August 23

Scott Winters, Realtor

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

 

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1904 – Hard D. Weed patented the tire chain for automobiles.

1935 – The last trolley car made its final run in Grand Rapids, MI along the Cherry-Plainfield line.

1938 – RCA Introduced the Indian head test pattern. It would be used universally to calibrate black and white TV broadcasts.

1959 – “Sally” debuted as an infant in the “Peanuts” comic strip.

1962 – The first live TV program was relayed between the United States and Europe. The transmission utilzed the Telstar satellite.

1966 – Lunar Orbitor 1 took the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.

1973 – TV’s “The Mod Squad” aired its last episode on ABC.

1975 – The Detroit Lions moved into the Pontiac Silverdome (originally called the Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium). The Lions beat the Kansas City Chiefs in an exhibition game. The team moved to Ford Field in 2020.

1984 – The house used as the fictitious home on the show “Dallas”, the South Fork Ranch, was sold. It was to be turned into a hotel.

1985 – The movie “Teen Wolf”, starring Michael J. Fox, premiered.

1991 – The World Wide Web was opened to the public (although inventor Tim Berners-Lee claims the date is wrong).

1991 – In Lansing, MI, 250 gerbils chewed their way out of shipping boxes and scampered though the airport.

1993 – Duran Duran received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

1993 – The Los Angeles Police confirmed that Michael Jackson was the subject of a criminal investigation.

1986 – The movie “A Very Brady Sequel” premiered in theaters.

1998 – The TV show “That ’70s Show” debuted.

1999 – TV Talk-show host Montel Williams announced that he has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

2000 – Richard Hatch was revealed as the winning castaway on the first season of TV’s “Survivor.” Hatch won $1 million for his stay on the island of Pulau Tida in the South China Sea. He was later convicted of failing to pay income tax on the prize.

2011 – A magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurred in Virginia. Damage occurs to monuments and structures in Washington, DC and the damage is estimated at $200-300 million.

2012 – Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, announced he would not contest the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency charges of doping. As a result of which he would be stripped of all of his Tour de France victories.

 

BIRTHDAYS:

Vera Miles – 96 a old (1929) – Actress (Played Lila Crane in the film “Psycho” and “Psycho II”, “The Searchers”, “Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle”, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”)

Barbara Eden – 94 a old (1931) – Actress (TV’s “I Dream of Jeannie”)

Richard Sanders – 85 a old (1940) – Actor (Played Les Nessman on TV’s “WKRP in Cincinnati”)

Shelley Long – 76 a old (1949) – Actress (TV’s “Cheers”, movies “Irreconcilable Differences”, “The Money Pit”, “The Brady Bunch Movie”)

Rick Springfield – 76 a old (1949) – Singer, Actor (Played Doctor Noah Drake on TV’s “General Hospital”)

Mark Hudson – 74 a old (1951) – Musician (The Hudson Brothers)

Dean DeLeo – 64 a old (1961) – Guitarist (Stone Temple Pilots)

Jay Mohr – 55 a old (1970) – Actor, comedian, sports host (“Jerry Maguire”, “Pay It Forward”, “King’s Ransom”, TV’s “The Ghost Whisperer”, “Gary Unmarried”)

Jermaine “Huggy” Hopkins – 52 a old (1973) – Actor (“Lean on Me”, “Juice”, TV’s “The Wayans Brothers”)

Scott Caan – 49 a old (1976) – Actor (TV’s “Hawaii Five-O”, “Entourage”, movies “Gone in 60 Seconds”, “Oceans” 11, 12 and 13, “Ready to Rumble”)’

Joanne Froggatt – 45 a old (1980) – Actress (TV’s “Downton Abbey”)

 

TODAY IS:

Today's special observances are temporarily unavailable. Please check back soon.

 

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.comwww.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.

I’ve always been the kind of person who notices the things other people overlook — strange roadside attractions, forgotten pieces of history, interesting places, odd trends, and the little things in everyday life that make you laugh and say, “Wait... when did that become normal?” This blog is where I share those discoveries. Some days you might learn something fascinating from history. Other days I’ll take you along on a road trip, share a weird story from Michigan’s past, or simply rant about something in modern life that makes absolutely no sense. No matter what, my goal is simple: keep things interesting!

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