December 11 in Pop Culture History

 

December 11th History, Trivia, and Fun Facts

December 11th History Highlights

  • 1789 – The University of North Carolina was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly.
  • December 11, 1941 – Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.
  • 1946 – UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) was founded.
  • 2001 – The People’s Republic of China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).
  • If you were born on December 11th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… March 19th (same year)

December 11th Babies…

Babies born today were probably conceived on Saint Patrick’s Day.

December 11th is…

Holiday Food Drive for Needy Animals Day
Kaleidoscope Day
National APP day
National Have a Bagel Day

History of Kaleidoscopes

Kaleidoscopes were invented in 1816 by David Brewster (December 11, 1781 – February 10, 1868) a Scottish inventor. Sir David Brewster was studying many aspects of physical Sciences including polarization optics and the properties of light. While looking at some objects at the end of 2 mirrors He noticed patterns and colors were recreated and reformed into Beautiful new arrangements.

He named this new invention after the greek words meaning beautiful form watcher – kalos, the greek word for beautiful, eodos, the greek word = shape scopeo, the greek word = to look at.

In 1817 he published his findings with a description and drawings of his new invention in an article called On The Kaleidoscope, and Other Optical Instruments. He was granted his first patent for the kaleidoscope in 1817.  By 1823 he had managed to interest Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in the Kaleidoscope project.

Sir David Brewster and Sir Charles Wheatstone were appointed as scientific advisers to the coronation of King George IV in 1821. Brewster was knighted in 1831 for his scientific contributions.

Kaleidoscopes are still popular today and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are even made out of glass that is hand-blown. They can be used to create beautiful patterns and designs or as a form of art. Many school children in the UK and around the world use a Kaleidoscope to create colored patterns. In many cultures, it is considered good luck if a butterfly is seen when looking through a kaleidoscope.

Kaleidoscopes can be used with or without a magnifying lens just like any other microscope. Many young children enjoy looking through a simple kaleidoscope at small objects like beads or stones.

Kaleidoscopes were first available as hand-held devices but now are often attached to mobile phones or tablets through an app. You can even make your own Kaleidoscope design using Photoshop or another photo editing program.

December 11th Birthday Quotes

“It is through art that we will prevail and we will endure. It lives on after us and defines us as people.”
– Rita Moreno

“Let us not forget that violence does not live alone and is not capable of living alone: it is necessarily interwoven with falsehood. Between them lies the most intimate, the deepest of natural bonds. Violence finds its only refuge in falsehood, falsehood its only support in violence. Any man who has once acclaimed violence as his METHOD must inexorably choose falsehood as his PRINCIPLE.”
– Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

“It needs to be said and heard: it’s OK to be who you are. My mom taught me to live by the three p’s: to always be passionate, persistent, and prepared.”
– Hailee Steinfeld

“All men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot by any compact deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”
– George Mason

“I forgive my mom for being a psycho and my dad for being a loser.”
– Nikki Sixx

December 11th Birthdays

1725 – George Mason, American politician (died in 1792)
1781 – David Brewster, Scottish physicist, inventor of the Kaleidoscope
1838 – John Labatt, Canadian brewer (died in 1915)
1882 – Fiorello La Guardia, New York politician (died in 1947)
1916 – Pérez Prado, Cuban-Mexican singer-songwriter and bandleader (died in 1989)
1918 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (died in 2008)
1927 – John Buscema, American comic book artist (died in 2002)
1931 – Rita Moreno, Puerto Rican-American actress, singer, and dancer
1939 – Tom Hayden, American politician (died in 2016)
1940 – David Gates, American singer-songwriter
1940 – Donna Mills, American actress
1941 – J. Frank Wilson, American singer-songwriter (died in 1991)
1943 – John Kerry, American politician
1944 – Lynda Day George, American actress
1944 – Brenda Lee, American singer-songwriter
1949 – Teri Garr, American actress
1953 – Bess Armstrong, American actress
1954 – Jermaine Jackson, American singer-songwriter, Jackson 5
1957 – Peter Bagge, American author, and illustrator
1958 – Nikki Sixx (Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.), American bass player
1967 – Mo’Nique (Monique Angela Hicks), American comedian
1973 – Mos Def, American rapper
1974 – Rey Mysterio, American wrestler
1985 – Raven-Symoné, American actress
1996 – Hailee Steinfeld, American actress, and singer

December 11th History

Babies born today were probably conceived on Saint Patrick’s Day.

1769 – Venetian Blinds were patented in London by Edward Bevan in England.

1816 – Indiana became the 19th US state.

1844 – Dr. Horace Wells became the first person to have a tooth extracted after receiving an anesthetic (Nitrous Oxide) for the dental procedure, by Dr. John M. Riggs.

1882 – Boston’s Bijou Theater had its first performance, the first American playhouse lit with electricity.

1911 – In Stockholm, Sweden, Marie Curie became the first person to be awarded a second Nobel prize.

1936 – Britain’s King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson.

1946 – The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was founded.

1947 – The United Mine Workers union withdrew from the American Federation of Labor.

1961 – #1 Hit December 11, 1961 – December 17, 1961: The Marvelettes – Please Mr. Postman

1964 – Singer Sam Cooke was shot and killed by the motel manager of the Hacienda Motel, where he was staying.

1967 – The Concorde, a British/French venture; the world’s first supersonic airliner, was unveiled in Toulouse, France.

1968 – The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, featuring the Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, the Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and the Dirty Mac with Yoko Ono, was filmed in Wembley, London.

1972 – Apollo XVII astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt landed on the moon for the final Apollo mission.

1980 – Hawaii-based Magnum, P.I. premiered on CBS.

1981 – Muhammad Ali fought his 61st and final fight to Trevor Berbick.

1982 – #1 Hit December 11, 1982 – December 17, 1982: Toni Basil – Mickey

1985 – The Unabomber killed his first victim, Hugh Scrutton who was killed in his computer store when a mailed package exploded, in Sacramento, California.

1987Throw Momma From the Train, Empire of the Sun, and Wall Street debuted in theaters.

1991 – Hook was released in theaters.

1992 – The Muppet Christmas Carol and A Few Good Men were released in theaters.

1993 – #1 Hit December 11, 1993 – December 24, 1993: Janet Jackson – Again

1997 – More than 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to control the Earth’s global-warming “greenhouse gases.” (The Kyoto Protocol)

2004 – #1 Hit December 11, 2004 – December 31, 2005: Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell – Drop It Like It’s Hot

2008 – Bernie Madoff was arrested for bilking clients for at least hundreds of millions, and probably billions, of dollars.

2009 – The Lovely Bones was released in theaters.

2010 – #1 Hit December 11, 2010 – December 17, 2010: Pink – Raise Your Glass

2010 – The first customer delivery of a Nissan Leaf (an all-electric vehicle) was made at by a dealer at Petaluma, California.

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

Biometric data (like fingerprints) are not legally protected in the U.S. under the Fifth Amendment and, unlike a passcode, can be compelled from a defendant.

When people agree with you, “you’re right”. But when they don’t, “that’s just your opinion”.

I’m smart enough to wait until my wife is finally ready before putting on my winter coat, but not smart enough to keep my mouth shut about doing it.

Cat Stevens – Real Name: Stephen Georgiou

The United States rents Guantanamo Bay from Cuba for $4085 a month, but Cuba has only cashed one check in the past 55 years – by accident.

The Capital of Bahrain is Manama

“You can’t handle the truth!” – Col. Nathan R. Jessup (Jack Nicholson) in A Few Good Men, 1992

“There’s no crying in baseball!” – Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) #moviequotes

Hours before being murdered by Jack the Ripper, Catherine Eddowes was taken into police custody after being found drunk, when prompted for her name, she gave the police a fake name, “Mary Kelly” A woman named Mary Kelly was the next victim. #clue

Vera Lynn – Real Name: Vera Welch

Four out of six Marlboro Men died died of smoking-related diseases, thus earning Marlboro cigarettes, specifically Marlboro Reds, the nickname “Cowboy killers”.

“Anything is possible. It is night on planet earth and I’m alive. And someday I’ll be dead. Someday I’ll just be bones in a box, but right now, I’m not. And anything is possible.” – Jeff in SubUrbia 

The Scary Statistic: Legal Execution odds: 1-in-58,618

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