Whatever blows your skirt up.

September 15th
On this day in 1963 the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing occurred in Birmingham, Alabama. Four African-American children are killed as a result. It marked a turning point in the civil rights movement in the South, as most people condemned such an act as to kill children. The church had been a rallying point for civil rights activities in Birmingham, and was thus a target for pro-segregation bigots.

On this day in 1940 a decisive battle for air supremacy over England occurred during the Battle of Britain. The German Luftwaffe had been systematically trying to destroy the Royal Air Force in order to launch Operation Sea Lion, the amphibious invasion of Britain. But during the dogfights on this day the RAF was able to shoot down 56 German planes. From that point on Germany stopped daylight attacks and the invasion was put off indefinitely. Despite being outnumbered, the RAF was able to shoot down 2 planes for every 1 that they had lost.

On this day in 1916 the tank made its debut on the battlefield at Somme during WWI. The British launched a massive offensive to break the stalemate of trench warfare. The barbed wire that encompassed no man's land made large offensives suicidal, so the tank became the logical answer. Despite initial gains, the offensive was a huge failure in that the allies gained only 5 miles of territory at the expense of losing 600,000 soldiers.

On this day in 1954 one of the most famous scenes in movie history is filmed when Marilyn Monroe has her skirt blown up by a blast of air from a subway vent. The movie was The Seven Year Itch, and the scene infuriated Monroe's husband Joe Dimaggio, who thought it was exhibitionist and he filed for divorce a few days later.

Who shot the deputy? Ask Bob Marley.

September 14th
On this day in 1974 Eric Clapton's rendition of Bob Marley's "I shot the Sheriff" hit #1 on the pop charts. It was common practice for Englishmen to take what they wanted and make a profit off of it, Clapton had done it for years with the blues. I guess the world wasn't ready for a song about a black man killing a cop. That would come about 15 years later.

On this day in 1982 Princess Grace of Monaco, also known as the actress Grace Kelly, died as a result of injuries suffered when her car fell off a cliff near Monte Carlo. She had given up her acting career after she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Kelly had won an Oscar for The Country Girl. Yeah, she was a hotty!

On this day in 1847 the American army lead by General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City during the Mexican American war. Officially a war over the annexation of Texas, it was actually a war of westward expansion, and as a result of the United States' military superiority, half of Mexico came under our control.

On this day in 1901 President William McKinley succumbs to his wounds received 8 days earlier from an assassin. He had shown signs of improvement just days before, but an undetected infection in his abdomen finally did him in. Modern medicine would have saved his life, but they didn't even have the internet back then. Teddy Roosevelt was sworn in as president subsequently.

That's low, man.

September 13th
On this day in 1988 Hurricane Gilbert is recorded to have the lowest barometric reading in the history of the Western Hemisphere, 888 mbar, and was the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour. It devastated Jamaica and later Mexico on it's path of destruction. It was also recorded to be one of the biggest hurricanes ever seen at 558 miles in diameter.

On this day in 1814 while aboard a British prison ship, Francis Scott Key is inspired to write the "Star Spangled Banner". He watched as the British tried to destroy the Americans at Fort McHenry and thus gain access to Baltimore by sea. It was all for naught as the Americans repelled the attack and the large flag above the fort stayed aloft throughout the battle.

On this day in 1971 the prison riots at Attica Prison in western New York state came to a bloody end when national guardsmen and police open fire and kill 29 prisoners and 10 hostages. The prisoners had been claiming they had poor living conditions due to the overcrowding of an old, and decrepit prison. A large number of inmates attacked the guards 4 days prior and took some of them hostage and demanded change. Fed up with the insurrection, Governor Nelson Rockefeller order the prison to be retaken by force. It became the rallying cry for prison reformation nationwide.

On this day in 1922 the temperature at Al Aziziyah, Libya reaches 135.9 degrees Fahrenheit, IN THE SHADE! This would be the highest recorded temperature in the history of the world. Can you imagine the guy who took the temperature that day? "Man it's hot today, I wonder just how hot it is?"

On this day in 1936 17 year old Bob Feller strikes out 17 batters in a game against the Philadelphia A's. This would be a new American League record. Feller made his debut a month earlier and struck out 15 batters in that game.

Shine on you crazy diamond

September 12th
On this day in 1990 Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union sign an agreement that they will give up all occupational rights in Germany. This would give Germany the ability to reunite for the first time since the end of WWII. It was also one of the last stumbling blocks of the Cold War.

On this day in 1995 during a Monday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers a fan makes one of the most incredible catches in the history of sports. The fan with a really dumb looking pony tail (hey, it was the 90's) decided it'd be a good idea to jump out of his seat to catch a football that had traveled over the net behind the goalpost. Miraculously he was uninjured after the fall of over 10 feet and he hung onto the ball. I think this falls under the same category of why drunk drivers are usually the ones to survive car accidents and the innocent drivers are the ones who die. He's got Uncle Rico syndrome.

On this day in 1975 Pink Floyd release their 9th studio album Wish You Were Here. Coming off the global success of their previous album Dark Side of the Moon, the band went into Abbey Road Studios with the intention of making an album tribute to former member Syd Barrett. Barrett was the lead singer in the band before David Gilmore, and lead early Pink Floyd through a maze of drugs and distorted guitars. He left the band after his mental health began to fail. The albums centerpiece, "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" is broken up into two parts that are separated by some of their most famous works, "Have a Cigar" and "Wish You Were Here". One of my favorite albums of all time.

September 11th

September 11th
I'm sure that a lot of things happened on this day in history that didn't occur in the year 2001, but as far as I'm concerned there is only one event worth mentioning today. It's our generations Kennedy assassination, or moon landing, or Pearl Harbor. Everyone I know will tell you exactly where they were when the twin towers came down. My experience was an interesting one. I was on the phone with my girlfriend until the wee hours of the morning the night before, so I planned on sleeping in. I wake up to my dad banging on my door and yelling "Wake up Robbie, we're going to war!" to which I responded "What in the hell are you talking about?".
"Turn on your T.V."
By then the first tower had already collapsed. There was smoke enveloping most of lower Manhattan. I really thought we were bombed at first, I didn't know what to think. As everything came together for me I was shocked at the images that were brought before me. The news stations were doing their best to reconstruct events and get first hand accounts of what was going on at ground zero. They kept showing the second plane hitting the South Tower over and over again, followed by images of the Pentagon and Shanksville. Eventually the media stumble upon a video of the first plane hitting. It was remarkable that a fire unit was filming a routine exactly when it happened.

I must have watched all day until I had to go to work. I was a driver that night and I had my radio on for the entire shift. I can't watch the videos without just a small flashback to that day. It was a remarkable tragedy that, for a time, brought everyone together. The conspiracy theorists out there are some of the stupidest people alive. They're just looking for a reason to attack our government. But all they're doing is disrespecting everyone who lost their lives on that day. I saw this a few years ago and it puts all of those arguments to rest.

It's an interesting watch to say the least and it really puts the conspiracy theorists in a bad light as it takes all of their arguments and destroys them case by case.

Punk in drublic

September 10th
On this day in 1897 the first ever arrest is made for drunk driving. 25 year old taxi driver George Smith crashed his cab into a building in London. He plead guilty and was fined 25 schillings. Ever since the combination of getting sloshed and going for a drive has become a popular past time around the world.

On this day in 1991 "Smells like Teen Spirit" is released as the first single off of Nirvana's Nevermind album. It would go on become one of the biggest hits of the 90's and the signature song for the band. The band's record label released the single in hopes that it would establish the groundwork for the band before they released the single for "Come as you are", the song that was supposed to bring the band to prominence.

On this day in 1972 the USA basketball team loses its first game of international basketball at the Olympic games in Munich to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was given a second chance at a final shot to win the game after the referee forgot to start the clock. The first shot was missed, but with the second chance the Soviets took advantage and converted after a full court pass and shot to win the game.

On this day in 1977 the last person is executed by guillotine when Algerian immigrant Hamida Djandoubi gets his head chopped off after being convicted of murder in France. The guillotine was first established as a humane means of executing criminals and gained fame during the French Revolution.

Bug me!

September 9th
On this day in 1947 the first case of a computer bug was discovered. As it turns out it was actually a bug, a moth got itself lodged in a relay in the Mark II computer at Harvard University. When the programmers looked to find out why their new toy wasn't working they discovered the crispy critter.

On this day in 1942 a Japanese float plane dropped incendiary bombs on a rural mountain in Oregon. A small fire was started as a result of the only airborne bombing raid on the US mainland. Nobua Fujita put his name in the history books after launching from a submarine off the coast. As a result Franklin Roosevelt order a news blackout as to not panic the nation.

On this day in 1976 Mao Zedong died ending one of the most ruthless reigns in history. Mao was the leader of the communist party in the People's Republic of China from its inception in 1949. As a military leader, Mao was unmatched. He lead the revolution against the Chinese Nationalist until WWII when the Japanese took control of most of the country. After the war Mao continued his fight until the Nationalist were defeated. As a leader of his country Mao's policies were questionable at best. His "Great Leap Forward" was supposed to move China into the 20th century by moving farmers away from rural areas to the cities to work in factories. As a result millions died of starvation.