physician in Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. When prisoners arrived at Auschwitz, Mengele was one those responsible for selecting who would be killed in the gas chambers and who would live to work. He also performed deadly experiments on the prisoners, focusing primarily on twins, dwarfs, and people with eyes of two different colors. He would befriend the children, bringing them candy and having them call him "Uncle Mengele," and then sometimes execute them the following day. Witnesses say he sewed two Romani twins together back to back in an attempt to create conjoined twins. The children died of gangrene after several days of suffering.
When the war ended, he escaped to South America and evaded capture for the rest of his life. He died in Brazil in 1979 and was buried under his fake name. His remains weren't correctly identified until 1985.

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Adolphe Sax Photo Credit: Musik- och teatermuseet

Adolphe Sax Photo Credit: Musik- och teatermuseet
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Adolphe Sax

Died February 7, 1894 b. 1814

Belgian instrument maker. He patented the saxophone (1846). He spent much of life in legal battles over his musical patents and died in poverty.

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Orson Bean

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Orson Bean (Dallas Frederick Burrows)

Died February 7, 2020 b. 1928

American comic, quiz-show panelist. TV: To Tell the Truth (1963-68) and appeared on The Tonight Show over 200 times.

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Albert Finney

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Albert Finney

Died February 7, 2019 b. 1936

English Emmy-winning actor. Film: Tom Jones (1963), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Erin Brockovich (2000), Big Fish (2003), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), and the James Bond film Skyfall (2012).

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Richard Hatch

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Richard Hatch

Died February 7, 2017 b. 1945

American actor. TV: Battlestar Galactica (1978-80, Captain Apollo) and in Battlestar Galactica (2004 reboot series, Tom Zarek).

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Doug Henning go to Video for Doug Henning

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Doug Henning

Died February 7, 2000 b. 1947

Canadian Emmy-winning magician. He helped to revive the art of magic in the 1970s, updating the image of the stage magician from that of top hat and suit, to tie dye and jeans. At the height of his career, he quit what he now called "fake magic" in order to pursue "real magic" through Transcendental Meditation (TM) in the attempt to learn to actually levitate as the founder of TM, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, claimed he could do. In 1986, he sold his act to David Copperfield in order to devote his time to TM.
He was known for his seven Doug Henning's World of Magic (1975-82) TV specials and his Zig-Zag Girl illusion. He ended his TV specials with the message, "Anything the mind can conceive is possible. Nothing is impossible. All you have to do is look within, and you can realize your fondest dreams. I would like to wish each one of you all of life's wonders and a joyful age of enlightenment."
He also created special effects for Michael Jackson tours.
In 1999, Henning was diagnosed with liver cancer. According to James Randi, Henning forewent traditional treatment in favor of TM and a diet of nuts and berries. He died five months later at the age of 52.

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Hussein I

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Hussein I

Died February 7, 1999 b. 1935

King of Jordan (1952-99). He was the second Arab head of state to recognize Israel (1994, after Anwar Sadat in 1978).

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Adams as Johnny Yuma Adams as Johnny Yuma

Adams as Johnny Yuma Adams as Johnny Yuma
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Nick Adams (Nicholas Aloysius Adamshock)

Died February 7, 1968 b. 1931

American actor. Film: Twilight of Honor (1963, Oscar nomination). TV: The Rebel (1959-61, Johnny Yuma).

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Betty MacDonald

Died February 7, 1958 b. 1907

American author. Writings: The Egg and I (1945), which was made into the 1947 film featuring Ma and Pa Kettle.

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Harvey Samuel Firestone

Died February 7, 1938 b. 1868

American rubber manufacturer, founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. (1900).

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Pius IX

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Pius IX

Died February 7, 1878 b. 1792

Italian religious leader, 255th Pope (1846-78). Proclaimed the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary as dogma (1854), and the infallibility of the Pope (1870).

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Henry Engelhard Steinway

Died February 7, 1871 b. 1797

German piano maker, founder of Steinway and Sons (1853).

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Pelagius II

Died February 7, 590 b. ????

Italian religious leader, 63rd Pope (579-590).

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