Today is March 21st. On this date in 1788 the Great New Orleans Fire nearly destroyed the entire city, which lost 856 of about 1,100 buildings. It is widely believed that George W. Bush was responsible. Also on this date, in 1824, a Cairo munitions dump fire killed over four thousand horses. On this date in 1934, a fire destroyed the Japanese city of Hakodate, | Read More »
Today is March 20th, and it is the first day of spring. (I knew by my constant sneezing.) On this date in 1413, Henry IV died and his son, Henry V, succeeded him. It was the first time a Shakespeare play had taken the throne. Also on this date, in 1976, Patty Hearst was convicted of bank robbery. She was initially sentenced to 35 years | Read More »
Today is March 19th. On this date in 2003, President George Bush announced that American and coalition forces were “in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.” Also on this date in 2011, President Obama failed to address the nation about the beginning of operations in Libya. On this date in | Read More »
Today is March 17th. Today is St. Patrick’s Day, in honor of the bishop and missionary who died on this date in 461. In the U.S., the first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in Boston, in 1737. The first New York City celebration of the holiday took place in 1756. The first person to get drunk and throw up on the holiday was everyone. | Read More »
Today is March 16th. On this date in 1521, Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippines, which didn’t work out too well for him as he was killed there. His expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe. No word yet, though, on when someone is going to circumnavigate YOUR MOM! BURN! Sigh. Also on this date, in 1926, Robert Goddard launched the first successful test flight | Read More »
Today is March 15th — the Ides of March. On this date in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was murdered on the steps of the Roman Senate. He was stabbed 23 times by a group of senators as the result of a conspiracy that included up to 60 people. Today, Caesar is best known for his salad and his Vegas casino. Also on this date, in | Read More »
Today is March 14th. On this date in 1879, Albert Einstein was born. Today his name, of course, is synonymous with both genius and making faces. If he were alive today, he’d probably say “man, I am OLD!” In other math news, today is also Pi Day and National Potato Chip Day, completing the geek trifecta. There is so much math in my Twitter stream | Read More »
Today is March 9th. On this date in 1454, Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence, Italy. The American continents are named after him, which worked out pretty good. If Matthias Ringmann had made a different choice when making his maps, we might all be Vespuccicans today. Also on this date, in 1959, the Barbie doll was publicly debuted at the American International Toy Fair. Truly | Read More »
Today is March 7th. On this date in 322 BC, Greek philosopher Aristotle died of natural causes at the age of 62ish, says the internet. If he were alive today, he would probably say something I wouldn’t understand. I don’t speak Greek. Also on this date, in 1994, the Supreme Court ruled that a commercial parody can use copyrighted material and qualify under “fair use”. | Read More »
Today is March 6th. On this date in 1981, Walter Kronkite stepped down from the CBS Evening News. He was replaced by Dan Rather. Kronkite was sometimes referred to as “the most trusted man in America” by talking heads around the country. Dan Rather was sometimes referred to as “some crazy old guy wielding a fork, ranting about bread pudding and wearing a robe and | Read More »
Today is March 2nd. On this very date, in 1904, a man they called Dr. Seuss was born. Dr. Seuss wrote books, both thick books and thin, some of the best children’s books that there’ve been. And when he died, in ’91, not one person found it very much fun. But we still have the books, we most certainly do. And we’ll read them, ’cause | Read More »
Today is March 1st. On this day, the world lost a visionary. Andrew Breitbart has passed away at the far too young age of 43, leaving behind a wife and four children. We have had several contributors share their thoughts on this today. For my part, I’ve long admired Andrew Breitbart for being fearless, tireless, relentless, bold, committed … driven. Like most bloggers who have | Read More »
Today is February 28th. On this date in 1854, the Republican Party was founded by anti-slavery activists. 158 years later, Republicans are best known for having way too many freaking primary debates. Also on this date, in 1885, AT&T was incorporated. Today, they are best known for dropping c Lastly, on this date in 1995, the Denver International Airport opened. And it has haunted Jesse | Read More »
Today is February 24th. On this date in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII signed a papal bull introducing the Gregorian Calendar. The calendar was not accepted in England or the American colonies until 1752, by which time their Julian Calendar was 11 days different from mainland Europe. Personally, I use a calendar with pictures of cats on it. Because I’m from the internet, and that’s how | Read More »
Today is February 22nd. It was on this date in 1980 that the immortal “Miracle On Ice” occurred. A scrappy young American team brought down the long-undefeated Soviet team, 4-3, in what is undoubtedly one of the most famous hockey upsets in history. The American team won the gold two days later, taking out Finland 4-2. Also on this date in 1923, the first chinchilla | Read More »
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