(no subject)
so i've always known i've had a terribly cursed birthday ever since my childhood as a history lover when i first learned the date of lincoln's assassination and just when the titanic hit the ice berg (though it technically sank the next day but HEY the ice berg started it all). So I got lost in wikipedia in one way or another and wound up on the page for april 14th.....just to find these little gems.
"1846 - The Donner Party of pioneers departs Springfield, Illinois, for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship, cannibalism, and survival."
"1935 - "Black Sunday", the worst dust storm of the U.S. Dust Bowl."
"1981 - STS-1 - The first operational space shuttle, Columbia (OV-102) completes its first test flight."
"1986 - In retaliation for the April 5 bombing in West Berlin that killed two U.S. servicemen, U.S. president Ronald Reagan orders major bombing raids against Libya, killing 60 people."
"1986 - 1 kg (2.2 pound) hailstones fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92. These are the heaviest hailstones ever recorded."
"1994 - In a U.S. friendly fire incident during Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq, two United States Air Force aircraft mistakenly shoot-down two United States Army helicopters, killing 26 people."
"1999 - NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees - Yugoslav officials say 75 people are killed."
"1999 - A severe hailstorm strikes Sydney, Australia causing A$1.7 billion in insured damages, the most costly natural disaster in Australian history."
"2000 - Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich files a lawsuit against P2P sharing phenomenon Napster. This law-suit eventually leads the movement against file-sharing programs."
"2002 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by the country's military."
"2005 - The U.S. Oregon Supreme Court nullifies marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Multnomah County."
But there's a few good things scattered in there.
"2003 - The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%."
"1988 - In a United Nations ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan."
"1860 - The first Pony Express rider reaches Sacramento, California."
"1775 - The first abolition society in North America is established. The "Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage" is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush."
"1828 - Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary."
Not to mention I have the same birthday as Pete Rose, Brad Garrett and Sarah Michelle Gellar (hell yeahhh buffy).
And apparently no one of note to Wikipedia died on my birthday at any point between 1792 and 1910 hahaha.
It's also apparently an informal holiday for single korean people. greeeeeaaaaaaat. oh birthday. you're so retarded.
in other news it never occurred to me until a few minutes ago that rivers would flow towards anything other than the atlantic ocean on this side of the continental divide. but apparently there are multiple smaller ones!!! like the allegheny river flows to the st. lawrence bay! IN CANADA! man, i know my geography but i'm also retarded about somethings. so thank you for the lesson, wikipedia.
another tidbit: wouldn't it be funny if can openers came in cans? i think it would be.
"1846 - The Donner Party of pioneers departs Springfield, Illinois, for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship, cannibalism, and survival."
"1935 - "Black Sunday", the worst dust storm of the U.S. Dust Bowl."
"1981 - STS-1 - The first operational space shuttle, Columbia (OV-102) completes its first test flight."
"1986 - In retaliation for the April 5 bombing in West Berlin that killed two U.S. servicemen, U.S. president Ronald Reagan orders major bombing raids against Libya, killing 60 people."
"1986 - 1 kg (2.2 pound) hailstones fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92. These are the heaviest hailstones ever recorded."
"1994 - In a U.S. friendly fire incident during Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq, two United States Air Force aircraft mistakenly shoot-down two United States Army helicopters, killing 26 people."
"1999 - NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees - Yugoslav officials say 75 people are killed."
"1999 - A severe hailstorm strikes Sydney, Australia causing A$1.7 billion in insured damages, the most costly natural disaster in Australian history."
"2000 - Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich files a lawsuit against P2P sharing phenomenon Napster. This law-suit eventually leads the movement against file-sharing programs."
"2002 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by the country's military."
"2005 - The U.S. Oregon Supreme Court nullifies marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Multnomah County."
But there's a few good things scattered in there.
"2003 - The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%."
"1988 - In a United Nations ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan."
"1860 - The first Pony Express rider reaches Sacramento, California."
"1775 - The first abolition society in North America is established. The "Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage" is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush."
"1828 - Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary."
Not to mention I have the same birthday as Pete Rose, Brad Garrett and Sarah Michelle Gellar (hell yeahhh buffy).
And apparently no one of note to Wikipedia died on my birthday at any point between 1792 and 1910 hahaha.
It's also apparently an informal holiday for single korean people. greeeeeaaaaaaat. oh birthday. you're so retarded.
in other news it never occurred to me until a few minutes ago that rivers would flow towards anything other than the atlantic ocean on this side of the continental divide. but apparently there are multiple smaller ones!!! like the allegheny river flows to the st. lawrence bay! IN CANADA! man, i know my geography but i'm also retarded about somethings. so thank you for the lesson, wikipedia.
another tidbit: wouldn't it be funny if can openers came in cans? i think it would be.