Today's Trivia and What Happened on November 9

Can you figure out the phrase?

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Cat in the Hat (C@ = cat, which is inside of H@ = hat)

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Quote: Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. - Isaac Asimov

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Holidays

Dedication of St. John Lateran Photo Credit: MrPanyGoff

Dedication of St. John Lateran Photo Credit: MrPanyGoff
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Dedication of St. John Lateran

Feast day commemorating the first public consecration of a Catholic church on November 9, 324 A.D.
Pope Saint Sylvester I consecrated the Basilica of the Most Holy Savior (now known as St. John the Lateran).
It is located in the Diocese of Rome in the city of Rome, and serves as the seat of the bishop of Rome, the pope.

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What Happened On

U.S. Under Nuclear Attack

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U.S. Under Nuclear Attack

November 9, 1979

NORAD notified the national security adviser that the Soviet Union had launched 250 ballistic missiles towards the U.S., stating that a decision to retaliate would need to be made by the U.S. President within 3 to 7 minutes. NORAD computers then placed the number of incoming missiles at 2,200. Strategic Air Command was notified and nuclear bombers prepared for takeoff.
However a few minutes later, Satellite and radar systems determined that the attack was a false alarm. A training scenario had accidentally been loaded into an operational computer.

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Paul McCartney Dies in a Car Accident?

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Paul McCartney Dies in a Car Accident?

November 9, 1966

In 1969, using "clues" found in Beatles songs and album covers, a Detroit disc jockey and his radio audience determined that Paul McCartney died on November 9th, 1966 in a car accident. The rumor claimed that McCartney, after an argument with his bandmates, sped off in his car, crashed, and was decapitated. The remaining Beatles then substituted him with an orphan they had trained to impersonate him. Feeling guilty about their actions, they left clues in their songs and album covers.
One of the clues were the words "I buried Paul" spoken by John Lennon at the end of the song Strawberry Fields Forever, which the Beatles recorded in November and December of 1966. Lennon claimed the words were actually "Cranberry sauce".
Other clues came from the Abbey Road album cover, claiming it depicted a funeral procession:
• Lennon, dressed in white, symbolizing the heavenly figure.
Ringo Starr, dressed in black, symbolized the undertaker.
George Harrison, in denim, represents the gravedigger.
• McCartney, barefoot and out of step with the others, symbolized the corpse.
• The Volkswagen's license plate was "28IF" which would have been McCartney's age "IF" he had still been alive.
• The left-handed McCartney holds a cigarette in his right hand indicating it was an impostor in the photo.
The rumors were wrong of course.
The book Turn Me On, Dead Man: The Beatles and the "Paul Is Dead" Hoax, documents the hoax.

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Centrifugal Birthing Device

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Centrifugal Birthing Device

November 9, 1965

The U.S. Patent offices issues a patent for a device for "Facilitating the Birth of a Child by Centrifugal Force."

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The Beatles

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The Beatles

November 9, 1961

Brian Epstein goes to hear a new group at Liverpool's famous "The Cavern Club." A month later he became their manager and helped them rocket to stardom. Epstein's initial attempts to get a recording contract for the Beatles were rejected by virtually every label in London, until he secured a contract with EMI, who had also previously turned them down.

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Jewish shop with the windows destroyed Jewish shop with the windows destroyed
Photo Credit: Bundesarchiv

Jewish shop with the windows destroyed Jewish shop with the windows destroyed
Photo Credit: Bundesarchiv
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World War II - Crystal Night

November 9, 1938

Nazi SA (Brownshirts) and civilians raid and shatter the glass of Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues throughout Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland. It was called "Kristallnacht" ("Crystal Night") because of the shards of broken glass that littered the streets afterwards. It is estimated that over 100 Jews were killed, 267 synagogues, and over 7,000 Jewish businesses were either destroyed or damaged.
The riots were in retaliation for the assassination of the Nazi German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by a seventeen-year-old German-born Polish Jew living in Paris.

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Jack the Ripper

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Jack the Ripper

November 9, 1888

The last known murder by the Jack the Ripper is committed. For three months he had murdered and mutilated prostitutes in London's East End. He was never caught.

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Illustration from the article Illustration from the article

Illustration from the article Illustration from the article
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Central Park Zoo Hoax

November 9, 1874

The New York Herald publishes a front page story claiming that there had been a mass escape of animals from the Central Park Zoo, and that 49 people had been slaughtered by the free-roaming beasts and hundreds more had been injured. The story claimed a rhinoceros had trampled and gored its keeper to death, broke out of its cage and broke down the cages of the other animals allowing them to escape. The escaped animals included a polar bear, a panther, a lion, a jaguar, leopards, wolves, hyenas, a cheetah, a Cape buffalo, a dozen or more monkeys. It even claimed a Bengal tiger had escaped and was shot in the street by the Governor.
Near the end of the article was the notice "Of course the entire story given above is a pure fabrication. Not one word of it is true." But, many readers missed the notice and there was widespread panic around the zoo.
Read full text of article.

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Element 110

November 9, 1994

Scientists create a new element. With an atomic weight of 269, it is the heaviest known element. in 2003, it was given the name darmstadtium, with the symbol Ds. It was named after Darmstadt, Germany where it was created.

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East Germans building the Berlin Wall in 1961 East Germans building the Berlin Wall in 1961

East Germans building the Berlin Wall in 1961 East Germans building the Berlin Wall in 1961
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The Berlin Wall

November 9, 1989

The 28-year-old Berlin Wall is opened to the West. It was one of the most iconic symbols of the cold war.

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Massive Blackouts

November 9, 1965

Power failure blacks out most of Northeastern U.S. and parts of Canada.

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Kaiser Wilhelm II Abdicates

November 9, 1918

The abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II is announced and he went into exile. He was the German Emperor and King of Prussia and had ruled since 1888. This ended the House of Hohenzollern's 500-year rule over Prussia and its predecessor state, Brandenburg. Germany was then declared a republic and the following year, the German nobility as a legally defined class was abolished. He abdicated due to the German Revolution, which had just begun.

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First U.S. President to Visit a Foreign Country While in Office

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First U.S. President to Visit a Foreign Country While in Office

November 9, 1906

Theodore Roosevelt leaves for Panama.

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First Public Consecration of a Catholic Church Photo Credit: MrPanyGoff

First Public Consecration of a Catholic Church Photo Credit: MrPanyGoff
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First Public Consecration of a Catholic Church

November 9, 324

Pope Saint Sylvester I consecrates the Basilica of the Most Holy Savior (now known as St. John the Lateran).
It is located in the Diocese of Rome in the city of Rome, and serves as the seat of the bishop of Rome, the pope.

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Birthdays

Lou Ferrigno

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Lou Ferrigno

Born November 9, 1951

American body builder, actor. TV: The Incredible Hulk (1977-82, the angry one). Titles: Pro Mr. America - WBBG, Teen 1st (1971), IFBB Mr. America, Overall Winner (1973), IFBB Mr. Universe, Tall 1st, Overall Winner (1973), IFBB Mr. International (1974), IFBB Mr. Universe, Tall 1st, Overall Winner (1974), and Mr. Olympia, Heavyweight 2nd (1974).

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Carl Sagan and Pioneer Plaque Carl Sagan and Pioneer Plaque

Carl Sagan and Pioneer Plaque Carl Sagan and Pioneer Plaque
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Carl Sagan

Born November 9, 1934 d. 1996

American astronomer. He won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for The Dragons of Eden and published more than 600 scientific papers and articles.
Sagan assembled the first physical messages sent into space, the Pioneer Plaque and the Voyager Golden Record, which were intended to be messages that could be understood by any extraterrestrial intelligence that found them.
The film Contact (1997) was based on the only novel Sagan wrote.
TV: Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.

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Hedy Lamarr go to Video for Hedy Lamarr

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Hedy Lamarr (Hedwig Kiesler)

Born November 9, 1914 d. 2000

Austrian actress. Film: Samson and Delilah (1949, Delilah). Considered film's most beautiful actress. In the 1938 film Algiers, she was the recipient of the famous line, "Come with me to the Casbah." And while the line was used in the trailers for the film, it was cut from the actual film itself.
At the beginning of World War II, Lamarr and composer George Antheil developed a secret communication system using spread spectrum and frequency hopping. The principles of their work are now incorporated into modern Wi-Fi, CDMA and Bluetooth technology. For this, she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (2014).

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Martin Van Buren Bates

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Tallest Married Couple

Martin Van Buren Bates

Born November 9, 1837 d. 1919

American giant, 7 feet 7.5 inches (2.324 m) tall. He and his wife, Anna Swan at 7 feet 11 inches (2.42 m), were the tallest married couple. They were billed as "The Giants of Seville."

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Edward Richard Sprigg Canby

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Only U.S. General Killed in the Indian Wars

Edward Richard Sprigg Canby

Born November 9, 1817 d. 1873

American general. General Edward Canby was the only U.S. general killed during the Indian wars. He was killed by Indian leader Captain Jack while negotiating peace talks with the Modoc tribe. The Modoc tribe, who had traditionally lived in Northern California, were forced to move to a reservation in Oregon which they were forced to share with their traditional enemies, the Klamath tribe. When requests to the U.S. government to return to California were refused, war broke out. The Modoc had fought to a stalemate and General Canby was sent to negotiate peace terms. When relocation to California was once again refused, Modoc chief Captain Jack killed Canby. Peace commissioner Reverend Eleazar Thomas was also killed in the confrontation.
Note: Although General George Armstrong Custer was given the temporary rank of major general of the Volunteers during the American Civil War, he was only a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army at the time of his infamous last stand in 1876.

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Tommy Caldwell

Born November 9, 1949 d. 1980

American singer, formed the Marshall Tucker Band (1973-1980). Music: Take the Highway (1973) and Heard It in a Love Song (1977). He died from injuries suffered in a Jeep crash. His brother had died in a traffic accident one month earlier.

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Eliot Wigginton

Born November 9, 1942

American educator. Georgia Teacher of the Year (1986), founder of the Foxfire program (1966) to help students get interested in education. In 1992 he pleaded guilty to child molestation of a 10-year-old and was sentenced to one year in prison.

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Stan Drake (Stanley Albert Drake)

Born November 9, 1921 d. 1997

American cartoonist. Co-creator of The Heart of Juliet Jones (1953).

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Spiro Theodore Agnew

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Spiro Theodore Agnew

Born November 9, 1918 d. 1996

American politician. 39th U.S. Vice-President (1969-73), Governor of Maryland (1967-69). He resigned as Vice-President after pleading no contest to income tax evasion charges (1973).

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Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia

Born November 9, 1907 d. 1994

Grandson of Germany's last emperor, third in line to the throne. Worked as a mechanic in a Detroit Ford automobile plant (1929-34) and opposed Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.

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Ed Wynn (Isaiah Edwin Leopold)

Born November 9, 1886 d. 1966

American comedian. He starred in the Ziegfeld Follies (1914), was the Texaco Fire Chief (1932-39), and won the first Most Outstanding Live Personality Emmy (1949).

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Inventor of Technicolor

Herbert Thomas Kalmus

Born November 9, 1881 d. 1963

American film pioneer. Inventor of Technicolor (1912).

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Stanford White

Born November 9, 1853 d. 1906

American architect, designed the old Madison Square Garden and the Washington Arch.

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Edward VII (Albert Edward)

Born November 9, 1841 d. 1910

King of England and Ireland (1901-10).

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Gail Borden

Born November 9, 1801 d. 1874

American inventor. He developed a process for making condensed milk (1853).

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Deaths

Art Carney go to Video for Art Carney

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Art Carney

Died November 9, 2003 b. 1918

American Oscar-Emmy-winning actor. Stage: The Odd Couple (1965-67, Felix). Film: Harry and Tonto (1974 Oscar Best Actor, Harry). TV: The Honeymooners (1955-56, Ed Norton). Music: The Song of the Sewer (1955, sung in character as Norton).

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Charles Zimmy

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The Human Fish

Charles Zimmy (Charles Zibelman)

Died November 9, 1952 b. 1893

American legless swimmer. Known as "The Human Fish." In 1937, he swam from Albany to NYC, a distance of 150 miles (241 km). He lost his legs at age nine in an accident and his legless body provided enough buoyancy to float while sleeping.

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John Hillerman

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John Hillerman

Died November 9, 2017 b. 1932

American Emmy-winning actor. TV: Magnum P.I. (1980-88, Emmy, Jonathan Higgins).
Although from Texas, Hillerman played Englishman Jonathan Higgins on the TV show Magnum P.I., learning to speak in a middle/upper class English accent by listening to a recording of Laurence Olivier reciting Hamlet. The show left it undisclosed as to whether or not Hillerman's character was in actuality Robin Masters, the wealthy owner of the estate.

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Ed Bradley

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Ed Bradley

Died November 9, 2006 b. 1941

American Emmy-winning news correspondent. He was the first black television correspondent to cover the White House. TV: 60 Minutes.

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Yves Montand (Ivo Livi)

Died November 9, 1991 b. 1921

Italian-born French singer, actor. Film: The Wages of Fear (1953) and Let's Make Love (1960).

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John Newton Mitchell

Died November 9, 1988 b. 1913

U.S. attorney general (1968-72), convicted in the Watergate scandal (1975).

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Victor Sen Yung

Died November 9, 1980 b. 1915

American actor. TV: Bonanza (Hop Sing, the Chinese Cook). Film: The Charlie Chan movies (1930s - 40s, Jimmy the No. 2 son). Writings: Great Wok Cookbook (1974).

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Smokey Bear

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Smokey Bear

Died November 9, 1976 b. 1950

American black bear, national symbol for forest fire prevention. The forest service had been using a cartoon version of Smokey Bear since 1944. When a bear cub was rescued from a New Mexico wildfire in 1950, he became the live embodiment of that cartoon. By 1964, his fan mail was so great that he was given his own zip code, 20252. "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires."

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William Levi Dawson

Died November 9, 1970 b. 1886

American politician. He was the first black U.S. representative to chair a Congressional committee (1949, Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments).

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Charles de Gaulle

Died November 9, 1970 b. 1890

French general and statesman. He founded the French Fifth Republic (1958) and served as its first President (1959-69). Quote: "How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?" (1962).

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Charles Bickford

Died November 9, 1967 b. 1891

American actor. TV: The Virginian (Shiloh Ranch owner John Grainger).

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Dylan Marlais Thomas

Died November 9, 1953 b. 1914

English poet. Writings: Deaths and Entrances.

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Chaim Weizmann

Died November 9, 1952 b. 1874

Israeli statesman, biochemist. He was instrumental in the Balfour Declaration (1917), which established support for a national home for Jews in Palestine and served as Israel's first president (1948-52).

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Mary Jane Kelly

Died November 9, 1888 b. circa 1863

English crime victim. She is believed to be the fifth and final victim of Jack the Ripper.

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