In 1993, about 350 documents were forged by Lawrence X. Cusack III. These papers were supposedly from, or related to, John F. Kennedy. Some of them alleged that Kennedy had a secret first marriage and dealings with organized crime, had bribed FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, and paid hush money to Marilyn Monroe. Cusack, son of a lawyer who had dealings with Monroe's family, claimed to have found the papers in the firm's files. He sold them for between six and seven million dollars. One of the buyers suggested showing them to Seymour Hersh, who was writing The Dark Side of Camelot (1997). Hersh began incorporating them into his book and proposed a television documentary. Checks by the networks uncovered flaws in the forgeries. These included the use of a ZIP Code in a paper dated two years before the ZIP Code was introduced, and the use of typeball that had not yet been invented. Cusack was convicted of fraud, sentenced to nearly ten years in prison and ordered to refund the money to the buyers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_document_hoax> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1914: In their first major action of the First World War, the British Expeditionary Force engaged German troops in Mons, Belgium. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mons> 1939: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, a ten-year mutual non-aggression treaty, which also secretly divided northern and eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact> 1954: The Cruise of the Kings, a royal cruise organised by the Queen Consort of Greece, Frederica of Hanover, departed from Marseille, France. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_of_the_Kings> 1989: Singing Revolution: Approximately two million people joined hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometres (419.7 mi) across the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet republics to demonstrate their desire for independence. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Way> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: kitchen sink: 1. A sink in a kitchen used for washing crockery, cutlery, utensils, food, etc., and disposing of waste. 2. (figurative) 3. (also attributive) A miscellaneous item or a miscellany, especially exemplifying an indiscriminate profusion. 4. (metonymically) In chained or tied to the kitchen sink, etc.: domestic chores or housework, especially when regarded as menial and tedious. 5. (obsolete) A thing regarded as defiled due to corruption, immorality, etc. 6. 7. (painting) Of or pertaining to a mid-20th-century realist style of painting in Britain characterized by scenes of dull or untidy domestic interiors such as kitchens in the homes of urban working-class people; also, of or pertaining to an artist or group of artists painting in this style. 8. (by extension, drama, fiction, film, television, originally derogatory) Of or pertaining to a mid-20th-century (especially 1950s–1960s) genre of drama, fiction, etc., in Britain depicting the harsh lives of working-class people; also, of or pertaining to a film, novel, play, etc., of this genre. 9. (transitive) 10. To make (something) overly complicated or elaborate; to overcomplicate, to overwork. 11. To raise to (someone) unrelated complaints and other matters during an argument. 12. (business) To release (a large amount of information about the poor financial results of a company) in one go, in the hope that there will be less impact. 13. (intransitive) To raise unrelated complaints and other matters during an argument. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kitchen_sink> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: This election isn’t about "us and them". It’s about you and me and what we want our futures to look like. There are choices to be made when we cast our ballot. Now, there’s a certain candidate that says, if we just go to the polls this one time, then we’ll never have to do it again. Well, you know what? You’re looking at a registered independent who’s proud to vote again and again and again. Because I’m an American, and that’s what Americans do. Voting is the best of America. And I have always, since I was eligible to vote, I’ve always voted my values. And that is what is needed in this election, now more than ever. So I’m calling on all you independents and all you undecideds. You know this is true. You know I’m telling you the truth: that values and character matter most of all, in leadership and in life. And more than anything — you know this is true — that decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024. And just plain common sense. --Oprah Winfrey <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
