Today in History

[Peacoat]

Fort Dix.

Yes, after graduating from Harvard, Al Gore, Jr. enlisted in the Army and did his basic training at Ft. Dix in 1969 with a later posting to VN in 1971, following an assignment at Ft. Rucker, Alabama.

Interestingly at his wedding in 1970, he wore his Army formal dress blues (he was enlisted). He was later a Senator, following in his father's footsteps, and was Bill Clinton's Vice President. Almost defeated George W. Bush in a close election in 2000 (drat those hanging chads in Florida). Also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Not bad for a former enlisted man.

A lot of history I had forgotten.

 

[Peacoat]

Today's date in 1973 Leon Jaworski was appointed as the new Watergate Special Prosecutor. Gosh has it been 45 years?

Trying times in our history.

 

[2jakes]

10.4 megatons of tnt

Ivy Mike was the codename given to the first test of a full-scale thermonuclear device, in which part of the explosive yield comes from nuclear fusion. It was detonated on November 1, 1952 by the United States on the island of Elugelab in Enewetak Atoll, in the Pacific Ocean, as part of Operation Ivy. It was the first full test of the Teller–Ulam design, a staged fusion device.

 

[Peacoat]

@2jakes, I could be wrong, but I think you are a day off. If I remember history correctly, the first hydrogen bomb was exploded on Enewetak Atoll on October 31, 1952. A fitting day—Halloween.

 

[2jakes]

@2jakes, I could be wrong, but I think you are a day off. If I remember history correctly, the first hydrogen bomb was exploded on Enewetak Atoll on October 31, 1952. A fitting day—Halloween.

Perhaps you should notify the New York Times and tell them of the error when they
wrote:
"The United States first detonated a hydrogen bomb on November 1,1952
on the islands in the Pacific."

I'm sure they will appreciate it!

 

[Woodtroll]

Would the difference in the dates reported depend on local vs. US or GMT time? I, too, have seen it reported to be either date. That part of the world being "a day" ahead of us messes with my mind.

 

[2jakes]

Would the difference in the dates reported depend on local vs. US or GMT time? I, too, have seen it reported to be either date. That part of the world being "a day" ahead of us messes with my mind.

Now that...is an interesting observation!

 

[Peacoat]

Aha, therein lies the problem: The NY Times!

 

[EngProf]

Dates can be a bit troublesome when you're operating near the International Date Line.
There is a story of a Navy PBY during WWII which took off from Midway on the 5th of June, flew west and patrolled on the 4th, and landed back at Midway on the 6th.

 

[scotrace]

Benito Mussolini declared the Rome-Berlin Axis alliance, Nov. 2, 1936.

 

[Peacoat]

1947 Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose flew for the first (and last) time.

1948 Harry S Truman was elected the 33rd president of the United States.

1976 Jimmy Carter is elected the 39th president of the United States.

 

[MissMittens]

I'm not sure if this should go in: "Things that make you smile."
Ten years ago today, officials asked for the Welsh translation of a bilingual road sign which in English read : "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only." When the automatic e-mail came back from Swansea council it read "Nid wyf yn y swyddfa ar hyn o bryd. Anfonwch unrhyw waith i'w gyfieithu" and this was duly printed on the road sign. Only later was it discovered that the Welsh part of the sign said "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated."

LOL!!! That's so awesome :lol:

 

[Fading Fast]

1947 Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose flew for the first (and last) time....

It was a big deal at the time (Hughes was accused of cheating on the gov't contract to build it and proving it could fly put that charge to rest - right or wrong) - and the film clip of it flying is awesome crazy as if someone laid the Empire State Building on its side, put propellors on it and then tried to fly it (and it actually got airborne - a bit anyway).

 

[Peacoat]

Took him a while to get to Vlof.

 

[Fading Fast]

Took him a while to get to Vlof.

No kidding, it was quite the nail-biter. But again, it's no easy feat to make The Empire State Building fly.

I can't imagine a reason for me to be in Oregon, but if I ever am, I'm going to see that crazy plane at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.

 

[Peacoat]

Heard this a little earlier on NPR: The first radio broadcast was made today's date in Pittsburgh in 1920.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Sort of. It was the first broadcast of a station under a commercial-class license, and that station, KDKA, is still on the air today. There are no actual recordings of that broadcast, but there are lot of recreations and fakes going around.

But broadcasting under experimental licenses had been going on as far back as 1906. Lee DeForest covered the 1916 election from his station 2XG in New York, the first voice broadcast of election returns as opposed to using Morse code. There were even commercials in the 1916 broadcast, of a sort -- DeForest plugged the music store that provided the phonograph and records he used for music fill between news builletins. Unfortunately, 2XG got the results of the election wrong. Ooops.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Unfortunately, 2XG got the results of the election wrong. Ooops.

Thankfully, that never happened again.

 

[LizzieMaine]

HST's impersonation of H. V. Kaltenborn is one of the funniest bits any President has ever done.

 

[seres]

Sort of. It was the first broadcast of a station under a commercial-class license, and that station, KDKA, is still on the air today...

I grew up under the umbrella of the KDKA transmissions, and somewhere I heard that, as the first commercial broadcast station, KDKA was allowed to keep the K in it's call sign, even though it is east of the Mississippi. All other eastern stations begin with a W.

Does anyone know if that's correct?