Note: The calendar is also a page index. Select a date or other item of interest for more information.

The daily notes for this month are from the The History Channel's Home Page. If you like these notes, you'll love looking at the other notes and birthdays they have recorded for every day of the year.

4 -- Independence Day (USA)

1 July -- This is "IRS" Day!

The U.S. Congress chose this day in 1862 to establish the Bureau of Internal Revenue. President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill into a law, making it possible for the Feds to collect a three percent tax on incomes ranging from $600 to $10,000, and 5% on incomes over $10,000. Several precursors to this law were never officially enacted or enforced. This law was just a temporary one.

The Bureau became the Internal Revenue Service in 1913. It was then that a 16th amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution permitting the Federal Government to once again collect a tax on income. Through a complicated system of rules, the Internal Revenue Service became the official collection agency and the reason why U.S. citizens all shudder and shake annually on April 15.

Word Of The Day: Spate (spayt) n. A massive outpouring; a rush or flood. A spate of invective rushed from the prisoner's lips.

2 July -- This is "Civil Rights" Day!

The 2nd of July, 1964 signifies the day it was no longer legal in the United States to discriminate against others because of their race. It was on this date that U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the "Voting Rights Act of 1964" into law. The law included the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of race not only where the registration of voters was involved; but also in public accommodations, in publicly owned or operated facilities, in employment and union membership.

Title VI of the bill provided for more than a slap on the hand to persistent lawbreakers who received federal funding. It allowed for the cancellation of such monies.

The law is still in effect ... with discrimination because of gender, age and religion also prohibited. Too bad it has to be written in the laws to ensure that we all enjoy our civil rights.

Word Of The Day: Raucous (RAH kuhs) adj. Loud, rowdy, shrill. This peaceful protest could turn into a raucous riot.

The legendary comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello debuted this day in 1940 with their network radio show on NBC. The duo replaced Fred Allen for the summer months.

Twelve years later, Abbott and Costello went on to produce 52 episodes of one of the most successful and repeated programs in TV history, "The Abbott and Costello Show". A cartoon version of the human cartoons followed in 1966.

The most famous of all Abbott and Costello routines was "Who's on First". The names of the players and their positions in the hilarious skit were: First base: "Who"; Second base: "What"; Third base: "I Don't Know"; Shortstop: "I Don't Care" (or, "I Don't Give a Darn"); Pitcher: "Tomorrow"; Catcher: "Today"; Left field: "Why" and Center field: "Because". So, now you know.

Word Of The Day: Inadvertent (in uhd VUR tuhnt) adj. Not attentive; heedless. Such an inadvertent remark was inexcusable

Americans celebrate their independence from the British on this day. July 4th commemorates the approval of the "Declaration of Independence", in 1776. No it wasn't signed on this day - just approved. The actual signing didn't take place until a month later. Most of the delegates signed the Declaration on August 2, 1776, the first signature being that of John Hancock. Several signatures were obtained later ... George Wythe (Virginia) on August 27; Richard Henry Lee (Virginia), Elbridge Gerry (Massachusetts), Oliver Wolcott (Connecticut) signed in September; Matthew Thornton (New Hampshire) in November. Thomas McKean, representing Delaware, was serving in the army and was unavailable to add his 'John Hancock' until 1781.

Thomas Jefferson was the major author of the "Declaration", but he had help from John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman. Following the natural rights theory of John Locke, the document proclaimed the equality of 'all men' and their 'unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness'. The authors wrote that governments were established to secure these rights; when they failed to do so, the people could abolish them. This one statement alone was considered as treason to the British crown.

And so, at the signing of the "Declaration of Independence", John Hancock said, "Now we must all hang together."

Always the sharp wit, Benjamin Franklin smilingly stated, "Or most assuredly we will all hang separately."

Word Of The Day: Sedulous (SEJ uh luhs) adj. Diligent, industrious. Did you find the natives sedulous, or were they lazy?

Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey's circus, the "Greatest Show on Earth", was the brainchild of a man who said, "There's a sucker born every minute." P.T. Barnum was born on this day in 1810 in Connecticut.

His first 'pull the wool over their eyes' act happened in 1830, when he had people believing that an elderly black woman, Joice Heth, was George Washington's childhood nurse. The gullible public supported him successfully for over three decades as owner of the American Museum in New York.

The museum housed several improbable attractions including: the Fiji Mermaid (a fishtailed doll with a dried monkey head & torso). P.T. did have some legitimacy. He displayed Jumbo, the world's largest elephant and Tom Thumb, the world's smallest man, the original Siamese twins and famous soprano, Jenny Lind. He even arranged a successful tour for her.

Most of what Barnum had to offer would be considered the side show of today's circus. But it was he who created the circus as we know it. Merging with Mr. Bailey and later, the Ringling Brothers in 1907, P.T. Barnum left us the lasting legacy of the circus extravaganza, housing true attractions along with the fake.

The most successful and outrageous showman of the times, Phineas Taylor Barnum was still a man of his word. After all, was there ever a greater show than the "Greatest Show on Earth?"

Bring on the cotton candy, the clowns, the daring young man on the flying trapeze, and the parade of elephants. We're ready to be suckered.

Word Of The Day: Substantiate (suhb STAN shee ayt) v. To prove true using evidence; confirm. It won't be difficult to substantiate the experiment.

The New York Strand Theatre was the scene of a sneak, midnight preview of the film, "The Lights of New York", on this night in 1928. The Warner Bros. film was the first talkie (a talking motion picture).

The film's transitions were still a little bumpy, so 24 titles were used to explain them. We figure it was the first time out with sound so we'd excuse the titles.

The 6,000 feet of film in "Lights of New York" told a gangster tale and introduced the phrase, "Take him for a ride."

And the talkies have taken us for glorious rides ever since!

Word Of The Day: Sultry (SUL tree) adj. Oppressively hot and moist; torrid, inflamed. The first-ever football game was played on a sultry day in August.

Jack Webb's "Dragnet" was first heard on NBC Radio this day in 1949. The program was the first to dramatize cases from actual police files. Each episode on radio and TV began with the announcement: "The story you are about to hear(see) is true; only the names have been changed to protect the innocent"; and ended with the somber sentence handed down to the criminal.

"Dragnet" went to television in January 1952 after a successful TV preview on "Chesterfield Sound Off Time" a few weeks earlier. The show actually ran simultaneously on radio and TV from 1952 - 1956, continuing on television through 1959. After a seven year hiatus it returned as "Dragnet '67" to distinguish itself from its own reruns. This first, major, real-life police drama series was so successful that it remains in syndication some 30 to 40 years later.

The show went to the movies in a 1980s spoof with Dan Aykroyd in the lead role of Sgt. Joe Friday -- the role Webb played on both radio and television.

The original sponsor of the radio series was Fatima Cigarettes and, later, Chesterfield Cigarettes. The composer of the original "Dragnet" theme was Walter Schumann, which included "dum-de-dum-dum", possibly the most famous four note introduction since Beethoven's 5th.

Sgt. Friday's side-kick was originally played by Barton Yarborough both on radio and TV. His untimely death shortly after the first TV telecast opened up the role to Barney Philips. Herb Ellis picked up the part in the first fall season, followed by Ben Alexander, who played Officer Frank Smith for 7 years. Harry Morgan was Jack Webb's sidekick in the 1967-1970 series as Officer Bill Gannon.

And those are "just the facts, ma'am."

Word Of The Day: Volition (vo LISH uhn) n. Will-power; choice. You will leave of your own volition or you will be removed by force.

Whatever flavor is your favorite - chocolate, strawberry, butterscotch - with or without nuts - piled high with whipped cream - or not - vanilla, chocolate, strawberry swirl, chocolate-chip mint or any other variety ice cream underneath - it's still a sundae.

Without druggist Edward Berner, of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, it wouldn't even exist. It seems that on this day, back in 1881, a patron came into Edward Berner's drug store and sat down at the soda fountain counter. Since it was the Sabbath, the customer couldn't have the desirable, but scandalous, flavored soda water. Mr. Berner compromised and put ice cream in a dish and poured the syrup on top (chocolate syrup was only used for making flavored and ice-cream sodas, at the time). Voila! An ice cream Sunday! (The spelling was later changed to 'sundae') The customer was happy; Mr. Berner was happy ... he just invented a dessert that he could serve on Sundays and remain morally correct; and we are happy 'cause we like ice cream sundaes no matter what day of the week it is.

This is one time we can say, "Always on Sunday ... or is that sundae?"

Word Of The Day: Glib (glib) adj. Smooth of speech. Salesmen surrounded him offering up their glib pitches.

OK, class - who invented the sewing machine? Elias Howe, you say? Well, we were all taught that Elias Howe was the clever inventor; but that's not exactly correct. Elias Howe only patented the lock-stitching machine. The device had already been invented by one Walter Hunt.

Walter was a really nice guy. He didn't patent his invention because he didn't want to put the many seamstresses of the time out of work. Elias didn't care about such social issues. So he went ahead and patented the sewing machine.

Mr. Howe ran into a lot of legal entanglements trying to get his patent rights because of those who tried to infringe on them, such as Isaac Singer. Maybe you know the name. In the long run, Elias Howe won; earning over two million dollars in royalties for his non-invention.

The question is, if Elias Howe hadn't been born on this day in 1819, what would we be sewing with?

Word Of The Day: Germane (juhr MAYN) adj. Helpful, relevant, pertinent. That evidence is germaine to solving the case.

It was on this day in 1965 that The Rolling Stones, who took their name from a Muddy Waters song, hit the top spot on the "Billboard" chart. It was their first time at the top. The hit, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", stayed at number one for 4 weeks.

The Stones recorded a total of 41 hits overall over the next 13 years, with seven more making the number one spot, including: "Ruby Tuesday", "Honky Tonk Women", "Angie", "Miss You", "Paint it Black", "Get Off of My Cloud", and "Brown Sugar".

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Mick Taylor and Ron Wood were awarded the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 1986. The group, founded in 1964, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

Considered by many to be the greatest rock band in the world, "Satisfaction" remains the Stones' signature.

Word Of The Day: Envisage (en VIZ ij) v. To imagine; picture in the mind. I envisage a corporation composed of three separate divisions.

To bowdlerize means to self-righteously remove or modify passages one considers vulgar or objectionable. A medical doctor by the name of Thomas Bowdler, whose birthday was this day in 1754, gave new meaning to expurgation.

Dr. Bowdler gave up his medical practice to practice surgery on the works of William Shakespeare. He removed all those words "which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family." He removed all the words and expressions which he, himself, considered to be indecent or impious from his ten volumes of Shakespeare's writings.

But that wasn't enough to satisfy Bowdler. He moved on to Edward Gibbon's "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", and then he boldly bowdlerized the "Old Testament". In doing so, he irritated a lot of people - so many that his name became synonymous with these acts.

We're glad he isn't around to censor today's literature and movie scripts. We think we'd be left with nary a word if Dr. Bowdler had his way.

Word Of The Day: Mortify (MOR tuh fai) v. To embarrass, humiliate. My own fears of swimming have mortified me for years.

This was Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois in 1979. Two Chicago radio disk jerkeys came up with the idea of having people bring unwanted disco records to the stadium. The spurned records would be burned between doubleheader games with the White Sox and the Detroit Tigers.

Lead by the chant, "Disco Sucks!", most of the records weren't burned, but sailed through the stands DURING the game -- nearly inciting a riot. Some fans started their own fires and mini-riots. There was so much commotion that the ballplayers couldn't even finish the last game of the doubleheader; the White Sox forfeited.

The next day, newspapers and one of the sponsoring DJ's, Steve Dahl, called the unruly crowd, "a bunch of animals." Duh!

Disco died, at least for awhile, and the crowd probably thought they killed it.

Word Of The Day: Gaunt (gahnt) adj. Haggard; thin or bony. The old woman's gaunt, hungry appearance saddened me.

The year was 1985. The event was the "Live Aid" concert for African famine relief. The place was Philadelphia, PA and it was also, London, England. Over $70 million was raised for the effort from electrifying performances telecast world-wide from Philly's JFK Stadium and London's Wembley Stadium as well as other venues.

The all-day and much-of-the-night concert featured some of the biggest names in rock music including Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Madonna, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. The audience was equally as big - 162,000 attended the concert and another 1.5 billion viewed it on TV.

Boomstown Rats singer, Bob Geldof, organized the "Live Aid" concert, gathering the big name stars, all of whom performed without pay.

Word Of The Day: Riposte (ri POST) n. A retaliatory maneuver; a retort. Taken aback by his scathing riposte, I stood there, speechless.

On this day in 1946, Dr. Benjamin Spock's, "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" was first published. The book quickly became one of the most widely discussed books ever published -- and one of the most widely sold. In fact, Dr. Spock's baby book has sold more copies than any book other than the Bible.

Over three generations of parents have reared their children according to Dr. Spock's philosophy of sparing the rod and trying to understand a child's needs.

Dr. Spock's best advice: read, "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care".

Word Of The Day: Imperious (im PIR ee uhs) adj. Urgent, pressing; domineering. I could tell by her imperious manner that something was wrong.

Sometime in the late 800s - 900s, there lived a man named Swithun or Swithin. He was the Bishop of Winchester in Old England. For some unknown reason - since Bishop Swithin was not particularly famous - his remains were transferred to Winchester Cathedral on this day in 971.

It so happened that there was a heavy rainfall on this same day. Some say Bishop Swithin was angry about the move and caused the downpour. From then on, according to an old English adage, if it should rain on July 15th, it will rain for forty days thereafter.

"St. Swithin's Day, if thou dost rain, for 40 days it will remain; St. Swithin's Day, if thou be fair, for 40 days, 'twill rain nea mair."

Are you weather forecasters paying attention?

Word Of The Day: Perpetuate (puhr PECH yoo ayt) v. To cause to continue. They want to perpetuate the myth that only big businesses have high profits.

She was born Ruby Stevens on this day in 1907. Later, she was fondly called, Missy, by the film crews who worked with her. We knew her as Barbara Stanwyk, her stage name. She used it for the first time, at age 18, when she won a leading role in a Broadway play titled, "Noose".

This was not the last time Ms. Stanwyk would win a leading role. In fact she was nominated for Best Actress by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences four times out of her 82 films which include: "Stella Dallas", "Double Indemnity", "Sorry Wrong Number" and "The Lady Eve".

Barbara Stanwyk easily crossed over from film to TV as the matriarch in "The Big Valley" and later, in the miniseries, "The Thorn Birds" and the prime time soap, "The Colbys". This time she wasn't just nominated, she won. Her first Emmy was in 1960-61 for her lead role in "The Barbara Stanwyk Show". She received another Emmy for her "Big Valley" performances in 1965-66 and one for "The Thorn Birds" in 1983.

Her popularity increased over the years as did her pay check. In 1944, Ms. Stanwyk was listed by the government as the highest paid woman in the U.S., at $400,000 per year. Not bad for a chorus girl from Brooklyn.

We miss you, Missy.

Word Of The Day: Iota (ai O tuh) n. A very small amount. Don't give an inch, not one iota!

We've all seen football players running the wrong way on the field, and some announcer will refer to the unfortunate player as 'Wrong Way' Corrigan.

Well, the original 'Wrong Way' was not a football player; he was Douglas Corrigan, unemployed airplane mechanic. It was on this, a foggy day in 1938, that Doug left Floyd Bennett Field in New York, supposedly headed for Los Angeles. He landed the 1929 Curtiss Robin monoplane about 28 hours later - not in California but in Ireland at Dublin's Baldonnell Airport.

Corrigan made the 3,150-mile flight without benefit of a radio or navigational equipment other than a compass. His explanation for the monumental mistake was that he was following the wrong end of the compass needle. (Folks were never sure whether his feat was a mistake or moxie.)

He was, however, welcomed home as a hero (ticker tape parade and all) and known forever more as 'Wrong Way' Corrigan.

Word Of The Day: Synergy (SIN uhr jee) n. The action of a group achieving a greater effect than that of which each individual is capable. Our relationship was built on synergy.

Every now and then a commercial jingle becomes something other than a commercial. It becomes a part of Americana. And so it goes with the "I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener" song. But long before the jingle/song entered our lives, Carl Mayer, nephew of Oscar Mayer, invented another quaint entry into Americana: the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

The first Wienermobile rolled out of General Body Company's factory in Chicago on this day in 1936. The Wienermobile tours around the U.S. fascinating children of all ages as it promotes the famous Oscar Mayer wiener. If you've had the pleasure of seeing the Wienermobile in person, don't think only the folks in your part of the U.S.A. are the lucky ones, because today there are six of the silly looking cars.

For those of you who have never seen it - it's a giant hot dog on wheels - there's just no other way to describe the Wienermobile.

Word Of The Day: Droll (drol) adj. Oddly comical or amusing. We all enjoyed the pet chicken's droll antics.

"Our Miss Brooks", starring Eve Arden and Gale Gordon, debuted on CBS Radio this day in 1948. Arden played the role of Connie Brooks. The program stayed on radio until 1957, running simultaneously on TV from 1952 to 1956.

Miss Brooks taught English at Madison High School. Her pal, the bashful, biology teacher, Philip Boynton was played by Robert Rockwell. The crusty, blustery principal of Madison High, Osgood Conklin was none other than Gale Gordon.

Supporting Eve Arden was Jane Morgan as Miss Brooks' landlady, Mrs. Davis. The main problem child in the classroom, somewhat dimwitted Walter Denton was Richard Crenna.

Eve Arden was so popular as Miss Brooks that she was frequently asked to speak to educational groups and at PTA meetings. She was even offered teaching positions at real high schools.

Ah, the power of radio and television!

Word Of The Day: Vestige (VES tij) n. A trace; evidence of past existence. He's merely a vestige of his former talented self.

With "...one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," astronaut, Neil Armstrong, pilot of the lunar spacecraft, the "Eagle", made the first footsteps on the surface of the moon at 10:56 p.m. EDT on this day in 1969. Which foot did Armstrong use to step on the grainy, grayish, lunar soil? His left.

So incredible were the TV images of Armstrong and later, Buzz Aldrin, exploring the lunar surface, people around the world stopped and collectively held their breath. The words "Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed..." gave instant impact to the drama of watching human beings reach something so far away so successfully. And all were able to breathe once again.

The American flag that was deployed, along with other moon landing memorabilia, including a lunar rover, still sits on the moon as abandoned space junk. While Armstrong and Aldrin cavorted on the moon, astronaut, Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 command ship, "Columbia", above the moon's surface.

The world again stopped -- in anticipation of the fragile lunar module lifting off from the moon and rejoining the command ship -- reuniting the three astronauts for a most historic trip home to planet Earth.

Word Of The Day: Sophistry (SAHF uh stree) n. False reasoning, clever but misleading argument. Their sophistry convinced me to go along with them.

It isn't often that people are invited to a picnic to watch a war; but that's what happened on this day in 1861.

For those of you who weren't invited or just don't remember, it was the first major battle of the Civil War between the North and the South. U.S. Federal troops under the leadership of Major General Irwin McDowell attacked Confederate troops led by General Beauregard. It was the Battle of Bull Run Creek at Manassas Junction, Virginia. The Confederates, with the help of General E. Kirby Smith and General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson held back the Union troops like a stone wall.

Many folks, dressed in their Sunday best, came to watch and picnic as 60,000 men fought for over ten hours. When a shell destroyed a wagon blocking the main road of retreat, panic sent Union troops and picnickers scurrying back to Washington D.C.

Word Of The Day: Harbinger (HAHR bin juhr) n. A forerunner; advance notice. Her huge vocabulary was a harbinger of her prolific medical skill.

For many centuries, children all over the world have heard the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who rid the German town of Hamelin of its rats. It all happened on this day back in 1376. The piper piped and the rats followed his melodic music right into the Weser River where they drowned.

The other part of this legend isn't quite as well-known. It seems that no one wanted to pay the Pied Piper for his good deed. So he repaid the townspeople by playing his pipe for the children of Hamelin, just like he did for the rats. And just like the rats, the children followed him out of town. The Pied Piper led them into a hole in a hillside. They were never seen again.

However, there's a new twist. Historians now say that in 1284, young men were leaving Hamelin to go on a colonizing adventure, so this may be how the legend came about.

And we always thought this was such a great story. Oh, rats!

Word Of The Day: Penchant (PEN chuhnt) n. A strong liking, fetish; an inclination. He had a penchant for fast cars

On this hot, muggy, sticky mid-summer day in 1904, in the days before efficient central air conditioning, people were sitting around saying things like, "Dang, wish somebody would invent an ice cream cone or something..." Soon, a light bulb went off above the head of Charles E. Minches of St. Louis, Missouri. He came up with the ice cream cone accidentally. Mr. Minches actually saw an ice cream sandwich wafer that had been turned into a vase for flowers! Well, if it was good enough for flowers, he thought, why not do the same for ice cream?

The pastry cone, filled with scoops of ice cream, was introduced to the public at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. The rest was history in the making.

Word Of The Day: Guise (gaiz) n. Manner, appearance; a false appearance. Under the guise of romance, she was able to obtain the top-secret information.

On this day in 1983, Kansas City Royals slugger, George Brett, slammed a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Royals a 5-4 lead over New York. Or did he?

Seconds after Brett crossed home plate, New York Yankees Manager, Billy Martin, came out of the dugout to protest that the pine tar on Brett's bat was more than 18 inches up the bat handle. The umpires measured Brett's bat and came to the conclusion that Martin was correct -- and called Brett out -- erasing the Royals lead. Or did they?

The president of the American League, Lee McPhail, later reversed the umpire's decision on the pine tar and ruled that the game was suspended -- with the Royals leading, 5-4. The game was completed 3 1/2 weeks later, on August 18, 1983, in Yankee Stadium. The turnout of the game? It only took 12 minutes to play the remainder of the contest with the Royals tarring the Yankees 5-4.

Word Of The Day: Quandary (Kwahn dree) n. A state of doubt; a dilemma. I was in a quandary over the marriage proposal.

Crooner, Dean Martin, and comedian, Jerry Lewis, staged their first show as a team this day in 1946, at Club 500 in Atlantic City, NJ. Actually, the two had met while performing -- separately -- at the Glass Hat in New York City and decided to try an ad-lib act -- together. The rest is entertainment history.

The duo went from earning $350 a week to $5,000 a week in under eight months with Martin playing the romantic straight man opposite Lewis as his goofy, unpredictable partner. Ten years later, the curtain came down on their final team performance at the Copacabana in New York. Over that decade, the zany two made seventeen movies including "My Friend Irma", "That's My Boy", "The Caddy", "Pardners", "Jumping Jacks" and "The Stooge".

Dean Martin went on to become a recording star ("Memories are Made of This", "Return to Me", "Everybody Loves Somebody"), movie star ("The Young Lions", "Rio Bravo", "Sons of Katie Elder", the Matt Helm series) and host of his own TV variety show, "The Dean Martin Show". Lewis pursued a solo career in Hollywood as comic lead ("The Sad Sack", "Cinderfella", "The Nutty Professor"), director ("The Bellboy", "The Errand Boy", "The Patsy", "Family Jewels", "Which Way to the Front"), producer, teacher (USC) and consummate entertainer. It would take 20 years for the two to speak publicly with each other again.

Martin died December 25, 1995. Lewis continues to set records in fund-raising during his annual "Stars Across America! Labor Day Telethon" for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (he has been chairman of the MDA since 1950). The Las Vegas resident continues to make nightclub appearances and returned to the stage in the Broadway revival production of "Damn Yankees" in 1996. Critics call his performance as the Devil, a rip-roaring success.

Word Of The Day: Pragmatic (prag MAT ik) adj. Practical, workable, based on experience. That might be the most pragmatic solution.

On this day in 1775, a postal system was established by the 2nd Continental Congress of the United States. The first Postmaster General was the same gentleman who graces the U.S. $100 bill and who flew a kite with a key attached in a thunderstorm -- Benjamin Franklin. Mr. Franklin was paid $1,000 a year for his job as Postmaster General.

Just fifty-four years later, the U.S. Post Office had grown to 7,600 offices and in some places, especially big cities, lines of people were kept waiting as postal clerks determined correct postal charges. Citizens were angered over the long lines and by the U.S. Government's enforcement of postal rates.

Here we are some 200 years later and we're still complaining about postal rates while we wait in long lines at the post office...

Word Of The Day: Blasé (blah ZAY) adj. Bored, indifferent. This blasé young student leads an empty life.

On this day in 1909, Orville Wright (one of the famous Wright Brothers, along with Wilbur), set a record for the longest airplane flight. Not that there were many records available ... after all, it was the Wright Brothers who worked so hard at making plane flight practical in the first place!

Orville was testing the Army's first airplane and kept it aloft for 1 hour, 12 minutes and 40 seconds over Fort Myer, Virginia. He was so tired from the experience that the plane crash landed. He and his passenger (name unknown) were OK.

Word Of The Day: Wreak (reek) v. To inflict; vent, express, or gratify. "Wreak destruction on the aliens!" shouted Captain Kirk.

On this day in 1954, The Crew Cuts reached the top spot of the "Billboard" pop singles chart with "Sh-Boom" -- a song that was a cover version of a rhythm and blues version, recorded by The Chords. The tune stayed atop the pop music listing for seven weeks.

Many people consider this song to be the first rock 'n' roll record. It wasn't the first ... rock 'n' roll had made it to the music scene long before this. In fact, The Boswell Sisters recorded a song titled, "Rock and Roll" in 1934. However, "Sh-Boom" was the first rock 'n' roll record to make it to the top of the pop charts. (The Chords' version became the first rock-related hit in Great Britain.)

Purists consider "Rock Around the Clock" to be the first, true #1 rock 'n' roll hit. However, it didn't hit the top of the charts until one year after "Sh-Boom". Our lines are open. Call in your votes now.

Word Of The Day: Solicitous (suh LIS I tuhs) adj. Concerned; attentive; eager. Solicitous youths are the most likely to be hired.

"The Tonight Show" began simply as "Tonight" in 1954. Then it changed titles to "Tonight! America after Dark". On this night in 1957, Jack Paar began a successful five-year run as host of the "Tonight" show, on NBC-TV, changing its name to "The Jack Paar Show".

Jack Paar came to NBC from the competition over at CBS where he had been a game and talk show host. Paar's forte was interviewing. He would get so involved with his guests and their stories that he would not only laugh with them, but would, sometimes, even cry. Paar's emotional outbursts, whether they involved an interviewee, a personal crusade or a feud with the likes of Ed Sullivan or Dorothy Kilgallen, became the major attraction of the show.

Jose Melis and his orchestra stayed with Paar through the years as did his sidekick and announcer, Hugh Downs. Those of us who stayed up night after night got used to being entertained by regulars such as Dody Goodman, Cliff Arquette, Pat Harrington, Hans Conreid, Joey Bishop and Florence Henderson.

The very first show had as guests: Alexander King, singer, Robert Merrill, and funnyman, Buddy Hackett. King and Hackett became regulars over the years just as Jack Paar became a regular in our bedrooms every weekday night until March 30, 1962.

Word Of The Day: Blunt (blunt) v. To deter, disincline; desensitize; dull. I hat to blunt your enthusiasm, but your plan simply will not work.

On this day in 1952, the popular radio soap opera, "The Guiding Light", was seen for the first time on CBS Television. The daytime drama continues today.

The dean of soap operas, "The Guiding Light" centers on the Bauer family and their trials and tribulations. The original radio version revolved around Rev. John Ruthledge and, later, Dr. Charles Matthews of the Church of the Good Samaritan -- in Five Points (no one ever knew where the town of Five Points was supposed to be).

The TV version is set in Springfield (again, no one knows where Springfield is). Just follow "The Guiding Light".

Word Of The Day: Pugnacious (puhg NAY shuhs) adj. Quarrelsome, eager to fight. Fido is an extremely pugnacious poodle.

On this day in 1933, listeners turned up the radio to hear the announcer introduce "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy!" The show was one of the longest-running adventure programs on radio. "Jack Armstrong" continued until 1951 as Hudson High School's football hero; and the hero who saved the day from dastardly villains. Somehow, these adventures would take Jack and his cousins, Betty and Bill Fairfield to exotic locales where they would make use of industrialist, Uncle Jim's yacht and a hydroplane they referred to as "The Silver Albatross".

The first actor to play Armstrong was Jim Ameche, the brother of actor, Don Ameche. The series, created by Robert Hardy Andrews, portrayed Jack Armstrong as loyal, brave, honest and, yes, all-American; obvious in this excerpt from one of the scripts. Jack Armstrong: "When I think of this country of ours, with millions of homes stretching sea to sea, and with everybody working and pulling together to have a nation where people can be free, and do big things ... why, it makes me realize what a terribly important job we've got ahead!"

Word Of The Day: Regale (ruh GAYL) v. To entertain, delight. For three hours she regaled us with her adventurous life.

George R. Self
E-mail me at: grself@c2i2.com

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