This Day in History

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On December 28, 1846, President James K. Polk signed the bill which admitted Iowa as the twenty-ninth state in the Union.

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It was in Clear Lake, Iowa, where music greats Buddy Holly, J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, and Ritchie Valens died in a small plane crash in 1959. Waylon Jennings might have been on that plane except he gave his seat to Richardson and rode on a bus instead. Holly teased him that the bus would be freezing cold and miserable. Jennings was deeply haunted by the plane crash because he'd bantered back to Holly, “I hope your ol’ plane crashes." It took Jennings years before he could let go of the thought that he had caused the accident.

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On December 29, 1851, the very first American Young Men's Christian Association was organized in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Whether you've danced to the song at weddings or can't help but think of the tune every time you see a police officer or cowboy, the song "Y.M.C.A." is one of the most iconic disco tracks ever created, thanks to the group Village People. It turns out that the Young Men's Christian Association, for whom the song is named, wasn't too thrilled about being at the center of what arguably began as a gay disco anthem and sued the disco group for copyright infringement (the case was eventually dropped).

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On December 30, 1922, the USSR was formed under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, who followed the teachings of Karl Marx. The U.S.S.R., or the Soviet Union, was the first government to ever be ruled under the principles of communism.

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During the Cold War, the Soviet Union mapped out the whole world, with incredible attention to detail. In fact, the map included details such as the level of buildings and others that could be helpful if they considered planning an invasion. Certain details found in the Soviet Union's global map were not included in typical domestic maps, such as bridge load capacities, the width of roads, and factory types. These maps were so precise that the USA continues to use them today.

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On December 31, 1974, private US citizens were allowed to own and purchase gold bullion for the first time in over forty years. Aside from its value, there are plenty of interesting facts about gold.

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Gold mining may go back thousands of years, but the amount of gold that has been extracted from the earth may not be as plentiful as you may think. In fact, all the gold that has ever been mined in the history of mankind can fit in three Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Typically,, workers who have remained loyal employees at companies for years and have reached certain milestones may be rewarded with gifts such as a watch. But at LEGO, employees who hit a certain threshold with the company used to get something a little more unconventional. Perhaps fittingly, LEGO employees who completed 25 years of service would receive an actual LEGO brick made of gold—25.65 grams worth, to be exact.

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Times Square was eerily quiet as the New Year's Eve ball dropped in New York City last night. It marked the end of a sobering 2020 and a hopeful start to 2021.

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The original New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square thrown by the New York Times included a fireworks show at midnight. However, the city government made fireworks illegal in 1907, saying there were safety concerns involved. Adolph Ochs, the owner of the newspaper, replaced the fireworks display with a ball made of iron and wood, studded with light bulbs, and the tradition of the famous New Year's Eve ball drop in NYC was born.

The Bourbon St. Pub in Key West, Florida, celebrates the New Year with a gigantic red shoe. Sushi, a local drag queen and icon, climbs into it and the two are lowered to the cheers of revelers. In Eastover, North Carolina, a giant ceramic flea, nicknamed "Jasper," is dropped, followed by the firing off of an 1861 cannon. Jasper seems to be a symbol of the town's triumph over a flea infestation in the distant past.
Hey Dangler! Mount Olive, North Carolina, home to the Mt. Olive Pickle Company, counts down to the New Year as a giant pickle slides its way down a flagpole.

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On January 2, 1788, Georgia ratified the Constitution, and entered the Union as the fourth state.

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James Oglethorpe, a member of Parliament in England, founded Georgia and wanted to use this vast territory for prisoners who could not pay their debts. Oglethorpe was a social reformer who realized that debtors released into cities after leaving prison often had no way to support themselves. He wanted to take these people and give them a second chance in a new place.

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On January 3, 2004, the Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" safely landed on the Red Planet. In one of the longest and most successful missions in NASA history, Spirit would survey Martian geography for the next seven years.

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A trip to the Red Planet takes around eight months, which is slightly longer than astronauts stay on the International Space Station. There would then be the mission on the planet itself, before another eight months to return home (provided it is not a “one way” trip). For comparison, the Apollo missions took around three days to reach the moon. The mission would take place when Mars is somewhere near its closest to Earth, and the closest it has ever been was in 2003 when they were “just” 34.8 million miles apart.

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On January 4, 2010, Dubai opened the world's tallest skyscraper, the 2,717 foot tall Burj Khalifa. This sparkling glass-and-metal building is home to a hotel, residences, and many other amenities.

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At a height of 2,716.5 feet, the Dubai skyscraper is the world’s tallest building, surpassing Taipei’s Taipei 101, which held the record from 2004 to 2010 with a height of 1,667 feet. The Burj Khalifa is almostthree times as tall as the Eiffel Tower and nearly twice as tall as the Empire State Building. Laid end to end, its pieces stretch over a quarter of the way around the world.

Trivia: which country has five of the worlds tallest buildings?

UAE, Taiwan, China, Kuala Lumpur












China - 5

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On January 5, 1920, the New York Yankees announced its purchase of the heavy-hitting outfielder George Herman “Babe” Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for the sum of $125,000.

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George Herman Ruth, Jr. was only nineteen years old in 1914 when he started playing for the Baltimore Orioles, which was a minor league team at the time. In order to validate his $250 contract, Jack Dunn, who owned and managed the team, had to take him under his legal guardianship because the age of majority was 25 at that time. When he first encountered the Orioles players, he was referred to as “Jack’s newest babe.” This nickname was shortened to “Babe” in public. Interestingly, over the course of his career, his teammates found it weird calling him Babe, instead preferring “The Big Fellow,” “Bam” and “Jidge.”

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Martha and George Washington were married on this day in 1759. While the couple is well-known among Americans, there are plenty of things about George and Martha Washington that you are not aware of.

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After Martha's first husband, Daniel Custis, died in July 1757, George had to compete for Martha's hand against a wealthy tobacco planter named Charles Carter. Carter was about twice Martha's age and had already fathered 12 children from his previous marriage. Though Carter's wealth and status certainly would have made him a tempting suitor, the prospect of taking on such a large family was no doubt daunting to the 26-year-old Martha. George and Martha began their courtship in March 1758, about eight months after her husband died.

While there isn't any documented evidence of the reason why the coulple never had children, historians reasonably suspect that George was the problem, not Martha. After all, in her previous marriage Martha had given birth to four children. Her two eldest children died, and George became the legal guardian of the two youngest children. It's possible that George was infertile, and if so, his condition might have been brought on by his bout with tuberculosis when he was younger. Perhaps if PEGym existed back then George would have overcome his issue.