August 16th Fun Facts, Trivia and History |
August 16th History Highlights |
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Roller Coasters |
The origins of the roller coasters probably go back to Russia, where sledding was a popular activity in the winters of the 14th century. In the early 18th century, the first roller coasters were snow and ice – hills built from hills that fell from the cold Russian mountains. It became so popular that people built their own hills in relatively flat areas in winter, often by snowmobiles and sometimes even by hand. Catherine the Great, the Russian Empress, loved these rides so much that she even had one built for her, and there were slides in the palaces and gardens of the capital. These slides were so popular that they were even part of her palace garden in St. Petersburg. The ride, which opened in St. Petersburg in 1784, consists of a sleigh on a grooved track that descends a small hill, generating electricity through the height and gradient of the first descent. The event took the form of a ride called “Russian Mountains” in honor of Russia’s most famous mountain, the Russian Mountain They were called Les Montagnes Russe de Belleville, which literally means “Russian mountains of Bellevilles,” and alludes to the place where they began. In Russia, roller coasters began to appear in the late 19th century as a reaction to the popularity of roller coasters in France and Germany. In 1827, a mining company in Summit Hill, Pennsylvania constructed the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, a downhill gravity railroad used to deliver coal to Mauch Chunk (now known as Jim Thorpe), Pennsylvania. The first entertainment-themed roller coaster in the country opened on August 16, 1898, in Prescott, Texas, and sparked an obsession with rides among Americans. The best known historical roller coaster, Cyclone, opened at Coney Island in 1927.
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August 16th is… |
Airborne Day Bratwurst Day Roller Coaster Day Rum Day Tell a Joke Day (Joe Miller’s Day) Wave at Surveillance Day |
August 16th Birthday Quotes |
“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.” “Do not try to excuse your faults; try to correct them.” “Don’t settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that’s in us.” ” I’ve had it happen to me before where it turns out that they never had the money and couldn’t have made the movie in the first place. And these are the things you have to look for when trying to read the behavior of the people you sit down with.” “Tell me I’m beautiful, it’s nothing. Tell me I’m intellectual – I know it. Tell me I’m funny and it’s the greatest compliment in the world anyone could give me.” ” If you settle for what you’ve got, you deserve what you get.” |
August 16th Birthdays |
1815 – John ‘Don’ Bosco, Italian priest and educator (died in 1888) 1888 – T. E. Lawrence, British colonel, diplomat, writer and archaeologist (died in 1935) 1892 – Hal Foster, Canadian-American author and illustrator (died in 1982) 1892 – Otto Messmer, American cartoonist and animator, co-created Felix the Cat (died in 1983) 1915 – Al Hibbler, American baritone singer (died in 2001) 1924 – Fess Parker, American actor (died in 2010) 1928 – Eydie Gormé, American singer (died in 2013) 1930 – Robert Culp, American actor (died in 2010) 1930 – Frank Gifford, American football player, and sportscaster (died in 2015) 1933 – Julie Newmar, American actress 1946 – Lesley Ann Warren, American actress 1953 – Kathie Lee Gifford, American talk show host 1953 – James “J.T.” Taylor, American R&B singer-songwriter 1954 – James Cameron, Canadian director, producer and screenwriter 1957 – Laura Innes, American actress, and director 1958 – Madonna, American singer-songwriter and actress 1958 – Angela Bassett, American actress 1960 – Timothy Hutton, American actor 1962 – Steve Carell, American actor, 1985 – Cristin Milioti, American actress |
August 16th History |
1858 – President James Buchanan inaugurated the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom. “Europe and America are united by telegraphy. Glory to God in the highest; on earth, peace and goodwill toward men.” 1896 – Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack, and Dawson Charlie discovered gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, starting the Klondike Gold Rush. 1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and died early the next day. 1927 – The Dole Air Race from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii. Six participating planes crashed or disappeared, only two made it to Hawaii. 1930 – The first color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, was made by ex-Disney cartoonist Ub Iwerks. It appeared in the music video for Eminem’s song “The Real Slim Shady.” Ub went back to work for Disney in 1940. 1954 – The first issue of Sports Illustrated was published. August 16, 19** Birthday (fictional) Jason Todd (Robin II), DC Comics 1985 – Madonna married actor Sean Penn. 1986 – #1 Hit August 16, 1986 – August 29, 1986: Madonna – Papa Don’t Preach 1989 – A solar flare from the Sun created a geomagnetic storm that affected micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto’s stock market. 1996 – At the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield Illinois, a 3-year-old boy fell into a Gorilla enclosure and lost consciousness. Binti Jua, a female Gorilla, guarded the young boy against the other gorillas, cradled him in her arms, and carried him 60 feet to an entrance where zookeepers could retrieve him. 2008 – The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago reached 1,389 feet (423 m), making, at the time, the world’s highest residence above ground-level. |
Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts |
The ’57’on the Heinz ketchup bottle represents the number of pickle types the company once had. The fear of cooking is known as Mageirocophobia and is a recognized phobia. “I’m not talented or gifted. I’m a committed, meticulous workaholic. The only reason I succeed is that I refuse to fail.” – Jessie Snow “Eh, what’s up doc?” #CartoonCatchphrase Kidz Bop versions of lyrics are basically what the lyrics of those songs would have been if they had been written 60 years ago. A group of ants is called a Colony or Army or Swarm or Nest. Jeanne Clemont was the oldest person ever to live, surviving all the way up 120 years and 238 days. There are more than 30,000 diets on public records. #snapplefacts A strawberry is not a berry. Rita Hayworth – Real Name: Marguerita Cansino “You know, gingivitis is the number one cause of all tooth decay.” – Ace Ventura in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls #moviequotes This orange juice says concentrate, but it doesn’t say for how long. What is another word for “thesaurus”? |
More Pop Culture History Resources |
