February 5 in Pop Culture History

• 1852 – The New Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, one of the largest and oldest museums in the world, opened to the public.
• 1919 – Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith founded United Artists.
• 1924 – The Royal Greenwich Observatory began broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal.
• 1985 – The Punic War, which began in 149 BC, ended when the mayors of Rome and Carthage signed a treaty in Tunis, Tunisia.
• 1993 – President Bill Clinton signed The Family Leave Act (effective Aug 5, 1993).
• If you were born on February 5th,
  You were likely conceived the week of… May 15th (prior year)

“My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.”
– Adlai Stevenson

“I am interested in the notion that people can become so obsessed by their world that they lose sense and awareness of how they appear to other people. They’re so earnest about it. But that’s true of so many things.”
– Christopher Guest

“Only temporary success is achieved by taking short cuts.”
– Roger Staubach

Spectacular achievements come from unspectacular preparation.
– Roger Staubach

“Telling lies is a bit like tiling bathrooms – if you don’t know how to do it properly, it’s best not to try.”
– Tom Holt

“My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling bad or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.”
– Hank Aaron

“You know, you really do choose your existence in a way.”
– Jennifer Jason Leigh

“The Dutch customs once thought my pictures were photos. Where on earth did they think I could have photographed my subjects? In Hell, perhaps?”
– H.R. Giger

“Since I was the stupidest kid in my class, it never occurred to me to try and be perfect, so I’ve always been happy as a writer just to entertain myself. That’s an easier place to start.”
– Stephen J. Cannell

“What counts now is not just what we are against, but what we are for. Who leads us is less important than what leads us- what convictions, what courage, what faith- win or lose.”
– Adlai Stevenson

Weatherperson’s Day, named after the birthday (Feb 5, 1744) of early US weatherman, John Jeffries.

1723 – John Witherspoon, American patriot, invented the word ‘Americanism’ (died in 1794)
1744 – John Jeffries, American weatherperson (died in 1819)
1788 – Robert Peel, English politician (died in 1850)
1840 – Hiram Maxim, American engineer, invented the Maxim gun (died in 1916)
1900 – Adlai Stevenson II, American soldier, politician and diplomat (died in 1965)
1906 – John Carradine, American actor (died in 1988)
1908 – Daisy and Violet Hilton, English conjoined twins (died in 1969)
1914 – William S. Burroughs, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (died in 1997)
1919 – Red Buttons, American comedic actor (died in 2006)
1919 – Tom Holt, American actor (died in 1973)
1934 – Hank Aaron, American baseball player
1934 – Don Cherry, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
1940 – H.R. Giger, Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer (died in 2014)
1941 – Stephen J. Cannell, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died in 2010)
1941 – Barrett Strong, American soul singer-songwriter
1942 – Roger Staubach, American football player and sportscaster
1943 – Nolan Bushnell, American engineer and businessman, founded Atari, Inc.
1944 – Al Kooper, American singer-songwriter and producer
1946 – Charlotte Rampling, English actress
1948 – Christopher Guest, American actor and director
1948 – Barbara Hershey, American actress
1961 – Tim Meadows, American actor
1962 – Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress
1964 – Laura Linney, American actress
1967 – Chris Parnell, American actor and comedian
1969 – Bobby Brown, American singer
1971 – Sara Evans, American country singer
1986 – Reed Sorenson, American race car drive

62 – Pompeii earthquake (not to be confused with the Great Earthquake of 79)

1778 – South Carolina became the second state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.

1783 (Earthquake) Calabria, Italy

1824 – Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William H. Keating founded “The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts” in Philadelphia.

1846 – The Oregon Spectator became the first newspaper published on the Pacific coast, in Oregon City.

1883 – The Southern Pacific Railroad completed its transcontinental “Sunset Route” from New Orleans to California.

1917 – The Congress of the United States passed the Immigration Act of 1917. Also known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act, and it forbade immigration from nearly all of south and southeast Asia.

1919 – Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists.

1929 – A runner’s ‘starting blocks’ (Foot Support) patent (#1,701,026) was issued to George T. Bresnahan of Iowa City, Iowa

1936 – The last silent film of the era, Modern Times, was released by Charlie Chaplin.

1953 – Walt Disney film Peter Pan opened at the Roxy Theatre in New York City.

1955 – #1 Hit February 5, 1955 – February 11, 1955: The Fontane Sisters – Hearts Of Stone

1958 – A hydrogen bomb, known as the Tybee Bomb, was lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, and was never found.

1966 – #1 Hit February 5, 1966 – February 18, 1966: Petula Clark – My Love

1972 – Bob Douglas became the first African-American to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

1977 – #1 Hit February 5, 1977 – February 18, 1977: Mary MacGregor – Torn Between Two Lovers

1983 – #1 Hit February 5, 1983 – February 18, 1983: Toto – Africa

1988 – Manuel Noriega was indicted on drug smuggling and money laundering charges.

February 5, 1992 Birthday (fictional) Bonnie Bennett, Vampire Diaries, TV

1999 – Mike Tyson was sentenced to a year in jail for assaulting two people after a car accident on August 31, 1998. Tyson was also fined $5,000, had to serve 2 years of probation, and had to perform 200 hours of community service upon release.

2000 – Kelly Ripa officially joined Regis Philbin on Live!

2008 – A major tornado outbreak (2008 Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak) struck across the Southern United States killing 57 people.

#1 Hit February 5, 2022 – March 11, 2022: We Don’t Talk About Bruno – Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz and the Encanto cast

Every time in medical movies and shows when the doctor walks in announcing what’s wrong with the patient, they break HIPAA.

Downside Up isn’t the opposite up upside down. Upside up is.

“I’ll be in Hell before you start breakfast” – ‘Black Jack’ Ketchum (famous train robber) #LastWords

A group of Meteorologists is a Shower.

Over 90% of all fish caught are caught in the northern hemisphere.

The oldies station will have come full circle when it starts playing Weezer’s “Buddy Holly.”

A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.

The very best place to do a shady transaction or deal is in neon animal costumes outside a mental institution because no one would believe the witnesses.

Jayne Mansfield – Real Name: Vera Jane Palmer

Sammy Hagar’s biggest single “I Can’t Drive 55” spawned from a speeding ticket he got in NY.

Calculus has not changed much over 1000 years, but there is always that new edition of a textbook that comes out.

I forgot my password. Old me has outwitted new me.

“It’s strong enough for both of us.” #famouslastwords

From the beginning of “Empire Strikes Back” to halfway through “Return of the Jedi,” Han Solo was wearing the same pants.

Pringles are about 42% potato.

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