History! March 24th!

Well let me get this out of the way, it's World Tuberculosis Day, so please don't breath on or share any enclosed spaces with me. Now we can get on with the reason we're here, or rather I can continue with what amounts to me plinking away alone in a cave with an electric typewriter, no one hearing my mumbles, or able to read the paper crawling from the machine, as it is too dark.

1603, with Elizabeth I dead England needed a new monarch, fortunately James "Jimmy" Stewart was well informed of the events and was already on his way down to accept his coronation as the first Stewart monarch of England.


Notably it was James I (as his friends and enemies called him) who was one of the targets of that lovable scamp Guy Fawkes.

1765, Britain passes the Quartering Act, a law requiring colonists to house troops. You might remember that this pisses the colonists off so bad that they chuck in a note about it in the 3rd amendment of that document that no longer has any relevance after the last eight years, the Constitution.

1832, Noted jerk Joseph Smith Jr. founder of modern Mormonism, is beaten, tarred and feathered by the good people of Hiram, Ohio. His crime, being Joseph Smith Jr.

1837, Canada beats everyone on the North American continent to the punch by making it legal for black men to vote. Women collectively sigh and are ordered back into the kitchen.

1882, Robert Koch identifies the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis, 127 years later and still no cure. The term consumption falls out of favor.

1944, The great escape occurs at Stalag Luft III, Steve McQueen waits patiently for his film career to start.

1958, Elvis joins the Armed Forces, everyone worries if he'll turn the Cold War "hot".

1989, The Exxon Valdez super tanker runs aground spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude and celebrities into the ocean. The celebrities immediately begin scrubbing penguins in front of cameras.

2003, surprise, surprise, the Arab League votes 21-1 in favor of asking the U.S. to "please leave Iraq". 6 years later they're still waiting for us to return the call.

Theoretically I could do a little thing here about observances or holidays in different countries, however I won't. It's primarily because since I started most of the observances have been in honor of some Saint, or Saints, every...damn...day. Catholicism, you have too many Saints.