ON THIS DAY

How smart was Ben Franklin? Besides all of his inventions, it was on this date in 1775 that he co-founded the first American society for the abolition of slavery. Almost 100 years before it was abolished. Some of the bigger plantation owners told him to go fly a kite... and the rest is history.

In 1828, the very first edition of Noah Webster's "American Dictionary of the English Language" was published.

• It prompted the age-old question, "How can you look up how to spell a word if you don't know how to spell it?"
• People could finally look up the word "dictionary" and find out what it meant.

It was on this date in 1894 that a motion picture "peep show" device invented by Thomas Edison went on display in New York City. The most amazing part is that Peeps had not yet been invented.

In 1902, J.C. Penney opened up his very first store. But nobody took him Sears-ly.

On this date in 1912, the world's most unsinkable ship, the Titanic, struck an iceberg. As you know, Leonardo DiCaprio didn't survive. Or, apparently, the captain didn't see the iceberg and was staring at a guy down on the deck, saying "Doesn't that look like Leonardo DiCaprio?"

Yes, the supposedly unsinkable RMS Titantic runs into an iceberg in the North Atlantic and begins to sink. How about some Titantic trivia? Ready, set, let's play:

• At approximately what time did the Titanic sink on April in 1912? (2:20am)
• Who got the last lifeboat and was branded a coward? (Bruce Ismay)
• She was called the Unsinkable Molly Brown, what was her first name? (Maggie)
• Name the sister ship of the Titanic that was being build at the same time in Belfast. (Olympic)
• How many ice warnings did the Titanic receive? (six)
• Who said "we're dressed and ready to go down, gentlemen?" (Benjamin Guogenhiem and his manservant)
• How many lifeboats were aboard the Titanic? (16-4 collapsible)
• What was the difference between the Titanic and the Olympic? (Titanic had a closed deck)
• How much was a first class ticket on the Titanic? ($4000)
• How much was a third class ticket on the Titanic? ($35)
• Who discovered the Titanic in 1985? (Dr. Robert Ballard)
• What did the clock stand for at the top of the grand stair case according to Bruce Ismay? (Time and Grace)
• What was the designer of the Titanic last name? (Andrews)
• What does R.M.S. stand for? (Royal Mail Steamship)
• How long was the Titanic? (four city blocks, 852 feet by 92.5 feet)
• At what speed was the Titanic going when it collided with the iceberg? (22 knots)
• What other ship was ten miles from the Titanic and never responded to its calls? (The California)

It was on this date in 1913 that President William Howard Taft started the tradition of throwing out the first ball of the baseball season. Of course, that tradition has been replaced. Now the president throws out the first player testing positive for steroids.

On this date in 1956, Ampex demonstrated the very first commercial video recorder. And the rerun was born!