Marked This Day

On this day in 1896, Billy Hamilton of the Philadelphia Phillies stole seven bases in one game. That’s a lot, even if stolen bases were tabulated differently in the 1890’s. I’m not really sure what was different. But then again baseball has so many intricate rules and classifications, I have no doubt there were differences. Even so. 7 bases in one game is pretty strong. Did the opposing pitcher just give up when Hamilton got on base? “Speedy Billy’s on again. Don’t even bother trying to pick him off.” It wasn’t like Billy was some scrub who just drank some rocket fuel before the game either. He was a pretty big deal back in his day. Back when taking drugs meant getting bombed on whiskey and no one had heard of steroids. Of course not all the best athletes were playing in the Majors. African-Americans were still segregated to the Negro Leagues. So there were definitely some qualifiers to Billy’s romp around the bases. But there are qualifiers to everything. For instance, nobody disput

On this day in 1979, papers around the country broke the story of Jimmy Carter and the “killer rabbit.” That April, Carter, an avid fisherman, had been fishing in his farm pond in Plains, Georgia when he noticed something swimming swiftly toward his skiff. A wild animal bee-lining for your vessel would probably freak most people out. But the level of fear would also depend on exactly what beast is headed your way. An alligator. Or a snake. Even a snapping turtle. They would all elicit some panic. But a bunny? Not your typical animal to strike fear into the hearts of the public. The bunny in Donnie Darko kind of freaked me out, but that was a suit. When I think rabbits, I think Velveteen. Or Easter. Hardly life-threatening. So I understand why people would feel President Carter may have over reacted. Don't want the Leader of the Free World fearing a bunny. That it is if you believe the tale as it was presented. All Jimmy actually did was swat the thing away with his paddle. Perfect

On this day in 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius blew its top, resulting in the death of thousands of Romans in Pompeii and Herculaneum. While this was certainly a horrific tragedy during the time it occurred, it would eventually become an archaeological blessing. Everyday life of 1st Century Pompeii was preserved in a tomb of molten ash just waiting to be discovered thousands of years later to help present day people understand what things were like. Now, I’m certainly not saying I would wish asphyxiation or being burned alive by molten hot magma on anyone. It sounds pretty damn awful. Possibly one of the worst ways to go. Though being drawn and quartered wouldn’t be very peaceful either. Still it did afford a unique opportunity. I don’t particularly know if Romans were known as practical jokers, or if anyone in Pompeii or Herculaneum had any idea that their horrible fate would keep them frozen in time. But look, they were screwed no matter what. Might as well have a little fun. I’d have tried

On this day in 1617, the idea of the one-way street was supposedly introduced in London in the alleys near the River Thames. I’m not sure why London was on the cutting edge of traffic direction, though Albemarle Street, which is acknowledged as the first one-way street, was designated as such because the scientific lectures given there in the early 1800s were so popular. Why wouldn't they be? I can’t really imagine why a one-way street in 1617 would be necessary, but then I can’t really imagine what London in 1617 was like at all. I’m fresh out of people to interview too. Unless the Highlander is real. Just as well. Interviews take a long time. And the person inevitably goes off on tangents. Look, I’m sure the story of how you “accidentally” ingested psychedelic mushrooms while trekking across the Pacific Northwest in your hippie days and met your first wife, Wind Lover, is an incredible story, but I merely asked if you were currently married. It’s a yes or no question. Without the

On this day in 1969, the Woodstock Musical Festival was winding down as Jimi Hendrix strummed out "The Star Spangled Banner" to the hundreds of thousands of people who had descended upon a dairy farm near the tiny New York town of Woodstock. Basically, four guys got together and decided to throw a party. We’ll keep it fairly small they said. Just a nice intimate gathering. Like that poor high-school kid, Jimbo, whose parents went out of town for the weekend, and he decided to have just a few of his friends over. Only by the end of the school day everybody had heard that poor Jimbo’s parents’ were out of town, and they would be damned if they were going to miss out. Next thing Jimbo knows he has the whole school in his living room and some kid is puking in his the priceless antique vase Grandma Louise gave his mom. Woodstock was just going to be a few hundred thousand people on the old dairy farm out by Woodstock. We’ll have some good music with some good people. Maybe smoke a

NSFW On this day in 1984, Red Dawn was released. Wolverines! Besides being a classic, albeit far-fetched, movie about Russians and Cubans invading the United States only to be stopped by a rag-tag group of teenagers who refuse to go quietly into the good night, it was also the first movie to be shown with the PG-13 rating. Look, I’m all for more options. A salad bar with just lettuce isn’t so much a salad bar as a display of lettuce, you know what I’m saying? But sometimes options can be a hindrance. I’m not saying that all PG-13 movies are crap, but I think the rating can influence too much. Studios work hard at finding that sweet spot to appeal to the widest audience and make the most money. And nothing is wrong with that. Except that I feel sometimes it damages the product. When a comedy or an action movie comes out with a PG-13, I wince a little, because I’d be willing to bet that an “R” version would be better. But then I have an immature love of curse words and enjoy the gravit

On this day in 1846, the Donner party encountered their first setback in their journey westward. It was just a note. An innocent little note. A note from their trail guide saying the trail he had tried was a bit more difficult than he thought and the Donner’s should await his return to find another route. Doesn’t seem all that ominous. Lose a few days here or there. But if you know anything about the Donner party, you know that this minor setback snowballed into a series of misfortunes that ultimately led to cannibalism. Yep. Cannibalism. Which is a hell of a place to end up. Imagine you’re driving home and realize that your route is blocked off and you have to detour twenty minutes out of your way. You’re thinking NBD. Might miss some of the evening news, but they replay it. And then someone eats you. Now things didn’t happen that fast for the Donner’s, and getting rerouted these days is not as perilous as making a cross-country trek in the midst of the dangerous elements of the 1800’