The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Moments In Time





 

 

• On Oct. 18, 1922, “Robin Hood,” starring Douglas Fairbanks, opens at Grauman’s Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Calif. As a publicity stunt two weeks before the premiere, Fairbanks had posed atop a New York hotel in costume and shot arrows from the building, accidentally injuring a man through an open window.

• On Oct. 19, 1939, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” debuts, starring James Stewart. World War II interrupted Stewart’s film career. He became a bomber pilot and remained in the Air Force reserves for decades, rising to the rank of brigadier general.

• On Oct. 20, 1944, two liquid gas tanks explode in Cleveland, with flames shooting 2,500 feet in the air and leveling everything within a half mile. The explosion destroyed two factories, 79 homes in the surrounding area and more than 200 vehicles – and killed 139 people.

• On Oct. 21, 1959, thousands of people line up in New York City outside a bizarrely shaped white concrete building that resembled a giant upside-down cupcake – the Guggenheim Museum. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright worked on the building for sixteen years, finally seeing it open six months before his death.

• On Oct. 15, 1964, while trying to set a new 1 mile land-speed record, Craig Breedlove loses control of the Spirit of America jet-powered car, which began to skid at an initial speed of more than 400 mph. Six miles later, Breedlove was the not-so-proud record-holder for the longest skid marks ever recorded.

• On Oct. 17, 1994, taxicab driver Jeremy Levine returns to London, England, from a round-trip journey to Cape Town, South Africa. Passengers Mark Aylett and Carlos Aresse paid 40,000 pounds, or approximately $65,000, for the 21,691-mile trip, setting a world record for the longest known taxicab ride.

(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.

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