Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Mnday, Oct. 24, 2022
1861 The first U.S. Transcontinental Telegraph message was sent, from San Francisco to Washington D.C. It provided instant communication between the east and west coasts, which previously could take months.
1901 Annie Edison Taylor made the plunge over Niagara Falls on what was her 63rd birthday. She had tested the barrel by sending it over the falls with a cat inside. The cat survived. Taylor used a custom-made barrel, constructed of oak and iron and padded with a mattress. After the lid was screwed on, a bicycle tire pump was used to compress the air in the barrel. Except for a small gash on her head, she was unharmed in her adventure.
1939 The first nylon stockings went on sale in Wilmington, Delaware. Stronger and cheaper than silk stockings, they were an instant hit. Wilmington was home of DuPont where they were manufactured. And you had to prove you were a Wilmington resident to buy them. They went on sale to the general public the following May.
Music History:
1987 Michael Jackson started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Bad’, a No.3 hit in the UK. A music video for ‘Bad’, directed by Martin Scorsese and co-starring one of the first appearances of yet-undiscovered Wesley Snipes, was released in late 1987.
Notable Birthdays today:
“The Young and the Restless” star Doug Davidson 67
Actor F. Murray Abraham 82
Former Rolling Stones Bassist Bill Wyman 85
Credit to:
Thisdayinmusic.com and Thisdaytrivia.com
