ON THIS DAY

Philosopher Confucius was born in 550 BC. He offered the world great wisdom, such as, "Man with glass house should dress in basement."

In 1789, Congress established the Department of Foreign Affairs, known these days as the State Department. They eventually changed the name of it to the Department of State, so here wouldn't be any confusion with their domestic affairs.

In 1866, the last of 1,686 miles of telegraph cable were dropped into the Atlantic Ocean. It was also when the foreman asked, "So where's the other end go?" and a worker replied, "Other end?"

It was on this date back in 1909 that Orville Wright tested the U.S. Army's first airplane, flying himself and a passenger for one hour and 12 minutes.

Unfortunately, not long enough to watch the entire in-flight movie.
Very few people that during that brief flight, they managed to lose two pieces of luggage.
He would have demonstrated it for the Air Force, but there wasn't one yet.
It would have been really impressive if the passenger's luggage hadn't somehow ended up in Cleveland.
Bugs Bunny debuted in the 1940 short "A Wild Hare," where he first uttered his trademark line, "What's up, Doc?" Credit for the Bugs Bunny character generally goes to Tex Avery, who developed a preliminary character created by fellow animator Ben "Bugs" Hardaway.

So Bugs is 78 years old? And Elmer Fudd still hasn't caught up with him.
Wow, Bugs Bunny is 78? That's not carrot juice, it's Metamucil.
And he was a grey hare when he started.
Critics described his comedy as "fresh, but it tastes like chicken."
Bugs Bunny made his first cartoon, despite the fact it was Wabbit Season. Duck Season. Wabbit Season! Duck Season!
Until then, "What's up doc?" had been purely a medical question.
Until then, he'd just hang out by freeway off-ramps in Hollywood, holding a sign that said, "Will 'What's up doc?' for food."

On this date in 1953, the Korean War officially came to an end. Really. Did anyone bother telling them?

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