Water Skiing Record

On today’s date, August 21 1977, Donna Patterson Brice set the world record in high speed water skiing at a speed of 111.1 m.p.h. The record has since been broken by speeds over 150 m.p.h.

WWJ Radio

On today’s date August 20, 1920, WWJ of Detroit, Michigan, became the first commercial radio station. The original call letters were 8MK. The Scripps family, which owned the station, kept some distance from the station believing radio would be a fad. The station is still broadcasting news.

Salem Witch Trials

Today was a bad day for witches. On today’s date August 19, 1692, five people of Salem, Massachusetts, were executed for witchcraft. Hysteria ruled when reason left the community.

Fulton Steamboat

On August 17, 1807, the North River Steamboat, invented by Robert Fulton, became the first commercially successful steamboat. Fulton is also credited with the invention of the first practical submarine, which he invented in 1800 through a commission by Napoleon Bonaparte.

PC Release

On August 11, in 1981, IBM released the PC, Personal Computer. Their computer dominated the home computer market throughout the 80s and brought the computer into many homes. Its influence is still felt to this day. The first PCs operated at a speed of 4.77 MHz, had 16 KB of RAM (later 64) and 64 KB of ROM.

Missouri Statehood

On August 10, 1821, Missouri was admitted into the Union as the 24th state. Central to The Missouri Compromise, her admission into the Union only helped to delay the Civil War a few more decades.

Football War

On today’s date July 21, 1969, The Football War ended with a cease fire between Honduras and El Salvador. Also known as the 100 Hour War, it coincided with a riot during a qualifying round of the 1970 FIFA World Cup. The war was a result of tensions between the two neighboring countries and a precursor to civil war in El Salvador a decade later.

Ice Cream Cone

On today’s date July 23, 1904, Charles E. Menches invented the ice cream cone. Many other vendors at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair made the same claim. It sure beats eating it out of your hand.

Pine Tar Incident

On today’s date in 1983, at Yankee Stadium, George Brett homered off of Goose Gossage in the top of the ninth. Yankee’s manager Billy Martin protested the amount of pine tar Brett had used on his bat. The umpires nullified the homer which allowed the Yankees to win the game. After the Royals protested, the game was replayed, resulting in a Royals win. Brett later quipped that had it not been for The Pine Tar Incident, he would only be known for hemorrhoids.

On July 30 1975, Union leader Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. Hoffa was last seen in the parking lot of a restaurant in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. Many believe his disappearance was due to his involvement with the Mafia. The mystery has never been solved. Hoffa’s son James Hoffa Jr. currently is President of the Teamsters Union, the same post his father once held.

On today’s date August 3, 1900, The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was founded. Founder Harvey Firestone used his relationship with Henry Ford to grow his business. The two men along with Thomas Edison formed “ The Millionaires Club” and often vacationed together. Represented above is a giant Uniroyal tire along I-94 in southeast Michigan. Although, completely unrelated to Firestone, its a very impressive piece.

Hiroshima

On today’s date in August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped “Little Boy,” the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb and the after effects of radiation caused 90,000 to 140,000 casualties. A second bomb “Fat Man,” dropped three days later on Nagasaki, Japan forced the Japanese to surrender and ended World War Two.

On today’s date in 1890, convicted murderer William Kemmler, was the first person executed through the use of an electric chair. The first electrocution failed and Kemmler was given a second jolt. In all the execution lasted eight minutes.

Amelia Earhart

On July 2, 1937, American hero and distinguished pilot, Amelia Earhart, made her final radio transmission. Earhart was attempting the first equatorial flight around the world when she disappeared near Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean. Her disappearance is one of the great mysteries of the 20th century.

On July 7, 1928, The Chillicothe Baking Company, in Chillicothe Missouri produced the first loaf of sliced bread. During World War II, sliced bread was banned, as it required a heavire wrapping. The ban lasted two months. Although there have been thousands of inventions since, sliced bread remains the paragon of invention.