May 18 Fun Facts, Trivia and History |
May 18 History Highlights |
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1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption |
On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens in Washington erupted with a 5.1 magnitude, causing a massive avalanche and killed 57 people. David Johnson was a volcanologist studying Mt. St. Helens from 6 miles away when it erupted. He made a transmission stating: “Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!” as the volcano erupted. The transmission went dead at this point, and his body was never recovered. Knowing he would not survive, photographer Robert Landsburg, photographed the event and rewound the film back into its case, put his camera in his backpack, and then laid himself on top of the backpack in an attempt to protect the film. His body was found 17 days later, buried in the ash with his backpack. The film was developed and has provided geologists with valuable documentation of the historic eruption. |
May 18 is… |
| Cheese Soufflé Day Museum Day No Dirty Dishes Day |
May 18 Birthday Quotes |
“Whatever the problem, be part of the solution. Don’t just sit around raising questions and pointing out obstacles.” “When I was a kid, I would go to the record store, where there was a bin of things they didn’t know quite how to classify. Those were my choices.” “My only regret in life is that I didn’t spend as much time with my kids as I now wish I had.” Like a one-eyed cat peepin’ in a seafood store. “No saint, no pope, no general, no sultan, has ever had the power that a filmmaker has; the power to talk to hundreds of millions of people for two hours in the dark.” |
May 18 Birthdays |
| 1822 – Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (died in 1896) 1855 – Francis Bellamy, American minister and author (died in 1931) 1897 – Frank Capra, Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died in 1991) 1911 – Big Joe Turner, American blues artist, R&B singer (died in 1985) 1912 – Perry Como, American singer and television host (died in 2001) 1917 – Bill Everett, American comic book author and illustrator (died in 1973) 1931 – Don Martin, American cartoonist, Mad Magazine (died in 2000) 1950 – Mark Mothersbaugh, American singer-songwriter 1970 – Tina Fey, American actress, producer, and screenwriter 1992 – Adwoa Aboah, British fashion model |
May 18 History |
1910 1912 1926 1946 1952 1956 1958 1959 1963 1968 1974 1974 1980 1985 1991 1994 1996 1998 2001 2005 2013 |
Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts |
| The founder of Macy’s, Rowland Hussey, who was a Quaker, is credited with inventing the price tag. Quakers believed it was immoral to barter – charging people different prices for the same product. “My phone vibrated in my pocket, as my mother sent me a photo via Messenger” sounds like a description of a Salvador Dali painting. “Rope a dope” is a boxing technique where you allow your opponent to punch you heavily against the ropes, tiring them out. The ropes absorb most of the impact of the punches. Jack Nicholson made $35 million from Batman Returns – and he doesn`t appear in the film at all! Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro are the only two actors to win an Oscar for playing the same character. The first played Vito Corleone in The Godfather; the second played Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II. The Capital of Sri Lanka is Colombo; Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative) “I brought you flours.” – Harold Crick in Stranger Than Fiction A doctor tells his patient he’s got only six months to live… but the patient doesn’t pay his bill on time, so the doctor gives him another six months. (ta-tish!) 17 out of the 20 tallest statues in the world are Buddhist “What a dump.” – Rosa Moline (Bette Davis) in Beyond the Forest, 1949 The first porn film was A’Ecu d’Or in 1908. In James Bond, when in Dr. No’s cave in the 1962 film, he stops to notice a painting found on an easel next to the stairs. It is a copy of a Francisco de Goya painting of Duke Wellington that was stolen in 1961. It was recovered in 1965. |
More Pop Culture History Resources |
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