History Day.........
1908, 7:17 in the morning...The most powerful, natural explosion in recorded history happened here....Tunguska, in Central Siberia. The blast devastated 70 square miles of heavily forested area-- (of course, I want to know how some of those trees remained standing)--It also caused a seismic shock, a firestorm followed by black rain and illuminated the sky in a way that was seen for hundreds of miles.
But there was no crater found and only the tops of the trees at the central point of the explosion were burned. People 40 miles away were flash burned, their silverware melted and herds of reindeer were destroyed. Amazing. Even more amazing??? To this day, no one knows what caused the explosion. Seriously weird.
And in other news of the day.....
1841, The Erie Railroad rolled out their first passenger train.
1921, RCA was formed.
1936, Margaret Mitchell's GONE WITH THE WIND was published. (Talk about a book with staying power--though if we tried to write it today, no publisher would buy such an inherently unlikable heroine!)
1953, the first Corvette rolled off the assembly line in Flint, MI....It sold for a whopping $3,250.00!! Ahhhhh........that's about the cost of a tank of gas now!
1962, Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax pitched his first no hitter.
1974, the famous Fourth of July beach scene in the movie JAWS was filmed--hundreds of people raced in and out of the water, screaming, for dozens of takes! And they say being an actor is hard!!
1985, After 4600 performances, Yul Brynner left his role as the King of Siam in THE KING AND I at the Broadway theatre in NYC.
1985, the creator of the Twinkie, James A. Dewar, died......(All of us who give thanks for that little creation owe James a moment of silence..........)
1993, The movie, THE FIRM, debuted today, starring a pre-couch-jumping Tom Cruise
1997, China reclaimed Hong Kong from Great Britain and the crown's 156 year rule was over.....Where does the Queen get her Chinese food now??
And that's what I came up with today?? How about you guys???
posted by Maureen Child @ 11:06 AM
17 Comments:
At 1:46 PM,
Michele said…
Hey Maureen!
Wow, what a day. That explosion is unbelievable. I agree that it's amazing no one has any idea what caused it, even after all these years...
It sold for a whopping $3,250.00!! Ahhhhh........that's about the cost of a tank of gas now!
Yeah, no doubt. You know, I just returned from England and they're paying $14-$16 a gallon (7-8 Pounds Sterling) over there?! Now, that's insane. Those poor people who have to commute to work. Sigh.
I had no idea Yul Brenner performed that role so many times! That's dedication.
See ya soon!
M.
At 2:41 PM,
Maureen Child said…
YOW, Michele!!! I thought they were paying like 9 bucks a gallon. That's just hideous....and makes me slightly less jealous that you were once again in my favorite part of the world!!
Isn't the Yul thing amazing?? He really WAS the King of Siam!
At 3:25 PM,
Kate Carlisle said…
I thought Dewar made scotch! Who knew he made twinkies, too? What a genius!
And Michele, you just came back from England? Again? So unfair that I'm not there!! But I hope you had fun!!
At 5:29 PM,
Anonymous said…
I read that many people think that explosion was a meteorite.
Loved hearing about the corvette. I could afford one today if the price was the same!
My eyes popped wide at the price of gas in England. Egads.
Here's my contribution
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Valley Grant Act, Senate Bill 203, on June 30, 1864. The legislation gave California the Yosemite Valley and the nearby Mariposa Big Tree Grove "upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation." (Seeing as how you're in CA, you should know this!)
1894 London’s Tower Bridge across the River Thames is officially opened. (I added this one in honor of the London gas prices)
Maureen - finished Falling for King's Fortune yesterday. Yeah, it is one of your best ones yet! I really really liked it.
At 6:12 PM,
Maureen Child said…
Hey Kate......You're right!! Dewar was a brilliant man.
And i'm with you on the jealousy front....Michele, how come you get to go to my favorite place like once a year??? And why don't you take ME?? =)
At 6:14 PM,
Maureen Child said…
Cyndi...you do find some good ones.
Now, being in CA, of COURSE we know about Yosemite...but who remembers WHEN it all started?
And ooh. The Tower Bridge. I love the Tower of London. Probably wouldn't have back in the day, but now...sigh. See above, re: jealous of Michele!
I'm so glad you liked the last King book!!
At 6:15 PM,
Maureen Child said…
Oh yeah......and my dh tells me that the best theory on Tunguska now is that an ice comet exploded above the site--which would account for the way the trees went down. But I'm thinking I'd like to talk to whoever's in charge and get the full scoop.
At 7:10 PM,
Michele said…
LOL, ah how time flies...it's already been two years since our last visit to England. And there was so much left to see and so many places to visit that we needed to go back. :-)
Next time, you can totally go with us!
At 8:35 PM,
EllenToo said…
1987 - the Royal Canadian Mint introduces the $1 coin, known as the Loonie
1906 - US passes the Pure Food & Drug Act
2003 - Katherine Hepburn died at age 96
At 7:43 AM,
Jennifer Lyon said…
Maureen, so true about GONE WITH THE WIND! I read that in high school where I checked it out from the library and the librarian thought I might be too young...BRAWHAHAHA!! My sister gave me a Rosemary Rogers book to read when I was 14. GWTW was tame compared to that.
And I am totally off topic...sigh. Anyway, cool facts!
At 11:30 AM,
Maureen Child said…
Michele, it's been SIX years since my last visit!! LOL.....so don't throw out invitations so easily! I'm already packing.......
At 11:31 AM,
Maureen Child said…
Ellen....those are EXCELLENT! And how did I miss Katherine Hepburn?? She was one of my heroes....
At 11:33 AM,
Maureen Child said…
Jen....soooooo not off topic! LOL.. my mom gave me GWTW to read when I was 14....and you're way right. Rosemary Rogers made everyone look tame in comparison!
At 8:34 AM,
Michele said…
so don't throw out invitations so easily! I'm already packing.......
Won't my husband be in for a surprise! LOL!
At 9:24 AM,
Anonymous said…
I REALLY, REALLY LOVE YOUR HISTORY MONDAYS, YOU HAVE BEEN A BUSY GIRL LOOKING UP ALL THE FACTS YOU SHARED WITH US TODAY, YAY YOU.....
PLEASE KEEP UP HISTORY MONDAY.
LOVE, SALLYE
At 1:02 PM,
Maureen Child said…
Michele, we don't have to tell your hubby, do we??? =) and Happy Birthday!!
At 1:02 PM,
Maureen Child said…
Thanks, Sallye!! I love History Day too.........
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