November 21st, 2008

Today in History

1980:
1980 -Lake Peigneur drained into an underlying salt deposit. A misplaced Texaco oil probe drilled into the Diamond crystal salt mine; water flowing down into the mine eroded the edges of the hole. The whirlpool created sucked the drilling platform, several barges, houses and trees thousands of feet, to the bottom of the dissolving salt deposit.

1962:
The Chinese People's Liberation Army declared a unilateral cease-fire in the Sino-Indian War.

1922:
Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first woman United States Senator.

1789:
North Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution and is admitted as the 12th U.S. state.

1783:
In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent, marquis d'Arlandes, make the first untethered hot air balloon flight (flight time: 25 minutes, Maximum height: 100m, distance: 9 km).