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January 19
On this day in 1949, the salary of the President of the United
States was increased from $75,000 to $100,000 after Harry
Truman went on a 12-day hunger strike demanding a raise.
On this day in 1966, Indira Gandhi was elected prime minister
of India. As her first act, she made it illegal for all adults
to wear diapers in public.
Today's Birthdays:
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849): author, best known for "The
Tell-Tale Fart."
Janis Joplin (1943-1970): rock singer, hits included "Piece
of My Heroin-Ravaged Heart."
Robert Palmer (1949-2003): singer, struck gold with hits
"Addicted to Love Handles" and "Sneakin' Sally
Struthers Through the Alley."
Dolly Parton, 58: country singer, hits include "Kentucky
Dirtbag" and "Tennessee Carsick Blues."
January 20
On this day in 1936, Britain's King George V died. He was
succeeded briefly by King Kong VI, who soon abdicated to become
a big Hollywood movie star.
On this day in 1996, the space shuttle Endeavour returned
to Earth after a 9-day mission that included replacing the
battery in a Japanese satellite and darning a few holes in
the ozone layer.
Today's Birthdays:
George Burns (1896-1996): comedian-supreme being, starred
in "Oh, God 3: Buddha Knows Best" and "Oh,
Jesus: Where Are My Pants?"
Federico Fellini (1920-1993): movie director, best known
for his 1959 classic "La Dolce Vita" (translation:
"Let's Get It On").
Edwin "Buzz Lightyear" Aldrin, 74: former astronaut,
noted action figure.
Bill Maher, 48: comedian, former host of the TV talk show
"Anatomically Incorrect."
January 21
On this day in 1793,
King Louis XVI was executed on the guillotine for illegally
"having his cake and eating it, too."
On this day in 1977,
calling himself "a lover not a fighter" President
Jimmy Carter pardoned most Vietnam War draft evaders.
On this day in 1998,
President Clinton angrily denied that he'd had "sexual
congress" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
He also denied having affairs with Dolly Parton, Madeleine
Albright and Marilyn Manson.
Today's Birthdays:
Ethan Allen (1738-1789): Revolutionary War hero
and furniture maker, defeated the British by smacking them
over the head with exquisitely hand-crafted chairs.
Christian Dior (1905-1957): fashion designer,
invented a mini-skirt so small it could only be seen with
an electron microscope.
Jack Nicklaus, 64: legendary golfer, got in
trouble with the Audubon people for nailing birdies and eagles.
Geena Davis, 47: actress, starred in "Thelma
and Louise Jefferson" and "Earth Girls Are Weezie."
January 22
On this day in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the precedent-setting
Roe v. Wade decision, ruled that all fetuses have the right
to own a gun.
On this day in 1953, playright Arthur Miller's drama "The
Crucible" began a successful run on Broadway, despite
being hexed by Local #1313 of the Federation of Witches and
Warlocks.
Today's Birthdays:
Francis Bacon (1561-1626): English statesman, author of "Six
Degrees of Francis Bacon."
Piper Laurie, 72: actress, starred in "The Pied Piper"
and its violent sequel "The Pied Sniper."
Linda Blair, 45: actress, starred in "The Extra Cyst,"
the horrifying story of a woman with a benign growth inhabited
by Satan.
January
23
On this
day in 1932, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt shocked the
nation by announcing he would run for president naked under
a plan he called "The Nude Deal."
On this
day in 1989, Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali died at age
84. Time of death could not be established though, because
all of Dali's clocks and watches had mysteriously melted.
Today's
Birthdays:
Rutger Hauer, 60: actor, played a black market
hair smuggler in the futuristic "Braid Runner."
Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, 30: actress, starred in "Saved
by the Bell Curve" and "Busty Hills 9038D."
January
24
On this day in 1848, prospector Ronald McDonald
found a Chicken McNugget at Sutter's Mill in California, a
discovery that led to the Golden Arches rush of 1849.
On this day in 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt and
Winston Churchill wrapped up a wartime conference in Casablanca
with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
On this day in 1989, Ted Bundy and two other
serial killers, the Miami Mangler and the Disney Decapitator
were put to death side by side on Florida's electric couch.
Today's Birthdays:
Warren Zevon, (1947-2003): singer, best known for "Excitable
Boy Scout" and "Werewolves of Londonderry, NH."
Ernest Borgnine, 87: actor, shocked audiences by revealing
his bare stomach in "McHale's Navel."
Neil Diamond, 63: singer-songwriter, hit #1 in 1970 with
"Cracklin' Rosie O'Donnell."
Mary Lou Retton, 36: first gymnast to eat a bowl of Wheaties
on the uneven parallel bars.
January 25
On this day in 1915, Alexander Graham Bell launched
the nation's transcontinental telephone service, and predicted
that by 2004 phone-addicted "zombies" would roam
the streets babbling into tiny "cellular" phones.
On this day in 1964, the Beatles scored their
first #1 hit with "I Want to Hold Your Hand Grenade."
Today's Birthdays:
Virginia "Big Bad" Woolf (1882-1941): English writer,
real name Virginia Wolverine
Somerset Maugham (1874-1965): English author, "The Disposable
Razor's Edge."
Etta James, 66: blues singer, noted crossword puzzle clue
(see 14 Down).
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