ON THIS DAY

On this date in 1848, James W. Marshall found a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill in California, which led to the gold rush of 1849.

• That inspired the name of a football team and they went 2-14. So, there was not a happy ending.
• One ounce of gold can be stretched into a wire fifty miles long.
• Human fingernails contain gold. A woman's fingernails contain slightly more. Now you know.
• And 24-karat gold is not pure gold, it includes a small amount of copper.

On this date in 1899, the rubber heel was patented.

• Why you need a heel on a rubber is beyond me.
• It lifted up your feet and gave you extra support and was even more effective when placed on a shoe.
• As dog owners know, that was years before the rubber "sit" and rubber "roll over" was invented.
• It also paved the way, of course, for the rubber Bud Light kitchen floor. It was a nice way to put a little bounce in your step.

In 1908, the very first Boy Scout troop was formed in England. This after a crowd of thousands of little old ladies formed, wanting to cross the street.

On this date in 1916, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal income tax is constitutional. So blame them!

In 1922 the "Eskimo Pie" was patented. Of course, the toughest part about making them is getting fresh Eskimo.

On this date in 1935, beer was first served in cans in Richmond, Virginia.

• Yeah, I don't know why it isn't a holiday, either.
• Back then, getting canned had an entirely different meaning.
• Why the guy selling beer wore cans, I'll never know.
• Yes, the number of injuries from guys crushing bottles on their foreheads plummeted.

On this date in 1945, the New York Yankees were sold for $3 million. Today, that wouldn't even cover the bat boy.

In 1984, Apple introduced their Macintosh personal computer. If I had bought their stock instead of one of those computers, I'd be rich.