Today is Friday, Oct. 23, the 297th day of 2020. There are 69 days left in the year.
Today in history
On Oct. 23, 1983, 241 U.S. service members, most of them Marines, were killed in a suicide truck-bombing at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon; a near-simultaneous attack on French forces killed 58 paratroopers.
Also on this date:
In 1864, forces led by Union Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis repelled Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price’s army in the Civil War Battle of Westport in Missouri.
In 1910, Blanche S. Scott became the first woman to make a public solo airplane flight, reaching an altitude of 12 feet at a park in Fort Wayne, Ind.
In 1915, tens of thousands of women paraded up Fifth Avenue in New York City, demanding the right to vote.
In 1944, the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf began, resulting in a major Allied victory against Japanese forces.
Fun fact
Goldfish don’t have a stomach in the sense that humans do. Goldfish digest food as it moves through their intestines and extract nutrients as the food passes through them.
Fitness factoids
1. Stress can affect the way your immune system works.
2. Some research has found optimism may boost your immunity.
3. Studies show that a lack of sleep may make you more likely to catch a cold and also makes it more difficult to fight off infection.
everdayhealth.com
Trending words
“Quotidian:” adjective; (kwoh-TID-ee-un). Definition: Occurring every day or belonging to each day: everyday, commonplace or ordinary.
— Merriam-Webster
Today’s birthdays
Movie director Philip Kaufman is 84. Soccer great Pele is 80. Rhythm-and-blues singer Barbara Ann Hawkins (The Dixie Cups) is 77. Former ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross is 72. Actor Michael Rupert is 69. Movie director Ang Lee is 66. Jazz singer Dianne Reeves is 64. Country singer Dwight Yoakam is 64. Community activist Martin Luther King III is 63. Movie director Sam Raimi is 61. Parodist “Weird Al” Yankovic is 61. Rock musician Robert Trujillo (Metallica) is 56. Country singer-musician Junior Bryant is 52. Actor Jon Huertas is 51. Movie director Chris Weitz is 51. CNN medical reporter Dr. Sanjay Gupta is 51. Bluegrass musician Eric Gibson (The Gibson Brothers) is 50. Country singer Jimmy Wayne is 48. Actor Vivian Bang is 47. Rock musician Eric Bass (Shinedown) is 46. TV personality and host Cat Deeley is 44. Actor Ryan Reynolds is 44. Actor Saycon Sengbloh is 43. TV personality Meghan McCain (“The View”) is 36. Rhythm-and-blues singer Miguel is 35. Actor Masiela Lusha is 35. Actor Emilia Clarke is 34. Actor Briana Evigan is 34. Actor Taylor Spreitler is 27. Actor Margaret Qualley is 26. Actor Amandla Stenberg is 22.
The Edge is compiled by Dallas Marshall. She can be contacted at dmarshall@lmtribune.com.
