Remember

They shall grow not old
As we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them . .
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning,
We will remember them!
-- Lawrence Binyon

One hundreth post!

I noticed this morning that I've managed to attain a milestone of sorts with this blog: 100 posts! It took a tad over 5 months, which is a little longer than I had anticipated, as I had to take some time off from playing with my blog to address some other matters. Hopefully I'll be able to post more silly stuff more often.

As always, if you're looking for thoughtful and insightful analysis of world issues, you won't find it here. But if you like silliness, trivia or the just plain insignificant, this is your place!

But did he pull out a rabbit?

London haberdasher James Hetherington stepped out on the town wearing the first top hat in public on January 15, 1797. He attracted a large crowd of onlookers and was later fined 50 pounds for causing a public nuisance by, "on the public highway wearing upon his head a tall structure of shining luster and calculated to disturb timid people."

Today, Brooks Brothers should be similarly fined for foisting these abominations upon the unsuspecting public.

The father of information processing

American Herman Hollerith, pictured left, invented a mechanical tabulating machine for counting the 1890 census. He was issued a patent for his invention on January 8, 1889. The company he founded, with the descriptive name of Tabulating Machine Company eventually became IBM.

Roller derby

For those of you under a certain age, pictured at left is a pair of clamp-on roller skates. Generations of children learned to skate on a pair similar to these, sans helmet and other protective gear. We just strapped them on and away we went! Mine had metal wheels for skating on sidewalks. They would adjust with a key or wing nut to fit the shoes of a growing child. To skate indoors, we wore these. (And they certainly didn't cost that much either!)

Considered the father of modern roller skating, American James L. Plimpton invented and patented a roller skate on January 4, 1863.

I met Sugar³ while roller skating. I fell on him.

Bah Humbug

A perennial Christmas favorite, Charles Dickens' serial potboiler, "A Christmas Carol", was first published on December 19, 1843. Not only did it help pay his bills, but it was an instant success, and has spawned countless adaptations throughout the years.

Tie one on

Or not. The clip on tie was invented on December 13, 1928. Although eminently practical for law enforcement officers and very young little boys, clip on ties have somehow become regarded as slightly seedy and a little tacky. Of course, with examples like these, I can see why.

Prefer wrestling with a "proper" tie? Here's instructions on how to become fit to be tied.

"A date which will live in infamy..."

Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Overview with pictures and more links here.

FAQ's here.

National Geographic multimedia timeline and map with firsthand accounts and narration here.

Account from USS Arizona survivor, Marine Corporal E.C. Nightingale.

Pictures and sequence of events here.

USS Arizona Memorial here and here.

Longest running holiday special

NBC first aired the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Christmas special on December 6, 1964. Painstakingly filmed in stop motion animation, the program took nearly a year and a half to complete. Like most other Hollywood celebrities, Rudolph and his castmates underwent extensive cosmetic surgery over the years in order to retain their youthful countenances. CBS took over airing Rudolph in 1972.

Here are parts two, three, four and five of Rick Goldschmidt's extensive and definitive histories of everything Rudolph.

Bygone building

London's Crystal Palace, was an enormous cast iron and glass Victorian monstrosity built for the 1851 Great Exhibition, which showcased Great Britain's industrial, economic and military might. It was moved to a new location in 1854 and eventually destroyed in a fire on November 30, 1936.

Cool computer animation of the interior and exterior here.

Would you like fries with your order?

McDonald's sold its 50 billionth burger on November 20, 1984. Presumably it tasted just as bland as the previous 49,999,999,999 burgers.

CrackedPot dined as a child at the original McDonald's, pictured above left, which was located in San Bernardino, California. It has since been torn down. Corporate McDonald's doesn't really explain its existence, and instead claims the first McDonald's was built by Ray Kroc in Des Plaines, Illinois in 1955, a full 15 years after Dick and Mac MacDonald began serving up burgers. Ray Kroc built the empire, but it all started with a little hamburger stand in California.

Honoring those who served

See past Veteran's Day posters here. You may need to scroll down a little.

History of Veteran's Day here and here.

The President's 2007 Veteran's Day proclamation here.

Disclaimer: CrackedPot didn't have access to a computer yesterday, but wanted to post this anyway.

Ghost Ship

The Mary Celeste set sail from Staten Island, New York on November 7, 1872. She was later found abandoned near the Straits of Gibralter, and passed into history as a legendary ghost ship. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a fictionalized account of her abandonment that over the years came to be regarded as fact.

The "Flying Lumberyard"

Howard Hughes flew his Spruce Goose sixty years ago today. Disney Corporation took quite a drubbing from the local public, press and politicians when they evicted the Goose from its home in Long Beach, CA in the early 1990's. Fortunately the Goose found a new home. The last CrackedPot heard, the huge custom built hangar in Long Beach was being used as a soundstage for filming TV shows and movies. More on Hughes here, and movies of the Goose here.

Black Tuesday

October 29th, "Black Tuesday" was the culmination of a three day financial meltdown in 1929 that abruptly ended the the Roaring Twenties and marked the start of the Great Depression of the 1930's. The stock market didn't completely recover from the great stock market crash until the mid 1950's.

Doesn't look her age...

...although she has had some cosmetic procedures over the years.

A gift to the people of the United States from the people of France, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886 in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.

They Came in Peace

CrackedPot and Sugar³ had friends who were asleep in their racks when terrorists detonated a truck bomb at their Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Two hundred and forty-one Marines, sailors and soldiers were killed on October 23, 2003. The Beirut Memorial, located in Jacksonville, NC is dedicated to those who lost their lives that day. In addition, a bradford pear tree was planted along highway 24 for each fallen man.

Here's to you Jerry, wherever you are.

Old Ironsides

The oldest commissioned warship in the world, USS Constitution "Old Ironsides" turns 210 years old today. Construction on the frigate began in 1794 and she was launched on October 21, 1797. Currently she is undergoing a two year re-fit to spruce her up and bring her back to "fighting" condition.

The Captain's Clerk features some beautiful "Old Ironsides" artwork and nifty historical facts about the USS Constitution.

Black Monday for Friday

Twenty years ago today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average took a nosedive, plummeting over 500 points in one day. The 1987 crash was the largest single day drop in stock market history, resulting in a nearly 23% decline, which in turn triggered stock market crashes around the world. Because so many factors contributed to the crisis, to this day, astrologists economists can't agree on why this crash occurred.

Many Gekko "Greed is Good" investors from the late '80s lost their tailored shirts that day. CrackedPot remembers news coverage of distraught investors leaping from their high rise corner offices, or of unhinged investors shooting their brokers.

Mysterious malfunction makes mission miss moon mark

On October 18, 1962 NASA launched Ranger 5 on a mission to impact the moon. It never made it. A malfunction caused Ranger 5 to switch from solar power to battery power, and the batteries ran down. This guy could not be reached for comment.