ON THIS DAY

In 1756, the French captured Fort Oswego, New York.

On this date in 1848, the Oregon Territory was created.

In 1900, China's boxer rebellion ended.

On this date in 1935, a bill was signed creating Social Security.

In 1958, the Canadian Football League played it's first game.

Halle Berry turns 43. Susan Olson, who played little Cindy on the Brady Bunch TV show is 48. and Steve Martin turns 64 today.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Guitar innovator and inventor Les Paul died Thursday. He was 94.
• Anna Faris married actor Chris Pratt in Bali on July 9th.
• Brad Pitt and Ashton Kutcher will be guests on tonight's "Real Time With Bill Maher" on HBO at 10pm.
• Britney's kids -- Sean Preston, 3, and Jayden James, 2 -- were swearing like sailors at the so-called "swag suite" at the Teen Choice Awards on August 11 in Los Angeles. Shocked onlookers told the New York Daily News that that were all surprised by their potty mouths, but Spears didn't seem to care.
• As many nice things as Molly Ringwald had to say about the late John Hughes and how he launched her career, she admits that she had not talked to the director in 20 years.
• There were enough protests by producers and writers about the changes that the Emmy's have reversed their decision. They were going to announce 8 category winners off-air... but now, they'll have the full assortment of 28 on the show September 20.
• Kate Gosselin told Regis & Kelly that she and her estranged husband, Jon, definitely won't be getting back together.
• We heard reports that Michael Jackson has been buried in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills cemetery... but father Joe Jackson is claiming that he's still not buried yet.
• General Motors claims its new plug-in electric car, the Chevy Volt, will get 230 miles per gallon in the city. But, you still have to pay for the electricity. At 11 cents per kilowatt-hour, the typical Volt driver would pay about $2.75 for electricity to travel 100 miles.
• Paul Giamatti is going to replace Sean Penn as Larry in the upcoming Three Stooges movie. Good choice!
• Jet Blue is offering a one-month pass for $599. Fly as much as you want, between September 8th and October 8th. We like the concept.
• It's been hard getting details about Steven Tyler's condition after he fell off that stage in South Dakota last week. What we have managed to hear is that Steven broke his shoulder blade in two places.
• Tivo says that during the last season of "American Idol," their subscribers fast-forwarded through Paula Abdul's comments more than those of any of the other judges.
• John Quade, who appeared in several Clint Eastwood movies and was the sheriff in the TV miniseries "Roots," has died. He was 71.
• Brooks and Dunn say they decided to end their musical partnership after they began running out of new ideas!

Robert Pattinson (who co-stars in November's Twilight sequel, "New Moon") and Transformers' star Megan Fox are among Fandango's Fall 2009's Celebrity Yearbook Award winners. The yearbook, focused on actors whose movies are released in September through November, included:

• Best Hair: Robert Pattinson ("New Moon") and Jennifer Aniston ("Love Happens")
• Worst Hair: Nicolas Cage ("Bad Lieutenant") and Renee Zellweger ("My One and Only")
• Best Personality: George Clooney ("The Fantastic Mr. Fox," "Men Who Stare at Goats") and Sandra Bullock ("All About Steve")
• Most Likely to Succeed: Taylor Lautner ("New Moon") and Ellen Page ("Whip It")
• Biggest Flirt: Vince Vaughn ("Couples Retreat") and Megan Fox ("Jennifer's Body")
• Most Popular: Robert Pattinson ("New Moon") and Drew Barrymore (director/co-star of "Whip It")
• Class Clown: Tyler Perry ("I Can Do Bad All By Myself") and Anna Faris ("Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs")
• Best Smile: Robert Pattinson ("New Moon") and Megan Fox ("Jennifer's Body")

Nine lives or not, your cat could help you live longer. People who have owned a feline are 40% less likely to die of a heart attack, perhaps due to the pets' anxiety-easing powers, a study from the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis shows.

Speaking of cats, spending time with a beloved pet or a dependable everyday object, such as a car, can also generate a sense of connection, a study from the University of Chicago indicates.

The National Marriage Project for the National Center for Health Statistics says 50% of all marriage failure rates aren't set in stone. Certain factors will actually lower your risk. If one or more of these criteria applies to you, you're less likely to get divorced:

• -13% decrease in divorce risk if you've had at least some college education.
• -14% decrease in divorce risk if you have a religious affiliation.
• -14% decrease in divorce risk if your parents are still married.
• -24% decrease in divorce risk if you don't get married until you're at least 25 years old.
• -24% decrease in divorce risk if you're married for at least seven months before having a baby.
• -30% decrease in divorce risk if your annual income is over $50,000.

Ladies, if you want to attract the love and devotion of a very rich man, become a brunette. In a study, Lycos, a dating site in the United Kingdom, found that 62% of the wives of 100 of the world's billionaires have brown hair, including Microsoft head honcho Bill Gates' wife, Melinda French Gates. Coming in second were blondes at 22%, while those with raven-colored hair attracted 16% of the world's wealthiest men. Oddly, not a single billionaire was married to a redhead.

A Men's Health online poll asked women to "tell us what's best for a first date?"

• 20% said live music
• 19% said dinner
• 18% said dinner and a movie
• 16% said sporting event
• 12% said lunch
• 12% said bowling
• 12% said miniature golf
• 9% said art museum

For married working couples, the more money a woman earns, the less housework she will do, regardless of how much money her husband makes, according to a study from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Led by sociologist Sanjiv Gupta, the team found that for every $7,500 in annual earnings a married woman working fulltime makes, she can expect to do one hour less of routine housework each week.