Wednesday, December 18, 2024

PARACULTURAL CALENDAR FOR DECEMBER 18


On this day in 218 BC, Hannibal's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Roman Republic during the Battle of the Trebia of the Second Punic War.

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On this day in 1271, Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan", officially marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of Mongolia and China.

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On this day in 1642, Abel Tasman becomes first European to sight New Zealand.

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On this day in 1777, the United States celebrates its first Thanksgiving, marking the recent victory by the Americans over British General John Burgoyne in the Battle of Saratoga in October.

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In what a surprisingly large number of secessionist conservatives still consider to be a crushing blow to the sanctity of state's rights, the thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified on this day in the year 1865, finally putting an end to the practice of slavery in the New World. Well... one kind of slavery, anyway.

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On this day in 1878, John Kehoe, the last of the Molly Maguires is executed in Pennsylvania.

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On this day in 1878, the Al-Thani family become the rulers of the state of Qatar

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On this day in 1912, the Piltdown Man, later discovered to be a hoax, is announced by Charles Dawson.

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On this day in 1987, Larry Wall releases the first version of the Perl programming language.

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On this day in 1997, coke-snorting, morbidly obese funnyman Chris Farley is found dead on the floor of his Chicago high-rise apartment, half-undressed and foaming at the mouth. Just like his idol, John Belushi, Farley was only 33 years old when he died.

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On this day in 2001, after mounting pressure from JINSA, the ADL, CAMERA and other groups, FOX News removes a controversial story about the so-called "Israeli art student spy ring" with connections to the events of September 11, 2001, from its website, after only two days. CAMERA suggests the reporter “has something, personally, about Israel. Maybe he’s very sympathetic to the Arab side.” The head of the ADL calls the report “sinister dangerous innuendo which fuels anti-Semitism.” Yet there does not appear to be any substance to these personal attacks.

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