Intl. Notebook

July 6 2017

FULL SIZED SEDAN

Just the thing for a cross-country trip.

This photo shows the crater made by the Sedan nuclear test, also known as the Storax Sedan test, which happened today in 1962 as part of Operation Storax. The crater is the result of an explosion that displaced twelve million tons of earth, and at 320 feet deep and 1280 feet in diameter is the largest man-made crater in the United States. It’s also—bizarrely we think—listed on the National Register of Historic Places, especially weird when you consider that it sent two radioactive plumes wafting northeast from the Nevada explosion site, cross country from state to unsuspecting state, to settle especially heavily upon Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Illinois. Of all the nuclear tests conducted in the United States, Sedan ranked highest in overall activity of radionuclides in fallout, distributing nearly 7% of the total amount of radiation which fell on the U.S. population during all of the nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site. Historic indeed. You see the explosion that caused all that below.

Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Illinois, nukes

Femmes Fatales

January 4 2016

SURRENDER TO DOROTHY

Everyone put your hands in the air. Very good. You, on the left—get over here with that lighter.

Above, Dorothy Provine in a publicity shot from 1958’s The Bonnie Parker Story. She was born in Deadwood, South Dakota, one of the U.S.’s most historic former frontier towns, and a place that saw plenty of outlaws and gunplay in its heyday. Maybe that’s why Provine looks like such a natural.

South Dakota, Deadwood, The Bonnie Parker Story, Dorothy Provine, cinema

Hollywoodland, Sportswire

December 8 2008

MY CUSSIN’ VINNIE

He wrote a check with his mouth, cashed it with his face.

British actor and former pro footballer Vinnie Jones could be facing jail time for his role in a brawl in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. And by role, we mean the role of a guy eating a beer glass. The incident took place in a bar called Wiley’s Tavern, after a patron identified Jones as the character Juggernaut from X-Men: The Last Stand. According to witnesses, Jones took offense at being recognized for that role, when he has acted in much more significant films such as Snatch and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. A profanity-laced shouting match escalated into a physical confrontation, at which point 24-year old Jesse Bickett smashed a beer glass in Jones’ face.

As a footballer Jones was known for his rough play, and still holds the English record for fastest booking, when he was ejected after just three seconds of play for illegally tackling Dana Whitehouse in a 1992 Chelsea/Sheffield United match. He also permanently injured Tottenham’s Gary Stevens with another illegal tackle, and infamously squeezed Paul Gascoigne’s testicles. But this time it was Jones who ended up in the hospital. Sioux Falls police Sgt. Tim Hagen, after studying a photo of the injured actor, deadpanned, “He sure got the worst end of that deal.”

Britain, South Dakota, X-Men: The Last Stand, Snatch, Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Vinnie Jones, cinema

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

December 5

1933—Prohibition Ends in United States

Utah becomes the 36th U.S. state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution, thus establishing the required 75% of states needed to overturn the 18th Amendment which had made the sale of alcohol illegal. But the criminal gangs that had gained power during Prohibition are now firmly established, and maintain an influence that continues unabated for decades.

December 5

1945—Flight 19 Vanishes without a Trace

During an overwater navigation training flight from Fort Lauderdale, five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger torpedo-bombers lose radio contact with their base and vanish. The disappearance takes place in what is popularly known as the Bermuda Triangle.

December 4

1918—Wilson Goes to Europe

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sails to Europe for the World War I peace talks in Versailles, France, becoming the first U.S. president to travel to Europe while in office.

December 4

1921—Arbuckle Manslaughter Trial Ends

In the U.S., a manslaughter trial against actor/director Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle ends with the jury deadlocked as to whether he had killed aspiring actress Virginia Rappe during rape and sodomy. Arbuckle was finally cleared of all wrongdoing after two more trials, but the scandal ruined his career and personal life.

December 3

1964—Mass Student Arrests in U.S.

In California, Police arrest over 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, following their takeover and sit-in at the administration building in protest at the UC Regents’ decision to forbid protests on university property.

December 3

1968—U.S. Unemployment Hits Low

Unemployment figures are released revealing that the U.S. unemployment rate has fallen to 3.3 percent, the lowest rate for almost fifteen years. Going forward all the way to the current day, the figure never reaches this low level again.

December 2

1954—Joseph McCarthy Disciplined by Senate

In the United States, after standing idly by during years of communist witch hunts in Hollywood and beyond, the U.S. Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for conduct bringing the Senate into dishonor and disrepute. The vote ruined McCarthy’s career.