ON THIS DAY
On this date in 1608, the Dutch government was offered a new invention: the telescope. The inventor had to give it up because of complaints from the woman next door.
In 1862, tin cans that opened with keys were patented. The real tricky part was installing those little tiny locks...
On this date in 1950, the "Peanuts" comic strip debuted in 9 newspapers around the country.
In 1956, the very first atomic-powered clock started up... and kept glowing and glowing and glowing.
It's Tiffany's 38th birthday today. Kelly Ripa celebrates her last birthday: 39! Sting celebrates his 58th birthday, and Movie critic Rex Reed turns 71 today.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- According to the autopsy report, Michael Jackson's arms were covered with punctures, his face and neck were scarred and he had tattooed eyebrows and lips. Otherwise, he was in good health for his age with some arthritis.
- Today we should find out if the 2016 Olympics are coming to Chicago.
- After learning that TLC would continue with a new version of "Jon and Kate Plus 8" that didn't include him, Jon Gosselin, the estranged husband of Kate Gosselin has demanded through his lawyers that the show cease production immediately or face potential criminal charges.
- Yes, there are talks underway about Comcast possibly buying NBC/Universal.
- Madonna says she would rather be "run over by a train" than get married.
- Will Ferrell and his wife are expecting their 3rd child together.
- Don't look now, but pre-orders for Sarah Palin's new book have just past sales of the latest Dan Brown book.
- Mariah Carey told In Touch that she never thought she'd live to see her 40th birthday.
- Sarah Brown, who played Claudia Zacchara on "General Hospital," is jumping soaps and heading over to CBS's "The Young and the Restless."
- The number of gay and bisexual roles on prime time TV is up to 18 out of 600 possible roles.
- 998 million pounds of pumpkins are produced annually in the U.S.
- 73-year-old Dennis Hopper was rushed to a New York hospital Wednesday night. No explanation given yet, but could be flu-related.
- Two weeks into her tour, Miley Cyrus is dealing with strep throat.
- Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel breakup rumors are making the rounds again.
According to Women's Health, the Average Woman doesn't get enough sleep: her head is cloudy, and she can't complete the simplest task. Here are more stats on that precious pillow time:
- 21% of women get the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night
- 11pm is the time the Average Woman goes to bed on a week night
- 6am is the time the Average Woman rolls out of bed on a weekday
- 15% of women hit the "snooze" more than three times
- 73% of women sleep in on the weekends
- 20% of women eat right before they go to bed
- 24% of women pop sleeping pills so they can have a sound slumber
- 16% of women have nightmares at least once a month. The most common nightmare is that someone is chasing her
- 35% have dreamt about having sex with a celebrity. The top 3 celebrities the Average Woman dreams about sleeping with; Brad Pitt, Matthew McConaughey, and Robert Pattinson
- Top 3 things the Average Woman does right before she hits the sack: watches TV, reads, and surfs the Internet.
A Cosmopolitan web poll peeks inside the male mind and asked: "Do you still feel close to an ex-girlfriend?" 55.7% of males said no. The mag also found that 23% of guys lie to their girlfriends about what goes on during boys' night out, and that 67% would be willing to take the male contraceptive pill.
An online survey by Salary.com found about six in every 10 workers admit to wasting time at work with the average employee wasting 1.7 hours of a typical 8.5 hour working day. 34% gave the world wide web as their number one activity. 20.3% said socializing, 17% said conducting personal business. The reasons given for wasting time were:
- Boredom, 18%
- Having too long work hours, 13.9%
- Being underpaid, 11.8%
- Lack of challenging work, 11.1%
22% of married women said that if they could go back in time and do it all over again, they would marry a different man. Only 12% of married men feel the same way about their wife. That's according to a British survey commissioned by Bradford & Bingley bank, which also asked men and women over the age of 35 to name their biggest regrets in life. In addition to marrying the wrong person, 30% wish they had a different career, while 37% regret they haven't saved more money. The #1 regret was travel as 53% said they wished they had traveled more before settling down.
