Re: Today in History

[MariaEvri]

On this day in 1971 Mrs Git and I got married.

anniversary cake!

[OldGit]

Congrats!  How did she do it for so many years?

I've often wondered that myself.

[Recusant]

First excursion of Homo sapiens to another planetary body succeeded on this day in 1969, forty mumblemumble years ago.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

First excursion of Homo sapiens to another planetary body succeeded on this day in 1969, forty mumblemumble years ago.

One small step for man ....

[MariaEvri]

today in history 1974, the Turks invaded in Cyprus, illegally occupying today 1/3rd of the island

[Tom62]

10 years ago on this day, I  "escaped" from WWGHA and joined HAF.

[Recusant]

10 years ago on this day, I  "escaped" from WWGHA and joined HAF.

[Icarus]

 The year 1945, the B29 bomber named Enola Gay, A bomb named Little Boy, Hiroshima. The world can never be the same.

[xSilverPhinx]

Today is Brazilian Independence Day, when Portuguese prince Dom Pedro I proclaimed Brazil's emancipation ("Independence or Death!"), after Portugal demanded his return so that they could recolonise Brazil, along with a little persuasion by his wife and the patriarch of Brazil, José Bonifácio, 193 years ago.   

O Grito da Ipiranga - Pedro Américo

It's a nice picture but not an accurate depiction - they weren't riding horses, but mules; the Independence Dragoons (wearing white) didn't exist yet; D. Pedro I was not in military uniform and he was suffering from a pretty bad tummy ache, possibly having stopped at the brook known as Ipiranga to pass some royal bowels. 

[Magdalena]

September 11, 2001

[Icarus]

The best wild ass guess about the exact date is Sept. 28, 1066. William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the
English throne. After 950 years if we miss the date by a day or two we can surely be forgiven.

In 1928 Scottish medical researcher Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin, the first effective antibiotic.  Thumbs up for Mr. Fleming.

For whatever its worth, this week is Banned Books Week.   The American Library Association resisted efforts to ban certain books in 1982. Since that time some 11,000 books have been subject to attempted bans by various factions including state legislators. The library people are winning with the help of the supreme court, the ACLU and other interested parties who do not have their heads up their asses.. It is not like the libraries are inclined to favor books with racy content. Their position is about freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Thus we have the ALA contrivance: Banned Books Week.  Good on "Marion the Librarian", (from the Broadway play Music Man in case you are not old enough to have enjoyed that old musical)

[Recusant]

Fifty-three years ago, President John Kennedy was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. There are those who still believe that Oswald was set up by a conspiracy of some sort or other. I imagine that line of thinking will always be with us.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

Fifty-three years ago, President John Kennedy was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. There are those who still believe that Oswald was set up by a conspiracy of some sort or other. I imagine that line of thinking will always be with us.

History is susceptible to conspiracy theories because of the nature of historical evidence itself - you can never repeat the actual event like you can in scientific evidence, so there is never any way to conclusively prove something.  Someone will always find a loop hole, and the more significant the event, the more people are motivated to look for other explanations. 

[Recusant]

Seventy-five years ago, Imperial Japan sealed its own doom by launching an airborne attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Oahu. There were 2471 Americans killed, 1213 injured, while 64 Japanese aviators were killed.

There's a conspiracy theory about this historical event as well: That President Roosevelt knew the attack was coming but kept Pearl Harbor in the dark about it, insuring that the US would enter WWII. There is no solid historical evidence to support the theory.

[Icarus]

Conspiracy theorists are apparently both smarter and somehow privy to more reliable information than we ordinary slobs..