1980s
Central character of the 1985 movie "Desperately Seeking Susan".
MADONNA - Madonna's rise to stardom can be traced back to the 1980s, when she released her first hit singles. Nobody knew her back then, but her hits lead her to become "Queen of Pop". Her first major screen role was in the movie Desperately Seeking Susan and ended as the fifth-highest grossing film.
In the 60s, Queen Elizabeth II dedicated an acre of ground in memory of which American?
President JOHN F. KENNEDY - In 1965 Queen Elizabeth donated a symbolic acre of land to the United States of America to honour the life of John F. Kennedy following his tragic assassination. The symbolic land of the memorial's location - Runnymede - sits on the banks of the River Temes in Surrey, about 20 miles west of London.
The famous "Panama Hat" actually came from this country.
ECUADOR. Despite their name, Panama hats have never been made in Panama and originate in Ecuador, the only place in the world that has a long lasting weaving tradition. It was the construction workers who built the Panama Canal who used "Ecuadorian Hats" as protection from the harsh sun.
Miracle rescue that took place in the Amazon jungle.
RECUE OF FOUR CHILDREN - The four children, age 13, 9, 4 and 1 - were found thin but very much alive 9 days ago after a rescue operation that combed though more than 1,600 miles of dense forest. The four Indigenous children survived 40 days in the Amazon jungle after their plane crashed killing their mother, the pilot and another adult. The first lived on cassava flour, then on fruits and insects
The Guinness Book of World Records has an entry for the "fastest wing beat of a bird". Name this record -holder.
HUMMINGBIRD - The Rufous Hummingbird, 10cm in length, has an astonishing 200 beats/flaps per "second" during courtship, it has an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. Hummingbirds in general flap their wings up to 80 times per second, and they can fly 35 to 50km per hour. They are the smallest mature birds, from the bee hummingbird at 5cm and the giant hummingbird at 23cm.
Type of candy that became popular because of the movie "E.T."
HERSHEY - Steven Spielberg originally picked M&M's to feature in the film, but Mars Inc. declined because E.T. might scare kids. Hershey's jumped on the opportunity and their sales increased by 300%.
It was in November of 2022, that this American politician who served as speaker of the house of the United States of Representatives, decided to step down.
NANCY PELOSI. Nancy Pelosi an American Democrat, is the first woman elected speaker and the first woman to lead a major political party in either chamber of Congress. On November 7, her husband Paul had been attacked inside their home in San Francisco while she was at Capitol Hill in Washington.
Length of the "Great Wall of China".
21,000km - The Great Wall of China measures more than 21,000km. It took over 2000 years to construct the wall. It was built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states as protection against various nomadic groups. Several walls were built from as early as 7th century BC.
First Canadian who claimed the Canadian Open title since 1954.
NICK TAYLOR - The 35-year-old Canadian gave our country a win 69 years in the waiting at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club in North York. The last one to win the Canadian Open was in 1954 by Pat Fletcher. And.......Pat Fletcher was the first Canadian since 1914 to win. The RBC Canadian Open is regarded as the most prestigious tournament never even won by Jack Nicklaus, who was a seven-time runner-up.
It's the name of the current generation, born from 2010 t0 2024.
GENERATION ALPHA - generations today each span appr. 15 years, with the current one those born between 2010 and 2024. They are the children of the Millennials (born 1981 to 1996).
Since they have already exhausted the names Gen. X,Y and Z they decided to come up with a more predictable labelling system, using the Greek, starting with (Generation) ALPHA.
Boomers were born from 1946 to 1965)
This small gathering of dedicated activists fighting for their right to be loved and to be seen, founded this annual celebration in 1981.
PRIDE - On February 5, 1981, Metro Toronto Police raid various bathhouses, known as "Operation Soap", arresting 306 men in the largest Canadian mass arrest. A major demonstration was held at Yonge and Wellesley the next day. Lesbian and Gay Pride Day was established the same year as a reaction to the raids. Now called Pride.
Chief Operating Officer of Signature Retirement Living.
STEVE STRONG, COO joined Signature Retirement Living 11 years ago after 13 to years of experience in the senior housing industry. Prior to this he was Vice President of Operations with Chartwell Senior Housing and F&B manager at Forest Hill Place.
The two cities the original Orient Express traveled between.
PARIS and ISTANBUL - In 1883, the most luxurious train in the world left Gare de l'Est in Paris to Constantinople, Istanbul. Today, The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express has brought its legend to life. From tea-time in the lounge car to the grand luxury of the restaurant car, from the refined cuisine to the cocktail piano in the bar car.
Hollywood legend who became a father at 83.
AL PACINO - Al Pacino's 29-year old girlfriend just gave birth and both parents are ecstatic. Al and his girlfriend have been together since April of last year, but as was first reported, the pregnancy came as a total shock to Al. What's more, Al was convinced he couldn't have any more kids this late in the game due to medical issues that should've prevented the whole thing, but alas, he's a Daddio once again. (has 3 adult children)
Sports-card (trading-card) that was sold for over almost U.S.$4 million at a 2022 auction.
WAYNE GRETZKY'S - A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card made out thick paper, which contains an image of a certain person, traditionally associated with sports. It started of in 1860s as stiffeners in a pack of cigarettes to protect the contents. A British company decided to print advertising on the cards, and early 1900s it printed sports players biographies and placed them in cigarette and bubblegum packs. By 1950 trading cards became the a big collector's item.
Highest amount paid:
Mickey Mantle - U.S. $12.0
LeBron James - U.S. $ 5.2
Wayne Gretzkey - U.S.$3.8
Disaster that took place in Ukraine in 1986
CHERNOBYL - disaster, which was a nuclear and radiation accident that occurred on April 26 1986 at a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union, now Ukraine. During the immediate emergency response, 237 workers were hospitalized showing symptoms of acute radiation syndrome. 117,000 people were evacuated
Famous MOntreal-born pianist of the 20th century who played alongside the great American jazz musicians of his time.
OSCAR PETERSON. Oscar Emmanual Peterson was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time.
He played thousands of concerts worldwide in a career lasting more than 60 years. Duke Ellington called him the "Maharaja" of the keyboard.
Country with the most pyramids.
SUDAN - Sudan has the greatest number of pyramids in any country around the world. They were built as tombs for the kings and queens of the region. Sudan has between 200 to 255 known pyramids, compared with Egypt's 138. Due to the movies, we transport ourselves to Egypt where those massive, triangular toms are pretty much synonymous with this country.
Name given the the highly publicized merger that took place in the world of golf.
BOMBSHELL LIV Golf - PGA Tour merger.
The PGA is the organizer of professional golf tours in the U.S. and North America.
LIV Golf is a "Saudi-backed" professional golf tour where players are paid millions of dollars to break their PGA contract and play with them instead. It is believed that LIV, by doing this, is trying to cover up Saudi Arabia's appalling human rights record.
Fish that consumes the most amount of plastic.
ALBATROSS - Albatross feed primarily on squid or schooling fish. The cause of their mortality is consumption of mainly plastic that they mistake for food. The problem is intensified in albatross because of the way they catch fish, squid and other seafood: by skimming the surface of the water with their beak. Seabirds fly close to the surface of the ocean get caught and swollowed up by this large fish. These birds accidentally eat plastic and other marine debris floating in the ocean, mistaking it for food. Birds are found with bellies full of trash and every other type of plastic material., including cigarette lighters, toothbrushes, syringes, clothespins, etc, all of which ends up in the belly of the albatross.
It was hailed as the "Wedding of the Century"
DIANA & CHARLES - The wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. It was on July 29, 1981 that more than 3000 guests attended the couples nuptials, while a record breaking 750 million people turned in to watch the royals walk down the isle on TV.
Louis St. Laurent was what to the Canadian people?
UNCLE LOUIS - 12th Prime Minister.
Louis St. Laurent was a Canadian Lawyer, a politician and a supporter of the Liberal party of Canada, who at the age of 66, became the 12th prime minister of Canada and served from 1948 - 1957. Dubbed "Uncle Louis" for his gentle, square style, he was an icon of that defined Canadian society in the aftermath of WWII.
Part of Europe the Russell Hill Lifestyle assistant will be traveling to?
SPAIN and PORTUGAL - Next Sunday she (I) will be leaving for Barcelona, Spain where she will spend 6 days near La Sagrada Familia, the famous basilica, designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. The construction of the Sagrada Familia started in 1882, 141 years ago, and is expected to be completed in 2026. From there she (I) will travel to Lisbon, Portugal for a large family reunion and continue to Porto, world famous for its Port wine.
Both the Sagrada Familia in Spain and the historic centre of Porto in Portugal were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
What happens this coming Tuesday, June 21st.
FIRST DAY OF SUMMER, the year longest day. It represents the day when the Sun, as seen from the Earth, is furthest North. The Northern Hemisphere has been losing daylight since mid-June. The pace is insignificant at first but most of us are losing 1 - 3 minutes per day until mid- September. After that, by the second half of September, the pace of day-light loss will slow down, until around December 21.
During prohibition, this soft drink was developed as an alternative to alcohol.
Root Beer, the sweet North American soft drink, traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree. Root beer is typically , but not exclusively non-alcoholic, caffeine-free, sweet and carbonated.
The key component of sassafras is safrole, which contains carcinogenicity, which produces a high. Now artificial flavoring is being used in Root beer.