Dec 29th in ParaCultural History

[Mark Thibodeau]

On this day in *1170*, *Thomas Becket*, Archbishop of Canterbury, is
assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of *King Henry II*;
he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Church and the
Catholic Church.

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On this day in *1845*, in accordance with International Boundary
delimitation, United States annexes the *Republic of Texas*, following the
manifest destiny doctrine. The Republic of Texas, which had been
independent since the Texas Revolution of 1836, is thereupon admitted as
the 28th U.S. state.

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On this day in *1851*, the first American *YMCA* opens in Boston,
Massachusetts. I hear it's fun to stay there.

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On this day in *1890*, the U.S. Cavalry massacres 146 Sioux, including 44
women and 18 children, at *Wounded Knee* in South Dakota. It was the last,
pathetic gasp in the long war against the Plains Indians, and it
effectively put an end to the mystical *Ghost Dance* movement that had been
sweeping through North America's decimated and defeated native population.

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On this day in *1914*, *A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man*, the first
novel by *James Joyce*, begins its serialization in The Egoist.

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On this day in *1937*, the Irish Free State is replaced by a new state
called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution.

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On this day in *1949*, KC2XAK of Bridgeport, Connecticut becomes the first
Ultra high frequency (UHF) television station to operate a daily schedule.

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On this day in *1959*, physicist *Richard Feynman* gives a speech entitled
"There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", which is regarded as the birth of
*nanotechnology*.

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On this day in *1975*, a bomb explodes at LaGuardia Airport in New York,
New York, killing 11 people and injuring 74. Imagine the paroxysms of
wall-to-wall, 24 hour coverage and overreaction if such a thing were to
happen tomorrow.

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On this day in *1997*, Hong Kong begins to kill all the nation's 1.25
million chickens to stop the spread of a potentially deadly influenza
strain. It's like *Poultrygeddon* or something.

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On this day in *1998*, leaders of the *Khmer Rouge* apologize for the 1970s
genocide in Cambodia that claimed over 1 million lives. Oh, that's okay
guys. No biggie. Just so long as you apologize.

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On this day in *2003*, the last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies,
rendering the language extinct... or did it? Apparently, there is *hope!
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkala_Sami_language>*

***

On this day in *2006*, the UK finally settles its post-WWII debt to the USA.
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