Today is Wednesday, July 27, the 208th day of 2022. There are 157 days left in the year.

Today in history

On July 27, 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.

Also on this date:

In 1789, President George Washington signed a measure establishing the Department of Foreign Affairs, forerunner of the Department of State.

In 1866, Cyrus W. Field finished laying out the first successful underwater telegraph cable between North America and Europe (a previous cable in 1858 burned out after only a few weeks’ use).

In 1909, during the first official test of the U.S. Army’s first airplane, Orville Wright flew himself and a passenger, Lt. Frank Lahm, above Fort Myer, Va., for one hour and 12 minutes.

In 1940, Billboard magazine published its first “music popularity chart” listing best-selling retail records (in first place was “I’ll Never Smile Again” recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, with featured vocalist Frank Sinatra).

In 1960, Vice President Richard M. Nixon was nominated for president on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention in Chicago.

Fun fact

Top phobias among people surveyed were snakes, heights, spiders, public speaking and disease (in that order).

That’s punny

No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.

Trending words

“Iconoclast:” noun; (eye-KAH-nuh-klast). Definition: Refering broadly to anyone who attacks widely accepted beliefs or institutions.

— Merriam-Webster

Today’s birthdays

TV producer Norman Lear is 100. Actor John Pleshette is 80. Actor-director Betty Thomas is 75. Olympic gold medal figure skater Peggy Fleming is 74. Singer Maureen McGovern is 73. Rock musician Tris Imboden (formerly with Chicago) is 71. Actor Roxanne Hart is 68. Comedian-actor-writer Carol Leifer is 66. Comedian Bill Engvall is 65. Jazz singer Karrin Allyson is 60. Country singer Stacy Dean Campbell is 55. Rock singer Juliana Hatfield is 55. Actor Julian McMahon is 54. Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is 52. Comedian Maya Rudolph is 50. Rock musician Abe Cunningham is 49. Singer-songwriter Pete Yorn is 48. Former MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez is 47. Actor Seamus Dever is 46. Actor Martha Madison is 45. Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers is 45. Actor/comedian Heidi Gardner is 39. Actor Blair Redford is 39. Actor Taylor Schilling is 38. MLB All-Star pitcher Max Scherzer is 38. Singer Cheyenne Kimball is 32. Golfer Jordan Spieth is 29. Actor Alyvia Alyn Lind is 15.

The Edge is compiled by Dallas Marshall. She can be contacted at dmarshall@lmtribune.com.