Question: One of the most popular characters in the Alice in Wonderland is the Mad Hatter. Where does the idea of a Mad Hatter originate?

Yesterday’s Quiz Answered below: Presidential candidate John McCain claims his experience in the military makes him a better choice for president. We know about former generals Eisenhower & Grant, but which of these military heroes also wanted to be president, but failed? a) Gen. Douglas MacArthur, b) Admiral Dewey, c) Gen. Winfield Scott, d) General Custer?
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History for 9/10/2008
Birthdays: Fae Wray, Yma Sumac ( Star of Brazilian jazz and crossword puzzles- real name Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo, from Ichocán, Peru. Descendent of Inca royalty), Ian Fleming, Raymond Scott (composer of songs Carl Stalling loved to score into Bugs Bunny cartoons) , Margaret Trudeau, Amy Irving, Arnold Palmer, Charles Kuralt, Jose Feliciano, Karl Lagerfield, Steven Jay Gould, Chris Columbus, Colin Firth is 48

1171- Salladin, the Vezir of Egypt, changed the religious practice of Egypt from Shiite back to Sunni Moslem. For this act, the Caliph in Bagdhad made the Kurd a Sultan, and he took up the war begun by Zenghi and Nur-Al-Din against the Christian Crusaders holding the Holy places in Jerusalem.

1224-The first Franciscan monks land in England. The are promptly arrested and sent to London in chains.

1526- The Turkish army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent entered the Hungarian capitol of Budapest.

1608- Captain John Smith elected leader of the Jamestown Colony. This advances the common adventurer over the heads of several gentlemen like President Wingfield and Captain’s Martin and Newport. But since they first landed in April the rigors of the Virginia wilderness proved that Smith knew best how to run the colony.

1813- Commodore Oliver Perry defeats a British naval flotilla on Lake Erie. This battle and New Orleans prevented the War of 1812 from being a complete botchup by the U.S. considering we had our capitol burned and all our invasions of Canada defeated. Perry's victory message:" We have met the enemy, and he is ours." Commodore Perry shouldn't be confused with Capt. Robert Peary, the Polar explorer.

1846- Elias Howe patented the sewing machine.

1894- London taxi driver George Smith is the first man ever fined for drunk driving an automobile.

1907-The first Neiman Marcus dept. store opens in Dallas.

1940- During the Battle of Britain, Nazi bombs hit Buckingham Palace, just missing the Royal Family. The Queen later Queen-Mum said:"At last now I can look the East-enders in the face." RAF ace Sgt. Ginger Lacey volunteered to go up and get the bomber who did the bombing. In a London fog his Hurricane fighter caught up to the offending German Heinkell –111 bomber and shot it down., But his own plane was so shot up in the battle he had to bail out. His parachute caught in a tree and as Sgt, Lacey looked down he saw an old Englishman in a Home Guard helmet training a shotgun at him. He obviously thought he was a German. Lacey explained he wasn’t a Jerry but the old duffer remained unconvinced. He was preparing to fire when finally let loose a torrent of Anglo-Saxon invective "YOU STUPID GIT, YOU G*DDAM F**KING OLD WANKER! WAIT TILL I GET MY BLOODY ID CARD OUT, etc. The Old man then lowered his weapon with relief:" "Ere. He said:" Anyone who can swear like that can’t be a German.."

1953 - Swanson Foods sells it's first "TV dinner"

1955- the t.v. series 'Gunsmoke' premiered.

1963- The First New York Film Festival opened with Luis Bunuel’s The Exterminating Angel, and Woody Allen was probably there.

1966- H& B's Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossible's debut.

1968- Hanna Barbera's Space Ghost and Dino Boy' debut.

1977- The last execution in France by guillotine. Hamidas Djandoubi a Tunisian immigrant and convicted murderer.

1978- The Communist Premier of Bulgaria, Tobor Zhivkov, asked the Soviet KGB to do something about dissident Georgyi Markov who was making embarrassing broadcasts to Bulgaria on London's Radio Free Europe. After a broadcast Markov left the BBC offices and strolled across Waterloo Bridge. A man bumped into him and poked him in the shin with his umbrella tip. He excused himself and moved on. Markov grew sick and died within 24 hours on this day. A tiny pellet smaller than a pinhead carrying poison was injected into Markov by a hypodermic needle concealed in the umbrella tip.

1981- Picasso's painting Guernica is at last returned to Spain.

1993- The TV series The X Files premiered. The truth is out there.
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Yesterday’s Quiz: Presidential candidate John McCain claims his experience in the military makes him a better choice for president. We know about former generals Eisenhower & Grant, but which of these military heroes also wanted to be president, but failed? a) Gen. Douglas MacArthur, b) Admiral Dewey, c) Gen. Winfield Scott, d) General Custer?

Answer: All of them. Custer told his Crow scouts that after he smote the Sioux, he planned to go East and become the next Great White Father; When MacArthur lost the nomination to Eisenhower, McArthur said Ike was “ The best damn orderly I ever had.” Admiral Dewey was indignant he even had to campaign.