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      Welcome!   03/05/2016

      Welcome, everyone, to the new 910CMX Community Forums. I'm still working on getting them running, so things may change.  If you're a 910 Comic creator and need your forum recreated, let me know and I'll get on it right away.  I'll do my best to make this new place as fun as the last one!
Illjwamh

This Day In History

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On September 12 in History:
 
490 BCE - The Athenian army and their allies defeat the invading Persian army at the plains of Marathon. One guy runs himself to death back to the city to deliver the news - a feat millions of people will one day regularly recreate for fun.
 
640 - Death of Sak Kʼukʼ, former queen of Bàakʼ (Palenque). She hasn't been queen for 25 years, though; her son K'inich Janaab' Pakal (Pacal the Great) took over after only about three years. Officially, anyway. You know how these things work.
 
1609 - Henry Hudson begins exploring a river in the New World. We really should name it.
 
1683 - "YOU! SHALL NOT! PASS!" ~ Habsburgs, Poland-Lithuania, and the HRE to the Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna
 
1938 - Adolf Hitler demands that the largely German population of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia be given "autonomy" and "self-determination". By which of course he means, "Give it to me."
 
1959 - The first regularly scheduled TV program to be aired in color premiers. It's a Bonanza for the senses.
 
1962 - America's crazy president publicly talks about going to the moon, and "other things".
 
1974 - Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie is deposed in a military coup after 58 years of rule. Sure could use some magic Jesus powers right about now.
 
1990 - The two Germanies and the four countries controlling those two Germanies agree to let there be just one Germany that controls itself. Next year.
 
2003 - Johnny Cash dies. Whether or not he falls into a burning ring of fire remains unclear, though I consider it unlikely.
 
2005 - The last of Israeli military units and settlers finish withdrawing from the Gaza Strip. Approximately 2,500 homes are left demolished. "Hey, not our problem anymore."

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7 hours ago, Illjwamh said:

490 BCE - The Athenian army and their allies defeat the invading Persian army at the plains of Marathon. One guy runs himself to death back to the city to deliver the news - a feat millions of people will one day regularly recreate for fun.

They don't do it right. They are supposed to do it while wearing bronze armour and carrying a spear. Otherwise they won't die properly from exhaustion.

 

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On September 13 in History:
 
509 BCE - On Rome's Capitoline Hill, the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus is dedicated. "Optimus Maximus" means "The best and greatest". Geez, Rome, suck up much?
 
81 - Roman emperor Titus dies, leaving us with his younger brother Domitian. Thanks a lot, dude.
 
379 - Yax Nuun Ahiin I ascends to the throne of Tikal. His name means "Curl Nose". Well that's kind of mean.
 
533 - Belisarius gives the Vandals a taste of their own medicine at the Battle of Ad Decimum, which will allow him to take the city of Carthage the following day. Several Byzantine/Roman soldiers have the weird feeling they've done this before.
 
678 - Future ruler of Palenque Kʼinich Ahkal Moʼ Nahb III is born. His name means Radiant Turtle Macaw Lake. What, are they just throwing darts at random words now?
 
1229 - Ögedei Khan becomes the second Khagan/Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. Good luck living up to your dad, guy.
 
1475 - Cesare Borgia is born to Pope Alexander VI. You know, the head of the church that demands celibacy from its clergy. Machiavelli takes a special interest.
 
1791 - Louis XVI of France accepts the country's new constitution, as he can clearly see which way the wind is blowing. Guy's got a head on his shoulders.
 
1814 - The British fail to capture the city of Baltimore or its defending outpost, Fort McHenry. Francis Scott Key writes a poem about it. You probably haven't read it.
 
1862 - A Union soldier finds a copy of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's detailed battle plans wrapped around some cigars lying in a field. Whoopsie.
 
1985 - Super Mario Bros. is released in Japan. It stars an Italian plumber who must save a princess from the clutches of an army of turtles in a kingdom populated by mushrooms. The turtles with their hard shells represent militarism, and the mushrooms represent those taken by the programmers when designing the game.
 
1993 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat shake hands at the White House. Well, that should solve everything. Looks like our work here is done.
 

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17 hours ago, Illjwamh said:

533 - Belisarius gives the Vandals a taste of their own medicine at the Battle of Ad Decimum, which will allow him to take the city of Carthage the following day.

He would then go on to produce such hits as Magnum PI, Quantum Leap, JAG and NCIS.

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On September 14 in History:
 
786 - Harun al-Rashid becomes Caliph on the same day his son is born. Even taking into account that his brother died, this is probably still the greatest day of his life.
 
919 - High King of Ireland Niall Glúndub and five other Irish kings are killed in the Battle of Islandbridge while trying to force the Vikings of Dublin of the realm. Well, shit.
 
1180 - Future shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo's force of 300 is outnumbered ten to one and overwhelmed at the Battle of Ishibashiyama, the first in which Yoritomo takes command. Fortunately for him, he escapes by the expedient method of hiding in a tree until somebody comes to rescue him. Japan's future leader!
 
1321 - Dante Alighieri embarks on the next great adventure. Which to him must be boring, since he's already seen everything.
 
1752 - Today comes after September 2 in the British Empire, which has just adopted the Gregorian calendar. Why they chose such an arbitrary date to do it, I couldn't tell you.
 
1812 - Napoleon's Grande Armée triumphantly enters Moscow. Victory is assured! ...wait, why is everything on fire?
 
1836 - Aaron Burr, already immobile from a stroke two years before, is finally put out of his misery by the vengeful ghost of Alexander Hamilton
 
1901 - William McKinley dies of his gunshot wound, resulting in Teddy Roosevelt becoming president. This is funny if you're aware that Teddy is very anti-corruption, and the powers-that-be in the political machine had conspired to place him in the office of the vice presidency, which has virtually no power, where he couldn't do any "damage" to their established order. Whoopsie.
 
1917 - Russian Empire out, Russian Republic in. "You're doing it backwards," says Rome.
 
1940 - Hungarian soldiers and civilians run around the area of Ip in Sălaj County, Romania, indiscriminately killing any ethnic Romanians they come across. Because the whole world has gone to hell and this is just the sort of shit that happens now, apparently.
 
1959 - The Soviet probe named Luna 2 is the first manmade object to reach the Moon, where it crashes. Don't worry, it was supposed to.
 
1960 - Mobutu Sese Seko, army chief of staff of the brand-newly independent Democratic Republic of the Congo, ousts both the Prime Minister and the President in a bloodless coup and takes control of the government. With CIA help, natch.
 
1982 - I try to be like Grace Kelly, but all her looks were too sad. Also, she's dead now.
 
1994 - The Major League Baseball season ends early due to a player strike, ending the Montreal Expos' last best chance at winning a championship and thus to continue existing.
 
2009 - Patrick Swayze dies, though he can occasionally still be seen making pottery with Demi Moore.
 
2015 - Gravitational waves are observed for the first time. "Told you." ~Einstein

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On September 16 in History:
 
681 - Pope Honorius is excommunicated by the Sixth Ecumenical Council. I mean, he's already dead; we just wanted to make extra sure he's in Hell.
 
1400 - Owain Glyndŵr is proclaimed Prince of Wales. Henry IV of England is not amused.
 
1620 - The Pilgrims set out from England on the Mayflower. In their haste and excitement to set up their own new religious colony in the New World, they forgot to bring along with them sufficient provisions, winter supplies, adequate tools, or anyone who knew what they fuck they were doing.
 
1701 - James II & VII of England and Scotland dies in exile in France. Or, as he's known by this time, "James".
 
1810 - Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a priest in the Mexican town of Dolores, rings a bell and cries out, "We must fight the Spanish and seize our independence!" To which the people of Mexico replied, "Okay, sure."
 
1955 - The military coup to oust Argentinian president Juan Perón is launched at midnight. Shots!
 
1963 - Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak combine to form Malaysia. Singapore's not really feelin' it, though.
 
1975 - Papua New Guinea gains its independence from Australia. Indepenception.
 
1976 - Shavarsh Karapetyan, a champion swimmer from Armenia, saves 20 people from drowning after a trolley had fallen into a reservoir in the capital city of Yerevan. Your move, Mr. Phelps.
 
1979 - Eight East Germans escape to the West by means of a homemade hot air balloon. Every once in a while, one of those plans that's "just crazy enough to work" actually does.
 
2007 - Author James Oliver Rigney Jr., better known as Robert Jordan, dies before completing his epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time. Oh, and it's really sad for his family, too.

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5 hours ago, Illjwamh said:
1620 - The Pilgrims set out from England on the Mayflower. In their haste and excitement to set up their own new religious colony in the New World, they forgot to bring along with them sufficient provisions, winter supplies, adequate tools, or anyone who knew what they fuck they were doing.

 

To be fair to them, the farming practices that work best in the climate and soils of England work less well in the climate and soil conditions of Massachusetts, which was why the local natives had to teach them. The Pilgrims were also trying to grow non-native plants such as wheat as opposed to native ones such as maize which where adapted to grow there. It's not like there was anybody besides the natives to ask about local farming practices anyway, since the Mayflower people were among the first Europeans in the general area.

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9 hours ago, ijuin said:

To be fair to them, the farming practices that work best in the climate and soils of England work less well in the climate and soil conditions of Massachusetts, which was why the local natives had to teach them. The Pilgrims were also trying to grow non-native plants such as wheat as opposed to native ones such as maize which where adapted to grow there. It's not like there was anybody besides the natives to ask about local farming practices anyway, since the Mayflower people were among the first Europeans in the general area.

They also landed far north of where they intended, so even what they were expecting was different from what they got. That doesn't change the fact that they were critically unprepared and underqualified, not just for farming, but for setting up a colony in general and all that entails. If they hadn't happened upon an abandoned native village from which they could salvage supplies and utilize structures, and if the ship hadn't stayed with them that first winter, they'd have been proper fucked.

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5 hours ago, mlooney said:

Abandoned due a plague that killed off 90% of the natives on the east coast.

Well, yes.

The worst part was, it wasn't even the first time that had happened. Said village was already an attempt to reestablish society in a post-apocalyptic hellscape. There would have been people living there who were the first or second generation descendants of the survivors of the last plague that wiped out 90% of the population.

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On September 18 in History:
 
53 - Trajan is born. Your zenith approaches, Rome.
 
96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman emperor on the assassination of Domitian. His greatest achievement will be adopting the guy from above. Long may he rei- aaaand, he's dead.
 
324 - Constantine defeats Licinius at the Battle of Chrysopolis. Two emperors enter, one emperor leaves.
 
524 - Kan B'alam I ascends the thrown of Palenque. He's the first ruler to use the title "K'inich", meaning "radiant" This means his full name translates as "Radiant Snake Jaguar", in case anyone was wondering why I always make sure to include these guys.
 
1066 - Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, lands on the northeastern coast of England to claim the realm for himself. This will be a year long remembered in the annals of Anglo-Norwegian history!
 
1598 - Death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. "Excellent." ~Tokugawa Ieyasu
 
1714 - George I arrives in Great Britain for the first time since becoming king a month and a half ago. Or ever, really.
 
1914 - The Irish Home Rule Act is passed by the British parliament and becomes law. "But you'll have to wait until later; we're in the middle of something."
 
1928 - Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva is the first to cross the English Channel in an autogyro because sure, why not?
 
1931 - A Japanese garrison officer detonates a batch of dynamite near a Japanese railroad near the town of Mukden in Manchuria that doesn't even damage anything. Clearly this is part of some kind of Chinese plot and we must launch a full invasion in response.
 
1934 - The Soviet Union is allowed to join the League of Nations. I once again refer you to the TV Tropes entry for "Token Evil Teammate".
 
1973 - Both Germanys join the United Nations. Also The Bahamas. This is likely the only thing these countries will ever have in common.
 
1974 - The hilariously named Hurricane Fifi strikes Honduras. I can't decided whether to picture a poodle or a stereotypical French maid. Haha, it's actually not funny over 5,000 people died.
 
1977 - Voyager I makes history, and for the first time the Earth and the Moon take a picture together. Of course the Moon had to ruin it by blinking.
 
1981 - France guillotines the death penalty.
 
1990 - Liechtenstein joins the U.N. This is kind of like letting your kid brother hang out in your clubhouse.
 
2014 - Scotland votes not to leave the UK. They will come to regret this.

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8 hours ago, Illjwamh said:
524 - Kan B'alam I ascends the thrown of Palenque. He's the first ruler to use the title "K'inich", meaning "radiant" This means his full name translates as "Radiant Snake Jaguar", in case anyone was wondering why I always make sure to include these guys.

Would that refer to a Radiant Jaguar that eats Snakes, or a Jaguar that eats Radiant Snakes?

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On September 19 in History:
 
634 - Damascus is the first major Byzantine city to fall to the new Rashidun Caliphate under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid. All those years of fighting with Persia, softening each other up, are starting to look like a bad idea in hindsight.
 
1356 - Edward the Black Prince captures King John II of France at the Battle of Poitiers. Yet somehow beyond all reason, this war will continue for another 97 years and the English will end up losing.
 
1676 - Jamestown is burned to the ground during Bacon's Rebellion. "Why didn't we think of that?" ~The Powhattan
 
1692 - Accused warlock Giles Corey dies when he tells people to pile more rocks on him.
 
1868 - La Gloriosa (the Glorious Revolution) begins in Spain to overthrow the reign of Queen Isabella II. What to do after accomplishing that, well...we'll figure it out later. How hard could it be?
 
1881 - U.S. President James Garfield dies of gunshot wounds sustained two and a half months ago. That's two in just sixteen years. I really hope assassinating the president doesn't become a thing.
 
1893 - All women in New Zealand are now allowed to vote. Meanwhile Europe continues to pretend it's the dominant driving force of civilized culture.
 
1940 - Polish army officer Witold Pilecki (a Catholic) is captured and sent to Auschwitz. ON PURPOSE. Once there he intends to gather information for the allies and begin a resistance movement. One wonders how the Germans didn't spot him for what he was; surely the clanging of his massive titanium balls should have given him away.
 
1974 - Jimmy Fallon is born. Despite the fact that he breaks character and laughs when he's supposed to be crying, the doctors cannot help but be charmed by him.
 
1983 - St. Kitts and Nevis gains its independence from...you guessed it, the United Kingdom.
 
1985 - A big earthquake kills thousands of people and destroys hundreds of buildings in and around Mexico City. Wait for it...
 
1995 - Orville Redenbacher finally pops. Libations of artificial butter flavoring are poured out in his honor.
 
2010 - Someone finally manages to stop all the oil spilling out into the Gulf of Mexico. "Shit, man, you think we can clean it up before anybody notices?"
 
2017 - Two hours after a commemoration of the 1985 quake, accompanied by a national earthquake drill, a huge earthquake hits just outside Puebla, near the Greater Mexico City area. What the hell, Tepēyōllōtl??

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On September 21 in History:
 
19 BCE - Virgil dies. I have it on good authority he goes to Hell.
 
1170 - The Norse Kingdom of Dublin in Ireland falls to invaders from England, originally from Normandy. Bloody Vikings everywhere.
 
1327 - Edward II of England dies of an acute case of red-hot-poker-up-the-bum. ALLEGEDLY.
 
1435 - At the Congress of Arras, England's ally in the Hundred Years War, Burgundy, pulls a Benedict Arnold and sides with France instead. "Well, shit," says England.
 
1745 - Jacobite forces under Bonnie Prince Charlie defeat the army sent by the crown government at the Battle of Prestonpans in East Lothian, Scotland. In about ten minutes. Looks like Britain will be Catholic again before you know it, lads.
 
1780 - American revolutionary general Benedict Arnold pulls a Burgundy and gives the plans to West Point to the British, joining up with them instead. "Not so funny from the other end, is it?" says Britain to America's French allies.
 
1792 - "That's it! No more kings!" ~ The French National Convention
 
1840 - Future Ottoman Sultan Murad V is born. Wait for it...
 
1842 - Future Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, brother of the above, is born. Certainly makes birthday parties more convenient. Or awkward, if Ottoman princes haven't gotten over that old tradition of killing each other to clear a path to the throne yet.
 
1866 - The infant H.G. Wells arrives from the future in an invisible time machine from Mars.
 
1912 - Animator Chuck Jones is born. He is terrified when a car horn beeps outside the window near his crib and the experience will stay with him forever.
 
1937 - An Oxford professor who likes making up languages publishes a children's book he came up with on a whim. You probably haven't heard of it.
 
1947 - Author Stephen King is born. The exact circumstances are too horrifying to repeat here, but it's safe to assume the experience will stay with him forever.
 
1949 - The People's Republic of China is formally established. As usual, with the partial exception of China, it is none of those things.
 
1964 - Malta gains its independence. There is no prize for guessing whom from.
 
1981 - Belize gets its independence. From the same country as Malta, naturally.
 
1981 again - Sandra Day O'Connor becomes the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice by unanimous approval of the Senate. Either there are no sexists in the Senate, or even they realize that voting no would be a terrible idea. I tend to assume the latter.
 
1986 - Dancing violinist Lindsey Stirling is born. Too bad there's no market for people who can merge two impressive talents together, right Simon Cowell?
 
1991 - Armenia becomes independent. No no, from the Soviet Union this time.
 
1993 - Russian president Boris Yeltsin dissolves parliament despite not having the constitutional power to do so. "God dammit, not again." ~Everyone in Russia

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5 hours ago, Illjwamh said:

1993 - Russian president Boris Yeltsin dissolves parliament despite not having the constitutional power to do so. "God dammit, not again." ~Everyone in Russia

Fortunately no president ever anywhere will ever again so flagrantly ignore the Constitution of a country, backed by his own terrified party.

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19 hours ago, The Old Hack said:

Fortunately no president ever anywhere will ever again so flagrantly ignore the Constitution of a country, backed by his own terrified party.

Gosh, can you imagine?

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On September 22 in History:
 
1598 - Playwright Ben Johnson kills actor Gabriel Spenser in a duel. "Any more notes on the dialogue, Gabe?"
 
1692 - "All right, we'll hang eight more, and then that's IT. No more witch trials. Agreed?" ~Salem, Massachusetts
 
1823 - Joseph Smith purportedly finds a bunch of golden plates with a message from God himself, and then proceeds to never let anyone see or examine them except his own family. You know, like a normal person would do.
 
1896 - "Eat it, Grandpa George," ~Victoria, longest reigning British monarch
 
1939 - Nazi German and Soviet soldiers celebrate stealing Poland together in the city of Brest-Litovsk. Ideological opposites, ladies and gentlemen.
 
1941 - Roughly 6,000 survivors of the of the killings over the last few days of over 24,000 Jews in Ukraine are found and murdered by SS troopers in the town of Vinnytsia. Happy Jewish New Year.
 
1965 - The Indo-Pakistani War over Kashmir halts without resolving anything when the U.N. demands a cease-fire. Oh, this'll end well.
 
1980 - Iraq invades Iran. This'll end really well.
 
1999 - Death of George C. Scott. You may remember him for his portrayal of Gen. Patton, for which he won an Oscar that he refused, or for his fondness of the big board and his determination not to allow a mine shaft gap. To me, though, he will always be Ebeneezer Scrooge.
 
2015 - Yogi Berra dies. He never said most of the things he said.

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6 hours ago, Illjwamh said:
On September 22 in History:
 
1896 - "Eat it, Grandpa George," ~Victoria, longest reigning British monarch
 
1999 - Death of George C. Scott. You may remember him for his portrayal of Gen. Patton, for which he won an Oscar that he refused, or for his fondness of the big board and his determination not to allow a mine shaft gap. To me, though, he will always be Ebeneezer Scrooge.
 
2015 - Yogi Berra dies. He never said most of the things he said.

 

6 hours ago, Illjwamh said:
On September 22 in History:
 
1896 - "Eat it, Grandpa George," ~Victoria, longest reigning British monarch

... no longer.

 

6 hours ago, Illjwamh said:
On September 22 in History:
 
1999 - Death of George C. Scott. You may remember him for his portrayal of Gen. Patton, for which he won an Oscar that he refused, or for his fondness of the big board and his determination not to allow a mine shaft gap. To me, though, he will always be Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Objection to the Academy Award process; ah. "He was the first actor to do so." (Wiki)

He was good as Scrooge, but so were many others.

 

6 hours ago, Illjwamh said:
On September 22 in History:
 
2015 - Yogi Berra dies. He never said most of the things he said.

"I really didn't say everything I said." - but, given the citations, (wiki, again) apparently he did. More detail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On September 23 in History:
 
63 BCE - A baby boy is born to the small plebian family of Octavia, praenomen Gaius. Keep your eye on this one; I've got a good feeling about him.
 
1215 - A baby boy named Kublai is born, the fourth son of the fourth son of one Genghis Khan. Keep your eye on this one; I've got a good feeling about him.
 
1241 - Snorri Sturluson dies, thankfully not before writing down the bulk of what we know about pre-Christian Scandanavian history and mythology. He is, in a way, directly responsible for the inclusion of Thor and Loki in the Marvel Universe. Thank you, sir.
 
1338 - The Battle of Arnemuiden is the first naval battle to employ gunpowder artillery (3 cannons and a handgun on the English lead ship), and is an overwhelming victory for the French, who seize all the cargo and ships from their hated enemy. At this rate, this war will be over in no time.
 
1459 - Things have finally come to blows between the Yorkists and Lancastrians for the throne of England at the Battle of Blore Heath. A decisive Yorkist victory, we can only hope this portends a swift resolution to the conflict.
 
1641 - English trade ship the Merchant Royal sinks off Land's End in Cornwall while carrying over $1.5 billion of gold (in today's money), not to mention another million in silver, and half a million pieces of eight, however much that's worth. Anyone wanna go diving?
 
1806 - Lewis and Clark arrive back in St. Louis, full of stories of all kinds of crazy stuff they saw, and no doubt also about the pregnant young woman who saved their asses on countless occasions.
 
1889 - A little company is founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi in Kyoto to make and sell hanafuda cards. You probably haven't heard of it.
 
1905 - Norway and Sweden have a relatively amicable breakup and agree to still be friends after taking some time to focus on themselves for a little while.
 
1932 - The unification of Saudi Arabia is complete. I was going to make another Captain Planet joke, but this is really more like Cell absorbing 17 and 18.
 
1939 - Death of Sigmund Freud and, hopefully, most of his crazier ideas.
 
1949 - Bruce Springsteen is born. You know where.
 
1973 - Death of Pablo Neruda. Maybe it's cancer, maybe it's murder, maybe it's Maybelline.

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On September 26 in History:
 
1087 - William II is crowned King of England. Be careful while hunting, your majesty.
 
1290 - Margaret, a princess of Norway and only surviving heir to the throne of Scotland (of which she is now technically queen), dies en route to her new realm at only four years old. Oh, this isn't gonna be good.
 
1580 - Francis Drake completes his circumnavigation. In response to detractors who say Magellan did it first, he glances toward a map of the Philippines and says, "Did he?"
 
1688 - English parliament votes to support an invasion of their own country by a foreign army. It makes sense in context.
 
1774 - Johnny Appleseed is born after an apple tree crisscrosses the country artificially inseminating various women.
 
1898 - George Gershwin is born to the accompaniment of a rising clarinet glissando.
 
1905 - Albert Einstein publishes a paper that includes his special theory of relativity, an upgraded version of his regular theory of relativity available only to gold card members.
 
1917 - The Battle of Polygon Wood is fought near Ypres in Belgium, which sees thousands of soldiers hurling blocks of solid oak, cherry, and mahogany cut into finely measured geometric shapes at each other. I apologize for nothing.
 
1960 - Presidential candidates Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy debate each other on live TV for the first time. Nixon comes off as saggy, sweaty, and unlikable, decades before these would inexplicably turn into selling points.
 
1968 - Jim Caviezel is born. Three Iranian astronomers who happen to be passing offer his family some jewelry and incense as celebratory gifts.
 
1969 - The Beatles release Abbey Road. Hope y'all got your fill, 'cause there ain't no more.
 
1981 - Serena Williams is born. Good luck living up to your big sister.
 
1983 - A man named Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet Air Force officer, saves the world and the entire human race when he realizes that a computer error is exactly that as opposed to an incoming American nuclear attack, and therefore does not follow protocol by passing it up the chain. Why do we not have parades celebrating this man on an annual basis?
 
1984 - The UK agrees to return Hong Kong to China in 1997. To be fair, they don't really have much choice in the matter. Not consulted: Hong Kong.
 
1988 - Birth of Lilly Singh, a media personality whom it's getting harder and harder for middle aged white people to pretend they haven't heard of.
 
2019 - The British Natural Environment Research Council launches its new research vessel for the British Antarctic Survey, the RRS Sir David Attenborough. It contains a remotely controlled submersible vehicle called Boaty McBoatface because the internet is stupid.
 

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