ON THIS DAY

Scottish poet Robert Burns was born way, way back in 1759. 

On this date in 1890, the United Workers of America organized.

In 1915, Alexander Graham Bell made the country's first transcontinental phone call, when he called someone in San Francisco from New York.

On this date in 1925, the world's largest diamond was discovered.

In 1940, the very first social security checks were mailed.

The very first Emmy Awards were presented on this date in 1949.

On this date in 1961, "101 Dalmatians" was spotted in theaters for the first time.

Alicia Keys celebrates her 29th birthday,Baseball broadcast legend Ernie Harwell turns 92.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Quincy Jones is organizing a re-sing of "We Are the World," featuring artists from today, as a benefit for Haiti. Among those already on board: Usher, Natalie Cole, and John Legend are already on board... with rumor that Alicia Keys, Sting, Justin Timberlake and Fergie are set to join in.
• Victoria Principal and her former maid are suing each other, after Victoria pulled a gun on her. What's made it weirder is that the maid says she now understands why Victoria did it and has issued an apology.
• Rob Lowe is out of the TV series "Brothers and Sisters." He asked to get out, and his wish was granted.
• It must have to do with the name, "Rob." Now Rob Estes says he won't be returning to "90210" after this season.
• The producer of the musical "Mama Mia" is planning to do a Broadway show based on the Spice Girls next.
• Rod Stewart, Leona Lewis and Michael Buble are teaming up and singing a single -- REM's "Everybody Hurts" -- as a fund-raiser for Haiti.
• Kitty Kelly, who has written quite a few unauthorized bio's in her time, has one coming out on Oprah in April.
• Katy Perry and Russell Brand had a wedding shower this past week, with around 50 friends gathering at a Beverly Hills restaurant.
• Burger King is going to open a "Whopper Bar" in Miami's South Beach that dishes up burgers and beer.
• Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney have each ponied up $1 million for Haiti relief.
• Jessica Simpson is putting her name on a line of cheap jeans with Jones apparel.
• Mischa Barton's landlord is suing her for three months of back rent on her New York pad.
• Cher has sold her home in Hawaii for $8.7 million.
• Entertainment Weekly calls "The Jay Leno Show at 10pm" TV's biggest bomb ever.

52% of Americans say they know someone who has an unfaithful spouse, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll. When the same question was asked by the Harris Poll in 1964, only 24% said they knew someone who had a cheating spouse. People are probably not cheating more frequently, but that they're talking about it. Other findings:

• Which is worse for a husband to do: Have paid sex with a prostitute or a have a romantic liaison? Men said the affair was worse, but women said the prostitute was worse.
• If you found out your spouse was having an affair, would you leave your spouse and get a divorce, or not? Among all adults, married and unmarried, 62% said yes and 31% said no.
• Could you forgive an affair? Among married men and women, 37% said they would definitely or probably forgive a sexual affair, compared with just 30% of singles. That leaves a lot of folks who couldn't forgive such a transgression.
• When asked if they would stand next to a spouse at a news conference to address the issue of the spouse's infidelity, only 36% said they would do this.

From the "I thought I had heard everything" department. If you don't like slipping between cold sheets at night, book a trip to London and stay at the Holiday Inn, Kensington. The hotel will warm your bed for you by having a staff member get into it for five minutes and warm up the sheets to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. This bizarre, but free, guest perk is being offered at three Holiday Inns in Great Britain, two in London and one in Manchester. The hotel staffer will dress in a head-to-toe white fleece that looks like a footed pajama set that's more suitable for a snowstorm than sleep, get into the bed and then move around to generate some heat between the chilly sheets. They call it "human bed warming."

More than half and up to 80% of college students cheat at one time or another. And some are serial cheaters. As shocking as that is, it's not news. What is news is who doesn't cheat. So, who doesn't cheat? Students who score high on measures of courage, empathy and honesty are less likely than others to have ever cheated or intend to cheat in the future according to a study from Ohio State University.

Men's Health and Women's Health magazine asked women, "What guy made meal impresses women the most?"

• 22% said picnic
• 16% said creative cookout
• 16% said breakfast in bed
• 13% said gourmet dinner
• 13% said comfort food
• 12% said an impromptu dinner
• 8% said homemade sushi

The old saying "Blondes have more fun," has been scientifically proven to be true. Really. Lightening the hair like Marilyn Monroe or Kim Cattral works wonders on a woman's self image on many levels. Not only does going bleach blonde boost her love life, but it also makes it easier for her to hit the boss up for a raise, complain about mistreatment or put her foot down with friends and relatives. The study, in which more than 200 women volunteered to go blonde, was conducted by Dr. Mark Sergeant at England's Nottingham Trent University. "Across the board, participants viewed coloring their hair as something that raised their confidence," he coomented.

Workers are more prone to lie in e-mail than in any other kind of communication, according to researchers from Lehigh University, Rutgers University and DePaul University. The study found that e-mail is the most deceptive form of communications in the workplace. Why? People actually feel justified when lying in an e-mail and you're not afforded the luxury of seeing non-verbal and behavioral cues over e-mail. And in an organizational context, that leaves a lot of room for misinterpretation.