A historic, faded American flag. It has 7 red stripes, 6 white stripes, and 20 stars in a grid pattern.
#OnThisDayInHistory, Congress enacts the Flag Act of 1818, in 1818. It establishes a 20-star flag, to add a new star for each new state in the Union. Stars are to be added on Independence Day.
a man with white hair and beard wearing a gray suit holds a cell phone to his ear. It looks nearly 2 x 4, off-white, and has two rows of green buttons with two yellow buttons at the bottom of the green buttons. There is a large mouthpiece sticking out of the bottom of the phone.
#OnThisDayInHistory, the first known call is made from a handheld cell phone, the DynaTAC, in 1973. It weighs over 2 lb, and I know I don't have any pockets that would fit that sucker.
a still from "2001" the astronaut in a yellow spacesuit walks down an octagonal black-and-white corridor.
#OnThisDayInHistory, "2001: A Space Odyssey" gets its theatrical premiere in 1968. If you haven't seen it in 70 mm, you really should. Space looks really huge!
#OnThisDayInHistory Union forces defeated those of Nathan Bedford Forrest at the Battle of Selma, Alabama, proving that Northern cavalry could strike anywhere in the Confederacy. That Should Be In A Movie about the Redemption of the Wizard of the Saddle www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y9O...
The Air Jordan logo. A white silhouette on a black background of Michael Jordan dunking a basketball, his legs out wide.
#OnThisDayInHistory, Nike releases the first pair of Air Jordans in 1985. I'm hoping I don't have to tell you who Michael Jordan is. Unlike the first Nikes, these shoes are not made with a waffle iron.
a picture of Liberace. He has jet-black hair and is covered in mounds of pink fabric (I think chiffon?) A huge pink feathery plume sticks out from his collar, and he holds a microphone in one hand
#OnThisDayInHistory, Madison Square Garden hosts the very first Wrestlemania in 1985. Muhammad Ali is a ref and Liberace is a timekeeper, and I swear that's not a Mad Libs I just did.
a drawing of Hyman Lipman and a color photo of a pencil eraser. Lipman has a full beard and mustache and wears a suit collar with tie. The eraser is about to rub out some pencil marks on a piece of paper.
#OnThisDayInHistory, the patent for the first pencil with eraser attached is awarded to Hyman Lipman in 1858. That's why pencils have erasers! Now!
On March 29, 1982, Michael Jordan, then a 19-year-old freshman, made a 16-foot jump shot with just 15 seconds left on the clock, earning the Tar Heels a 63-62 win over Georgetown for the NCAA Tournament Championship. #ThisDayInBlackHistory #OnThisDayInHistory #MichaelJordan #NJTBATB
row after row of four columns of terra cotta warriors. They are life-sized humans made of pottery wearing armor and kilts and heavy boots. their hands are at their sides, and they look ready to hold something.
#OnThisDayInHistory, a Chinese farmer digging a well finds some pottery shards, which leads to the discovery of the terra cotta warriors of Xian, in 1974. There are 8000 warriors and horses, all different. And they make a lousy well.
A photo of Pippi Longstocking, a little girl with red hair and blue eyes. Her hair is in braided pigtails that stick out from the sides of her head. She is smiling. A monkey crouches on her shoulder.
#OnThisDayInHistory, Astrid Lindgren sprains her ankle, which leads to her being bedridden, which gives her time to write down the stories she'd told her daughter about Pippi Longstocking, in 1944. Um, yay, non-debilitating injuries?
The album cover for "Livin' La Vida Loca." Ricky Martin, in black pants and button-down shirt over a gray T-shirt, lies on a tufted red leather background. He is laughing and has his left hand in front of his eyes.
#OnThisDayInHistory, Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" is released in 1999. It hits #1 in 17 countries and is inescapable. Crrrrazy!
#OnThisDayInHistory Andrew Jackson, his American regulars, and their Native American allies defeated the Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. That Should Be In An Epic Summer Blockbuster About The Battle Of New Orleans! www.youtube.com/watch?v=x27l...
A cartoon of the Gerry-mander. It shows the voting districts of Massachusetts. The districts on the left and top sides of the drawing are formed into the shape of a dragon-like creature with bat wings and a sharp beaky snout
#OnThisDayInHistory, the term "gerrymander" is introduced in a political cartoon in the Boston Gazette in 1812. Looks more like a Gerrygriffin to me. Maybe a Gerrywyvern.
#OnThisDayInHistory The brutal Battle For Outpost Vegas began. That Should Be A Movie about the red little Mongolian mare Sergeant Reckless honoring all our Korean War veterans and their fallen comrades thatshouldbeamoviewebseries.com/index.php/20...
This is the 411th anniversary of the death of Marguerite de Valois, Princess and then Queen of France. Marguerite, the central character in my novel, MÉDICIS DAUGHTER, was a woman conveniently defamed by history. #HistorialFiction #onthisdayinhistory #womenshistory
sophieperinot.com/a-woman-conv...
A photo of Dave Thomas. He wears a white short-sleeved button-up shirt with a red tie and a black apron over that. He has light gray hair and glasses and is smiling. He holds a tray of Wendy's food. He stands in front of a red background
#OnThisDayInHistory, Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's, gets his GED, as he worries that his status as a high-school-dropout sends the wrong message to kids, in 1993. He's voted "Most likely to succeed."
a display of GI Joe, the pigeon. He is a pigeon with a green neck, white throat, and white tail in a glass case on a wood stand on top of a green base. The side of the case has "GI Joe Pigeon Hero of World War II" posted on the side. On the table in front of the glass case is a sign and a medal in a case.
#OnThisDayInHistory, GI Joe, one of the most decorated homing pigeon heroes of WWII, is hatched in 1943. He is credited with saving some 1000 troops. He received multiple medals, and he's been stuffed.
A picture of Elisha Otis. He has a long squared beard and a dark suit with darker collar.
#OnThisDayInHistory, Elisha Otis installs the first commercial elevator in a department store in New York City in 1857. It's steam powered and goes a whopping 40 feet a minute. So that jumping-to-be-weightless thing probably wouldn't work so well.
a group of women playing basketball. They wear sailor collars and dark-colored bloomers. The woman closest to the camera has the ball and looks ready to shoot. The other women have their arms up and out to defend.
#OnThisDayInHistory, the first women's collegiate basketball game is played at Smith College in Northampton, MA, in 1893. The sophomores beat the freshmen, and the game lasts 30 minutes. #feminism #ItsAboutDamnTime
A photo of Alcatraz. It is an imposing white building with a turret sitting on top of a rocky outcropping in the middle of the bay. There are hills visible in the distance, and boats in the water.
#OnThisDayInHistory, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary closes, not because of escapes, or prison reform, but because it's too darn expensive, in 1963. We can't even blame this one on Sean Connery and Nic Cage.
pictures of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Mars is red with an ice cap on the top, Jupiter has strips, and Saturn is light gray with rings.
#OnThisDayInHistory, scholars at the University of Paris declare that the Black Death was created from “a triple conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars in the 40th degree of Aquarius" on this day in 1345. This is how crystals get dark, man.
A still from the set of "Diff'rent Strokes." Nancy Reagan is surrounded by several member of the cast of the show. She wears a red dress, while the other actors wear blue except for Conrad Bain, who is in a black suit. The camera is at a low angle,, and TV lights are visible behind the people.
#OnThisDayInHistory, First Lady Nancy Reagan appears on the TV show "Diff'rent Strokes" to tell kids to say No to drugs in 1983. And America's drug problem is solved forever.
A wall in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. There is a green wall with two framed paintings hung on it. There is also a large empty frame showcasing the wall covering.
#OnThisDayInHistory, two thieves disguised as police make off with 13 works of art valued at more than $500 million from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. It's the largest art heist in history, and the art has never been returned. But that wall looks nice framed like that.
A color photo of Vanguard 1. It is a round aluminum satellite with a turret-like structure on the top and 6 aerials sticking out of it.
#OnThisDayInHistory, Vanguard 1, a cantaloupe-sized satellite, is launched into space in 1958. It is the oldest man-made satellite floating around up there.
#OnThisDayInHistory The British evacuate Boston after George Washington fortified Dorchester Heights with cannons captured by Ethan Allen at Fort Ticonderoga and dragged through the frozen wilderness by Henry Knox. That Should Be In An Epic Movie. www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9eg...
Two African-American men watch newspapers running through the printing press. They are both wearing dark suits, and the wall behind them is made of brick.
#OnThisDayInHistory, the first black-owned and -run newspaper, "Freedom’s Journal," prints its first issue in New York in 1827. The circulation eventually reaches Canada, Haiti, and the UK. #ItsAboutDamnTime
#OnThisDayInHistory between 300 and 500 Vietnamese civilians were murdered by United States military forces during the My Lai Massacre. Hugh Thompson Jr., Glenn Andreotta, Lawrence Colburn, and the other Americans who tried to stop it Should Be Honored With A Movie www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq32...
🔱 #onthisday in 1917 HMS Achilles and SS Dundee fought the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Leopold, which sank with the loss of all hands
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#Onthisdayinhistory #WW1 #navalhistory #royalnavy
A sepia-toned photograph of a 10-man baseball team. They wear boots and dark stockings with light-colored uniforms with a large "C" on the chest. Half of them have mustaches and/or beards. The man in the middle of the seated front row has his arms crossed, while the outside men in that row each hold bats
#OnThisDayInHistory, the Cincinnati Red Stockings become the first professional baseball team in 1869. Wait, you guys get paid to do this?
A drawing of a cotton gin. It has a wooden frame and a drum with a crank handle. The drum connects to wheels via a belt.
#OnThisDayInHistory, Eli Whitney patents his cotton gin in 1794. I prefer cotton vermouth, myself.
