ON THIS DAY

On this date in 1719, the first recorded sighting of the Aurora Borealis took place.

In 1816, Indiana became our 19th state.

In 1892, the very first basketball game was played.

• The game was in its early form. They soon discovered they needed a "no tackling rule" and to get rid of the bats.
• Until then, it had been pretty much played in closets, which made it tough to get a shot off.
• It was a more primitive game back then. For example, the penalty for three seconds in the key was the firing squad. They had a few things to figure out.

In 1975, the cost of a U.S. postage stamp went up to 13 cents.

Mo'nique is 41, Jermaine Jackson turns 55, Terri Garr turns 60, and David Gates, who led the group "Bread" through the 60s and early 70s is now in the same area himself: 69.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Pink says she's ready to start trying to have kids.
• Tiger was nominated for a Congressional Medal of Honor, since honor is far from what he's known for these days, the nomination has been pulled.
• Miley Cyrus plans a hiatus from music so she can drop her teen pop star image and is planning to give her music a drastic make-over.
• According to Oxygen Media 22% of women would prefer to have breast augmentation over a diamond bracelet.
• Rihanna has a new tattoo that says, "Never a failure." But it's written on her collarbone backwards, so she can read it when she's looking in a mirror.
• ABC says Chris Cuomo is leaving "Good Morning America" to co-host "20/20." The move paves the way for George Stephanopoulos to join the morning show.
• The rumor mill has John Malkovich playing the Vulture villain in "Spider-Man 4" with Anne Hathaway as the Vulturess.
• Jessica Simpson is dating Billy Corgan, if you like to keep track of such things.
• Jessica Simpson is reportedly dating Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan.
• Last year, Barbara Walters named Barack Obama the Most Fascinating Person of the year. This year, Michelle wins the honor.
• Sacha Baron Cohen, David Letterman and others have been named in a $110 million man who was identified as a terrorist in the movie, "Bruno."
• Barry Bonds' agent says he has played his last baseball game.

When children write to Santa Claus, what do they say? Carole Slotterback, a psychology professor at the University of Scranton, analyzed nearly 1,200 letters sent between 1998 and 2003 to the central post office in Scranton, PA, and found out fascinating answers that range from humorous to heart-wrenching. Some included drawings, stickers or glitter, and many kids -- just to be sure the big guy knew how to find them -- gave Santa not only their name and address, but also their home phone number and their parents' cell phone numbers. Some even tossed in a school photo. Here is a sampling of what children asked of Santa:

• One child asked to become an elf.
• A child wrote out a list that included Pokemon cards, a camera and a microscope, but about every third item, the child wrote: "NO clothes."
• One little girl asked Santa for a mother. "Not just for me but my daddy, brother and granny...my daddy works so hard and then he comes home to cook and clean and it should be easier," the letter, written in careful cursive on pink paper, read. She drew a 5-cent "stamp" on the envelope.
• One child asked Santa to check the appropriate box: Real or not real? "I've never gone 5 or 10 minutes without getting teary," said Brennan. "It's very emotional."
• Kids who wrote letters, instead of just making a list, tended to be more polite and chatty, sometimes even asking about Mrs. Claus.
• During the 2001 Christmas season following the September 11 attacks, many of the letters were decorated with Santa's sleigh and American flags flying on it. Children also asked for fewer toys that year.

The U.S. Postal Service receives hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa each year, and none of them actually make it to the North Pole; however, Operation Santa, which is staffed by volunteers, companies and postal employees, write responses to some of them.

Dropping the F-bomb or two could make your stubbed toe throb a little less, according to the journal NeroReport. Researchers had students plunge their hands into icy water twice, once while cursing and once saying a neutral word. When swearing, they withstood the deep freeze for about 30% longer and felt roughly 50% less pain. "Cursing can trigger the body's fight or flight response, which masks pain," says lead study author Richard Stephens, Ph.D. (Women's Health)

5000 women were interviewed by Men's Health and Glamour to find out why women dump men. Top reasons are:

• Fight Too Much, 26%
• No Chemistry, 18%
• Found Someone Better, 14%
• Cheated, 11%
• Wouldn't Commit, 11%
• Wasn't Husband Material, 9%
• She Wouldn't Commit, 8%
• Lousy Sex, 3%

18% would dump a man for kissing another woman, 9% would if you got caught flirting.

If you're ever been in a marriage or live-in relationship with a member of the opposite sex, you know that arguments over money can be "doozies." Now Money magazine has revealed from a recent poll that 71% of adults admitted to having "money secrets." Some say the reason people hide cash is because they feel "deprived" by the other spouse. Some couples know about the stashes but don't "ask." Sometimes it's just that there is a "secret" that's bothersome to the other partner. But, experts say honesty is the best policy. So, what about you? Ever had a secret stash?

More people file for divorce in January than any other month of the year, according to a poll of divorce attorneys by the Staten Island Advance. "It's the month for people who deferred things over the holidays -- either because they don't want to spoil the family's celebrations, or because they feel they will be able to work things out over the holidays," divorce attorney Jay S. Baum told the newspaper. Christmas -- and the extra time couples spend together over the holidays -- can highlight problems in a relationship. Then holiday bills come due in January, exacerbating those existing tensions.