“Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.”
In Memorium
Although nearly 3,000 people were killed in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, the first attack on the WTC took place on February 26, 1993, when a bomb exploded in a parking garage underneath the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Although it failed to topple either of the twin towers, the blast killed six people, including a pregnant woman, and caused over a thousand injuries.
The 9-11-2001 attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11 resulted in the largest loss of life by a foreign attack on American soil. After the 9-11 attack, only 18 people were rescued alive from the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Thomas Jefferson
“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”
9-11
In the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in NYC, the Pentagon and a plane crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2001, almost 3,000 people were killed – approximately 400 were police officers and firefighters.
But that was not the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. When was the first?
Orange You Glad You Live in Helena!
Although OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) notes the color and lettering of exit signs must be distinct, there is no law or regulation in the United States that mandates a specific color.
Green and red are the predominant colors that are used for exit signs, but ultimately State and local authorities have actual jurisdiction over exit sign requirements such as size and color.
Advocates for red argue that red is the most visible color, typically used to attract people’s attention, while the green team reminds everyone that green means “go.” That said, if you live in Helena, Montana, you will notice that exit signs are in orange. Not sure how they picked that color, but we must assume (or at least hope) it is effective.
Exit Signs?
Is there a legal requirement for the color used in “exit” signs in the United States?
Gerald R. Ford Hosted a Promenade
Gerald Ford is the only president to hold a prom in the White House, which traditionally was known as a “promenade dance” – essentially, a dance party for high school students. Proms are typically held towards the end of the school year, originally for seniors, although over the years junior (11th grade) proms have sprung up and sometimes schools may choose to combine them, rather than have a separate senior and junior prom.
On May 31, 1975, Susan Ford, daughter of President Gerald Ford, was in her final year of classes at Holton-Arms School and at the urging of her fellow classmates asked White House Chief Usher Rex Scouten permission to hold their senior class prom at the White House. It was and remains, the only high-school dance ever to take place at White House. The class members held bake sales and fairs to raise the money and paid for the prom themselves!
For those of you interested in similarly unique events at the White House, consider President Andrew Jackson’s cheese party in which about 10,000 visitors showed up to eat a wheel of cheddar cheese that weighed nearly 1,400 pounds. In 1835, Thomas S. Meacham presented President Andrew Jackson with the cheese wheel made by dairymen from Oswego County, New York. It was delivered to the White House by a horse-drawn cart (apparently it took 24 horses). The cheese wheel sat dormant (and aging) in the foyer of the White House for about 2 years, when Jackson invited the public to partake of his cheese in celebration of George Washington’s Birthday in 1837. All the cheese was devoured by the crowd in about 2 hours!
George Washington
“The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.”
Presidential Prom Host
Only one President in the history of the United States has ever hosted a ‘prom’ in the White House. Who was that President?
Sydney
Officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad (and unofficially, Sydney 2000, the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium), the Summer Olympics in 2000 were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, the second time the Summer Olympics were held in Australia (Melbourne was first in 1956). These Olympics were also the first to have at least 300 games in its sports program. Australia is once again slated to host the Summer Olympics in 2032 at Brisbane, Queensland.