30 years ago today, the video game “The Legend of Zelda” was released in Japan.

Here are some things you may not have known about the game.

First off, the playable character is named Link, not Zelda.

Link is a boy who ends up on a quest to gather eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to rescue Princess Zelda from her kidnapper.

Along the way he fights several different types of creatures to find his way to nine underground dungeons. Each dungeon contains a piece of the Triforce. In the final dungeon, Death Mountain, he battles the boss Ganon.

If he defeats Ganon, he rescues Zelda and restores peace to the land.

The same game developers were working on “Super Mario Bros.” at the same time. This makes the vast differences between the games even more remarkable. “The Legend of Zelda” features an open world that Link explores at his leisure. “Super Mario Bros.” features linear gameplay that focuses more on completing the level than exploring.

According to a story on 1Up.com, the musical theme for the overworld scenes was written in one day after composer Koji Kondo realized that the music he planned to use, “Bolero” By Maurice Ravel, remained under copyright protection.

The Japanese version of the game was the first game available for Nintendo’s Disk System peripheral for the Famicon, the Japanese version of the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was released in the United States about a year and a half later. The American version was the first game that had a save-game function due to the battery-powered RAM on the cartridge.

More than 6 1/2 million copies of the game have been sold. It has been selected as the best game of all-time by several publications.

Our question: Who is the character of Princess Zelda named after?

Today is Founders Day in the Boy Scouts, Independence Day in St. Lucia, George Washington’s Birthday, National Cook a Sweet Potato Day and National Margarita Day.

It’s the birthday of Senator Ted Kennedy, basketball legend Julius Erving, and “Saturday Night Live” announcer Don Pardo.

This week in 1986, the top song in the U.S. was “How Will I Know” by Whitney Houston.

The No. 1 movie was “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” while the novel “Lie Down with Lions” by Ken Follett topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Links

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda_(video_game)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_22

https://www.checkiday.com

http://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/1986/hot-100

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1986_box_office_number-one_films_in_the_United_States

http://www.hawes.com/1986/1986-02-16.pdf

http://www.biography.com/people/groups/born-on-february-22

Members of the Mochida family awaiting a bus to an internment camp. (Photo by Dorothea Lange/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration via Wikimedia Commons)

On February 19, 1942, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which would lead to the internment of more than 100,000 people of Japanese heritage living in the western United States.

Here are some things you may not have known about the forced relocation.

The United States became involved in World War II following the Japanese bombing of the naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.

Fear spread throughout the country that Japan planned a full-scale invasion of the West Coast. Public opinion was initially favorable to the Japanese-American population, but turned quickly in the following weeks.

Executive Order 9066 didn’t specifically target people of Japanese heritage, but it allowed the War Department to create military zones that any person could be excluded from for any reason.

Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt issued Public Proclamation No. 1 on March 2, 1942. The proclamation created Military Area No. 1, which consisted of anywhere within 100 miles of the Pacific coast. It also required anyone of “enemy ancestry” to inform the War Department if they planned to move.

A little more than a week later another proclamation allowed the government to control property transfers for people of Japanese heritage. Later that month the government enacted an 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew for Japanese-Americans in the military zones.

On March 24, 1942, DeWitt issued the first civilian exclusion order, requiring Japanese-Americans to relocate. The first to receive this order were 227 residents of Bainbridge Island, Washington. The requirement applied to anyone with more than one-sixteenth Japanese ancestry, which included those from Korea and Taiwan, which were Japanese colonies at the time.

One hundred eight more exclusion orders were issued through August 1942.

The internees, many of them American citizens, were moved to camps across the country. The group from Bainbridge Island were given six days to prepare for their relocation to Manzanar, California.

Most of the camps consisted largely of tar paper shacks in remote, desolate areas. In some camps, 25 people were forced to live in quarters designed for four people.

Medical care focused mostly on inoculations to prevent disease from spreading in the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Food poisoning was a constant concern.

The internment of those with Japanese ancestry was not unique to the United States. Canada and Peru also had internment programs, while Japanese people in Brazil were restricted as well.

In December 1944, the Supreme Court of the United States found that the exclusion of Japanese-Americans from the military areas was constitutional, but their incarceration was not. In early 1945, the exclusion order was rescinded and those in the camps were free to return home. They were each given $25 and a train ticket to their last place of residence.

Many had little to return to, having lost their homes and businesses.

Nine of the 10 camps were closed by the end of 1945. One remained open to house those slated for deportation to Japan.

Executive Order 9066 wasn’t officially rescinded until 1976 by President Gerald Ford.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter opened an investigation into whether the detention of Japanese-Americans was justified. The committee found that the exclusion and detention was not justified by military needs and was motivated largely by racism.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 1998 (Darryl Moran/NASCAR via Wikimedia Commons)

On this date in 2001, seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a final-lap crash during the Daytona 500.

Here are some things you may not have known about Earnhardt and that fateful day.

Dale Earnhardt was born in 1951 in Kannapolis, North Carolina. He was the third of four children of Ralph and Martha Earnhardt. Ralph Earnhardt was a champion short-track stock-car racer who didn’t want his son involved in auto racing.

Despite this, Dale Earnhardt dropped out of high school to pursue a career in stock-car racing.

Earnhardt married his first wife when he was 17 years old. The marriage produced his first son, Kerry, before ending in divorce in 1970. He married again in 1971, a union that produced two children, daughter Kelley, and son Dale Jr. This marriage also ended in divorce in 1974.

In 1975, Dale Earnhardt made his Winston Cup debut at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the World 600, the longest event of the season. He finished 22nd. He would compete in eight more races through 1978.

In 1979, Earnhardt ran his first full season, winning at Bristol and finishing seventh in the season points race and earning Rookie of the Year honors. He followed that by becoming the first, and so far only, driver to follow a Rookie of the Year season with a series championship. Nine other drivers have won both honors, but no one else has won them back-to-back.

The early 1980s were rough on Earnhardt. In 1981, he finished seventh in points in a winless season after switching teams midway through the season. The following year he won a race, but failed to finish in 15 other events, finishing a career-worst 12th place in points. In 1983, he won twice, but finished only eighth in points.

In 1984, he returned to Richard Childress Racing to replace Ricky Rudd in the No. 3 car. He finished fourth in the first season with Childress and eighth in his second. In 1986, Earnhardt won five races and won the first of back-to-back Winston Cup championships.

In 1990, Earnhardt was leading the season-opening Daytona 500 with a less than a lap to go when he cut a tire, and finished fifth behind surprise winner Derrike Cope. Earnhardt would rebound to win the his fourth season championship.

He also won championships in 1991, 1993, and 1994, tying Richard Petty for most series titles in a career with seven. The only feat he had yet to accomplish was winning NASCAR’s showcase event, the Daytona 500. He had finished second four times, including 1996 when he started from pole position.

In 1998, Earnhardt won his Daytona 500 qualifying race for the ninth straight year, to earn the fourth starting position. On Lap 138 of the 200-lap main event, Earnhardt took the lead with a push from teammate Mike Skinner and held on to win the crown jewel of stock-car racing in his 20th attempt.

Earnhardt would win five more races in the next two seasons to reach 76 victories for his career.

On February 18, 2001, Earnhardt was in third place on the final lap of the Daytona 500 behind Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., both in cars owned by Earnhardt Sr. In the final turn, he made contact with another driver and veered onto the flat apron on the infield side of the track. Out of control, the car came back onto the track where it was hit by another car before hitting the wall at around 160 miles per hour.

Ken Schrader, who was driving the second car to hit Earnhardt, went to check on him following the wreck. He began frantically calling for medical assistance. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had finished second behind Michael Waltrip,

Today is the 153rd anniversary of the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Here are some things you may not have known about the humanitarian organization.

The founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Henry Dunant, was inspired after witnessing the Battle of Solferino during the Franco-Austrian War in June 1859. About 40,000 soldiers were killed or left wounded on the battlefield. Dunant was shocked by the lack of proper medical assistance to help the suffering soldiers. He spent time helping care for some of the wounded. After returning home to Geneva, Switzerland, Dunant wrote about his experience and sent the book to military and political leaders across Europe. In the book, he told the story of the battle and also advocated forming national relief organizations to help wounded solders. He also called for treaties to guarantee the safety and neutrality of the medics and field hospitals.

In 1863, Dunant started the Committee of the Five, which on February 17, became the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded. In October of 1863, a conference was held to draft proposals to improve medical services during time of war. The conference proposed to start “national relief societies for wounded soldiers,” “neutrality and protection for wounded soldiers,” “the use of volunteers for assistance on the battlefield,” “the introduction of a symbol to protect medical personnel,” and the “organization of additional conferences to enact these concepts in international treaties.” A year later, the first Geneva Convention was held.

In 1876, the committee changed its name to the “International Committee of the Red Cross.”

In 1901, Dunant and pacifist Frederic Passy were given the first Nobel Peace Prize. By 1914, there were 45 national relief agencies throughout the world.

The emblem of the Red Cross is an inverse of the Swiss flag. All members of the Committee’s assembly must be citizens of Switzerland.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is focused solely on armed conflicts. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is a different group that takes the lead in emergencies that are not the result of war, such as natural disasters.

The International Committee of the Red Cross operates in more than 80 countries and employs about 11,000 people.

Our question, who is the founder of the American Red Cross?

Today is Independence Day in Kosovo, Digital Learning Day, National Cabbage Day and Random Acts of Kindness Day. It’s the birthday of American football legend Jim Brown, basketball legend Michael Jordan and Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong.

44 years ago in 1972, the top song in the U.S. was “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green; the No. 1 movie was “Cabaret,” while the novel “The Winds of War” by Herman Wouk topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Today is National Flag Day in Canada, in honor of the adoption of The Maple Leaf flag on this date in 1965.

Here are some things you may not have known about the Canadian flag.

The first recorded flag to fly over Canada was the St. George’s Cross flag of England, which is a red cross on a white background. It first appeared in Canada in 1497 carried by John Cabot. Less than a century later, Jacques Cartier would fly a French royal flag in what was then called New France. Both flags flew over Canada until 1763 and the end of the Seven Years’ War, when France ceded its Canadian territories to the British.

The Union Jack was Canada’s primary flag until the 1867 Confederation of Canada, when the Red Ensign became the de facto flag. The Red Ensign had the Union Jack in the upper left corner and the Canadian coat of arms on a red field.

In 1931, Canada was granted legislative independence from the United Kingdom, but retained the Red Ensign as its de facto national flag. Following World War II, a committee was formed by the Canadian Parliament to recommend which flag to officially adopt. More than 2,000 designs from the public were received and a red ensign with a gold maple leaf was the committee’s ultimate recommendation. The presence of the Union Jack on the flag was not well-received by French-Canadians in Quebec, however, and the older flag remained in place.

In the 1960s under Prime Minister Lester Pearson, the issue of the flag was again brought to Parliament. Pearson, who had won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work ending the Suez Crisis in Egypt, had been dismayed over the Egyptians’ opposition to the presence of Canadian peacekeepers because their flag included that of the United Kingdom, one of the countries the Egyptians were fighting against. In Pearson’s mind, this required Canada to create a flag that was unmistakably Canadian. The first result was a blue flag with a white center panel and three red maple leafs. The idea was not well-received by the public.

A new committee was formed in 1964. After a six-week study, the committee voted unanimously for a flag that closely resembles the current flag. The original idea, conceived of by George Stanley, had a 13-pointed maple leaf on the flag. After testing and deliberation, an 11-pointed flag was eventually adopted. On December 15, 1964, the House of Commons overwhelmingly approved the new flag. The Senate followed with approval two days later.

Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed the new flag on January 28, 1965, and it was used for the first time on February 15. The Union Jack, known in Canada as the Royal Union Flag, remains an official flag of Canada. It is flown beside the Maple Leaf Flag on Commonwealth Day, Victoria Day, and the anniversary of the Statute of Westminster, which gave Canada its legislative independence.

Since 1996, February 15 has been observed as National Flag Day.

Our question: Who is the head of state of Canada?

Today is Presidents Day in the United States, which is officially known as Washington’s Birthday by the U.S. federal government. It’s the birthday of astronomer Galileo, American women’s suffrage activist Susan B. Anthony and explorer Ernest Shackleton.

On the date the Canadian Maple Leaf Flag debuted, the top song in the U.S. was “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” by The Righteous Brothers; the No. 1 movie was “My Fair Lady,” while the novel “Herzog” by Saul Bellow topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Links

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.

George Gershwin at his piano in 1927.

On this date in 1924, George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” premiered during a showcase concert in New York City.

Here are some things you may not have known about Gershwin and one of his masterpieces.

George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1898. He was the second of four children. His older brother, Ira, would later become his musical writing partner. They had two younger siblings, Arthur and Frances.

The Gershwins’ parents, Morris and Rose, were born in Russia and came to the United States in the early 1890s. George had little interest in music early in his life until hearing a friend play during a violin recital when he was 10 years old. He began piano lessons soon after. By the time he was 15, George had left school to work demonstrating songs for a publishing firm on New York’s Tin Pan Alley. His first song was published when he was 17 years old, and earned him 50 cents. In 1919, he wrote his first hit, “Swanee,” which would be popularized by Al Jolson.

In the 1920s he turned to more experimental works, such as the one-act jazz opera “Blue Monday.” He also worked with his brother Ira on several stage musicals, which produced standards like “Fascinating Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” “I Got Rhythm,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” and “Love is Here to Stay.”

Late in 1923, band leader Paul Whiteman began laying plans for a showcase concert featuring jazz-influenced classical music. He asked Gershwin to write a piece for the show, which was scheduled for about two months later. Gershwin declined, saying that it would take too long to compose a new piece. On January 3, while George was playing pool with collaborator Buddy DeSylva, Ira read a newspaper story about the upcoming showcase. The story mentioned that a new piece by George would be performed. The next day, George called Whiteman, who finally persuaded him to write the piece.

According to a story he told a biographer, Gershwin came up with the idea for “Rhapsody in Blue” while on a train to Boston. The rhythmic rattle of the train helping to inspire him. He said he suddenly heard the complete composition in his head. Of the piece, he said, “I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness.” The working title for the piece was “American Rhapsody,” but Ira suggested “Rhapsody in Blue” after visiting an exhibition of paintings by James McNeill Whistler, whose works had names such as Nocturne in Black and Gold, and Arrangement in Grey and Black, which is the formal name of the work better known as Whistler’s Mother.

The piece was orchestrated by Whiteman’s arranger Ferde Grofe, who finished it eight days before it premiered.

The opening clarinet glissando was originally played as a joke during rehearsal. Gershwin loved it so much, he asked the lead clarinetist to play it that way during the performance.

On February 12, 1924, “An Experiment in Modern Music” was held at Aeolian Hall in New York. Gershwin’s composition was scheduled to be performed second to last. Gershwin played piano, backed by Whiteman’s band and an added string section. Some of Gershwin’s part was improvised, and the score included a note to the conductor to wait for Gershwin to nod his head to bring in the orchestra. Gershwin wrote the piano part after the performance. A review in the New York Times said the piece was met with tumultuous applause. Overall the initial reviews of the work were mixed.

Whiteman’s band ended up using “Rhapsody in Blue” as its theme song and selling more than 1 million copies.

In 1935, Gershwin debuted “Porgy and Bess,” which he called a folk opera. It would later be recognized as one of the greatest thea...

Julia Child wielding a knife on the set of “The French Chef.”

On this date in 1963, “The French Chef,” a cooking show starring Julia Child premiered on public television in the United States.

Here are some things you may not have known about Julia Child and her television show.

While her show was an early pioneer of the cooking-show format, it wasn’t the first one to be nationally broadcast. That honor likely goes to “I Love to Eat” hosted by James Beard in 1946 on NBC.

“The French Chef” was based on recipes from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” a cookbook Child co-authored. She focused on using recipes that would be within the abilities of a reasonably skilled home cook.

The first episode featured a recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon. The second episode was about French Onion Soup.

In 1964, Child received a Peabody Award for the program. In 1966, she won a Primetime Emmy Award for the show. The show was produced by WGBH in Boston for exactly 10 years. It was the first program in the U.S. to be captioned for deaf viewers.

Julia Carolyn McWilliams was born in Pasadena, California, in 1912. She graduated from Smith College in 1934 with a degree in English. Following college, she worked as an advertising copywriter and journalist.

During World War II, she joined the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor of the modern CIA. At 6-foot, 2-inches tall, she was too tall to join the Women’s Army Corps or the Navy  WAVES. With the OSS, she was the assistant to a team of developers who were working to create a shark repellent. She was later stationed in what is now Sri Lanka, where she was in charge of directing classified communications. She also served in China. While in Sri Lanka, she met Paul Cushing Child, who was also with OSS. The couple was married in 1946. In 1948 they moved to Paris, where Paul worked for the U.S. State Department.

While in Paris, Julia Child was introduced to French cuisine. She described her first meal as “an opening up of the soul and spirit.” She went on to attend Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and studied with master chefs. She joined a women’s cooking club, where she met the women who would become her co-authors of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

Her television appearances promoting that book led to the creation of her first television show. She went on to star in several other cooking programs, many set in her home kitchen, with its tall counters designed by her husband.

In 2000, she received the French Legion of Honor. In 2003, she was awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Many of Child’s recipes used rich ingredients like butter and cream. She deflected criticism of her use of those ingredients by saying, “We should enjoy food and have fun. It is one of the simplest and nicest pleasures in life.”

Julia Child died in 2004, two days before her 92nd birthday. Her final meal was French Onion Soup.

Our question: Julia Child reportedly loved the 1978 “Saturday Night Live” sketch in which she and her show were parodied. Who played her in the sketch?

Today is Inventors’ Day in the United States, Youth Day in Cameroon and National Foundation Day in Japan. It’s unofficially White Shirt Day, Get Out Your Guitar Day and Pro Sports Wives Day. It’s the birthday of inventor Thomas Edison, actor Leslie Nielsen, actor Burt Reynolds and my sister, Elisa Olson.

On this date in 1963, when “The French Chef” premiered, the top song in the U.S. was “Hey Paula” by Paul and Paula; the No. 1 movie was “Lawrence of Arabia.” There was no New York Times Best Sellers List that week because of a newspaper strike.

Links

Follow us on Twitter,

Former U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, left, and Gerald Ford, meet at the White House during the funeral for former Vice President Hubert Humphrey in 1978. (White House photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Today is the 49th anniversary of the ratification of the 25th amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Here are some things you may not have known about presidential succession.

Before the 25th amendment was ratified, the U.S. Constitution was unclear regarding presidential succession in cases of death, resignation or inability to serve. The first president to die in office was William Henry Harrison in 1841. There was controversy over whether his vice president, John Tyler, automatically became acting president or succeeded to his own presidency. Tyler took the oath of office and assumed full presidential duties. Both houses of Congress resolved that Tyler was president in his own right, establishing what came to be known as the “Tyler Precedent.”

The Constitution also didn’t provide a way to fill a vice presidential vacancy until the next presidential election. When Franklin Roosevelt died months after being sworn in for his fourth term as president, his successor, Harry Truman, was not able to choose a replacement for himself as vice president for nearly four years.

There was also the problem of what to do when a president becomes incapacitated. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke, which left him partially paralyzed. His wife decided which matters would be brought to the president’s attention and which could be handled by cabinet members. As there was no mechanism for removing an incapacitated sitting president from power, Wilson was allowed to serve out the remaining year of his term.

The 25th amendment states specifically that if the president dies or resigns, the vice president becomes president in his own right.

It also clears up the matter of vice presidential succession; it states if there is a vice presidential vacancy, the president will nominate a successor who needs to be confirmed by a majority vote of both houses of Congress.

It also allowed for the president to transfer his powers and duties to the vice president if he is unable to discharge them; such as in cases of planned medical procedures.

Finally, the amendment allows the vice president and a majority of the members of the cabinet to transfer the powers of the acting presidency to the vice president in the event of the president’s incapacitation. The president is then allowed to retake his power by notifying Congress. However, the vice president and cabinet may override that declaration, which would then require a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress to keep the president from regaining his powers.

Since its ratification in 1967, the first three sections of the 25th Amendment have been invoked. The first three times, both of which invoked the first two sections of the amendment, involved the administration of Richard Nixon.

In 1973, Gerald Ford was selected to replace Spiro Agnew as vice president. In 1974, Ford succeeded Nixon to the presidency, and Nelson Rockefeller succeeded Ford to the vice presidency.

The third section has been invoked three times, all involving presidents undergoing colonoscopies. In 1985, Ronald Reagan transferred powers to Vice President George H.W. Bush while undergoing surgery to have a pre-cancerous lesion removed following a procedure. The other two times involved George W.

Mondo Kayo revelers parade on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. (Photo by Flickr user radiate2357 via Wikimedia Commons)

Today is Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday and Carnival among other celebrations around the world.

Here are some things you may not have known about the festivities.

The day celebrates the final day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Lent is a Christian period of fasting, prayer and penance which starts 46 days before Easter. The Sundays during Lent are excluded from fasting, leaving 40 days. The 40 days are in commemoration of the amount of time Jesus spent fasting in the desert.

Carnival, of which today is the final day, typically starts about two weeks before Ash Wednesday. It is celebrated largely in Spanish-, Portuguese- and Italian-speaking countries. The largest Carnival celebration is in Rio de Janeiro, which attracts more than 2 million participants each day.

The term Shrove Tuesday, as it’s known in the nations of the British Commonwealth, is derived from the word “shrive,” which means confession of sins. In those same countries, it’s also sometimes known as Pancake Tuesday, which comes from the tradition of using  remaining eggs, milk and sugar to make pancakes before Lent.

The term Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, which refers to the tradition of eating fatty foods before fasting for Lent. In the United States, the celebration centers around New Orleans, Louisiana, and surrounding communities. The Mardi Gras season in Louisiana traditionally begins on the holiday Epiphany, which is on January 6. The celebrations include parades, and community gatherings. While much of the celebration centers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter, parades have been banned there since 1973.

Our question: What is Ash Wednesday sometimes jokingly referred to as in New Orleans?

Today is Chocolate Day, Pizza Pie Day and Read in the Bathtub Day. It’s the birthday of U.S. President William Henry Harrison, singer-songwriter Carole King, and author Alice Walker.

In 1973, the top song in the U.S. was “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John; the No. 1 movie was “The Poseidon Adventure,” while “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Links

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_Mardi_Gras

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras_in_the_United_States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrove_Tuesday

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrovetide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday

http://www.uscatholic.org/node/425

Bugs Bunny’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

On this date in 1960, construction began on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Here are a few things you may not know about the famous sidewalks.

There are dueling accounts as to who had the original idea for the walk of fame. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce says it was E.M. Smart, who was the president of the association in 1953. Other sources claim it was Harry Sugarman, who was president of the Hollywood Improvement Association. Regardless of whose idea it was, the plan was formalized and submitted to the Los Angeles City Council in 1955. Prototypes for the plaques originally included caricatures of the honoree in a blue star on a brown background. The caricatures were too expensive and difficult to make; the color scheme was also changed because it clashed with a building that a prominent real estate developer was building on Hollywood Boulevard.

The final design of a coral-colored star on a charcoal background was approved in March 1956. A committee was then chosen to select the original honorees from four branches of the entertainment industry: film, television, audio recording and radio. Ultimately more than 1,500 honorees were selected in the initial group. The first completed star on the walk of fame was that of film director Stanley Kramer. Joanne Woodward is frequently cited as the first recipient, however, she was merely the first to pose with her star for the press. The initial project was completed in 1961. Eight years passed before another star was added — one for film producer Richard Zanuck. Charlie Chaplin, who was selected and then excluded from the original group, was added in 1972.

In 1984, a category for live theater was added.

There are several people with multiple stars on the walk of fame, including Gene Autry, who is the only person with stars in all five categories. There are two Harrison Fords honored— one a silent-movie actor, the other best known as Han Solo and Indiana Jones — and two Michael Jacksons — one a radio talk show host in L.A., the other the King of Pop. There are 12 stars bearing single-word names, including Liberace, Rosanne, Shakira and Sting. Sixteen fictional characters, all of them, with the exception of The Munchkins from the “Wizard of Oz,” are either animated or puppets. The most recent fictional character inducted was Snoopy. The only fictional villain represented is Godzilla.

About 20 honorees are selected each year from an average of 200 nominations. Living recipients must agree to attend a ceremony within five years of selection. The nominating organization, usually a fan club, studio, or record label, must also pay a $30,000 fee.

The most recent recipient is actor David Duchovny, who was honored for his accomplishments in television on January 25, 2016.

Our question: Which family has the most stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

Today is the Lunar New Year, Boy Scouts Day, Oatmeal Monday and Opera Day. It’s the birthday of Union general William Tecumseh Sherman, actress Lana Turner and TV journalist Ted Koppel.

On this date in 1960, the top song in the U.S. was “Running Bear” by Johnny Preston — the No. 1 movie was “Visit to a Small Planet,” while “Hawaii” by James Michener topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Links

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com