On this day in 1953 sherpa Tenzing Norgay and beekeeper Edmund Hilary became the first humans to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, the highest peak in the world. Many attempts were made prior to WWII, most famously by George Mallory who went missing in an attempt in 1924. Tibet closed its borders after WWII for 4 years before any other attempts were made. Mountain climbing is a bit of a pissing contest if you ask me. "Well I climbed the north face of Everest in 7 hours." "Oh yeah, I climbed the southern route of K2 in 6 hours!" I understand the challenge within stuff that motivates people to do stuff, but now that its been done, it seems to me that it's all about braggers rights.
On this day in 1942 Bing Crosby recorded his version of "White Christmas" and would go on to sell 30 million copies, second most to Elton John's "Candle in the wind". So next holiday season when you hear this song played hundreds of times, remember that it was recorded at the end of May in the middle of a war.
On this day in 1997 singer Jeff Buckley disappeared when he went for a swim in the Mississippi River. He was waiting for his band to arrive in Memphis and took a spontaneous swim in the river while sing the chorus to Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love". His death was ruled an accident with no mysterious circumstances.
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