Author Archive
FACT OF THE DAY
Traffic lights were used before the advent of the motorcar. In 1868, British railroad signal engineer J P Knight invented the first traffic light, a lantern with red and green signals. It was installed at the intersection of George and Bridge Streets in front of the the British House of Commons to control the flow of horse buggies and pedestrians.
Motorcars were introduced to the US in the late 1890s and the need for traffic control soon became obvious. A number of people came up with ideas for traffic control. In 1910, Earnest Sirrine of Chicago, Illinois filed for a patent (no 976,939) for what is considered the first automatic street traffic system, using non illuminated words STOP and PROCEED.
In 1912, Lester Wire of Salt Lake City, Utah invented an electric traffic light that used red and green lights. However, he did not apply for a patent. The next year, James Hoge received patent no 1,251,666 for a manually controlled traffic light system using electric lights. It was installed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1914, displaying the words STOP and MOVE.
The first traffic light system to use red and green lights were patented by William Ghiglieri of San Francisco, California in 1917 (patented no 1,224,632). His design could be operated manually or in automatic.
The amber light was added in 1920 by William Potts, a Detroit policeman. He actually invented several traffic light systems, including the overhang four-way system, but did not apply for patents. The first person to apply for a patent to produce inexpensive traffic lights was Garrett Morgan, who received his patent in 1923.
FACT OF THE DAY
Gustav III, King of Sweden (1771-92), believed coffee was poisonous. To prove his theory, he took two murderers, sentencing one to drink coffee every day and the other to drink tea. Two doctors were appointed to oversee the experiment and see who died first. The first to die were the doctors. In 1792, the King was assassinated at a masked ball in the Stockholm Opera House. The tea-drinker eventually died at the age of 83, and the coffee drinker survived them all.
December 22nd, Happy Birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
“The Reader” star Ralph Fiennes (1962)
Bee Gees twins Robin and Maurice (d. 2003) Gibb (1949)
Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen (1946)
journalist Diane Sawyer (1945)
hall-of-fame pitcher Steve Carlton (1944)
“Leave It To Beaver” mom Barbara Billingsley (1922)
and Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858; d. 1924).
December 16th, Happy Birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
actor Benjamin Bratt (1963)
ZZ Top singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons (1949)
Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann (1939)
sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke (1917)
English drama author Jane Austen (1775; d. 1817)
German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770; d. 1827).
Happy Dec. 12 Birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
country singer Katrina Elam (1983)
TV’s “Blossom” Mayim Bialik (1975)
WWE wrestling’s Rey Mysterio, Jr. (1974)
“Dark Water” actress Jennifer Connelly (1970)
80s pop-star drummer Sheila E. (1957)
jazz musician Grover Washington, Jr. (1943; d. 1999)
Allman Brother’s Band singer/guitarist Dickie Betts (1943)
singer/”psychic friend” Dionne Warwick (1940)
singer Connie Francis (1938)
“The Price is Right” host Bob Barker (1923)
crooner Frank Sinatra (1915; 1998)
actor Edward G. Robinson (1893; d. 1973)
Norwegian “Scream” artist Edvard Munch (1863; d. 1944).
December 10th, Happy Birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
“That’s So Raven” star Raven-Symone (1985)
White Stripes drummer Meg White (1974)
Placebo’s androgynous singer Brian Molko (1972)
Irish actor/director Kenneth Branagh (1960)
“The Green Mile” actor Michael Clarke Duncan (1957)
“Partridge Family” actress Susan Dey (1952)
actress Dorothy Lamour (1914; d. 1996)
reclusive American poet Emily Dickinson (1830).
Happy Dec. 9 birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
Green Day drummer Tre Cool (1972)
Wallflower Jakob Dylan (1969)
WWE wrestler/Olympian Kurt Angle (1968)
violinist Joshua Bell (1967)
Desperate Housewife Felicity Huffman (1962)
entertainer Donny Osmond (1957)
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” actor John Malkovich (1953)
“Star Trek TNG”‘s ‘Lt. Commander Worf’ actor Michael Dorn (1952), singer/songwriter Joan Armatrading (1950)
nine-time NFL Pro-Bowler Dick Butkus (1942)
“Stargate SG-1″ actor Beau Bridges (1941)
English actress Judi Dench (1934)
talk show host Morton Downey, Jr. (1933; d. 2001)
screenwriter/actor Buck Henry (1930)
actor/director John Cassavetes (1929; d. 1989)
actor Dick Van Patten (1928)
comedian Redd Foxx (1922; d. 1991)
prolific screen actor Kirk Douglas (1916)
“Gunga Din” actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (1909; d. 2000)
Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, Margaret Hamilton (1902; d. 1985).
December 7th, Happy Birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
“Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” actress Emily Browning (1988)
teen singer Aaron Carter (1987)
NFL loudmouth Terrell Owens (1973)
“The Outsiders” actor C. Thomas Howell (1966)
Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird (1956)
singer/actor Tom Waits (1949)
baseball hall-of-fame catcher Johnny Bench (1947)
singer/songwriter Harry Chapin (1942; d. 1981)
stage & screen actress Ellen Burstyn (1932)
prolific actor Eli Wallach (1915)
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather (1873; d. 1947).
December 5th, Happy Birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
“Malcolm in the Middle” star Frankie Muniz (1985)
comedienne Margaret Cho (1968)
country singer Gary Allan (1967)
Goo Goo Doll John Rzeznik (1965)
actress and 80s hottie Morgan Brittany (1951)
singer/songwriter Jim Messina (1947)
Spanish tenor Jose Carreras (1946)
American singer Little Richard (1932)
film director Otto Preminger (1906; d. 1986)
legendary animator Walt Disney (1901; died and possibly cryogenically frozen in 1966)
Metropolis director Fritz Lang (1890; d. 1976).
Happy Dec. 4 birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
Supermodel Tyra Banks (1973)
Shawn Carter (rapper Jay-Z) (1970)
“My Cousin Vinny” actress Marisa Tomei (1964)
“The Big Lebowski” actor Jeff Bridges (1949)
Beach Boy Dennis Wilson (1944; d. 1983)
British actress Gemma Jones (1942)
Actor, screenwriter and hillbilly Max Baer, Jr. (1937)
“Little House on the Prairie” actor Victor French (1934; d. 1989).
December 3rd, Happy Birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
“Family Ties” actor Brian Bonsall (1981)
“My Girl” star Anna Chlumsky (1980)
“Charmed” witch Holly Marie Combs (1973)
movie star Brendan Fraser (1968)
figure skater Katarina Witt (1965)
actor Steve Harris (1965)
actress Julianne Moore (1960)
“Kill Bill” 1 and 2 actress Daryl Hannah (1960)
self-proclaimed “Prince of @#$%!@# Darkness” Ozzy Osbourne (1948)
French director Jean-Luc Godard (1930)
singer Andy Williams (1930)
author Joseph Conrad (1857; d.1924).
December 1st, Happy Birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
British actress Emily Mortimer (1971)
actor Jeremy Northam (1961)
jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius (1951; d. 1987)
Irish singer Gilbert O’Sullivan (1946)
comedic/dramatic actress Bette Midler (1945)
The Doors drummer John Densmore (1944)
comedian Richard Pryor (1940; d. 2005)
singer Lou Rawls (1935)
comedian/director Woody Allen (1935)
stage actress Mary Martin (1913; d. 1990).
Amy Whinehouse – Back in hospital!
No surprises here then……Amy Whinehouse was rushed back to hospital after having a ‘bad reaction’ to her current medication. I dont suppose the alleged bender she went on after a phone row with her low-life loser of a husband had anything to do with it what-so-ever!
Friends are increasingly worried about her state of health and mind, as this is not the first time (nor probably the last) that this has happened. She has frequented the hospital nearly as often as her local!!!
She has still had no contact with Blake Fielder-Civil, who is currently in ‘Rehab’ (how ironic is that) by order of the court and for which his wife is footing the 32,000 Pound bill for, and according to reports she is trying to sever ties with him, hence the row most likely which left her in a state of collapse, must have been a real hum-dinger!!
Well I hope Amy gets better and that Blake gets a life somewhere else, preferably on a distant planet!
November 25th, Happy Birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
First Daughters Barbara and Jenna Bush (1981)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb (1976)
actress Christina Applegate (1971)
inspirational singer Amy Grant (1960)
comedic actor John Larroquette (1947)
political consultant/actor Ben Stein (1944)
Star Trek’s “Khan” Ricardo Montalban (1920)
New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio (1914; d. 1999).
Kate Winslet – Vanity Fair Shoot
Well I guess the burning question is, has she been air-brushed, yes or no?
Go see for yourself………….
More about these images can be found at our Forum
November 24th, Happy Birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
actor Colin Hanks (1977)
Grey’s Anatomy actress Katherine Heigl (1978)
actress Denise Crosby (1957)
basketball legend Oscar Robertson (1938)
piano man Scott Joplin (1868; d. 1917).
Uma Thurman – InStyle Magazine Interview
How does she do it? Twenty years at the top and in the last 12 months she’s fallen in love, got engaged and faced up to a stalker!
Read more about the life and loves of Uma over at Instyle
More about these images can be found at our Forum
Angelina Jolie – Interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK
This is the woman who has it all, the looks, the man, the money and a growing brood of children, but she reckons she’s just a punk kid with tattoos: “I don’t walk around feeling I need to apologize or explain myself.”
In the interview, to promote her new film, “Changeling,” Jolie also said she picked her parts based on whether she would want to come face to face with the character in real life.
“I tell stories that are about the type of woman I’d want to meet. The type of woman where I think, even if it’s silly characters I’ve played, like in Tomb Raider, there’s something about her that will be fun for my daughters to see one day.”
Despite her popular role as video-game inspired Lara Croft, Jolie said she and her partner Brad Pitt, make it a point to distinguish the difference between movies and real life to their children.
“My kids play video games. I let them play with toy soldiers. We don’t take war and violence lightly, but we don’t hide it from anybody. We say, ‘Mommy and Daddy have movies where we play these characters, but there’s real death and violence in the world.’”
Go check out the full interview, on stands this week.
More about these images can be found at our Forum
November 17th, Happy Birthday to…
Happy Birthday to:
musician Isaac Hanson (1980)
French actress Sophie Marceau (1966)
Latina model Daisy Fuentes (1966)
cross-dressing diva RuPaul (1960)
The Abyss actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (1958)
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia star Danny DeVito (1944)
Saturday Night Live creator/producer Lorne Michaels (1944)
actress Lauren Hutton (1942)
director Martin Scorsese (1942)
Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot (1938)
acting great Rock Hudson (1925; d. 1985)
musician/songwriter Jeff Buckley (1966; d. 1997).
Madagascar Escape 2 Africa thunders into theaters
Well Madagascar Escape 2 Africa raked in a whopping 63.5 million dollars at the weekend which was more than the first movie which made 47.2 million in its first weekend…
There were a lot of happy families this weekend, and it’s nice that it can be a family occasion, the film suits all ages, so don’t be shy, grab your kids and get down to the theater!
“It just shows people seem happy to escape to the movies and have a good laugh,” said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks Animation.
While parents with children were the bulk of the audience, “Madagascar” also drew teens and adults on their own, who made up half the audience on Friday and one-third on Saturday, Globe said.
Here’s a little taster….
