This Day in History

[Gravdigr]

John Adam Belushi

Jan 24, 1949 - March 5, 1982

[Gravdigr]

March 6, 1836



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1975 - The Zapruder Film is shown to the American public.

[Carruthers]

13th March 1969

Apollo 9 safely splashes down in the Atlantic after a ten day mission to test the Lunar Module in free flight in low earth orbit.

Crew were James McDivitt (Commander), David Scott (Command Module Pilot) and Russell L. Schweickart (Lunar Module Pilot).



David Scott performs a standup EVA from Command Module Gumdrop, seen from docked Lunar Module Spider.

Several books commemorating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 are due to be published over the next three or four months.
I haven't yet decided which one to send to the Flat Earth Society.

Link

[Gravdigr]

Not only is the Earth not flat, it's wrinkly.

Needs to be ironed, frankly.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

March 20

1991 - Eric Clapton's four year old son, Conor, fell to his death from the 53rd story of a New York City apartment after a housekeeper who was cleaning the room left a window open. The boy was in the custody of his mother, Italian actress, Lori Del Santo and the pair were visiting a friend's apartment. Clapton was staying in a nearby hotel after taking his son to the circus the previous evening. The tragedy inspired his song ‘Tears in Heaven’.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

April 3

Attachment 63547

1882 - An unarmed Jesse James is shot by the coward Robert Ford, in the back of the head, while standing on a chair cleaning a dusty picture hanging on the wall.

James had just learned from a newspaper article that gang member Dick Liddil had confessed to the murder of one Wood Hite. He was suspicious as to why the Ford brothers hadn't told him about it. James then realized the Fords were there to betray him. Instead of confronting them, with whom he had just eaten breakfast, James removed both his pistols, walked across the room, laid them on the sofa, and returned across the living room, and began cleaning the picture.

[Carruthers]

Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon.
The lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the service module (SM) upon which the command module (CM) had depended.
Despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, shortage of potable water, and the critical need to make makeshift repairs to the carbon dioxide removal system, the crew returned safely to Earth on April 17, 1970, six days after launch.

Well that's the official version. As we all know, the whole thing was staged in an aircraft hangar in Nevada, including the splashdown, and was done to promote the making of a film twenty-five years later.
Well, there are long lead in times in the film business and finance does have to be arranged, you know.

Link

[xoxoxoBruce]

April 10th 1606, King James chartered the Virginia Company of London, to create Jamestown, the first British Colony... the start of the British Empire.

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

April 10th 1606, King James chartered the Virginia Company of London, to create Jamestown, the first British Colony... the start of the British Empire.

Time Team made a special episode at Jamestown in 2007. I remember the excitement of the team at the sight of a halberd being recovered from a well there.

I haven't had time to go through the whole episode but a quick scan leads me to believe that it was shown at about 35 min in.



I know that this is very much in FWIW territory, but this plate features in my modest collection.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Is there significance to the 6025Y?

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Is there significance to the 6025Y?

Now there's a thought!

I've just had a look at the dozen or so plates I have and most seem to have registrations in a non-standard format.
I'm no expert in these matters but they do seem to be of an 'individual' nature and which presumably mean something to the owners.
I have a pair of plates from Montana which read 'I NEWTON'. Photographic evidence is available.

Incidentally, I have mostly collected plates with wildlife designs, particularly Maine and Minnesota, or horse designs from Virginia and Kentucky.
I have a particularly fine plate from Pennsylvania depicting a River Otter.
Are you familiar with that one?

[Gravdigr]

April 12, 1981

The Space Shuttle Comunbia, is launched on mission STS-1.



Columbia was the second shuttle constructed, but the first to launch on a mission. It was also the only shuttle to launch with a painted external fuel tank. Subsequent external fuel tanks went without to save weight.

Serving for over 22 years, it completed 27 missions before disintegrating during re-entry near the end of its 28th mission, STS-107 on February 1, 2003, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members.

~Wiki

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Carruthers

Incidentally, I have mostly collected plates with wildlife designs, particularly Maine and Minnesota, or horse designs from Virginia and Kentucky.
I have a particularly fine plate from Pennsylvania depicting a River Otter.
Are you familiar with that one?

Yes, PA has dozens of different designs, three with animals I remember. It seems every college, fraternal organization, hobby, service branch, and whatnot have a plate.
A couple months ago I sent a dozen PA plates I had hanging around to a guy in Ontario who built a new garage and wanted to decorate it.

Just a sampling...

[Carruthers]

I have the River Otter plate as shown second from left in the top row and likewise in the third row.
It's currently for sale at $79.95 on a site I have purchased from in the past.
I can't remember how much I paid, but it wouldn't have been anywhere near that.

It's a long time since I have bought a plate but I have to say that the 'Flagship Niagara' design does appeal to me. En route to eBay.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I have the black plate on two of my vehicles and a regular vanity plate on the third. I saw they have an Autism Awareness plate now too.