Interesting tidbits: 1885 – First serving of the soft drink Dr Pepper at a drug store in Waco, Texas. The U.S. Patent Office recognizes December 1, 1885, as the first time Dr Pepper was served. It was introduced nationally in the United States at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition as a new kind of soda pop, made with 23 flavors. Its introduction in 1885 preceded the introduction of Coca-Cola by one year. It was formulated by Brooklyn-born pharmacist Charles Alderton in Morrisons Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas. To test his new drink, he first offered it to store owner Wade Morrison, who also found it to his liking. Patrons at Morrisons soda fountain soon learned of Aldertons new drink and began ordering a Waco. Alderton gave the formula to Morrison, who named it Dr Pepper. 1913 – The Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line. 1919 – Lady Astor became the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. She had been elected to that position on November 28. By far the most famous quotations attributed to Lady Astor are taken from alleged exchanges between her and Winston Churchill, though these are not well documented and may be inaccurate. Examples include an instance in which Churchill is supposed to have told Lady Astor that having a woman in Parliament was like having one intrude on him in the bathroom, to which she retorted, You’re not handsome enough to have such fears. Lady Astor is also said to have responded to a question from Churchill about what disguise he should wear to a masquerade ball by saying, Why dont you come sober, Prime Minister? Possibly the most famous of all such anecdotes reports that Lady Astor said to Churchill, If you were my husband, Id poison your tea, to which he responded, Madam, if you were my wife, Id drink it! Todays birthday crew: 1761 – Marie Tussaud, French sculptor, founded Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. 1886 – Rex Stout, American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as that Falstaff of detectives. The Nero Wolfe stories are narrated by Wolfes assistant Archie Goodwin, who is presented as having recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 (Fer-de-Lance) to 1975 (A Family Affair). In 1959 Stout received the Mystery Writers of Americas Grand Master Award. The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon 2000, the worlds largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century. 1928 – Malachi Throne, American actor noted for his guest-starring roles on Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lost in Space, Land of the Giants, The Time Tunnel, Mission: Impossible, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Wild Wild West, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Batman, Babylon 5, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Throne provided the voice of the Keeper in the Star Treks first pilot episode, The Cage, which was not telecast in its original form until 1988, though most of the episode was included within the two-part episode The Menagerie when was broadcast in 1966. Throne was hired to play another role in The Menagerie, which was technically a dual role: a commodore in Starfleet named José I. Mendez, the officer in charge of the starbase where the story begins, and a replica of him created by Talosian illusion, who presides at Spocks court martial. As his voice was recognizably the same as that of the Keeper, the Keepers voice was electronically altered in pitch. Earlier in The Outer Limits TV series he acted in the episode Cold Hands, Warm Heart along with William Shatner, who starred in it. On Star Trek: The Next Generation, Throne played Pardek, a Romulan senator, in the two-part episode Unification. In 2004, he appeared in the second episode of the New Voyages, entitled In Harms Way. 1942 – John Crowley, American author of fantasy, science fiction, and mainstream fiction. He studied at Indiana University and has a second career as a documentary film writer. He is best known as the author of Little, Big (1981), which received the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and has been called a neglected masterpiece by Harold Bloom and his Ægypt series of novels which revolve around the same themes of Hermeticism, memory, families and religion. 1964 – Jo Walton, Welsh-Canadian science fiction and fantasy author. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2002 and the World Fantasy award for her novel Tooth and Claw in 2004. Her novel Hapenny was a co-winner of the 2008 Prometheus Award. Her novel Lifelode won the 2010 Mythopoeic Award. Her novel Among Others won the 2011 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and is one of only seven novels to have been nominated for the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, and World Fantasy Award. 1975 – Matt Fraction, American author, is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of The Invincible Iron Man, The Immortal Iron Fist, Uncanny X-Men, and Hawkeye for Marvel Comics and Casanova for Image Comics. Happy birthday guys!
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 11:41:39 +0000
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