December 14 in Pop Culture History

 

December 14th History, Trivia, and Fun Facts

December 14th History Highlights

  • 1287 – St. Lucia’s flood: The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapsed, killing over 50,000 people.
  • 1780 – Alexander Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York. #hamilton
  • 1900 – Max Planck presented a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law. (Quantum Mechanics)
  • 1962 – NASA’s Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.
  • 2017 – The Walt Disney Company announced plans that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, for $52.4 billion.
  • If you were born on December 14th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… March 22nd (same year)

Nostradamus: Renaissance’s Most Widely Read Seer

Nostradamus was known for his prophecies, which have been interpreted in many ways. Nostradamus is most famous for his prophecies, which have been interpreted in many ways. His most famous work is the Centuries, a series of 942 quatrains in 100 chapters (called centuries).

Nostradamus wrote about a wide range of topics, including natural disasters, wars, and the rise and fall of rulers. Nostradamus died in 1566 at the age of 62 after a long illness; it is believed that he was poisoned by his son, who wanted to inherit some money Nostradamus had received from one of his wealthy patrons.

Nostradamus wrote about a wide range of topics, including natural disasters, wars, and the rise and fall of rulers. Nostradamus is often credited with predicting the French Revolution, the stock market crash of 1929, and the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Nostradamus was born as an apothecary’s son on December 14th 15031 in Saint-Rémy and spent most of his life as an apothecary before he became a professional seer. Nostradamus was born into the world at an early age, with great care from both parents – who were well off financially – but it wasn’t until Nostradamus started school that things started to come into place. Nostradamus’s parents were financially well off, which gave Nostradamus the chance to attend school and get a good education.

Nostradamus started out as an apothecary’s apprentice at age 12 in 1548 before becoming part of his father’s business around 1550. Nostradamus did so well in his father’s business that, by 1554, he had become a licensed apothecary himself and was able to open up his own shop which soon became successful. Nostradamus excelled at his work as an apothecary and soon started practicing astrology on the side.

Nostradamus’s son claimed that Nostredame had died after he was named in Nostradamus’ will, but many historians believe that Nostredame’s son poisoned his father to get at Nostradamus’ money. Nostradamus’ symptoms strengthen the poisoning theory before death and the fact that Nostredame left his son nothing in his will.

20 Ways to Spell Nostradamus

Nostradomus, Nostrodamus, Nostradamas, Nostradamos, Nostradomas, Nastradamus, Nostradamous, Notradamus, Nostradomis, Nostradamis, Nostredamus, Nostadamus, Nostrodamas, Nostra Damus, Nostrdamus, Nostradumus, Nostrodomis, Nostrodamos, Nostradameus, Nostradmus

National Screwdriver Day

National Screwdriver Day is celebrated each year on December 14th. It is a day devoted to enjoying the popular alcoholic drink most commonly crafted with vodka and orange juice. The holiday is believed to have been founded in 2016, although it is difficult to know for sure. 

All About Screwdrivers
The screwdriver has been around since World War II, when Americans in Turkey and China first came up with the combination. It is one of the world’s most popular drinks and an International Bartenders Association Official Cocktail.  Its classic form is made with vodka and orange juice in a 2:5 or similar ratio. It sometimes contains a splash of grenadine or bitters as well and there are many variations on the classic recipe. 

How to Celebrate National Screwdriver Day
There are countless ways to celebrate this national holiday. Make a screwdriver at home, have one out with friends, try a fun variation, or come up with your own. If you regularly drink screwdrivers and want to do something special to celebrate, try using a higher-quality vodka on this special day. Even if you’re not an alcohol drinker, you can enjoy orange juice mixed with sparkling mineral water and a slice of orange. 

Below are some popular twists on the screwdriver recipe.
National Screwdriver Day is the perfect day to try a new version of this classic drink.

Fun Screwdriver Recipe Variations

  • Sloe Screwdriver: substitute sloe gin for vodka
  • Ultimate Screwdriver: substitute citrus-flavored vodka for unflavored vodka
  • Harvey Wallbanger: add Galliano liquor
  • Sloe Comfortable Screw Up Against the Wall: substitute sloe gin for vodka and add Southern Comfort and Galliano
  • Anita Bryant Cocktail: substitute apple juice for orange juice

If you feel like being creative on National Screwdriver Day, you can try making your personal variation. An easy way to do this is to try different flavored vodkas and see which makes the tastiest screwdriver.

 

December 14th is…

Monkey Day
National Bouillabaisse Day
Roast Chestnuts Day
Halcyon Days – Traditionally, the 7 days before and after before and after the Winter Solstice.

December 14th Birthday Quotes

“I had determined to go as far as declaring in abstruse and puzzling utterances the future causes of the “common advent”, even those truly cogent ones that I have foreseen. Yet lest whatever human changes may be to come should scandalize delicate ears, the whole thing is written in nebulous form, rather than as a clear prophecy of any kind.”
– Nostradamus

“Those who study the stars have God for a teacher.”
– Tycho Brahe

“If people don’t like me for whatever I do, for being me, then that’s too bad. I don’t want to change to be something that I’m not for other people to like me.”
– Vanessa Hudgens

“The mouse is wise, but the cat is wiser.”
-Tycho Brahe

“Human beings have speculated about the relationship between inspiration and insanity for centuries.”

December 14th Birthdays

1503 – Nostradamus French astrologer, seer, and physician (died in 1566)
1546 – Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer (died in 1601)
1908 – Morey Amsterdam, American actor (died in 1996)
1911 – Spike Jones, American singer, and bandleader (died in 1965)
1922 – Don Hewitt, American journalist, and producer, creator of 60 Minutes (died in 2009)
1932 – Charlie Rich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died in 1995)
1935 – Lee Remick, American actress (died in 1991)
1946 – Jane Birkin, English-French actress, and singer
1946 – Patty Duke, American actress (died in 2016)
1965 – Ted Raimi, American actor
1988 – Vanessa Hudgens, American actress
1991 – Offset, American rapper

December 14th History

1287 – St. Lucia’s Flood, Netherlands

1656 – Imitation pearls were first manufactured by a Frenchman, named Jacquin.

1819 – Alabama became the 22nd US State.

1852 – Cullen Whipple, of Providence, R.I., patented (# 9477) his “Mechanism for Pointing and Threading Screw-Blanks in the Same Machine.” Prior to that screws were generally made with a flat tip. His machine made them pointy.

1900 – Max Planck demonstrated that energy can exhibit characteristics of physical matter, in certain situations, introducing quantum mechanics. Previously, the energy was considered a form only in wavelengths.

1902 – The Commercial Pacific Cable Company laid the first Pacific telegraph cable from San Francisco to Honolulu.

1903 – The Wright brothers made their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. They got it to work on December 17th.

1911 – Norwegian Roald Amundsen became the first explorer to reach the South Pole.

1940 – Plutonium (Pu-238) was first isolated at Berkeley, California.

1959 – #1 Hit December 14, 1959 – December 27, 1959: Guy MitchellHeartaches by the Number

1964 – In Heart of Atlanta Motel v. the United States: The Supreme Court ruled that Congress can use the Constitution’s Commerce Clause to fight discrimination.

1968 – #1 Hit December 14, 1968 – January 31, 1969: Marvin GayeI Heard It Through the Grapevine

December 14, 1977, is the date that the Movie Soundtrack became a thing– Saturday Night Fever opened in theaters. 
It had 11 bonified hits on the album and introduced the 110-128 BPM Dance Music we call Disco to a broader audience. 
It made John Travolta a star and changed the way soundtracks were tied to films.

1984Dune, Starman, 1984, A Passage to India, and the Cotton Club debuted in theaters.

1986 – Voyager, the experimental aircraft piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California on the first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world, in nine days.

1990Mermaids was released in theaters.

2001Vanilla Sky debuted in theaters.

2006King Kong debuted in theaters.

2007I Am Legend & Alvin and the Chipmunks debuted in theaters.

2012 – Adam Lanza entered the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, and shot 26 people, and then himself. 20 children were killed in the attack.

2012 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released in theaters.

#1 Hit December 14, 2019 – December 20, 2019: The Weeknd – Heartless

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

Did you know that Santa Claus has his own army? He keeps it in his sleevie.

“He’s not the Messiah. He’s a very naughty boy!” – Brian’s mother #moviequotes

The city of Bangkok’s full name is in fact: ‘Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit’

The Capital of Australia is Canberra

“Oh, Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon. We have the stars.” – Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) in Now, Voyager, 1942

“Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.” – Will Rogers

The Church of Satan won’t give membership to convicted felons.

Pronoia, the opposite of paranoia, is the delusion that everyone is secretly plotting your success.

The 1928 classic The Passion of Joan of Arc was panned by the French government that commissioned it and a fire destroyed the negative, the original cut of the movie was thought to be lost forever, but a copy was found in a closet in an Oslo mental institution in 1981

The dot over a “j” or an “i” is called a “tittle.”

What if Beaker from the Muppets didn’t really speak in beeps, but was just so vulgar that every word he said was censored? Just like R2-D2.

Everyone knows the story of 789, but did you also hear that 3892?

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