On This Day in History

[Brother Mythos]

October 10, 1973 - Spiro T. Agnew resigned from Vice Presidency of the US of A

Agnew got caught taking kickbacks from contractors during his time as Baltimore county executive and governor of Maryland. And, to make matters worse, the payments had continued into his time as vice president of the US of A.

My, my how times have changed. If a high-ranking elected Republicult™ official were caught doing that today, the Supreme Court would bend over backwards to try to legally define the kickbacks as 'gratuities,' and the Republicult™ would nominate that official for even higher office. 

[Brother Mythos]

October 11, 1973 - The Pascagoula Alien Abduction

The Pascagoula Abduction was an alleged UFO sighting and alleged alien abduction in which two guys claimed they were abducted and examined before being released by aliens, when the guys were fishing near Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Now, I suspect Pascagoula was a pretty boring place back in the day. And, I suspect it hasn't gotten much more exciting over the years. But, this particular alleged alien abduction did allegedly involve two guys, so ... Anyway, someone, or some group, actually funded and commemorated this alleged alien abduction with an actual plaque placed on the alleged, actual site of the alleged alien abduction.

[Brother Mythos]

October 13, 1307 - The Knights Templar Were Arrested

At dawn on Friday, 13 October 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered their leader, and many others of the French Knights Templar, to be simultaneously arrested. The arrest warrants started with the words: "Dieu n'est pas content, nous avons des ennemis de la foi dans le Royaume" ("God is not pleased. We have enemies of the faith in the kingdom").

This is the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition.

[Menger, Avatar of New Chaos]

the knights templar did nothing wrong. hail baphomeris!

[Doktor Howl]

Am I supposed to feel bad for bankers?   

[Brother Mythos]

November 23, 1924 - Edwin Hubble First Published His Findings that the Universe Was Larger Than the Milky Way

One hundred years ago today, humans learned the Universe is really big. Edwin Hubble first published his findings in The New York Times. His results for the distance to the Andromeda Galaxy were not formally published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal until 1929. (The Andromeda Galaxy was originally named the Andromeda Nebula, and thought by most to be simply a part of the Milky Way.)

[Brother Mythos]

November 25, 1915 - Einstein's Theory of General Relativity Was Published

Ten years after Albert Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity was published, he followed it up with his Theory of General Relativity.

Newer theories have been formulated in an attempt to better explain gravitation, but even after over a century, Einstein's theory is still the "gold standard" for predicting the effects of this universal phenomena.