…marking the birthday of General Tom Thumb on this day in 1838. General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton (January 4, 1838 – July 15, 1883), a dwarf who achieved great fame under circus pioneer P.T. Barnum. Born in Bridgeport to parents who were of medium height, Charles was a relatively large baby, weighing 9 pounds 8 ounces. His parents became concerned when, after his first birthday, they noticed he had not grown at all in the previous six months. They showed him to their doctor, who said there was little chance Charles would ever grow to, or reach normal height. By late 1842, Stratton had not grown an inch in height or put on a pound in weight from when he was six months old. Apart from this, he was a totally normal, healthy child, with several siblings who were of average size.
It is also National Spaghetti Day.
History 101: January 4th, 1493: Christopher Columbus returned to Europe from what he thought was India with six native Americans that he called "Indians."
Music History 101: January 4th, 1954: a truck driver paid Sun Records $4.00 to record two songs for his mother: "My Happiness" and "That’s When Your Heartaches Begin." The session took ten minutes. The truck driver’s name was Elvis – Elvis Presley.
The 101 number one song of the day was the most successful cover version of a Lennon/McCartney song of the rock era and the second number one song inspired by Julian Lennon. The first of course was “Hey Jude” which Paul wrote to bolster Julian’s sagging spirits regarding the breakup of his parents’ marriage and the presence of Yoko Ono on the scene. The song you’re about to hear was the result of a picture he’d painted in school which contained stars and the depiction of a girl who was in his class. It was far more innocent than what many people assumed. Because of the initials of the title, observers thought it was a reference to LSD, which John adamantly denied. The little girl’s name was Lucy and the person who took it to number one on January 4, 1975 was Elton John – “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
101 Gold Nugget of Knowledge: A guy who owns an animal rehabilitation sanctuary in Florida says he will live inside a lion’s den for the next 30 days…to raise money for his sanctuary. James Jablon climbed into the lion enclosure with two lions over the weekend, and said he’ll sleep on a pile of hay inside for 30 days…hoping to raise money to keep his center open.
-Apparently the trick is…the lions just went on a New Year’s diet.
Well – it turns out you’re not to only one hurt by the housing bubble. According to the on-line real estate marketplace Zillow – the White House lost four-million dollars in value last month alone. According to their study, the 132-room executive mansion lost a quarter of its value in the last three years. They say the White House has a current market value of $253-million dollars.
- you know the country’s in trouble…when they foreclose on the White House.
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