On this date in 1971, a man using the alias Dan Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient Airlines flight between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Here are some things you may not have known about D.B. Cooper. On November 24, 1971, the day before Thanksgiving, a man identifying himself as Dan Cooper purchased a one-way ticket…

Today is the 127th anniversary of the birth of Harpo Marx, the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers comedy troupe. Here are some things you may not have known about Harpo and his brothers. Adolph Marx was born in New York, and grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He was the third son…

On this date in 1959, disc jockey Alan Freed, who popularized the term “rock and roll,” was fired by New York’s WABC for his part in what came to be known as the payola scandal. Here are some things you may not have known about Freed, payola and the early days of rock and roll.…

On this date in 1990, Milli Vanilli was stripped of its Grammy Award after it was revealed that the duo did not sing on the album it won the award for. Here are some things you may not have known about the group and the charade. Milli Vanilli was created by West German music producer…

[wpdevart_youtube]BBgghnQF6E4[/wpdevart_youtube] “Steamboat Willie” was the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound and the first cartoon with a fully post-produced soundtrack. All of the voices in the film were performed by Walt Disney. It was actually the third cartoon produced by Disney featuring Mickey Mouse. The first two, “Plane Crazy” and “The Gallopin’ Gaucho” were reworked…

On this date in 1869, the Suez Canal opened. Here are some things you may not have known about it. The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, and cuts 4,300 miles off the shipping distance from Europe to South Asia. It’s a sea level canal, so unlike the Panama Canal there…

Today is the 75th anniversary of the first in a string of bomb-related incidents that terrorized New York City for 16 years. Here are some things you may not have known about “The Mad Bomber.” The first bomb was found on a window sill of a Consolidated Edison power plant before it went off. Inside…

Today is the birthday of the man, considered by some to be the greatest American actor of the 19th century, Edwin Booth. Here are some things you may not have known about him. Edwin Booth was born in Bel Air, Maryland in 1833. He was the illegitimate son of Junius Brutus Booth, who was also…

Today would have been the 86th birthday of actress Grace Kelly, later Princess Grace of Monaco. Here are some things you may not have known about Kelly and the Principality of Monaco. Grace Kelly was born to a wealthy family in Philadelphia. Her father won three Olympic gold medals in rowing and was a Philadelphia…

On this date in 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was established. Here are some things you may not know about highways in the United States, including the legendary Route 66. The U.S. Highway system was the main network of roads across the country before the Interstate Highway System. The numbering system is fairly…