Tres Riches du Duc de Berry
Don’t worry, you people go on ahead. I’ll catch up; I just want to make sure that I turned the iron off.
On the 12th in 1654, an abandoned convent of the Order of the Poor Clares, in the Doelenkwartier District of Delft, a city in the Netherlands, was being used as a storehouse for 40 tons of gunpowder. Cornelis Soetens, the keeper of the storehouse, wanted to check on the condition of the gunpowder, which was kept in barrels, to make certain that all was in order. When he opened the door to the magazine to get a sample, all 40 tons of the gunpowder exploded, leveling most of the city.
Do you think I’ll have trouble finding a place to park?
On the 14th in 1947, Chuck Yeager, at the controls of Bell Aircraft Corp. X-1 jet, broke the sound barrier in level flight, becoming the first person to do so. Yeager had a bit of an edge in that he had the use of a highly sophisticated experimental aircraft to sit in when he accomplished this feat. Fellow pilot and friend Joseph Kittinger also broke the speed of sound and he didn’t need anything nearly as fancy a plane. He did it on August 16, 1960, by simply jumping out of a balloon at the ridiculous altitude of 102,800 feet, which is sort of cheating isn’t it?
Really, I have no idea how that got in my luggage.
William C. Newell needed to have a new well dug on his farm in Cardiff, New York. On the 16th in 1869, he hired some men and gave them detailed instructions about where to dig this well. Much to the surprise of the workers, but not to Newell, a 10-foot tall-petrified man was discovered exactly where they had been told to dig a well. Word quickly spread and Newell made a small fortune by charging admission to see the Cardiff Giant. P.T. Barnum got involved and a lot of people paid a lot of money to view this wonder of nature until the hoax was exposed in February 1870.
How do you know you can’t do it, if you don’t try?
Wilhelm Voigt was born in Tilsit, Germany on February 13, 1849. He was first arrested when he was only 14 years old and ironically spent 14 days in prison after being convicted of theft. This set a pattern for the remainder of his life. The years 1864 through 1891 saw Voigt more or less continuously in prison. He had a brief period of freedom until he was once again sentenced to prison for theft. He would be released on February 12, 1906 after serving this sentence. Thoroughly chastened Voigt managed for a time to give up his felonious lifestyle. Fully rested and ready to get back to work, on October 16, 1906 Voigt put together a mis-matched military uniform with items bought from several second hand stores. He had by this time become quite familiar with military and police procedures and attitudes and it was with great confidence that on the 16th he appeared unannounced at a military barracks in the town of Kopenick, which is east of Berlin. Walking confidently up to the local army barracks, Voigt approached a group of four soldiers and a sergeant who were on their way back to the barracks. Voigt ordered the soldiers to get their rifles and follow him. He then ordered the sergeant to get six more soldiers from a firing range and bring them back to meet him. Once properly assembled, Voigt and his newly formed platoon marched to the City hall. After ordering the soldiers to stand guard at the entrance and all of the exits, Voigt entered city hall, placed the Town Secretary and its Mayor under arrest, and confiscated 4000 marks. Once back at the entrance Voigt ordered the soldiers to not let anyone enter or leave the building and to remain at their posts for half an hour. Voigt them calmly walked to the train station, changed in to civilian clothes, boarded a train and made it safely away from the scene of the crime.
He’ll get here when he gets here, what’s your rush?
William Miller was an American Baptist preacher active in the middle of the 19th century. Miller considered himself a bit of a scholar and through intensive study was convinced that he had figured out the exact date that Jesus would make his Second Coming. That date, determined by meticulous research, was October 22, 1844. It was a sure thing; no doubt about it; Miller and his many followers referred to that date as The Great Anticipation and made every preparation possible for Christ’s return and the end of the world. Well, Miller got it partly right because the sun, not the Son, did rise on the 22nd and on the 23rd as well. October 23rd came to be known as The Big Disappointment by Miller’s followers.
It don’t mean a thing (if it ain’t got that swing)
On the 25th in 1938 Francis J. L. Beckman, Archbishop of Dubuque, denounced Swing music as “a degenerated musical system turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people.” In addition, the good Archbishop stated with authority that Swing “leads down a primrose path to hell.” Fortunately, for the rest of the listening public, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald chose to throw caution to the wind despite such dire warnings.
Are you out of your mind? We’ll never get away with it.
Jack “Murph the Surf” Murphy visited the Museum of Natural History on the 29th in 1964. While walking around the museum he visited one of the restrooms and unlocked a window. Later that evening, Murph the Surf, accompanied by Alan Kuhn and Roger Clark returned to the museum after it had closed for the day. The 565-carat Star of India sapphire was the only gem protected by an alarm. Murph the Surf was pleasantly surprised to discover that the battery that powered the Star of India’s alarm was dead. He took the gem and some others, most notably the Eagle Diamond and the de Long Ruby. The trio was arrested two days later. The Star of India was recovered from a locker in a Miami, Florida bus station. The Eagle Diamond was not recovered.
Everything old is new again
On the 31st in 1968, President Lyndon Johnson addressed the nation to inform the populace that due to the progress achieved at the Paris Peace Talks he was ordering the complete cessation of “all air, naval and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam.” The war would continue until April 30, 1975. Johnson’s address was the 60s version of President Bush’s appearance on a naval vessel standing beneath a banner proclaiming “Mission Accomplished”.
