ON THIS DAY

It was on this date in 1494, on his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere, that Columbus first saw Jamaica.

• The continuous plume of smoke gave it away.
• They had docked next to it the day before, but it took that long for the smoke to clear.
• Actually, that's when the guy in the crow's nest yelled out, "Land ho!" Columbus replied, "I can see the land, but are you sure about the ho?"

It was in 1776 that Silas Deane -- an American agent in Paris -- invented invisible ink! Unfortunately, he could only use it once: after he made the mistake of using it to write down the formula.

On this date in 1886, the phonograph was invented! Needless to say, it was a big boost for the Record of the Month club.

In 1893, the "Panic of 1893" hit Wall Street. That was the first one. The second "Panic of 1893" was when my 401K sank to a record low $18.93.

On this date in 1904, Cy Young pitched the American League's first perfect game as the Boston Red Sox defeat the Philadelphia Athletics, 3-0. I hope he won some kind of award for it. Yes, Young pitched baseball's first "perfect game," which really ticked off the guy who invented the phrase, "Nobody's perfect!"

It was on this date in 1925 that John Scopes was arrested in Tennessee for teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution. However, after this year's presidential race, they're thinking about reversing that. Or, the school board told him, "No more monkeying around!"

On this date in 1942, sugar rationing began in the U.S. as part of the war effort.

• Because we were at war, not because we were fat.
• As I look around, I'm wondering if that would be a good idea for today.
• Further proof that war can be hell.