Today, actress Debra Messing celebrates her 42^nd birthday! Debra is best known for her role as Grace on the popular TV show Will & Grace, which lasted eight seasons and earned her an Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV series.

Starpulse.com has more information about this talented performer’s ascent to fame. Take a look to learn more:

Early roles such as Dana Abandando on television’s NYPD Blue garnered much attention for the stunning starlet, and it wasn’t long before Messing made her feature debut with A Walk in the Clouds (1995).

Jumping back to the small screen for the short-lived Ned and Stacey the following year, she next turned up in the feature Prey (1997) and a subsequent television series based on the film.

Launching her career into overdrive in 1998 with her role as Grace Elizabeth Adler in television’s Will & Grace brought Messing critical and public praise, and her role as the interior designer living with a gay lawyer charmed audiences with its snappy writing and talented cast.

The massive success of Will & Grace helped Messing gain a foothold in a film career. She tested the waters gingerly at first, taking small but key roles in films as diverse as the thriller The Mothman Prophecies and the Woody Allen comedy Hollywood Ending.

She played Ben Stiller’s newlywed wife in the hit comedy Along Came Polly in 2004. Although audiences ignored her romantic comedy The Wedding Date, Messing scored her most prestigious post-Will & Grace work yet landing a major role in Curtis Hanson’s Lucky You in 2006, the same year as she lent her vocal talents to the animated film Open Season.

Look for Debra in the Emmy-nominated TV miniseries, The Starter Wife, and in a new ABC comedy series, Wright vs. Wrong for the 2010-2011 season.

What do Marilyn Monroe, Nicole Kidman, Barack Obama, Jimi Hendrix and Robert Deniro have in common? They’re all left-handed!

August 13th has been named Official Left-Handers’ Day—so all you lefties out there, go out and celebrate!

Here are some interesting facts about being left-handed that we found on the site Lefthandersday.com that we would like to share with you. Take a look:

Most left-handers draw figures facing to the right.

There is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed.

Left-handers adjust more readily to seeing underwater.

Left-handers excel particularly in tennis, baseball, swimming and fencing

Left-handers usually reach puberty 4 to 5 months after right-handers

4 of the 5 original designers of the Macintosh computer were left-handed

1 in 4 Apollo astronauts were left-handed – 250% more than the normal level.

Did you know that today, August 11th, is Play in the Sand Day? If you can’t make it down to the beach to build a sandcastle, though, don’t worry! We found instructions on how to make some beautiful sand mosaics with your little one on the site FamilyFun.Go.com. So go ahead and celebrate Play in the Sand Day anyway!

How to make sand art:

Materials
Scissors
Black construction paper
Shoebox lid
White glue
Sand
Assorted seashells

Instructions:

Cut a sheet of construction paper so that it fits inside the box lid — this will be the portable canvas.

To make a picture, draw with the tip of the glue bottle, then sprinkle on loose sand.

Once the sand is dry, shake off the excess by gently tapping the side of the lid.

For added detail, glue on shells, pebbles, sea glass or any other beach-y finds.

Did you know that 224 years ago today the United State’s monetary system as we know it was created? On August 8, 1786, the Continental Congress of the United States decided to create a monetary system distinctly different from the British system, which was based on pounds and shillings. And so, a new system based on dollars and cents was born!

Do you know where we got the names for our coins and dollar bills?

• The dollar originated in a town in Bohemia called Joachimstal where they used a coin called the Joachimstaler. The use of the Joachimstaler spread to Europe where it was called the taler. Over time, the taler changed to the thaler, then to the daler and finally became the word dollar that we use today.
• The name for a dime is French in origin. The French word dixieme means tenth; dimes were originally spelled disme and pronounced deem.
• A cent (1/100 of a dollar) comes from the Latin word, centum, which means 100.
• Nickels were not included in the original 1786 system but they are named for the metal from which they are made.

We hope you learned something from this currency trivia!

Today marks the 228^th anniversary of the Purple Heart, or the “Badge of Military Merit” as it was first called.

The first Purple Heart was designed by George Washington on August 7, 1782 to recognize the efforts of brave soldiers. The original “Badge of Military Merit” looked different than the Purple Hearts that are awarded today. It was originally a heart-shaped piece of purple cloth or silk that could be pinned to one’s uniform.

In 1931, the badge was redesigned to look like the one we know now—a purple enamel heart with a bronze border hung from a purple ribbon.

Today, the Purple Heart is given to any member of the Armed Forces that has been wounded or killed in combat. Join us in celebrating the anniversary of the Purple Heart’s creation as well as all those who have received this honor by so bravely serving our country.