ON THIS DAY

On this date in 1642, the city of Montreal was founded. By the way, "Montreal" is French for "major league baseball probably won't work here."

In 1804, the French Senate made Napoleon Bonaparte France's new Emperor, choosing him over his opponent Hillary Clintone. Some were angry at first, thinking he should was stood up for the honor... but then, it turned out, he was already standing. Yeah, short dude.

On this date in 1852, school attendance in the U.S. was made compulsory. Education is an important part of our society and I'm sure I'll think this was a good idea, as soon as I find out what "compulsory" means.

In 1860, at the Republican Party convention in Chicago, IL, Abraham Lincoln was nominated for president. The gig came with the job and a lifetime of free theater tickets.

On this date in 1914, the very ship went through the Panama Canal. It did much better than the very first car. It was said to be much easier than swimming it. Things went great until they got to the toll booth and they didn't have exact change.

In 1927, Grauman's Chinese Theater opened up in Hollywood. That's the place with all the handprints and footprints of the stars. The rumor is that it could close forever if funding isn't found.

It was on this date back in 1980, 30 years ago today, that Mount St. Helens had its first major eruption since 1857. The Washington state volcano shot steam and ash 11 miles into the air.

• It took 1300 feet off the mountain. More than just a little off the top.
• Yes, it made a big ash out of itself.
• It was nothing more than a good, old-fashioned ash-kicking.
• If only Starbucks had been around back then. They could have harnessed the steam to make the world's biggest latte!
• Since then, things have returned back to normal and Washington State has pretty much covered it's ash.

On this date in 2005, Randy Johnson, at age 40, becomes the oldest pitcher in major league history to throw a perfect game. He not only retired 27 batters in a row, but the beer vender didn't spill a drop of beer. How perfect was that game!