MAYDAY, MAYDAY

May 16. Big deal. Fifteen years ago the space shuttle Endeavour landed safely after a successful voyage. Much like the plane that takes off from Springfield-Branson National Airport and lands safely in Detroit, this is not news.

May 16, however, is a good death day. A quick check of history shows May 16 was curtains for, among others:

•G-Man Eliot Ness (1957)
•Andy Kaufman (1984)
•Wicked Witch Margaret Hamilton (1985)
•Muppet creator Jim Henson and Sammy Davis Jr. (1990).

Robert R., 19, became the first confirmed death from AIDS in North America (1969).

Coincidentally -- or not, depending on your skew -- it's also a boffo day for famous births:

•Henry Fonda (1905)
•Studs Terkel (1912)
•Pierce Brosnan (1953)
•Olga Korbut (1955)
•Debra Winger (1955)
•Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic (1965)
•Janet Jackson (1966)

Also born on May 16: Liberace (1919) and Tucker Carlson (1969). We're just saying.