ON THIS DAY
On this date in 1775, England's King George publicly labeled the American colonists "rebels."
In 1812, the British invaded the U.S. and set fire to the capitol building and the White House!
The Waffle Iron is patented way back in 1869, invented by Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York.
On this date in 1954, the Communist party was banned in the United States.
It was 12 years ago today that Microsoft released Windows 95.
It's Dave Chappelle's 36th birthday, Talk show host Craig Kilborn is 47, and Actor Steve Guttenberg is 51 today.
Strange Music Day -- We'll give you a famous band's original name and you tell us the group:
- Angel and the Snakes (Blondie)
- Composition of Sound (Depeche Mode)
- Big Thing (Chicago)
- Artistics (Talking Heads)
- Carl and The Passions (The Beach Boys)
- Primettes (Supremes)
- Tom & Jerry (Simon & Garfunkel)
- Caesar & Clio (Sonny & Cher)
- The Golden Gate Rhythm Section (Journey)
- The Golliwogs (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- 35-year-old skin clinic worker Jason Pfeiffer, who is employed by Michael's dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein, claims he was Michael Jackson's secret lover at the time of his death.
- By the way, now they're saying Michael Jackson will not be buried on what would have been his 51st birthday. It's believed to be some time in September.
- The Michael Jackson movie, "This is it" will have a 2-week limited engagement in October. Tickets will go on sale September 27.
- Islam's fasting month of Ramadan began on Saturday in most of the Arab world.
- Lou Ferrigno was shocked and hurt when he wasn't announced as one of the names in "Dancing with the Stars!"
- Mickey Rourke says that "Iron Man 2" is much better than movie #1.
- Meghan McCain will guest host on "The View" September 9.
- Paula Abdul's agent says the rumor about talks being underway for her return to "American Idol" are not true.
- Sting's daughter Coco says that whole thing about her dad and the tantric sex was just a joke started by Bob Geldorf.
- Starbucks is raising the prices on their complicated drinks and lowering them on the simple ones, like a regular cup of coffee.
- A woman found guilty of snooping at Britney Spears' house has been sentenced to three years of probation and 240 hours of community service.
- Latin singer Juanes may cancel the concert he has scheduled in Cuba on September 20 because of the threats he's received on his Twitter account.
The number one city to call home is Zurich, Switzerland, according to the 2009 index of the world's most livable cities by the London-based global affairs magazine, Monocle. The annual quality-of-life index was based on a number of measures, including investment in public transportation, public safety, health, education and even the number of movie screens in the city. Here's the top ten:
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Tokyo, Japan
- Munich, Germany
- Helsinki, Finland
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Vienna, Austria
- Paris, France
- Melbourne, Australia
- Berlin, Germany
Honolulu was the most livable city in the United States, coming in 11th on the list. Los Angeles may be the City of Angels, but it's also the meanest city in the U.S., according to a study by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless. The top 10 meanest U.S. cities:
- Los Angeles
- St. Petersburg, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Gainesville, Florida
- Kalamazoo, Michigan
- San Francisco, California
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Bradenton, Florida
- Berkeley, California
If you want to get someone to do something, talk into that person's right ear. People are better able to process information when requests are made in the right ear, according to Italian researchers. The left side of the brain -- which gets its information from the right ear -- is better at processing speech and language. The other side of the brain is more involved in things such as interpreting emotion. You can also see this tendency when people use the phone. Most will naturally hold it to their right ear."
When marriages go down the toilet, the cause may just be the battle of the sexes in the bathroom. American newlyweds' lavatories are flush with resentment, according to a recent survey of 253 men and women who had been married two years or less. The survey was conducted by Braun Research for Roto-Rooter.
Women's pet peeves about sharing bathrooms with their mates including:
- 56% finding beard stubble left in the sink
- 42% waiting too long for him to clear the room
- 42% finding the toilet seat up
- 35% discovering spritz on the seat, floor or rugs due to his bad aim
- 14% having their razors borrowed
Men's gripes about their gals include:
- 48% finding female hair shed all over everything
- 39% being yakked at while trying to have a nice quiet sit down
- 42% having to clean gobs of women's hair out of the drains
- 28% being coated by clouds of hairspray
Both sexes resented mates who:
- 47% left soiled clothes dumped on the floor
- 37% who never clean out the toilet bowl
- 37% who never replace the toilet paper roll
Whether they're shopping at vintage shops or deep discount flea markets, more than half of all American women admit to buying secondhand clothes, says a recent poll. About 51% of the women questioned have bolstered their wardrobe with recycled couture, reports the marketing company WSL Strategic Retail. In addition, about 45% revealed they also buy used clothes for their babies. These fashion figures highlight a growing trend among U.S. women who clearly feel no stigma about buying many types of pre-owned goods especially with all prices skyrocketing. Books top the used merchandise hit list, with a staggering 82% proudly purchase used CDs and DVDs while 66% have scored used video games. Secondhand furniture is in style with 48% of the respondents, including 46% who purchased used baby furniture and accessories. Finally, about 43% copped to buying used toys.
