Trevor WholohanThis Day in History August 22nd
August 21st 2007 23:31
This Day in History
1775 - The American colonies were proclaimed to be in a state of open rebellion by England's King George III.
1851 - The schooner America outraced the Aurora off the English coast to win a trophy that became known as the America's Cup.
1902 - In Hartford, CT, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first president of the United States to ride in an automobile.
1906 - The Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, NJ began to manufacture the Victrola. The hand-cranked unit, with horn cabinet, sold for $200.
1911 - Theft of the Mona Lisa is discovered
1914 - World War I: British and German troops clash for the first time in the war.
1938 - Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared on the cover of "LIFE" magazine.
1941 - Nazi troops reached the outskirts of Leningrad during World War II.
1944 - World War II: Thirty-two Spaniards & four French Maquis tackle a German column (1,300 men in 60 lorries, with 6 tanks & 2 self-propelled guns), at La Madeiline, France. Three Maquis are wounded, with 110 Germans killed and 200 wounded.
1951 - 75,052 people watched the Harlem Globetrotters perform. It was the largest crowd to see a basketball game.
1962 - NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered ship, completes its maiden Voyage
1968 - 1st papal visit to Latin America (Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogota)
1968 - Cynthia Lennon sues John Lennon for divorce on adultry
1969 - Hurricane Camille strikes U.S. Gulf Coast kills 255
1973 - Henry Kissinger was named Secretary of State by U.S. President Nixon. Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year.
1988 - The Perth Mint in Australia issues the first platinum coin, the koala.
1989 - Nolan Ryan became the first major league pitcher to strike out 5000 batters. (MLB)
1990 - U.S. President Bush signed an order for calling reservists to aid in the build up of troops in the Persian Gulf.
1990 - The U.S. State Department announced that the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait would not be closed under President Saddam Hussein's demand.
1992 - FBI HRT sniper Lon Horiuchi shoots and kills Vicki Weaver during an 11-day siege at her home at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.
1998 - Mark David Chapman said that he did not want any of the money that would be made from the sale of the signed "Double Fantasy" album that John Lennon signed for him the same day he was killed. Chapman was currently serving sentence for the December 8, 1980 murder.
2000 - It was announced that all 118 crewmembers aboard the Kursk submarine were dead. The Russian vessel had sunk on August 4.
2004 - The Scream, the painting by Edvard Munch, is stolen at gunpoint from a museum in Oslo, Norway.
2005 - Pope Benedict XVI concludes World Youth Day with a mass. Over 1,100,000 people attended the closing liturgy
Famous Birthday’s
1917 - John Lee Hooker Mississippi, blues musician (Canned Heat)
1926 - Honor Blackman London, actress (Pussy Galore-Goldfinger)
1934 - Norman Schwartzkopf NJ, US General (Liberated Kuwait from Iraq)
1940 - Valerie Harper Sufferin NY, (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Valerie)
1947 - Cindy Williams Van Nuys Calif, actress (Shirley-Laverne & Shirley)
1963 - Tori Amos, born in North Carolina, pianist/vocalist, Under The Pink,
Joke of the Day
Cowboys Favorite Bible
The devout cowboy lost his favorite Bible while he was mending fences out on the range.
Three weeks later, a cow walked up to him carrying the Bible in its mouth. The cowboy couldn't believe his eyes. He took the precious book out of the cow's mouth, raised his eyes heavenward and exclaimed, "It's a miracle!"
"Not really," said the cow. "Your name is written inside the cover."
Holidays
An atheist complained to a friend, "Christians have their special holidays, such as Christmas and Easter. And Jews celebrate their holidays, such as Passover and Yom Kippur. Muslims have their holidays, too."
"Every religion has holidays to celebrate. But we atheists," he said, "have no recognized national holiday. It's an unfair discrimination"
His friend replied..."Well, why don't you celebrate April 1st?"
Egg Humor
Question: If a rooster laid an egg on the top of a barn, which way would it roll?
Answer: Neither, roosters don't lay eggs.
Question: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Answer: Because the rooster egged her on.
Question: Did you hear the one about the egg?
Answer: It's not all it's "cracked" up to be!
Question: Why can't you tease egg whites?
Answer: They can't take a yolk.
World Records
Tallest rideable motorcycle
Gregory Dunham (USA) has constructed a rideable motorcycle that is 11 ft 3 in tall to the top of handlebars, 20 ft 4 in long and weighs 2.948 tons (6,500 lb). It is powered by a 8.2 litre (502 cu in) V8 engine and has tyres that are 74 in tall.
Biggest Jet Fighter Collection
The world's biggest private jet fighter collection numbers 110, and belongs to French winemaker Michel Pont, of Savigny-Les-Beaune, in the Burgundy region. His hobby started in 1985, and includes Russian MiGs, British Jaguars and French Mirages. He buys them from governments although they cannot be flown over French airspace.
Michel's 40-acre vineyard and 14th century castle not only holds his amazing jet-fighter and helicopter collection, it also houses 500 motorbikes of a range of brands, from Norton to Terrot, with models going back from 1902 (with some of them having belonged to famous people from around the world). Not only that, he's also collected 24 Abarth Fiat racing cars, which he keeps in his barn loft.
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