ON THIS DAY

On this date in 1840, the first adhesive postage stamps were issued. Until that time, you had to nail them to the letters. It was quite dangerous.

In 1860, the first school for the deaf opened, after many, many difficult challenges. At first, people wouldn't hear of it.

On this date in 1873, America's first postcard with stamp printed on it issued, aka penny postcards, were issued in the United States... which was great, but if you didn't know anyone named Penny, they were pretty useless.

In 1941, Cherrios were introduced by General Mills and the first box went on sale.
  • Up until that time, the slogan "Give yourself go" belonged to prune juice. 
  • It was a much bigger hit than their previous version, Mildly Happy O's. 
  • They replaced another cereal, "Mildly depressed O's." 
  • I still don't know what makes them so cheery. 

On this date in 1952, the very first Mr. Potato Head went on sale.
  • I understand that he's still quite a spud, although his eyes are going bad. 
  • With the slogan "This spud's for you!" 
  • Imagine -- a toy that you put together yourself -- decades before the first IKEA. 
  • Who knew he'd grow up to sound like the late Don Rickles? 

In 1961, Fidel Castro announced there would be no more elections in Cuba. If you're looking at the positive spin, think about it: no campaign ads, no debates, etc.

On this date in 1972, "The Tonight Show" moved from New York City to Burbank, California. That was one of the two demands by host Johnny Carson. The other was for better health coverage other than an annual exam by Doc Severinsen.




TODAY IS

It's May 1st. Bring on the May flowers. May Day! May Day! A day that rhymes with Pay Day!

Tim McGraw, hits the big 5-0 today! He still has his looks and his Faith. He's married to Faith Hill. No presents necessary.

Ray Parker, Jr. -- who gave us Ghostbusters -- turns 63 today.
  • Ghostbustin' no longer makes him feel so good. 
  • He's a whole lot closer to Ghosts than Busting. 
  • Who you gonna call? Uh, huh... I forgot! 

Singer Judy Collins ("Both Sides Now") turns 78 today. She was the inspiration for "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" by Crosby, Stills and Nash. The sad part is that, if you're old enough to know who those people are, you're old enough to forget them.



MY OTHER THOUGHTS FOR TODAY

An Apple self-driving car was seen driving down the road for the first time. You know how they knew it was an Apple car? No Windows.

The head of Uber's self-driving car effort has stepped down. Well, actually, at Uber, they don't fire you -- they send a self-driving car for you.

In the NFL draft, the Houston Texans announced some of their picks from outer space, using astronauts aboard the International Space Station. However, the astronauts were still not as far out as Marshawn Lynch.

I don't know if you heard, but on one of United's flights, a rabbit died. I wonder who's pregnant?

A woman gave birth to a baby while visiting a zoo in Nebraska. Ironically, the giraffes were watching her!

Harry Styles has announced he's embarking on a world tour. Have you noticed that people don't embark as much as they use to?

Kim Kardashian is now on a Mexican vacation. I repeat my often-asked question: "Vacation from what?"

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