On this date in 1983, the series finale of the television show “MASH” aired in the United States. Here are some things you may not have known about the most-watched scripted television episode in American history. The final episode of the series was called “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.” The comedy/drama ran for 11 seasons, eight years longer than the Korean […]
Read moreOn this date in 1942, anti-aircraft guns blazed over the city of Los Angeles during what was eventually determined to be a false alarm. Here are some things you might not have known about “The Battle of Los Angeles.” The United States was three months into its involvement in World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. […]
Read moreOn this date in 1886, Charles Martin Hall used an economical method to produce aluminum for the first time. Here are some things you may not have known about it. Aluminum is the third most common element in the Earth’s crust, and the most common metal. Aluminum compounds occur naturally, and have been used in clay pottery for thousands of […]
Read moreOn this date in 1959, Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500. Here are some things you may not have known about stock car racing’s crown jewel. The Daytona 500 is the direct descendant of earlier races held on the Daytona Beach Road Course. Stock car races were held on a stretch of Daytona Beach and an adjacent stretch of […]
Read moreOn this date in 1947, Edwin Land demonstrated the first instant camera. Here are some things you may not have known about the Polaroid Land Camera. Edwin Land was born in 1909 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After one year of studying chemistry at Harvard, he dropped out to move to New York and work on his own. While in New York, […]
Read moreOn this date in 1966, Brian Wilson began recording what would come to be the Beach Boys single “Good Vibrations.” Here are some things you may not have known about the song. “Good Vibrations” was recorded while the Beach Boys were working on their album “Pet Sounds.” At some point, the song was intended to appear on the album, but […]
Read moreOn this date in 2006, the last American mobile army surgical hospital was deactivated. Here are some things you may not have known about MASH units. The inspiration for MASH units came during World War II. At the time, the U.S. military used a system that required injured troops to be transported long distances to receive surgical treatment. MASH units […]
Read moreOn this date in 1946, ENIAC, one of the first electronic computers was dedicated. Here are some things you may not have known about it. ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. It was designed to calculate artillery firing tables for the U.S. Army’s Ballistic Research laboratory. It was literally a computer. It could solve numerical problems, which were […]
Read moreOn this date in 2005, YouTube was founded. Here are some things you might not have known about the video-sharing site. It was created by three former PayPal employees named Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim. The three differ on their inspiration for starting the company. Karim said it was because he couldn’t find video online of Janet Jackson’s […]
Read moreOn this date in 1981, more than two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky, were destroyed by a sewer explosion. Here are some things you might not have known about the incident. A Ralston Purina soybean processing plant suffered a massive leak of hexane, which was used as a solvent to extract soybean oil. Hexane is a highly flammable chemical […]
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