July 15 is the 197th day of the year. There are 169 days remaining until the end of the year.
1099 Christian crusaders take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege. Surprise! Jesus is not there!
1381 John Ball, a leader in the Peasants' Revolt, is hanged, drawn and quartered in the presence of Richard II of England who asked for the tasty bits
1799 The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign. Now found daily in your SPAM folder.
1869 Margarine is patented by Hippolye MPge-MouriPs for use by French Navy. . .but we won’t say what its use was
1922 1st duck-billed platypus, undoubtedly the queerest animal on the planet, is publicly exhibited in US, at New York zoo
1973 John Paul Getty III is kidnapped and ransomed only after his ear is delivered to his skinflint grandfather. He later becomes famous as Balthazar’s dad.
1987 Boy George is barred from British TV show because he may be a bad influence. Ya Think?
2003 AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape Communications Corporation. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day.
May 21 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. If the ancient Mayans were correct, there are 214 days remaining until the end of time.
1553 English Lady Jane Grey marries Guildford Dudley which is unfortunately cut short.
1908 1st horror movie (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) premieres in Chicago
1924 Lovers Leopold and Loeb kidnap and murder Bobby Franks for fun, but they don't eat the tasty bits.
1936 Experiencing extreme penis envy, Sada Abe is arrested after wandering the streets of Tokyo for days with her dead lover's severed genitals in her hand. Her story soon becomes one of Japan's most notorious scandals.
1979 Dan White is convicted of manslaughter death of San Francisco mayor Geroge Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk. The Fabulous White Night riots ensue.
2004 Sherpa Pemba Dorjie climbs Mount Everest in 8 hours 10 minutes, breaking his rival Sherpa Lakpa Gelu's record from the previous year. He wins a goat.
2005 The tallest roller coaster in the world, Kingda Ka opens at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey.
2007 The Cutty Sark, the last surviving clipper ship, is badly damaged by fire in London, England. Arson is suspected after traces of an oaken-aged accelerant are found.
1898 Armand Hammer, US CEO of Occidental Petroleum/spy/industrialist/art collector/philanthropist/has tasty grandson
1917 Raymond Burr, gay Canadian actor/Perry Mason/Ironside
1945 Richard Hatch, US actor/director/producer/Capt.Apollo
1951 Al Franken, US actor/comedian/US Senator (D-Minnesota)
