1260 – The spectacular Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France; the cathedral is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In twenty years, it will become a mosque.
1861 – The First Transcontinental Telegraph line across the United States is completed, spelling the end for the 18-month-old Pony Express. Message transit time from one coast to the other goes from ten days to instantaneous. Ah, technology! Think about it! I can carry an iPod in my pocket that holds more music than I could’ve loaded in my back seat when I was a kid.
1911 – Orville Wright remained in the air 9 minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina setting a new world record that stood for 10 years. This was pushed to over 21 hours in 1931 in Hawaii. Think cliffs and trade winds.
1929 – “Black Thursday” stock market crash on the New York Stock Exchange. Ultimately, a big screwup in financial markets opens the door for massive expansion of socialism. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
1940 – 40 hour work week goes into effect (Fair Labor Standards of 1938)
1944 – World War II: The Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku, and the battleship Musashi are sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the biggest battle in naval history.
1946 – A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket takes the first photograph of earth from outer space. It’s launched in New Mexico. In twenty-three years, we’d be putting footprints on the Moon. And now we’re hitching rides with the Russians…
1971 – Texas Stadium opens – Cowboys beat Patriots 44-21. Stadium has a big hole in the roof because even G-d wants to watch the Cowboys play.
1973 – Yom Kippur War officially ends with Israel 65 miles from Cairo, 26 from Damascus.
2002 – Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, ending the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, DC. B-but serial killers are SUPPOSED to be WHITE!
2003 – Concorde makes its last commercial flight.
1971–present. The “open vent ” is to let the devils steam out .
1971″ There are few around who dislike the cowboys more than I (Go Packers!) but until the franchise was bought by Jerry Jones it was a class act. After they were “Arkansasified”, they became just tacky. There was even one point where it looked as though they would have to change their uniforms from the traditional Blue and Silver to orange jumpsuits, so the players wouldn’t have to change clothes on the trip back to Huntsville.