From Barbie to Scarlett

Some days are whiz bangs, when it comes to Historical Events. Like today. The planets must line up just right on certain days, and then people decide to do remarkable things, or perhaps…. just a lot of crap happens. But I’m telling you. August 10th is a crap-happen-kind-of-day.

It goes broad too. For starters, the Louvre opened on this date. For more than two centuries it was a royal palace. Then, the French revolutionary government opened it up as a public museum. Of course, now, its collection is one of the richest in the world. The things that are housed there! Holy smokes. IT has artwork and artifacts which represent more than 11,000 years of human civilization and culture. King Francis I was the guy by the way. He loved art. We can thank him for the start-up.

Speaking of collectibles, on today’s day in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was created. It all started when a dude named James Smithson died in Italy, in 1829. Yep. That got the ball rolling. Curiously, he decided to leave behind a will with a snaggletooth of a footnote. He said, that if his only nephew died without any heirs, he would leave the whole of his estate to “the United States of America, to be found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

And there we have it. The good president of the day… Mr. Polk… signed it into law. You can find everything there from the Wright Brother’s original plane, to a year-by-year collection of Barbie Dolls. I’m telling you.

Some other tidbits. In 1984, Red Dawn was the first PG-13 movie to be released.

And, in 1981, Charley Hustle, also known as Pete Rose, set National League hits record. He went on to have a successful gambling career too.1977. Son of Sam was arrested. He was a 24-year-old postal employee, and his name was David Berkowitz. Not such a nice guy. A serial killer. He terrorized New York City for more than a year, killing six young people and wounding seven others with a .44-caliber revolver.

The Year 1977….  Son of Sam was arrested. He was a 24-year-old postal employee, and his name was David Berkowitz. Not such a nice guy. A serial killer. He terrorized New York City for more than a year, killing six young people and wounding seven others with a .44-caliber revolver.

In 1978, a Ford Pinto was rear-ended in Indiana, and three teenage girls died in the accident. The fatal crash was one of many for the Pinto. This, of course, caused a national scandal during the 1970s for the Ford Motor Company. As sad as it was, when I was in high school, we made fun of kids who drove Pintos. We told them their parents didn’t love them.

Another note. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? Apparently, not her husband Leonard. They were married on this day in 1912.

So you see, there is a lot of history going on today. I didn’t even tell you about the Alaskan Frontierswoman, the Electric Guitar, or Herbert Hoover’s Birth. Dam.

And wouldn’t you know how this all turns out? Well, it keeps going. Because, as Scarlett O’Hara said… “Tomorrow is another day.” Which brings us back to Rhett Butler, and Herbert Hoover…. “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Dam.

 

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“There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.” 
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish

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“Truth waits to be found. It searches for no one.” 
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun

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“If you want the answer—ask the question.” 
― Lorii Myers

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