There are 72 days left in this calendar year, so you know what that means...only 66 holiday shopping days! And of course by "shopping," I mean going over to the bookstore and using whatever is left on your Vandy card to "buy" Vanderbilt-emblazoned gifts for your family and a few lucky friends. But 66 days is plenty of time, and you should be focused on more important things, like homework and random "This Day In History" facts with which to impress your family and friends. Read on for today's dose of random facts:
Today In:
1803: The United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase. Let our Manifest Destiny begin!
1994: Gen. Douglas MacArthur frees the Philippines from Japanese occupation during WWII.
1947: The Hollywood "witch hunts" begin when the House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigating supposed Communist connections. This resulted in the blacklisting of many prominent actors, producers and directors for many years.
1967: Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin supposedly capture proof of Bigfoot, or Sasquatch's, existence in the Six Rivers National Forest in northern California with a 16mm camera.
1968: JFK's widow Jacqueline Kennedy officially gets a new nickname when she marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis and becomes immortalized as "Jackie O."
1973: The Sydney Opera House opens, launching thousands of postcard picture opportunities for tourists.
1977: A plane carrying members of Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in Mississippi, killing lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines.
2004: Members of the Red Sox Nation rejoice when the Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees 10-3 in game 7 of the ALCS.
Birthdays:
The following birthdays probably won't show up on your Facebook account homepage, and if they do, then you are way cooler than I am.
1632: English architect Sir Christopher Wren
1859: American philosopher John Dewey
1882: Hungarian-born classic horror film actor Bela Lugosi
1931: American baseball legend Mickey Mantle
1935: "Law and Order" legend Jerry Orbach
1950: American musician Tom Petty
1956: British film director Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting," "28 Days Later")
1958: American actor Viggo Mortensen
1971: Australian singer Danii Minogue ( Kylie's sister ) and rapper Snoop Dogg. They should probably have a joint birthday party or something.
