ON THIS DAY

On this date in 1535, England's King Henry the 8th declared himself the head of the church.

In 1861, the steam elevator was patented. Amazingly, those who took it to the 20th floor never had any wrinkles in their clothes.

On this date in 1870, the Democratic party was depicted in a cartoon as a donkey for the very first time.

In 1892, the rules of basketball were officially published.

It's the 15th and a Friday: it's GOTTA be pay day!

Singer Lisa Lisa turns 43 43, and Mario Van Peebles turns 53,

For the record, it's actually Dr. Martin Luther King's real birthday today. He would have been 80.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• If you like to plan ahead, the "Star Trek" movie sequel is scheduled to be released on June 29, 2012.
• Hugh Hefner's twins, Karissa and Kristina, are moving out of the main Playboy mansion and into the next-door Playboy house to give Hugh more time with his 23-year-old girlfriend. Hugh, by the way, is 83.
• Christian televangelist Pat Robertson says the earthquake that hit Haiti was the result of "curse" for signing a pact with the devil.
• Word is that Tiger Woods has entered "The Meadows," a treatment center in Arizona that will help him battle a sex addiction.
• Teddy Pendergrass passed away on Wednesday at age 59. He had been battling colon cancer for a while. Trivia: Pendergrass sang on the 1972 hit "If You Don't Know Me by Now" by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes.
• "Dexter" star Michael C. Hall has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma (cancer) and is undergoing treatment in Los Angeles.
• Yes, that's former American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee in a bikini on the cover of the new "Shape" magazine.
• Mark Wahlberg and wife Rhea Durham welcomed their fourth child to the family on Monday, a girl. That ties up the score at 2 boys, 2 girls.
• Opening in Germany this weekend: "Hope -- The Obama Musical Story." Yep, a Broadway-style musical based on the president. Included are love songs to Michelle and duets with Hillary.
• Here are the ten plastic surgeries that Heidi Montag had in one day last November: 1. mini brow lift, 2. botox, 3. nose job revision, 4. fat injections in the cheeks, 5. chin reduction, 6. neck liposuction, 7. ears pinned back, 8. breast augmentation revision, 9. liposuction on waist, hips and thighs, 10. buttock augmentation.
• Brajelina -- Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie -- have already kicked in $1 million to go toward Haiti relief.
• Wow, "60 Minutes" Andy Rooney commentator turned 91 this week!
• Denver Nuggets All-Star Carmelo Anthony and actress LaLa Vazquez plan to get married this summer.

When it comes to cold hard cash, the most powerful couple in Hollywood isn't Brangelina -- it's Beyonce and Jay-Z. Forbes reports that Beyonce and Jay-Z made a combined $122 million between June 2008 and June 2009. (It's the second year in a row at the top for the hip hop super-twosome, who netted $162 million in the survey from last year.) Here are the top fifteen:

1. Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles, $122 million
2. Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, $69 million
3. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, $55 million
4. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, $48 million
5. David and Victoria Beckham, $46 million
6. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, $36 million
7. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, $35.5 million
8. Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy, $34 million
9. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, $33.5 million
10. Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow, $33 million
11. Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, $29 million
12. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, $28 million
13. Eva Longoria and Tony Parker, $22 million
14. Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley, $20 million
15. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, $17 million

The ultimate in environmentally friendly sportswear is about to hit clothing stores around the world. Manufactured by Zegna, the Polartec is a jacket that's made entirely from recycled plastic bottles. But it doesn't stop there. The coat's outer layer contains solar panels that convert the sun's rays into electricity to charge a battery carried in a pocket. The battery, in turn, can juice up either your cell phone and other hand held gadgets or a warming element hidden the jacket's collar. To power your gizmos all you have to do is plug them into a textile connector on the sleeve. The only thing that prevents the Polartec from being the last word impolitically correct fashion is that as of right now there are plans to produce only a men's style. Women will have to wait. (Sun)

Here's one we haven't heard before: your romantic rivals on the dating scene have the potential to make you feel closer to God, since your own spirituality and sense of religion may be closely related to mating strategies, according to researchers from Arizona State University in Tempe. Female volunteers viewed dating profiles of attractive women, while the male volunteers viewed the profiles of attractive men. They were told the profiles were of fellow students, who were participating in an online dating site. After being exposed to attractive members of their own gender, the volunteers appeared more religious.

(Woman's Day) Online friends can fulfill some friendship needs, but not our very human need for face to face interaction, says friendship expert Elaine Zelley, Ph.D. So while they are real, there are definitely pros and cons.

Virtual friends are good when:

• You're very busy. You can read and respond to messages anytime; no phone tag or complicated scheduling required.
• You're introverted. Sometimes it's just easier to "talk" on a keyboard.
• You have something specific in common, such as being breast cancer survivors or parents of autistic children.

Virtual friends are not so good when:

• You misread the emotion behind the message. Ever read an e-mail and weren't sure if the writer is angry with you or just had a bad day?
• You crave actual interaction. You can type out how you liked the book you've both reading, but it'll never be the same as discussing it in real time, when your conversation might wander to more interesting places.
• You spend too much time on them. The more time you spend hunched over your computer, the less you have for the real pal right next door.

The top secret most women keep from the man in their life is not about sex. Or past boyfriends. Or money. It's the number of shoes their own, according to a poll by the Consumer Reports National Research Center for the shopping magazine ShopSmart. It seems the average American women owns 19 pairs of shoes, even though she only wears four pairs regularly. 15% of women own more than 30 pairs of shoes.

65% of Americans spend more time with their computer than their spouse or significant other, reports Digital Trends. And get this -- we waste 12 hours a month fixing computer problems. That's the word from a study by Kelton Research, which also found that 84% of Americans say they are more dependent on their home computer now than they were three years ago. During the same period, 52% said their most recent computer problem caused them to feel anger, sadness or alienation.