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Christmas ceasefire in WWI as German soldiers decorate trenches with Christmas trees and sing carols. Henry Ford completes first useful gas engine. NORAD tracks Santa for first time. West Point cadets riot in “eggnog riot”. Library of Congress catches fire. Macy’s stays open until midnight for first time. Ku Klux Klan is born. Filming begins on original Star Trek pilot without William Shatner. Silent Night is sung for first time. Coaster brake for bicycles patented.
The first Christmas ceasefire of World War I begins. (1914) This was the first of several unofficial ceasefires in World War I. The lull began as German soldiers began decorating their trenches with candles and Christmas trees. The two sides began singing Christmas carols to each other across no man’s land.
Henry Ford completed the first useful gas engine. (1893) Although models had been created earlier, the Ford engine was the first working gas engine built. Ford built the engine in his spare time while working as an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company. Three years later, Ford developed the “quadricycle”, the forerunner of the Model T.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has tracked Santa Claus for the first time. (1955) The program began when a misadvertisement for a Santa Claus hotline connected callers to the Continental Air Defense Command Center (CONAD). After receiving a call from a little girl asking to speak to Santa, Colonel Harry Shoup instructed the staff to provide all callers with updates on Santa’s whereabouts. It became a Christmas tradition and remained in effect even after CONAD became NORAD.
The “eggnog riot” occurred at West Point. (1826) Feeling that their Christmas celebrations should be alcohol-free, several West Point cadets smuggled in a few pitchers of whiskey. Their private party got out of hand and the whole academy ended up rioting. Shots were fired and an artillery unit had to be called in to calm things down. Among the attendees was future President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis.
The Library of Congress caught fire. (1851) Approximately 35,000 of the library’s 50,000 books were destroyed, including most of Thomas Jefferson’s private collection. It was later discovered that faulty flues had caused the library to burn down.
Macy’s stayed open until midnight for the first time. (1867) The store decided to stay open for an unheard-of hour to try and catch last-minute shoppers. The strategy paid off, and Macy’s made a record profit of $6,000 in US dollars (USD).
The Ku Klux Klan is born. (1865) The white supremacist group consisted of veterans of the Confederate Army, including the famous General Nathan Bedford Forrest, the society’s first great wizard. The society was active in working against the policies of Reconstruction, especially the empowerment of African Americans.
Filming has begun on the original Star Trek pilot, without William Shatner. (1964) The original pilot actually had none of the classic Star Trek characters except Mr. Spock. Instead, it featured the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike. NBC executives thought he was too cerebral and, in an unprecedented move, scrapped him and asked for a second pilot. The second pilot, with Shatner in his iconic role as Captain Kirk, took off and is what most people consider the real start of the series.
Silent Night was sung for the first time. (1818) Father Joseph Mohr had written the lyrics as a poem several years earlier, but the words had only been set to music the day before it was to be performed. Legend has it that the organ in Father Mohr’s church was broken and that he needed a carol that could be sung to a guitar accompaniment. The song has since been recorded by over 300 artists in more than 40 languages.
The coaster brake on the bicycle has been patented. (1889) Illinois natives Daniel Stover and William Hance were the first to patent a coaster brake bicycle. Before their invention, bicycles used a spoon brake, operated by a lever attached to the handlebar.
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