On this Date in 1912...

...Lawrence Oates, an ill member of Scott's South Pole expedition leaves the tent saying, "I am just going outside and may be some time."  Which, as they found out later, meant, "I really have to pee" after they discovered the largest yellow stain ever recorded.

On this Date in 1952...

...in Cilaos, Réunion, 1870 mm (73 inches) of rain falls in one day, setting a new world record for the wettest reunion ever.

On this Date in 1647...

...Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm.  Marking the first time in history when a truce was named after a verbal pause.

On this Date in 1781...

...German-born British astronomer and composer William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus while in the garden of his house in Bath, Somerset, England, thinking it was a comet.  Though to be fair, when ur back end is that big, it is not that uncommon for it to be mistaken for a planet.

On this Date in 1622...

...Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Jesuits, were canonized as saints by Pope Gregory XV.  There was a period of unexpected tension, initially, until someone explained to them that it was, in fact, a great honor, and they were not going to be actually shot out of a cannon.

On this Date in 1985...

...Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the Soviet Union's leader.  Though many people thought it was just another rorschach test.

On this Date in 1977...

...Rings of Uranus: Astronomers discover rings around Uranus.  Funny, I didn't even know they could see into my bathroom.