Day Tripping: April 13

A Decidedly Different Day

Above and Beyond

Two members of the Canadian Le Régiment de la Chaudière, Léo Major and Wilfred Arsenault set out to scout the German defences at the city of Zwolle in Holland. As they crossed a railroad track on the outskirts of town in 1945, Arsenault is fatally wounded. Major dispatches the men who killed his friend and carries on.

Walking through Zwolle holding two stun guns and some grenades, Major tosses grenades and fires his guns repeatedly for hours, convincing the German outpost they were under siege. The enemy retreats as Léo Major has single-handedly liberated the city of Zwolle.

Léo Major accomplished all this with previous leg and back injuries as well as an eye patch over one badly damaged eye. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal after WWII and then went on to serve in Korea where he again distinguished himself in battle.

Serving Up A Record

A Guinness World Record was broken in 1979 when Bill Wier and Lance, Phil, and Mark Warren complete the longest doubles ping-pong match ever played. The marathon table tennis set went on for 101 hours, 1 minute, and 11 seconds with strict adherence to Guinness Book of Records rules.

Yep. Slow news day.

Widest Flyer

The Stratolaunch company which was founded by former Microsoft partner, the late Paul Allen, successfully lifted the world’s largest airplane into flight in 2019. The two-hour and thirty-minute tour over Mojave, California was completed with a safe landing of the 500,000 pound, duel fuselage aircraft. With a wingspan of 385 feet, the Stratolaunch was designed to fly at 35,000 feet where it will release rocket-powered satellites.

The super-sized jet flew at 15,000 feet on its maiden test flight, and reached a top speed of 175 miles per hour, performing “exactly as expected,” according to company CEO Jean Floyd.

Musical Milestones

The Beatles play their first gig at the new Star Club in Hamburg, Germany in 1962. The forty-eight-day stint with only one day off becomes legendary as the group logs over 170 hours of performing time, and they return home to England as stars armed with a recording contract.

Narratives

Irish novelist, poet, and playwright whose best-known work is Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett was born in 1906. Beckett was also a Nobel Prize laureate who spent most of his life living in Paris where he wrote in both English and French.

Remembrance

In keeping with a weird day, Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych died in 2009 at the age of 54. Though he only pitched for the Detroit Tigers in the Major Leagues for only five seasons, he was a dominant force on the pitcher’s mound as well as a colourful character.

Mark gained notoriety for his on-field antics which included talking to the ball, aiming them like dart, and throwing back balls that ‘had hits on them’. He was one of a kind.

Notable Births

1866 — Rounding out an odd day in the calendar is the birth of infamous outlaw, Butch Cassidy. His life and his partner’s were canonized in the 1969 film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

K. Barrett Katie Wallace Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, PhD. Terry Trueman Dr Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora

Be sure to stop by my comprehensive Directory of all past Day Trips.

The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present