Legend has it we hang stockings by the chimney with care because one year a poor widowed man didn’t have enough money for his three daughters’ dowries, making it difficult for them to marry. Generous old St. Nick dropped a bag of gold down their chimney one night and into the freshly washed stockings the girls had hung by the fire to dry. After that, the tradition stuck!
On This Day – November 21
1979 Mob burns down US embassy in Pakistan
The mob was allegedly incensed by a rumor that the United States was involved in an attack on a mosque in the holy city of Mecca.
1964 Verrazano Narrows Bridge opens in NYC
The suspension bridge connects Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City and at the time of its opening, it was the world’s longest suspension bridge, until the Humber Bridge in the UK opened in 1981.
1962 War between China and India ends
The month long war began over a border dispute between the two countries and ended with a unilateral ceasefire by the Chinese.
1941 Tweety Bird makes its debut
The fictional cartoon canary also just called Tweety made his first appearance in A Tale of Two Kitties, a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon. Tweety was created by animator Bob Clampett who worked on Loony Tunes cartoons.
1920 Bloody Sunday in Ireland
A key event in the Irish War of Independence, which was a conflict between the British government and Irish revolutionaries in Ireland, Bloody Sunday began with the killings of 14 people by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) under the leadership of Michael Collins. Two other violent incidents against civilian and IRA members during the day added to the death count, which was over 30 by the end of the day.
Before Coca-Cola decided to use his image for advertising, Santa looked more spooky than jolly. Then, in 1931, the beverage company hired an illustrator named Haddon Sundblom to depict the jolly old man for magazine ads. Now, kids see visions of sugarplums instead of having Santa-themed nightmares.
Called Zarya, the module is Russian-built and American owned. The International Space Station (ISS) is a manned artificial satellite was built and operated by 5 space agencies – the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, US’s NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos, and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. The brightest man-made object visible to the naked eye from Earth, ISS orbits the Earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kilometers per hour) at an average distance of 248 miles (400 kilometers) from Earth.
Nearly two years after it was announced, Microsoft released its first graphical operating system. The OS made it easier for users to navigate on their computer screens. It came with Paint, Notepad, Calculator and a game called Reversi.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the document that laid out the rights of children around the world. The day is also annually celebrated as Universal Children’s Day.
The trials were led by the International Military Tribunal and were held to prosecute high-ranking members of the Nazi party for war crimes committed during the Second World War. Of the 23 people tried, 14 were sentenced to death.
American Garret Morgan was awarded the patent for an automated traffic signal. Morgan’s invention was not the first of its kind, but unlike the other traffic signals which just had stop and go signals, his traffic light had a third signal that warned drivers about changes in the stop and go lights. This signal was the precursor for today’s yellow light.
