The Daily Dose/February 22, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Leading Off is taking some time off.

Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow and The Wife enjoy a day off together, going into town to see a movie, do some grocery shopping, to include filling up their new seven-gallon water containers, and going to dinner at the 50’s-style diner.

We also have eight one-gallon bottles somewhere around here, too, so that’s 22 gallons total, not too bad I suppose, should society completely break down…We do not, however, have satisfactory stores of food should society completely break down, tho The Wife is talking about addressing this, too.

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On This Date
In 1878 – The first Woolworth’s store opens in Utica, New York, its first sale a fire shovel for five cents – about $1.32 in today’s money…This store actually failed and Frank Woolworth would open a successful store the following year in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Woolworth’s, as pioneering then as Walmart is today, would close its final stores in 1997, though the company continues as Foot Locker.

In 1959 – Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500. The finish between Petty, Johnny Beauchamp and Joe Weatherly was so close it took three days of looking at newsreel coverage to determine the winner. Lee’s son Richard finished 57th after blowing an engine on the eighth lap. It was the first race ever at Daytona Motor Speedway as previous races in Daytona had been held on a combination road and beach course. The 1959 Daytona 500 remains one of the few races in NASCAR history where there were no caution flags.

In 1960 – Percy Faith is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with Theme From A Summer Place. It was first of nine weeks at #1 for the song, which would tie the record for Most Weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 with Bobby Darrin’s Mack the Knife, a mark tied by Hey Jude by the Beatles in 1969 and broken in 1977 when Debby Boone spent ten weeks at #1 with You Light Up My Life. Theme From A Summer Place was Percy Faith’s third and final #1 song on a Billboard pop chart.

Quotebook
As I writhed under it, I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eye to the horrible pit, but no ladder upon which to get out. In moments of agony, I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity.
Frederick Douglass
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
The first woman to have a #1 song on Billboard’s country chart was Kitty Wells, who went to #1 in 1952 with It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels. 

Today’s Stumper
What were Percy Faith’s other #1 songs on the Billboard pop charts?. –Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/February 21, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Leading Off is taking some time off.

Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: It’s a slow night at the hotel, so Sparrow produces more scratch paper, and after fussing over the matter for most of the past few weeks, he decides to buy another belt, instead of punching a hole in is treasured old belt.

Made more scratch paper tonight at the hotel… 

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On This Date
In 1878 – The first telephone book is published in New Haven, Connecticut. It was actually single sheet of cardboard that listed the names, but not the numbers, of the 50 telephone subscribers in town. Numbers weren’t listed because back then nobody dialed the numbers themselves, they had the operator do it. Subscribers paid $1.50 per month for service – about $40 in today’s money – and service was only available from 6am to 2am.

In 1973 – The Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2, extending their NHL record for Consecutive Non-Shutout Games to 262, a mark that includes playoff games. The streak would end three nights later with a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The record is now held by the Los Angeles Kings, who scored in 264 consecutive regular season and playoff games from March 15, 1986 until April 4, 1989.

In 1953 – Goldie Hill is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart for the third and final week with I Let the Stars Get In My Eyes. It was what was known as an answer song to Perry Como’s Don’t Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes, which had just finished a five-week stay at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart. Both songs were either written or co-written by Slim Willet. Hill was the second woman to hit #1 on Billboard’s country chart and this was her only #1 hit.

Quotebook
If to please the people we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair. George Washington

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Four songs spent at least six weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982. Centerfold (The J. Geils Band) and Eye of the Tiger (Survivor) spent six weeks at #1 and I Love Rock and Roll (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts) and Ebony and Ivory (Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder) each spent seven weeks. Additionally, Olivia Newton-John’s Physical spent four of its ten weeks at #1 at the start of the year.

Today’s Stumper
Who was the first woman to have a #1 song in Billboard’s country chart?. –Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/February 20, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Leading Off is taking some time off.

Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow is cruising at work until some damn guests show up, and it’s The Wife’s bone soup for dinner at The Shire. Today’s Diary.

Came close, this close, very close, Tuesday morning to setting a personal best for getting Part I of my night’s work done…I was humming on all cylinders from the start: both drawers and the petty cash safe were spot on ($200 in all three) the first time and I started the audit at 2320, a full ten minutes earlier than what is usually considered a very good time to get it underway…After that I generated, saved and emailed the usual reports in short order and billing today’s departing guests and printing their folios was going smoothly until some jerk guests came and ruined everything.

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On This Date
In 1792 – The United States Postal Service is formed when President George Washington signs the Postal Service Act. The act gave Congress the authority to set up regional post offices and postal routes and replaced the old system of private and state mail carriage. Postage wasn’t cheap, ranging from six to twelve cents, about 90 cents to $1.80 in today’s dollars.

In 1970 – Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn suspends Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain indefinitely for being involved in bookmaking activities. The suspension was later reduced to three months, and McClain made his 1970 debut on July 1. In 1968 McLain had won 31 games for the Tigers, the last major league pitcher to win 30 games in a season.

In 1982 – The J. Geils Band is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the third of six consecutive weeks with Centerfold. It was the twelfth Hot 100 hit for the band, their fourth Top 40 hot, first Top 10 hit and remains their only #1 song. Centerfold also went to #1 in Canada and Australia and was Billboard’s 5th biggest song of the year.

Quotebook
If the single man plants himself indomitably on his instincts, and there abide, the huge world will come round to him.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
President Franklin Roosevelt’s executive order allowing the internment of Americans of Japanese descent was rescinded in 1976 by President Gerald Ford.

Today’s Stumper
How many other songs spent six weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982. –Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/February 19, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Leading Off is taking some time off.

Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow hides all the lined notepads at the hotel, so only his recycled scratch paper is available, and they’re passing out raises at the retailer.

We have so much Sparrow-produced scratch paper lying around the office I’ve had to take action…Recall I’ve gotten into the habit of taking paper we are going to recycle and cutting them into fourths, which is a convenient size to write stuff down on…First, I’ve moved some to the workstations up front…Second, I’ve hidden all lined, store-bought pads that had been scattered around…Well, I didn’t actually hide them, I merely put them back on the rack in the storeroom, but way in the back of the rack…We’ll see if they make a return. 

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On This Date
In 1942 – President of the United States Franklin D Roosevelt signs an executive order allowing the military to relocate Americans of Japanese descent to internment camps. They were officially known as military areas and the executive order does not specifically mention any nationality nor, really, what the military areas were to be used for. Germans, Italians and Jews were incarcerated, as well and over two-thirds of the Japanese held were American citizens.

In 2017 – The West defeats the East 192-182 in the 66th NBA All-Star Game, played in New Orleans.  Anthony Davis, of the hometown Pelicans, was named MVP of the game, scoring  55 points for the West, still the most points scored in an NBA All-Star Game.

In 1983 – Patti Austin and James Ingram are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 1oo for the first of two weeks with Baby, Come To Me. The song was the first of two #1s for Ingram and Baby, Come To Me remains Austin’s only appearance on the Hot 100. It was the second chart run for the song, having gone to #73 the previous year and recharted after gaining popularity when it was included in the TV soap opera General Hospital. The song peaked at #9 on Billboard’s soul chart.

Quotebook
Why should a man be in love with his fetters, though of gold?
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
English philosopher and statesman

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
There were four shutouts in the 1917-18 NHL season. Two were forfeits that were recorded as 1-0 games, there was one by Montreal’s Georges Vezina on February 17, 1918, and another by Clint Benedict of the Ottawa Senators on February 25.

Today’s Stumper
When was FDRs executive order allowing the internment of Japanese officially rescinded –Answer next time!

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