It’s been a while, but I thought I would bring back an old classic. That’s right! Random Things! Before, I did my Random Thoughts videos, I wrote about various topics on my blog before Twitter. Don’t worry, I’ll still be doing videos, which I hope to update soon.
6/28/2021:
I know, I haven’t updated my Pokemon or Today in Strangeness blogs since last year, but I really hope to get back into writing these again this summer. I honestly got behind because of work. Nonetheless, I am determine to do this, so I’ll post when ready.
6/29/2021:
CJM will probably return in late summer due to Chris’s computer needing to be replaced. Jeff and I will be continuing doing CJM Extra videos in the meantime until CJM is ready to go again.
6/30/2021:
Having an extra day off has been a blessing, not going to lie!
Here’s this week’s today in strangeness. Hope you enjoy!
August 2nd/August 3rd:
Today in strangeness, On August 3rd, 1958, the Nautilus, an atomic submarine, became the first vessel to cross underneath the North Pole. On this day in 1967, James Law and some high school buddies rode the entire New York City subway system in a total of 22 hours and 11 minutes. The United States Senate began hearings on the covert CIA mind-control program, MK-ULTRA on today’s date in 1977.
Today in strangeness, At the age of 36, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home on today’s date in 1962. While her death was ruled to be “acute barbiturate poisoning,” subsequent investigations/theories have suggested she may have been murdered. On August 5, 1989 the largest game of Musical Chairs took place in China with a whopping 8,238 participants.
Today in strangeness, On this date in 1890, at New York’s Auburn Prison, axe murderer William Kemmler became the first person to be executed by electric chair. The oldest known tree, ‘Prometheus‘ was cut down by a graduate student on August 6, 1964. The student and his research team hadn’t recognized the pine tree’s extreme age– estimated to be 4,862 years old.
Today in strangeness, On this date in 1958, Phyllis Newcomb, age 22, spontaneously combusted while dancing at a party. She was reduced to a small pile of ash after a brief, intense flare, with only her shoes, slightly scorched, remaining. 41 years ago, the French stuntman Philippe Petit walked across a tightrope strung between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
Today in strangeness, On this day in 1815, a defeated Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba. In 1974, President Richard M. Nixon announced his intention to become the first president in American history to resign, and on 8/8/88 the temperature in New York City hit a high of 88 degrees.
Today in strangeness, On today’s date in 1889, a thirty-six foot long and fifteen-foot high mammoth skeleton was found in St. James, Nebraska. And on August 10, 1966, a daylight meteor was seen in the sky from Utah to Canada. It’s said to be the only known case of a meteor entering the Earth’s atmosphere and leaving it again.
Here’s this week’s today in strangeness. Hope you enjoy!
July 26th/27th:
Today in strangeness, A grasshopper invasion descended over Iowa, Nebraska and So. Dakota devouring thousands of crop acres (1931). And on this day in 1940, Bugs Bunny made his big screen debut in the Warner Brothers cartoon, “A Wild Hare.”
Today in strangeness, On this date in 1976, a massive earthquake struck the city of Tangshan, China. The official death toll from the quake was an astounding 242,000 people, making it the deadliest earthquake in modern history. Some in China suspect that the true number of fatalities could be double or triple the number reported by Chinese officials.
Today in strangeness, Happy Birthday, NASA! In response to the Soviet’s 1957 launch of Sputnik, the US Congress passed legislation on this date in 1958 to establish a civilian agency coordinating America’s space exploration. On July 29, 1947, a gas leak explosion in a beauty parlor caused the death of 10 women in Harrisonburg, VA.
Today in strangeness, On this day in 1838, a rain of frogs fell in London. This date also saw the disappearance of Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa (1975), and the very first car ad, which beckoned magazine readers to “dispense with a horse” (1898).
Today in strangeness, On this date in 1930, the radio mystery program The Shadow aired for the first time. On July 31, 1954, an official announcement was made by researchers that Los Angeles smog was caused by the chemical reaction of sunlight on auto and industrial emissions. And on this day in 1964, the first close-up photographs of the moon were sent back to Earth by Ranger 7.
Here’s this week’s today in strangeness. Hope you enjoy!
July 19th/20th:
Today in strangeness, Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon, 51 years ago today. On this date in 1970, the first (and only) baby was born on Alcatraz Island, during an occupation by Native Americans.
Today in strangeness, At around this date in 356 BC, Herostratus set fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. He committed the act in a quest for fame. A rain of ants fell on Nancy, France on July 21, 1887. The world’s lowest temperature, -129°F, was recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica on today’s date in 1983.
Today in strangeness, The Reverend William Archibald Spooner was born on today’s date in 1844. The lecturer became known for what are now called ‘spoonerisms,’ slips of the tongue where the consonants of words are reversed. One of his flubs was issued as he officiated at a wedding: “Son, it is now kisstomary to cuss the bride.”
Today in strangeness, Happy Neptunalia! Little is known about this ancient Roman festival of Neptune (the god of waters), held on July 23rd, except that the people built huts of branches and foliage in which “they probably feasted, drank, and amused themselves.” On this day in 1995, the National Inventors Hall of Fame opened in Akron, Ohio.
Today in strangeness, The largest ice cream sundae in the Milky Way weighed in at 54,914 lbs (9,688 in syrup) at Edmonton, Canada (1988). Female pilot Joann Osterud set the inverted flight record on this date with an upside down flight of 4 hours and 38 minutes (1991).
Today in strangeness, On this date in 1965, a seminal event in rock and roll history took place when Bob Dylan “went electric” during his infamous performance at the Newport Folk Festival. A hero to the folk music community, Dylan’s switch to electric guitar was seen as the ultimate act of betrayal by many in the audience, who booed the performance. Urban legend has it that event organizer Pete Seeger was so upset by the act that he threatened to cut the wires to the stage with an axe.
Here’s this week’s today in strangeness. Hope you enjoy!
July 12th/13th:
Today in strangeness, On this date in 1923, the Hollywood Sign was dedicated in Los Angeles. Originally built as an advertisement for the “Hollywoodland” housing community, the landmark has since become an icon of the entertainment industry. Over the years, the sign was subject to a conspiracy to steal its letters, the deterioration and loss of the “H” and two “O’s”, and, ultimately, adoption by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which dropped the “land” portion of the sign.
Today in strangeness, Though technically still legal tender, the United States withdrew the large denomination bills of $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 from circulation on July 14, 1969. On this date in 2003, the US government finally admitted the existence of Area 51.
Today in strangeness, Live on a Florida TV broadcast of July 15, 1974, newswoman Christine Chubbock announced: “And now, in keeping with Channel 40’s policy of always bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you’re going to see another first — attempted suicide.” She pulled out a revolver and shot herself in the head, dying 14 hours later at a hospital.
Today in strangeness, The Atomic Age began on this day in 1945 when the United States exploded its first experimental atomic bomb at the Trinity site near Alamogordo, NM. Speaking of explosions, on July 16, 1994, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter, with impacts continuing until July 22nd.
Today in strangeness, On this day in 1955, Disneyland opened its doors in Anaheim, CA. By all accounts it was a disaster, women’s heels sunk into the asphalt, rides broke down, and there was a gas leak. On July 17, 1933, pilot Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan took off on a flight from New York to California, but ended up flying overseas to Ireland, due to what he claimed was a navigational error.
Today in strangeness, On this day in 64 AD, a great fire destroyed two-thirds of the city of Rome. Also, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was nominated for an unprecedented third term as President of the United States (1940), and Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan arrived in Ireland–he had left New York bound for California (1938).
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