This Day in History

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On December 20, 1946, the Frank Capra film It's A Wonderful Life had a preview showing for charity at New York City's Globe Theater, a day before its official premiere.

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Carl Switzer, who was best known for his role as Alfalfa in The Little Rascals had a small role in the film. He played the character Freddie, who took Bailey’s future wife, Mary Hatch, to a school dance. During this scene, the dance floor opens to reveal a swimming pool, Bailey and Mary fall in and a lot of the other revelers jump in the water too. Switzer, unable to overcome typecasting after playing Alfalfa, only played in a few minor roles in his career, and was killed in an argument about money in 1959 at age 31.

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December 21st commemorates the birth of a challenging word game enjoyed by millions around the world. On December 21, 1913, the first crossword puzzle was published in the New York World newspaper.

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There is growing evidence to suggest that tackling crossword puzzles can help give your brain a workout. According to a 2014 study published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, crossword puzzles can help keep the memory sharp. More specifically, it was shown that completing crossword puzzles may delay memory loss in patients with dementia by over 2.5 years. The game may also help preserve cognitive function that can last as long as ten years

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On this day in 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, Nazi Germany demanded that American troops surrender at Bastogne, Belgium. Brigadier Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe responded with the amusing reply: "Nuts!"

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On December 22nd, 1944 German troops caught 14,000 American soldiers and approximately 3,000 civilians by surrounding the town of Bastogne, Belgium. The Nazis sent a message to Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, explaining that the town had been enclosed by German units and gave him two hours to surrender. Upon hearing the demand, McAuliffe responded, "Nuts!" This amused some of his staffers, who persuaded him to put that little interjection in his formal reply. Here’s McAuliffe’s actual written response to General Lüttwitz:

“December 22, 1944

To the German Commander,

N U T S!

Signed,

The American Commander"

The isolated Americans in Bastogne held off the German siege until General Patton forced his way into the city with reinforcements on December 26.

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On December 23, 1888, Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear. Van Gogh's life had been marked by irrational and unexpected behavior, but these episodes did not stop him from creating some of the world's most famous paintings.

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Some historians believe he sliced off his ear after a quarrel he had with his friend and fellow painter, Paul Gauguin. Others have theorized that the act was in reaction to news that his younger brother Theo was getting married. Other rumors say that he cut it off as a gift for a prostitute or that it was a present for a farmer’s daughter who worked in a brothel as a maid. Whatever the reason was, it was likely done in a moment when his mental illness overcame him.

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On December 20, 1946, the Frank Capra film It's A Wonderful Life had a preview showing for charity at New York City's Globe Theater, a day before its official premiere.

85C5C8EE-E489-4AA1-A114-A549CB50FB84.jpg

Carl Switzer, who was best known for his role as Alfalfa in The Little Rascals had a small role in the film. He played the character Freddie, who took Bailey’s future wife, Mary Hatch, to a school dance. During this scene, the dance floor opens to reveal a swimming pool, Bailey and Mary fall in and a lot of the other revelers jump in the water too. Switzer, unable to overcome typecasting after playing Alfalfa, only played in a few minor roles in his career, and was killed in an argument about money in 1959 at age 31.

Intersestingly This was Jimmy Stewart’s first role after returning from WW II where he was a bomber squadron commander. He made many missions and was responsible for every one and plane under his command. His last mission left the bottom of his bomber shot out, it limped back to England with him watching German Anti-Artillery guns shooting up at him. The temperature was well below freezing at altitude.
‘In the movies climax, George Bailey was at his ends rope, prepared to commit suicide for the insurance money to save his Father’s business and his family’s financial future. He knelt on a bridge , with snow coming down and prayed, “Lord, I’m not a praying man, but....”. The scene did not call for tears, but they welled up in just 32 year old Jimmy Stewart. All the men he lost. The pain of war came crashing in.

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He was suffering with PTSD before it became recognized as a war related disorder.

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Today is Christmas Eve, and many people will be watching Christmas movies in anticipation of the big day

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Jim Carrey brought Dr Seuss’ story of the Grinch who stole Christmas to life with his appearance in the 2003 movie of the same name. But the Ace Ventura star wasn’t always first choice to play the grumpy green monster. Jack Nicholson and Eddie Murphy were both considered for the role of the Grinch before Carrey got the part. The film nearly never got made at all though. Before his death in 1991, Dr Seuss refused to sell the rights to the movie. However, his widow Audrey Geisel had always seen the potential of a live-action version of the story and auctioned off the rights in 1998.

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December 25 is Christmas Day, and it has been celebrated since the year 336 A.D. when the Roman Emperor Constantine held the first celebration.

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Prince Albert introduced the Christmas tree to his wife, Queen Victoria of England, because decorated trees had been a tradition in his homeland of Germany as far back as medieval times. A drawing of the couple in front of a Christmas tree appeared in Illustrated London News in 1848 and as we say, the idea went viral.

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On December 26, 1973, The Exorcist, based on the book by William Peter Blatty, opened in theaters across the country. The film has been out for 47 years now, but there are still some chilling details that even the biggest horror buffs might not know

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The sight of Regan's projectile vomiting on Father Karras is one of the most powerful scenes in The Exorcist, and one of the most disgusting. It is well known that the substance used to create the scene was pea soup. But not just any pea soup was used. Campbell’s soup was tried first, but the crew apparently preferred the look of Andersen’s pea soup with some oatmeal mixed in, to create the right texture. Watching this sight made some audience members so nauseous that some theaters included barf bags with the ticket.

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On December 27, 1904, the play Peter Pan, by James Barrie, opened at the Duke of York’s Theater in London.

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Didn't you ever wish you could fly? It turns out that after discovering that Peter and his Lost Boys could fly, there were a number of incidents where children injured themselves after trying to "take off" from their beds at home. To prevent such injuries, Barrie introduced fairy dust into the play, as a necessary factor for flying. Once children believed they couldn’t fly without the addition of the magic fairy dust, they stopped taking flying leaps from their beds in an attempt to go airborne.

Apparently, my 10 year old (at the time) died the read about the fairy dust because he jumped out of a second story window, but luckily had his fall broken by the shrubbery below the window.