February 11 in Pop Culture History

February 11th History, Trivia, and Fun Facts

February 11th History Highlights

  • 1790 – The Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, petitioned the US Congress for the abolition of slavery.
  • 1872 – Japan began celebrating National Foundation Day (founded in 660 BC). It was banned after WWII but revived in 1966.
  • 1945 – The Yalta Agreement was signed between Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin.
  • 1990 – Nelson Mandela was released from prison, serving 27 years of a life sentence.
  • If you were born on February 11th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… May 21st (prior year)

February 11th is…

Get Out Your Guitar Day
International Day of Women and Girls in Science
National Make a Friend Day
National Pro Sport’s Wives Day
National Shut-in Visitation Day
Peppermint Patty Day
Promise Day
White (T) Shirt Day

White T-Shirt Day

Today is White Shirt Day, a day when UAW members honor the workers who participated in the Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936 and 1937. This was a time of great struggle for labor unions, as they faced constant opposition from business owners and politicians who saw them as a threat to the status quo. In the face of brutal working conditions, low wages, and anti-union sentiment, men and women in Flint came together to orchestrate a historic sit-in that would change the course of labor history.

On February 11th, 1937, the United Autoworkers Union secured a contract with General Motors that gave all GM employees pay raises and lunch breaks. This historic event is celebrated each year on February 11th as Labor Rights Day. Following the sit-in, workers began wearing white shirts every February 11th to show their solidarity and support for labor rights.

The Flint Sit-Down Strike was a turning point for the labor movement, as it showed that workers could successfully fight back against corporate greed and win better working conditions and fair wages. The victory of the Flint strikers inspired other workers across the country to stand up for their rights, and helped pave the way for the passage of important labor legislation like the National Labor Relations Act.

February 11th is Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day, a reminder not to get too upset over small mistakes or problems. It encourages people to move on and not dwell on minor setbacks. The saying “don’t cry over spilled milk” is often used to convey that it is not worth getting upset over something that can’t be changed and that one should focus on moving forward instead.

February 11 Birthday Quotes

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
– Thomas Edison

“It’s not having what you want, it’s wanting what you’ve got.”
– Sheryl Crow

“I was sixteen years old when the first World War broke out, and I lived at that time in Hungary. From reading the newspapers in Hungary, it would have appeared that whatever Austria and Germany did was right and whatever England, France, Russia, or America did was wrong. A good case could be made out for this general thesis, in almost every single instance. It would have been difficult for me to prove, in any single instance, that the newspapers were wrong, but somehow, it seemed to me unlikely that the two nations located in the center of Europe should be invariably right, and that all the other nations should be invariably wrong. History, I reasoned, would hardly operate in such a peculiar fashion, and it didn’t take long until I began to hold views that were diametrically opposed to those held by the majority of my schoolmates.”
– Leó Szilárd

“You do not send me to Brooklyn to get a cheesecake and then I come back and you’re gone.”
– Brandy

“You can only hold your stomach in for so many years.”
– Burt Reynolds

February 11th Birthdays

1802 – Lydia Maria Child, American writer and abolitionist (died in 1880)
1847 – Thomas Edison, American engineer and businessman (died in 1931)
1898 – Leó Szilárd, Hungarian-American physicist (died in 1964)
1909 – Max Baer, American boxer and actor (died in 1959)
1917 – Sidney Shelton, American television producer and novel writer (died in 2007)
1919 – Eva Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and socialite (died in 1995)
1925 – Virginia E. Johnson, American psychologist and academic (died in 2013)
1926 – Leslie Nielsen, Canadian-American actor (died in 2010)
1934 – Tina Louise, American actress
1935 – Gene Vincent, American singer and guitarist (died in 1971)
1936 – Burt Reynolds, American actor (died in 2018)
1941 – Sérgio Mendes, Brazilian pianist and composer
1953 – Jeb Bush, American politician
1956 – Catherine Hickland, American actress
1961 – Carey Lowell, American model and actress
1962 – Sheryl Crow, American singer-songwriter
1964 – Sarah Palin, American politician
1967 – Ty Treadway, American actor and talk show host
1969 – Jennifer Aniston, American actress
1974 – D’Angelo, American singer-songwriter
1979 – Brandy (Norwood), American singer
1981 – Kelly Rowland, American singer-songwriter
1982 – Natalie Dormer, English actress
1984 – Aubrey O’Day, American singer-songwriter
1991 – Georgia May Foote, English actress
1992 – Taylor Lautner, American actor

February 11th History

660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.

1534 – Henry VIII of England was recognized as supreme head of the Church of England.

1752 – The first hospital in the United States, Pennsylvania Hospital, opened.

1808 – As an experiment, anthracite coal was burned as fuel by Judge Jesse Fell in Pennsylvania.

1812 – Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry ‘gerrymandered’ for the first time.

1858 – Marie-Bernarde Soubirous, a 14-year-old French peasant girl, first claimed to see a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes, France. In 1933, she was canonized as St. Bernadette by the Roman Catholic Church.

1928 – The La-Z-Boy reclining chair was invented by Ed Shoemaker.

1929 – The Vatican was officially independent of Italy with the Lateran Treaty.

1939 – Nature published a theoretical paper on nuclear fission by Lise Meitner and Otto Fritsch.

1940 – NBC radio debuted The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street.

1963 – The French Chef, starring Julia Child debuted on WGBH in Boston, MA.

1971 – 87 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, signed the Seabed Arms Control Treaty, outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters.

1979 – Broadway Show – They’re Playing Our Song (Musical) February 11, 1979

1989 – Rev. Barbara Harris became the first woman to be consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal Church.

1989 – #1 Hit February 11, 1989 – March 3, 1989: Paula Abdul – Straight Up

1990 – Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, was released from prison after 27 years

1990 – Buster Douglas (40 to 1 odds against him winning) defeated Mike Tyson, to become the new undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

1994 – #1 Hit February 12, 1994 – March 11, 1994: Celine Dion – The Power Of Love

1994 – The ‘rBGH’ genetically engineered growth hormone for cows goes on sale to dairy farmers under the name Posilac, made by Monsanto. It was the first time altered genes were allowed into live animals.

2006 – Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot his friend Harry Whittington while the two were hunting together.

2011 – #1 Hit February 19, 2011 – February 25, 2011: Wiz Khalifa – Black and Yellow

2012 – Singer Whitney Houston died in a hotel bathtub, the result of accidental drowning. Heart disease and cocaine, which was found in her system, were determined to be contributing factors.

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

The Capital of Vatican City (Holy See) is Vatican City

“There are just two things that can make you famous… being noble or notorious.” – Ram Mohan

“Badges? We ain’t got no badges! We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you any stinking badges!” – “Gold Hat” (Alfonso Bedoya) in Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948

“Humor is also a way of saying something serious.” – T.S. Eliot

The First Rick Roll: Micheal Jackson’s “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” was taken off of first place on the 1987 British singles chart by Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”

Someday I’ll refer to synthetic constructs as ‘artificial intelligence’ and my grandchildren will cringe, even though they’ll know it’s just the label I grew up with, and that I’m not being hateful.

Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

TV Quotes… “This is the city …” (Sgt. Joe Friday) on “Dragnet”

Seal – Real Name: Seal Henry Samuel

The Scary Statistic: Fireworks Discharge severe injury odds: 1-in-615,488
What to do: This one is easy, and just four words: Armored asbestos bodysuit.

“House Music” received its name from its place of origin, The Warehouse club opened in Chicago in 1977.

Star Wars & Wizard of Oz: Each has a protagonist who leaves their home planet and is called to defeat a villain. They make friends (C3PO-The Scarecrow – Chewbacca – The Lion – Han Solo-The Tin Man), get trapped in the enemy base, and disguise themselves as the enemy guard to rescue a damsel in distress.

A cookie you eat while baking cookies is a “Cooking Cookies Cookie.”

On average, there are 178 sesame seeds on each McDonalds BigMac bun.

The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory, a Toy Chemistry Lab from the 1950s, included radioactive elements such as Polonium-210 and Uranium Ore.

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