Alice Cooper on This Day in History

Only Women Bleed by AC

This Day in History: Shock Rock singer Alice Cooper was born on this day in 1947. I remember watching TV back in 1975 where they were asking all of these kids what their favorite rock act was, and the answer was either Elton John or Alice Cooper. They claim that he came up with the name Alice Cooper via a Ouija Board, but this has been debunked. The son of a Mormon apostle, Cooper has English, Huguenot French, Irish, Scottish, and Sioux ancestry, and dated Raquel Welch for a while back in the 80's. He is a Christian, a Republican and an avid golf player who's played with Donald Trump. Most my age will recall that the first time they ever saw Alice Cooper was on the Muppet Show in the 1970's singing Welcome to My Nightmare.

Paper Money on This Day in History

This Day in History: The colony of Massachusetts issued the first paper money in the Americas on this date in 1690. The earliest paper money originated in China, and even they succumbed to the dangers of over-printing and inflation. In fact, the Chinese suspended the use of paper money for hundreds of years until paper money was printed again in 1890. Andrew Jackson in his farewell address warned of the dangers of paper money:

"The Constitution of the United States unquestionably intended that gold and silver would be the nation's currency. But the establishment by Congress of a National Bank, a similar legislation in the states, has driven silver and gold from circulation, and substituted a paper currency in its place...Because paper currency has no value in and of itself, but rather is a system which is based upon public confidence, it is susceptible to large and sudden fluctuations, which results in a risky property market and unstable and uncertain wages for workers. The entities which create the paper money cannot be relied upon to keep the right amount of currency in circulation."

Paper money used to be backed by gold, but Nixon stopped that back in 1971 and since then all government paper money (fiat money) is backed only by your faith in that money...much like bitcoin.

The Dyatlov Pass Incident on This Day in History

This Day in History: Nine experienced hikers in the northern Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union died under mysterious circumstances on this day in 1959. Famously known as the Dyatlov Pass Incident, all nine died from a mixture of violence and hypothermia. Russian officials who investigated this incident determined the deaths were due to a "compelling natural force" which is code for "we don't know." There is a good movie based on this (see below) that you can watch for free on youtube, but who knows for how long.

There is also a lesser known Chivruay Pass incident where ten ski hikers were found dead in the Soviet Union between 27 and 28 January 1973. Can someone please tell why anyone would go camping...in the middle of winter...in Russia.

The Devil's Pass Movie

Special Interview - Keith McClosky - The Dyatlov Pass

Porn on This Day in History

This Day in History: The Communications Decency Act was passed by the Congress on this day in 1996 in order to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. As lowbrow and unseemly porn is, it has always been on the forefront of technological progress. The Gutenberg Press may be known for printing that beautiful large Latin Bible, but the press was subsidized by printing more bawdy material. The invention of still photography was, as some would say, "the single most important event in the history of pornography." Porn in film was standard since 1896, and it also standardized Super 8 film. Porn was at the forefront of the VHS vs Betamax debate. Porn was also the first industry to invent payment processing on the internet. You have to know that robotics will move a great leap forward because of this as well. Many of the inventions we take for granted might never have advanced or existed had it not been for porn.

I actually feel uncomfortable sharing all this.

See also: How Porn Drive Innovation in Tech

Venereal Disease On This Day in History

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This Day in History: The first venereal disease clinic opened on this day at London Lock Hospital in 1747. STDs have been around for thousands of years and many of the cures that have been entertained over the millennia have been horrific and amusing. The ancient Egyptians used sandal oil and powdered cow horn. The Greeks tried washing their privates in oil, or you can have lead weights strapped to your body. If you had herpes your sores would be cauterized with a hot iron. For the longest time applying mercury to the skin was used, and there was always leeches. Lots of leeches. Perhaps that was better than slamming a big book on your genitals, which was used in Old France.

See also Folk Medicine, Alternative Remedies & Herbal Cures - 100 Books on DVDrom

See also: Alternative Medicine & Spiritual Healing - 175 Books on DVDrom

The Croissant on This Day in History

This Day in History: Today is National Croissant Day. Although a popular French treat, croissants had their origin in Vienna in the past when they defeated the Ottoman Turks. To commemorate the event, pastries were baked in the shape of the crescent moon because that is the symbol of Islam. Even as late as 2013, Syrian Rebels banned Croissants in Aleppo because it was seen as a symbol of Islamic defeat and denigration.

See also: Sorry, the Croissant is Definitely Viennese, Probably Anti-Muslim

The Raven on This Day in History

Edgar Allan Poe - An Exhumation is available on Amazon by clicking here...and it is only $1.99 

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This Day in History: Edgar Allan's Poe's poem "The Raven" was published on this day in 1845, and it quickly became one the most famous poems of all time. It inspired numerous parodies in the 19th century, and since then we have seen tributes to the poem in the Bugs Bunny cartoon, Tim Burton's Vincent, The Dead Zone, Short Circuit, 1989's Batman, The Crow, The Pagemaster, Dr Dolittle 2, The Simpsons, Night Gallery, The Addams Family, Gilmore Girls, Beetlejuice (cartoon), Duck Tales, Muppet Babies, Star Trek, Mama's Family, Teen Wolf, The 100...even The Expendables. It even made it to song. Queen recorded "Nevermore" on their second album Queen II, The Alan Parsons Project devoted an entire album to Poe, The Grateful Dead performed their own version of the Raven, and Lou Reed and Blues Travelers each paid respect to the poem as well. There is an annual science fiction convention called RavenCon and also a Raven Society. The Baltimore Raven's football team is named after the poem, as Poe lived and died in Baltimore.

Vincent Price's The Raven

Glenn Beck reads The Raven