Histortweet Week in Review - W/E January 30, 2010

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

Here are your top stories for the week ending January 30, 2010:

[SFX: SOUND827]World: DATELINE Canada, January 24, 1978 - Soviet nuke satellite falls from the sky onto NW Territories: http://bit.ly/4Bm4VV
The Back-Story: [SFX:Wheel in the Sky; How Can I Fall; Dirty Little Secret]In a case of failure on top of failure, the Russian Cosmos 954 satellite, with its onboard nuclear reactor, failed to reach its intended orbit and eventually fell to earth. In secret discussions, the Soviets apprised the US government of the situation, but claimed that the satellite was completely destroyed in re-entry. The satellite, however, left a swath of debris in a path covering three Canadian provinces. The US and Canada launched a three-phase recovery operation over the course of almost a year, eventually recovering 12 large pieces of the satellite, 10 of which were radioactive. The Soviet Union paid the Canadian government 3 million Canadian dollars for the clean-up, less than half what Canada billed them for actual and future expenses. [SFX: Find it – Quick!; Clean-up, everybody everywhere]

[SFX: SOUND827]Sports: DATELINE Melbourne, January 27, 1996 - Seles gets her Grand Slam groove back Down Under http://bit.ly/6xa811
The Back-Story: [SFX: You Hurt Me;It’s a shame; Shame] Two and a half years after a deranged fan of Steffi Graf ran onto the court during top-ranked Monica Seles’ quarterfinal match against Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg and stabbed Seles in the back, Seles returned to the Women’s tour, culminating with a championship at the Australian open in 1996 which turned out to be her last Grand Slam title, although she consistently reached the quarter- and semi-finals, remaining a fixture in the women’s top ten, until her retirement in 2003. All of that in one sentence. [SFX: Back in the Saddle Again ]

[SFX: SOUND827]: Things that make you go Huh?: DATELINE England, January 30, 1661 - Cromwell, dead 3 years, is executed on anniversary of and in retribution for Charles I's execution: http://bit.ly/5L0u5t
The Back-Story: [SFX:I just died in your arms tonight; Killing me softly; Let’s do it again]Oliver Cromwell had a successful run in the UK, serving as a commander of the New Model Army which defeated the Roaylists, executing King Charles I, and serving as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, which included Scotland and Ireland, which he vanquished, in the five years preceding his death by malaria. Following his death, things went horribly wrong. Cromwell’s son, Richard, who had no power base, resigned within a year of Cromwell’s death, creating a power vacuum that, ultimately, allowed Charles II to return from exile to a restored monarchy. Charles II had Cromwell and two of his compatriots disinterred and hung on the anniversary of his father, the king’s, execution, three years after Cromwell’s death. Cromwell’s head was displayed on a pole, and his body tossed into a pit. [SFX: You only die twice; Mystery dance]

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

January 24: Olympic Gold Medalist Mary Lou Retton
January 25: Philippine President Corazon Aquino
January 26: Five-star General Douglas MacArthur
January 27: Author Lewis Carroll
January 28: Painter Jackson Pollock
January 29: Olympic Gold Medalist Greg Louganis
And January 30: US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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