KDAZ Digital Broadcasting

ON THIS DAY

On this date in 1493 that Christopher Columbus discovered Puerto Rico... and the gateway to great baseball players was opened.

In 1620 the pilgrims reached Cape Cod just in time for the football game. Frankly, they were kinda weirded out by seeing a fish dressed like a superhero.

On this date in 1863, President Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address.

• Most of the people in attendance missed the message of his speech, they were all so busy trying to figure exactly how much "four score and seven years ago" actually was.
• Of course, that was back in the days before he had to include the zip code.

In 1895, the pencil was invented.

• Don't know what lead to the invention, but my guess would be lead.
• Their slogan: "Write on, write on!"
• Up until that time, the teacher could only say, "Get out your number 2" and it wasn't pretty.

On this date in 1954, New Jersey opened up their first toll-booth. Probably the only upside of the whole thing was the invention of toll-house cookies.

Just to remind you where we've been, on this date in 1982, the Federal Reserve Board cut its discount rate from 9.5 percent to 9 percent to help a sluggish U.S. economy.

Olympic gymnast Kerri Strugg turns 38. Good to see her settle down. Now you don't see her swinging around bars all the time.

Country singer Billy Currington turns 42. His voice is so low, he can hit notes only gophers can hear.

Jodie Foster turns 53 today, but can act any age. Yeah, she's good... Her career highlight has to be "Silence of the Lambs."

• And you can still hear the lambs screaming.
• Most critics agree, there's mutton better. Well, at least the ones who like puns.
• Hopefully, she can hear everyone singing "Happy birthday" over the screaming of the lambs.

Meg Ryan one-ups her. She turns 54 today and I'll have what she's having.

Designer Calvin Klein turns 73. He was genetically destined to be rich: it was all in his jeans.

Media mogul Ted Turner -- sailor, cable TV guru, Jane Fonda's ex -- turns 77 today. He's got an ego bigger than Mount Everest.

The Great American Smokeout -- Are you thinking about quitting smoking but not sure you're ready to take the plunge? This is the day for you. It's an opportunity to join with literally millions of other smokers in saying "no thanks" to cigarettes for 24 hours.

Have a Bad Day Day -- You know you're having a bad day when...

• You've been at work for 4 hours before you notice that your fly is open.
• Your twin sister forgets your birthday.
• You call the suicide hotline and they put you on hold.
• Your income tax refund check bounces.
• It costs more to fill up your car with gas than it did to buy it.
• The bird singing outside your window is a vulture.
• Your blind date is your ex-husband/ex-wife.
• You put both contacts in one eye.
• You have to borrow from your Visa to pay your Mastercard.
• Nothing you own is actually paid for.
• You invite the peeping tom in and he says no.
• The gypsy fortune teller offers you a refund when she sees your future.
• People think your 40 and your only 25.
• You open your briefcase for the big meeting and find nothing in it but your 5-year-old's coloring papers.
• You look into the car you just locked and notice the keys hanging from the ignition.
• Your secretary tells you that a film crew from some show named "60 Minutes" is waiting in your office.

World Toilet Day -- Forget what your parents told you. The chances of catching a disease from a public restroom toilet are far lower than most people think. Kitchen sinks are crawling with more germs than the average toilet seat, according to a recent University of Arizona study. What's more, most germs in public bathrooms are not dangerous. Interestingly, the ladies' room has 50 percent more germs than the men's facility. The reason: sanitary-napkin disposal receptacles and diaper-changing tables.