'Twas on this date, in either 654 or 655, that the fierce battle of Winwaed took place. Between the evil Mercians and the Northumbrians. They all later became known as The English. Not sure about where exactly it happened, but Penda of Mercia got his ass handed to him, or more likely got it handed to Oswiu, who no doubt took great pleasure in it. Not in that way, you sicko! (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)
A few centuries later, those darned Schweizer Eidgenossenschaft pulled an ambush on Leopold I. And his entire army. Geez, you can never trust a Schweizer Eidgenossenschaft, can you? Later though (probably a day or two), they became known more generally as the Swiss, so I guess they're okay. After all, nobody who yodels while they make chocolate and hot cocoa can be all bad, right?
In 1777, the Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation. It took them 16 months. By today's standards, that's a good thing- we've seen what happens when congress-critters take action. Frankly, we'd be better off if we just paid them their salaries and didn't pester them with the expectations of doing anything. But I digress.
Way off in the wilds of the American West, a US army lieutenant sees a mountain in the distance. Since he was in what later became known as Colorado, that's frankly not a great accomplishment. But what the hell- nobody else had done it before (of any consequence, at least), so he got to name it. He could have gone with Mt. Zebulon, but really- if your parents named you "Zebulon" would you brag about it? I didn't think so. Instead, he opted for Pike's Peak.
In 1942, the battle of Guadalcanal ends. Finally. And badly for the Japanese. From the American viewpoint, it ended better. USA, USA!! Hell of a mess though. From the accounts I've read, that must have been one of the most god-awful places to even visit, let alone fight a battle. But that's the way the cookie crumbles!
A year later, Himmler decides to handle the Gypsies the same way he's handling the Jews. That's not good- it's even worse than being treated as tramps and thieves. (Sorry, but I had to). Seriously though, this was not the first bit of genocide against the gypsies- or more properly, the Romani. It's just the most ironic, since they're arguably the most Aryan people on earth. It's also not the last genocide- even today in Europe, they're treated as thieves and interlopers- with, it must be admitted, some justification. But some years ago, one country in Europe even tried to force them into walled ghettos, where they could be kept under control. Sound familiar? Or at least scary? According to a book I read some 20 years ago, the accepted definition of "genocide" was being met against them in several countries throughout Europe. Glad we learned the lesson of "never again", eh?
Remember reading "In cold blood" in high school? Creepy, eh? Well today is the anniversary of the Clutter Massacre. 1959, it was. Sadly, it would seem kind of mundane in today's world. Four people killed? Yawn. But Truman Capote felt it made for a good story, and I guess he was right.
Big news in the fast food industry. In Columbus Ohio, craphole of the whole world (Go Blue!). Dave Thomas opened a fast food restaurant, named after his red-haired daughter, Sylvia. Just kidding! Her name of course was (and still is) Wendy.
And that about covers that. All the news that's fit to snark.
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