On This Date...

January 1, 2011

2011-01-01T00:01:00.003-07:00

...today...

...I announce that I will be discontinuing On This Date...

When I first sought out to do this blog, I thought it would be fun to mark important days in history. Or, at least, days I saw as important, like the release of one of the funniest movies ever, a really big concert I happened to attend and the first celebrity death to truly upset me.

Since I was doing that, I thought I would have fun and point out fictional dates as well. Like the anniversary of what is generally accepted as Springfield's first Whacking Day, Rob & Julia Gulia's scheduled wedding day and the supposed re-election of the mayor in Ghostbusters.

I got to discover — and feed — my insatiable obsession for the Back to the Future trilogy.

I even threw in some things that are expected to happen the future.

Some days, I was pleased to learn something I don't think I would have learned otherwise. Like the complete coincidence that led to the bullshit reason why people think Earth Day is a Communist plot, how five-time gold medal winner Eric Heiden gets the shaft when it comes to remembering the 1980 Winter Olympics and how Monopoly was created to illustrate just how unfair life really is.

There were even days that I enjoyed writing about, because then I'd be able to shoehorn a video clip from Saturday Night Live, Mr. Show or The Muppet Show.

Then there were the other days. The "Really? Nothing else happened on that date?" days. The "Holy crap, who cares?" days. And the "Wow, what a downer" days. There are enough of these days to make me lose interest in the project. (I'd link this paragraph with past posts, but I'd feel like I was putting the posts down.)

And that's pretty much exactly what happened.

So, I'm calling it quits.

Where this blog project dies, others will be brought in.

SHAMELESS PLUG TIME:
Starting January 20, Hail to the Chief... to the DEATH will pit 64 presidents — past, present and fictional — against each other until one is left standing. Who will win? That's for you, the readers, to decide.

I imagine I'll start my own blog in the near future, which will include — but won't be limited to — me marking the 5th, 10th, 15th, etc. anniversary of select dates.

Other exciting things in the works too.

In the meantime, thanks for reading and have a Happy 2011.

December 31, 1695

2010-12-31T00:01:00.001-07:00

...315 years ago...

...England imposed a window tax.

While it seems like England is just good at thinking of ways to tax not just its colonies, but its people as well, the window tax was an alternative to instituting an income tax.

Back then, the idea of income tax was seen as an intrusion of the government. People felt that it wasn't the government's business how much they made. I don't know why I'm using the past tense here.

Yes, I hate roads and protection from the fire department, too.
Instead of taxing wealth based on income, it would be taxed on how many windows a house would have. People were against this, as they figured a tax on light and air would be next. Some even bricked some windows up, to save on taxes.

On the other side of the coin, the extremely wealthy would purposely design manors with as many windows as architecturally possible, to show off the fact that a little thing like window tax wouldn't financially hurt them.

An income tax was eventually imposed in England in 1842 and the window tax was repealed in 1851.

December 30, 1965

2010-12-30T00:01:00.001-07:00

...45 years ago...

..."Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss was born in Los Angeles.

Fleiss began managing a prostitution ring at the age of 22 under Madam Alex, who she met through her boyfriend, film director Ivan Nagy. Nagy was nearly 30 years older than her. After working with Alex for three years, she went out on her own where she said she made her first million within the first four months of being in business.

Question of morality aside, that's pretty impressive. She's 25 years old and she found a business in which she was able to become a millionaire. As a 31-year-old who rents a one bedroom apartment, I have to say I kind of wish I had that kind of business mind, though I guess I should also say that I would prefer it not be in the prostitution business.

In 1993, the LAPD began an investigation into Fleiss' business. That summer, the story broke of her arrest. She presumably had a client list filled with rich and famous people, but she refused to reveal any of them.

She served three years in prison and has since been seen on the U.K.'s Celebrity Big Brother and on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.

December 29, 1835

2010-12-29T00:01:00.002-07:00

...175 years ago...

...the terms of the Treaty of New Echota were agreed upon, which ceded all Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi River.

In the mid-1820s, Cherokees still held land in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. White settlers wanted to get at the land, but with President John Q. Adams, who believed in Indian sovereignty, in power, that wasn't going to happen.

In 1828, Andrew Jackson, a staunch removalist and, lets face it, a genocidal maniac, won the presidential election. After that, Cherokees' rights were chipped away.

Until the Treaty of New Echota was agreed upon in 1825. "Agreed upon" is hardly what really happened. At that point, Cherokee officials were no longer allowed to meet and the state governments were encroaching on their land, despite a Supreme Court ruling which abolished that. (There we go again, with states struggling to supersede federal rulings.)

The enforcement of the Treaty of New Echota led to the removal of all Indians. It also led to the Trail of Tears, which I don't think Lee Greenwood mentions in his song God Bless the USA. I'm curious to know if being proud to be an American includes the Trail of Tears. I really am.

December 28, 1795

2010-12-28T00:01:00.002-07:00

...215 years ago...

...construction of Yonge Street, the one-time world's largest street, began in York, Upper Canada.

"York" is the old-timey name for "Toronto," and "Upper Canada" is 18th century talk for "Ontario."

In the early 1790s, yet even more hostilities broke out between France and Great Britain. George Simcoe, governor of Upper Canada, worried that the freshly independent United States would be eager to stick it to their former mother country and help France out by attacking Canada. Because of that, he had the Upper Canada capital moved from what is now Niagara-on-the-Lake — which is pretty much on the U.S.-Canada border — to an easier-to-defend York.

Part of that plan also involved building a major road from York, giving easier access from the West.

Yonge Street, when completed, would stretch 1,896 km, from Toronto Harbour to the southwest corner of Ontario, which puts you near Minnesota, if you need to know the U.S. equivalent of where Ontario ends and Manitoba begins.

Is this the longest street in the world? The Guinness Book of World Records said so. You can find arguments on the Internet supporting this claim still exists and that it doesn't. Currently, the Guinness Book of World Records lists the Pan-American Highway as the longest "motorable road." With the exception of an 87-km gap near the Panama-Columbia border, the Pan-American Highway stretches from Alaska to southern Chile. This works out to 47,958 km, or 25+ Yonge Streets.

The argument against this is that that isn't one continuous street.

Neither is Yonge Street, though. While the route that begins in Toronto as Yonge Street seems to actually end at Lake Simcoe, about 100 km north of Toronto. The route continues, but it takes on different names.

So, really, I don't know what everyone is going on about.

December 27, 1915

2010-12-27T00:01:00.001-07:00

...95 years ago...

...human sexuality researcher William Masters was born in Cleveland, Ohio.

Masters met Virginia Johnson when he hired her as a research assistant in 1957. He later divorced his wife to marry Johnson in 1971. Together, they pioneered research of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunctions.

Imagine running into these people at a party.

"So, what do you do?"
"We watch people have sex in a lab all day."

December 26, 1985

2010-12-26T00:01:00.002-07:00

...25 years ago...

...zoologist Dian Fossey was murdered in her cabin in the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda.

Fossey was one of the foremost primatologists in the world, she spent nearly two decades extensively studying a group of gorillas in Rwanda. She had also worked to preserve the gorilla habitat and to protect them from poachers.

She was found murdered in the bedroom of her cabin, with her skull split open by a machete used widely for poaching. The machete, which had been confiscated from poachers years earlier, had been hanging in her living room.

While there were signs of a struggle, none of her valuables had been taken, and it was clear that the murderer was familiar with the layout of Fossey's cabin. Her entire staff was arrested, along with a tracker she had fired months earlier. All were released, except for the tracker who supposedly hung himself in prison.

Her murder still remains unsolved.

December 25, 1890

2010-12-25T00:01:00.001-07:00

...115 years ago...

...cartoonist, Robert Ripley was born.

Ripley is best known for his cartoons told of oddities around the world, whether it be about human achievements or facts about animals.

In 1929, Ripley published a Ripley's Believe It or Not! that stated that the United States had no national anthem. Two years later, President Herbert Hoover signed the law making The Star Spangled Banner the U.S. national anthem. Ripley possibly served as a catalyst in making this happen.

Believe It or Not!

He later took Ripley's Believe It or Not! to the radio and opened up museums filled with oddities from around the world. He called them "Odditoriums," which I have to admit, is a clever play on words.

Believe It or Not!

He even started a television show in 1949. This was very early in the medium's history and before television sets could be found in most homes. He passed out while suffering a heart attack during the telecast of the 13th episode of his show. He died shortly after.

Believe It or Not!

The Greatest American Hero Intro — Believe It or Not

Ripley, nor his estate, had nothing to do with this show or its theme song, but it's kind of difficult to think of the phrase "Believe It or Not" without humming the theme to The Greatest American Hero.

And from there, it's hard not to think of George Costanza's answering machine.

December 24, 1910

2010-12-24T00:01:00.003-07:00

...100 years ago...

...Swiss typesetter Max Miedinger was born in Zurich, Switzerland.

Miedinger, along with Eduard Hoffman, is credited with creating the Helvetica font in 1957.

Neue Haas Grotesk, as it was originally called, was designed to be an update of Akzidenz-Grotesk. The name of the new font was changed to Helvetica, which is based on the Latin word for Switzerland.

Due to its sleek yet simple style, Helvetica is widely used.

Seriously, you see it everywhere.

In honor of Miedinger's centennial, I've even changed the the font of today's post. See? Easy to read. No serifs here. Just nice, straight-lined terminators.

Don't expect this kind of treatment to mark the birthday of the creator of Papyrus.

December 23, 1970

2010-12-23T00:01:00.001-07:00

...40 years ago...

...the topping out ceremony was held for World Trade Center's North Tower, meaning its construction was complete.

The 360-foot antenna made the North Tower distinguishable from the South Tower. It also made the building the tallest in the world, at 1,368 feet. until the completion of the Sears Tower in 1974.

One World Trade Center remained the tallest building in the United States until it was destroyed in the 9/11 attacks.

December 22, 1915

2010-12-22T00:01:00.002-07:00

...95 years ago...

...actress Barbara Billingsley was born in Los Angeles.

Billingsley made a name for herself playing June Cleaver in Leave It to Beaver. The show ran on CBS for one season, starting in 1957. It was canceled due to mediocre ratings, but ABC picked it up and ran the show for five more seasons.

After the show's six-year run, she had been typecast as the sweet mom type and difficulty finding work. In 1980, the June Cleaver image helped make an already funny scene in a hilarious movie.

"I speak Jive" from Airplane!

She later voiced the role of Nanny, the hypothetically headless authority figure in Muppet Babies.

Billingsley died earlier this year, along with two other Airplane! co-stars who had had little comedic acting experience until this movie.

December 21, 1795

2010-12-21T00:01:00.002-07:00

...215 years ago...

...Rev. John Russell was born in Dartmouth, England.

One day, Russell saw a small white terrier with dark brown spots around its eyes, ears and tail. He bought the dog from its owner right then and there. He named the dog Trump and used her as the foundation for a breed of a line of dogs used for fox hunting.

The breed was eventually named Jack Russell terriers.

Jack Russells are good at hunting, digging and jumping as well as:

listening to their masters' voice though a wind-up gramophone,

re-enacting popular literary works

and annoying Frasier.

They're also trainable, which makes them good casting choices for shows like Wishbone and Frasier.

The Terrier Song — The Kids in the Hall

December 20, 1860

2010-12-20T00:01:00.001-07:00

...150 years ago...

...South Carolina seceded from the Union.

Technically, the reason for South Carolina's secession wasn't because of slavery, except it totally was.

Since the United States became independent, there had been a constant struggle over the right to keep slaves. States could only be added to the Union in pairs — one slave state and one free state, so that Congress wouldn't become unbalanced. Someone had the idea of allowing Kansas to decide for itself what kind of state it would be when it joined the Union, that led to bloodshed. A congressman from South Carolina even beat a senator from Massachusetts with a cane on the floor of the Senate because of a speech the senator made about slavery.

Point being, nation divided.

When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, it was believed that he was going to abolish slavery once and for all. The southern states didn't like this idea. Officially, they didn't like the fact that the federal government had that much say over the states. They preferred the idea of states calling the shots.

They argued if the federal government told them that they couldn't keep slaves anymore, then that was unconstitutional. At this point, they were economically dependent on the right to keep people as property for free labor. It's not like blacks were treated like kings in the North. But seriously, it's slavery. How do you argue for it? I'll never understand this.

For years, there had been talk of states seceding. Delegates from other states urged South Carolina to be the first to do so, figuring that other states would follow if South Carolina led.

South Carolina drafted a declaration of secession and other states followed. President James Buchanan didn't do anything about half the country deciding to up and leave, because while secession was illegal, he also said stopping secession was also illegal. Also, the fact that he was a southern sympathizer also led to his inaction.

December 19, 1915

2010-12-19T00:01:00.001-07:00

...95 years ago...

...psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer died.

Alzheimer had spent some time working with mentally ill women. It was then when he became obsessed with one patient, Auguste Deter, who suffered from short-term memory loss. When Deter died, Alzheimer and his colleague, Emil Kraepelin, studied Deter's brain to see what had caused her illness.

They published a paper that said that Deter suffered from a presenile dementia. In a medical textbook, Kraepelin later called it Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer died of heart failure at the age of 51.

December 18, 1915

2010-12-18T00:01:00.003-07:00

...95 years ago...

..President Woodrow Wilson married Edith Bolling Galt.

Wilson's first wife had died the previous year. When they met in March 1915, they took an instant liking to each other. This sparked rumors that Wilson and Galt had been having an affair before his wife had died and that Galt had murdered his first wife. As great of a story this makes, it's obviously not true. Though there are probably crazy theories that support the idea that Wilson and Galt only pretended to meet in 1915 after his wife died to cover up for the fact that she killed her in a jealous rage.

After the president suffered a stroke, the first lady took on the role of acting president. This was before the 25th Amendment — which spells out what happens when the president becomes incapacitated — was ratified. So anything was possible.

They could have even gotten a Woodrow Wilson look-alike to fill the role. That would make a pretty decent movie, assuming you get a good cast.

Dave trailer

I should really see this movie again

Since the first lady was taking care of business, no one seemed to care.

Well, not no one. A few people in Wilson's Cabinet wanted Vice President Thomas R. Marshall to forcibly assume office, but Marshall was afraid of setting the precedent off unseating a president.

While the first lady was acting president, the U.S. won World War I, her husband won the Nobel Peace Prize and women earned the right to vote. I'd say she did more good in those two years than presidents who were actually elected and served a full term.

December 17, 1990

2010-12-17T00:01:00.003-07:00

...20 years ago...

...The Simpsons Sing the Blues was released worldwide.

Just one year earlier, to the date, The Simpsons debuted their own TV show; a Christmas special. The show was an immediate smash hit. The show's creators and FOX did what anyone in their position would have done.

To quote Yogurt from Spaceballs, "Moich-endising!"

SIMPSONS THE T-SHIRT!

Full disclosure: I had this shirt in 5th grade, only because I didn't think my parents would have let me wear the shirt that said,
"I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?"

SIMPSONS THE COLORING BOOK!

SIMPSONS THE LUNCH BOX!

SIMPSONS THE BREAKFAST CEREAL!

There was no Simpsons the flame thrower, but I can't help but think that someone must have floated the idea at one point or another, and not just for Hank Scorpio.

Since the Simpsons' faces were seen on everything, why not have them heard on an album as well?

The album's first single, Do the Bartman, was co-written by Michael Jackson and topped the charts in the U.K. Mind you, this was five years before The Simpsons was aired on mainstream U.K. television.

The Simpsons — Do the Bartman

I haven't seen this video in quite some time. I like how Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel take turns taking swigs from a flask. People would freak out about that sort of thing nowadays.

Do the Bartman was an okay song, I guess. Back in the day, I preferred Deep, Deep Trouble.

The Simpsons — Deep, Deep Trouble

See, no teachers or administrators drinking on school grounds during a school function. Just a bunch of adults, fighting over who gets to execute a 10-year-old boy. Kind of dark when you think of it that way.

Well, I'd rather have grown up with Simpsons Sing the Blues than any of the Kidz Bop albums.

Kidz Bop 17 commercial

Yeah, you heard him. Order now and get Kidz Bop Sings The Beatles. Or, you could just forgo all of the Kidz Bop nonsense and have your children listen to the actual Beatles singing The Beatles.

I don't know, just a thought. At least when the Simpsons Sing the Blues covered a song, it was done in a charming way.

December 16, 1770

2010-12-16T00:01:00.003-07:00

...240 years ago...

...composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany.

Schroeder from Peanuts plays Piano Sonata No. 8

In addition to Schroeder from the Peanuts series, Alex DeLarge is also a big fan of the works of Beethoven. DeLarge is also a fan of spiking his milk and violently raping and murdering people.

I don't think Charles M. Schultz ever had Schroeder do anything like that, but then again, I'm completely familiar with the entire Peanuts canon.

Google was effortlessly able to find me this picture, so maybe Schroeder was into that sort of thing.

December 15, 2000

2010-12-15T00:01:00.001-07:00

...10 years ago...

...the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was shut down.

The Soviet Union commissioned Chernobyl's first reactors commissioned in 1977. A total of six reactors were planned in total, but only four had been completed by the time of the the plant suffered the worst nuclear accident in history in 1986, which released massive amounts of radiation throughout the surrounding areas.

Reactor No. 4, the site of the accident, was sealed off by a sarcophagus made of lead and concrete to keep more radiation from leaking out. However, due to the high demand of power, the other three reactors remained in operation, despite the fact that 30 square kilometers surrounding the plant had been, and remains to this day, evacuated.

After a 1991 fire in Reactor No. 2, the Ukraine was pressured into closing down Chernobyl. Despite the fact that its last reactor was shut down ten years ago, people are still working there, clearing the area.

The area is supposed to be completely cleared by 2065.

December 14, 1895

2010-12-14T00:01:00.001-07:00

...115 years ago...

...George VI of the United Kingdom was born on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England.

Albert Frederick Arthur George and Prince Albert, as he was known in birth, was kind of like Prince Harry is now. His older brother was in line to eventually serve as king, so he lived with a pretty low profile. Well, low profile for the royal family, I suppose.

When his father, George V, died in 1936, his older brother ascended to the throne as Edward VIII. The problem with Edward VIII was that he was about to propose marriage to a twice-divorced American. I'm not really sure what's wrong with this, but people were up in arms about it at the time. Edward decided to just abdicate and live happily ever after with divorcee as the title of Duke of Windsor.

It's probably just as well, because he later accused to have had pro-Nazi sympathies. Though he later denied this accusations, that would have still made things interesting in World War II had he remained king, and not in a good way.

After his brother's abdication, Prince Albert became king and he took the name George VI, after his father, in an effort to restore the people's faith in the monarchy.

George VI's reign saw World War II and the collapse of the British Empire, since most of her colonies were gaining independence. Though, in place of the Empire there's the British Commonwealth.

After his death in 1952, he was succeeded by his oldest daughter, Elizabeth II.

In other George VI news, The King's Speech looks like it will be good.

The King's Speech trailer

December 13, 1925

2010-12-13T00:01:00.003-07:00

...85 years ago...

...actor, comedian and writer Dick Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Mo.

Scene from Mary Poppins

Who cares if he's got the worst fake Cockney accent? The man is utterly delightful.

And he starred in one of the best classic sitcoms.

Three openings of The Dick Van Dyke Show

Even porpoises know that Dick Van Dyke is great. Last month, while on The Late Late Show, he told a story about how he once fell asleep on a surf board and he woke up to find that he was completely out of sight of land. A bunch of porpoises showed up and pushed him to land.

December 12, 1870

2010-12-12T00:01:00.002-07:00

...140 years ago...

...Joseph Rainey became first black U.S. Representative.

Following the Civil War, Rainey became involved in politics. Now that he was technically allowed to, why not, right? He served in the executive committee in South Carolina's Republican Party, the delegation that rewrote the state constitution and the state senate.

In 1870, when Rep. Benjamin F. Whitmore was censured for corruption, Rainey was picked to fill his spot. He was re-elected a few times, until he lost in the election 1878, the first election after Reconstruction.

With Reconstruction over, the U.S. Army — who was there to ensure blacks certain protections, such as voting and not getting lynched — no longer occupied the South. This meant that southern blacks, like Rainey, had lost their political power.

December 11, 1905

2010-12-11T00:01:00.001-07:00

...105 years ago...

...a workers' uprising in Kiev, Russia started, leading to the Shuliavka Republic.

As mentioned earlier, things were starting to fall apart in the Russian Empire. The tsarist government was deteriorating and the people were not happy. Workers' uprisings were popping up throughout the nation.

One uprising started in Kiev as a way for workers to show their support of another one going on in Moscow. The following day, the city shut down and the armed protesting workers holed themselves up in the industrial Shuliavka District of the city. The protesters declared the district a separate republic with the Kiev Polytechnic Institute as its headquarters.

They called the abolition of monarchy, more social and medical services, pensions for workers.

The republic didn't last long. The Cossacks arrived within days and put the rebellion down on Dec. 16.

Obviously, the whole socialism idea didn't really leave collective Russian consciousness.

December 10, 1935

2010-12-10T00:01:00.003-07:00

...75 years ago...

...the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy was awarded to University of Chicago halfback, Jay Berwanger.

The Downtown Athletic Club Trophy was created for the player deemed to the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was named after the privately-owned recreational facility that hosted the awards ceremony. The following year, the Downtown Athletic Club's first athletic director, John Heisman, died at the age of 66. From then on, it was decided that the trophy would be named after him.

Fun fact: During a game against University of Michigan in 1934, Berwanger gave future President Gerald Ford the scar under his left eye. That's not why he won the trophy, though.

December 9, 1965

2010-12-09T00:01:00.001-07:00

...45 years ago...

...the Kecksburg UFO Incident occurred.

That night, a bright light was seen streaking across the sky. The object was seen from the Detroit area, eastward, though Ontario, Ohio and Pennsylvania, dropping hot debris in its path. It was reported to be a meteor. However, the people of Kecksburg, Pa., had a different idea.

There were reports from Kecksburg that something actually landed. A volunteer firefighter even described it as an object the shaped like an acorn the size of a Volkswagen with writing that resembled Egyptian hieroglyphics. A local newspaper reported that the U.S. Army roped the area off. Later reports stated that nothing had been found.

So, end of story, right?

No, of course not. There has been plenty of speculation over what was actually found. Theories range from nothing to alien craft. Some even say it's debris from a Soviet satellite. In fact, that's what NASA claimed — nearly 40 years after the fact.

I wouldn't call myself a conspiracy theorists, but I get annoyed when the government takes decades to report that a phenomenon was something not very spectacular, because that's the sort of thing that makes conspiracy theorists. If it's a Soviet satellite say it's a Soviet satellite right away. Even if it isn't a Soviet satellite, lie to us, but do it quickly. It would significantly cut on the crazies.

Similarities have been drawn between the Kecksburg incident and the events in Roswell, N.M., in 1947. One difference there being that the government took 50 years to come forward and say that incident was caused by weather balloons. People refer to the Kecksburg incident as "Pennsylvania's Roswell."

This is unlike the events in Blaine, Mo., where the martian actually emerged from the craft and delighted townspeople with a song.

Nothing Ever Happens on Mars from Waiting for Guffman

I imagine the Eugene Levy-martian was killed by the music of Slim Whitman shortly after landing.

Wait, I think I'm confusing movies.

December 8, 1980

2010-12-08T00:01:00.001-07:00

...30 years ago...

...ex-Beatle John Lennon was fatally shot outside of his apartment building by Mark David Chapman.

George Harrison — All Those Years Ago