Monday, June 19, 2023

PARACULTURAL CALENDAR FOR JUNE 19



Happy JUNETEENTH, everybody! On this day in 1862, US Congress prohibits slavery in United States, nullifying Dred Scott v. Sandford. News of the Emancipation Proclamation only reached slaves in Galveston, Texas, three years later to the day, on this day in 1865. The anniversary of this day is still officially celebrated in Texas and 13 other states as Juneteenth!
"No man can put a chain around the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck." - Frederick Douglass
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On this day in the year 240 BC, some old Greek dude by the name of Eratosthenes correctly estimates the circumference of the Earth to within a few dozen miles. Pretty impressive!

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On this day in 1934, the Communications Act establishes the Federal Communications Commission, still widely reviled as the FCC. Above you will find a little ditty from Monty Python’s Eric Idle that expresses many people’s feelings towards that particular institution…

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On this day in 1953, husband and wife communist spy team Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are both executed at Sing Sing prison, in New York, for giving the Soviets technical information about how to make a nuclear bomb that accelerated their efforts in that regard by roughly one full year, according to one Congressional study.

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On this day in 1954, the Taz the Tasmanian Devil makes his debut in the Warner Bros. cartoon: Devil May Hare! Today, millions of steroid-shooting, raisin-ball’d goons have adopted the whirling freak as an avatar of sorts, stamping his likeness on everything from muscle-shirts to vehicle mud-flaps. Anyone whose favorite Warner Bros. cartoon character is "Taz" is a person that you should try to avoid.

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The first ever Garfield comic strip is published on this day in 1971. It still holds the Guinness World Record for the world's most widely syndicated comic strip. 

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On this day in 1982, the body of God's Banker, Roberto Calvi is found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London. The story of his downfall involves the Mafia, the Vatican, the CIA and the Freemasons. Folks, things simply do NOT get any more conspiratorial than this story.

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On this day in 1991, the USSR ends its occupation of Hungary. Some really top-notch pornography ensues.

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On this day in 1981, the heaviest known orange in the history of the world – weighing in at an impressive five pounds – is exhibited in Nelspruit, South Africa. Meanwhile, on that same day in India, the APPLE communications satellite is launched into orbit. Apples and oranges! A coincidence? Yeah, right…

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