1953: Everyone Watched Lucy Give Birth
During the 1950’s, TV networks refrained from every mentioning that a woman was “pregnant” and instead used phrases like “with child” or “expecting.” During the second season of I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball was “with child” in real life and the pregnancy was incorporated into the show’s storyline. Jess Oppenheimer, a writer for the show has said in his memoir that the initial idea was to match the sex of the Ricardo baby to be the same as Arnaz baby. However, it was impossible to predict back then and the idea was scrapped. The episode titled “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” aired on this day in 1953 which coincided with Ball’s real-life delivery of her baby. An astounding 71.7% of the population were glued to their TV screens making the episode one of the most watched shows ever presented on TV. That same day, Desi Jr. was born and Desi called Oppenheimer and said, “Lucy followed your script. Ain’t she something?”, to which Oppenheimer replied “Terrific! That makes me the greatest writer in the world!”
1940: Three Stooges Spoof Hitler
The Three Stooges’ 44th short film was probably the trio’s most controversial. Starring Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard, You Natzy Spy! was the first Hollywood film to spoof Hitler and satirize the Nazis and the Third Reich. At the time, the United States were pretty neutral about World War II, and the Hays code discouraged Hollywood from making films with political or satirical messages in them. They felt that prominent people of other countries should be portrayed fairly, but since this was a short, it didn’t ruffle too many feathers the way a feature film would have. While it was the first anti-Hitler movie, it wasn’t the last. Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator was released on October 15, 1940 and Walt Disney’s Der Fuehrer’s Face with Donald Duck was released on January 1, 1943. (Image: Wikimedia)
1934: Men’s First Briefs
It’s kind of crazy to think that the very first pair of men’s briefs were sold on this day in 1934. It is recorded that the Marshall Field’s store in downtown Chicago made the first sale of Arthur Knibeler-designed briefs, during a snowstorm no less. Knibeler was known as an “apparel engineer” who worked for Coopers Inc., a company who had been selling undergarments since 1900, but was close to bankrupt before this first sale. The first briefs cut off the long legs and created an overlapping, Y-shaped fly and were called, the Jockey. Using the same technology as the jockstrap (but with decidely much less fabric), the Jockey offered the same type of support system. By the end of March, over 30,000 pairs of Jockeys had been sold. In 1971, Coopers changed its name to Jockey Menswear, Inc. (Image: Wikimedia)
2020: The First Case of Coronavirus
COVID-19 first reared its ugly head in the United States on this day in 2020. After returning from a trip to Wuhan, China visiting family, a Snohomish County man went to an urgent care clinic with symptoms that were leaning toward pneumonia. He was then sent to Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington to be treated. Two days later, the CDC announced that his case was the first evidence of the coronavirus, and a team was sent to the state to help tracing the disease.
Birthdays
- 1809: Edgar Allen Poe (writer)
- 1923: Jean Stapleton (actress)
- 1930: Tippi Hedren (actress)
- 1939: Phil Everly (singer)
- 1943: Janis Joplin (singer)
- 1944: Shelley Fabares (actress)
- 1946: Dolly Parton (singer)
- 1947: Paula Deen (TV chef)
- 1949: Robert Palmer (singer)
- 1953: Desi Arnaz, Jr. (actor)
- 1954: Katey Sagal (actress)
- 1956: Carman (singer)
- 1958: Thomas Kinkade (artist)
- 1982: Jodie Sweetin (actress)
- 1992: Shawn Johnson (gymnast)
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