Trivia People

Iolani Palace, the seat of the Hawaiian monarchy and the Republic of Hawaii (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

On this date in 1887, the United States Congress voted to allow the U.S. Navy to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii for a naval base.

Here are some things you may not have known about the history of the relationship between Hawaii and the United States.

On January 18, 1788, Captain James Cook of Great Britain became the first recorded European to land in Hawaii. He named the islands the “Sandwich Islands” after the fourth Earl of Sandwich, the same earl who is said to have invented the sandwich.

After contact by Europeans, the population of the islands plummeted because of the introduction of diseases for which the Hawaiians had no resistance.

In the decades that followed, Kamehameha I consolidated the islands into a single kingdom in 1810.

In 1843, a British force under Lord George Paulet entered Honolulu Harbor and demanded the King cede control of the islands to the British. Several months later, Paulet’s commanding officer reversed the action and restored the monarchy.

In 1849, the French invaded Honolulu, demanding that Catholics be afforded full rights. The French force left Hawaii after 11 days.

From the beginning of the 1800s, American missionaries settled in Hawaii. Many Hawaiian traditions were banned, such as hula and surfing.

These missionaries used their influence with the monarchs to create rules that were favorable to the Americans who became large land owners and sugar producers.

In 1875, the U.S. Signed a treaty with Hawaii allowing for the duty-free importation of Hawaiian sugar into the U.S.

Following the 1887 lease of Pearl Harbor, a group of Americans founded the Reform Party, which forced the king to sign a new constitution which limited his power, giving much of it to the Americans.

In 1893, Queen Lili’uokalani abdicated following the landing of company of U.S. Marines. The white settlers founded the Republic of Hawaii on July 4, 1894.

On July 7, 1898 U.S. President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution which annexed Hawaii.

Hawaii remained a territory for more than 60 years, a system which greatly benefitted the plantation owners, who took advantage of looser controls on immigration.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Hawaii was under martial law for the duration of World War II.

Labor unrest in 1954 saw the end of the dominance of the Hawaii Republican party and saw the rise of the Democratic Party, which favored statehood.

Ninety-three percent of Hawaiians voted in favor of statehood, and Hawaii was admitted to the union as the 50th state on August 21, 1959.

In 1993, the United States government passed a resolution apologizing to native Hawaiians for the overthrow of the monarchy.

Our question: What country’s flag is represented on the Hawaiian state flag?

Today is Armed Forces Day in Mali, Heroes’ Day in Cape Verde and Martyrs’ Day in Azerbaijan. It’s National Cheese Lovers Day, Penguin Awareness Day and Take a Walk Outdoors Day (which probably shouldn’t be in January). It’s the birthday of actor George Burns, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and director David Lynch.

30 years ago in 1986, the top song in the U.S. was “That’s What Friends are For” by Dionne Warwick and Friends; the No. 1 movie was “Iron Eagle,” while the “Iacocca: An Autobiography” by Lee Iacocca topped the New York Times Non-fiction Bestsellers list.

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Janis Joplin

Today would have been the 73rd birthday of singer-songwriter Janis Joplin.

Here are some things you may not have known about her.

She was born in Port Arthur, Texas. Her mother worked at a business college and her father was an engineer for Texaco. As a teenager, she sang in a local choir and began listening to blues records. She said she was an outcast in high school, partly because of her artistic interests, partly because she was overweight and partly because she had bad acne. She graduated in 1960 and enrolled at what is now Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. She later transferred to the University of Texas, but did not graduate.

In 1963, she moved to San Francisco, where she recorded a few blues standards. A year later, she had developed a methamphetamine and heroin problem. Her friends convinced her to move back to Port Arthur. During her time in Texas, she enrolled again at Lamar University and began performing solo with her guitar. In 1966 she was recruited to return to San Francisco and join the rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. She stayed sober for about a year before first falling back into alcohol use and then intravenous drugs.

In June 1967, Big Brother and the Holding Company performed twice during the Monterey Pop Festival, which was essentially Joplin’s large-scale debut. Her rendition of “Ball ’n’ Chain” was one of the festival’s signature moments. The band was signed to Columbia Records on the basis of this performance.Their debut album was released just months after their Monterey shows. A year later, their album “Cheap Thrills” was released, which spawned the hits “Summertime” and “Piece of my Heart.” Initially, “Cheap Thrills” was not well-regarded by critics, who felt the production left something to be desired. Those reviews didn’t stop the album from hitting No. 1 on the Billboard album charts, and reaching double-platinum status.

After “Cheap Thrills,” Joplin left Big Brother and the Holding Company for a solo career backed by the Kozmic Blues Band and releasing an album that topped out at No. 5 on the American charts. In August 1969, Joplin played the Woodstock festival. She played at about 2 a.m., following Creedence Clearwater Revival. Arriving 10 hours before her performance, Joplin took heroin and drank heavily. Her voice during the performance was hoarse. She asked to not be included in the documentary or the soundtrack. Her performances became more unpredictable, eventually forcing a break-up with her band at the end of the year.

After spending several months in South America, where she avoided drug use, Joplin returned to the U.S., where she picked up her old habits again. Around this time, she formed her final group, the Full Tilt Boogie Band. This was the band with which she performed on the Festival Express train tour of Canada. In August 1970, she debuted her song “Mercedes Benz,” after writing it earlier that day in a bar next door. She and her band headed to Los Angeles to record a new album, which would be called “Pearl,” and feature her biggest hit “Me and Bobby McGee.”

During the recording of “Pearl,” Joplin failed to show up for a recording session on October 4, 1970. The band’s road manager drove to the motel where she was staying, and found her dead on the floor beside her bed. The official cause of death was a heroin overdose, possibly compounded by alcohol. She was 27 years old. Joplin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995

Our question, who wrote the song “Me and Bobby McGee”?

Today is National Popcorn Day, and Tin Can Day. It’s the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe, Gypsy Rose Lee and Dolly Parton.

20 years ago in 1996, the top song on the U.S. Alternative Charts was “Wonderwall” by Oasis; the No. 1 movie was “12 Monkeys,

Martin Luther King Jr. and others during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963. (Image by Rowland Scherman/National Archives via Wikimedia Commons)

 

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States.

Here are some things you may not have known about the holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader.

The idea of a holiday honoring King began shortly after he was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

In the early days, the holiday was negotiated by unions during contract negotiations. The first bill to make King’s birthday a federal holiday came in 1979, but fell five votes short of passage. In 1981, six million signatures were gathered in an effort to petition Congress to create the holiday. In 1983, a new bill was introduced and passed the House of Representatives with a large majority. The bill was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on November 2, 1983. The holiday came into effect for the first time in 1986.

Federal holidays mean U.S. Government workers get a paid day off of work. They have no bearing on other levels of government or private business, although many choose to observe the holidays.

Several states delayed or resisted efforts to create the holiday or called it by another name. In 1990, voters in Arizona rejected two measures that would have created a King holiday. In response, the National Football League moved the 1993 Super Bowl from a suburb of Phoenix to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. In 1992, voters in Arizona approved a measure creating the holiday, and the NFL awarded the 1996 Super Bowl to Tempe, Arizona.

Utah was the last state to name the holiday after King when it changed “Human Rights Day” to Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2000. Also in 2000, South Carolina made the holiday official for all state employees. Before they were allowed to celebrate King’s birthday or three other Confederate holidays.

Three states combine King’s birthday with that of Confederate General Robert E. Lee: Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Our question: What is the earliest day of the year Martin Luther King Jr. Day can be observed?

Today is Royal Thai Armed Forces Day in Thailand and Revolution Day in Tunisia. It’s unofficially Elementary School Teacher Day, National Gourmet Coffee Day and National Peking Duck Day. It’s the birthday of writer A.A. Milne, actor Cary Grant and actor Kevin Costner.

10 years ago in 2006, the top song in the U.S. was “Laffy Taffy” by D4L; the No. 1 movie was “Glory Road,” while “S is for Silence” by Sue Grafton topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

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Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr

http://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/2006/hot-100

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Original host of NBC’s “Today,” Dave Garroway with J. Fred Muggs, left, and Muggs’ “girlfriend” Phoebe B. Beebe. (Image via Wikimedia Commons)

Today is the 64th anniversary of NBC’s “Today” show.

Here are some things you may not have known about “Today” and the morning news shows that followed.

The show was created by NBC vice president Pat Weaver, who is the father of actress Sigourney Weaver. One of the proposed names for the show was “The Rise and Shine Revue.” It was never designed as a hard-news show. It has featured interviews, lifestyle stories and other light news from its beginning. The first host of “Today” was Dave Garroway, who was noted for his easygoing style and his one-word sign-off of “Peace.”

Early on the ratings for the show were disappointing, leading producers to make a curious addition to the on-air staff: A chimpanzee named J. Fred Muggs. Muggs originally appeared on a television series hosted by singer Perry Como. Weaver saw the chimp and decided to add him to the “Today” lineup. Muggs last appeared regularly on the show in 1957. It’s believed that the chimp is still alive at the age of 63 and living in Florida, which sounds like a joke but isn’t.

Starting in 1958, “Today” was taped the previous afternoon, which ended when John Chancellor replaced Dave Garroway in 1961.

Hosts of the show over the years have included a who’s-who of American television journalists including Hugh Downs, Barbara Walters, Tom Brokaw, Jane Pauley, Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric.

In 1975, ABC introduced “Good Morning America” to compete with “Today.” “Today” remained atop the ratings until the late 1980s when “Good Morning America”  started winning the ratings battle. “Today” regained the top spot in 1995 and held it until 2012, when it was passed by its ABC rival.

Our question, “Today” is the fifth-longest running show that is still in production in American television history, which program has run the longest?

Today is National Flag Day in the country of Georgia, National Forest Conservation Day in Thailand and Old New Year, according to the Julian calendar. It’s National Dress Up Your Pet Day, National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day and Organize Your Home Day. It’s the birthday of traitor Benedict Arnold, musician Allen Toussaint, and actress Faye Dunaway.

Now a look back on entertainment charts of 35 years ago.

In 1981, the top song in the U.S. was “(Just Like) Starting Over” by John Lennon; the No. 1 movie was “9 to 5” and “The Covenant” by James A. Michener topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

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Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Today_(U.S._TV_program)

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Fred_Muggs

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

https://en.wikipedia.

As you can probably tell from my voice, I’m a bit under the weather, so there won’t be a show today.

You probably don’t want to listen to me sounding like this anymore than I want to be talking.

Before I go, let me remind you of this week’s take-home test: What was name of the first film David Bowie starred in?

Tweet the answer to us @triviapodcast or submit an answer at triviapeople.com/test and we’ll add the name of the person with the first correct answer to our winner’s wall … at triviapeople.com. We’ll reveal the correct answer on Friday’s episode.

Thanks for listening to the Trivia Minute, for details on the show and how to support it, visit triviapeople.com

We’ll talk to you tomorrow or the next day.

David Bowie from the cover of his album “Heroes.”

Rock icon David Bowie died earlier today at the age of 69, according to his family

Here are some facts you may not have known about the musical innovator.

Bowie was born David Jones in Brixton, South London on January 8, 1947. His mother worked as a waitress and his father worked for a charity.

At the age of nine, Bowie’s father brought home a collection of American 45s, including artists such as Elvis Presley, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the Platters, Fats Domino and Little Richard.

It was Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” that had a particular impact on the young Bowie’s life.

He would later say, “I had heard God.”

Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” was also influential. “It really impressed me, the power of the music. I started getting records immediately after that.”

He also began performing, including dancing to songs by Elvis and Chuck Berry, that was called “mesmerizing … like someone from another planet.”

He began playing a plastic alto saxophone in 1961. A year later he would be seriously injured in a fight with a schoolmate over a girl. Doctors feared Bowie’s left eye would be left blind. He recovered slightly, although he was left with poor depth perception and a permanently dilated pupil. He and the classmate, George Underwood, remained friends. Underwood created artwork for some of Bowie’s early albums.

He started playing in a band called the Konrads in 1962 at the age of 15. He moved from band to band and manager to manager over the next several years. His habit of firing managers would prove quite expensive in later years.

In 1967, he changed his stage name to David Bowie, in order to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees. He took his new last name from American frontiersman Jim Bowie, despite the difference in pronunciation. He also released his self titled debut solo album that year.

In 1969, days ahead of the launch of Apollo 11, “Space Oddity” was released, which was his first hit, reaching the Top 5 in the UK. It reached No. 124 in the United States on its first release. (Although it would be rereleased in 1973 and hit No. 15 in the U.S.). It was followed by another self-titled album.

Also that year he met Angela Barnett, whom he would marry, less than a year later.  The marriage would produce a son, film director Duncan Jones. 1970 saw Bowie release the album, “The Man Who Sold the World.”

In 1971, he released his landmark album, “Hunky Dory,” which featured the single “Changes” and the song “Life on Mars.” Despite it’s only moderate success at the time, “Hunky Dory” has consistently been rated among the greatest albums of all time.

In 1972, Bowie created the character of Ziggy Stardust, the definitive rock star, who also acts as a messenger for extra terrestrial beings. This might be his most influential phase, at the peak of the Glam Rock period. The album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,” spawned the hits, “Starman,” Suffragette City,” “Moonage Daydream,” and the closest thing to a title track the album has, “Ziggy Stardust.” He took the role of Ziggy Stardust so seriously that it began affecting his life off stage, leading him to doubt his sanity. In 1973, Ziggy Stardust “retired” during a show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon.

The next year, Bowie moved to the United States where he worked on his next album “Diamond Dogs,” which veered more into soul and funk. Also at this time he fell into a deep cocaine addiction, leading to physical issues, paranoia and other emotional problems. Despite these issues, “Diamond Dogs,” and a live album were successful. In 1975, he released “Young Americans” the sound of which Bowie described as “plastic soul.” The album produced Bowie’s first No.

American fighter plane ration stamps used during World War II. (Image by Bill Faulk via Wikimedia Commons)

On this date in 1940, food rationing began in Great Britain during World War II.

Here are some things you may not know about rationing.

Bacon, butter and sugar were the first foods to be rationed in the UK. This was followed by rations for meat, tea, jam, cereals, cheese, eggs, milk and canned and dried fruit.

Fresh fruit and vegetables were never rationed but were sometimes very difficult to come by.

In the United States, the first item to be rationed were car tires, followed by gasoline rationing, and the suspension of automobile sales in 1942. The first food item rationed in the U.S. was sugar. Coffee was next, followed by meat, lard, cooking fats, cheese, butter, margarine, processed foods, and so on. The gasoline rationing led to the cancelation of the Indianapolis 500 from 1942-45.

In the United States all rationing ended in 1946.

Rationing continued in the UK after the war, and in some cases was more strict. The bacon ration was cut from 4 ounces to 3 ounces a week. Bread rationing started in 1946 after rains ruined the domestic wheat crop. 1947 saw potato rationing. The Conservative Party came back into power in the 1951 election on the basis of ending rationing as quickly as possible. All food rationing ended on July 4, 1954. The rationing of dairy products nearly wiped out British cheese production, which didn’t recover fully until the 1980s.

Our question

What was the lowest amount of cheese allowed per person per week during British rationing?

Thanks to you

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Today is War on Poverty Day, Bubble Bath Day and Argyle Day. It’s the birthday of Elvis Presley, David Bowie and physicist Stephen Hawking.

Now a look back on entertainment charts from 50 years ago.

In 1966, the top song in the U.S. was “We Can Work it Out” by The Beatles; the No. 1 movie was “Doctor Zhivago” and “The Source” 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

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

Sources

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

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indianapolis_500_winners

http://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/1966/hot-100

http://www.hawes.com/1966/1966-01-02.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1965_box_office_number-one_film...

The cast of “The Addams Family” television show, which ran between 1964-66.

Today is the 103rd anniversary of the birth of illustrator Charles Addams.

Here are some things you may not have known about the creator of “The Addams Family.”

Charles Addams was born in Westfield, New Jersey in 1912. Houses in his hometown were said to be the inspiration for the Addams Family mansion. A childhood friend once said, “his sense of humor was a little different from everybody else’s.”

One of his first jobs was in the layout department of True Detective magazine, where he retouched photos of dead bodies to remove blood from them. His first cartoon in The New Yorker ran in 1932, where his work would feature regularly for the rest of his life.

In 1938, he drew the first cartoon featuring what would become known as “The Addams Family.”

According to an interview with New Yorker cartoon editor Robert Mankoff, Addams drew only about two dozen “Addams Family” comics. In them, none of the family members were named, and wouldn’t be until the 1964 television show premiered.

The family consisted of Gomez Addams, his wife Morticia, their son Pugsley, daughter Wednesday, Uncle Fester and Grandmama. Their butler, Lurch, resembled a combination of Frankenstein’s monster and a zombie.

The family has been described as an eccentric, wealthy family who delight in the macabre. They are indifferent to the fact that people find them unusual. While the family is strange, they aren’t evil. Gomez and Morticia are good parents to Pugsley and Wednesday. They try to help their neighbors and have donated large sums of money to noble causes.

Addams was largely uninvolved in the creation of the television show. He wrote general character descriptions and producers took it from there.

Gomez was played by John Astin, while Morticia was played by Carolyn Jones. Uncle Fester was played by former child actor Jackie Coogan.

The show ran for two 32-episode seasons.

During the run of the television show, William Shawn, the editor of The New Yorker refused to publish any “Addams Family” cartoons, not wanting to associate his high-brow magazine with a common television show. The New Yorker did run other Addams cartoons.

The cartoon also inspired two animated series, a second live action series, and a pilot for a variety show.

It was made into a feature film in 1991 featuring Raul Julia as Gomez, Anjelica Huston as Morticia, Christoper Lloyd as Uncle Fester and Christina Ricci as Wednesday. It was followed by a sequel in 1994. A third film was canceled following the sudden death of Raul Julia.

A direct-to-video film was made in 1998 featuring Tim Curry as Gomez.

The most recent adaptation is a stage musical which premiered in 2010.

Charles Addams continued to draw cartoons until his death in 1988 at the age of 76.

Our question, who played Gomez in the Broadway version of “The Addams Family”?

Today is Christmas in Eastern Orthodox Churches and those that use the Julian calendar. It’s Flag Day in Italy and Pioneer’s Day in Liberia. It’s unofficially National Tempura Day and International Programmers’ Day. Its the birthday of former U.S. President Millard Fillmore, author and civil rights activist Zora Neale Hurston and actor Nicolas Cage.

Now a look back on entertainment charts of the past.

40 years ago, the top song in the U.S. was “Saturday Night” by the Bay City Rollers; the No. 1 movie was “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Curtain” by Agatha Christie topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

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Tonya Harding, left, and Nancy Kerrigan.

On this date in 1994, American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by a man hired by the husband of her main competitor, Tonya Harding.

Here are some things you may not have known about the skaters and the attack.

Nancy Kerrigan was born in 1969 in a suburb of Boston. She began skating at the age of six and won her first competition at age nine. She placed fourth in the junior competition at the U.S. championships in 1987, and made her senior debut the next season. She placed third at the 1991 U.S. Championships and earned a trip to the world championships. There she earned the bronze medal behind fellow Americans Kristi Yamaguchi and Tonya Harding. She finished third at the 1992 Winter Olympics.

Tonya Harding was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1970. As a child, she claims she was physically abused by her mother. She began skating at age three and landed her first triple lutz at age 12. She dropped out of high school during her sophomore year to concentrate on figure skating. In 1991, she landed her first triple axel in competition on her way to winning the national championship. She was the first woman to complete a triple axel in a short program, the first woman to land two triple axels in one competition and the first woman to complete a triple axel/double toe loop combination. She finished fourth at the 1992 Olympics but failed to qualify for the 1993 World Championships.

Which brings us to 1994.

Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by Shane Stant following a practice session at the U.S. Championships at Detroit’s Cobo Arena. She was struck a few inches above the knee with a telescopic baton. Her leg was bruised, but not broken, but she was still forced to withdraw from the event which determined the two-person U.S. Olympic team. Harding won the title and a berth to the Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. It was later discovered that Stant was hired by Harding’s husband Jeff Gillooly and her bodyguard Shawn Eckhardt. Kerrigan was named to the Olympic team despite not competing in the national championships.

Kerrigan earned the silver medal at Lillehammer, while Harding finished eighth, after restarting her free program due to a broken lace on her skate.

Kerrigan retired from competitive skating following the Olympics.

Gillooly, Eckhardt and getaway driver Derrick Smith were sent to prison for their parts in the attack. Harding pleaded guilty to conspiring to hinder the prosecution of the attackers. She received three years probation, 500 hours of community service and a $160,000 fine. In June of 1994, Harding was stripped of her national championship and banned for life by the U.S. Figure Skating Association. Harding later claimed that she didn’t go to authorities before the attack because Gillooly had threatened to kill her.

Following his release from prison, Gillooly changed his name to Jeff Stone. Eckhardt changed his name to Brian Sean Griffith. He died in 2007 at the age of 40.

Our question, who did Nancy Kerrigan bump from the 1994 Olympic Team?

Today is Apple Tree Day, national Bean Day and National Shortbread Day. It’s the birthday of musician Syd Barrett, comedian Rowan Atkinson and celebrity chef Nigella Lawson.

Now a look back at the entertainment charts from 30 years ago.

This week in 1986 the top song in the U.S. was “Say You, Say Me” by Lionel Ritchie; the No. 1 movie was “Rocky IV” and “The Mammoth Hunters” by Jean M. Auel topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Sources

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

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

The Golden Gate Bridge with San Francisco in the background as seen from Marin. (Brocken Inaglory via Wikimedia Commons)

On this date in 1933, construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge.

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

Ferry service between San Francisco and Marin County started in the 1820s. The Golden Gate Ferry Company, which originated in 1867 went on to become the largest ferry system in the world in the 1920s. The crossing took about 20 minutes and cost one dollar per vehicle.

A bridge soon became a necessity, as the city was all but cut off from its surrounding communities. Many experts doubted a bridge could be built across Golden Gate, which is more than a mile wide, with strong currents and water more than 370 feet deep.

In 1916, the San Francisco city engineer estimated a bridge would cost $100 million at the time, the equivalent of $2.17 billion today. He put out a call to other engineers, asking if it could be done for less.

One engineer who responded, Joseph Strauss, designed a bridge with two cantilever sections and a central suspension portion, which could be built for $17 million. Authorities agreed to proceed, but forced Strauss to change his design to a suspension bridge. The construction budget was eventually set at $35 million.

This was a problem for Strauss because he had little experience designing suspension bridges. The final design was inspired by Leon Moisseiff, who designed the Manhattan Bridge in New York. It was left to senior engineer Charles Alton Ellis, to do the bulk of the design work. During his work, he consulted extensively with Moisseiff. Ellis also designed the steel arch bridge leading to the southern anchorage at Golden Gate. In 1931, after the majority of he design work was done, Strauss fired Ellis and claimed sole responsibility for the design.

Construction began on January 5, 1933, and was completed on April 19, 1937. Eleven workers were killed during construction; 10 of them died in one incident in February 1937 when the scaffolding on which they were working fell off the bridge and through a safety net. The safety net saved the lives of 19 other workers during construction. The bridge was completed ahead of schedule and $1.3 million under budget.

The iconic international orange color was originally intended only as a primer coat. Later it was determined that the color helped make the bridge more visible to ships and it also complements the bridge’s surroundings.

Until the 1964 construction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York, the Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension span in the world. It was the highest suspension bridge above water until the 1998 construction of bridges in Japan and Denmark.

In 2007, the Golden Gate Bridge District decided to give deserved credit for the bridge’s design to Charles Alton Ellis.

About 110,000 vehicles travel across the bridge every day.

Our question, what color was the bridge originally intended to be painted?

Today is the 12th day of Christmas, so someone out there will be getting 12 drummers drumming. It’s National Bird Day in the United States. It’s also national Whipped Cream Day. It’s the birthday of Superman actor George Reeves, actor Robert Duvall and actress Diane Keaton.

20 years ago, the top song in the U.S. was “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men; the No. 1 movie was “Toy Story” and “The Christmas Box” by Richard Paul Evans topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.