On This Day: October 23
Today's History Show Notes - Episode 16
As we head into the week before Halloween, it’s fitting that today is National Horror Movie Day. I don’t like horror movies, so I don’t have any recommendations. They stay with me so I avoid them.
On a happier note, it’s National Boston Cream Pie Day, which is my favorite donut. If you’re feeling adventurous, try this yummy looking version from Preppy Kitchen!
Finally, today is iPod Day!
“Apple introduced the iPod on October 23, 2001. The iPod changed the way we listened to and purchased music. The first iPod was sold on November 10, 2001, for $399. iPod Day pays recognition to this groundbreaking technology and the many people it impacted. The iPod introduced us to playlists and a way of managing our music collections like never before. It took portability to a whole new level. Soon, the iPod would introduce other media to us, too. It changed the way we listened to books, stories, and news.”
Question: Are we better off with the creation of the iPod?
1915: Well Done, Sister Suffragettes!
In 1915, an estimated 25,000 people joined the women's suffrage march on Fifth Avenue in New York. The march was led by the founders of the League of Women Voters.
Prior to women getting the right to vote in 1920, men ruled our government, continuing a long tradition of exclusively male rule. In 425, Valentinian III was elevated to Roman Emperor at the age of six. Having raised three sons through the age of six, I cannot imagine. Centuries later, in 1694, American colonial forces tried and failed to seize Quebec – this should be a mark of great shame for all of us, let’s be honest.
Another failure on this day came in 1812, when there was a failed coup against Napoleon Bonaparte.
Over 150 years later, Richard Nixon agreed to turn over White House tape recordings in the Watergate Scandal. We still haven’t gotten those missing 18 and a half minutes though. I wonder if we ever will.
Also on this day, in 1981 the US national debt hit one trillion dollars. It currently sits at $33.63T, but it’s no big deal according to the Treasury Department:
“Simply put, the national debt is similar to a person using a credit card for purchases and not paying off the full balance each month. The cost of purchases exceeding the amount paid off represents a deficit, while accumulated deficits over time represents a person’s overall debt.”
What’s funny about this coming from the US Treasury Department is that they will quickly tell you that they cannot be fiscally responsible – like they expect the person using the credit card to be – because the government is just so complicated!
Finally, on this day in 1991, Clarence Thomas was sworn in as US Supreme Court Justice, and seven years later in 1998, Israel and Palestine signed a peace agreement. So that’s going well.
1941: Learning to Fly
In 1941, Walt Disney released the animated film, "Dumbo." The lovable little elephant with the giant ears learns that his confidence was inside him all along. Like every Disney movie, they take this poor child away from his mother. What is it with Disney and separating kids from their parents?
More than a decade later in 1958, the Smurfs first appeared in the story, "Johan and Pirlouit" by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo. The Smurfs are an American institution now, but they came from Belgium. Who knew?
Earlier this month, we talked about Sid Vicious’ arrest for killing his girlfriend Nancy Spungeon. Today, in 1978, he attempted suicide while in Riker’s Island. Here is a clip of his interview at Rikers. Even darker on this day, in 1991, Dr. Jack Kevorkian's suicide machine assisted two women to commit suicide.
In 2018, Megyn Kelly was accused of supporting blackface on her NBC show, leading to her ousting from the network. On the same day in the same year, Austrian scientists found microplastics in human stools for the first time. They now admit that microplastics are here to stay. Just like forever chemicals.
A year later in 2019, Google research lab claimed to have achieved Quantum Supremacy, defined as performing a calculation in three mins that would take a supercomputer 10,000 years to complete. It’s unclear who checked their work.
Other cultural milestones include:
1998: Britney Spears released "Baby One More Time."
2015: Adele released "Hello."
2018: "Bohemian Rhapsody" biopic premiered in London.
2020: Netflix releases "The Queen's Gambit."
1942: Whoops! You’re Dead
An American Airlines DC-3 airliner was struck by a US Air Force bomber near Palm Springs in 1942. All 12 passengers and crewmen were killed, among them composer Ralph Rainger who wrote "Thanks for the Memory.” It’s important to practice airline safety, even if you fear being accidentally shot down by the US government.
1958: 74 died in The Springhill Mine Bump
1959: 17 died when Chinese troops moved into India.
1983: 243 US personnel killed in suicide truck bomb in Beirut.
1993: 22 demonstrators killed by paramilitia in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
1993: Seven people killed by IRA bomb attack in Belfast.
2004: 35 killed, 2,200 injured, 85,000 homeless in Japanese earthquake.
2011: 582 killed, thousands injured in 7.2 earthquake in Turkey.
Birthdays
1869: John Heisman (Football Coach)
1925: Johnny Carson (Comedian)
1942: Michael Crichton (Filmmaker)
1959: Weird Al Yankovic (Parody Singer)
1976: Ryan Reynolds (Actor)
Death Days
42: Marcus Junius Brutus (Suicide)
1957: Christian Dior (Heart Attack)
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I'm Tired https://g.co/kgs/Q9EjWL Reminds me of the Great Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles