ON THIS DAY

On this date in 1547, England's King Henry VIII died and was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI.
Needless to say, he suddenly was invited to every classmate's birthday party.
Once again that final score: Henry 8, Edward 6.
Imagine a 9-year-old ruling an entire country. I guess President Bush made imagining that a whole lot easier.
His first order as King was, "We're having ice cream!"
One of the new king's first acts was to extend the royal bedtime past 8 o'clock.

In 1613, Galileo discovered the planet Neptune. What are the odds he'd find a planet with the same name as a Greek god?

On this date in 1807, London lit its first street using gas lights. The annoying part was the guy on the street corner, constantly saying, "Pull my finger! Pull my finger!" In 1860, Britain formally returned the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua. The cost of "Off" was just too much. They said they had only been borrowing it.

On this date in 1861, Kansas became a state. Up until then, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz had no idea where she wasn't.

In 1871, France surrendered in the Franco-Prussian War. I'm no history expert, but I believe the war broke out because France was tired of Russia always calling it "Franco."

On this date in 1878, the very first college newspaper, the Yale Daily News, was published. It doesn't say which college published it, though.

In 1915, the U.S. Coast Guard was established... and since then, not one single inch of our coast has ever been stolen.

On this date in 1920, Walt Disney started working as an artist for $20 a week. Eventually, he quit that Mickey Mouse job and the rest is history.

In 1938, the first ski tow began operations in Vermont. It would have made more sense to have it at a ski area, but it was a step forward. We imagine they're busy today.

On this date in 1960, a photograph was bounced off the moon for the very first time. That's what we get for using rubber film. Of course, on the moon, everything bounces.

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