PARACULTURAL CALENDAR FOR MAY 27

[Mark Thibodeau]

<http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xtcSDMY2vAs/T7xqouHAFfI/AAAAAAAAAwc/t50OiOk9EOs/s1600/800px-Curtiss_NC-4_four_engine_configuration-detail.jpg>Are
you fucking shitting me?!
On this day in *1919*, the *Curtiss NC-4* "flying boat" aircraft arrives in
Lisbon, Portugal, completing the first-ever transatlantic flight. It took
19 days, including time for numerous repairs and for crewmen's rest, with
stops along the way in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Azores Islands.
This accomplishment was unfortunately eclipsed in minds of the public by
the first nonstop transatlantic flight, made by British Royal Air Force
pilots *John Alcock* and *Arthur Whitten**Brown*, two weeks later.

*****

On this day in *1930*, the Chrysler Building opens its doors in New York
City. At the time, it was the tallest man-made structure on Earth, and it
remains one of the most *symbolically potent*
<http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/display/chrysler/modern.html>. So, hey,
why not *build your own*?
<http://skyscrapermodels.us/models/Chrysler_Building_NYC.html>

*****

On this day in *1941*, President *Franklin Delano Roosevelt* proclaims
an *unlimited
national emergency*
<http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-proclaims-an-unlimited-national-emergency>
in
response to Nazi Germany's threats of total global domination.

*****

On this day in *1962*, an out-of-control garbage dump incineration sets an
abandoned coal mine ablaze beneath the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania.
That fire still burns, to this very day.

<http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-67WoNI1nChg/T7xqc-mx7YI/AAAAAAAAAwU/E4BH0ypeBBI/s1600/Censign.jpg>

***

On this day in *1997*, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that *Paula Jones* can
pursue her sexual harassment lawsuit against President  *Bill Clinton* while
he is still in office. Considering the implications, it is their second
worse decision of the past 30 years, surpassed only by their decision in *Bush
v. Gore*, 2000.
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