WEDNESDAY ALMANAC – Aug 6

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

Sept. 1, Monday – Labor Day
Sept. 11, Thursday – Patriot Day
Sept. 19, Friday – National POW/MIA Recognition Day (The third Friday of September)
Sept. 22, Monday – Fall begins (Autumn Equinox is 2:19 p.m. EDT)
Oct. 13, Monday – Columbus Day
Oct. 16, Thursday – National Boss’s Day
Oct. 31, Friday – Halloween

BIRTHDAYS

Vera Farmiga (actress, Lorraine Warren in “The Conjuring” cinematic universe, “Hawkeye,” “Bates Motel”) … 52
Geri Halliwell-Horner (singer, Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls) … 53
M. Night Shyamalan (writer-director) … 55
Michelle Yeoh (actress, “Star Trek: Section 31,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) … 63

Today’s Birthdays grade: Today we have a Spice Girl (remember them?), the director who usually tries to have a surprising twist at the end of his films (not always succeeding), a respected character actress, and one of the most talented and successful Asian actresses ever. Not shabby. Grade: A-minus.

[Want to try something different with the daily birthdays? Try grading them! Some days have “good” celebs, some have “great” celebs, some have “lousy” celebs. For fun, give the group an arbitrary grade: A-plus through F-minus. Sidekick will give you our take on it; you can to take the concept and run with it.]

BIRTHDAY QUOTE QUIZ – Ask your listeners “Who said it?” HINT: Today’s their birthday!

“I always thought of myself as James Bond.”

(A) David Harbour
(B) Jack Black
(C) Michelle Yeoh

ANSWER: (C) Michelle Yeoh

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2023 – The film “Barbie” passed $1 billion at the global box office – its director Greta Gerwig became the first solo female filmmaker to do so.
* Now Barbie can REALLY get more outfits!

2001 – President George W. Bush received a memo entitled “Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S.” as part of his daily intelligence briefing.
* Oh … so THOSE were the dots we were supposed to connect!

1998 – Former White House intern Monica Lewinski spent 8 1/2 hours testifying before a grand jury about her relationship with U.S. President Clinton.
* After removing all of the “likes” and “you knows” it was only about 15 minutes long.

1971 – Chay Blyth completed the first round-the-world solo sail.
* All on his own? That guy should get out more.

1962 – Jamaica was declared independent from Britain.
* They wanted to keep all the good marijuana for themselves.

1945 – In a bid to force Japan to surrender in World War Two, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
* Later, Japan would get revenge by dumping their electronics and cars on us.

1926 – Swimmer Gertrude Ederle became the first American woman to swim the English Channel. She took 14 hours and 34 minutes.
* What? Was the ferry THAT overpriced?

1904 – Frankfurters sold in buns at the St. Louis Exposition became the first “hot dogs” sold in America.
* I think I got one of those original dogs last weekend from a vendor outside the hardware store.

1890 – Convicted murderer William Kemmler became the first person to die in an electric chair.
* It’s just as well – he would have died of shock when he saw the electricity bill.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2012 – Forbes declared Beyoncé and Jay-Z the highest-paid celebrity couple, with earnings of $78 million ($40 million for her, $38 million for him).

2009 – Steven Tyler was airlifted to hospital after falling off stage during a gig at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. The 61-year-old Aerosmith singer fell from a catwalk onto a couple of fans, suffering neck and shoulder injuries. The remainder of the show was cancelled.

1987 – The Beastie Boys sued the city of Jacksonville, FL for including the phrase “mature audience” on their concert tickets and ads.

1981 – Stevie Nicks released her solo debut, “Bella Donna,” while still a member of Fleetwood Mac. The album included such hit songs as “Edge of Seventeen,” “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with Tom Petty, and “Leather and Lace” with Don Henley.

1973 – Stevie Wonder lost his sense of smell after his car collided with a truck.

1965 – The Beatles released their fifth album, “Help!,” which also served as the soundtrack to their film of the same name. The album also featured the ballad “Yesterday,” which became one of the most-covered songs ever in popular music history. “Help!” topped the charts in the US, UK, Australia, and Germany and became the first rock album to earn an Album of the Year nomination at the Grammys.

1963 – Bob Dylan entered Columbia Recording Studio to begin recording his legendary third album, “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” The record would be Dylan’s first to be comprised of solely original compositions.

1960 – Chubby Checker performed his enduring cover of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ “The Twist” on American Bandstand. Weeks later, the song went to No.1. The hit would return to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 nearly two years later, in January 1962, making it the first song to reach the position on two separate runs.