1872: John Blondel of Thomaston, Maine, patented the Doughnut Cutter.

1932: King Gillette died. In 1901 he invented the safety razor and founded the Gillette Company.

1955: Bill Haley and His Comets hit #1 with "Rock Around the Clock," the first #1 rock 'n' roll song.

1956: Dick Clark debuted on Philadelphia TV with an afternoon show called Bandstand. He was told about the show that same morning.

1974: 19-year-old Dimmie Johnson of Houston became the youngest per­son ever elected Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. He said he owed it all to a Dale Carnegie personality improve­ment course.

1985: Runningback Herschel Walker of the New Jersey Generals was named Most Valuable Player in the U.S. Football League.

1992: Star #1,959 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame went to actress Kim Basinger.

1995: Electrician Terry Benson won $32-million in a British lottery by picking the serial number on a crane where he worked. The 61-year-old London resident said it was only the second time he'd ever played.

1997: Mike Tyson was banned from the boxing ring and fined $3 million for biting the ear of opponent Evander Holyfield.

1999: A Los Angeles jury ordered General Motors Corporation to pay $4.9 billion to six people severely burned when their Chevrolet Malibu exploded in a rear-end collision. A judge later reduced the punitive damages to $1.9 billion, while letting stand $107 million in compensatory damages. G.M. settled the lawsuit in 2003 for an undisclosed amount.

2002: To the boos of disappointed fans, the All-Star game in Milwaukee finished in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings when both teams ran out of pitchers.

2002: President Bush called for doubling prison terms and aggressive policing to combat fraud and corruption in corporate America.

    2004: A report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence accused the CIA and other intelligence agencies of producing false and misleading pre-war information about Iraq`s weapons program.

    2005: Daredevil skateboarder Danny Way sued a large ramp to jump across the Great Wall of China, the first person to clear the wall without motorized aid.

Birthdays:

	actor Tom Hanks is 55;
	actress Kelly McGillis 54;
	actor Jimmy Smits 56;
	singer-actress Courtney Love 47;
	actor Richard Roundtree 69;
	actor Brian Dennehy 73;
	actor Scott Grimes 40;
	actor Fred Savage 35;
	actress Megan Parlen 31;
	singer Debbie Sledge 57;
	singer David Ball 58
	pianist John Tesh 59;
	football's O.J. Simpson 63.

     Q: Does actor Tom Hanks collect 1940s: (a) telephones; (b) typewriters; or (c) radios?
     A: Typewriters.

     Q: On the sitcom "Family Ties," did actor Tom Hanks play Michael J. Fox’s: (a) inept boss; (b) alcoholic uncle; or (c) crooked investment counselor?
     A: He was Alex’s alcoholic uncle.

Q: Are people who talk on a cell phone while driving just as dangerous as: (a) drunk drivers; (b) teenage drivers; or (c) elderly drivers?
     A: A driving cell phone user has a four-times greater risk of having an accident than the average driver, the same increased risk as a drunk driver (Vitality magazine).

     Wisdom:  "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." - E. F. Schumacher

 © 2011 by Joe Hickman. All rights reserved. ISSN 1067-9405