Something unprecedented happened in presidential history on today’s date.  It was on this date in 1940, that President FDR was nominated for a third term in office.  I was first introduced to the FDR of history in the beloved children’s film of the 1980’s–Annie!.  Yes, I wanted to be Little Orphan Annie for a while, and I thought that FDR […]

Welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth!  That’s right!  On this date in 1955, Disneyland officially opened.  Walt Disney himself dedicated it, and television covered it extensively.  It changed theme parks as we know it.  It still remains the original park that continues to have success.  My daughter and I are planning a Disney Cruise next year, and so this […]

In the gaming world, it is clear that Nintendo is one of the leaders.  I remember that they were almost the standard in the new game systems.  And on this date in 1985, the Nintendo Entertainment System first went on sale in Japan (from what I can tell, this is accurate).  Unfortunately, what began so well didn’t seem to continue […]

First of all, there is some discrepancy concerning today’s date, but part of that is because we are talking about an event that happened in B.C. (I will continue to use B.C. and A.D. instead of the new-fangled B.C.E. and A.C.E.).  On this date (or on July 12) in 100 B.C., Julius Caesar was born.  His full name was Gaius […]

Well, this is certainly something that should capture our attention.  It was on this date in 2012 (just last year!) that Chris and Colin Weir became the biggest Euromillion lottery winners in history with a record £161 million!  They are a retired Scottish couple, and they became Scotland’s twenty-first richest citizens.  It boggles my mind to even wrap my mind […]

I had no idea that today is the 120th anniversary of the cultured pearl.  That’s right, on this date in 1893, Kokichi Mikimoto created the first cultured pearl.  He was the son of a noodle maker, and he did a lot of experimentation to discover an artificial way to make these beautiful, expensive jewels.  He used a bamboo oyster on […]

So how many of you know who our thirteenth president was?  Anyone?  I have to admit that I did not, but he is featured above.  And on this date in 1850, Millard Fillmore was inaugurated, thus becoming our thirteenth president.  He had a very typical American story.  He came from “log cabin” roots, farmed for his father, and apprenticed under […]

There is some discrepancy on dates, so I cannot tell you for sure that this information is accurate, but it is pretty close.  From what I can tell, on this date in 1953, New York Airways launched its first passenger helicopter service.  They first used military helicopters–imagine the noise!  This helicopter service launched out of LaGuardia airport. I have never […]

All right, please indulge me. Yes, I like country music (though I didn’t until a few years ago), and today is a country musician’s birthday. So here goes. On this date in 1961, Toby Keith was born. I have posted his first hit above, and my goodness, he looks different! He is quite a success story. He made his way […]

I don’t remember this event, but maybe some of your do.  On this date in 1981, the Solar Challenger, Paul B. MacCready’s solar-powered creation, became the first plane powered solely by the sun to cross the English Channel.  MacCready had earlier had issues with Gossamer Albatross, the first human-powered plane to cross the English Channel (the pilot got dehydrated and […]