On this Date in 1950...

...Forest fires black out the sun over portions of Canada and New England. A blue moon (in the astronomical sense) is seen as far away as Europe.  Which, coincidentally, was when the first Smurf was born.

On this Date in 1988...

...José Canseco of the Oakland Athletics becomes the first member of the 40-40 club.  Club meetings were rather short until Barry Bonds joined in 1996.  Meetings were held in José's basement until A Rod joined in 1998.

On this Date in 2003...

...David Hempleman-Adams becomes the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an open-air, wicker-basket hot air balloon.  What makes this event even more amazing is that the basket was also completely filled with microwave popcorn.

On this Date in 1953...

...North Korean No Kum-Sok (pictured) defected with his MiG-15, inadvertently making Operation Moolah, an American effort to bribe Communist pilots, a success.  Thus launching International Inadvertent Success Day.

On this Date in 1920...

...Foundation of the Spanish Legion.  Which was right before its subsequent lostation.

On this Date in 335...

...Flavius Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I.  He is probably best known for being the Caesar with a record that was the most spotty.

On this Date in 1981...

...Assemblée Nationale votes to abolish capital punishment in France.  Apparently, they were tired of protesters throwing rocks at the capital building.

On this Date in 1630...

...Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony founded the city of Boston.  Which is fitting really, considering it was the Pagans that losted it.

On this Date in 1959...

...the first successful photocopier, the Xerox 914, is introduced in a demonstration on live television from New York City.  The event was rather controversial as the first thing that was photocopied was Xerox's President's behind.

On this Date in 1440...

...French knight Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest known serial killers, was taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by the Bishop of Nantes.  Cap'n Crunch and Count Chocula are counted among his victims.

On this Date in 2007...

...The Northern Rock bank experiences the first bank run in the United Kingdom in 150 years.  The previous one having been sparked by Michael Banks.

On this Date in 1848...

...Vermont railroad worker Phineas Gage survives a 3-foot (0.91 m)-plus iron rod being driven through his head; the reported effects on his behavior and personality stimulate thinking about the nature of the brain and its functions.  His initial reaction was, "It kind of tickles a bit, and now I must kill you."

On this Date in 1609...

...Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen.  He found it rather pleasantly coincidental to find a body of water that already shared his name.

On this Date in 1997...

...after a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament, within the United Kingdom.  Which means that they now literally have monkeys in government.

On this Date in 1942...

...World War II: The British Army carries out an amphibious landing on Madagascar to re-launch Allied offensive operations in the Madagascar Campaign.  The reason for the re-launch was, reportedly, due to being distracted temporarily by a musical number put on by the local wildlife.

On this Date in 1999...

...9/9/1999, both the beginning of the Y2K bug and the official debut of the Dreamcast.  Both proved to be dismal failures for one reason or another.

On this Date in 1930...

...3M begins marketing Scotch transparent tape.  Shortly afterward the first case of someone surreptitiously tapes their nose their forehead.

On this Date in 1895...

...The first game of what would become known as rugby league football is played, in England, starting the 1895–96 Northern Rugby Football Union season.  Passersby at first thought they were witnessing a huge bar-brawl, though after a few minutes of careful observation they discovered there was an actual purpose to all the eye-gouging, ear pulling, and groin stomping going on.

On this Date in 1888...

...Charles Turner becomes the first bowler to take 250 wickets in an English season – a feat since accomplished only by Tom Richardson (twice), J.T. Hearne, Wilfred Rhodes (twice) and Tich Freeman (six times).  Though, how they were able to fit that many wickets in a single bowling alley is still a mystery.

On this Date in 1816...

...Louis XVIII has to dissolve the Chambre introuvable ("Unobtainable Chamber").  The process took longer than expected, however, since he was unable to reach it for quite some time.

On this Date in 626...

...Li Shimin, posthumously known as Emperor Taizong of Tang, assumes the throne over the Tang Dynasty of China.  The Tang Dynasty's greatest accomplishment was having the lowest scurvy rate of any previous dynasty.

On this Date in 1935...

...Sir Malcolm Campbell reaches a speed of 304.331 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, becoming the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph.  This was highly contested, however, as many of those who were there as witnesses blinked and missed it.

On this Date in 1963...

...CBS Evening News becomes U.S. network television's first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.  It wasn't necessarily intended that way, however, they were forced to after they hired a new sportscaster and he wouldn't stop talking past his allotted 30 second time slot.  And everybody liked him.

On This Date in 1920...

...the Fountain of Time opened as a tribute to the 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain following the Treaty of Ghent.  Though it wasn't until much later when The Gufs, a much underestimated and undervalued rock band from Milwaukee, used it as a backdrop for the album cover art for their album "Songs of Life", did the fountain realize it's true popularity.