December 5 in Pop Culture History

December 5 in Pop Culture History

What better time than the start of the holiday season to celebrate National Cookie Day? The word cookie takes its origin from the Dutch word “koekie” which translates to “little cake.”  History tells us that there have been some cookies in existence the invention of baking. However, they were not sweet. It was not until the use of sugar became the rage in Persia in the 7th century that cookies took on their sweetness to become the treat we all know and love today. 

Cookies spread throughout Europe in the 14th century before making their debut in America in the 17th century. Macaroons and gingerbread were two early favorites of American cookie consumers. Over the years, bakers have experimented with many different varieties of cookies. They have been broken down into categories: Bar cookies, Drop cookies, Filled cookies, Molded cookies, No-bake cookies, Pressed cookies, Refrigerator cookies, Rolled cookies, and Sandwich cookies.

Everyone surely has a favorite!  To celebrate the day, perhaps a trip to your local bakery is ordered, or even better, spend some time with the family today breaking out Grandmas’s recipe book and baking some tried and true favorites.  

National Cookie Day began in 1987 by the Blue Chip Cookie Company, and the Sesame Street character Cookie Monster had proclaimed his very own National Cookie Day before that in 1980. It was later decided that the day to celebrate would be on December 4th. 

December 5, 1933: Twenty-First Amendment Passed

Section 1

The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2

The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3

This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

1455 (Earthquake) Naples, Italy, killing an estimated 40,000 people.

1854 – Aaron H. Allen of Boston, received U.S. patent# 12,017 for a folding chair as an “Improvement in Self-Adjusting Opera-Seat” for theatres or other public buildings. You have probably sat on his invention, if you have gone to a movie theater.

1873 – The Boston Belfry Murderer killed his first victim, Bridget Landregan.

1876 – A fire at the Brooklyn Theater killed 295 people and injured hundreds more.

1876 – Daniel Chapman Stillson patented the Stillson wrench. The device was the first practical pipe wrench, the design is still in use today. (Patent #184,993)

1933 – Prohibition ended, thanks to the 21st amendment Utah being the last state needed to ratify it. When the 21st Amendment was passed to end Prohibition, American journalist H. L. Mencken celebrated with a glass of water, calling it “my first in 13 years.”

1941 – Angel Street (Broadway Play) Opened on December 5, 1941 and closed on December 30, 1944

1945 – Five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers (Flight 19) went missing in the Bermuda Triangle after leaving Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida.

1964 – #1 Hit December 5, 1964 – December 11, 1964: Lorne Greene – Ringo

1969 – ARPANET (the first true internet) grew from ARPA (the U.S. Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency) when it connected to computer network nodes at four universities: the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Menlo Park, CA, U.C. Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah.

1984 – Beverly Hills Cop, starring Eddie Murphy, opened in theaters.

1986 – Heartbreak Ridge debuted in theaters.

1987 – #1 Hit December 5, 1987 – December 11, 1987: Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth

1997 – Good Will Hunting was released in theaters.

1998 – #1 Hit December 5, 1998 – January 15, 1999: R. Kelly & Celine Dion – I’m Your Angel

2005 – In the UK, the Civil Partnership Act granted civil partnerships “which include same sex partnerships” in the United Kingdom with rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage.

2007 – Juno debuted in theaters.

2008 – Frost Nixon debuted in theaters.

2008 – O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted for the well-known double murder in Los Angeles, was sentenced for up to thirty-three years in prison for robbing a pair of memorabilia dealers. He was released in 2017.