Well in 401 A.D., the Visigoths under Alaric I cross the Alps into Italy. It's gonna get ugly folks. They are called "barbarians" after all. So expect fire, rape, blood, theft, and all the things that make barbarian life fun!
Now here's one I never thought I'd see on a history page, and that I would love to see the documentation on: Apparently, today is the day that William (or Wilhelm) Tell shot the apple off his son's head. Which is quite interesting, since I've never seen anything to suggest Tell actually existed. So if a fictional character does an impressive feat involving another fictional character (and Hell, if we throw in Gessler, we have 3 fictional characters), does it make a revolution? Oh, and according to things I've read in the past, the original legends doesn't specifically mention a crossbow, but merely a "bow". Hmmm. I do find it remarkably interesting that the legend specifies November 18, 1307 as the date that this feat was performed. That does seem a bit specific for a legend, ya know?
Once again, Columbus appears off of a strange coastline. This time, it's Puerto Rico. And again, this happens in 1493, so as we've previously discussed, nobody cares.
Here's a fascinating non-coincidence: On this date in 326, St. Peter's Basilica was consecrated. But wait, I hear you cry, it was consecrated in 1626 on this very date. Ahh, there's an easy explanation. The first one was the Old Saint Peter's, the second date was (is) the aptly named St. Peter's Basilica. The latter one built on the same site as the original. By the way, this was also the site of the Circus Of Nero. And it is, according to actual archaeological evidence, the burial site of St. Peter. Interesting, eh?
In 1865, an amusing story was published in The New York Saturday Press. It bore the odd name "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog", and was written of course by a young author calling himself Mark Twain. It was a bit of a success, and was published again the next month as "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County". Makes me wonder how many times he could have had it republished with a different title... Just kidding. It's a violation of many Federal and moral laws to snark on Mark Twain, so I won't do it.
Ha. Here's a good one. In 1926, George Bernard Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize, but rejected the prize money. Apparently, he announced "I can forgive Alfred Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize." Odd, but then being odd can often be a good thing for an author.
In 1928, we have the release of a new film. It's called "Steamboat Willie", and if you don't understand the significance of it, then the heck with you.
Wow, here's a charming story. Twas on this date in 1978 that the Jonestown Massacre took place. Ever wondered where the expression "drink the kool-aid" comes from? Well, there were about 900 people who were told to drink the special kool-aid, and did. They all croaked, of course. That's what you call an honest to God cult! However, lest we make too much fun of it, we are talking about the lives of 918 people, including 270 children. And a congressman, though in theory... nope. Won't go there either.
Wow. Here's another disaster, one which feels like it was more recent than it actually was. In 1999, there was a bonfire at Texas A&M to celebrate the upcoming game against the University of Texas. It collapsed, and 12 people were killed. If somebody had asked me when this happened, I probably would have guessed about 2004. Huh.
And with all that gloom and doom, we come to an end for this installment. Later days.
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