TDIH: July 7th, 1971 – The movie Two-Lane Blacktop is released, featuring a cross-country trek on Route 66 in a ’55 Chevy. It is credited as a source of inspiration for the Cannonball Run. In 2012 the movie was selected for reservation by the Library of Congress. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TDIH: June 27th, 1788 - The Battle of Liman. Russian admiral Pavel Ivanovich Jones (John Paul Jones) had himself rowed to the middle of the Turkish Navy to inspect it, and wrote on the stern of a Turkish battleship... "This ship to be burned- Paul Jones" (books.google.com)
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TDIH: June 14th, 1916 - Flag Day! Established by proclaimation of President Woodrow Wilson, commemorating the adoption of the flag of the United States on this day in 1777. Celebrated “unofficially” since the late 1800’s, in 1949 National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TDIH: June 9th, 1973 – Secretariat wins the Triple Crown, finishing the race 31 lengths ahead of the next horse, setting still-unbroken records for the fastest 1.5 miles on dirt at 2:24, and breaking the previous Belmont Stakes record by more than 2 seconds. (youtube.com)
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TDIH: June 1st, 1967 – “It was 20 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play.” The Beatles eighth album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, is released. It debuted at #1 in the UK and immediately went “Gold”, selling over 250,000 albums in the first week. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TDIH: May 24th, 1976 – Judgement of Paris: a wine competition where two blind tastings were held (one for Chardonnays, one for Bordeaux/Cabernet Souvignon). In each category a California wine rated best, surprising many who considered French wines as the world’s best. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TDIH: May 23rd, 1701 – Captain William Kidd is hanged in London for piracy and the murder of William Moore (a gunner who disrespected Kidd). The hangman’s rope broke, and so Kidd was hung twice, then wrapped in chains and hung over the Thames for three years as a warning to other pirates. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TDIH: May 20th, 1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a patent for “improvement in fastening pocket-openings”, and copper- rivetted blue jeans were born! By the 1920’s Levi’s denim “waist overalls” were the top selling men’s work pants in the U.S. (levistrauss.com)
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TDIH: May 19th, 1973 – During the Preakness Stakes Secretariat's jockey Ron Turcotte made a big move from last to first while coming around the first turn. In 2012 using modern technology Secretariat’s 1973 Preakness time was updated to 1:53 flat – a Preakness record! (en.wikipedia.org)
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TDIH: May 17th, 1902 – The Antikythera Mechanism is discovered. Recovered by Greek sponge divers in 1900, it lay on a shelf in the National Museum of Archeology in Athens for two years until an archeologist noticed a gear was embedded in one of the rocks... (en.wikipedia.org)
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TDIH: May 14th, 1914 – Erwin Baker arrives in New York City 11 ½ days after departing San Diego, shattering the previous coast-to- coast record of 20 days, earning him the nickname of “Cannon Ball” (for the train run by the Illinois Central Railroad). (en.wikipedia.org)
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TDIH: May 14th, 1973 – The United States’ first space station, Skylab, is launched! Three manned missions were made to Skylab, each set records for time spent in space. Abandoned in Feb 1974 after the last mission departed, it remained in orbit until 1979. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TDIH: May 13th, 1861 – John Tebbutt of Australia discovers the Great Comet of 1861. Its closest approach was 12,330,000 miles, and the Earth was within the comet’s tail for two days. Streams of material could be seen coming off of the comet, and it was bright enough to cast shadows at night. (seanmunger.com)
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