On This Day July 16th

In 1935 drivers for the first time had to dip into their pockets to pay for parking on city streets when meters were installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for the first time in the United States.

France was under German occupation for two years before 1942 rolled around. It was on this day, in 1942, orders were given that 13,152 Jews being held captive at the Winter Velodrome in Paris be deported to Auschwitz for extermination. This part of France's history was known as the "Vel' d'Hiv Roundup" France was not liberated until August 1944.

On this day in 1945 the very first nuclear bomb was detonated in New Mexico. This ushered in an era we refer to as the beginning of the 'Atomic Age'. Some equate this to the opening 'Pandora's Box'. This Greek myth describes how the lid can never be sealed again. All that remained inside afterward was Elpis (the 'Spirit Of Hope"). My apologies to the ladies since it's obvious Greek males conjured up this tale to blame all the evils of the world on Pandora (the first woman on Earth). A tale very similar as to that in the Christian Bible's 'Book of Genesis'.

In 1948 the Arab-Israeli War was in full swing when on this day Nazareth was captured by the Israelis. Two days later on July 18 a second truce was declared. Eventually on September 22, 1948 the legislative branch of Israel (the Knesset) passed legislation that declared any part of Palestine that Israel captured would then become part of Israel. However the war continued on until March 10, 1949 when Israel signed armistices separately with both Egypt and Lebanon which pretty much left the Palestinians w/o backing. Needless to say the Palestinians weren't pleased then nor are they now to this day.

The very last time Barnum & Bailey Circus performed under a tent was on this day in 1956. Since that time they rent arenas for their traveling shows..

While 'ballistic missiles' were around since 1942 it was on this day in 1960 the first one was fired from a submerged submarine, the 'USS George Washington'. On October 3, 1942 Nazi Germany fired the first in the series of 'V2' rockets they developed. By 1944 they were using them against Paris and London. By the time the war ended in Spring 1945 the Germans launched over 3,000 of these against their enemies!

In 1969 the 'Space Race' was won by The United States when the crew of Apollo 11 landed on the moon first.

Our difficulty in Iraq all began in 1979 when Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (Saddam Hussein) became the 5th President of that country. He ruled from 1979 for the next 24 years until military coalition forces unseated him on April 9th, 2003. Unofficially Saddam's rule over Iraq extends far longer. As Vice-President under General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr who was suffering from ill health, Saddam pretty much controlled everything for several years as Iraq's de facto leader.

Saturday, July 16th 1955 was the eve before the official opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. About 6,000 special guests were invited to attend the park's opening on Sunday, July 17th 1955 before the park open it's doors to the general public the next day. Disney employees received a quick learning experience that Sunday. Well over 20,000 showed up uninvited with fake tickets. Those in attendance for ABC's live broadcast of the event included Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan. Not to be confused with Michael Jackson's 'Neverland Ranch' which he bought in 1988. He owned it up until 2005 :-)