This day in history - March 9

[seamusTX]

Busy day:

1862 - CSS Virginia and USS Monitor had their famous battle. They fought to a draw, each unable to damage the other; but it was the beginning of the end for naval use of wooden sailing ships.

http://americancivilwar.com/tcwn/civil_ ... ginia.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1933 - Congress began its "100 days" of legislation led by the newly inaugurated FDR. (Presidents were inaugurated in March at that time.) Much of that legislation was struck down by the Supreme Court within a few years, but it arguably gave confidence to a country that needed it.

The phrase "first 100 days" has stuck with every newly inaugurated president.

1945 - U.S. bombers began devastating incendiary bombing in Japan. A force of 334 B-29s started fires that killed an unknown number of people, probably more than 100,000.

1954 - Edward R. Murrow, one of the most popular men on TV at that time, had the guts to question Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

1959 - The Barbie doll appeared in public for the first time. Barbie is 50.

Barbie was developed by one Ruth Handler and named for Ms. Handler's daughter. Until that time, only baby and rag dolls were available in the U.S. Ms. Handler's husband and the board of directors of Mattel were unenthusiastic about Barbie -- one of the bigger near-blunders of business history.

1975 - Construction of the Trans Alaska Pipeline between Prudhoe Bay and Valdez, Alaska, began.

Widespread predictions of environmental devastation proved to be unfounded.

1977 American-born Muslim terrorists took over three buildings in Washington, D.C., including the city council chamber, and took over 100 hostages. One person was killed. Among the injured were the future mayor of Washington, Marion Berry.

This incident has practically been forgotten.

http://books.google.com/books?id=ZOfkAo ... #PPA161,M1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[Oldgringo]

seamusTX reminded us:

1977 American-born Muslim terrorists took over three buildings in Washington, D.C., including the city council chamber, and took over 100 hostages. One person was killed. Among the injured were the future mayor of Washington, Marion Berry.

No, I didn't remember this. Thanks for the reminder. BTW, what does the expression Deja Vu mean?

[seamusTX]

I didn't remember it, either, though I was an adult at the time. I left it out of my earlier compilation of events from that era: http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... &sk=t&sd=a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The 1970s were notorious for much more than bad hair, bad clothing, and bad music.

- Jim

[TexasRedRock]

Déjà vu (pronounced /ˈdeɪʒɑː ˈvuː/ ); French /deʒa vy/ (help·info) "already seen"; also called paramnesia, from Greek παρα "para," "near" + μνήμη "mnēmē," "memory") or promnesia, is the experience of feeling sure that one has witnessed or experienced a new situation previously (an individual feels as though an event has already happened or has happened in the near past), although the exact circumstances of the previous encounter are uncertain.