Sir William Herschel discovers Uranus (1781)
1925: Tennessee prohibits teaching of evolution
On this day in 1781, astronomer Sir William Herschel discovered Uranus. Editor’s note: Sorry, we don’t do Uranus jokes here. In fact, you can take your stupid low-brow Uranus humor and stick up … Uranus.
On this day in 1925, Tennessee prohibited the teaching of evolution, as officials there reaffirmed their belief that life began with a "big bang" … on the planet Uranus.
On this day in 1930, the Lowell Observatory announced that a Kansas farm boy with no formal astronomy training had discovered the planet Pluto. In 2006, Pluto was downgraded to “dwarf planet” by the International Astronomical Union for failing to pay its annual Milky Way membership dues.
On this day in 1930, India's Mahatma Gandhi continued his famous “Salt March” to protest a British tax on his beloved Humpty Dumpty salt and vinegar potato chips.
Today's Birthdays:
Charo, 74 (*maybe): exuberant entertainer who “cuchi cuchi’d” her way onto TV sets starting in the mid-1960s; becoming the only performer to appear on each of the following shows: Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, Carol Burnett, Donny & Marie, Maike Douglas, Captain & Tennille, Laugh In, Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Hollywood Squares, The Jeffersons, Jay Leno, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, The Surreal Life, Celebrity Wife Swap, Hell’s Kitchen, RuPaul's Drag Race, Dancing with the Stars, Chappelle’s Show and, of course, Ironside. (Video: Carol Burnett doing a wild Charo impersonation)
William H. Macy, 75: Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning actor who played a conniving, abusive, narcissistic, scumbag, deadbeat, drug-addicted, alcoholic, asshole-ic father on “Shameless.”
L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986): prolific author of pulp SciFi and fantasy novels who created Scientology in 1952 after failing at his first two attempts to invent a “religion” – Bogusology and the Divine & Righteous Sunny Moon Megachurch of Lafayette Ronald Hubbard. (Video: Neurotology music video, 2015 SNL Scientology spoof)