The Day of the One’s

Today is a unique day. In the purest form the date is 1-11-11. That is a lot of one’s. This year, there is only day better than this in context of dates – Veterans Day. Can you imagine that? 11-11-11! Babies born on the Veterans Day this year will probably confuse computers for the rest of the century.

I was sitting on the couch trying to figure out if I had something already written and stashed away in the computer that I could use for today’s blog. That was when my wife, in between one of the plays of the Auburn-Oregon game, mentioned tomorrow had a very unusual date.

“Thanks,” I said. “Now I have to write about it.”

January 11 has had some significant events over the past 100 or so years. For instance, in 1998 Seinfeld and Tim Allen won the 24^th Annual People’s Choice Awards. That was fairly significant for the couch potatoes and in sports, the Denver Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-21 while the Green Bay Packers took down San Francisco 23-10.

Bill Cosby

In 1997 Bill Cosby won the People’s Choice Awards and the year before, Space Shuttle STS–72, the Endeavor, launched into space.

In ’93, Howard stern actually began his radio show in Buffalo, NY on station WKBW. The year before in 1992, Kristi Yamaguchi won the U.S.  female Figure Skating championship while Paul Simon began his tour of South Africa.

In 1990, Bobby Knight became basketball’s winningest coach with 229 victories. Seven years earlier in 1983, Billy Martin became the New York Yankees’ manager for the third time. And just a year before, the city of Atlanta watched as the temperature went below 0° F.

Bobby Knight

It was a great year for Dorothy Hamill in 1976. She won her third consecutive national figure skating championship, while three years before in ’73, marked a significant day as the trial of the Watergate burglars began in Washington, DC. Three years prior, the Kansas City Chiefs took Superbowl IV by pounding the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in New Orleans.

Now, going back further in time, January 11 becomes associated with more significant events. In 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry reports, “Smoking may be hazardous to your health.” A year prior, Whisky-a-go-go, the first discotheque ever, opens on this date in Los Angeles.

Speaking of Los Angeles, it was on January 11, 1949 the city recorded the first snowfall in Southern California – where it never rains.

Amelia Earhart

In aviation, on this date in 1935 Amelia Earhart flew from Honolulu to Oakland, CA.  It would be a leg she would fail to fly two and one half years later when she was lost in the South Pacific on July 2, 1937.

Today, will be a remarkable day all its own right.  It will be interesting to see how the historians note the day years from now.

-30-

© 2010 J. Clark

• Tweet
• Pin It