111309: Water Cooler News
Water Cooler News – November 13/09
Welcome to Happy Dance Friday!
The end of another week has arrived and that means it’s time for the Happy Dance on this Friday. It’s also time for some Water Cooler News. In this edition of the Water Cooler News you will find a list of birthdays and fun historical facts for today. You will also find some off-beat news…
- Flying With 1,000 Spiders Is A No-No
- Pilot Aims For Police
- Seduction By Deep Discount
Daily Mindbender Question
4.7% of newborn babies have this in common. What is it?
Off-Beat News
“Flying With 1,000 Spiders Is A No-No”
You’ve of “Snakes on a Plane” – but how about – “Spiders on a plane?” – A British man was caught this week trying to smuggle a thousand live spiders in his luggage before taking a flight home from Rio de Janeiro. Police arrested the man after the creatures turned up on an X-ray machine. The man is facing a year in prison and a fine of up to 2.3 million dollars. It’s unclear why he wanted to bring the spiders home with him.
“Pilot Aims For Police”
Police in Griffin, Georgia arrested 48-year-old Dan Gryder on charges he tried to hit officers with his plane at a small airport. Officers were trying to issue Gryder a ticket for driving his car across the runway, but he jumped on a plane without signing the citation. He threatened to hit the policemen and motioned towards them with the plane when they demanded he stop the aircraft. Gryder tried to fly away but he didn’t have enough fuel.
“Seduction By Deep Discount”
A 20 year old Home Depot employee is accused of discounting 20 thousand dollars worth of merchandise from her store in Nitro, West Virginia for a man she was hoping to date. Kate Lynn Smith admitted she provided the deals over a four-month period for — quote — “A male she desired as a boyfriend.” She no longer works at the store and there’s no word on whether Smith’s generosity succeeded in seducing the man.
Historical Notes
Today is…
Guinness World Records Day – A day celebrating ordinary people around the world doing extraordinary things. Also a day to encourage individuals to reach into their imaginations and attempt to break their own Guinness World Record. Find more information on the web at Guinness World Records.
World Kindness Day
Tomorrow, Saturday, November 14 is…
Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day – A day to remind people of all the benefits of joy and laughter.
World Diabetes Day
Notable Birthdays…
Garry Marshall, 75, producer / director
Chris Noth, 55, actor (Sex and the City)
Whoopi Goldberg, 54, comedienne (some sites show her age as 58)
Steve Zahn, 42, actor
Jimmy Kimmel, 42, late night talk show host
Gerard Butler, 40, actor (300)
Music History
2000 – The Beatles launched their first official website at thebeatles.com.
2000 – Elton John released his live album One Night Only. It had been recorded at New York’s Madison Square Garden only 22 days before.
1997 – Celine Dion, who has recorded in both English and French, released her first Japanese-language single, “Be the Man.” The song, which was the theme to the Japanese TV drama Eve, was only available in Japan.
1992 – Elton John performed in Mexico for the first time in front of 90,000 people in Mexico City.
1985 – At New York’s Whitney Museum, an exhibition opened celebrating Bob Dylan’s 25 years in the music industry.
1982 – Australia’s Men At Work started a 15-week run at the top of the album chart with their debut LP, Business As Usual.
1974 – John Lennon had the number one single with “Whatever Gets You Through the Night.” Elton John sang backing vocals and played piano and organ on the track.
1973 – Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. was killed in a highway accident near Hernando, Mississippi. Several days earlier, the 19-year-old had appeared on TV’s Midnight Special as a drummer in his father’s band. In 1962, Jerry Lee’s only other son, Steven Allen Lewis, had drowned in the family swimming pool.
1971 – Three Dog Night’s “Old Fashioned Love Song” was released.
1968 – The Beatles’ animated movie Yellow Submarine premiered in the U.S.
1961 – The Tokens’ The Lion Sleeps Tonight was released.
General History
1789 – Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to a friend in which he said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
1907 – The helicopter was introduced.
1940 – Walt Disney’s classic animated feature Fantasia was released.
1974 – Karen Silkwood, a technician and union activist at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron Plutonium Plant near Crescent, Oklahoma, was killed in a car crash. Silkwood’s name has become a rallying cry among anti-nuclear activists, who charge that foul play may have been involved in her death, although state authorities ruled it was an accident.
1998 – President Clinton agreed to pay Paula Jones $850,000, without an apology or admission of guilt, to throw out her sexual harassment lawsuit.
Daily Mindbender Answer
4.7% of newborn babies “are born on their due date”.
Yours in Water Cooler News!
Dr. Rus
