13 Thought-Provoking Thrills That Happened on January 13

13 Thought-Provoking Thrills That Happened on January 13

By Michelle Carr Crowe, Silicon Valley real estate guide selling homes in San Jose

Do random ideas and new facts give you a thrill? If you’ve read my blog, you know one of the pastimes I enjoy is discovering new facts and interesting pieces of history.

I like to share intriguing stories from our local newspaper the San Jose Mercury News, as well as from some of my favorite print and online magazines Mental Floss, the National Geographic Society or  Smithsonian Magazine. Other times I find articles or facts online at  The History Place, Brainy History,orDates In History.These events for today’s blog post are primarily from Wikipedia.

While these interesting items are intriguing, they have nothing to do with my real estate business, helping people like you buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley, Calif. and beyond. I admit, they just add fun and fascination to life.

Here are today’s 13 Thought-Provoking Thrills That Happened on January 13. I hope you find them interesting, too.

13 Thought-Provoking Thrills That Happened on January 13

1559 - Elizabeth I crowned queen of England in Westminster Abbey

1785 - John Walter publishes the very first issue of the London Times.

1842 - Dr. William Brydon, a surgeon in the British Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 16,500 when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad.

1863 - Thomas Crapper pioneers one-piece pedestal flushing toilet. According to Urban Legends Thomas Crapper (1836-1910) did exist, was a plumber, and is credited with improving the functionality of the early flush toilet (or "water closet," as it was then called).

Credit for inventing the toilet goes to 16th-century author Sir John Harington, who installed an early working prototype in the palace of Queen Elizabeth I, his godmother. The first patent for a flushing water closet was issued to Alexander Cummings in 1775.

1888 - National Geographic Society founded in Washington, DC.

1930 – Walt Disney’s "Mickey Mouse" comic strip first appears .

1942 – Pioneering automaker Henry Ford patents a method of constructing plastic auto bodies.

1943 – German dictator Adolf Hitler declares "Total War"

1957 - Wham-O Company produces the first Frisbee.

1982 - Hank Aaron & Frank Robinson elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1987 - 7 top New York Mafia bosses sentenced to 100 years in prison each.

1992 - Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.

2000 - Microsoft chairman Bill Gates steps aside as chief executive and promotes company president Steve Ballmer to the position.

Thank you for reading. You may want to read my blog at www.activerain.com/results for more fun facts on history, real estate, home, life and other topics. I hope you learned something new from reading about these 13 Thought-Provoking Thrills That Happened on January 13.