Gene Autry

Gene Autry gained fame as a singing cowboy on the radio, in movies, and on television for more than three decades beginning in the early 1930s. Autry was also owner of the Los Angeles/California/Anaheim Angels Major League Baseball team from 1961 to 1997. From 1934 to 1953, Autry appeared in 93 films and 91 episodes of The Gene Autry Show television series. He is the only person to be awarded stars in all five categories on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for film, television, music, radio, and live performance. The town of Gene Autry, Oklahoma was named in his honor.

USS Enterprise

The USS Enterprise (often referred to as the "Starship Enterprise") is a fictional spacecraft from Star Trek, depicted in four network television series and six feature films. The original show (1966-1969) features a voice-over by Enterprise captain, James T. Kirk (William Shatner), which describes the mission of Enterprise as "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before"

The Addams Family

The Addams Family is a fictional household created by cartoonist Charles Addams. The Addams Family characters have traditionally included Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley and Thing. They originally appeared as an unrelated group of 150 single-panel cartoons, about half of which were published in The New Yorker magazine starting in 1938. They have since been adapted to other media, including a television series, films, video games and a musical.

The Black Eye

Bilateral periorbital hematoma is simply a black eye or a shiner. The so-called black eye is caused by bleeding beneath the skin and around the eye. Technically speaking, a black eye is a bruise or discoloration caused by broken blood vessels under the surface of the skin. Although the name "black eye" would indicate otherwise, the eye itself is usually not injured. The dramatic appearance (discoloration purple black and blue and swelling) does not necessarily indicate a serious injury, and most black eyes resolve within a week.

Papa John's Restaurant

The Papa John's restaurant franchise was founded in 1984 when "Papa" John Schnatter knocked out a broom closet in the back of his father's tavern. He sold his 1972 Camaro to purchase $1,600 worth of used pizza equipment and began selling pizzas to the tavern's customers out of the converted closet. His pizzas proved so popular that one year later he was able to move into an adjoining space. Papa John's is now the third largest take-out and delivery pizza restaurant chain in the United States.

Israeli Airline

El Al is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv in September 1948, the airline has grown to serve over more than 50 destinations. El Al offers only kosher in-flight meals and does not fly passengers on the Jewish Sabbath or religious holidays. El Al is the only commercial airline to equip its planes with missile defense systems, and is considered one of the world's most secure airlines, thanks to its stringent security procedures, both on the ground and on board its aircraft.

Archie and Edith Bunker's Chairs

Archie and Edith Bunker's chairs are on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Originally purchased by the show's set designer at a Goodwill thrift store, the originals were given to the Smithsonian (for an exhibit on American television history) in 1978. The objects are among the most visited and beloved in the collections. When the show's producer Norman Lear thought the show was ending after the eighth season, he donated the chair to the Smithsonian. When Lear discovered the show was renewed for a ninth season, he had to spend thousands of dollars to have replicas made for the next season.

Guam's Slogan

Guam is an island territory of the United States, located 900 miles north of the equator in the Western Pacific. The island is about 4 to 8 miles wide and 32 miles long, making it the largest landmass in Micronesia. Because of its western location from the International Date Line, Guam is the first to experience a new day in the United States, hence the island is “Where America’s Day Begins.” Under the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the United States on December 10, 1898. The people of Guam have been U.S. citizens since 1950.

Richard Pryor

On June 9, 1980, during the making of the film Bustin' Loose, Richard Pryor set himself on fire after freebasing cocaine and drinking 151-proof rum. While on fire, he ran down Parthenia Street from his Northridge, California home, until being subdued by police. He was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for burns covering more than half of his body. Although he survived, Pryor received third degree burns and spent six weeks in the hospital recovering.

The Appendix

While a dog’s body shares many similar body features with humans, the appendix is one exception. This is due to the fact that dogs do not have an appendix! In humans, the appendix is a narrow, tube-shaped structure that protrudes from the cecum, a pouch-like portion at the beginning of the large intestine. The term appendix comes from the Latin word “appendix” meaning appendage, an addition at the end. Although scientists have long discounted the human appendix as a vestigial organ, there is a growing body of evidence indicating that the appendix does in fact play a part of the human body’s immune system.

Magic Johnson: Late-Night Talk Show Host

The Magic Hour was a late-night talk show hosted by basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson and debuted on June 8th, 1998. Soon after its debut, the series was panned by critics citing Johnson's apparent nervousness as a host, his overly complimentary tone with his celebrity guests, and lack of chemistry with his sidekick, comedian Craig Shoemaker. The bandleader was percussionist Sheila E., of Prince collaboration fame. She was the first ever female talk show bandleader. The series was canceled after eight weeks.

Invention of the Cheeseburger

Denver, Colorado claims to be home to the world’s first cheeseburger in 1935, although two competing claims go back as far as 1926. A trademark for the name "cheeseburger" was awarded to Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in Denver, Colorado. Louis Ballast first registered the “cheeseburger” trademark on March 5, 1935. Before settling on cheese, he experimented with Hershey bars and peanut butter as burger toppings. On the northwest side of downtown Denver is a stone marker that claims to be the site of the creation of the cheeseburger.

Chef Boyardee

The man who graces cans of beefaroni, Hector Boiardi, was not only a real person, but he was a culinary talent and founder of Chef Boyardee Foods. While working in West Virginia, Boiardi directed the catering for President Woodrow Wilson’s second marriage, to Edith Galt, in 1915. Mr. Boiardi later moved to Cleveland, where he opened a restaurant. The idea for Chef Boyardee came about when his restaurant customers began asking him to sell them his spaghetti sauce. He named his product "Boyardee" to help Americans pronounce his name correctly.

Code Word "W"

The code word for W is Whisky. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assigned code words acrophonically to the letters of the English alphabet, so that critical combinations of letters can be pronounced and understood by radio or telephone regardless of language barriers or the quality of the communication channel. The 26 code words in the NATO phonetic alphabet are as follows: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, and Zulu.

Wright Brothers First Flight

The first flight was flown by Orville Wright and lasted 12 seconds. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane 20 feet above a wind-swept beach in North Carolina. The inaugural flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. Three more flights were made that day with Orville's brother Wilbur piloting the longest one which lasted 59 seconds over a distance of 852 feet. Their historic aircraft is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Sir Elton John

Sir Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947. He changed his name to "Elton John" in homage to Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry. He excelled in music from a young age, and released his first self-titled American album in 1970, making him a huge international star. In his five-decade career Elton John has sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Xanthophobia

Xanthophobia is fear of the color yellow. While, at first glance, this may seem like a foolish fear, it is real to the people impacted by this phobia. Xanthophobia derives from the Greek word “xantho”, meaning yellow and “phobos” which means fear. The common cause of this phobia is traumatic experiences involving the color yellow, like getting stung by a bee or perhaps getting hit by a yellow car. Sufferers would not eat cheese, mustard, bananas, lemons, or anything that is yellow.

Summer Olympics Boycott

The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan spurred Jimmy Carter to issue an ultimatum on January 20, 1980 that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics if Soviet troops did not withdraw from Afghanistan within one month. Sixty-five countries did not participate in the Olympics despite being invited. The Soviet Union would later boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Samsung Galaxy

Samsung Galaxy is a series of computing devices designed, manufactured and marketed by Samsung Electronics. The product line includes the Galaxy S series of high-end smartphones, the Galaxy Tab series of tablets, the Galaxy Note series of tablets and phablets, and the Galaxy Gear smartwatch. Samsung earlier this week announced a worldwide recall on its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after the phone caught fire in several incidents due to battery issues. Samsung's expected losses from the Galaxy Note 7 catastrophe have soared above $5 billion.

The Great Lakes

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. The other four Great Lakes are shared by the U.S. and Canada. Lake Michigan is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third-largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. The Great Lakes form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, containing 21% of the world's surface fresh water by volume.

Leif Erickson

Leif Erikson was an Icelandic explorer and is generally believed to be the first European to reach North America, some 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Leif Eriksson was the son of Erik the Red, founder of the first European settlement on what is now called Greenland. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation that declared October 9 to be Leif Eriksson Day in honor of the Viking explorer, his crew and the country’s Nordic-American heritage.

Reggie Jackson

Reggie Jackson is a former Major League Baseball player who spent 21 seasons in the majors, most notably with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Jackson was nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason. Jackson hit 563 career home runs and was an American League All-Star for 14 seasons. "Mr. October" hit five home runs (including three in Game 6) in the 1977 World Series in one of the greatest postseasons of all-time. He won two Silver Slugger Awards, the AL MVP Award in 1973, and two World Series MVP Awards.

USS Cole

Nearly one year before the attacks of 9/11, the USS Cole, located off the coast of Yemen, was attacked by terrorists. On October 12, 2000, while refueling at a port in Aden, Yemen, the U.S. Navy destroyer Cole was attacked by a two suicide bombers navigating a small motorboat full of explosives. Seventeen sailors were killed and 39 were injured in the blast. The attack was later attributed to a cell within the al-Qaeda network, and had been supervised by Osama bin Laden.

Cast of Saturday Night Live

Sarah Sliverman, Robert Downey Jr., and Julia Louis-Dreyfus were all cast members fired from the late-night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. Contrary to popular belief, Steve Martin was never a cast member on the show. The misconception stems from the fact that he has hosted the show 15 times, in addition to doing occasional surprise appearances. Steve Martin is the only person to host a season premiere, a season finale, and a Christmas show and is the only person to host the show three times in a single season.