Today is...

COLD MOTHA FUCKA OUT THERE.

 

DAMNNNNNN. Quite warm here.

 

On February 14 around the year 278 A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed.
Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.
To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.
When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.
Legend also has it that while in jail, St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine."
For his great service, Valentine was named a saint after his death.

 

TODAY IS...
MARCH 25TH
Nine months until Christmas.....
:excited::excited::excited:
​

 

:laughing: Oooh golly Lioness, does that mean we're off and running again on this thread?

Where's that big cuddly free-thinking bear?

Anyway:

1958
Having been sworn in as Private 53310761 the previous day Elvis Presley received the regulation short back and sides haircut from army barber James Peterson.
Presley would earn $78 per month as an army private.​

1986

Guns N' Roses signed a world-wide deal with Geffen Records.​

2008

Richie Sambora was arrested in California on suspicion of drink driving. The 48 year-old Bon Jovi guitarist was arrested after a police officer noticed his black Hummer weaving in traffic lanes in Laguna Beach. He was ordered to appear in court on one count of driving under the influence.​

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I believe this is what led to Sadat's assassination.

 

Sure! :excited:

And I haven't seen Free-Thinker around here for awhile...WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

1948
Born on this day, Steven Tyler, vocals, Aerosmith, (1989 UK No.13 single 'Love In An Elevator', 1989 album 'Pump' spent 53 weeks on the US charts, 1993 US No.1 & UK No.2 album 'Get A Grip', 1998 US No.1 & UK No.4 single 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing').
Sixty-three years old? Wow - he's old, but I still would....

1983
Duran Duran went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Is There Something I Should Know'. Their first No.1 and their eighth single release. The group were on a US promotional trip on this day, where they were greeted by 5,000 screaming fans at an in-store appearance in New York City.

2002
Randy Castillo drummer with the Ozzy Osbourne band died of cancer aged 51. Worked with Osbourne during the 1980s and early 1990s.
Also worked with Lita Ford and Motley Crue.

2004
Jan Berry of Jan and Dean, died at the age of 62, after being in poor health sustained in a 1966 car crash.
Had the 1963 US No.1 & UK No.26 single 'Surf City', (co written by Beach Boy Brian Wilson).
At the height of their fame, Jan and Dean hosted and performed at The T.A.M.I. Show, the film also featured The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.

2006
Readers of Total Guitar magazine voted the guitar solo by Jimmy Page in Led Zeppelin’s 'Stairway To Heaven' as the greatest guitar solo of all time. The 1971 track was voted ahead of tracks by Van Halen, Queen, Jimi Hendrix and The Eagles.
On the 20th anniversary of the original release of the song, it was announced via US radio sources that the song had logged up an estimated 2,874,000 radio plays - back to back, that would run for 44 years solid.

 

March 26, 1953

Salk Announces Polio Vaccine

On March 26, 1953, American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announces on a national radio show that he has successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio. In 1952--an epidemic year for polio--there were 58,000 new cases reported in the United States, and more than 3,000 died from the disease. For promising eventually to eradicate the disease, which is known as "infant paralysis" because it mainly affects children, Dr. Salk was celebrated as the great doctor-benefactor of his time.

Polio, a disease that has affected humanity throughout recorded history, attacks the nervous system and can cause varying degrees of paralysis. Since the virus is easily transmitted, epidemics were commonplace in the first decades of the 20th century. The first major polio epidemic in the United States occurred in Vermont in the summer of 1894, and by the 20th century thousands were affected every year. In the first decades of the 20th century, treatments were limited to quarantines and the infamous "iron lung," a metal coffin-like contraption that aided respiration. Although children, and especially infants, were among the worst affected, adults were also often afflicted, including future president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who in 1921 was stricken with polio at the age of 39 and was left partially paralyzed. Roosevelt later transformed his estate in Warm Springs, Georgia, into a recovery retreat for polio victims and was instrumental in raising funds for polio-related research and the treatment of polio patients.

Salk, born in New York City in 1914, first conducted research on viruses in the 1930s when he was a medical student at New York University, and during World War II helped develop flu vaccines. In 1947, he became head of a research laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh and in 1948 was awarded a grant to study the polio virus and develop a possible vaccine. By 1950, he had an early version of his polio vaccine.

Salk's procedure, first attempted unsuccessfully by American Maurice Brodie in the 1930s, was to kill several strains of the virus and then inject the benign viruses into a healthy person's bloodstream. The person's immune system would then create antibodies designed to resist future exposure to poliomyelitis. Salk conducted the first human trials on former polio patients and on himself and his family, and by 1953 was ready to announce his findings. This occurred on the CBS national radio network on the evening of March 25 and two days later in an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Salk became an immediate celebrity.

In 1954, clinical trials using the Salk vaccine and a placebo began on nearly two million American schoolchildren. In April 1955, it was announced that the vaccine was effective and safe, and a nationwide inoculation campaign began. New polio cases dropped to under 6,000 in 1957, the first year after the vaccine was widely available. In 1962, an oral vaccine developed by Polish-American researcher Albert Sabin became available, greatly facilitating distribution of the polio vaccine. Today, there are just a handful of polio cases in the United States every year, and most of these are "imported" by Americans from developing nations where polio is still a problem. Among other honors, Jonas Salk was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. He died in La Jolla, California, in 1995.

 

March 26th...four shopping months until my birthday and five months until ejls'

 

Some day you and I will have a joint party right between the two of them!:rose:

 

March 27, 1998

FDA Approves Viagra


On this day in 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves use of the drug Viagra, an oral medication that treats impotence.

Sildenafil, the chemical name for Viagra, is an artificial compound that was originally synthesized and studied to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) and angina pectoris (a form of cardiovascular disease). Chemists at the Pfizer pharmaceutical company found, however, that while the drug had little effect on angina, it could induce penile erections. The reaction took about an hour, a little longer if the pill was taken after eating fatty foods. Seeing the economic opportunity in such a biochemical effect, Pfizer decided to market the drug for impotence. Sildenafil was patented in 1996, and a mere two years later--a stunningly short time compared to other drugs--it was approved by the FDA for use in treating "erectile dysfunction," the new clinical name for impotence. Though unconfirmed, it is believed the drug was invented by Peter Dunn and Albert Wood.

Viagra's massive success was practically instantaneous. In the first year alone, the $8-$10 pills yielded about a billion dollars in sales. Viagra's impact on the pharmaceutical and medical industries, as well as on the public consciousness, was also enormous. Though available by prescription only, Viagra was marketed on television, famously touted by ex-presidential candidate Bob Dole, then in his mid-70s. Such direct-to-consumer marketing was practically unprecedented for prescription drugs (now, sales and marketing account for approximately 30 percent of the pharmaceutical industry's costs, in some cases more than research and development). The drug was also offered over the internet--customers needed only to fill out an "online consultation" to receive samples.

An estimated 30 million men in the United States suffer from erectile dysfunction and a wave of new Viagra competitors, among them Cialis (tadalafil) and Levitra (vardenafil), has blown open the market. Drug companies are now not just targeting older men like Dole, but men in their 30s and 40s, too. As with many drugs, the long-term effects of Viagra on men's health are still unclear (Viagra does carry warnings for those who suffer from heart trouble), but its popularity shows no signs of slowing. To date, over 20 million Americans have tried it, and that number is sure to increase as the baby boomer population continues to age.

 

May 12th: On this Day1958, The Everly Brothers started a four-week run at No.1 in the US with 'All I Have To Do Is Dream', (the song was written in 15 minutes).




:excited::excited::excited:

 

TODAY IS...
Six more months until Christmas!!!

​

 

Oooh I'm glad to see this thread, it's like meeting an old friend you haven't seen for ages

1910, Born on this day, Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager. Before working in the music business Parker ran a troupe of dancing chickens. He died on January 21st 1997.

1955, Elvis Presley (with Scotty Moore and Bill Black) played the first of three nights at the Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. The local paper ran a preview which read; “A good looking youngster who has become a juke-box favorite with his That's Alright, Mama, and Blue Moon of Kentucky.
Presley is expected to repeat some of his hit tunes at the Airmen's Club show in addition to mixing up a few country tunes with some "bop" and novelty numbers.”

1971, Emerson Lake and Palmer went to No.1 on the UK chart with their second album 'Tarkus'.

1977, Elvis Presley made his last ever live stage appearance when he appeared at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Presley would die less than two months later. The last two songs he performed were ‘Hurt’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.’

2008, Total Guitar magazine voted Celine Dion’s rendition of the AC/DC track ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ as the world's worst cover version ever, the magazines editor Stephen Lawson said Dion's cover was "sacrilege".
http://www.muzu.tv/gb/celinedion/cline-dionanastacia-you-shook-me-all-night-long-music-video/54697/
In the best cover versions list, Jimi Hendrix was voted into first place with his version of the Bob Dylan song ‘All Along the Watchtower,’ The Beatles' rendition of ‘Twist and Shout’, (first recorded by the Top Notes), was in second place, followed by the Guns N' Roses version of the Wings song ‘Live and Let Die’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D9vAItORgE
I just watched that video again and my god, weren't they damned gorgeous back then?

 

1819 - The bicycle was patented by W.K. Clarkson, Jr.

 

This place is a wealth of information, isn't it? It never ceases to be a source of constant wonder to me, it's an education. :excited:

I Googled WK Clarkson, just in case he was Jeremy Clarkson's ancestor, which would've made a terrific piece of irony, but sadly not.
I did find this Quite Interesting stuff though:



http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_69_2.html

 

The Pied Piper led 130 children out of Hamelin in 1284. Or so the legend goes.

 

1483 Duke of Gloucester appoints himself English king Richard III
1498 Toothbrush invented
1807 Lightning hits gunpowder warehouse in Luxembourg; 230 die

 

It's two months until ejls' birthday!