If It's Hectic, and Insurance Related, It Must Be My Life, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus.  

First, the definition of spoiled is a Chihuahua sitting in your lap with a heating pad:

The last couple of days have been hectic, to say the least.  Grandpa needed Sweetie to run errands here in town (since he doesn't come up here any more, he doesn't trust himself to drive out of town).  The Big Boss wanted errands.  Ms. G, my every Wednesday lady, let me come on Monday instead since Dr. D was out of town.  Of course, i still had Ms. JAI as usual (she is every other Monday afternoon).

We burned a whole tank of gas just on one day of work and errands and traffic madness.  Not to mention that i've got to get ready to be out of town overnight (leaving today).  No, we don't keep it straight without a list.  Some days the list has over two dozen separate items.

Yes, somehow, some way, it all got done, even with the insurance trouble.

This is in no way a paid ad, i now have great respect for Geico Insurance.  State Farm has, one by one, dropped my children.  Last time is was #2 Son, and we didn't get the notice from State Farm about it, so he was driving around with no insurance and we had no idea. One quick call to Geico, and it was taken care of.

Now it was Little Girl.  Someone she worked with (military) had driven her car and ended up in a minor accident.  State Farm dropped her, so we called Sweetie's friend, Insurance Dude.  He sells Progressive.  Progressive decided that the other driver was going to have to be on the insurance, even though he is now assigned to another base and Little Girl never sees him, and they were going to charge her $4,000 for six months of basic liability.  Yeah, um, no.

Again, Geico to the rescue.  She told them the situation, she is now covered for $1,000 for six months, and has more than just the basic liability.  They saw no reason to put the other driver on the insurance, since it was only a one time thing and he's not going to be behind the wheel of her vehicle ever again.

Let's get a bit more random, shall we?  Here's a highway sign and i'm sorry i couldn't get a better shot from the passenger seat:

It says, "Santa's coming, have you been a good driver?"

Finally, more of the pictures Grandma sent (i have no clue where she gets this stuff), things to let you know that just when you think you've seen everything, you have not.

A blessed and beautiful Christmas Eve or Happy Hanukkah to all who are celebrating, and a wonderful Tuesday to those who are not!

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Today is:

Adam the Patriarch & Eve the Matriarch's Day -- Catholic Christian (Adam, Patron of gardeners and tailors; Eve, Patron of tailors)

Aofangadagskvold -- Iceland (arrival of the 13th and final Yule Lad)

    Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Kertasnikir -- Candle-beggar, who, as children did before light bulbs, wants the treat of a precious candle, and will steal one if he can

Bonfires on the Levee -- Louisiana, US (began among the Cajuns, now a big celebration for everyone, lighting the way for Papa Noel)

Calendas -- Oaxaca, Mexico

Celtic Tree Month Beth (Birch) commences

Christmas Eve

Constitution Day -- Transdniestra

Declaration of Christmas Peace -- Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's official Christmas City

Feast of the Seven Fishes (La Vigilia) -- Italy (traditional serving of seven kinds of seafood at dinner)

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols -- King's College Chapel, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England (special Christmas Eve performance by the Choir of King's College held since 1918)

Independence Day -- Libya(1951)

Kolada -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (various celebrations of the gods until Dec. 31)

Last Minute Shoppers Day

Mistletoe Time -- traditional day on which to hang the mistletoe

Modresnach -- Germanic/Scandinavian/Anglo-Saxon Odinist festival celebrating midwinter and motherhood (date approximate)

National Egg Nog Day

Noche Buena -- Spain and Spanish speaking countries

Remember to Read the Instructions First Night -- when assembling the kids' toys, of course

Silent Night, Holy Night Celebrations -- Austria (in honor of the hymn's composition in 1818)

St. Trasilla's Day (Patron of single laywomen)

Tolling the Devil's Knell -- All Saints Parish Church, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England (the church bell tolls once for each year since the birth of Christ, signaling when the Devil's demise was heralded)

T'owd 'oss -- Richmond, North Yorkshire, England (A tradition of dressing in hunting clothes and blowing the hunting horns on Christmas Eve.)

Utter Day -- Fairy Calendar (Every word uttered by the fairy folk becomes a physical object he/she must wear for the rest of the day.)

Yap Constitution Day -- Micronesia (regional)

Zerowork Season begins -- seriously, unless you work in retail, how much work really gets done between now and New Year's Eve at your office?

Birthdays Today:

Ryan Seacrest, 1974

Stephanie Meyer, 1973

Ricky Martin, 1971

Diedrich Bader, 45, 1966

Anil Kapoor, 1959

Mary Higgins Clark, 1929

Ava Gardner, 1922

Howard Hughes, 1905

Johnny Gruelle, 1880

Matthew Arnold, 1822

James Prescott Joule, 1818

Kit Carson, 1809

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Aristocats(Disney animated film), 1970

"Amahl and the Night Visitors"(Opera, first performance and the first opera ever televised), 1951

"The Perry Como Show"(TV), 1948

"Aida"(Opera), 1871

Today in History:

The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes, 563

Thomas Wolsey is appointed English Lord Chancellor, 1515

Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is "discovered" by James Cook, 1777

"Silent Night" is composed by Franz Joseph Gruber; it is first sung the next day, 1818

The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning, 1826

Fire devastates the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroys 35,000 volumes, 1851

Henry Ford completes his first useful gas motor, 1893

Irving Fisher patents an archiving system with index cards, 1912

The first radio transmission of NCRV in Netherlands, 1924

NORAD Tracks Santa for the first time in what will become an annual Christmas Eve tradition, 1955

Shooting begins on "The Cage" the pilot for the Star Trek series, 1964

The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so, 1968

Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia, 1974

The first European Ariane rocket is launched, 1979

For the first time since the death of Lenin, the bells of St. Basil's Cathedral, on Red Square in Moscow, ring to celebrate Christmas, 1990

The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station, 2003

A video of SpaceX's latest test (on December 17) of the company's Grasshopper rocket with vertical takeoff and vertical landing, is released; the rocket rose 131 feet, hovered and landed safely on the landing pad, 2012

How many phone calls does it take...

...to get insurance in place if you are going to buy a car on the day before Christmas Eve?

If you are me, and your regular agent has decided to bug out a day early for the holidays, it's at least 5.

Grandpa had decided he was going to buy a car for Little Girl.  She was talking about using her own money and going cheap with a motorcycle, but he would have none of it.  He convinced her they would go car shopping on New Year's Eve, since that's a big day in the auto sales industry.  Everyone wants to make sales that day.

Thus i figured i could call my agent Tuesday of next week and get it all arranged.

Then on this past Thursday Grandpa said, "Come Friday, I have the money already."

What child is going to turn that down?

Back in the day, all you had to do to buy a car was show you already had insurance on your other cars.  The fact that you had a policy or two in place meant your new ride was covered for up to 30 days, so you would have time to get in to your agent.

Not anymore.  Now you have to have proof of insurance on that car before you can drive off the lot.

So Friday morning at work i tried to call my agent.  No dice, i get the national representatives.  In the course of the day, i believe i spoke to 8 of them, all very nice and helpful.

It all gets so complicated.  The first lady told me what information i had to have in order to get the insurance in place.  Then i called back with the information, and a nice young man took care of almost everything.

Why almost?  Because while your own agent can give you proof of insurance that you can take to the dealership with you, they at the national office cannot actually put the policy in place until after you have purchased the car.  You have to go buy it, then call from the dealership to put the policy in place, and get it faxed over.

Did i mention i was at work, that Sweetie took Little Girl to NOLA and dropped her off with Grandpa to do all of this, and so i was trying to get a policy on someone besides myself, someone who was not even with me, and all that while i was trying to clean houses?

After the purchase, i called the national number again, and after a couple of transfers and a half hour on hold, i got the policy in place, the first month paid ($250), and got them to fax it to the dealership and a promise they would also email it to me, so i could email it to Little Girl, so she could show the card on her phone if she needed to provide proof of insurance to anyone.

The email never came, so i called again, and waited again, and my phone cut off in the middle of the call, so i called again.  We figured it out, they misspelled my email.

Eventually i did have it all, and no matter what, by the time she drove off the lot she had insurance, and that's what counts.

Little Girl is now the proud owner of a 2013 Honda Civic with only 19,000 miles on it.

A very nice ride.

Today is:

Adam the Patriarch & Eve the Matriarch's Day -- Catholic Christian (Adam, Patron of gardeners and tailors; Eve, Patron of tailors)

Aofangadagskvold -- Iceland (arrival of the 13th and final Yule Lad)
     Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Kertasnikir -- Candle-beggar, who, as children did before light bulbs, wants the treat of a precious candle, and will steal one if he can

Bonfires on the Levee -- Louisiana, US (began among the Cajuns, now a big celebration for everyone, lighting the way for Papa Noel)

Calendas -- Oaxaca, Mexico

Celtic Tree Month Beth (Birch) commences

Christmas Eve

Constitution Day -- Transdniestra

Declaration of Christmas Peace -- Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's official Christmas City

Feast of the Seven Fishes (La Vigilia) -- Italy (traditional serving of seven kinds of seafood at dinner)

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols -- King's College Chapel, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England (special Christmas Eve performance by the Choir of King's College held since 1918)

Hanukkah -- Judaism (Festival of Lights; begins at sundown, through sundown Jan. 1)

Independence Day -- Libya(1951)

Kolada -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (various celebrations of the gods until Dec. 31)

Last Minute Shoppers Day

Mistletoe Time -- traditional day on which to hang the mistletoe

Modresnach -- Germanic/Scandinavian/Anglo-Saxon Odinist festival celebrating midwinter and motherhood (date approximate)

National Egg Nog Day

Noche Buena -- Spain and Spanish speaking countries

Remember to Read the Instructions First Night -- when assembling the kids' toys, of course

Silent Night, Holy Night Celebrations -- Austria (in honor of the hymn's composition in 1818)

St. Trasilla's Day (Patron of single laywomen)

Tolling the Devil's Knell -- All Saints Parish Church, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England (the church bell tolls once for each year since the birth of Christ, signaling when the Devil's demise was heralded)

T'owd 'oss -- Richmond, North Yorkshire, England (A tradition of dressing in hunting clothes and blowing the hunting horns on Christmas Eve.)

Utter Day -- Fairy Calendar (Every word uttered by the fairy folk becomes a physical object he/she must wear for the rest of the day.)

Yap Constitution Day -- Micronesia (regional)

Zerowork Season begins -- seriously, unless you work in retail, how much work really gets done between now and New Year's Eve at your office?


Birthdays Today:

Ryan Seacrest, 1974
Stephanie Meyer, 1973
Ricky Martin, 1971
Diedrich Bader, 45, 1966
Anil Kapoor, 1959
Mary Higgins Clark, 1929
Ava Gardner, 1922
Howard Hughes, 1905
Johnny Gruelle, 1880
Matthew Arnold, 1822
James Prescott Joule, 1818
Kit Carson, 1809


Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Aristocats(Disney animated film), 1970
"Amahl and the Night Visitors"(Opera, first performance and the first opera ever televised), 1951
"The Perry Como Show"(TV), 1948
"Aida"(Opera), 1871


Today in History:

The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes, 563
Thomas Wolsey is appointed English Lord Chancellor, 1515
Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is "discovered" by James Cook, 1777
"Silent Night" is composed by Franz Joseph Gruber; it is first sung the next day, 1818
The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning, 1826
Fire devastates the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroys 35,000 volumes, 1851
Henry Ford completes his first useful gas motor, 1893
Irving Fisher patents an archiving system with index cards, 1912
The first radio transmission of NCRV in Netherlands, 1924
NORAD Tracks Santa for the first time in what will become an annual Christmas Eve tradition, 1955
Shooting begins on "The Cage" the pilot for the Star Trek series, 1964
The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so, 1968
Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia, 1974
The first European Ariane rocket is launched, 1979
For the first time since the death f Lenin, the bells of St. Basil's Cathedral, on Red Square in Moscow, ring to celebrate Christmas, 1990
The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy ChamartÌn Station, 2003
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station report they have completed repairs to a cooling pump after a 7 1/2 hour space walk, 2013

Go to work for some peace and quiet.

On a typical day at work, like yesterday, i get calls and texts from the family, and plenty of them.

At the bakery, i can only check when i'm on break (i will not touch my phone when i'm dealing with people's food, thankyouverymuch).  At someone's home, i answer unless i am speaking to the person who has hired me, and then i call back as soon as we are done talking.

Yesterday, Bigger Girl had all four of her wisdom teeth out.  When she gave them her insurance card, they fussed and said it wasn't the right card.  It was the exact same numbers as what is on the latest card they mailed out, identical to it, but they would not accept it.  They wanted to see another card.  She called in a panic.

Calling Sweetie, i told him where to dig out the new cards, which i generally keep as back-ups in case someone loses one because they have all the exact same numbers on them, and took it over there to them, because they told her she couldn't leave unless she showed them the new card or paid $3,000.  Upon being handed a card with the exact same numbers on it that they already had, they allowed her to leave.

Some people make me wonder how they find their way out of bed in the morning.

Then #1 Son started inquiring about the title to his car.  His car, not one of ours.  His totalled car that needs to be towed for scrap before Kevin and Lenny start charging us a storage fee (which they won't do, really, we bring them too much business, but it's not nice to take advantage of them and leave the doggone car there forever).  He finally has a scrap yard ready to come tow it, but he can't find the title to sign over to them and get notarized.

No, i can't find his title, either.  He will have to go get a new one first thing in the morning so he can take care of all of this before work.

Now i understand why i don't mind working so much.  My house is crazy and i go to work to get a break and find some rest and sanity!

Today is:

American Historical Society Annual Meeting -- Atlanta, GA, US (130th annual, with over 300 sessions covering a wide range of scholarly topics; this year's theme "Global Migrations: Empires, Nations, and Neighbors" and is through the 10th)

Apple Howling Day -- Henfield, West Sussex (Held at Gill Orchard, always on Epiphany Eve, horn blowing and howling at the trees is said to wake them up and yield a good crop.)

Armenian Christmas Eve -- Armenia (Old Chrismas Day in the West)

Can Opener Day -- one of the earliest forms of can opener was patented this date in 1858 by Ezra Warner of CT, US (tin cans had been around for over 50 years by then, usually opened with a knife or hammer and chisel)

Epiphany Fair -- Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy (toys, sweets, and presents among the beautiful Bernini Fountains)

Get on the Computer Day -- obviously dates back to a time when people didn't have to check email daily or get inundated

Guru Gobindh Singh birthday -- Sikh

Harbin Ice Festival -- Harbin, China (with a theme of "Happy Ice Snow, Exciting City," a festival of illuminated ice sculptures, ice sports, and fun through Chinese New Year and beyond)

Joma Shinji Festival -- Kamakura, Japan (ceremony and festival to keep evil spirits away)

Mungday -- Discordianism (festival of St. Hung Mung)

National Bird Day -- US (National Association of Audubon Societies incorporated today in 1905) 

National Whipped Cream Day

Nones of January -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also
     Festival of Vica Pota (ancient goddess of victory)

Review Your Wrestling Holds Day -- internet generated, and weird

St. Gerlac of Valkenberg's Day (Patron of domestic animals)

St. Simeon Stylites' Day (The original and most maniacal of the "Pillar Saints")

Take the Cake Day -- a day to do something, anything, over the top, just because

Trettondagsafton -- Sweden (Epiphany Eve)

Turn Up the Heat Day -- all over the internet, but no one explains it

Twelfth Day of Christmas -- and thus, Twelfth Night (Although by some reckonings, this is actually only the 11th day of Christmas, and thus Twelfth Night Eve.  Take your pick.)


Anniversaries Today:

George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis, 1759


Birthdays Today:

January Jones, 1978
Bradley Cooper, 1975
Warrick Dunn, 1975
Carrie Ann Inaba, 1968
Pamela Sue Martin, 1953
Diane Keaton, 1946
Charlie Rose, 1942
Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, 1938
Umberto Eco, 1932
Alvin Ailey, 1931
Robert Duvall, 1931
Walter Mondale, 1928
George Reeves, 1914
George Dolenz, 1908
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard, 1895
King Camp Gillette, 1855
Edmund Ruffin, 1794
Constanze Mozart, 1762 (wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
Pietro Filippo Scarlotti, 1679
Shah Jahal, 1592 (Mughal emperor of India, built the Taj Mahal)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"All My Children"(TV), 1970
"Bozo the Clown"(TV), 1959
"The Member of the Wedding"(Play), 1950
"Pepe LePew"(cartoon character, in "Odor-able Kitty"), 1945

Today in History:

Edward the Confessor dies with no heir, leading to a succession crisis that ends with the Norman Conquest, 1066
Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist congregation in Zürich, is executed by drowning, 1527
Pope Clemens VII forbids English king Henry VIII to re-marry, 1531
A petition in Recife, Brazil leads to closing of their 2 synagogues, 1638
Anne Clarke of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted the first divorce in the colonies, from her absent and adulterous husband, Denis Clarke, by the Quarter Court of Boston, Massachusetts, 1643
The first Swedenborgian temple in the US holds its first service, in Baltimore, 1800
The Ohio legislature passes the first laws restricting the movement of free blacks, 1804
Davy Crockett arrives in Texas, just in time for the Alamo, 1836
The US House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the UK, 1846
The first US school of librarianship opens at Columbia University, 1887
An Austrian newspaper makes the first public report on Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of xrays, 1896
The National Association of Audubon Society incorporates, 1905
Colombia recognizes Panama's independence, 1909
The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a day's labor, 1914
British premier Lloyd George issues a demand for a unified peace, 1918
Nellie Taylor Ross is sworn in as governor of Wyoming, the first woman governor of a US state, 1925
Mao Tse-tung writes "A Single Spark Can Start A Prairie Fire," 1930
FM radio is demonstrated to the Federal Communications Commission for the first time, 1940
The Daily Mail becomes the first transoceanic newspaper, 1944
Warmest reliably measured temperature in Antarctica of +59°F (+15°C) recorded at Vanda Station, 1974
Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, is discovered, 2005

When do i get a normal day?

Anybody home? i called out as i went into Ms. P's house.

It started as a busy enough day, and got busier.  #2 Son called at 5am for me to come get him from work.  He was being sent home because his stomach was hurting so badly he could barely stand up.  Once i got him home and started the laundry, i took Little Girl to school and then i called the doctor.  Could we have him there for 7:45am?

We were there by 7:20, before the office staff even showed up.  It's amazing what you can do when the doc agrees to work you in before the other patients.

It all boiled down to stress and too many energy drinks.  He's started burning that candle at both ends again, trying to work 4am to noon and yet stay up late with friends.  It doesn't work out too well for him.

Once i got him back home, i went to the store for milk and cat food and bananas, then came home and found that the car Grandpa had chosen to get #2 Son, an old Honda Civic, was being delivered.  Grandpa had made a mistake, though -- he put it in #2 Son's name.  He's only 18, and because the car is in his name instead of ours, he has to have his own insurance.

Guess how many companies will cover an 18-year-old on their own policy?  Very few.  Guess how much we finally had to pay?  $300/month.  He and i went to my insurance agent, because she was the only one who could cover him at all.  That, as i tried to remind Grandpa, is why we put Bigger Girl's car in our name instead of hers.  It makes a difference.

When we got back from that, and i finished the ironing, everything was breaking loose with The Big Boss and Ms. P.  They needed Sweetie to go pick up a parking pass, pick up one of the kids from school, and then i had to go meet them where the parking pass was being delivered.  From there, Sweetie would go get Little Girl from school, and i would take Middle Boy home, make sure the other three who were home sick were resting well, go get their dinner, and babysit for the rest of the evening.

So i went in, calling out to see if any of them were still extant.  They were, though all lying in bed, watching TV, and Youngest Boy was very upset at being awakened.  The boys requested beans and rice and biscuits from a local fast food place for dinner, and Daughter wanted an order from the sushi place next door to that, so i went and got what they wanted.

It was an evening.  The house was a wreck, and Littlest Boy is feeling much better -- he and Middle Boy misbehaved the whole night.  It took an act of Congress, and the threat of no hot cocoa, to get Middle Boy to do his homework.

There was lots of screaming, lots of sassing and back-talk, and three times i had to physically separate the boys because they were really hurting each other.  Times like this remind me of why some animals in the wild eat their young.

Eventually baths were taken and bedtime came, and while refereeing and doing everything else i managed to clean the kitchen, run the dishwasher, and do a load of laundry.

By the end of it all, Middle Boy was coughing up a storm and saying he didn't feel well.  He was starting a fever, i could tell.

When i get back on Thursday, i'll probably have a lot of work cut out for me, but at least i'll have one load of laundry out of the way.



Today is:

A&W Rootbeer Mug Day -- see if you can frost your mug like they did

Birth of Baha'u'llah -- Baha'i

Birth of Sun Yat-Sen, Doctors Day, and Cultural Renaissance Day -- Taiwan

Chicken Soup for the Soul Day -- "Changing the world, one story at a time."

Constitution Day -- Azerbaijan

Dia del Cartero -- Mexico (Postman's Day; postal carriers are shown appreciation with small gifts left in mailboxes)

Fancy Rat and Mouse Day -- the American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association wants you to know these little critters can give you a lot of love

Journee Nationale Maore -- Comoros (Admission to the UN Day)

Khalkeia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of smiths, associated with Hephaists and Athena; date approximate)

National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day

National Youth Day -- East Timor

St. Emillian's Day (Patron of Spain, finding lost objects)

St. Josaphat's Day (Patron of Edmonton, Alberta; Toronto, Ontario; Ukraine)

Tewa Buffalo Dance -- Native American Tewa of the Tesuque Pueblo rites on the feast day of their Patron, San Diego, to honor Mother Earth, Father Sky, the four directions, and the elements; through the 15th

Triple Crown of Surfing -- Oahu, HI, US (3 separate events, through Dec. 20)

World Pneumonia Day -- because we lose a million children a year to this preventable illness


Anniversaries Today:

The Arches National Park established, 1971
Ellis Island closes, 1954


Birthdays Today:

Anne Hathaway, 1982
Ryan Gosling, 1980
Sammy Sosa, 1968
Michael Moorer, 1967
David Schwimmer, 1966
Nadia Comaneci, 1961
Megan Mullally, 1958
Neil Young, 1945
Al Michaels, 1944
Wallace Shawn, 1943
Grace Kelly, 1929
Jo Stafford, 1918
Harry A. Blackmun, 1908
Sun Yat-sen, 1866
Auguste Rodin, 1840
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1815


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Grand Hotel"(Musical), 1989
"Irma la Douce"(Musical), 1956
"Paint Your Wagon"(Musical), 1951
Song of the South(Disney film), 1946
The first Sunday American-style football game is held in Philadelphia, 1933


Today in History:

Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days starting today, 764
Plymouth, England, becomes the first town incorporated by the English Parliament, 1439
Sir James Young Simpson, a British physician, is the first to use chloroform as an anaesthetic, 1847
Jules Leotard performs 1st Flying Trapeze circus act (Paris); he also designed garment that bears his name, 1859
World's Fair in Paris opens, 1900
The first movie stunt: man jumps into Hudson river from a burning balloon, 1910
Norway holds a referendum in favor of monarchy over republic, 1905
Robert Scott's diary & body are found in Antarctica, 1912
Austria becomes a republic, 1918
The first underwater tunnel, the Holland Tunnel connecting NY to NJ opens, 1927
The first photo of whatever is in Loch Ness is taken, 1933
Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia join the United Nations, 1956
Equatorial Guinea joins the United Nations, 1968
The Comoros joins the United Nations, 1975
The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn and takes the first images of its rings, 1980
The Space Shuttle Columbia becomes the first time a manned spacecraft launched into space twice, 1981
Crown Prince Akihito is formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan, becoming the 125th Japanese monarch, 1990
Tim Berners-Lee publishes a formal proposal for the World Wide Web, 1990
Shanghai Transrapid sets up a new world speed record (501 kilometres per hour (311 mph)) for commercial railway systems, 2003
The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database is launched on the web and revolutionizes chemical-gene-disease information for research scientists, 2004
Philippine volcano Mount Bulusan erupts again, 2010