Nitpick: That’s “Merriam-Webster”.
For play: In 1735,John Peter Zenger won a libel case that helped establish the concept of freedom of the press in what became the United States. The plaintiff was William Cosby, the British royal governor of New York.
Future President John Adams was born in 1735.
Denver International Airport is built on 53 sq. mi. land given (not sold) by Adams County to the City and County of Denver.
The United States government owns between 85% and 92% (depending on the source) of the land in the state of Nevada.
The southern end of Nevada, including Clark County and Las Vegas, was not originally part of the state, but was transferred by Congress from the Arizona Territory, not just to give it access to the Colorado River but perhaps partly in retribution for Arizona’s having supported the Confederacy.
Goldie Hawn’s first role was in the sitcom Good Morning, World as Sandy Kramer, girlfriend of DJ Larry Clarke. The show ran for just one season; while it was still being aired, she got her big break on Laugh-In, so she appeared on two different shows on two different networks at the same time.
Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep played feuding spouses in the divorce drama Kramer v. Kramer.
Kenny Kramer hadn’t given Larry David permission to use his last name when the pilot was shot, so Seinfeld originally called his neighbor “Kessler.” It was later retcommed that the name on Kramer’s mailbox was Kessler.
Jerry also initially calls Kramer “Kessler” at the very end in the backwards episode (in which the Seinfeld gang goes to India for a wedding), and Kramer corrects him.
Kessler Whiskey became known for its “Smooth as Silk” advertising slogan. The brand was started by Joseph Kessler in Colorado during the 1870’s, and acquired by Seagram’s in 1935 to serve as a cut-rate alternative to Crown Royal.
Flagship carrier Thai Airway’s slogan is “Smooth as Silk.”
New York’s Upper East Side was once nicknamed “The Silk Stocking District” because of its affluence. It is the site of the bulk of the city’s best-known museums, including the Metropolitan, Guggenheim, Frick, Whitney, and Cooper-Hewitt.
Paul Shaffer and Whitney Houston once hosted Friday Night Videos together c. 1986 or or; I still remember Shaffer practically being tongue-tied by how beautiful and charming she was.
The first word transmitted from the surface of the moon was “Houston”.
The musical Anything Goes was originally planned to be about an ocean liner that was to run aground at sea. After the Morro Castle disaster, the subject was considered in bad taste. It was rewritten to a plain voyage where the comedy team of William Gaxton and Victor Moore played Billy Crocker, a charming rogue, and Moon Martin, public enemy #13. Ethel Merman portrayed Reno Sweeny, a former evangelist turned nightclub singer. The score, by Cole Porter, included the classic title song and “I Get a Kick Out of You.”
The revival in 1962 – starring Hal Holbrook – added several other popular Cole Porter songs; these have generally been included as part of the score since then.
Hal Holbrook played “Deep Throat” in “All the President’s Men”.
Hal Holbrook’s character in Wall Street was, director Oliver Stone later said, strongly based on Stone’s own father, a decent and honest stockbroker who often found himself reining in young hotshots who wanted to go for the big money by bending and even breaking the rules.
Wall Street was named because, during the 18th century, there was literally a wall there.
George Washington was sworn into his first term of office on April 30, 1789 at Federal Hall, on Wall Street. The building was torn down in 1812; another building now occupies the space, but a statue of Washington and a plaque mark the spot. The statue briefly appeared in the 1976 remake of King Kong.
[del]Music producer Phil Spector created the “Wall of Sound” formula in the Sixties when at Gold Star Studios in LA, using extensive orchestration, multiple instruments playing the same part, and echo chambers, creating a depth that worked well on AM radio. Wall of Sound songs included the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby”, The Crystals’ “Da Doo Ron Ron”, and much of the Beatles’ album Let It Be, although many other producers “borrowed” it.[/del]
Federal Hall was designed by architect Pierre L’Enfant, so impressing George Washington that he selected him to design the new capital city (on land that conveniently had to be purchased from Washington and his partners in the Patowmack Company).