Paracultural Calendar for Jan 11

[Mark Thibodeau]

On this day in *1569*, the first ever recorded lottery takes place in
England.

***

On this day in *1879*, the Anglo-Zulu War begins. It will rage in South
Africa until nearly the *end* of the 19th century.

***

On this day in *1908*, after a whole lot of digging, the *Grand Canyon
National Monument* is created. They did a pretty good job, don't you think?

***

On this day in *1919*, Romania annexes Transylvania, thus cornering the
global market on pitchfork-wielding peasant mobs.

***

On this day in *1922*, insulin is first used to successfully treat
diabetes, thus further thwarting the natural selection process, thus
further polluting the gene pool, thus further weakening the human species.
It's called the *Law of Unintended Consequences*, people!

***

On this day in *1927*, MGM head *Louis B. Mayer* announces the creation of
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at a banquet in Los
Angeles, California. And thank Cthulhu for them! Without the Academy, how
would we all know that *The English Patient* was a world-class flick?

***

On this day in *1949*, snow falls for the first time ever in human memory
in Los Angeles, California.

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On this day in *1960*, celebrity serial killer *Henry Lee Lucas* commits
his first known murder. For a while, people thought Lucas might be
responsible for up to 3000 deaths. *Turns out* it may actually be his only
two or three, and all of his confessions were made in an attempt to get
better living quarters and stronger coffee. He also loved the attention. In
any case, the fact stands that Henry Lee Lucas's death penalty is the only
one to be commuted to life by *Preznit Dubya* during his time as Texas
Governor. Makes you wonder, don't it?

***

On this day in *1964*, US Surgeon General *Dr. Luther Terry* publishes the
landmark report "Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to
the Surgeon General of the United States" in which he says that smoking may
be hazardous to one's health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking
efforts.

***

On this day in *1972*, East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh. Yep, that's
right. There was a time when Pakistan was broken into two distinct pieces
separated by a thousand miles or so of Indian territory.

***

On this day in *1992*, midget songsmith *Paul Simon* begins the first leg
of a South African concert tour/hunt for more musical ideas to rip off.

***

On this day in *1994*, the Irish government ends its 20-year broadcasting
ban on the Irish Republican Army. Ratings soar.

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On this day in *2002*, the first twenty captives - most of whom were
innocent men kidnapped by Afghan militia for the substantial US bounty
money being offered - arrive at *Camp X-Ray* on the island of Cuba. Some
are still there.

***

On this day in *2003*, Illinois Governor *George Ryan* commutes the death
sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois' death row based on the Jon Burge
scandal and other *fairness issues*. It was a wonderful, human gesture...
one for which Governor Ryan was forced to *pay dearly*, becoming the third
of four Illinois governors to be found guilty of white collar crime since
1968.
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