Today in History

[goofywife]

OK, I have to reply to the land run article. First let me say, I did not grow up in Oklahoma, I met my DH and moved here to be with him. I do not understand why OU has selected the Sooners as a mascot. The Sooners were the people who cheated and went out and staked a claim before the race. Why would a university have a mascot honoring cheaters?

[goofywife]

1985: Coca-Cola announces new formula
The Coca-Cola Company announced today it has changed its formula for Coke. The new recipe, which the company called "the most significant soft-drink development" in its history, was said to make the beverage sweeter and smoother.

"The slogan reads 'Coke Is It,' but times change and so will the 99-year-old secret formula of the world's No. 1 soft drink. As soon as Coca-Cola's plans were made known, archrival Pepsi tasted victory in its cola war and crowed that Coke is 'not the real thing,'" reported the Syracuse Herald Journal on April 23, 1985. "Industry experts were upbeat about the company's reported decision to change the formula set down by Dr. John Pemberton in 1886. Called 'Merchandise 7X,' it is kept in an Atlanta bank vault, its ingredients known only to a handful of Coke executives."

NOTE: Despite the company's excitement over the new formula, the public reacted mostly negatively to the change. An organization called Old Cola Drinkers of America was even formed. Less than three months after the new Coke was introduced, Coca-Cola announced the original formula would return.


1998: James Earl Ray dies
James Earl Ray, the man charged with assassinating Martin Luther King Jr., died of kidney failure and complications from liver disease today, while he was still serving his 99-year prison sentence. "For more than a year, James Earl Ray fought the government, popular opinion and his own failing body for a chance to prove he didn't kill the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Time ran out for Ray, but the debate survives," explained The Capital on April 24, 1998.

1984: AIDS virus is identified
"Researchers announced today they have discovered and isolated a virus they say is likely to be the primary cause of AIDS, the mysterious and deadly disease that destroys the body's protective immune system," reported The Capital April 23, 1984. "According to the papers and scientists familiar with the work, the virus in question appears to be a member of a family of viruses called human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV) previously suspected of having a role in AIDS." NOTE: Scientists also announced the discovery had led to the development of a blood test to diagnose AIDS victims.

1969: Robert Kennedy assassin sentenced to death
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, who was convicted of assassinating U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was sentenced to death today. "A jury of seven men and five women returned to the tight-security courtroom on the eighth floor of the Los Angeles Hall of Justice after almost 12 hours of deliberation to say the young Jordanian immigrant should die in California's gas chamber for the murder of the New York senator and would-be president," informed the Independent on April 24, 1969. NOTE: The death sentence was reduced to life in prison in 1972.

1968: Britain introduces decimal coins
The British government began issuing two new coins today, a 5 pence and 10 pence, which would completely replace the one and two shilling pieces within three years. "Pity the poor British housewife. She must learn that 100 pennies make a pound ($2.40). It was so simple before – 12 pennies equal one shilling, 20 shillings equal one pound, which means there are 240 pennies to a pound," explained the Independent on April 24, 1968. "Tuesday the government began the introduction of the new coinage system, and to prepare Britain for the shock of change it took large advertisements in national newspapers."


1940: Night club fire proves deadly
More than 200 African Americans died today when a fire broke out in the Rhythm Night Club in Natchez, Mississippi. "The fire lasted only 15 minutes in which the flimsy, shack-like building was reduced to ashes. Most of the victims, apparently, were killed not by the fire but in a mad stampede for the one exit. All the bodies taken from the ashes were badly burned, some beyond possibility of identification," reported the Dunkirk Evening Observer on April 24, 1940. "Approximately 150 escaped and of these authorities estimated that 50 to 100 were injured in varying degrees."

[katcarasella]

Can anyone else tell the difference in a blind taste test with Coki, Pepsi, and RC?
I've done it with my family to prove that I can tell the difference.

[Gina]

I am a pepsi drinker I think I can tell the blind taste test with Coke, not sure about RC don't think I ever drank that soda.

[goofywife]

When I drink soda, I am a Pepsi person as well. Coke just seems to have more carmel flavor to me

[Janet]

I haven't had a soda since January 3rd of this year. I can tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi no problem, but it's been a long time since I had Royal Crown.

[goofywife]

1967: Mission results in first space death
Vladimir Komarov, the only cosmonaut on board the Soyuz 1 spacecraft, died today after experiencing a problem with his parachute. Komarov was the first Russian to travel into space twice.

"Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov plummeted to death from a height of more than four miles when his spacecraft Soyuz 1 tried to land today, the government announced. It was the first time either of the two space powers has reported the death of an astronaut on an operation. Moscow radio said ropes of the parachute meant to ease the landing twisted, and the ship hit with great force, killing the 40-year-old veteran cosmonaut," reported The Lowell Sun on April 24, 1967.

NOTE: Komarov's death came just three months after three American astronauts were killed in a fire during a ground test at Cape Kennedy. Despite this American tragedy, the Independent reported that Komarov's death "may have wiped out any chance Russia had to beat the U.S. to the moon."

1990: Hubble Space Telescope is launched
The space shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit today. "The 1.5 billion telescope is expected to provide astronomers with a vastly sharper, clearer view of the most distant reaches of the universe than could ever be obtained by ground-based telescopes looking through the atmosphere," informed The Post Standard on April 25, 1990. "On hand to watch the Discovery launching was a contingent of scientists who have hailed the Hubble as the greatest advance in astronomy since Galileo raised a small telescope to his eyes nearly 400 years ago."


1984: Apple portable computer is released
Apple Computer, Inc. released its Apple IIc portable computer today. "Priced at a suggested $1,295, the IIc weighs 7.5 pounds and is what industry officials call lap-sized – 12 inches long, 11½ inches wide and 2½ inches high. The Apple IIc computer has a single built-in disc drive and can use about 90 percent of the more than 10,000 computer programs written for the Apple II series," explained The Post Standard on April 25, 1984.

1980: Hostage rescue fails
Eight American servicemen died today in a helicopter crash after an aborted attempt to rescue hostages from the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The attempt was a failure and had severe political repercussions for President Jimmy Carter's administration. "U.S. military forces undertook a dramatic raid to rescue American hostages in Tehran, but the mission collapsed in 'equipment failures' and was aborted on a desert airstrip far from its target, President Carter reported today," informed The Capital on April 25, 1980. "Iranian radio said the militants holding 50 Americans in the U.S. embassy in Tehran were meeting to discuss their response to the rescue mission, which Iranian Foreign Minister Sadegh Ghotbzadeh compared to Hitler's invasion of Austria at the start of World War II." NOTE: The U.S. hostages were released within minutes of Ronald Reagan taking the office of President of the United States of America on January 20, 1981.

1953: Winston Churchill is knighted
Winston Churchill, often called the greatest statesman of the 20th century, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II today. "The British Prime Minister, 78, knelt before his young Queen in the drawing room at Windsor Castle to receive - for his decades of service to the empire and the throne - the accolade he declined from her father, King George VI," explained The Oneonta Star on April 25, 1953. "As a knight, he gains nothing substantial except the title 'Sir' and the right to walk ahead of plain misters and knights of lesser rank on formal occasions."

1916: Easter Rising begins
In an attempt to force Ireland's independence from the United Kingdom, militant Irish republicans staged a rebellion today in Dublin. "Irish rebels are in possession of four or five parts of the city of Dublin after twenty-four hours of most serious rioting, Augustine Birrell, chief secretary for Ireland, announced in the house of commons today," reported The Fort Wayne News on April 25, 1916. "Twelve persons were killed in the first fight, but because of the interpretation in communication, there is no estimate of the total number of casualties." NOTE: Because the rioting took place during Easter week, the rebellion is now commonly referred to as the Easter Rising. The Rising was stopped after six days of fighting, and the leaders were court-martialled and executed. The rising, however, what somewhat of a success; elected members of Sinn Fein established the Irish Republic in 1919 due to the attention brought by the Easter Rising.