Histortweet 2X Week in Review - W/E November 28, December 5, 2009

[SFX: CHURCHBELL] Greetings, History Lovers! Welcome to This Tweet in History, the Week In Review, double-wide edition, podcasting to you on tape delay from our North American Studios.

Here are your top stories for the weeks ending November 28 and December 5, 2009:

[SFX: SOUND827]World: DATELINE Northwest US, November 25, 1971 – DB Cooper and his $200,000 ransom money parachute over Washington state; neither to be seen again: http://bit.ly/AQaOF

The Back-Story: [SFX: Jump; Leaving on a jet plane; For the love of money]The day before Thanksgiving, in 1971, DB Coooer, whose real name may never be known, boarded a Northwest Orient flight in Portland Oregon. Once the plane was airborne, he handed a flight attendant a note, saying that he had a bomb in his briefcase, and demanding $200,000 in cash and three parachutes. His demands were relayed to the airline, which readied the money and parachutes at SeaTac Airport. On the ground, Cooper exchanged the passengers for the money and chutes. Airborne again, Cooper opened the door and leapt to his fate. Although some fragments of the money were recovered years later, what ultimately became of Cooper and his loot is not known. [SFX: Angel from the Coast; Never Catch Her]

[SFX: SOUND827]World: DATELINE Europe, November 30, 1700 – Sweden’s Teenage King Charles, vastly outmanned, outflanks, outfights Russian forces at Narva: http://bit.ly/7nh1Dn

The Back-Story: [SFX: King Tut; Massacre; Let's get ready to rumble!] With Sweden, the dominant Baltic power on the move, and being led by the newly crowned 18-year-old King Charles XII, its neighbors conspired to strike back. Beset on all sides, the young king lauched a bold and largely successful invasion. In November, Russian forces arrived at Narva and laid siege to the Swedes. The outmanned Swedes assembled for battle, and, seizing the opportunity provided by shifting winds of snow, went on the offensive, arriving up to 50 yards from the Russian lines without being spotted, shattering the line and forcing the Russian surrender. [SFX: I'm Winning! We are the Champions]

[SFX: SOUND827]Sports: DATELINE Boston, November 24, 1960 – Wilt the Stilt grabs 55 boards : http://bit.ly/wVzCB
The Back-Story: [SFX: Basketball Jones;] In his day, Wilt Chamberlain was so dominant, that the NBA instituted rule changes just to even the odds against him. Even so, Chamberlain was able to reach such mind-boggling numbers as as 100 points in a game, 4029 points in a season, and single-season averages of 50 points per game and 27 rebounds per game. A dominant offensive player, he was also dominant on the boards. In his rookie season, he pulled down down 45 rebounds in a single game, which still beats Charles Barkley’s modern-era record of 35, but does not compare to Chamberlain’s own 55 in a game, one year later. [SFX:I'm Outstanding]

[SFX: SOUND827]Sports: DATELINE New York, December 1, 1975 – Griffin is first to win a second Heisman : http://bit.ly/5bpk3
The Back-Story: [SFX: I'm Winning;] Ohio State halfback, Archie Griffin, is the only back to lead the Big Ten Conference in rushing for three straight years. His 5,589 yards with the Buckeyes were, at the time, a record, and he started in Rose Bowl games every year in his college career. In his sophomore year, he placed 5th in Heisman voting, taking home the award in his junior and senior years. Pending this year’s Heisman voting, with Florida’s Tim Tebow and Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford eligible for a second win, Griffin is the only player to have won the trophy twice. [SFX:I'm Outstanding]

[SFX: SOUND827]: Things that make you go huh?: DATELINE London, November 28, 1999 – Naked guy with samurai sword pops in on mass, injuring 11: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/774618.stm
The Back-Story: [SFX:One fine day to be nude; The Streak] Worshipers at St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church in South London were greeted by a shocking interruption. The nude Eden Strang, believing them to be demons who had taken human form, entered with a Samurai sword and began slashing wildly. Parishioners used whatever was at hand in an attempt to stop the attack, and, ultimately, an off-duty police officer subdued Strang with a section of organ piping. Strang was confined to a psychiatric hospital. [SFX: Insane in the Membrane; Crazy; Crazy man crazy; Institutionalized]
[SFX: SOUND827]: Technology: DATELINE Silicon Valley, November 29, 1972 – Pong’s debut ushers in video game era: http://computermuseum.50megs.com/pong.htm

The Back-Story: [SFX:Play the Game; Space Age Whiz Kids] In 1972, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney founded Atari, investing $250 each. The two hired engineer, Al Alcorn, and gave him a busy-work task which they expected nothing to come out of: Design a game with two paddles and a ball. Alcorn took the assignment seriously, and, three months later, came up with a prototype. A test version was placed in Andy Capp’s Tavern, in Sunnyvale, California, and, on the first day, got so much use that its coin box jammed. The game, with its simple instructions, “Avoid missing ball for high score,” was a smash hit and became a gaming icon. [SFX: Computer Love; Have you played Atari today?]

[SFX: SOUND827] This week’s birthdays:[SFX: In the Club]

November 22: French President Charles de Gaulle
November 23:US President Franklin Pierce
November 24: US President Zachary Taylor
November 25: Prohibitionist Carry Nation
November 26: Absurdist dramatist Eugene Ionesco
November 27: Martial Artist Bruce Lee
And November 28: Motown mogul Berry Gordy, Jr.

November 29: Narnia Chronicler C.S. Lewis
November 30:British Statesman, Sir Winston Churchill
December 1: Actor/Director Woody Allen
December 2: Neo-impressionist Georges Seurat
December 3: Director Jean-Luc Godard
December 4: Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco
And December 5: Mickey Mouse Creator Walt Disney


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