Truman asked US citizens to not eat meat on Tuesdays and Thursdays to free up grain for starving Europeans. Vanunu claimed Israel had nuclear weapons. PBS replaced NET. Kunst circled the world on foot for UNICEF. The “March on Versailles” marked a turning point in the French Revolution. The first baseball radio broadcast featured the Yankees and Giants. The first time trial cycling race was held in England. Wright set a world record for flight time. The Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work for Tibet. Henry & June was the first NC-17 rated film.
The White House presidential address was televised for the first time. (1947) US President Harry S. Truman delivers speech, in which he asked US citizens not to eat meat or poultry on Tuesdays and Thursdays, respectively. The idea was that reduced demand for the grain used for livestock would free up that same grain to be sent to help starving Europeans.
Israeli scientist Mordechai Vanunu claimed that Israel had a secret stockpile of nuclear weapons. (1986) Vanunu, who opposed the use of weapons of mass destruction, published an article on the front page of the Sunday Times in Britain. Israel would neither confirm nor deny the existence of such weapons.
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) was born. (1970) PBS is a non-profit television broadcasting company that replaced the educational television network, National Educational Television (NET).
For the first time, the world was circumnavigated on foot. (1974) David Kunst, an American from Minnesota, wore out 21 pairs of shoes while walking 14,500 miles (about 23,335 kilometers) across four continents. Parts of the journey, like the one across the Atlantic Ocean, were flown by plane. The trip, which he used to raise funds for UNICEF, took four years to complete.
The “March on Versailles” took place, marking an important turning point in the French Revolution. (1789) Poor women in France unite to take a stand against King Louis XVI. They demanded lower prices for bread, an end to feudalism, and the king and his court to leave Versailles. The successful uprising inspired and strengthened the position of the working class during the French Revolution.
Fans heard a Major League Baseball World Series radio broadcast for the first time. (1921) This first baseball radio broadcast featured the best-of-nine series in which the New York Yankees lost to the New York Giants.
The first time trial cycling race was held. (1895) The first time-trial cycle race was held outside London, England over a 50-mile (about 80 kilometer) course. Time trial races have staggered starts, with runners taking off at different times, just minutes apart. Mass starts, in which all runners take off at the same time, didn’t become popular until after World War II.
Wilbur Wright set a world record for flight time. (1905) Wright’s aircraft, Wright Flyer III, was airborne for 39 minutes and 23 seconds, covering 24 miles (about 39 kilometers) – longer than his individual flights of 1903 and 1904 combined. The record held until 1908.
The Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to gain independence for Tibet. (1989) The Dalai Lama has traveled the world since 1959, peacefully campaigning for an autonomous Tibet free from Chinese rule. His campaign continues today.
The first NC-17 rated film was released in the United States. (1990) Henry & June was the first film to get the new rating, which replaced the “Rated X” moniker earlier that year in September.
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