A MONTH OF FIRSTS:

Both the rear-view mirror and seat belts were originally created for use in the Indianapolis 500.

Charles Rolls (of Rolls-Royce) was the first man to fly both ways across the English Channel. He was also the first to die in a plane crash.

The first theatrical movie based on a television show was Jack Webb's Dragnet (1954).

The last day of January 1977 was the first day since records were kept that each of the 48 contiguous states had snow on the ground.

Grover Cleveland, 22nd & 24th President of the United States, was the first to leave the country while in office (he went fishing beyond the three-mile limit). Teddy Roosevelt was the first President to visit a foreign country (Panama), while Woodrow Wilson was the first to travel to Europe.

In 1953 Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier, doing it aboard an F-86.

"Buck" Rogers' first name was Anthony.

The Californian, the first (and only) ship to witness the sinking of the Titanic (although they didn't know that's what was happening to it), and the Carpathia, the first (and only) ship to rescue the survivors, were both torpedoed and sunk during World War I.

In 1989 Nolen Ryan became the first over-40 pitcher to collect 300 strikeouts in a season.

The first prime number after 1,000,000 is 1,000,003.

The first western film was made in 1903--in upstate New York!

The first baby born on the hundredth anniversary of Canada's independence--Canada's Centennial Baby--was Pamela Anderson.

Watson, the assistant of Alexander Graham Bell to whom the first telephone message was directed, invented the phone booth.

The first product to have a UPC bar code on it was Wrigley's Gum.

The first hydrogen bomb exploded was more powerful than all the bombs dropped on the Axis powers during World War II. Including the atomic bombs at Hiroshima & Nagasaki.

John Davis was the first to set foot on the continent of Antarctica. Although he did it in 1821, nobody knew about it until his logs were scrutinized in 1955, over a century later.

In August 1994 the Denver Broncos became the first NFL team to lose a game on six different television networks when the 49ers beat them on Fox.

The first English, Spanish and French ships to explore the New World were all commanded by Italians. No Italian vessel ever did the same.

Australia's first fifty-cent piece contained two dollars worth of silver.

In 1964 Peter Sellers became the first man to appear on the cover of "Playboy".

The first Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Jay, bought slaves in order to free them.

The first movie Leonard Nimoy directed that didn't have "Star Trek" in the title was "Three Men and a Baby", his third movie overall. The first movie Jonathan Frakes will direct that doesn't have "Star Trek" in the title is "Total Recall 2", also his third movie overall.

In 1949 Red Byron won two NASCAR races to take the inaugural championship of what would become the Winston Cup. His total earnings for the year as a driver: $5,800.

Thomas Edison's first patented invention was an electronic voting machine.

The man who wrote Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable" also wrote Abbott & Costello's "Who's On First" routine.

The June '98 Yankees-Mets series marks the first time in Major League Baseball history that a team has played both a home game and a road game in the same stadium the same year: the Yankees played a home game at Shea Stadium earlier this year when Yankee Stadium was damaged.

Bill Clinton is the first left-handed president to serve two terms.

Simon & Garfunkel first recorded under the name Tom & Jerry.

The original "King Kong" was the first movie whose sequel ("Son of Kong") was released the same year.