May 31 History, Facts and Trivia

May 31 History Highlights

1909 – The National Negro Committee, the forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), convened for the first time.
1911 – The RMS Titanic was launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
1971 – Observation of Memorial Day occurred on the last Monday in May for the first time.
Previously, it was held on May 30.
2005 – Vanity Fair revealed that Mark Felt was Watergate’s “Deep Throat”.
If you were born on May 31st,
You were likely conceived the week of… September 7th (prior year)

12 Big Ben Facts

316 feet high, Big Ben was completed on May 31, 1859.
The first time it chimed was on July 11, 1859.
The “Big Ben” nickname actually refers to the clock tower’s largest bell, weighing 13.5 long tons.
The hammer inside the bell weighs 441 pounds.
Workers hand wind the clock three times a week. Each winding takes workers about 1.5 hours to complete.
The base of each clock dial includes the Latin inscription: Domine Salvam fav Reginam Nostram Victoriam Primam. This translates to O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.
The structure was officially known as “The Clock Tower”, but in 2012, however, the official name was changed to Elizabeth Tower.
Clock maintenance crews use pennies to make tiny adjustments to the time. Adding or removing a penny coin can change the clock speed by up to 0.4 seconds a day.
Big Ben chimed 30 times on July 27, 2012, to welcome in the 30th Olympic Games.
Just as the Eiffel Tower is used to show a film is taking place in France, Big Ben is often seen in the background of films taking place in London.
The bells are tuned to G-sharp, F-sharp, B, and E, and it chimes at 118 decibels.
Each clock has a diameter of 23 feet.
The hour hand is 9.2 feet long and the minute hand is 14 feet long.

May 31 is…

Macaroon Day

“I know what the important things are in life. I know that just because I pretend to be someone else for two hours on the silver screen doesn’t make me a better person than the next man. So, I mind all those things. Simple things.”
– Colin Farrell

“When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.”
– Joe Namath

“Have faith in your own thoughts.”
– Brooke Shields

“A positive thinker does not refuse to recognize the negative; he refuses to dwell on it. Positive thinking is a form of thought which habitually looks for the best results from the worst conditions.”
– Norman Vincent Peale

“Either define the moment or the moment will define you.”
– Walt Whitman

“People think that all cameramen do is point the camera at things, but it’s a heck of a lot more complicated than that.”
– Chris Elliott

“Howard the Duck! That’s a really interesting movie. I appreciate my career because I’ve had a lot of very interesting ups and downs, and most people… That movie is such a famous flop. In a land of a lot of flops, it’s kind of awesome to be in a really famous flop. I mean, it’s kind of a poster child for flops.
– Lea Thompson

May 31 Birthdays

1819 – Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist (died in 1892)
1866 – John Ringling, American entrepreneur, co-founder of Ringling Brothers Circus (died in 1936)
1898 – Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author (died in 1993)
1908 – Don Ameche, American actor (died in 1993)
1930 – Clint Eastwood, American actor and director
1943 – Joe Namath, American football player
1960 – Chris Elliott, American comedic actor
1961 – Lea Thompson, American actress
1965 – Brooke Shields, American model and actress
1976 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor

May 31 History

1279 BC – Ramesses II became pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. He may have been the pharaoh involved with Moses. He was the subject of Percy Bysshe Shelly’s Ozymandias. “King of Kings am I, Ozymandias. If anyone would know how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass one of my works.”

1578 – The Catacombs of Rome were discovered.

1790 – The United States enacted the Copyright Act of 1790.

1859 – Big Ben, located at the top of London’s 320-foot-high St. Stephen’s Tower, began operating.

1889 – Johnston, Pennsylvania Flood killed over 2,200 people.

1935 (Earthquake) British India (Pakistan)

1970 (Earthquake) Yungay, Peru

1977 – Broadway Show – Beatlemania (Musical) May 31, 1977

1977 – The Sex Pistol’s God Save The Queen was banned from performing on the BBC.

1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was completed.

1997 – Singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley drowned while swimming in his pool. He was not 27.

2000 – Survivor premiered on CBS

2005 – W. Mark Felt’s family announced that assistant FBI director Felt, was in fact, ‘Deep Throat’ – the insider who told reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein the details about President Nixon’s Watergate scandal.

2006 – The Hills premiered on MTV

2013 – A record-breaking 2.6-mile wide tornado struck El Reno, Oklahoma, United States, injuring 150 and killing 8 people.

May 31, 2011 (fiction) Thor was banished to Midgard (Earth) and the Stark Expo was attacked by Ivan Vanko, Marvel Cinematic Universe

.2017 – President Donald Trump tweeted the word “covfefe”.

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” #songlyrics

If I won a year’s supply of chapstick, I would win one chapstick.

On an analog clock face, 6:30 is hands down the best time of the day.

Before Google launched Gmail, “G-Mail” was the name of a free email service offered by Garfield’s website.

“I learned the truth at 17.” #songlyrics

Being paid to sleep would be my dream job.

“What do we stand for if we all live in fear?” #songlyrics

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe, about 75%.

In 1953, Rock Hudson was elected Mayor of Universal City.

If you are lonely, dim all lights and put on a horror movie. After a while, it won’t feel like you are alone anymore.

Comedian Phil Hartman designed Poco’s Legend album cover.

I switched my economy from the gold standard to the helium standard. The inflation is terrible.

“I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being.” – The Writer in Stand By Me #moviequotes

A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself.
Prime Days include:
May: 5/2 ,5/3 ,5/5 ,5/7 ,5/11 ,5/13 ,5/17 ,5/19 ,5/23 ,5/29 ,5/31

July: 7/2 ,7/3 ,7/5 ,7/7 ,7/11 ,7/13 ,7/17 ,7/19 ,7/23 ,7/29 ,7/31

November: 11/2 ,11/3 ,11/5 ,11/7 ,11/11 ,11/13 ,11/17 ,11/19 ,11/23

February: 2/2 ,2/3 ,2/5 ,2/7 ,2/11 ,2/13 ,2/17 ,2/19 ,2/23 ,2/29/17, 2/29/19, 2/29/23, 2/29/29

March: 3/2 ,3/3 ,3/5 ,3/7 ,3/11 ,3/13 ,3/17 ,3/19 ,3/23 ,3/29 ,3/31