History Schmistory: November 17. Not your ordinary cat toy…
Sunday, November 17, 2024
1970: Douglas Engelbart successfully patents the computer mouse. His patent for computer cheese is still pending.

By SRI International (SRI International) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia CommonsBy SRI International (SRI International) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
History Schmistory: November 16. Brand New State! Gonna Treat You Great!
Saturday, November 16, 2024
1907: Oklahoma becomes the 46th State in the US. And honestly. Where on Earth would we be without Oklahoma! ?
History Schmistory: November 14. Woah-Nellie!
Thursday, November 14, 2024
1889: Nellie Bly begins her trip around the world, aiming to accomplish the journey in 80 days, a span Jules Verne predicted in his work of fiction, Around the World in 80 Days. Get this, Nellie did it in 72 days. In your face, Phileas Fogg!
History Schmistory: November 13. Home.
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
1851: The Denny Party lands at Alki point, the first settlers in what would become Seattle, Washington, and the current residence of the one and only Marco Polo! …Just in case you were wondering.
History Schmistory: November 12. You hear the one about the exploding whale?
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
1970: The Oregon Highway Division learns exactly what not to do with a dead whale.
History Schmistory: November 11. Coooold-snap!
Monday, November 11, 2024
1911: Apocalyptic expectations went wild the last time we saw an 11/11/11, as The Great Blue Norther, a cold snap that produced record highs and lows on the same day, barreled through the central US, leaving much of the bewildered population with contrasting habiliments.
History Schmistory: November 10. Street Smarts.
Sunday, November 10, 2024
1969: National Educational Television, soon to be PBS, introduces the world to Sesame Street. If you go all the way to the end and hang a left, you’ll be in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
History Schmistory: November 9. Missing Magnifico.
Saturday, November 9, 2024
1494: Only two years after our man Lorenzo Magnifico dies, his eldest son Piero (the Unfortunate) manages to get the entire Family de’ Medici kicked out of Florence. This led to the sarcastic expression; “way to go, Piero!” Actually it’s not an expression at all, but you should start using it anyway. It’ll make you feel intellectually superior to others 🙂 Hit it, Marco!
History Schmistory: November 8. Rays of Hope.
Friday, November 8, 2024
1895: Wilhelm Röntgen discovers the X-Ray almost completely by accident. And that’s when the fun began!
History Schmistory: November 7. A Dynamic Duo.
Thursday, November 7, 2024
1908: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are reportedly killed in Bolivia. They remain dead until magically resurfacing in a 1930s caper.