October 17th History, Trivia, and Fun FactsTable of Contents |
October 17th History Highlights |
October 17th is… |
Black Poetry Day |
October 17th Birthday Quotes |
“No one wants the truth if it is inconvenient.” “I never really thought of myself as a sex goddess; I felt I was more a comedian who could dance.” “I don’t want to be labeled as either a pansy or a heterosexual. Labeling is so self-limiting. We are what we do – not what we say we are.” “I don’t care if you’re black, white, straight, bisexual, gay, lesbian, short, tall, fat, skinny, rich, or poor. If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you. Simple as that.” “That’s the horrible thing starting out, you get distracted a lot because anything is easier than writing. It’s just the same enemy – blank paper.” “The truth is you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed.” |
October 17th Birthdays |
1876 – Hippolyte Aucouturier, French cyclist (died in 1944) 1902 – Irene Ryan, American actress (died in 1973) 1909 – Cozy Cole, American drummer (died in 1981) 1914 – Jerry Siegel, American comic book author, and illustrator, co-creator of Superman (died in 1996) 1915 – Arthur Miller, American playwright, and screenwriter (died in 2005) 1918 – Rita Hayworth, American actress (died in 1987) 1920 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (died in 1966) 1930 – Robert Atkins, American physician, and cardiologist, created the Atkins diet (died in 2003) 1930 – Jimmy Breslin, American journalist and author (died in 2017) 1938 – Evel Knievel, American stuntman (died in 2005) 1942 – Gary Puckett, American pop singer-songwriter 1947 – Michael McKean, American singer-songwriter, comedic actor 1948 – Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress (died in 2018) 1948 – George Wendt, American actor 1958 – Alan Jackson, American singer-songwriter 1959 – Norm Macdonald, Canadian actor, and comedian (died in 2021) 1962 – Mike Judge, American animator 1968 – Ziggy Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter 1969 – Wyclef Jean, Haitian-American rapper, 1972 – Eminem, American rapper |
October 17th History |
Today is Edge Day, an official holiday founded by people who live straight-edge lifestyles. 1091 – The London Tornado of 1091 destroyed many buildings, and killed two people. 1814 – The London Beer Flood killed 8 people. 1860 – First Open (Golf) Championship (referred to in the US as the British Open). 1919 – Radio Corporation of America (RCA) incorporated. 1931 – Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion. October 17, 1943 Birthday (fictional) Professor Filius Flitwick, Harry Potter 1956 – The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened in Sellafield, Cumbria, England. 1956 – Donald Byrne and Bobby Fischer played a game of chess labeled The Game of the Century. Fischer beat Byrne. 1958 – An Evening With Fred Astaire premiered, it was one the first “special” programs on television and won nine Emmy Awards. October 17, 1959 Birthday (fictional) Adrain Monk, Monk, TV 1960 – #1 Hit October 17, 1960 – October 23, 1960: The Drifters – Save the Last Dance for Me 1964 – #1 Hit October 17, 1964 – October 30, 1964: Manfred Mann – Do Wah Diddy Diddy 1965 – The 1964/65 New York World’s Fair closed. Over 51 million people had attended the event. 1966 – All of NBC’s news programming began airing in full-color. 1966 – The Hollywood Squares premiered on ABC 1970 – #1 Hit October 17, 1970 – November 20, 1970: The Jackson 5 – I’ll Be There 1973 – OPEC imposed an oil embargo against several Western countries. 1979 – The Department of Education Organization Act was signed into law, creating the US Department of Education and US Department of Health and Human Services. 1979 – Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize. 1981 – #1 Hit October 17, 1981 – November 6, 1981: Christopher Cross – Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) 1987 – #1 Hit October 17, 1987 – October 23, 1987: Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam – Lost in Emotion 1989 (Earthquake) The Lome Prieta earthquake interrupted Game 3 of the World Series October 17, 1998 – Halloweentown aired on the Disney Channel 1998 – #1 Hit October 17, 1998 – November 13, 1998: Barenaked Ladies – One Week 2005 – The Colbert Report premiered on Comedy Central 2007 – Storm Chasers debuted on The Discovery Channel 2008 – Ghost Adventures premiered on The Travel Channel #1 Hit October 17, 2020 – October 23, 2020: Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat) – Jawsh 685, Jason Derulo and BTS |
Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts |
If Wayne Gretzky never scored any of his 894 goals (also an NHL record), he would still be the league’s all-time leading scorer with 1,963 assists. The Capital of Japan is Tokyo What did the pretentious owl say? “Whom, whom” President Benjamin Harrison had 2 pet opossums while in the White House: Mr. Protection & Mr. Reciprocity A Listerine mouthwash ad from the 1920s coined the phrase, “Often a bridesmaid but never a bride” to describe women with bad breath. The Scary Statistic: Fire or Smoke odds: 1-in-1,116 What to do: Avoid being near paper, wood, and flammable things. “Chicks dig me because I rarely wear underwear, and if I do, it’s usually something unusual.” – Bill Murray, in Stripes #moviequotes The Wright Brothers only flew together once, after gaining their father’s permission. They had always promised they wouldn’t fly together to avoid a double tragedy if there was an accident. The USARPS is the official governing body of the sport Rock Paper Scissors Disney’s movie “Mars Needs Moms” resulted in an estimated loss of $130,503,621 and is Disney’s worst received movie ever. The Capital of Jamaica is Kingston |
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