June 17 Fun Facts, Trivia and History |
June 17 History Highlights |
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The Statue of Liberty |
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. A gift from France to The United states, it was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework built by Gustave Eiffel, the same man who created one of history’s most iconic structures: The Eiffel Tower. This amazing gift from the people of France to our own country has been standing since 1886 for all to appreciate. Dedicated on October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty is one of the symbols that represent the nation. Seen as an embodiment, Columbia personified America like Britannia embodied Britain and Marianne stood for France. The statue was initially conceived in 1865 by French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904), who won a competition to design it with his idea “Liberty Enlightening The World”. |
June 17 is… |
| Apple Streudel Day Eat All Your Veggies Day |
June 17 Birthday Quotes |
“An editor is someone dedicated to destroying the work of a creator.” “The greatest question of all is whether our experience on this planet is “it” or whether there is something else. Things in the supernatural realm give support, strangely perhaps, to the things we take on faith.” “If voting could change anything, it would be illegal.” “Some people say I have attitude – maybe I do… but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does; that makes you a winner right there.” “Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible. I think it’s in my basement… let me go upstairs and check.” “Build your own pyramids, write your own hieroglyphs.” |
June 17 Birthdays |
| 1898 – M.C. Escher, Dutch illustrator (died in 1972) 1910 – Red Foley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died in 1968) 1927 – Wally Wood, American comic book author and illustrator (died in 1981) 1943 – Newt Gingrich, American historian and politician 1945 – Art Bell, American broadcaster and author (died in 2018) 1951 – Joe Piscopo, American actor 1958 – Jello Biafra, American singer-songwriter 1963 – Greg Kinnear, American actor 1966 – Jason Patric, American actor 1970 – Will Forte, American comedic actor 1980 – Venus Williams, American tennis player 1982 – Jodie Whittaker, English actress, The Thirteenth Doctor 1987 – Kendrick Lamar, American rapper |
The Watergate Scandal |
On June 17th, 1972, five men were arrested breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at Watergate Complex. This event would be seen as a catalyst for the eventual downfall of President Richard Nixon. The break-in happened during an election year and led to an investigation by journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein who uncovered multiple cases of abuse of power by the Nixon administration. This included a connection to the White House’s secret taping system, which was used to spy on political opponents. In 1974, Nixon became the first US president to resign from office and faced criminal charges for his role in Watergate. While the full extent of Nixon’s involvement is still debated today, it is clear that the Watergate Scandal marked one of the biggest presidential scandals in American history. |
June 17 History |
| 1462 – Vlad III the Impaler attempted to assassinate Mehmed II, forcing him to retreat from Wallachia, in Romania. 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal died during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, spent the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. June 17, 1703 (fiction) Lemuel Gulliver was trapped in Brobdingnag, Gulliver’s Travels, Book 1837 – Charles Goodyear obtained his first rubber-processing patent (#240). The success of his company came after he died in 1860. 1852 – W.H. Fancher and C.M. French of Waterloo, N.Y. received a patent (#35,600) for a combined plow and gun. Yes, you read that correctly. 1898 – The United States Navy Hospital Corps was established. 1944 – Iceland declared independence from Denmark and becomes a republic. 1963 – The US Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in Abington School District v. Schempp, against requiring the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord’s Prayer in public schools. 1969 – Broadway Show – Oh! Calcutta! (Review) June 17, 1969 1987 – Florida’s Dusky Seaside Sparrow became extinct when ‘Orange band’, the last known of the species, died. 1989 #1 Hit June 17, 1989 – June 23, 1989: New Kids on the Block – I’ll Be Loving You (Forever) 1994 – All major networks provided live coverage of the O.J. Simpson low-speed car chase in the White Bronco. The chase concluded with Simpson’s surrender to authorities in front of his mansion in Brentwood, CA. 2006 #1 Hit June 17, 2006 – June 30, 2006: Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean – Hips Don’t Lie |
Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts |
| “The only way to get smarter is by playing a smarter opponent.” The biggest film of 2008: The Dark Knight (Action) earned ~ $533,000,000 The first child to own a stuffed Paddington Bear was Top Gear/Grand Tour’s Jeremy Clarkson. “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” – Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) in Casablanca, 1942 A group of Crocodiles is called a Bask or Float. It amazes me how we can seamlessly read the same word twice in a sentence, pronouncing them differently, without even realizing that we read that word twice. A and W was the first franchisee-owned restaurant chain in the United States. Drug-resistant bacteria are like that hero in action movies who witnessed his entire family get murdered before his eyes and now has grown up, become extremely deadly, and now want revenge against us. The Capital of Senegal is Dakar Popeye was created by Elzie Crisler Segar and first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929. Why is it a Whitman Sampler if they don’t sell individual chocolates? |
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