FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Survivor is the American version of the international Survivor reality competition television franchise, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson created by Charlie Parsons which premiered in 1997. The American series premiered on May 31, 2000, on CBS. It is hosted by Jeff Probst, who is also an executive producer along with Mark Burnett and the original creator, Parsons.
Survivor places a group of strangers in an isolated location, where they must provide food, fire, and shelter for themselves. The contestants compete in challenges including testing the contestants’ physical abilities like running and swimming or their mental abilities like puzzles and endurance challenges for rewards and immunity from elimination. The contestants are progressively eliminated from the game as they are voted out by their fellow contestants until only one remains and is given the title of “Sole Survivor” and is awarded the grand prize of US$1,000,000 ($2,000,000 in Winners at War).
The American version has been very successful. From the 2000–01 through the 2005–06 television seasons, its first eleven seasons (competitions) rated among the top ten most-watched shows. It is commonly considered the leader of American reality TV because it was the first highly-rated and profitable reality show on broadcast television in the U.S., and is considered one of the best shows of the 2000s (decade). The series has been nominated for 63 Emmy Awards, including winning for Outstanding Sound Mixing in 2001, Outstanding Special Class Program in 2002, and was subsequently nominated four times for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program when the category was introduced in 2003. Probst won the award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program four consecutive times after the award was introduced in 2008. In 2007, the series was included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time. In 2013, TV Guide ranked it at #39 on its list of the “60 Best Series of All Time”.
In February 2023, the series was renewed for the 2023–24 television season, with season 45 set to premiere on September 27, 2023.
TODAY’S ALMAANC
One of the original 12 Apostles, St. Bartholomew is commemorated on August 24. In England, many fairs were held on this day, including the famous St. Bartholomew Fair in Smithfield. Eventually, the saint’s feast day appeared in weather lore, such as “At St. Bartholomew, there comes cold dew,” or “As Bartholomew’s Day, so the whole autumn.” After this date, thunderstorms were said to be more violent.
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Geoffrey Plantagenet (Count of Anjou) –
- Alexander II of Scotland –
- René Lévesque (Quebec premier) –
- Louis Teicher (pianist) –
- A. S. Byatt (novelist) –
- Steve Guttenberg (actor) –
- Cal Ripken Jr. (baseball player) –
- Marlee Matlin (actress) –
- Reggie Miller (basketball player) –
- Chad Michael Murray (actor) –
- Rupert Grint (actor) –
Died
- E. G. Marshall (actor) –
- Jerry Clower (Grand Ole Opry humorist) –
- Richard Attenborough (actor) –
Events
- British troops set the White House on fire during the War of 1812–
- Treaty of Cordoba signed, granting Mexico independence from Spain–
- Cornelius Swartwout patented the waffle iron –
- Mark David Chapman sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the murder of John Lennon–
- For the final episode of CBS’s first Survivor program, approximately 51 million people (41% of America’s viewing public) watched Richard Hatch win the $1 million prize–
- Julie Krone became the first female jockey to win a million-dollar race in the U.S. when she finished first in the Pacific Classic in Del Mar, CA, mounted atop her horse Candy Ride–
- GPS navigation signals off by up to 3 feet for 3 hours due to rocket-made ionospheric hole–
Weather
- The temperature at Saint Cloud, Minnesota, was 37 degrees F–
- Thunderstorms dropped five to seven inches of rain on Long Island, New York, closing major highways–
- Hurricane Andrew came ashore damaging South Florida–
- Twisters, heavy rain, and hail as big as grapefruit struck the Dakotas–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
