532 AD – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence. Same thing happens today after the NBA Finals, and just like then, the solution is to hand out a little government money to quiet things down.

1879 – The British-Zulu War begins. British troops — under Lieutenant General Frederic Augustus — invade Zululand from the southern African republic of Natal. Two names come up: Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift…

1923 – Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to make its reparation payments. Seventeen years later Germany says “Repair THIS!” while marching through Belgium into Paris.

1941 – Adolf Hitler orders forces to be prepared to enter North Africa to assist the Italian effort, marking the establishment of the Afrika Korps. Italy bites off more than it can chew. Japan does the same thing in the Pacific several months later as does Hitler in invading his erstwhile ally, the USSR.

1946 – Enver Hoxha declares the People’s Republic of Albania with himself as dictator. If it says “People’s Republic”, it ain’t a republic and the only thing the “people” will get is screwed. Just in case you wondered. Under Hoxha’s caring administration, Albania looked more like the Third World than Europe.

1949 – First recorded case of snowfall in Los Angeles, California. It’s that global warming, for sure…

1964 – United States Surgeon General Dr. Luther Leonidas Terry, M.D., publishes a report saying that smoking may be hazardous to health. It is the first such statement ever made by the U.S. government. Bloody Hell! Parents and coaches were telling kids that cigarettes would stunt your growth for decades before this.

1980 – Honda announces it will build the first Japanese-owned passenger-car assembly plant in the United States–in Ohio. Japan says it can make money in the Big Three’s back yard.