08 August Topics

August 1: “You’ll never look at music the same way again” – In 1981, MTV began broadcasting.
Collapse – In 2007, the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed.
University of Texas Sniper – In 1966, the Texas Sniper struck.
London Bridge is Going Up – In 1831, a new bridge across the River Thames opened.
Slavery Abolished – In 1834, the UK abolished slavery, sorta.
Defense – In 1957, NORAD was formed.

August 2: Counting – In 1790, the US conducted the first census.
Who’s Calling? – In 1835, Elisha Gray was born.
PT-109 – In 1943, John Kennedy’s boat sank.
It’s Hot at Summerland – In 1973, Summerland caught fire.
Uniting – In 1918, the first general strike in Canada took place.
So Long – In 1922, Alexander Graham Bell died.

August 3: Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue – In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail for China.
Where the Rubber Meets the Road – In 1900, Firestone Rubber and Tire Company was incorporated.
Lenny Bruce – In 1966, Lenny Bruce died.
Row, Row, Row your Boat – In 1852, the first Harvard-Yale Regatta was held.
Santa All Year Long – In 1946, Santa Clause Land opened.
Fine! Just Fine? – In 1907, Standard Oil was fined.

August 4: Salude – In 1693, champagne was invented.
Shortcut – In 1902, a new tunnel under the River Thames opened in London.
Missing – In 2002, two girls go missing in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England.
Saturday Night – In 1821, the Saturday Evening Post was first published.
MTS Oceanos – In 1991, the Oceanos sunk.
Mount Asama – In 1783, the volcano erupted.

August 5: Candle in the Wind – In 1962 Norma Jeane died, mysteriously.
Road Trip – In 1888, Bertha Benz went for a drive.
Jobless – In 1981, 11,345 striking air traffic controllers were fired.
Dot, Dot, Dot – In 1858, the first transatlantic cable was finished.
Truth is Not an Excuse – In 1735, John Zenger was found not guilty of libel.
Taxing – In 1861, the first income tax in the US was passed.

August 6: Fat Man’s Predecessor – In 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
Humane? – In 1890, the first execution by electric chair took place.
Gertrude Ederle – In 1926, Gertrude became the first woman to swim the English Channel.
Lost – In 1930, Judge Force Crater disappeared.
Francis II – In 1806, the king abdicated and ended the Holy Roman Empire.
Bogotá – In 1538, Bogotá, Colombia was founded.

August 7: Kon-Tiki – In 1947, Kon-Tiki made landfall.
Purple Heart – In 1782, George Washington created a new merit badge.
Le Griffon – In 1679, Le Griffon set sail on her maiden voyage.
Not Ready for Laptops – In 1944, the Mark I was presented to Harvard.
You Be the Judge – In 1970, Judge Haley was taken hostage.
Whiskey Rebellion – In 1794, the Militia Acts of 1792 was invoked.

August 8: Great Train Robbery – Another One – In 1963, another train was robbed.
Around the World – In 1929, the first Zeppelin began a trip around the world.
Inhumanity – In 1938, construction began on Mauthausen Concentration Camp.
High Up – In 1786, Mont Blanc was first climbed.
Abbey Road – In 1969, Iain Macmillan took some pictures.
System Error – In 1991, the Warsaw Radio Mast collapsed.

August 9: Lean On Me – In 1173, construction on the world’s most famous bell tower began.
Much Brighter – In 1979, Brighton Beach was given permission as a nude beach.
Betty Boop – In 1930, Betty made her debut.
Walden – In 1854, Thoreau published his book.
YOU Can Prevent Wild Fires – In 1944, Smokey Bear’s first poster came out.
Crazy Times – In 1969, the Charles Manson Family murdered several people.

August 10: Smile, You’re on Candid Camera – In 1948, Candid Camera came to television.
Swedish Navy – In 1628, the Vasa sunk on her maiden voyage.
James Smithson – In 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was chartered.
Scat! – In 1755, the Expulsion of the Acadians began.
The Louvre – In 1793, the museum opened.
I Will – In 2003, the first outer space wedding took place.

August 11: The Rock – In 1934, Alcatraz opened as a federal prison.
Shop Til You Drop – In 1992, the Mall of America opened.
Watts Riots – In 1965, the Watts Riots began.
Swat – In 1929, Babe Ruth hit a new baseball record.
Sheremetyevo International Airport – In 1959, Moscow’s airport opened.
Asking For It – In 1946, Marilyn vos Savant was born.

August 12: NAFTA – In 1992, NAFTA negotiations concluded.
Personal Computer – In 1981, IBM released a new personal computer.
Model T – In 1908, the first Model T was produced.
Boon for Butterick – In 1851, Isaac Singer received a patent for a sewing machine.
Cleopatra – In 30 BC, the Egyptian leader died.
Fear and Fright – In 1877, Deimos was discovered.

August 13: Just Another Brick in the Wall – In 1961, the first steps toward the building of the Berlin Wall were taken.
Bootiful – In 1934, L’il Abner premiered.
The World is Created – In 3114 BC, the world began, according to the Mayan Long Count calendar.
167 for 1 – In 1906, a bartender in Brownville, Texas was killed.
Pay Up – In 1889, the pay telephone was patented.
Rustless – In 1913, stainless steel was first produced.

August 14: Literally – In 1457, the first exactly dated book was published.
Burn, Baby, Burn – In 1933, Oregon was plagued by wild fires.
Insecure – In 1935, the Social Security Act was signed into law.
Oregon, More than a Trail – In 1848, the Territory of Oregon was established.
License, Please – In 1893, France started to issue license tags for cars.
Cologne Cathedral – In 1880, the building was completed.

August 15: Yasgur’s Farm – In 1969, Woodstock began.
Requiem – In 1935, a plane crash killed Will Rogers and Wiley Post.
Military Precision – In 1995, Shannon Faulkner arrived at the Citadel.
Macbeth – In 1057, King Macbeth was killed.
Taliesin I – In 1914, Frank Lloyd Wright’s house was destroyed.
Defeat – In 1281, Kublai Khan’s navy was destroyed.

August 16: Ray Chapman – In 1920, a baseball player was struck in the head with a baseball, the only death from the game.
Not Waterloo – In 1918, the Peterloo Massacre took place.
High Flyer – In 1960, Excelsior II was tested.
Dole Air Race – In 1927, the Dole Air Race began.
Sports Illustrated – In 1954, the magazine was first published.
Tough Guy – In 1868, Bernarr Macfadden was born.

August 17: Good Grief – In 2002, the Charles M. Schultz Museum and Research Center opened.
The Eagle Has Landed – In 1978, the first successful crossing of the Atlantic in a balloon concluded.
Quake Lake – In 1959, Quake Lake formed after an earthquake.
That’s Hot – In 1807, a steamship left dock.
Watch Where You Are Walking – In 1896, Britain’s first pedestrian death from a speeding car took place.
To the Top of the British Isles – In 1771, Ben Nevis was first climbed.

August 18: Virginia Dare – In 1587, the first child of English parents was born in the New World.
It’s About Damn Time – In 1920, American women were finally given the vote.
Lolita – In 1958, Nabokov’s famous novel was published in the US.
He – In 1868, helium was discovered.
Panmunjom Ax Murder – In 1976, two Americans were killed.
Bad Example – In 1848, Camila O’Gormann and Ladislao Gutierrez were executed.

August 19: “Milk from Contented Cows” – In 1856, Gail Borden received a patent for condensed milk.
The Old Wes – In 1895, John Wesley Hardin, Texas outlaw, was shot.
St. Isaac’s Cathedral – In 1768, the Russian cathedral was founded.
Caesar – In 43 BC, Augustus came to power.
Not Just in the US – In 1612, the Samlesbury, England witch trials were held.
Not Yet the Brickyard – In 1909, the Indianapolis Speedway held their first auto race.

August 20: Boom Record – In 1882, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture premiered.
Floyd’s Bluff – in 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition suffered its only fatality.
Disgruntled Worker – In 1986, Patrick Sherrill killed 14 at the Edmond post office.
Thar She Blows – In 1910, the Big Blowup took place.
Intrigue and Mystery – In 14, Agrippa Postumus was killed.
350,000 miles on One “Tank” – In 1962, the NS Savannah began her maiden voyage.

August 21: USA = 50 States – In 1959, Hawaii was admitted to the United States of America as the 50th state.
The Prophet – In 1931, Nat Turner led a slave rebellion.
Stolen Smile – In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre.
Jarvis Island – In 1821, Jarvis Island was discovered.
Adding Things Up – In 1888, William Burroughs patented an adding machine.
Do You See What I See? – In 1879, the citizen of Knock, Ireland were visited.

August 22: “Excuse My Dust” – In 1893, Dorothy Parker was born.
The Temperature at which Paper Burns – In 1920, Ray Bradbury was born.
America’s Cup – In 1851, the first America’s Cup race was run.
Monsters – In 565, St. Columba turned away the Loch Ness Monster.
First American in Space – In 1963, Joe Walker piloted an X-15 rocket into space.
But Not the Last – In 1961, Ida Siekmann died.

August 23: The Blue Planet – In 1966, the first pictures came back from the Moon.
Holy God – In 1948, the World Council of Churches was founded.
Fannie Farmer – In 1902, Fannie Farmer opened her own cooking school.
French Wars of Religion – In 1532, the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacres began.
Stockholm Syndrome – In 1973, a Swedish bank was robbed.
Gothic King and Roman General – In 406, Radagaisus was executed.

August 24: Pompeii Disappears – In AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted.
Waffling – In 1869, a waffle iron was patented.
George Crum – In 1853, George Crum invented potato chips.
Not a Black Hole – Yet – In 1690, Calcutta was founded.
Going Up in Flames – In 1814, the British set fire to much of Washington, DC.
Money Problems – In 1857, the Panic of 1857 began.

August 25: Swimming the English Channel – In 1875, Matthew Webb became the first to swim the English Channel.
Men in the Moon – In 1835, the Great Moon Hoax articles first began to see print.
I See – In 1609, Galileo demonstrated his telescope.
National Parks – In 1916, the US National Park Service was formed.
Voyager 1 Left the Building – In 2012, the space probe left the Solar System.
John Birch – In 1945, John Birch was killed.

August 26: The Terminal Man – In 1988, Merhan Karrimi Nasseri hit the airport.
Explosive – in 1883, Krakatau began to erupt.
Negligence – In 1928, the first negligence case was started.
Big Chuck – In 1944, Charles de Gaulle entered Paris.
Up In Smoke – In 1980, Harvey’s Resort was damaged by a bomb detonation.
Equality – In 1970, the Women’s Strike for Equality took place.

August 27: Powerful Industry – In 1859, the modern day oil industry started.
War is Hell – In 1896, the shortest war in history was fought.
Kǒng Qiū – In 551 BC, Confucius was born.
Sculptor – In 1498, Michelangelo was commissioned to create the Pieta.
Nuclear Power – In 1956, Calder Hall nuclear station went online in Britain.
Battle of Brooklyn – In 1776, the battle was fought.

August 28: First Tornado Photograph – In 1884, the first tornado photograph was made.
Sci Am – In 1845, Scientific American began publication.
Odds and Evens – In 888, the last date written in all even numbers for over a thousand years.
Enceladus – In 1789, William Herschel found Enceladus in the night sky.
Stunningly Beautiful – In 1859, a giant geomagnetic storm lit up the skies.
Tom Thumb – In 1830, the train raced a horse drawn carriage (and lost).

August 29: Have You Hugged Your Hog Today? – In 1885, Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler patented the motorcycle.
Last Man Standing – In 1911, Ishi was found.
The Ashes – In 1882, The Ashes rivalry began.
Day Tripper – In 1966, The Beatles gave their last paid concert.
Quebec Bridge Collapse – In 1907, the bridge collapsed before construction was finished.
Selling Air (Time) – In 1922, radio advertising began.

August 30: Yesterdays and Todays – In 1909, the Burgess Shale site was discovered.
Thin Red Line – In 1963, a direct link between Washington, D.C. and Moscow was established.
Wreck of the Pandora – In 1791, the Pandora sunk.
Well Being with Sikhs – In 1574, Ram Das Ji became a Guru.
Lone Shooter? – In 1918, Fanya Kaplan shot Vladimir Lenin.
Doodling Around – In 1998, Google had their first Doodle.

August 31: Who Was He? – In 1888, Mary Ann Nichols was brutally murdered.
Try This – In 1900, Coke was first sold in England.
Fairy Tale’s End – In 1997, Princess Diana was killed in a car crash.
Go West – In 1803, Meriwether Lewis began his great Expedition when he left Pittsburgh.
Air Disaster – In 1940, a plane crashed near Lovettsville, Virginia.
Charleston, South Carolina – In 1886, the city was struck by an earthquake.