September 13 in Pop Culture History

September 13th Facts, Fun Trivia and History

September 13th History Highlights

  • 1790 – The US Capitol was moved to New York City from Philadelphia.
  • 1899 – Henry Bliss was the first person in the United States to be killed in an automobile accident. Arthur Smith, the driver of the taxicab who struck Bliss, was charged but acquitted.
  • 1814 – Francis Scott Key composed his poem “Defence of Fort McHenry”- which later became The Star-Spangled Banner.
  • 1956 – The IBM 305 RAMAC, the first commercial computer to use disk storage, was introduced.
  • 1985 – Super Mario Bros. was released in Japan for the NES.
  • September 13, 1987 Birthday (fictional) Bella Swan, Twilight
  • If you were born on September 13th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… December 21st (prior year)

The United States’ Moving Capitol

Representatives from the 13 colonies convened the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774. The following year the Second Continental Congress met at Philadelphia’s State House. Baltimore; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; York, Pennsylvania; and College Hall in Philadelphia were also meeting sites for the Second Continental Congress.

Under the Articles of Confederation, from 1781 to 1788, Congress convened in Philadelphia; Princeton, New Jersey; Annapolis, Maryland; Trenton, New Jersey; and New York. Since the U.S. Congress was established by the Constitution in 1789, it has convened in three locations: New York, Philadelphia, and its permanent home in Washington, DC.

Under the Constitution, the locations have been:
New York, Federal Hall (March 4, 1789, to August 12, 1790)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County Building, Congress Hall (December 6, 1790, to May 14, 1800)
Washington, U.S. Capitol (November 17, 1800, to today)

September 13th is…

Bald Is Beautiful Day
Celiac Disease Awareness Day
Defy Superstition Day
Fortune Cookie Day
Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day
National Celiac Awareness Day
Peanut Day
Positive Thinking Day
Roald Dahl Day
Uncle Sam Day

Fortune Cookies Day

There is no Chinese takeout complete without the iconic, crispy cookies that come with a witty fortune inside.

Interestingly, the trend is not as recent as you might think. The origin of fortune cookies goes back to the year 1918 when a Chinese immigrant came to the US in hopes of creating his own noodle company. However, what inspired David Jung to invent these cookies were the poor people he often saw wandering outside his shop.

When he made the first batch, he passed the cookies out to them for free.

Later on, he started attending a Presbyterian minister’s services who would often write Bible verses on a piece of paper for Jung to insert in his cookies. This would eventually turn into fortunes instead of Bible verses.

However, this isn’t the only theory put forward by culinary historians. Some people also believe that the origins of fortune cookies go back to 1914 when Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese immigrant, invented them in San Francisco. Based on this theory, Hagiwara was a gardener, fired from his job at the Golden Gate Park.

However, as a token of appreciation for friends who stood by his side during this hardship, Hagiwara baked a cookie and put a thank you note inside. Sometime later, he started serving them at the Tea Garden he worked at. Only a year later, his cookies were displayed at a fair in San Francisco.

While there are several other theories about the origin of this culinary wonder, modern-day fortune cookies have become people’s favorite. People look forward to reading what this little crispy treat has to predict about their future – all in good fun of course.

Some also go the extra mile and use them at parties, anniversaries, birthdays, etc. as favors. From biblical references and aphorisms of Ben Franklin to life advice to jokes, the fortune cookies you’ll come across today are all filled with love, wisdom, and a little fun.

September 13th Birthday Quotes

“I think probably kindness is my number one attribute in a human being. I’ll put it before any of the things like courage or bravery or generosity or anything else.” – Roald Dahl

“I don’t think I’d live anything over, even though I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I have learned how to see failure as a friend. So, I’m not one to live a life of regrets. I try to learn from my mistakes, but I’ll take my life the way it is.”
– Tavis Smiley

“It’s not how big your pencil is; it’s how you write your name.”
– Dave Mustaine

“I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.”
– Ray Charles

“When business executives are making artistic decisions and don’t understand animation, things can go awry.”
– Don Bluth

September 13th Birthdays

1818 – Lucy Goode Brooks, Former American slave and a founder of Friends’ Asylum for Colored Orphans (died in 1900
1851 – Walter Reed, American physician, and biologist (died in 1902)
1857 – Milton S. Hershey, American businessman, founded The Hershey Company (died in 1945)
1903 – Claudette Colbert, French-American actress (died in 1996)
1908 – Mae Questel, American actress and vocal artist (died in 1998)
1916 – Roald Dahl, British novelist, poet, and screenwriter (died in 1990)
1918 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter and conductor (died in 2015)
1925 – Mel Tormé, American singer-songwriter, and actor (died in 1999)
1937 – Don Bluth, American animator, director, and producer
1939 – Richard Kiel, American actor and voice artist (died in 2014)
1944 – Jacqueline Bisset, English actress
1944 – Peter Cetera, American singer-songwriter
1948 – Nell Carter, American actress, and singer (died in 2003)
1951 – Jean Smart, American actress
1961 – Dave Mustaine, American singer-songwriter
1964 – Tavis Smiley, American talk show host
1978 – Swizz Beatz, American rapper
1993 – Niall Horan, Irish singer

September 13th History

1928 – Okeechobee Hurricane, east coast USA

1952 – #1 Hit September 13, 1952 – October 17, 1952: Jo Stafford – You Belong To Me

1961 – Car 54 – Where are You? premiered on NBC.

1963 – The Outer Limits premiered on ABC.

1965 – The Today Show (NBC) broadcasted in all-color for the first time.

1969 – Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! premiered on TV.

1970 – The first New York City Marathon was won by Gary Muhrcke.

1972 – The Waltons premiered on CBS.

1977 – SOAP premiered on ABC

1979 – Benson, a spin-off from Soap, debuted on ABC.

1986 – #1 Hit September 13, 1986 – September 19, 1986: Berlin – Take My Breath Away

1986 – Pee-wee’s Playhouse premiered on CBS

September 13, 1987 Birthday (fictional) Bella Swan, Twilight

1990 – Law and Order premiered on NBC

1993 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat signed a historic peace agreement (true), ending centuries of discord in the middle east (not true).

1997 – #1 Hit September 13, 1997 – October 3, 1997: Mariah Carey – Honey

September 13, 1999 (fiction) The moon was blasted out of Earth’s orbit, Space: 1999, TV

2005 – Supernatural premiered on the WB

2005 – Bones premiered on FOX

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

You can name your identical twin girls “Erika” and “Erica” and make their lives easier but harder for everyone else.

“And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don’t know.” #songlyrics

“No plane” and “know plain” sound exactly the same but mean two entirely different things.

Ham will be poultry when pigs fly. #deepthoughts

Every year that sites ask me for my age I keep having to scroll down longer, I feel so old…

Carlos the Jackal – Real Name: Illich Ramirez Sanchez

The bacteria carried to Mars by our rovers may one day evolve into life, and after a billion years, that life may question its origins.

What did Johnny ever do with that fiddle, that the Devil laid at his feet?

People wouldn’t be so impressed with Superman if he flapped his arms while he was flying around.

What kind of high school history course were Bill and Ted in that would cover everything from Socrates to Billy the Kid?

Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon agree that if they’re ever confused for one another, they will just go along with it.

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