BIG BROTHER 10 kicked off the season last night as 13 strangers entered the BIG BROTHER House after they were asked, for the first time in BIG BROTHER history, to choose the Head of Household prior to entering the House or even talking with each other. 

The new Houseguests cast their votes via a secret ballot, using only their powers of observation as their guide.  Jerry Mac Donald, the 75-year-old great grandfather, was selected as the first Head of Household of the season.

Once inside the House, after their initial meeting and champagne toast, the Houseguests were asked to compete in a luxury/food competition.  In the competition, 12 of them were split into two teams of six with bodybuilder Jessie volunteering to sit out.  Two classic VW Bugs were suspended upside down over the backyard of the House.  All six members of each team piled into their team's respective car, and were then required to pull the car across the Big Brother "Route 66" highway by a rope to get from side to side.  Each time they reached the end, one member of each team was asked to volunteer to leave the car, which left them out of the competition and no longer eligible to win the luxury prize.  The first team to reach the end with just one remaining Houseguest was declared the winner and won food for the week.  The losing team eats slop for the week.  Memphis won the luxury part of the competition and is the proud owner of a classic car.

Finally, Head of Household Jerry nominated Renny and Jessie for the first eviction of the season.

BIG BROTHER 10 will be broadcast on the CBS Television Network three nights weekly, on Sundays (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), Tuesdays (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) and the live eviction show, hosted by Julie Chen, Wednesdays (8:00-9:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT). 

Following are the 13 Houseguests, listed across in alphabetical order, who will compete in BIG BROTHER 10:

Michelle Costa, 28                                                       Steven Daigle, 35

Cumberland, R.I.                                                          Dallas, Texas via The Woodlands, Texas

 Single                                                                           Single

Realtor                                                                         Rodeo Competitor

April Dowling, 30                                                         Memphis Garrett, 25   

Higley, Ariz. via Arlington, Neb.                                    Los Angeles via Collierville, Tenn.

Single                                                                           Single

Financial Manager                                                        "Mixologist"

Dan Gheesling, 24                                                        Jessie Godderz, 22

Dearborn, Mich.                                                           Huntington Beach, Calif. via Rudd, Iowa

Single                                                                           Single

Catholic School Teacher                                               Professional Body Builder

Brian Hart, 27                                                              Jerry Mac Donald, 75

San Francisco                                                               Magnolia, Texas via Wilkes Barre, Pa.

Single                                                                           Married/Great Grandfather

Telecommunications Account Manager                       Retired Marketing Executive

Renny Martyn, 53                                                         Bryan Ollie, 27

Metairie, La. (suburb of New Orleans)                        Bloomington, Minn. (suburb of Minneapolis)

Married/Mom                                                               Single

Beauty Salon Owner                                                     Marketing Sales Representative

Keesha Smith, 29                                                         Angie Swindell, 29       

Burbank, Calif. via Sterling, Ohio                                  Orlando, Fla. via Virginia Beach, Va.

Single                                                                           Single  

Waitress                                                                       Pharmaceutical Sales Representative    

Libra Thompson, 31                

Spring, Texas                                      

Married/Mom                                      

Human Resources Representative        

BIG BROTHER is executive produced by Emmy Award winner Allison Grodner, Rich Meehan and Scott Einziger, in association with Endemol U.S.A.

For more information on BIG BROTHER 10 and the 13 new Houseguests, log on to http://www.cbs.com/.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos are available on CBSpressexpress.com.