Birthdays
July 24
1802 – Alexandre Dumas (La Pailleterie)
playwright, novelist: The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers; died Dec 5, 1870
1897 – Amelia Earhart
aviator: 1st woman to fly solo across the Atlantic; 1st woman to fly solo from Hawaii to California; disappeared July 2, 1937 near Howland Island in the Pacific during a round the world trip from Florida to California
1936 – Ruth Buzzi
comedienne, actress: Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, The Entertainers, The Steve Allen Comedy Hour, That Girl, Sesame Street, Finders Keepers, Freaky Friday
1947 – Robert Hays
actor: Airplane!, Airplane 2, Take This Job & Shove It, Starman, FM, Angie
1951 – Lynda Carter
actress: Wonder Woman, Partners in Crime, Hawkeye; Miss World-USA
1953 – Steve Grogan
football: New England Patriots quarterback: Super Bowl XX
1962 – Kevin Butler
football: Chicago Bears kicker: Super Bowl XX
1982 – Anna Paquin
actress: X-Men, The Piano, Jane Eyre, Amistad, Almost Famous, Finding Forrester, Buffalo Soldiers
Events
July 24
1956 – After a decade together as the country’s most popular comedy team, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis called it quits this night. They did their last show at the Copacabana nightclub in New York City. The duo ended their relationship exactly 10 years after they had started it.
1969 – Hoyt Wilhelm, pitching for the Chicago White Sox, set a major-league baseball record by pitching in game number 907 of his career. Wilhelm went on to lead all major-league hurlers (number of games pitched) with 1,070 in his career (1952-1972).
1987 – Hulda Crooks, at 91 years of age, climbed Mt. Fuji. Hulda became the oldest person to climb Japan’s highest peak. When she got to the top, she was heard to say, “Hey, dudes — how do I get down from here?â€
1998 – “In the last great invasion of the last great war, the greatest danger for eight men … was saving
2001 – The city of Detroit, Michigan celebrated its 300th anniversary with a historical reenactment of city founder Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac landing on the shores of the Detroit River. Included in the tricentennial party, the unveiling of a statue of Cadillac: a gift of the French-American Chamber of Commerce to the city of Detroit. Happy birthday Motor City
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, using home plate as a measuring rod, 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 umpires’ 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 outcome of the game? It only took 12 minutes to play the remainder of the contest with the Royals tarring the Yankees 5-4.
JUDGE RULES SCHOOL COULD SUSPEND STUDENT WHO HAD HOTS FOR TEACHER
DETROIT (AP) — A judge in Detroit has taken the side of an area university — in a beef with one of its students. The student — who is 57 — was suspended after writing he had a thing for one of his teachers. Federal Judge Patrick Duggan says Oakland University doesn’t have to put up with Joseph Corlett’s writings — and that suspending him didn’t violate his right to free speech. Corlett was suspended last year for going on about his writing instructor. He described her as “tall, blonde, stacked” — and compared her to “Ginger” on the old TV show “Gilligan’s Island. He even titled his essay: “Hot For Teacher” — the name of a Van Halen song. Corlett, who lives in Florida, sued the school. But the judge dismissed the lawsuit.
LIZARD SHOOTS BLOOD FROM EYES
REGINA, Canada (AP) — This is an animal that gives new meaning to the phrase “bloodshot eyes.” Those who visit a national park in Saskatchewan, Canada may get a glimpse of our northern neighbor’s version of the iguana. The Greater Short-Horned Lizard is on the list of “at-risk species.” But the lizard does have one trick that might make it less “at risk” when attacked. It spurts blood out of its eye at approaching enemies. Don’t expect to see that trick if you get close. A biologist says the lizard isn’t afraid of humans, so they save their blood squirting for when they are picked on by a predator like a coyote or fox. And the spurting isn’t just done to freak enemies out. Scientists believe there are chemicals in the lizard’s blood that might be noxious if predators taste it.
”BEAR”-ING THE COST
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — We have all been told what wild bears do in the woods — especially when we ask a question that has an obvious “yes” answer. But do you know what bears might end up eating so they end up “going” in the woods? Quite a bit, if you go by information from Ohio officials who have to house wild animals that are confiscated or surrendered under the state’s exotic animal law. Officials kept two bears recently. And feeding logs show their meals included chicken breast, nuts, cookies and bagels. The other bear dined on hot dogs, lettuce, corn and fish. Before their state-imposed diets, their preferred meals included doughnuts, dog food and Gatorade, as well as pizza and Mountain Dew.
STINKY PLANT READY TO BLOOM IN CALIFORNIA
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — You’ve probably heard of the smelly plant that recently bloomed in Washington D.C. But did you know there’s a similar plant ready to burst out with funk at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The so-called corpse flower is due to bloom next week. Unlike other flowers that rely on bees for pollination, this one counts on flies. It attracts them with the smell of rotting flesh, and they in turn spread its sticky pollen. The plant gets its smell from sulfur-producing chemicals in its leaves.
BENTLEY AND LAMBORGHINI STOLEN IN PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Here are some thieves with an eye for high-end cars. Authorities say they have recovered a Bentley and a yellow Lamborghini that had been stolen from an apartment building garage. They say the thieves broke into an apartment, swiped the keys and left with the luxury cars. The Lamborghini had a Batman sticker on it — apparently to set off the yellow exterior. Besides the cars, the thieves made off with about $2,500 in cash and a pair of flat-screen TVs. Though the cars have been recovered, police say no one was in them when they were found — and they have no suspects.
MOVING THE ELEPHANTS
CALGARY (AP) — The Calgary Zoo is getting rid of its elephants. Zoo officials have announced they are moving a male Asian elephant named Ganesh. His new home will be Busch Gardens in Florida. That elephant had been on extended loan from the Miami Zoo after the area was hit by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Zoo officials say moving the elephants will be best for them — since other facilities have more full-time space and elephants prefer to be part of a large social group.
* Information on this site is from several other places I do not claim original content creator title.*