Taylor Hicks . . . and other guilty pleasures

February 9

Posted by chill

1950 U.S.A. Post Card Rates Go Up to 2 cents

February 9th: A majority has been reached among the members of the United States House of Representatives regarding the hike in postal rates. As a result of a voice vote made on this day, a bill was passed which had raised the rate of postal card rates from one to two cents. Regular letter rates would stay at three cents.

**********

1961 U.S.A. Medicare Program

February 9th: President Kennedy asked Congress to approve a health insurance program ( The Medicare Program ) for 14.2 million Americans 65 or older, financed by an increase in Social Security taxes.

**********

1964 U.S.A. The Beatles

February 9th: For the first time ever, the popular music group the Beatles had appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Shortly afterwards, they played their first American concert at the Coliseum.

The Beatles had come a long way-literally. They originated from London, England, and were told that they “could not carry a tune across the Atlantic”. In the early days they were thought of to be no more than a fad. That, of course, was proven wrong many times over.

**********

1981 U.S.A. Bill Haley

February 9th: Bill Haley dies at age 56. He brought the existing genre of rock and roll into the spotlight with his chart-topping single “Rock Around the Clock,” in 1955.

**********

1996 U.S.A. Kasparov

February 9th: The legendary Russian Chess Grandmaster Kasparov loses his first chess game ever to IBM’s chess computer Deep Blue. He did go on to gain three wins and two draws and easily wins the match.

**********

2012 U.S.A. Taylor Hicks

February 9th: Taylor Hicks will take time out of his busy schedule to host a live chat with his fans. And, boy, do we have questions to ask! When is the new CD going to drop? When will the new tour start? In which city? Is Evansville, Indiana, one of the stops on the list? Patriots or Giants? Will you be performing on Idol this year? Any movie roles, TV shows or Broadway in his future? And the never-before asked question: Boxers or briefs? On a side note, we’re hoping he will, again, consume a small quantity of beer to add an extra lively dimension to the chat.