ON THIS DAY
It was on this date in 1569 that St. Philip of Moscow was martyred by Ivan the Terrible. Before that, he had been known by the name "Ivan the not such a bad guy."
On this date in 1783, George Washington resigned as the U.S. Army's Commander in Chief. Yep, he took his teeth and went home. He was pretty old by then and had to hire a neighbor kid to chop down his cherry trees for him.
In 1823, Clement C. Moore's poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" was published in the Troy, NY, Sentinel. It replaced the country's other favorite Christmas poem at the time, "There once was an elf from Nantucket..."
On this date in 1920, Ireland divided into two pints... I'm sorry... two parts. My guess is, two parts whiskey with a dash of soda.
It was on this date in 1947 that the transistor was invented. Back then, it was about electronics and had nothing to do with gender.
On this date in 1975, the U.S. Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act. We've been trying to convert the U.S. to the metric system, but we just keep inching along.
In 1986, the experimental aircraft "Voyager" landed, after circling the world without refueling once. Yet, still, some how, their luggage accidentally was shipped through to Pittsburgh.
It's the day before the day before...
Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam turns 49 today, although he's sounded that old for a couple of decades now. He's a scary guy. At least, that's what I get from the song: "Oh, the Vedder outside is frightful..."
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh celebrates birthday number 52 with a fresh couple of pairs of Dockers.
Wow, Susan Lucci -- who played Erica Kane on "All My Children" for decades -- turns 69 today.
Almost one year for every husband she had on the show.
Harry Shearer of 'The Simpsons' turns 72 today. He's the voice of Ned Flanders, Kent Brockman, Mr. Burns, Smithers, Kang, Reverand Lovejoy and Scratchy, to name a few.
Festivus -- a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as an alternative to Christmas and as way to commemorate the season without participating in its pressures and commercialism. Festivus became part of worldwide popular culture after being featured on an episode of "Seinfeld" in 1997. It was conceived by writer Dan O'Keefe and was celebrated by his family as early as 1966.
Google is teaming up with Ford to create some self-driving cars. Of course, that would kill their slogan, "Have you driven a Ford lately?"
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