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Back in the day: 01/20

Adam LaMascus
The Commuter

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

This day in history…

Jan. 20, 1920: Thanks for the liberties?
The American Civil Liberties Union is founded in New York City. Currently, there are over 500,000 registered members in the organization. Their slogan should be: Bugging the hell out of politicians for 90 years!

Jan. 21, 1968: Oops, our bad: Episode 2…
A U.S. Air Force B-52 catches fire and crashes on an ice shelf near Thule Air Base in Greenland. One crew member is killed. The four hydrogen bombs being carried on the plane rupture, contaminating a large surrounding area. One of the bombs falls through the ice shelf and is never found. All I have to say is, how do you lose a nuclear weapon?

Jan. 22, 1987: Gah!!!
State Treasurer and State Senator Robert “Bud” Dwyer (R, PA) is convicted of taking bribes. During the subsequent live televised conference, he pulls out a .357 magnum and shoots himself in the head on national television. His last words are “Please leave the room if this will offend you.”

Jan. 23, 1879: Check one for British pride…
The Battle of Rorke’s Drift ends. The battle occurred when an army of around 5,000 Zulus attacked a British supply depot/hospital being defended by 80 healthy and 59 bedridden British soldiers. The Redcoats held the Zulus off long enough to be rescued by the main British army. 17 Brits and 351 Zulus were killed. This is proof that guns work better than swords, spears, and fists, contrary to Japanese video games.

Jan. 24, 1961: This is just getting ridiculous now…
A U.S. Air Force B-52 breaks up in mid-aid over Goldsboro, North Carolina, dropping two hydrogen bombs. The first bomb almost detonates, a former defense secretary claiming that only one safety switch prevented a nuclear detonation. The other breaks apart and buries itself in a farm field. The Air Force really needed to fire its maintenance staff.

Jan. 25, 1955: A little behind the times…
The Soviet Union declares its state of war with Germany over. Never mind that the war actually ended in 1945.

Jan. 26, 1961: Not Marylin Monroe?
President John F. Kennedy makes Janet G. Travell his personal physician. This is the first time a woman holds this position. I will refrain from all the obvious jokes involving JFK and women holding positions with him.

Thought for the week:
“God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a revolution.”
-Thomas Jefferson speaking on the American Revolution

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