1795 – France adopts the metre as the basic measure of length, making that the single best reason NOT to go metric.

1805 – First public performance of Beethoven’s Third Symphony (Eroica). This Cajun loves him some Beethoven…

1829 – Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commences translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe. Uh, yeah… right!

1902 – Texas Oil Company (Texaco) forms in Beaumont, Texas.

1922 – Teapot Dome scandal: United States Secretary of the Interior leases Teapot Dome petroleum reserves in Wyoming. Establishes an alternative SOP for cabinet members.

1945 – World War II: The Japanese battleship Yamato, the largest battleship ever constructed, is sunk 200 miles north of Okinawa while en-route to a suicide mission in Operation Ten-Go. It was a brave but futile mission as Japan verifies the lesson they taught us early in the war: You can’t operate surface ships without air cover.

1948 – The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations, providing a lifetime of employment for thousands of useless bureaucrats from countries where witch doctors are still primary healthcare.

1963 – Yugoslavia is proclaimed to be a Socialist republic and Josip Broz Tito is named President for life. This event is being carefully considered by the Obama regime.

1978 – Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by U.S. President Jimmy Carter, one of his many foppish moves to emasculate the American military.

1994 – Rwandan Genocide: Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda. Having tossed off the restricting bonds of the white European interlopers, one group of peace-loving, enlightened Africans celebrates freedom by massacring a million or so OTHER peace-loving, enlightened Africans of a slightly different tribe.

2003 – U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein’s regime falls two days later.