ON THIS DAY

On this date in 1704, Great Britain took Gibraltar from Spain. They took that old commercial, "Get a piece of the rock" a little too seriously.

In 1847 that Mormon leader Brigham Young and followers arrived in Salt Lake City.
Remember, if it weren't for them, we wouldn't have the musical, "Book of Mormon."
If they had veered just a little to the south, think of how different Las Vegas would be today.

In 1866, Tennessee was readmitted to the union. They say the first step towards solving a problem is re-admitting it. Isn't that what they say? Maybe I heard them wrong.

In 1936, two states hit record highs: Alton, Kansas, recorded 121 degrees and Las Vegas, Nevada, experienced a high of 117. The number one bet in Las Vegas was making it through the day. It was so hot...

• Potatoes cooked in the ground and all you had to do was pull them out of the ground and add butter, salt and pepper. 
• Farmers fed their crushed ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs. 
• Cows were giving evaporated milk. 
• Cows were giving pasteurized milk. 
• You could make instant sun tea. 
• When the temperature dropped below 95, you got chills. 
• Hot water came out of BOTH taps. 
• The chickens were laying fried eggs. 

On this date in 1969 that the Apollo XI astronauts, two of whom had been the first men to walk on the moon, splashed down in the Pacific. And no one suspected there was an alien on board. Oh, wait... that was a movie.

In 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered President Richard Nixon to hand over his tapes. After a few adjustments were made, he did.

TODAY IS

Mara Wilson, the cute little girl from "Mrs. Doubtfire" and the remake of "Miracle on 34th Street," turns the big 3-0. Still cute, just not as little. How time flies, dearie.

Jennifer Lopez turns 48 today. Almost twice the age of the men she likes to date.

• No one has told her body yet. 
• She's getting closer to doubling the age of her dates. 
• What's already J-Lo is getting lower. 

Kristin Chenoweth celebrates her 49th birthday today, too. She plans a quiet celebration with other members of the Lollipop Guild.

Barry Bonds turns 53 with an asterisk today. He's the guy that put the stare in steroids. He holds baseball's record for the most home runs by a jacked-up, steroid-driven drug machine. I know, I know... allegedly, supposedly.

Lynda Carter, TV's "Wonder Woman," turns 66 today. As a special treat, she plans to go out and buy a new Wonder Bra.

Michael Richards who we will always remember as "Kramer" is 68. Of course, after "Seinfeld" he... uh... went on to be remembered as "Kramer."

Robert Hays from "Airplane" turns the big 7-0 today... and stop calling him "Shirley."

Ruth Buzzi of Laugh-In turns 81 today.

National Cousins Day -- We'll name a celebrity, you tell us their equally famous cousin. Ready?
Jerry Lee Lewis (Jimmy Swaggart)
Celine Dion (Madonna - 9th cousin, once removed)
Mickey Gilley (Jerry Lee Lewis)
Joe Pesci ("My Cousin Vinny" -- okay, okay)
Quincy Jones (both George Washington and Tennesee Williams)
Former president George W. Bush (Colin Powell... very distant, but really)
Brian Wilson (Mike Love)
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (President Ulysses S. Grant, 4th cousin, once removed)
Rip Torn (Sissy Spacek)