Day Tripping: March 1

Witches, Waterflow, and Wasteland

Welcome to my daily feature where each day on the calendar marks a part of our shared history.

Who You Callin’ Witch?

A doctor is unable to determine any physical condition afflicting several young girls in Salem Village, so three women are arrested on the charge of witchcraft in 1692. The children of the Massachusetts community appeared to have been seen in the throws of unnatural fits and contortions, but no reason could be found for their strange behaviour. The accused were thought by historians to be involved in a feud with local Puritan women.

The arrests included Sarah Goode who was a homeless woman and said to have a questionable reputation, Sarah Osborne, and elder who was an infrequent attendee at church functions, and Tituba, the first to be detained, was a woman from the West Indies enslaved by one of the afflicted girl’s family. Naturally, three plus three equalled eleven, and the hysteria ensued.

Hot Damn!

After five years of boring through Grand Canyon rock, constructing a seven hundred and twenty-foot wall, and creating a city, Boulder City, to house the five thousand plus workers to work on the project, the Hoover Dam was completed in 1936. Built to adjust the flow of the Colorado River for hydroelectric power, the dam is also responsible for the creation of Lake Mead at the Arizona, Nevada border.

The structure’s actual name has been a contentious issue and has been called Hoover Dam and Boulder Dam simultaneously. It wasn’t until 1947 when President Truman declared Hoover Dam the official name.

WTF Was That Bang?

A tiny cluster of 23 islands in the Pacific Ocean called Bikini Atoll which was appropriated by the United States, was the site of the accidental detonation for the fifth most powerful nuclear device in history. What was supposed to be a 6 megaton hydrogen test explosion, when exploded actually yielded two and a half times that force at 15 megatons to the surprise of test scientists.

At 1000 times more than the force of Hiroshima, the nuclear explosion unexpectedly reached fifteen of the atolls by the fallout, some of which were still inhabited. Trace recordings of radiation reached Australia.

Musical Milestones

1969 —The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison allegedly exposes himself onstage at a concert in Miami. Police arrest Morrison but to this day, there’s no photographic evidence the incident ever occurred.

Narratives

The first American edition of A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes story is published in 1890.

Remembrance

One of Hollywood’s first child stars, Jackie Coogan who played The Kid with Charlie Chaplin, died in 1984. Coogan went on to later TV fame as Uncle Fester in The Addams Family series.

Notable Births

1927 — SInger and actor Harry Belafonte made the calypso beat mainstream with his charisma and his golden voice. At 94, he is still recognized also as a civil rights activist.

1954 — A child actor as Opie on Andy of Mayberry and then as Ritchie Cunningham on Happy Days, Ron Howard has become an accomplished award-winning film director.

1994 — Ok, a Canadian shout out to Justin Bieber. The Beibs was born and raised in Stratford, Ontario, home for Canada’s Shakespeare Festival.

Go figure.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article dedicated to the days of our history. I hope to see you tomorrow for another instalment.

K. Barrett Katie Wallace Maria Rattray Joseph M. Learned 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