1747 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital. “I caught it from a toilet seat…”

1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.

1915 – World War I: Germany is the first to make large-scale use of poison gas in warfare in the Battle of Bolimów against Russia. I can personally vouch for the effects of a good lungful of chlorine upon one’s dedication and clarity of thought.

1929 – The Soviet Union exiles Leon Trotsky. Today he’d get a department chair at any of several universities.

1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape.

1943 – World War II: German Field Marshal Friedrich von Paulus surrenders to the Soviets at Stalingrad, followed 2 days later by the remainder of his Sixth Army, ending one of the war’s fiercest battles. 91,000 Germans are taken prisoner. Only 5000 make it back to Germany after the war, some being held until 1955.

1953 – A North Sea flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands. FEMA slow to respond. Bush widely blamed.

1958 – Explorer program: Explorer 1 – The first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit. Also first documented use of transistors in space. Verifies the existence of the Van Allen Belt

1961 – Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2 – Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.

1995 – President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy. Yeah, they’re plenty stable. Now, so are we. And who bails US out?

2010 – Dances with Smurfs Avatar became the first film to gross over $2 billion worldwide.

2011 – As global warming tightens its grip, a winter storm hits North America for the second time in the same month, causing $1.8 billion in damages across the United States and Canada and killing 24 people.