On this day in 54 A.D. Nero became emperor of Rome. Known to history as one of the most extravagant Roman leaders, Nero was said to have started the Great Roman fire in order to clear space for his Domus Aurea, a lavish villa build where many rich Romans had lived. History says he played a fiddle while Rome burned, hundreds of years before the fiddle was invented. Now that's a great emperor! More likely he played the lute, or that harp looking thingy. Nero was the last emperor to have a dynastic link to Julius Casar. Although many contemporary sources paint Nero in a bad light, he undeniably helped the empire expand and did bring an era of stability to the throne.
On this day last year the gripping reality television series "The Chilean Miners" came to a close. The ten week miniseries showed the ups and downs of 33 men living underground in a collapsed mine. In the first episode the roof of the mine suddenly gave way and the men were able to save themselves by hiding in an emergency shelter. In the ensuing episodes rescue workers drilled holes down to the trapped miners and sent down food and water. The drama wasn't over for one miner when he was able to reach the surface, he was greeted by cries from not only his wife, but his mistress as well! Oh man, that was a good show!
On this day in 1962 the remnants of tropical cyclone Freda became one of the most powerful and damaging storms in United States history when it devastated much of the Pacific Northwest. Known as the "Columbus
Day Storm", it caused mass flooding and heavy wind damage as gusts were reported to be as high as 179 mph, and sustained winds were category 3 hurricane levels. It made landfall on the night of October 12th and continued through the next 12 hours, killing 46 people.
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