ON THIS DAY

William of Orange was born on this date in 1650. English poets almost pulled a muscle trying to rhyme his name. The best they could come up with was "door hinge."

On this date in 1832, Charles Carroll, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, died at age 95. The British had placed a curse on the colonists who signed the Declaration and said that one day, they'd all die. Sure enough, 56 years later, they were right!

Also on this date in 1832, the very first horse-drawn trolley cars appeared in New York City. It was also the debut of the first streetcar flasher.

People were amazed -- who knew horses could draw?
It wasn't long until there was graffiti on the horses.
They had even smoother sailing when they stopped feeding the horse a bean-focused diet.
The next day, the streetcar had been hijacked and the horse was found up on blocks.
On this date in 1851, "Moby Dick" was first published.

It's one thing to be a great white whale, but also an author? How do you type with those fins?
Many were surprised that a great white whale could even write.
On this date in 1896, the power plant at Niagara Falls was turned on. Very handy for those honeymoon couples suffering a power outage.

In 1900, Watertown, NY, was paralyzed by 45-inches of snow in 24 hours.

It was so bad, Frosty the Snowman crashed a Weight Watchers meeting that night!
The shoveling occurred in real time.
So of the drifts were so deep, people had to dig down 20 feet to clean their chimneys.
On this date in 1910, an airplane took off for the first time from the deck of a ship. This, the day after it had landed on one for the very first time. The only thing that could have made the occasion greater was to have planned it that way.

In 1968, Yale University went co-ed. Up until that time, women weren't allowed in the school, only in the dorms.