Paracultural Calendar for July 9

[Mark Thibodeau]

<http://fe867b.medialib.glogster.com/media/1e/1ec86314005806378cef98d114e2633101872ab12428b4e7531f9dfbc1f1e299/lituya-bay-megatsunami.png>

On this day in *1850*, the Persian prophet *Báb* is executed in Tabriz,
Persia. As both self-declared Mahdi (Islamic Messiah) and as precursor to
the intriguing new religious movement known as *Bahai*, the Bab is a *very
interesting <http://info.bahai.org/the-bab-forerunner.html> *character,
indeed, and very much worthy of study.

***

On this day in *1868*, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution
is ratified guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons
in the United States due process of law.

***

On this day in *1887*, paper napkins were used for the first time ever by
stationary manufacturer *John Dickinson*. This brings up a whole host of
uncomfortable questions about toilet paper, and its various historical
precursors.

***

On this day in *1944*, during World War II, American forces take the island
of *Saipan* from the Japanese. It has been an American protectorate ever
since. In recent years, right-wingers in government tried to turn it into a
kind of testing ground for a libertarian tax-free and regulation-free zone.
Sweatshop operators and sexual predators - who also just happened to be *big
Republican donors* <http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/05/09/real.delay/> -
thought the results of that experiment were fine and dandy.

***

On this day in *1955*, the controversial, pacifist-inclined *Russell–Einstein
Manifesto <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%E2%80%93Einstein_Manifesto>* is
released by philosopher *Bertrand Russell* in London, England, during one
of the high-water marks of the Cold War. *Albert Einstein*, one of the
fathers of the bomb, co-signed his approval to the anti-nuclear weapon
document before dying only a few days later.

***

On this day in *1958*, Alaska’s Lituya Bay is hit by a mega-tsunami. The
wave is recorded at an incredible 524 meters (1700 feet) high, the largest
in recorded history by far...twice as high as the Empire State Building!
Unfortunately, there is no video of the event, but

***

On this day in *1979*, a car bomb destroys an automobile owned by the famed
Nazi hunters *Serge* and *Beate Klarsfeld *at their home in France. A note
purportedly from *ODESSA <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ODESSA>* – the
alleged post-war Nazi international remnant – claims responsibility.

***

On this day in the year *1980*, in Brazil, seven people are crushed to
death as wave upon wave of idiots stampede into a huge outdoor stadium to
catch a glimpse of that shimmering, spiritual pop-star: *The Pope!*

***

On this day in *1981*, the Nintendo video game *Donkey Kong* is released.
The game marks the debut of Nintendo's future mascot, *Mario*.

***

On this day in *1986*, Attorney General *Edwin Meese*'s "Commission on
Pornography" is released. Meese was only one or two shades less of a
psychopath than Dubya-era Witchfinder General *John Ashcroft*, and his
report tried to establish a link between porn and sex crimes. Then, in the
1990's, something interesting happened. With the total proliferation of
home video and the rise of the Internet, hard-core pornography became more
widespread and readily available than ever… while violence and sex crime
rates all dropped precipitously. Who'd have thunk it?
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