1. 1932: The doors open at the Radio City Music Hall
Photo: cruiselinehistory
Photo: cruiselinehistory
It was on this date in 1932 that John D. Rockefeller opened the doors at his beloved Radio City Music Hall, which he considered to be the cornerstone of the Rockefeller complex. He designed it to be a palace for people to enjoy high-quality entertainment, and since its doors opened in 1932 more than 300 million patrons attended the famous venue. The Great Stage is enormous, stretching 100 feet long and more than 60 feet wide, and it has all sorts of hydraulic elevators that are still in use today. This allowed spectacular effects when it came to the shows put on there. It became the ultimate hot spot for movie premiers with more than 700 films making their debut at the famous theater. After more than 70 years in service, the Radio City Music Hall underwent a major restoration in 1999 that took seven months and roughly $70 million to complete. That might seem like a lot, but considering the Radio City Music Hall is the largest indoor theater in the world, as well as one of the most popular, it seems like money well spent.
2. 1975: The Chasnala mining disaster in India
Photo: worldatlas
Photo: worldnews
Working as a miner is one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet. They’re usually required to crawl down into the depths of the Earth in conditions that human beings were not meant to survive in, then work all day every day digging up precious materials. A prime example of those dangers took place at the Chasnala coal mine in Dhanbad, India on this date in 1975. According to reports, roughly 370 men were working down in the mine when an explosion suddenly went off and shook the entire mine causing all sorts of debris to fall and trap the miners. To make matters much worse, the blast also caused a problem with a reservoir located nearby which sent millions of gallons of water down into the depths of the mine drowning any survivors. Rescue workers attempted to dig out as much of the debris as possible but in the end, there was very little they could do. Unfortunately there wasn’t a single survivor, and apparently, only a small fraction of the bodies were recovered. In these mining accidents, it’s virtually impossible to determine what exactly caused the explosion in the first place because there are so many different ways that it could. Anything from pockets of gas trapped within the earth’s crust that get released, or even the fine coal particles in the air, all it takes is a small spark from a pickaxe hitting a rock or something along those lines and Boom! Many people claim that there was upwards of 700 workers in the mine when it happened but the company firmly states that only 372 men were down in the mine.
3. 2004: Peyton breaks Dan Marino’s single-season TD record
Photo: nydailynews
Peyton Manning is one of the best quarterbacks to play in the NFL, and on this date in 2004 he wrote his name in the record books when he threw his 49th touchdown pass of the season. Previously, the record was held by none other than the great Dan Marino, who is one of the best quarterbacks to never win a Super Bowl. Peyton was drafted as the first pick in 1998 by the Colts and immediately made a name for himself as one of the top QB’s in the league. However, it was his 2004 season that really set himself apart from other QB’s. On his record-breaking night, Manning got off to a rough start against the San Diego Chargers in front of approximately 57,000 fans at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. But he started to hit his stride during the third quarter when he threw a TD pass to fullback James Mungro which tied Marino’s record. He just needed one more, and as luck would have it he had to wait until there was just one minute left in the game and the Colts were down by 8 points. With the pressure on, game on the line, Manning stepped up and threw a pass to Brandon Stokely in the corner of the end zone and cemented his name in the record books. The Colts went on to get a 2-pt conversion and then won the game in sudden death overtime with a 34-yard field goal. Manning held on to the record until 2007 when Tom Brady threw 50. However, Manning came back in 2013 to take back the record with 51 which is where it stands today.