INTERPREP ★ AUGUST 5, 2019

[printfriendly]

Audio • Bits & Breaks • Country Prep • Datebook • Datebook Tomorrow • Entertainment • Fun & Games • News & Nuggets • News Attack • Number for the Day • Television • Wacky-But-True • User’s Guide Facebook Group

DATEBOOK: AUGUST 5, 2019

BIRTHDAYS

• Loni Anderson is 74

• Maureen McCormick (The Brady Bunch) is 63

• Director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) is 53

• Jonathan Silverman (The Single Guy) is 53

• Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy) is 39

IT HAPPENED TODAY

• 1923: Syracuse University refused to let a student, Bernice Goldstein, graduate because she could not learn to swim.

• 1930: Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was born.

• 1978: Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds registered his 3,000th major league hit.

• 1999: A man who admitted making thousands of obscene phone calls over a 3-year-period was arrested in Vienna, Austria, after one of the women told him she was busy and would return his call. So he gave her his phone number.

• 2005: A 38-year-old suburban New York City man allegedly admitted to police he drank 10 beers before lighting a commercial-grade firework inside his home, blowing up the house and burning himself and a female companion. A sheriff’s spokesman said the firework — designed to spread a pattern up to 50 feet across — was set in an 8 by 8 room.

• 2008: IBM was granted a patent for storing a customers preference for ‘paper or plastic bags’ on stores’ customer loyalty cards.

• 2009: A new study revealed that the French spend more time at the table and in bed than other nations.

• 2010: Thirty-three workers were trapped in a copper mine in northern Chile after a tunnel caved in. They were rescued after being entombed for 69 days.

SPECIAL EVENTS

• Assistance Dog Week

• Exercise With Your Child Week

• National Farmers Market Week

• Psychic Week

• Bargain Hunting Week

• Assistance Dog Day

• Oyster Day

• Underwear Day

UPCOMING

• August 24: College football returns with two games: Florida vs. Miami and Arizona vs. Hawaii.
• September 2: Labor Day
• September 5: NFL season begins (Packers and Bears)
• September 20: Storm Area 51
• September 21: Storm Loch Ness
• September 22: Emmy Awards (Fox)

NUMBER FOR THE DAY

43: Punches thrown by Dwayne Johnson in the Fast & Furious movies, including the most recent, Hobbs & Shaw.

NEWS ATTACK!

Federal authorities are testing surveillance balloons that they have floating over several states. The balloons can track the movement of cars 24/7. [So be on your very best behavior if you spot something following you that looks like a giant balloon animal in the shape of a police dog.]

An anonymous person in New Jersey gave two new bottles of ketchup to a restaurant in an effort to wipe out the bad karma that had come his way since he stole a bottle of ketchup off one of the restaurant’s tables. [I’ve got a feeling that this guy was never really cut out to be a thief.]

Oscar Meyer announced that it has created an ice cream that includes bits of hot dog and spicy mustard. [Ben just threw up on Jerry.]

Sara Gilbert ended her time on The Talk. [Her doctors told her that after nine years on the show she had a choice of either walking away or staying and eventually needing a double ear transplant.]

The United States Postal Service has just issued Forever stamps honoring military working dogs. [These are self-sticking stamps. In other words, the dog licks himself.]

A truck in Germany spilled 10,000 bottles of beer. [All across Germany, flags are flying at half-staff.]

The Discovery channel debuted a new docuseries called Serengeti that follows animals in Tanzania. The show is produced by Simon Fuller who produced American Idol. [He got the idea for tracking large predators from watching Simon Cowell.]

A rare firefly in Delaware is in serious danger. The firefly that emits a double-green flash and is found only in Delaware is endangered due to development. [Every evening it can be seen double flashing the international sign for SOS.]

July was the hottest month in the recorded history of the human race. [It’s sad that we’ve done so much damage to our environment that my great-great grandfather plowing farmland, walking 12 hours a day behind a mule, had less trouble staying cool than I did.]

Ed Sheeran set an all-time record for the highest grossing tour. [I know what you’re thinking, but Willie Nelson’s and Snoop Dogg’s shared record is for the highest tour.]

NEWS & NUGGETS

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON SLAMMED FOR HIS TWEET ABOUT MASS SHOOTINGS _ Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson decided Sunday to comment on the recent mass shootings in Texas and Ohio: “In the past 48hrs, the USA horrifically lost 34 people to mass shootings.” From there, it listed several other prominent causes of death “across any 48hrs” — including medical errors and automobile accidents. What really ticked people off was Tyson’s concluding thought: “Often our emotions respond more to spectacle than to data.”

… Thousands responded. One person tweeted back: “This is really not the time to be the smug counterfactual guy.”

… Another person responded with: “This needs to be said again, because you don’t seem aware of it. We’re working to prevent medical errors. We’re working to prevent the flu. We’re working to prevent suicide. We’re working to prevent car accident. We’re doing [zip] about mass shootings. Spot the difference.”

STUDY SAYS ELEVATOR CHITCHAT IS OFF LIMITS _ If you think riding in an elevator with random people can be awkward, you’re not alone. A new study has found that 66 percent of people don’t want to talk while in one. Of the two-thirds who don’t want to talk on an elevator, about a quarter of them said they don’t talk because they just don’t like speaking to people they don’t know.

… There are about 7 billion elevator rides around the world each day.

Start it on Facebook, take it to the phones: What are the places you just don’t want people talking to you? Elevators? Dental office waiting rooms?

CORNFLAKES TURN 125 THIS WEEK _ Happy birthday to cornflakes which were invented 125 years ago this week (August 8) by John Harvey Kellogg, who created them thinking they would be healthy for the patients of a sanitarium in Michigan where he was superintendent. The breakfast cereal proved popular among the patients and the Kellogg Company (Kellogg’s) was set up by John’s brother, Will Kellogg, to produce corn flakes for the wider public. A patent for the process was granted in 1896.

… This idea for corn flakes began by accident when John Kellogg and brother Will left some cooked wheat to sit while they attended to some pressing matters at the sanitarium. When they returned, they found that the wheat had gone stale, but being on a strict budget, they decided to continue to process it by forcing it through rollers, hoping to obtain long sheets of the dough. To their surprise, what they found instead were flakes, which they toasted and served to their patients. This event occurred on August 8, 1894.

UNITED FLIGHT CANCELED AFTER BOTH PILOTS TOO DRUNK TO FLY THE PLANE _ For the most part, planes pretty much fly themselves these days, but still, no way do you want a drunk pilot flying you plane. On Saturday two pilots for United Airlines were arrested for violations of the Railways and Transport Safety Act before their flight from Scotland to Newark Airport in New Jersey. The pilots, aged 45 and 61, had been drinking.

… To be fair, the drinking limit for commercial pilots is a BAC below 0.04, which is pretty much one drink.

OUR LEAST-FAVORITE CHORES _ In the warmer months, the average American does 53 hours of manual labor around the house and yard every month.

… Nearly a full day every month (21 hours) is devoted just to home-related tasks, while even more (32 hours) goes into keeping the yard looking fresh.

… Our most disliked chores, in order:

Pulling weeds
Cleaning the bathroom
Edging the lawn
Laying mulch
Mowing the lawn
Washing dishes
Laundry
Tending to the garden
Vacuuming
Outdoor cleaning (yard/patio)

TOM BRADY AND PATRIOTS REACH CONTRACT EXTENSION _ The sixth contract extension between quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots arrived Sunday. The two sides have finalized a two-year agreement that will pay Brady $23 million in 2019, making him the sixth-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL this season. Brady turned 42 on Saturday and is the league’s oldest active player outside of the kicker position.

… Brady will get an $8 million raise this year, with $30 million and $32 million due in the following years.

MESSAGE IN BOTTLE FROM HAWAII FINDS WAY TO CALIFORNIA AFTER 13 YEARS _ As if we needed further proof that plastic bottles are one of planet earth’s worst enemies, a guy doing some Earth Day cleanup in April found one in a California river that had been dropped into the ocean in Hawaii — 13 years ago. Inside the bottle was a folded and rolled piece of 8½-by-11-inch paper with black, handwritten lettering and the date: January/February 2006. Also spelled out were the names of three children — siblings from the Bricker family, then ages 4, 7, and 10 — and the Norman, Oklahoma, street address they called home at the time.

… Somehow, against the odds, that plastic bottle made it back to the family 13 years later. Ironically they now live in California and the finder of the bottle tracked them down.

THE AGE WHEN WOMEN HAVE THE MOST FRIENDS _ How popular you are may very well depend on your age. And the magic one seems to be 29. Those approaching their third decade have approximately 80 friends, which is about 30 percent more than those in any other age group, based on a survey of 1,505 Britons. What’s behind the almost-30-somethings’ popularity? The company that conducted the study (Genius Gluten Free) explains that at 29, people are still in touch with school friends but have also forged new bonds with work colleagues.

MAN DELIVERS BABY FOLLOWING OVER-THE-PHONE INSTRUCTIONS _ A man in China delivered his baby at home by following over-the-phone instructions from emergency personnel.

NEARLY $300,000 TO RAISE A CHILD _ A middle-income family can expect to spend $291,570 (including inflation) to raise a child born in 2019 to adulthood. The U.S. government estimate covers food, shelter and other necessities for a child to age 18. The figure does not include the cost of childbirth or college.

… Housing accounts for one-third of expenditures on children. Food accounts for 16 percent, the same as child care and education.

OBVIOUS: HEAVY PEOPLE CONSUME MORE GAS _ A study shows drivers in the four heaviest states (Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and West Virginia) collectively consume an additional 60 million gallons of gas each year because of the added weight in the vehicles. And researchers (University of South Florida) said since larger people tend to buy larger vehicles that eat up more gasoline, the actual gasoline consumption could be much higher.

TEENS ARE TEXTING, THIS WE KNOW _ An Allstate Foundation and National Organizations for Youth Safety survey found that 80 percent of teen girls and 58 percent of teen boys text while driving. Teens are the most dangerous drivers on the road, with a crash rate double that of 20- to 24-year-olds, three times that of 25- to 29-year-olds, and more than four times that of 30- to 69-year-olds.

… According to the CDC, auto crashes are the number one cause of death for American teenagers, accounting for more than one in three teen deaths.

CHEERLEADING IS DANGEROUS _ A study found that most catastrophic sports injuries among high school and college athletes occur on the sidelines. Researchers (National Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio) found that six sports account for 70 percent of school sports injuries: running, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer, and gymnastics. But cheerleading was found to be the leading cause of catastrophic injuries — those usually involving spinal cord damage — among high school and college athletes.

WHERE POSTAL WORKERS GO TO RETIRE _ Nalcrest, Florida is where many of the nation’s letter carriers go to retire when they’ve set down the bag for the last time. The tiny town with plenty of “mail” bonding was created by the postal workers’ union more than 55 years ago for couriers done in not by rain, sleet or snow, but by age. Its rows of apartments are tidy. Pets, including mail carrier-chasing dogs, are forbidden. So are home mailboxes. Residents pick up their mail at the post office in the town square.

… Nalcrest features 500 garden-style apartments, arranged in clusters of four to 10 apartments — and all are on ground level. Efficiency, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments are available, starting from $374 per month.

MOZART DOESN’T MAKE BABIES SMARTER _ According to a study (found in Psychological Science) babies whose parents play Mozart for them aren’t any smarter than the ones whose parents don’t.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: KARMA CATCHES UP WITH NEW JERSEY KETCHUP THIEF _ An anonymous thief who stole a bottle of ketchup from a Perkins restaurant in New Jersey apparently learned their lesson. According to an apology note the thief swiped a single bottle of ketchup off the table a few weeks ago. The note-writer explains that they’d never done anything like this before but thought it would be a “risky” move. The ketchup thief apparently returned to the scene of their crime to replace the loot with not one but two new ketchup bottles.

… Why? Because karma. In the note, the thief says that just a few hours after swiping the ketchup bottle, another car smashed into their vehicle. Hoping to clear their karmic debt, the thief replaced the ketchup bottles.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: NAKED MAN STEALS AND CRASHES TRUCK _ A 30-year-old Missouri man allegedly stole a neighbor’s truck, drove it down a highway in the wrong direction and crashed it in someone’s yard. He did all this while naked.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: SNAKES HATCH ON A TRAIN _ Staff at a railway station in China found snakes crawling in a luggage storage room. Twenty-five of more than 500 eggs of the poisonous snakes a man bought and transported hatched under hot weather conditions. Staff alerted police and wild animal experts and then stood back.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: MANHOLE TRUCK OVERTURNS _ It’s quite common — and sometimes a bit humorous — to hear about a semi-truck overturning and spilling its contents on a road. The thought of thousands of bottle of beer, gallons of mustard, or crates of donuts laying out on a busy road is so odd that it makes us laugh. In China a semi recently overturned and spilled its load of… manhole covers. And like people do when beer or money spill from a truck, a number of people loaded up the manhole covers and took off with them.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: SUSPECT FAINTS _ When Pennsylvania police asked a man during a routine traffic stop if he had any drugs or weapons in the car, he invoked his right to remain silent — by fainting.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: DEAD COW IN LIVING ROOM _ Health officials in Romania were called out by a 74-year-old man to investigate a strange smell of gas in his house and what they found was a dead cow in the man’s living room. The man refused to believe the rotting carcass was the cause of the smell and said he cut a piece off every night for dinner.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: CROOK TRIES TO STEAL BIKE, FORGETS HOW TO RIDE _ A burglar in Washington was caught on security video entering a home’s garage through a dog flap and attempting to escape on a bike he found. The problem with his escape plan was he was unable to ride a bike, fell off of it and had to race off on foot.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: POLICE RESCUE ELDERLY CYCLIST ON HIGHWAY _ German police rescued an 83-year-old man pushing his bicycle in the middle of a highway after he gave up trying to pedal to Luxembourg.

ON TELEVISION

AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR (8p ET, NBC) — A new, 2-hour episode. The competition returns to the Pacific Northwest’s Tacoma Dome.

SEASON PREMIERE: BACHELOR IN PARADISE (8p ET, ABC) — Season 6 beings with a 2 night premiere, including tonight’s 2-hour episode.

LOVE ISLAND (8p ET, CBS) — New.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (9p ET, FOX) — New. The Top Ten men will partner with an All-Star girl for a choreographed duet outside their own style.

THE KLEPTOCRATS (9p ET, Starz) — This new documentary looks into the 1MDB corruption scandal, which saw over $4.5 billion allegedly stolen from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund and used to finance vast global shopping sprees, including a major foray into Hollywood.

GRAND HOTEL (10p ET, ABC) — New. Danny discovers a bombshell that would jeopardize his relationship with Alicia.

SERIES FINALE: DIVORCE (10p ET, HBO) — After 3 seasons, this dramedy starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church says goodbye.

MY LIFE IS MURDER (Acorn TV) — Lucy Lawless stars in this new 10-part mystery series as a private detective in Melbourne.

ENTER THE ANIME (Netflix) — This new documentary that explores the sci-fi and fantasy worlds of Japanese animation.

ENTERTAINMENT

TOP TEN MOVIES _ Hobbs & Shaw was the big winner at the weekend box office, though the action flick starring The Rock and Jason Statham came up a little short of the expected $65 million to $70 million opening weekend prediction.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, $60.8 million
The Lion King, $38.2 million
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, $20 million
Spider-Man: Far from Home, $7.7 million
Toy Story 4, $7.1 million
Yesterday, $2.44 million
The Farewell, $2.42 million
Crawl, $2.1 million
Aladdin, $2 million
Annabelle Comes Home, $875,000

… One year ago this week the number one movie was Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
… Five years ago this week: Guardians of the Galaxy.
… Ten years ago this week: Funny People.
… Twenty years ago this week: Runaway Bride.

… In theaters Friday: The Art of Racing in the Rain (PG); Brian Banks (PG-13); Dora and the Lost City of Gold (PG); The Kitchen (R); Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (PG-13)

MEGHAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY FOLLOW 15 NEW ACCOUNTS TODAY _ For the last couple of months, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have changed the accounts they’re following on Instagram each month to highlight charities doing work around a certain cause. On August 1 Meghan and Harry stopped following everyone and wrote: “For the month of August we look to you for help. We want to know who YOUR Force for Change is…”

… Today (Monday) the royal couple began following 15 new accounts to highlight these forces for change. • LINK

BEVERLY HILLBILLIES MANSION IS FOR SALE _ The mansion that served as the main location for The Beverly Hillbillies is for sale. Chartwell Estate in Bel Air, California, is currently on the market for $195 million — a $50 million price cut from the original asking price of $245 million the current owner listed it for in 2018.

… The French Neoclassical limestone chateau was built by architect Sumner Spaulding in the early 1930s, and it features 11 bedrooms and 18 bathrooms for a total of more than 20,000 square feet. The exterior features luxurious grounds with perfectly-kept hedges, private gardens, sculptures and gorgeous fountains. The exterior also features a 75-foot swimming pool, lighted tennis court and a “car gallery” that can house more than three dozen cars. The pool house is connected to the main house by an elevator and a tunnel, and there’s also a 5,700-square-foot guest house on the grounds.

MOVIE THEATER ALLOWS DOGS AND OFFERS BOTTOMLESS WINE FOR $15 _ Imagine a world where you could walk into a movie theater, grab yourself a big bucket of popcorn, and cuddle up with your dog to catch a flick. K9 Cinemas, located in Plano, Texas, is exactly that. A movie theater where your dog is welcome, plus they offer an all-you-can-drink wine package for the extremely reasonable price of just $15 bucks. And, if you have two dogs, the second one costs just $5 more.

… The theater hosts one time screenings of older movies, along with different theme nights featuring popular television shows. And if you’re not into the bottomless wine thing admission is completely free.

AARON CARTER ALLEGEDLY FLIPPING RESCUE DOG FOR $ _ Aaron Carter is being accused of trying to flip a dog he recently rescued for money — something he denies — but the shelter that was involved is now looking into it. The singer was catching tons of backlash over the weekend after a video he posted to Instagram Live made the rounds, in which he’s heard saying that a bulldog he recently got from the pound is now available for purchase for a few thousand bucks.

… In the video, which Aaron appears to have acknowledged as authentic, he says, “This is my new buddy. So by the way, if I can’t keep him, I am going to be listing him.” Aaron goes on to say, “He’s 10 months old, and he’s running for $3,500. So if anybody wants to give my English bulldog (a home), I rescue him and I find him homes.”

… It looks like the animal care center where Aaron got this latest dog is aware of his intentions and is “working on this situation.”

Jurassic World 3 could bring back original stars _ 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom brought back Jeff Goldblum for a very brief cameo, leaving fans of the original Jurassic Park a little miffed. Goldblum was featured in all the trailers but had a nothing role. Fans wanted more. Maybe Jurassic World 3 can fix things– not just by bringing back Goldblum, but by bringing back his other two Jurassic leads as well: Sam Neill and Laura Dern. There have been rumblings that Neill and Dern might come back for the third World film, and director Colin Trevorrow recently hinted at that. Sort of. He said, “I can confirm nothing. But nothing would make me happier than to be able to work with any of those people.” Those people are Goldblum, Neill, and Dern.

… Jurassic World 3 opens June 11, 2021. It will be the sixth movie in the Jurassic series, and the third World movie:

Jurassic Park (1993)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Jurassic Park III (2001)
Jurassic World (2015)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

BABY DRIVER 2 _ Baby Driver star Ansel Elgort says Baby Driver 2 is “gonna happen.” And that’s all we have.

M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN HAS TALKED WITH MARVEL _ As the Marvel Universe enters its Phase 4, it’s possible that M. Night Shyamalan could sign on as a director. The writer and director recently revealed that he’s talked with Marvel on several occasions about working with the studio.

AFTON WILLIAMSON QUITS THE ROOKIE AFTER ALLEGED SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND BULLYING _ Actress Afton Williamson, who played police officer Talia Bishop on ABC’s The Rookie, has resigned from the show due to sexual harassment, bullying and racial discrimination on the set. She revealed that she has experienced racism from the head of the hair department, was bullied by executive producers, and sexually harassed by a recurring male guest star on the show.

… Williamson said she never remained quiet and alerted the producers about what she was going through and no action was taken. She said her reports were not documented and the Human Resources Department was never notified. She said nothing happened until the bullying escalated to a sexual assault. The head of the Hair Department was terminated after they sexually assaulted her at the show’s wrap party.

… Williamson was asked to return to her role for season two and was told that all of her complaints were taken care of. When she saw that Human Resources hadn’t gotten involved yet and an investigation was never started, she left the show.

AUDIO

Find these audio files on the PRO AUDIO PAGE.

🎧 FLUSH: YouTuber Jack Hartman has a song that teaches kids to flush the toilet. This edited version could be used next time you talk about bathroom habits.

🎧 DROP: This goes in a few directions.

🎧 PHONER: How did you stink up your car? Three real callers!

BITS & BREAKS

ONE MORE CAMPING TRIP!

With school starting soon your family may be considering one last trip to a national park or state campground. Here are a few tips to make your outing more safe and enjoyable.

• When buying a tent, look for one that’s made of good material, is fire resistant, and comes with a built-in shower.

• Pick out a camp site that suits your family’s taste. If you’re a ‘back to nature’ family, pick a site deeper in the woods. If you’re a ‘city slicker’ family, pick a site in the lobby of (hotel).

• Cooking over a real campfire is fun, but precautions should be taken. If you’re unsure of how to properly light a fire, talk to a park ranger, or your four-year-old that tried to set last year’s Christmas tree ablaze.

• If you don’t think you’ll be able to handle cooking dinner over an open flame, consider preparing some simple meals at home before you leave, then re-heat them in a skillet over the fire. Or pick up your phone and have (local pizza place) deliver to your campsite.

• When it’s time to go, remember that others will be using your camp area some day, so be sure to leave it just the way you found it. No, when you found this site, there was NOT a beer-bottle tribute to Budweiser over near the creek.

WHAT’S YOUR MOST BIZARRE INJURY?

Some people on Twitter were posting little known facts about weird injuries. One guy tweeted: “When I was a kid I stepped on a toothpick and it went straight into my heel — like inches — it had to be removed with vice-grips.”

Start it on Facebook, take it to the phones: What’s your most bizarre injury?

SOCIAL NETWORKING DON’Ts

Everyone has their “my job sucks” moments, but some people seem to forget that as employers use social network sites for recruitment. From CareerBuilder, some real world tweets that could get you fired.

• “hate my job!! i want to tell my bosses how dumb they are and how meaningless this job is, then quit, and be happy!”

• “So my job was to test all the food at the new restaurant, can I just say, ughew. I’m going to taco bell.”

• “Also I’m really bummed that I’m working today, i asked off so i could study but my boss is a ****** who can’t read.”

• “smoking weed at work is so [EDITED] great :)”

• “Huh, with my boss on twitter, maaaybe I should take down that sexy picture of her… but her reaction will be priceless!”

REAL PET HOTLINE CALLS

• My cat just came in from the garage and I was wondering… how many calories are in a mouse?”

• “I have a neutered male cat. How old should he be before I can breed him?”

• “Is it normal for a dog to shed?”

• “How can I keep my cat from stealing my husband’s toothbrush?”

• “How do I stop my cat from giving food to the dog?”

• “Where can I get a six-toed cat?”

FUN & GAMES

TRIVIA: It’s gross, but these have been know to travel as far as 12 feet. (Drops of moisture from a sneeze.)

TRIVIA: The average one of these lasts 8 minutes. (Shower)

TRIVIA: The average man will spend 140 days of his life doing this. (Shaving)

TRIVIA: 66% of men say they’re happiest when? (When they’re alone)

DATEBOOK: AUGUST 6, 2019

BIRTHDAYS

• Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan is 49

• Geri Halliwell Horner of Spice Girls is 47

• Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, The Departed) is 46

• Soleil Moon Frye (Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Punky Brewster) is 43

• Melissa George (Alias, Grey’s Anatomy) is 43

• Leslie Odom Jr. is 38

IT HAPPENED TODAY

• 1787: The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia began to debate a draft of the U.S. Constitution.

• 1890: Convicted murderer William Kemmler became the first person to be executed in the electric chair as he was put to death at Auburn State Prison in New York.

• 1998: Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky spent 8½ hours testifying before a grand jury about her relationship with President Bill Clinton.

• 2003: In Vercelli, Italy, a 32-year-old man showed up at the police station and asked them to arrest him. He explained that he was wanted by the cops in another town called Biella, but that he didn’t like the jail there and knew that the Vercelli jail had much better accommodations. The cops checked out his claims, discovered he was in fact a fugitive, and took him off to their jail.

• 2004: Funk singer Rick James died of a heart attack at age 56.

• 2005: In Macon, Georgia, Deion Blanks figured he couldn’t go wrong stealing money from the blind guy who ran the snack bar. He snatched $600 from the till and, sure enough, the blind cashier never even noticed. Unfortunately for Deion the snack bar was in the basement of the county courthouse. The word was quickly sent out and deputies found Deion waiting with his mother outside a fifth floor courtroom, where he was scheduled to go before the judge on another theft charge.

• 2005: Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, whose soldier-son, Casey, was killed in Iraq, began a weeks-long protest outside President Bush’s ranch in Texas.

• 2008: The Dark Knight reached $400 million in ticket sales. It was the fastest climb to $400 million by any film.

• 2011: Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter in Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the elite Navy commando unit that had slain Osama bin Laden; seven Afghan commandos also died.

SPECIAL EVENTS

• Fresh Breath (Halitosis) Day

• Root Beer Float Day

• Wiggle Your Toes Day

UPCOMING