August 23 in Pop Culture History

August 23rd Fun Facts, Trivia and History

August 23rd History Highlights

  • 79 – Mount Vesuvious the volcano erupted and buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii under a thick carpet of volcanic ash.
  • 1991 – The World Wide Web was available to the public.
  • 2006 – Pluto was demoted from full planet status to “dwarf planet”.
  • If you were born on August 23rd,
    You were likely conceived the week of… November 30th (prior year)

Wisdom From Television:

Jeannie: How should I punish him? Should I give him the death of a thousand itches?

Major Healey: How about scratches?

Jeannie: Itches are much worse.

Stockholm Syndrome

Stockholm syndrome occurs when the victim, unconsciously or involuntarily, begins to sympathize with his abductors. While some are willing to believe that Hearst has been brainwashed, not everyone agrees that Stockholm syndrome is real. The term was coined when four Swedish bank employees were held hostage for six days while siding with their captors in Stockholm in August 1973.

August 23rd is…

Ride Like the Wind Day
Spongecake Day
The Festival of Vulcan (The Vulcanalia, no longer celebrated)

August 23rd Birthday Quotes

” I die innocent of all the crimes laid to my charge; I pardon those who have occasioned my death, and I pray to God that the blood you are going to shed may never be visited on France.”
– Louis XVI of France

” The way I look at a musical, you are commenting on the human condition no matter what you do. A musical may be light and frivolous, but by its very nature, it makes some kind of social comment.”
– Gene Kelly

“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.”
– Kobe Bryant

” People are more interested in someone who goes on stage and tells the truth.”
– Jay Mohr

” I don’t know any musician, successful or otherwise, that got in it to make money. Or a writer, for that matter. You get into it because you love it.”
– Rick Springfield

August 23rd Birthdays

1754 – Louis XVI of France (died in 1793)
1884 – Will Cuppy, American author and critic (died in 1949)
1905 – Ernie Bushmiller, American cartoonist, Nancy comic strip (died in 1982)
1912 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, and dancer (died in 1996)
1917 – Tex Williams, American singer-songwriter (died in 1985)
1931 – Barbara Eden, American actress
1934 – Sonny Jurgensen, American football player, and sportscaster
1946 – Keith Moon, English drummer, The Who (died in 1978)
1949 – Shelley Long, American actress
1949 – Rick Springfield, Australian-American singer-songwriter and actor
1970 – Jay Mohr, American actor, and screenwriter
1970 – River Phoenix, American actor (died in 1993)
1974 – Ray Park, Scottish actor, and stuntman
1977 – Jared Fogle, former spokesperson for chain restaurant Subway
1978 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player (died in 2020)

August 23rd History

79 – Mount Vesuvius began stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.

1305 – Sir William Wallace was executed for high treason at Smithfield in London.

1775 – King George III delivered his ‘Proclamation of Rebellion to the Court of St. James’s’ stating that the American colonies have proceeded to a state of open and avowed rebellion.

1913 – The Little Mermaid statue was dedicated in the harbor of Copenhagen, Denmark

1948 – World Council of Churches was formed.

1965 – The Sound of Music was released, starring Julie Andrews

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

1969 – #1 Hit August 23, 1969 – September 19, 1969: The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women

1973 – A bank robbery went wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turned into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathize with their captors, leading to the term “Stockholm syndrome”.

1975 – #1 Hit August 23, 1975 – August 29, 1975: Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds – Fallin’ in Love

1991 – Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web opened the WWW to new users.

1996- The Price Is Right celebrated its 25th anniversary special on CBS

1998 – That 70’s show premiered on FOX

August 23, 2000 (fiction) Los Angeles was destroyed by a major earthquake, Escape From L.A., Film

2007 – The skeletal remains of Russia’s last royal family members Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia were discovered near Yekaterinburg, Russia.

2008 – #1 Hit August 23, 2008 – September 5, 2008: Rihanna – Disturbia

2011 (Earthquake) Virginia/East Coast, USA

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

“If you can’t convince them, confuse them.” – Harry S Truman

Useless Pronunciation: O as in ox

‘Yipes’ is the Fruit Stripe chewing gum zebra.

Hedy Lamarr – Real Name: Hedwig Kiesler

“She seems to have an invisible torture” #misunderstoodlyrics

Lilo means “lost” in Hawaiian, so the movie title “Lilo and Stitch” can be interpreted as “lost and pulled together”.

During “One More Time” by Daft Punk says “one more time” 28 times in that song. #onemoretime

“Plastics.” – Mr. Maguire (Walter Brooke) #moviequotes

Garrison Keillor – Real Name: Gary Edward Keillor

umop-apisdn is upside-down upside-down.

“Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get.” – Robert A. Heinlein

The only difference between a dream and a nightmare is whether or not you enjoyed it.

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