1. 1998: Pipeline explosion in Nigeria
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It was on this date in 1998 that an explosion on an oil pipeline caused a blazing fire that would leave more than 700 casualties before it was extinguished. The pipeline ran through the poverty-stricken town of Jesse, Nigeria, where it was commonplace for residents to steal oil in order to supplement their incomes. According to reports, a helicopter was sent to disperse the group of people said to be stealing the oil, also know as “bunkering”. But when it arrived there was said to be a massive fireball shot over 100 feet high from an explosion of which the cause is still unknown to this day. The blast created a fire that burned so hot that rescue crews couldn’t approach the scene for six days. It eventually took specialists flown in from Houston,Texas to help extinguish the fire.
2. 1968: Lennon and Ono arrested for drug possession
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Photo: time
While staying at Ringo Starr’s home at 34 Montagu Square in London, John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono were raided and arrested by police task force on this date in 1968 for possession of cannabis. There was quite the story told about this particular raid. According to reports, Lennon and Ono had known three weeks prior that the police were planning a raid. Lennon felt the police were “out to get them” and nothing was going to stop them. Since they knew it was coming, they had thoroughly cleaned the home, especially because Jimi Hendrix had reportedly stayed there prior to them. When police raided they thought they were clean for sure, but the task force had drug sniffing dogs that soon alerted on an old envelope and binoculars case. Apparently, Lennon had brought some stuff from his home and had forgotten all about the hashish. In the end, Lennon received the equivalent of roughly $300 fine and a warning that another offense would result in a year in jail.
3. 1974: Al Green attacked in his own home
Photo: soundprojections
Photo: oldies
It was on this date in 1974 that the legendary R&B singer Al Green’s life would change forever. While relaxing in the bathtub at this Memphis home, one of his ex-girlfriends, Mary Woodson, burst into the bathroom and dumped a boiling hot pan of grits onto his back. After this random act, Woodson went into one of the bedrooms and took her own life. Green suffered severe burns that required him to spend a few months in the hospital, but it was the damage to his emotional and spiritual life that would change him forever. At the time Al Green was one of the biggest names in music, but many people feel it was the events on that night in Memphis that would lead to him throwing away his career and stardom to follow a more righteous and religious life. By 1976, Green had become a fully ordained Baptist minister and later purchased a church in Memphis where he still preaches today.