On this day in...

On this day in...
1883 – American and Canadian railroads institute five standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.
1928 – Release of the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon, directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, featuring the third appearances of cartoon stars Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. This is also considered by the Disney corporation to be Mickey's birthday.
1963 – The first push-button telephone goes into service.
1978 – Jonestown incident: In Guyana, Jim Jones leads his Peoples Temple cult in a mass murder-suicide that claims 918 lives in all, 909 of them at Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. Congressman Leo J. Ryan is assassinated by members of Peoples Temple shortly beforehand.
1987 – Iran-Contra Affair: The U.S. Congress issues its final report on the Iran-Contra Affair.
1999 – In College Station, Texas, 12 are killed and 27 injured at Texas A&M University when a massive bonfire under construction collapses.
2003 – In a 50-page, 4–3 ruling, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found that the state may not "deny the protections, benefits and obligations conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry."

Births
1908 – Imogene Coca, American actress and comedian (d. 2001)
1948 – Jack Tatum, American football player
1953 – Kevin Nealon, American comedian and actor
1956 – Warren Moon, American football player
1968 – Gary Sheffield, American baseball player
1968 – Owen Wilson, American actor
1969 – Sam Cassell, American basketball player
1970 – Mike Epps, American actor
1974 – Chloë Sevigny, American actress
1975 – David Ortiz, Dominican baseball player
1977 – Fabolous, American rapper

Great birthday day today with sports greats like Big Papi, Sheffield and possible alien life form Sam Cassell. I also once got distracted from sex because Warren Moon's "Beyond the Glory" was on. But today is bigger for historic reasons. The biggest mass suicide ever in Jonestown, Guyana happened today. The stories about The People's Temple are crazy. Watch a documentary about it.

Plus the Bonfire Tragedy happened on the 18th. I remember well when it happened. I had slammed A&M in the high school paper that week. It was of course too late to retract it because the paper was already at print. I looked like a pretty insensitive ass that week.