Random History Thoughts 5/22/10

• Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Widely considered the best of the six Star Wars movies, Empire is easily my favorite and probably generates enough interest to forgive the flaws of the other five films.
  
• Today is the 30th anniversary of the original Pac-Man video game.
• Last Tuesday was the 30th anniversary of Mount St. Helens erupting.
• June 1 is the 30th anniversary of CNN. It's also our 14th wedding anniversary. Happy early anniversary, sweetie!
• Today is the 633rd anniversary of the Pope denouncing John Wycliffe.
• This is the 167th anniversary of the Oregon Trail. "You have died of dysentery."
  
• Today is the 104th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' patent #821,393 for the "flying machine."
• Today is also the 20th anniversary of Windows 3.0. Fortunately, Windows got a lot more Mac-like, including the comparable Windows 7.
  
• Today is the 18th anniversary of the last Johnny Carson "Tonight Show."
• Today is the birthday of composer Richard Wagner (197) and actor Laurence Olivier (103).